Nothing Left to Lose (47 page)

Her gaze
flicked in that direction and her eyes widened. “Wow, they’re
freaking hot!” she gasped. I chuckled and nodded in agreement.
“Which one is your boyfriend? Ah, I bet it’s the one with black
hair, he hasn’t taken his eyes off you yet.” She nudged me in the
side, smiling.

I grinned,
looking over to see that Ashton was indeed watching me like a hawk
to make sure I was alright. “Yep, that’s him,” I confirmed. “You
can wait with us if you want, it’s no problem. It’s better than
standing here on your own.”

She nodded in
agreement, smiling gratefully as she picked up her drink. “I’m
Michelle, by the way.”

“Anna.” When
the barman set a tray down on the bar, I slid my money across the
wood and then we made our way across to the boys’ table. “Guys,
this is Michelle, she’s going to wait with us for a bit for her
friends,” I introduced, nodding at her.

Nate’s face lit
up as he stood. “Hi, Michelle. I’m Nate.” He took her hand and
looked straight into her eyes, leaning in a little too close for an
informal greeting. A blush spread across her cheeks.

I laughed and
turned my attention to Ashton, who looked like he was finally
relaxing now that I was back at his side. On quick inspection, I
noticed that there weren’t enough chairs with Michelle here too, so
I smiled and sat myself on Ashton’s lap, placing his orange juice
down in front of him.

“So, what will
it take for me to get you to drink and enjoy your birthday?” I
inquired.

He grinned,
shrugging. “I don’t need to drink to enjoy my birthday. I’ve had
the best day of my life with you today.”

My insides
melted as I pressed myself closer to him. I still wanted to see him
loosen up though. “Please? Just a drink or two, I’ll do anything
you want,” I offered, raising one eyebrow suggestively.

He gulped, and
I could almost see the dirty thoughts running through his mind. “I
don’t want anything,” he protested, but at the same time he licked
his lips. I was no body language expert, but that subconscious move
told me that he wanted something.

Raising my
hand, I ran one finger around the collar of his shirt, tracing his
skin with my fingertip. “There must be something that you want, or
that I can do for you,” I whispered in his ear. My skin prickled as
I thought about all the things that I could do as a bribe for
getting him to have a drink with me. There wasn’t that much that I
wasn’t up for tonight. Tonight I would make sure he had a
spectacular birthday. I smiled and pulled away teasingly, making
him groan. “One drink and you can name your price,” I offered,
smirking at him.

“Baby Girl,
come on, I can’t. It’s not that I don’t want what you’re offering
because damn, that sounds like the best offer I’m ever going to get
in my life, but I can’t do that, I won’t,” he answered sternly.

I sighed and
shook my head. I’d keep working on him; he’d cave eventually even
if I had to insist that he suck a shot from my belly button. “You
will by the end of the night,” I disagreed knowingly. He shook his
head sternly and smiled confidently, both of us sure of the
outcomes. He’d give in though, I was sure of it, he wasn’t that
strong.

Giving up for
now, I turned my attention back to Nate. He and Michelle were
locked in the middle of a full scale makeout session. I smiled and
shook my head incredulously. The stories that Ashton had told me
about his best friend being the master of seduction were clearly
not exaggerated.

Two hours later
and I was having a fantastic night. Michelle’s friends had turned
up a little while later, so she’d made her exit – not before keying
her number into Nate’s cell phone and telling him to call her
later. I’d made sure not to drink too much; I’d only had three
drinks before moving onto orange juice too. Nate and Ashton’s other
friends were growing on me more and more by the second. Los Angeles
was turning out to be everything I thought it would be, and
more.

“Ashton, your
turn for drinks, bud,” Nate announced, knocking on the table to get
his attention. Ashton groaned and stood, sending me a meaningful
look that told me to stay put and not move. I watched as he
deliberately walked to the corner of the bar so that he could still
see me easily. I grinned and shook my head at how overprotective he
was. Nate turned to me and smiled. “So, where did you two meet
anyway? Ashton never said.”

Okay, time
for some fun; let’s see how gullible Nate is!
“We met in a
strip club, I gave him a dance,” I lied, shrugging casually.

“Shut up!
You’re a stripper?” Nate cried with wide eyes.

