Page 5 of Playboy For Hire

“You’re leaving me,” she repeated, but this time it was a wail.

I looked around her apartment, wondering if any of her roommates were home. I didn’t want to deal with more of her emotional rollercoaster. But no one came out to the living room to see what was going on.

“S’fine,” Ashley said, putting one hand on the center of my chest and pushing me backwards. “S’go.Hav’tago anyway.”

She opened her clutch and fumbled for a tube of lipstick. She got the cap off and brought it to her lips, then managed to miss her mouth entirely and draw a bright red streak across her chin.

“Hey, hey.” I took the lipstick from her gently, recapping it. “You don’t need to go anywhere but to bed. Come on, let me help you—”

“Go away.S’notlike you care. I’ll findsssome’undoes.”

She shoved my chest again, then pushed past me, stumbling out onto the walkway that led away from her door. She only made it two steps before the heel of her shoe caught in the grillwork andshe fell—forward this time, her arms and hands taking the brunt of it.

Fuck.

I suppressed a sigh and walked over. She was crying now, big wet tears that slid down her face and left tracks in her makeup. This was turning into the night from hell, but there was no way I could just leave her like this. Who knew what she’d do, left to her own devices?

“Come on, Ashley,” I said. “Let’s get you to bed.”

I removed her heels first, so that she had better footing to walk back to the door. I dropped them just inside the door, then asked her to steer me towards her bedroom. It was a double, and her bed was covered in a pink, frilly quilt and fuzzy pillows.

Miraculously, it wasn’t that hard to get her into bed and under the covers. I was grateful she hadn’t wanted to change into her pajamas. I didn’t want her to get any ideas about what might happen if she got undressed. She curled up in bed and looked at me, her eyes still wet with tears.

“Stay with me?” she asked.

After the night I’d had, I had every reason to say no. But I didn’t have the heart to. Besides, maybe someone should check on her every few hours, just to make sure she was okay.

“Okay,” I said. I nodded towards the door. “I’ll be right out there on the couch if you need me.”

“No.” She grabbed my hand and shook her head. “Here.”

She tugged me towards her bed.

“I don’t think that’s such a good idea,” I said.

“Won’t touch you,” she said. “Jus’on’twannabe’lone.”

“How about I sleep in your roommate’s bed?”

She shook her head again. “No,Claire’llb ba’soon.”

“Then she can keep you company,” I reasoned.

“Please,Ry’er?”

God help me, I should have said no. But you’ve seen how this chapter begins. You know I didn’t. No, I was an idiot, and I stayed, right where she wanted me.

Well, maybe not right where. I lay down on top of the covers instead of getting underneath them, and I put a line of pillows in between her body and mine. Then I lay there, watching her sleep, waking up every hour or so to make sure she was still alive.

And suddenly, it was six o’clock in the morning and Ashley was staring at me from inches away, her eyes too bright and intense for this early an hour.

“You stayed!” She squealed.

I mean,literallysquealed. I’d had half a Bud Light and one flat glass of champagne last night, so I wasn’t hung over, but the sound still made me wince. I didn’t understand how it didn’t make her own head explode. She’d drunk half the Potomac last night. She shouldn’t even have been awake right now.

“Yeah.” I blinked at her as my brain came back online. “I stayed. But I should probably—”

“I knew you would,” she squealed again. Then she leaned in and kissed me.

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