Loving Ashe (6 page)

“Yes, that’s her,” Paige said, finishing off her wine and handing her empty glass to Riley, who refilled it immediately. “Being that her dad’s a mega-player in Hollywood, if you’re an actor wanting to have parts handed to you, you’d better cozy up to his little princess.”

“Does Ashe know this, do you think?”

Paige shrugged. “He’d be stupid if he didn’t. I mean, being with Isobel is a ticket to fame as it is because whatever she wants, she gets — especially men. And she wants her men to be successful, so whatever she wants, Daddy dearest gets for her. Anyway, I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s exactly what Ashe is doing. Abraham Reign can definitely boost his career as long as he keeps Isobel happy.”

“How do you know all this?  Is this all through Clint?”

“Remember my friend, Betty? The one who had the boob job that left one normal and the other one that scarred up and turned all hard, like a torpedo? Well, her PR company’s biggest account right now is Reign Studios, so if there’s a movie to promote, she’s there. Of course, you know better than to tell anyone what I just told you, right?” Paige said, cocking her head towards Riley.

“My lips are sealed,” Riley said, making a face.

“Speaking of Ashe, did you know he’s quite famous for something other than his acting?”

“Like I said, I just bumped into him. I made him laugh and he sent me flowers,” Riley replied. “Why? What else is he famous for? I mean, he is good-looking.”

“Good-looking, my ass! He’s hot, Ri!” Paige laughed. “Well, if you ever do get him in your bed, you’ll have to tell me all about it. Because I hear that his package is nothing to laugh about. You might even be the one to send him flowers.”

“Oh, shut up,” Riley said, covering her ears in mock protest. “I’m not interested. I’m not, I’m not, I’m not.”

“Oh, you will be when you see it on HD. He went full frontal in his first movie,
Besties
, or something like that. It wasn’t a big hit but it’s a cult classic now because his dick makes such an impressive appearance — more than once.” Paige laughed, and then grew serious again.

“Anyway, thanks for letting me know that it wasn’t Gareth you were with. You had Clint and I really nervous there for a while,” Paige continued. “He really did a number on you, Riley, dumping you like he did, and after what happened to you, I’ve never forgiven him. None of us have. What he did was low and despicable and it’s a pity that karma hasn’t caught up with him.”

“Well, it wasn’t Gareth,” Riley said, crossing her arms in front of her chest. “And no way would I ever want to see him again, not even if he called me and went down on his knees begging to see me again for old times’ sake.”

She brushed invisible lint from her jeans as she spoke, unable to look Paige in the eye, and wondered if she could ever pass as an actress.

“Liar,” Paige said, chuckling. “You so would.”

Oh, well. Guess not.

Three days later, it started with the billboards — or at least that’s when Riley finally noticed them.  She’d avoided any movie ads ever since Gareth left her, his face seeming to mock her every time.

But with Ashe, Riley couldn’t look away.

And as if the ones that popped up all over the subways and city streets weren’t enough, there was Ashe’s dark blue eyes staring back at her from Times Square and looking every bit like the hero he was supposed to be in a fitting blue-and-silver spacesuit. Isobel stood behind him, and behind her, with the signature smirk Riley knew so well, was Gareth.

Riley found herself staring at the Clear Channel Spectacolor display as the trio of actors’ faces transitioned into a fight sequence between Ashe and Gareth in an airlock. And then there was Isobel, yelling at one of the characters to move out of the way, before the scene changed again, and this time it was Ashe, his gaze seeming to be directed at her, only to be replaced by Gareth’s face, and this time, it felt as if his green eyes stared right through her.

Just when Riley thought she’d earned a big win by being able to walk away from Gareth’s booty call two weeks ago, there he was all over the place again, reminding her of the years they’d spent together, the happy times and the sad times. And then there was the empty apartment he’d left behind after the guys he’d sent were done moving their things out, leaving her with nothing but the mattress they’d shared.

Was it some sort of message? He was, after all, so much into symbolism, she thought, remembering their many deep conversations, because at least talk didn’t cost money — not when all they had some days was ramen noodle soup in the cupboard and whatever she brought home from the diner. Was it supposed to mean that the mattress was the only place they’d actually connected until such time as he found her lacking and moved on? Was that the only place he thought her good enough for?  In bed?

Riley hated the times such questions popped up, often when she least expected it. She really hadn’t gotten over him yet, she thought, even after three long years. Either that or there was simply too much of him everywhere she looked, and her self-esteem was still tied to that damn mattress even though she’d long since replaced it with a new one when she moved into her own apartment. New place, new future, new mattress. Even if no one else had shared that damn mattress with her since then — unless one counted the cat.

The next day, Tessa, one of the baristas at the Library Cafe, told her the plot of Ashe’s latest movie,
Sentience
. It was about a trio of space explorers in the distant future who end up having to battle one another when an unknown virus takes over their minds and sets them at odds.

“And they’re robots, by the way — or androids, or whatever,” Tessa said before yelling out a name that sounded like ‘Tipperary,’ then handing a medium-sized cup of coffee to a woman with purple hair.