“No!” I
snapped, faking horror.

“Oh, sorry, I
just thought when you said… oh, never mind,” Nate stuttered,
smiling apologetically.

“I’m most
certainly not a stripper. I’m a lap dancer,” I replied, trying not
to laugh as he choked on his beer.

“A lap dancer?”
he asked, shocked.

“Yep, there’s a
big difference.”

Ashton came
back then, setting the drinks down on the table. He smiled but
didn’t ruin my game as he slid into the seat next to mine.

“Really? You’re
serious?” Nate inquired.

I grinned. It
looked like Nate was extremely gullible after all! “Yep,” I nodded,
trying to keep a straight face.

“Well, how
much, Anna? I’ll take one,” he chirped, grabbing his wallet out of
his pocket, grinning like crazy.

“How much you
got?” I leant in as he opened his wallet.

He counted for
a couple of seconds. “Fifty eight dollars and twenty five cents,”
he answered, looking at me hopefully.

I waved my hand
dismissively. “Nowhere near enough,” I replied, scrunching my nose
up. Ashton laughed, so I turned to him and raised one eyebrow.
“You, on the other hand, can get one for one drink. Two drinks will
get you a private one. And for three drinks, I’ll do it in my
sexiest underwear,” I offered. He groaned and a pained looked
crossed his face.

“I’ll buy you
three drinks, Anna,” Seth interjected, jumping up quickly.

I shook my
head, smiling apologetically. “Sorry, Seth, your price is much
higher. This one’s just for my man,” I explained. I scooted to the
edge of my seat, pressing my side against Ashton’s as I leant in
closer, leaving our mouths millimetres apart. “Three drinks is all
it takes. I might even forgo the no touching rule, seeing as it’s
your birthday.” My body was begging for him to accept, I would
definitely forgo the no touching rule they usually had for lap
dances.

“I can’t,” he
whined, looking at me pleadingly.

I shrugged
nonchalantly. “Offer expires at midnight, that’s when your birthday
is officially over.” I ran my nose up the side of his, listening to
my heart thumping wildly in my chest.

“Anna, please?”
he begged, closing his eyes.

“Anna please…
what?” I asked, nibbling on the edge of his jaw.

“You’re killing
me,” he moaned, shaking his head. I pressed my lips to his, kissing
him gently before pulling back and grinning wickedly.

From the corner
of my eye, I saw Nate stand and walk off. A minute later he came
back and set three shot glasses down in front of Ashton. “You’ve
only got until midnight before the offer expires, Taylor. If I were
you, I would drink them the hell down, right now,” he suggested,
looking at me longingly.

Ashton glanced
at his watch and groaned. “It’s ten to twelve now.”

I smiled. He
was definitely wavering. “Well, how about you do one shot and I
give you a taster, and if you like it you can do the other two,” I
offered. I watched his face as the offer sank in. He wanted it
badly. As if unable to help himself, he picked up one of the
glasses. My stomach clenched in anticipation of having to give him
a lap dance in front of everyone, but the alcohol in my system was
giving me the confidence. Putting my hand on the bottom of the
glass, I guided it towards his lips, watching his face as he tried
to decide.

Before he could
make up his mind though, a fight broke out in the bar. I didn’t
even get the chance to flinch before Ashton was out of his seat and
had yanked me to my feet, pushing me against the wall as he stepped
in front of me protectively. As sounds of a struggle rang out, I
hooked my fingers into his belt loops and stayed still and quiet,
just like he had taught me to.

Within minutes,
it was broken up and two drunks were thrown out of the bar. Ashton
turned to face me, cupping my face in his hands as he bent and
planted a sweet kiss on my forehead. “I’m not having a drink. Now
don’t ask me again,” he said sternly. His tone told me that this
was the end of the conversation. I nodded in agreement, knowing he
wouldn’t change his mind now. That little fight had spiked his
protective instincts, he wouldn’t waver again.

When we got
back to the table, he took a seat and gripped my waist, pulling me
down onto his lap. Nate shook his head and laughed. “Bud, talk
about overreaction. That fight was never coming over here,” he
mocked.

“I don’t care.
I’m not having Anna near anything like that,” Ashton replied,
shrugging.

