Accident Prone

Ashton was surprised that the other two bedrooms are furnished. Sabrina told him that she is not using them, so he expected an empty s.p.a.ce, but he was wrong.

The second bedroom has a bed and a desk and built-in shelves. It is all completed with a small sitting area and a soft area rug. There are a walk-in closet and a full bathroom attached. It is only slightly smaller than the master bedroom which Sabrina is using.

The big windows with magnificent views are facing the West, toward the piers with the Pacific Ocean in the back. The sunset is breathtaking.

Ashton nodded inwardly, "Yes, I can see myself living here, with Sabrina".

The third bedroom is matching in the size with the second one, and it"s furnished like a sitting room with oversized sofas and matching side tables. It also has a full bathroom and a walk-in closet.

Sabrina saw that Ashton is enjoying the view from the window and she enjoyed the view of him.

She didn"t realize at what point he turned to face her, but she was embarra.s.sed that she was caught staring.

Sabrina cleared her throat awkwardly and looked to the side randomly. "You can use this furniture. Or if you prefer to use yours, that is fine; I will get rid of this. I had them both set up as guest bedrooms, but no one came for a sleepover, so about two years ago I changed this one into a reading room, however, I am not using it either."

"I can do with these two rooms whatever I want?"

Sabrina confirmed. "It is your s.p.a.ce." She paused and added: "As long as you don"t demolish the walls."

Ashton smiled and followed Sabrina to the bonus room which she is using as a workroom.

Ashton paused at the door of the room which is larger than the master bedroom. He would compare the sight with the aftermath of an explosion in a library. There are papers and folders and scattered catalogs, and pieces of fabric everywhere. But the most surprising is that Sabrina was at home in this chaos.

Under all that mess, Ashton spotted traces of furniture: a sofa and one executive desk with a monitor and a keyboard and another work desk which is angled, like the desks which architects use. Most of the surfaces are covered in papers.

"You can come in…", she reminded him.

"What?", Sabrina asked when she saw that he is not moving.

"Nothing…", he mumbled and walked in while watching his step.

He observed that next to the wall on the right are boxes and that whole wall is covered with built-in shelves that are half-empty.

Sabrina noticed his amused expression and she realized that she showed him something unsightly. "Uhm… I call this an organized mess. When I work I keep things around and often I forget to pick it up. It looks horrible, but I know exactly where everything is. I clean up, maybe a few times a year… Well, if you decide to move in, I will clean up more often. Actually, I don"t need all this s.p.a.ce, so if you want, we can get one side arranged for you to study or whatever you need. When I work I listen to music, but I put a headset on so I will not disturb you."

Ashton enjoyed finding out more about Sabrina. No matter how he looks at her, she is perfect. And she remembered that he is applying for a PhD program and that he will need a s.p.a.ce to study. However, he is not sure how much he can focus on numbers if Sabrina is in the same room with him.

After checking the powder room, the linen closet, and two other smaller storage rooms, they went to the kitchen and Ashton saw the pantry and the dining area and they ended up on the sofa in the living room.

Sabrina brought them drinks, orange juice (with pulp).

"What do you think?", Sabrina asked.

"You are serious about this.", he is not sure why he said this but he needed confirmation that he is not imagining it. He can"t pick which one is more unbelievable, that he is in Sabrina"s apartment, that she asked him to be roommates, or that she said that she can"t stop thinking about him.

"Yes. I am serious.", she responded.

Ashton licked his lips nervously and took a deep breath before speaking: "I will be honest. This is a great place and I would be a fool to pa.s.s on this, but did you think about the consequences?"

"Consequences?" Sabrina paused.

She wondered, what consequences he is talking about? And then she remembered Jackson and that she is engaged, and she didn"t want to think about Jackson, but she wanted to be as close to Ashton as possible. And this is crazy, but it sounded right. He needs s.p.a.ce, and she has two unused bedrooms which he can use and at the same time, that will allow her to see his smile and those enchanting hazel eyes she can"t look away from.

