Getting to Know You

Chapter 9

Chapter 9: 
ASHTON’S POV: 

I woke up when I felt Natalie’s arms wrap around my waist.  She kissed my collarbone lightly before nuzzling into my neck, her hot breath tickling my skin.  "Ashton?"  

"Hmmm?"  I mumbled, fighting a yawn.  I didn't know what to expect this morning, but I wasn't expecting Natalie to look... happy.  She smiled lazily, still tired from sleep, and took my face between her hands.  "Ashton, thank you."  She whispered.  Her smile faltered, but only for a moment.  "Natalie, you don't have to thank me."  I said, sad that she thought she had to.  She shook her head.  

"Thank you."  She said again, brushing her lips against mine.  I kissed her back, but felt guilty soon after.  After last night, I didn't want her to think I was taking advantage of her in any way.  I was going to be respectful, gentlemanly, even.  I pulled back, chuckling as I ran my thumb across her bottom lip that was sticking out as she pouted.  My eyes drifted down to her neck, and I grimaced at the slightly discolored skin.  How anybody could treat another person they way Marcus treated Natalie was beyond me. 

Natalie sighed, rolling over so she was straddling my waist. I groaned internally, realizing that not taking advantage of her was definitely going to be a struggle.

"No." She said, poking me in the chest.

"What?"  I asked, trying, and failing, to keep my hands to myself.  I slid my hands up her legs, reveling in the feeling of her smooth skin.  I gripped beneath her thighs, pulling myself up to a sitting position.  Once our eyes were level, she held my chin between her thumb and index finger, making sure I wasn't looking anywhere but at her.  "No pitying.  No 'I feel bad for you' eyes.  Not from you."  She said.  I stared at her for a moment, taking her in. Her brown eyes, her messy brown curls...  If I had on my 'I feel bad for you eyes' before, I definitely didn't now.  

"Got it?"  She asked, trying to sound threatening.  She was the farthest thing from scary, and she knew it.  She tried to hide her smirk as she glowered at me.  I laughed, slipping my arms around her waist.  "Got it."  I said.  She nodded once, kissing the tip of my nose before she stood up and disappeared into the bathroom, taking her bag with her. 

I heard the water turn on in the bathroom and groaned, rolling onto my stomach and burying my face in Natalie's pillow.  It smelled like her and I groaned again, trying not to think about the fact that Natalie was taking a shower in my house... down the hall... only fifteen feet away, tops. 

I laid on the bed, waiting for Natalie to finish showering so I could do the same.  When she came back into my room, she was in her bra and a pair of cutoffs, rifling through her bag as she looked for a shirt. 

"What are you doing?"  I asked, silently cursing her for making my being gentlemanly so difficult.  "Don't be bashful, Ash."  She smirked, holding up a worn out tank top with the American flag printed on the front.  "You've seen me like this before, you little peeping Tom."  She joked, throwing her shirt over her head. 

"That was a happy accident."  I said, remembering when I had gone to her window to get her number, only to find her without a shirt on.  

"It's too bad I didn't get there sooner."  I joked, standing up.  And it really was a shame.  

"Yeah... too bad."  She smirked, biting her bottom lip.  

I stared at her for a moment, mesmerized by the way she was tugging her bottom lip between her teeth.  Really, all I wanted to do was push her up against the wall and bit her bottom lip myself.  "I'm... I'm going to take a shower."  I said stupidly, shaking my head clear as I rummaged through my closet to get a change of clothes.