Reaching out, I
picked up one of the shots, pushing another towards Nate. “Cheers.”
I chinked my glass against his and then knocked back the shot.

Nate smiled and
downed the drink at the same time I did. “Is it after midnight
already?” he asked, grinning as he rolled his eyes at Ashton. “I
can’t believe you blew your chance.”

“Maybe another
night then,” I said shrugging. I hadn’t ruled out the possibility
of giving him one anyway if he asked me nicely. After what he was
doing for me, I owed him something. If I wasn’t here with him
tonight, he would be drinking with his friends, instead of working.
I was ruining his birthday celebrations. Ashton looked like he
wanted to say something. His mouth opened, but nothing came out.
“Cat got your tongue, Pretty Boy?” I teased, looking into his
beautiful green eyes.

He nodded. “I
guess. It’s just… what’s got into you today?”

I smiled and
shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m just having a great time here in LA
with you.”

He grinned at
me happily. “Well I’m having a great time here in LA with you too,”
he replied, kissing my cheek.

“Hotties at
three o’clock!” Nate announced, nudging Seth in the side.

“I call the
redhead!” Seth said quickly.

“Damn it! I was
gonna call the red!” Nate grumbled, clearly annoyed. I laughed and
shook my head as they stood up and walked over to the girls with
their game smiles plastered on their faces.

“Wanna dance?”
Ashton offered, nodding at the busy dance floor. His hand traced my
back slowly, causing my skin to break out in goosebumps. I nodded
in agreement, and we wove through the crowd.

Dancing with
Ashton seemed to spark something in me every time it happened.
Maybe it was just the way that his body fitted so perfectly against
mine, or maybe it was the close proximity, or maybe it was that his
hands rested firmly on my ass. Whatever it was, it seemed to send
my body into a frenzy of excitement.

As we swayed to
the heavy beat of the song, his eyes never left mine. Everything
around us faded into insignificance as I lost myself in his gaze.
My heart was racing in my chest as my stomach fluttered with
excitement and longing. Raw passion was building inside me, and
this time I wouldn’t be able to contain it or stop it. Tonight I
was giving him the best birthday ever, and at the same time I was
going to allow myself to be happy for once. I wanted one night of
pure, unadulterated bliss in his arms, with no guilt about it
after, and no regrets. Tonight I was thinking of myself and putting
aside what always held me captive to my emotions. Tonight I was
going to pretend that what Ashton and I had was real, instead of
just being for his job. If we made some rules, and agreed on one
night, tomorrow we could pretend this never happened and we could
both move on from it.

When the song
changed to a slow one, he pulled me closer to him. His eyes didn’t
leave mine as the desire raged inside me. My heart clenched as a
small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. He really had the
most incredible smile I’d ever seen. Dancing with him in the
semi-darkness, with his body pressed against me and his face inches
from mine was easily the most romantic moment of my life and my
whole body was tingling.

I gulped,
swallowing the lust that made my mouth dry. “Ashton, will you take
me home please?” I tangled my fingers into the back of his hair and
pulled his forehead against mine.

He nodded,
kissing the tip of my nose before pulling back and taking my hand.
He led us back to the table, smiling at Wayne and Ryan. “We’re
leaving, see you tomorrow. Tell Nate and Seth we said bye,” he
said. I waved and let him lead me out of the bar. As we walked the
short distance to his place, neither of us spoke, but it wasn’t an
uncomfortable silence.

Once we got
back to his apartment building and climbed the stairs to his door,
he fumbled in his pocket for his keys. I couldn’t wait any longer.
The ache for him was actually painful, and I felt like I was
trapped inside my own body and I needed to get out. Stepping
between his body and the door, I went up on tiptoes and pressed my
lips to his. His body stiffened, but he kissed me back immediately,
pushing me against the door, pinning me there with his body. I
moaned into his mouth as the kiss deepened. My whole body was
throbbing with excitement.

When his hands
slid down to my rump, lifting me off my feet, I wrapped my legs
around his waist and kissed him passionately, releasing all of the
feelings that had been trapped inside me since this happened two
months ago. He fumbled with his keys and then we were inside the
apartment. He kicked the door closed behind us and carried me to
his bedroom, never once breaking the kiss as he pressed me into the
soft mattress.