"Ashton, I keep my private life private, and I don"t have people coming to my apartment. I meet with my friends elsewhere. And on an off chance if Mia or Liz or anyone else comes, I will give you a heads up but you don"t need to leave or hide because those few who might come here would be the people with whom I don"t have a problem if they know you are here."

Sabrina saw that Ashton frowned slightly and she added: "You are welcome to have people visit. I only request that you tell me in advance when someone will come. And no parties, please."

Ashton shook his head. "You don"t need to worry about parties. And those are not the consequences I had on my mind."

Sabrina was not sure what other consequences are there and her expression showed that she is confused.

Ashton closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He does not want to talk about this, because there is a chance that Sabrina will push him away, but if they don"t address the elephant in the room now, tomorrow might be too late.

Ashton turned sideways to face Sabrina and looked into her blue eyes. "Rina, are you going to deny that you are attracted to me? Because I can"t stop thinking about you and the more time we spend together, the more difficult is to stay away. And if I move in here, it is only a matter of time before this gla.s.s wall between us shatters."

He looked at her and swallowed hard. He said it. And he knows that there is a big chance that she will realize how she can"t do this and tell him that it was a bad idea and that he should forget about it…

"Rina…", he said under his breath when Sabrina"s hand slid over his.

Their fingers interlaced and he realized that her palm is sweaty. She is nervous.

"I think that the time ran out because I don"t see any wall.", Sabrina said in a whisper.

With his free hand, Ashton reached slowly toward her face and his shaky fingers traced her eyebrow, cheek, lips, and his hand moved at the back of her head and he inched closer without breaking the eye contact.

Ashton stopped when he felt Sabrina"s breath on his lips. He wanted to ask her if she knows what she is doing, but she closed the distance between them, and her taste mixed with the flavor of the orange juice and invaded his senses and he was a goner.

He gathered her close to him and deepened the kiss hungrily.

Sabrina whimpered while clinging onto him. Her mind was spinning, and she was afraid that if she lets go, she will fall off the sofa, or maybe off the planet, because everything around her was moving rapidly except for Ashton who gave her a feeling that as long as she holds onto him, everything will be all right.

Ashton pushed Sabrina backward with his body without breaking the kiss, and she provided no resistance whatsoever. He thought that she might object and not allow him to get on top of her, but her palms pressed against his back firmly and when he tried moving away, she groaned in protest.

His arousal was increasing and everything about Sabrina is perfect, and the fact that she is kissing him back is beyond amazing, but he could not ignore the reality that she is Hunter"s sister and that she is engaged to Jackson, and he was reminded that this is not just any girl. This is Sabrina Anderson. She is smart and beautiful and capable in any sense of the word, definitely outside his league.

Ashton feared that for her this is something temporary, maybe because she hit a rough patch with Jackson, and that if he goes any further it will end up badly for the both of them. Well, mostly for him.

"Sabrina…", he whispered against her lips which were half-open, eagerly expecting more kisses.

"Yes?", she whispered back.

"We should stop.", Ashton said, and he used the moment when her grip loosened to get off from her.

He observed her blonde hair spread on the gray decorative pillow under her head, and her flushed cheeks, and slightly swollen lips, and he was sure that he never saw anything more beautiful in his life.

It took Sabrina a few seconds to get out of her daze and to understand what he said. She frowned and sat up as well. "I thought you like me."

Ashton exhaled and looked into her eyes. "You have no idea how much. And that is why I don"t want to rush this. You said how this is new for you and it is new for me as well." He took her hand in his and kissed the back of her palm. "I hope that we can spend time together and advance slowly with whatever is going on between us. The last thing I want is that we wake up in the morning with regret."

Sabrina relaxed at his words. For a moment, she thought that he is rejecting her, but now she understands. She smiled. "I am OK with that. What"s next?"

He returned her smile. "When can I move in?"

"It"s up to you. I will give you the spare card key for the garage and elevator access, and the pa.s.scode to enter the apartment…"

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