Into The Fire by E. L. Todd

no
wasn’t easy. You know how attracted I am to you. I sincerely hope
you still want it in the morning. Because my morning wood is going
to be bigger than usual.” He leaned in and gave me a gentle kiss on
the lips. His mouth was soft and delicate. Even though the touch
was innocent, it somehow made me melt. “Good night,
sweetheart.”
    “Good night.”
    ***
    When I woke up the following morning, I had a
huge migraine. My head throbbed and it wouldn’t stop. I remembered
going out last night with Shelly. And I remembered Tom and his
slick moves. But everything else was a blur.
    I groaned then opened my eyes, hating the
light from the window. Then I turned to see Ash beside me. The
sheets were around his waist, and his chiseled torso was defined
and hard.
    What the hell?
    I quickly sat up and searched my brain. Why
was he here? I was with Tom so how did I end up with Ash?
    What the hell was going on?
    Ash released a loud sigh as his eyes
fluttered open. He stretched his arms above his chest then looked
at me. His hair was messy and he had a sleepy look in his eyes that
was somehow sexy. “Morning, sweetheart.”
    I slept with him?
    I didn’t even remember it.
    Oh god, this was bad.
    “Uh…” I kicked the sheets away and realized I
was wearing his shirt. “Oh no.”
    Ash wrapped his arm around me and pulled me
back to his chest. “Where do you think you’re going?”
    I moved out of his embrace again. “What
happened last night?”
    “You don’t remember?” That stupid smile was
on his lips.
    “Does it look like I remember?”
    “Then I made the right decision…”
    “Sorry?”
    “You called me last night from outside of a
bar. I picked you up and brought you home.”
    “Oh…” That wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought.
“Then why are you sleeping with me?”
    “Well…there’s more to the story.”
    That didn’t sound good.
    “You wanted to sleep together—badly. I said
no.”
    My cheeks flushed red instantly. Everything
came back to me, and the humiliation washed over me like cold
water. I remembered everything, the way I tried to seduce him and
even…kissing him through his boxers. “Oh my god.” I covered my
face.
    “There’s nothing to be embarrassed about.
It’s really not a big deal.”
    I quickly jumped out of bed but slipped on my
dress and fell on the hardwood floor.
    God, just kill me .
    “You alright?”
    I grabbed my chest and stood up “I’m fine. I
just…have to be somewhere.”
    He released an irritated sigh.
“Alessandra—”
    “You should go.” I stormed into the bathroom
and shut the door.
    Ash sighed then left the bed. His feet were
heard on the hardwood floor. “I’ll leave. But I want to talk about
this later.”
    I sat on the floor with my knees to my
chest.
    He approached the door and leaned against it.
“There’s nothing to be ashamed of. I had a great time. I prefer you
drunk.”
    “Just go.”
    He sighed. “Okay. I’ll see you later.” His
feet walked away and then I heard the sound of my front door
opening and closing.
    Once he was gone, I covered my face with my
dress. “Ugh!”
    ***
    I didn’t speak to Ash all week and he didn’t
call me. Maybe if I avoided him long enough, everything would just
go away. Maybe he would forget everything. And maybe I would stop
thinking about it.
    I made such an idiot out of myself and now I
was totally mortified. I acted like such a slut and totally threw
myself at him. I even kissed his erection through his boxers… I was
such a skank. And the fact I liked it so much made it even
worse.
    He must have thought I was pathetic, begging
him to sleep with me like that.
    All my class went out the window.
    I was sitting at home when my phone lit up
with a text message.
    Hey, sweetheart. I know you’re trying to
forget everything that happened but I need you on Saturday for
dinner with my parents.
    Dammit. Now I had to face the music. Sure.
    So, can I pick you up at six?
    Yeah . I didn’t want to face him but
there