it moved again. A few short minutes later, it was Noah and Ashton's turn. They grabbed their bags before saying good bye to their driver, and headed to the house.
The guys were careful to be quiet since it was 3:00 in the morning. Neither one wanted to wake anyone up, especially since they were so tired themselves. They took their time making their way through the house, not turning on any lights. Noah bid Ashton a good night and silently tiptoed to his bedroom.
Ashton stood where he was for a moment, his thoughts racing. Was this really it? Was this really their chance to make it work? It might be, but if he did what his heart was telling him to do, Kaylee might take it the wrong way. Still...he wanted to feel the warmth of her body. He missed it more than he could ever admit.
In resignation, he shook his head and started for his bedroom. As his hand reached for the door handle, he stopped, turned around, and quietly started walking in the opposite direction.
He hesitated for a split second when he reached the door at the end of the hall. Then he was in the room and putting his bags down. He stepped out of his shoes. He slowly crept to the bed and pulled back the sheets before climbing in. His body automatically molded to the shape of the warmth already there.
"Hey," Kaylee stirred slowly when she felt a weight shift on the other side of her bed. She opened her eyes to see Ashton lying next to her. Her smile was genuine and huge.
"I thought you weren't going to be home until morning. When'd you get in?"
"Just now. Sorry I woke you. Do you mind if I sleep in here?" he asked, leaning over to softly kiss her cheek.
"Not as long as you're careful. I don't want to hurt you with my cast," she sighed.
Ashton wrapped his arms around her as carefully as he could, and she snuggled back against him. After a moment he didn't even notice the cast. All he noticed was the warmth of her body against him - and suddenly, he noticed how tired he was.
Just as Ashton was drifting off to sleep, he whispered lazily, "I missed you."
Kaylee smiled and fell back to sleep.
The next morning, Ashton was the first to wake. Too excited to be home, he couldn't sleep. He knew it would be the perfect time to treat everyone to a 'Ashton special'. He quietly crawled out of bed and left Kaylee there. She was so deep in sleep that a truck could have driven through the room and she wouldn't have noticed.
Jenny woke up next, surprised to find Ashton in the kitchen. "Good morning!" she said, grabbing a mug out of the cupboard and helping herself to the coffee.
"Anything I can help with?" she offered as she looked around. Jenny smiled when she saw the bed tray, decorated with a flower, plate, and a glass of white grape juice.
"No thanks. Just sit tight and I'll have some food for you in a minute," he told her.
"Are you going to serve me on that?" Jenny asked, pointing to the tray with a knowing look on her face.
"Oh, uh, well, I thought it'd be easier for Kaylee to eat in bed. It must be hard for her to have to carry that huge cast around all the time," he explained.
"Well, it's always nice to be treated to breakfast in bed," she told him. Ashton slipped a plate of apple cinnamon pancakes in front of Jenny and poured her a glass of juice.
"Looks delicious," Jenny said.
"Thanks. Enjoy it. I need to make a special delivery," he said, picking up the now full tray. "Oh, and if Noah gets down here, there are more pancakes in the oven. I have it turned on low to keep them warm, so make sure he doesn't burn himself."
Jenny smiled as she watched Ashton leave the room, singing softly to himself. Something told her that there was more to the man that what was on the surface.
"Good morning sunshine," Ashton greeted Kaylee. "Wake up, beautiful sleepyhead. You need to eat."
Kaylee looked over groggily and moaned a half-hearted 'good morning.'
"Breakfast is served," he told her with a bad English accent.
Kaylee woke up right away and her eyes went straight to the tray. "That smells so good!" She sat up slowly, careful of her cast, her eyes never leaving the food.