Page 61 of Dirty Desires
Chapter Twenty-Five
Nina
A month passed with Ashton and me spending every weekend together. Three nights out of every week, we stayed together. And things were blossoming just fine.
Sundays were the days he took the hardest. We even got into a little spat about how he would start in early on Sunday morning, asking me if I could just stay Monday night too.Just one more night,that was always his plea throughout the day.
The sun woke me up as it streamed through his window. Sunday had come, and I was ready for the onset of reasons why one more night wouldn’t hurt.
But when I turned over, I found he wasn’t even in bed. Sitting up, I looked to find the bathroom door wide open and not a sound of anyone in there either.
Getting up, I picked up a towel off the floor and wrapped it around myself. I went to the living room and found he wasn’t in the apartment at all. It was seven in the morning.
Where the hell could he be?
I went back into the bedroom to get my cell to call him. That’s when I noticed that I had slept through a text he’d sent me an hour earlier.
-Went to get some things. Be back soon-
With no idea what he’d need to get a seven in the morning on a Sunday, I set about taking a shower and getting ready for the day. We’d started taking outings on Sundays, calling them our fun days.
After getting dressed, I looked through my cell to see what was going on in the city that day. A play in the park sounded fun to me, and I found one that I thought Ashton might enjoy too.
I was sitting in the living room when he came in. He had a bag in his hand and came to kiss me. “Hey, you. You’re looking beautiful this morning.”
“Thanks. You look rather dashing yourself.” I got up to follow him into the kitchen. “And where did you get off to this morning?”
He placed the sack on the countertop, then proceeded to pull out everything inside of it. “I’m making up a new Sunday tradition. I cook breakfast, and you clean up the mess I make.”
“Oh, yes!” I said with mock enthusiasm as I clapped my hands.
He stopped what he was doing to look at me with a questioning gaze. “I thought you said that you liked to clean when we were out at Artimus and Julia’s house?”
“I did.” I felt a little stupid for acting like a bitch. “Okay, we can make this a thing. So, what are you making?”
“I bought fresh blueberries. I’m going to try my hand at making homemade muffins. I like to bake, but I rarely do it because it makes a real mess and there are lots of bowls to wash.” He patted me on the back. “But with you doing the cleaning, I think it might be fun. And Sunday is our fun day.”
Putting an apron on myself, I took another one out of the drawer I’d put them in when I first bought them, and tied one around his waist. They matched: mine was a Minnie Mouse one, and his was Mickey Mouse. I thought we looked adorable.
“There’s a play in the park today at one. You want to catch it?” I asked him as I looked over his shoulder at the recipe. “You want me to get out the bowls for you? I bought a set last week and put them away.” I snapped my fingers. “And I got a set of measuring spoons too. I’ll get them for you.”
I had bought a number of things for his place. I couldn’t help myself. It just seemed that every time I went shopping, I found this thing or that thing that would be perfect for him.
“What kind of play is it?” he asked me, then walked to the fridge to get out some eggs and milk.
“A love story.” I placed the bowls on the counter for him. “Would you like to use the mixer I bought the other day? Or would a whisk be better?”
He smiled as he put the milk and eggs on the counter. “You sure have been buying a lot of stuff, Nina. The bathroom is nearly unrecognizable.”
It hit me that he might not like me buying things for his home. “I’m sorry. I can take them back, I guess. I just thought they made the place homier is all.”
With a laugh, he hugged me. “No, I like them all. I was just saying.” He let me go and went to get the rest of the ingredients. “And the play sounds nice. I think a day in the park would be great.”
As the morning went on, I noticed that he hadn’t said one word about me staying Monday night too. Which was odd. And I felt kind of sad that he hadn’t.
Maybe he’s getting tired of me.
The muffins turned out perfect, and he made a care package for me to take to coffee with Lila and Julia the next day. “The girls will like them,” he said as he boxed them up.