“So this virus infects them — ” Riley began before Tessa nodded and continued.

“And they become human-like, with human emotions,” Tessa said, wiping down the counter before making another cup of espresso, this time a caramel latte with soy milk. “So, just like regular people, they could have a lot of good in them yet also have some bad traits.”

“Is Gareth Roman the bad guy?” Riley asked. She was filling in for Bill, another barista who had called in sick that day, and she had her own list of drinks to make. These included a caffè Medici, which was a double-shot espresso poured over chocolate syrup and orange peel. It was one of Riley’s signature coffee beverages, one that Paige had blogged about the previous year and still had customers coming into the Library to order.

“Oh, no!” Tessa laughed. “He’s the good guy here. It’s the other guy, that drop-dead gorgeous one, who turns out to be the bad guy! Ashe something — Ashe Hunter, that’s it. Anyway, I’m not sure, but Sydney saw the advanced screening and that’s what she said. They’ve switched it, so that the good guy becomes the bad guy. It’s the twist, though they’re not supposed to tell people and spoil it.”

“I think you just did,” Riley chuckled.

“Sorry, I got carried away.”

“No problem,” Riley said. “What about Isobel, the girl? What’s her role?”

Tessa shrugged. “Not sure, but she might be the one to save the world or something, you know, while the guys fight each other to the death. That would be good, right? Let the girl save the day while the men battle it out. Anyway, Sydney said it’s really more suspense than anything — you know, like the first
Alien
movie? Anyone expecting special effects and extended fight scenes are gonna be disappointed.”

“But I mean, it’s all in the title,” Tessa continued and Riley began to laugh. “I mean,
Sentience
. Sentient beings, beings who feel, who sense things. I mean,
doh
!”

They laughed, not caring what anyone else thought. Tessa Pollin was a new transplant to New York, having moved eight months earlier from San Francisco. She was young, bright and talkative. She and her boyfriend, Carl, were both students at the Film Institute, and both worked part-time at the Library Cafe.

Tessa loved talking about movies and pop culture, and without her, Riley would never have known about the goings-on all over entertainment and social media. She knew who was dating whom, and which movie was coming out that week. She also knew what the latest chatter was about on social media, from Instagram to Snapchat. Sometimes Riley felt like Tessa’s mother, so behind with what was hip when she should be on top of it. At twenty-three, she was only three years older than Tessa, and though she at least had a smart phone and sometimes did browse the internet, she mostly spent her free time reading her books. To further cement her reputation as the resident book nerd, once a month Riley hosted a book club at the cafe where (mostly older) people would fill the corner of the shop to discuss books.

“Are you going on a date tonight?” Tessa asked. “I saw on the schedule that you’re off tonight. Got a date?”

Tessa gave her a mischievous look as Riley frowned. “What makes you think that I’m going on a date?”

“Because you’ve got this special glow about you, that’s why,” Tessa giggled, spreading her fingers in front of her face. “It’s been there for the last two weeks. You’ve met some guy, huh? I just know it. Oh, look! You’re blushing — you did meet someone! C’mon, who is it? Spill!”

Riley felt her face burning. She snapped a hand towel at Tessa. “Shut up. I did not meet anyone. Can’t a girl glow for some reason other than meeting a guy?”

“Unless she’s pregnant, then no,” Tessa laughed. “Usually a person has to be in love or pregnant to get that glow, or even both. And, girl, you’ve got it. Your chakras are, like, lined up or something.”

Riley rolled her eyes. “For your information, you are wrong about me going on a date with a guy. Because it’s not one, it’s actually three.”

Tessa’s eyes grew wide. “Three? You mean you’re having a foursome?”

“Yup, and I’ve got quite an exciting night planned,” Riley continued smugly as she proceeded to blend an espresso. “Dinner first, followed by a movie with some popcorn, and then off to bed with all three of them. A ménage à quatre, if you will. So yes, of course I’m glowing. Who wouldn’t be?”

“Is there room for one more?” asked a pleasant baritone voice. “A ménage à cinq, perhaps?”

Riley and Tessa’s heads whipped towards the source of the voice, which had intruded into their conversation, both women’s faces turning a bright shade of red. Tessa stared at the man standing behind the counter, partially blocked by the large espresso machine. Her mouth opened and closed, as if trying to produce the name that she had spoken so easily before.

“Ashe,” whispered Riley, “what are you doing here?”

“Getting a refill for my caffè Medici,” Ashe replied in a hushed voice, grinning. He was wearing a blue beanie that gave him a boyish appearance, his day-old stubble making it look like he’d just rolled out of bed but looking like the bed he rolled out of was a GQ magazine. A tight T-shirt stretched across his torso above jeans that seemed so tight that Riley wondered if sitting down was actually possible for him. She wondered if Ashe knew the effect he had on women — and men, too, no doubt — and what he thought about it.
Well, doh — he’s an actor, dummy. Of course he knows the effect he has. He probably enjoys it and just plays it cool, like it doesn’t matter.

