Haven Harbor • a.i. •

Chapter 20

A soft tugging at my shoulder woke me from my slumber and my eyes creaked open, immediately closing as the harsh light burned them.

"Babe, wake up." Ashton's quiet giggle came from above me and I groaned.

"No." I rolled over so that my face was buried into the pillow.

"I made breakfast." He cooed in another attempt but I just weakly waved in acknowledgement.

"What if I bring you breakfast in bed?" He tried again and I nodded in agreement.

Ashton chuckled in satisfaction and then left. I sat up, stretching my arms to the ceiling and then using the hair tie on my wrist to pull back my messy hair.

He came in a few minutes later, tray in hand, with two plates and two glasses on it.

I scooted over in the bed so that he could sit next to me and let him place the tray on the bed before leaning over to kiss his cheek. "Morning."

"Morning, Car." He kissed my temple back and then we both reached forward to begin eating.

Last night had been so fun and so good for the both of us. I felt like it was what we needed before he left for almost a month.

I remembered watching the beginning of 'About a Boy' , snuggled into Ashton's lap, and then the rocking movement as he carried me up to bed.

Glancing at him from the corner of my eye I watched him as he sipped his orange juice. The thought of him actually liking me still blew me away. It was beyond me that he would want to be here with me like he was now, sitting here in my bed eating breakfast, or be with me when we were playing with Ender and just hanging out. It surprised me that he liked me enough to meet his mother and have dinner with my best friend to prove his feelings for me. He actually wanted me to be apart of his life, and that I couldn't truly fathom.

I leaned my head on his bare shoulder and played with the frayed end of his white tank top.

"What are you thinking?" Ashton chuckled.

"That I'm really happy." I smiled into his tan skin.

"I'm really happy too." He smiled down at me. "I don't want to leave."

"Don't talk about it." I shook my head and buried it into his shoulder.

He giggled his glorious laugh and then pulled me into his lap, careful of hitting the tray, so he could hold me there.

"Thank you for meeting Ari and Jason last night. It meant a lot to me." I said as I felt him run his hands up and down my arms.

"Thank you for inviting me. It meant a lot to me that you wanted me to meet them." He squeezed slightly at the top of my arms then began to rub back down. "I'm excited for you to meet my mum, she's going to love you."

I smiled at the thought. "I hope so."

"I know she will." He pressed a light kiss to my hair.

"Ender should be home any time soon." I sighed and Ashton hugged me tight against him before releasing me from his hold.

We went downstairs to clean up our breakfast mess and Ashton threw a few things in his suitcase and set it by the door.

While he was turning on the television I went to start some laundry and finish the grocery list, Ender and I would go after we dropped Ashton off.

I had just shut the lid to the washer when I heard his phone ringing from the living room and a quiet groan followed after that.

"What is it, Luke?" He asked in a slightly edgier voice than he was only minutes ago.