Speak//Ashton Irwin

Chapter 11

Brooke:
IN THE MORNING, I WOKE up to Louis shaking my arm.
Could he really not just call my name?
"Get up. We're being forced to go to Aunt Joy's." He scowled.
Visiting Joy was something we both dreaded. Ali was great though, the problem was my cousin, Stephanie. She was one year older than me and convinced she was going to be the next supermodel.
I doubted anyone had seen her actual face in years – it was trapped under layers of inch-thick make-up. Her hair was bleached a white blonde and sat just above her shoulders in a sleek bob that was so shiny it looked like she sprayed her hair with polish.
Stephanie strived for perfection. In her eyes if you weren't perfect you weren't even worth bothering about. In front of everyone, she was sweet and innocent, but once we were alone she was bitchy and judgemental. I wasn't her idea of perfection, and she had no issue letting me know that. Basically she was a total cow and if I never had to see her again that would be fantastic.
Louis, seeing the distasteful expression on my face, said, "I know. I'll have a flask of JD. Hit me up if you need a little help." He then turned and left, closing my door on his way out.
I didn't drink, but every visit with Stephanie made me seriously question that decision.
I dressed slowly because the later we arrived there the better. In the end, Mum yelled up the stairs. After the third time I figured that was as much as I could drag it out for.
"Brooke, if you can't get up properly in the morning you won't stay out that late again," she snipped, pointing to my shoes by the front door.
Really not why I'm late, Mum.
So I didn't start an argument or give her any ammunition to refuse late nights, I did as instructed and got my shoes on. It took just under twenty minutes to get to their house. We hadn't even gotten out of the car, and I already wanted to go home. As we made our way towards the house, the front door swung open and Joy rushed out.
Joy and Mum both jumped into each other's arms and laughed. They were close in age and were like best friends as well as sisters. She gave me, Dad and Louis a kiss on the cheek and ushered us inside.
Joy's house was really modern. After she divorced Stephanie's dad five years ago, she had received a lot of money from the settlement and used it to renovate. The place was decorated with the most expensive everything. The kitchen was stainless steel and looked like it belonged in a swanky restaurant. Every one of the four rooms had en-suite bathrooms and walk-in closets. If it weren't for Stephanie, I would look forward to visiting. Joy led us into the lounge where she had laid on sandwiches and cakes. Steph was sitting on the sofa, tapping away on her phone with one hand and running her fingers through her hair with the other.
As soon as she saw us, after a momentary greeting, she launched into chatting about how she was entering a modelling contest that was being held at our local mall, and how she was hoping that would be her big breakthrough.
After what felt like half an hour of listening to her drone on about an outfit that cost her over a hundred pounds, Joy told Steph to take me upstairs and show it to me. Louis was grinning as I reluctantly got up. Just because I was a girl didn't mean I was going to go all crazy over a dress.
"It's gorgeous, isn't it?" She gushed, running her acrylic nails over the fabric of the dress hanging on the outside of her wardrobe. I nodded in agreement and tried to hide my horror. The neon pink dress must barely cover her arse.
"You should totally enter the contest! You're not exactly ugly and you can just, like, nod or something if someone asks you a question. Although, you'd need to wear something nice."
I smiled and sat down on my hands as the urge to strangle her grew stronger and stronger. I wasn't a violent person at all, but Steph really pushed me sometimes.
"Ooh, how's your gorgeous friend? You totally should have brought him with you." Steph fluffed up her hair and smirked at me.
If she uses the word 'totally' one more time...
"I decided that I'm definitely gonna be a model, that's why I'm doing the contest," she said as if I'd asked. "Modelling is more glamorous than acting, you know?"
I forced a smile, not that she looked away from the mirror to see my reaction. Thankfully, my phone buzzed as a text message came through, distracting me from wanting to murder my cousin. Ashton's timing was amazing. 'Heard you're at Barbie's! Not killed her yet? Hurry up and come home! X'.
I smiled and put the phone back in my pocket. I'd go home right now if I could.
AT SEVEN-THIRTY IN the evening, after a long day of unsuccessfully trying to avoid Steph as much as possible, Mum finally said those five beautiful words: it's time to go home. I could have kissed her I felt that relieved.
Me and Louis were out of the door and in the car before Mum could blink.
Waving goodbye to joy and Stephanie, my body relaxed and I laid back against the headrest. Louis let out a deep sigh and did the same. "Thank God that's over," he muttered, and I nodded in agreement.
Fifteen minutes later, we pulled into our drive. Ashton appeared out from his front door as if he'd been watching for us to get home.
"Mind if I steal her?" He called across our neighbour's garden when we got out of the car.
"Back by eleven, Brooke," Dad told me sternly.
Ashton grinned as he approached and the little dimple at the side of his mouth became more pronounced. So cute. "I'll walk her home just before," he told my dad as he grabbed my hand.
My heart skipped a full beat at the feel of his hand in mine. Ashton eagerly pulled me into his house and up the stairs to his room. He pointed to the bed, put a DVD on, and walked back out without a word. He was probably getting drinks and a snack.
I glanced at the movie he chose, sat on the bed and groaned internally. The Hills Have Eyes. I hated gory films. The sight of blood made me feel sick. Was he trying to make me throw up in front of him? I got under his cover and pulled my knees up. If I was going to make it through the film, I'd need to be able to hide. I grabbed his pillow and wedged it between my chest and legs where I could tuck my head into it. He was absolutely doing this on purpose.
Laughter burst from Ashton as he came back into the room and saw my position. I don't care. He sat beside me with the bowl of popcorn on his lap and bottle of Coke lying between us.
"It's not even started, you big baby," he teased, shuffling closer so our shoulders were touching.