Hearing herself speaking in Tessa’s voice inside her head alarmed Riley momentarily, and she hoped she hadn’t said anything out loud. She’d been thinking of Ashe every day since she’d met him, and had even signed up for email alerts at the mention of his name. Because he was actively promoting his movie, her inbox was cluttered with notifications to the point of being ridiculous.

“What do I need to do to get a refill around here, a song-and-dance routine?” he asked when neither woman made a move to serve him, but his gaze stayed on Riley.

“A song and dance would be great!” Tessa blurted out but Riley snapped the towel at her. Tessa only rolled her eyes and mouthed,
party pooper
. How Ashe had managed to find out where Riley worked stumped her — short of him stalking her, which was impossible.

But how had she managed not to notice him in the shop in all that time? That was even more impossible.
How could she have missed him?
If he had ordered a caffè Medici, that meant Riley had made it for him though he hadn’t been the one to pick it up from the counter. Then she remembered that she had also been filling that crazy office order of various lattes.

“Give me a few minutes, and I’ll bring it to you,” she said, though she almost croaked the words out. “Where are you sitting?”

“Over there,” Ashe replied, pointing to a table on the patio where a beautiful blonde woman was busy typing on an iPad. Riley recognized her as the woman who had ordered a caffè Medici and a pumpkin latte earlier. She wondered where Collette was.

“What are you and your friend having?” Riley asked.

Ashe pulled out his wallet from his back pocket and placed a twenty-dollar bill on the counter. “A pumpkin latte and a caffè Medici, please.”

From the corner of her eye Riley saw Tessa pointing to herself, her mouth pantomiming I’ll bring it to him.
Pleasepleaseplease!

“I’ll have your order brought to you and no, this one’s on the house — for paying for dinner that night,” Riley said, pushing the twenty back towards him. At first Ashe opened his mouth, about to object but she flashed him a determined look.   Then he shrugged and slipped the twenty into the tip jar before turning away to join his companion.

It was difficult to concentrate on making up the new orders, but at least Tessa took it upon herself to take care of the pumpkin latte. Then Riley let her take the drinks to Ashe’s table, and prayed that the poor girl wouldn’t pass out cold from all the excitement. Maybe it had to do with being from California, Riley thought, or maybe it had to do with Tessa just being Tessa, a bona fide fan-girl.

When Tessa returned five minutes later, she was tittering with excitement and, from the way she was holding her smart phone like it was the only thing that mattered to her, Riley presumed that Ashe had taken a photograph with her.

“He took a selfie with me! Look!” Tessa squealed in a whisper. “He said that he normally doesn’t do selfies, but that he’d make an exception — because of you.”

She showed Riley a picture of herself and Ashe smiling for the camera. His smile actually reached his eyes this time, Riley thought as she congratulated Tessa and reminded her to stop fiddling with her phone lest she’d accidentally delete the picture.

“Oh, my God, if he wasn’t so into you, I’d be climbing Ashe like a tree right about now!” Tessa whispered as Riley stared at her horrified, though it was only because she had no idea what Tessa had just said.

What tree?

By five p.m., Riley was done and ready to leave the cafe. Around six, people just out of work would stream in, though it would be a lot mellower then. Customers would usually find a table or a couch where they could park themselves, open up their smart phones, tablets and laptops and, sipping their coffee, connect with the world while disconnecting from their surroundings. Riley was always grateful for those people who came in and actually spoke to one another — smiling, laughing, touching — for it reminded her that beyond all that technology, human touch was still as important as the air we breathe.

Two girls deep in conversation, their cups of coffees between them along with a lone cupcake on a saucer now occupied the table where Ashe and the woman had sat earlier. Ashe was nowhere to be seen and, given that she’d last seen him two hours earlier, Riley assumed that he’d left a long time ago.

Allen Morehouse, Library Cafe’s majority owner, arrived to take over for the evening. Riley ran through the sales figures for the day with him, and went through the inventory in the back room before slipping off her apron and collecting her purse. A stack of books that needed to be put back on the shelves caught her attention, and since they were unattended, she collected them and made her way to the shelves along the far corner.

There was a reason why Allen had called his coffee shop the Library Cafe. He had owned a bookstore ten years earlier, and when it was gobbled up by the big bookstores and the recession, he decided to combine his love for coffee and books into one place, calling it simply the Library. And while his entire inventory in those days had long been sold, these days, the books that filled the shelves were left by customers for other people to enjoy. There was also a dedicated shelf for brand new books, usually by local writers towards the back of the coffee shop, with proceeds donated to a nearby literacy program for children.

As Riley made her way to the main shelves, she saw his boots first. They were unmistakably designer boots, ones that, if she had to ask the price, clearly she couldn’t afford them — not that she needed men’s shoes. As her gaze traveled up his long legs, she wondered if he’d been waiting for her all this time. No, get a grip on yourself, Ri, she thought. Why the hell would he be waiting for you?