"Was Stephanie her usual, charming self?" Oh yes. I nodded. Ashton knew what she was like. I think deep down everyone did, but they never really said anything to her about her behaviour because she would probably flip out.
"She's just jealous of you."
My head snapped up to look at him in utter shock. I raised my eyebrows sceptically. What on earth was there for her to be jealous about?
"I'm serious, Brooke. You're smart, kind, considerate, thoughtful and unbelievably beautiful," he whispered, looking into my eyes. "Don't ever let anyone make you think otherwise."
I couldn't breathe. My lungs had deflated. That was so sweet. No one had ever said anything like that to me before. Besides Mum and she was too bias for that to count.
He closed the distance between us slowly. His eyes locked on my lips for a second and he tangled his fingers in my hair. My breath caught in my throat as his nose grazed mine and his lips parted. Ashton was so close I could taste his minty breath and the shower gel he'd used.
He finally angled forwards and brushed his lips against mine. Literally less than a second later, he pulled away and stared into my eyes. I felt weightless, like gravity had been turned off and I could just float away. His forehead creased as he frowned in concentration. What's he trying to figure out? If this, us, would be worth it?
Whatever it was, he must've found the answer because he leant forward again and kissed me. He led, taking control. He bit and sucked until I was so wound up I felt like I was about to implode. I couldn't understand what was happening to me.
Ashton made my whole body feel hot, like my blood was boiling. I wanted to be closer to him, even though we were already pressed against each other. He was everything to me. I trusted him with my life, but I wasn't sure if I could take things any further than this right now. Or ever.
Surrendering to the new and confusing feelings, I dug my fingers into his back and held him tighter. Whatever was going to happen I'd deal with, right now I just wanted to feel.
He ran his hands through my hair, holding my head against his, possessing and controlling in a way that I was shocked to find I enjoyed. But when his tongue grazed my bottom lip, I froze. He wanted in. It was an intrusion and no matter how good I felt it scared me to death.
Ashton pulled back, his eyes wide with worry. "What? Are you okay?"
My stomach started doing flips. I wasn't sure if it was good or bad, so I just concentrated on him. The way his head was still tilted slightly to the side from kissing me and his deep blue eyes that were staring at me with so much intensity.
This is Ashton! I scolded myself. He would never hurt me or try to make me go further than I was comfortable. I smiled and gripped the back of his t-shirt, giving him permission to kiss me again. He didn't need any more encouragement. His lips pressed against mine. I didn't feel scared anymore.
Ashton's tongue stayed firmly in his own mouth as he realised I needed to take things a little slower. I ran my hands up his back until I got to his hair. My fingers knotted in the light brown mess. Ashton moaned in response, making my heart leap in both a good and bad way. He pulled away and smiled.
"You okay?" He whispered, in a quiet, husky voice.
Wow.
His lips were a little red and slightly swollen, but mine probably looked the same. I didn't care. I nodded in response to his question and tried not to show just how overly happy I was feeling; I would probably just look desperate. I probably do.
"Um, do you want to watch something else? We can find one of those crappy chick flicks if you want?" He asked as he bit his lip and nodded towards the TV. We both knew he didn't want to watch anything, but I think he was trying not to push me. I shook my head. Honestly, he was kissing me so TV could go to hell for all I cared.
Someone knocked on the door, breaking our moment. I jumped up, pressing my back against the wall. Ashton laughed at me and shouted for whoever it was to come in. Lauren opened the door and walked in with a huge grin on her face. Do I look live I've just been snogged senseless?
"Hi," she chirped, smirking in amusement. "So...what are you guys up to?"
Yes, she definitely knows.
"Watching a film," Ashton replied, pressing play on stupid horror. He was such a bad liar though; no one would believe we were just watching TV from the smug look on his face.
"Mmm hmm," she sang. "Of course you were."
Her voice was playful, but my face still burst into flames. Lauren made herself comfortable, sat on Ashton's bed, and started a conversation. I loved Lauren like a sister, but I really wanted to be alone with Ashton again.
"Oh, I love this film and since you were only watching TV..." she trailed off, grinning.
If looks could kill Ashton would've just murdered his sister.
Me and Ashton sat back and watched the awful film in silence. Neither one of us glanced at Lauren's triumphant face the entire time. By the end of the movie, it was time for me to go home. Lauren skipped out, giggling and blowing us a kiss.
"I'd better walk you back, I guess," Ashton grumbled.
I reluctantly stood up and smiled. We both walked back to my house at a snail's pace. Ashton wrapped his arm around my shoulder. "Home just in time, Miss Wollet," he said in his mock posh accent and bowed his head. I nudged his shoulder.
The atmosphere turned intense as we looked into each other's eyes. Was he going to kiss me or not? He took the key, put it in the lock, kissed me on the forehead before he opened the door. I took the key back as he dangled it in front of me and smiled at him appreciatively.
"You're welcome, Aves. See you tomorrow." He winked at me, jumping back before I hit him for shortening my name again. Shaking my head, I closed the front door, giving him a wave out of the window next to it as he started walking back home.
"Well, well, well. What time do you call this, young lady?" Louis said dramatically, and frowned. I looked up at the clock and then back to Louis, raising my eyebrows. I was actually five minutes early. "You and me are gonna have a little chat about you staying out all night with strange men!"
He must have been dropped on his head as a baby.
I walked past him.
"Wait," he called after me as I got to the bottom of the stairs. "Is everything okay?"
I turned around and nodded, frowning, wondering where he was going with this conversation.
"You did use protection, didn't you?"
Gasping, I spun away from him and stomped upstairs without acknowledging his stupid comment. Why would he even say it? He knew things with Ashton weren't like that. I could still hear him laughing as I shut my bedroom door. It really wasn't funny at all.
The second I got into bed my phone beeped with Ashton's usual nightly text. At least, with Ashton's texts, I ended every day on a high.