"What do you want to do?"

Ashley's forehead creased at the question Dave asked her. "What do you mean by what do I want to do? Get out of here of course. Do you think I want my ex-husband to catch me in his room that I just trashed? He could sue me or something."

Dave whispered back, "You are overreacting. How would he sue you for such a thing? Besides, he damaged your property first."

"I will assume you are being funny at the moment." Ashley pushed him away gently. "There is a window in my parent's room that leads outside, we can leave through there."

"Okay. Let's hurry before this crazy ex of yours walks in on us."

Ashley could already picture the smug look that would be on Kevin's face if he did walk in. And after that, once he sees the chaos she made in his precious room, a distraught face would follow.

That would be a sight that would gladden her. It was too bad that she wouldn't be able to stick around to see it.

Pulling Dave's hand, Ashley made for the suggested room.

And as they advanced their quiet steps, a part of Ashley wished that she would see something in her parent's room that would assure her that her childhood memories of her father were still intact.

That part of Ashley was disappointed.

The vanity that was pressed against the wall, right beside the bed, held certain pictures. And those pictures told her that her father's presence had been thoroughly wiped from the house.

As though he sensed her hesitation, Dave tugged at her arm, bringing her out of the sadness she was about to delve into.

"Come on, let's go. Which window is it?"

Ashley tore her eyes from the picture frames of her mother and Kevin that were elegantly displayed on the vanity and the reckless duo soon found themselves jumping out of one of the low windows that was adjacent to the bed.

Once outside and close to Dave's car, Dave tugged at her arm again, causing her to stop walking.

As her brows lifted in query, Ashley could not help but remember the short, heated moment they shared earlier.

She could not lie to herself. The way she felt when their lips met was strange to her, but it was strange in a good way.

And, she loved the kiss.

But that made the situation more dangerous.

She was a woman who was still trying to heal from a pain that was still being inflicted to her dismay, she was still delicate at heart.

And Ashley was not sure that she could trust her heart not to fall for Dave Scott because it seemed her body had. And if there was something she did not want happening, it was experiencing increased heartache.

Ashley knew she had to find a way to make sure that whatever happened in her former room did not happen again.

And that was for the best.

"Earth to Ashley. What are you thinking about?"

Her mouth formed a thin line before she said, "Dave, whatever happened back there..."

"Let's not talk about that." The look that grazed his face before he interrupted her caused a short pull on her chest. Did he regret kissing her or what? "For now, we need to focus on making you feel better."

Ashley nodded, tears at the tip of her tongue. As she swallowed them, she chastised herself for giving herself up to be explored so easily. He probably saw her as some desperate divorcee at that point.

Gosh, she was such an idiot.

When she reluctantly entered Dave's car, Ashley made up her mind to stick with her earlier decision of not letting their make-out session happen again.

And she chastised herself once again for being so easily moved to tears by something so little.

~

"This is where we part for the day," Dave announced when he found a space in the parking lot of his grand company.

Ashley nodded in response, her hand on the door handle, her mentally tired self eager to jump into her car, drive home, and have a few glasses of wine.

"Hey, look at me," Dave urged.

And, Ashley refused to be moved by the gentleness his voice carried.

It was all a pretense to her. That was the conclusion she came to after the dismissive and taunt look he gave her before.

"Goodbye, Dave."

"Ashley, is this about the kiss we shared?"

Ashley was tempted to reply to him. She wanted to ask the many questions on her mind, but she gave in to the weariness in her soul and made to open the car door.

But Dave stopped her by grabbing onto the wrist of her free hand.

"It is about the kiss, isn't it? I..."

"What?" Ashley ensured that she was looking straight at the pruned bushes in front of them. "What do you want to say? That you regret it? I don't care about what you think, Dave Scott."

Ashley could hear how silly she was. She thought she sounded like a crazy, deprived teenage girlfriend, but she was too frustrated to give a damn about that.

A lot of seconds passed and a single word didn't fall from Dave's lips. Curious and trying not to let her ridiculous anger show Ashley turned to face him.

She saw the way his eyes were narrowed on her and that caused her anger to run away.

But Ashley refused to let him get to her. Squaring her shoulders, her right hand reaching for the door handle again, she said, "If you have nothing to say, I will take my leave."

"I don't regret kissing you," Dave's confession was barely audible but Ashley heard him and she felt an instant relief wash all over her soul. Before she faced him, she prayed that her face was not showing the things she felt within her. "Damn it, Ashley Steve, I am attracted to you. I am not going to lie."

The way he said those words reminded her that she really needed to stay away from him. The way his eyes danced whenever he said such words could make her fall in love with him within a second. And that was scary.

But at the same time, his words filled a ditch in her broken heart. He made it so hard for her to run away from him.

'Gosh, didn't I just meet this man?' Ashley thought as she fought the urge to fan her face with her hands as though that would be enough to quench the heat that quickly enveloped her.

"I don't regret kissing you," Dave picked up from where he left his heart-turning words. "I just shouldn't have done it at that moment. I should have held myself back. You are going through a difficult moment, and we should be focusing on making you feel better about yourself. If we go about kissing at every opportunity, I am afraid there will be more damage done at the end of the day."

"What are you saying then?" she quietly asked, her wide eyes beaming, her mind hoping that his suggestion would contradict her intention to stay away from him.

Dave brought his lips to her hand. The warmth that came with that action was soothing enough for Ashley who was trying to stop her lips from breaking into a huge grin.

"Let's just focus on fixing you. Hopefully, other things fall in place."

Hopefully.

Her eyes watching him carefully, she said, "I am sorry for lashing out earlier, that was a stupid thing to do."

"Ashley," he smiled, and she almost did the same, "you just came back from a house that reminded you a lot of someone who betrayed you. I understand if you want to do crazy and stupid things. Besides, isn't life about being stupid sometimes? And I am sure doing reckless things once in a while isn't a crime."

Ashley shrugged.

At that point, Ashley did not want to leave. And she did not.

Sitting back, feeling more comfortable, her head went on to lean on the headrest.

"How do you feel?" he asked.

"What do you mean?"

"After what you did today, how do you feel?"

Ashley recalled the amount of anger she had released and a sigh of relief left her soul. And, she replied, "Before you came along, my days were highly sorrowful. Each time I woke up from my deep sleep, it always felt like there were a lot of creatures inside my heart, making it heavier by the second to breathe and live. But today, after I screamed the heck out of my soul, I felt some of those creatures leave." Their eyes met. "Those creatures left for good."

"I like good reviews." Ashley returned Dave's smile.

Few seconds of silence after and she said, "I guess this is the part where I get going."

"See you tomorrow, Ashley Steve."

She cocked a brow, not hiding the surprise she felt. But when he tossed her a grin, she realized he meant his words. With a teasing tone in her voice, she asked, "Tomorrow, uh? See you tomorrow, then."

When Ashley got to her car and began her drive home, her lips maintained a smile she couldn't wash off.

She was eager for the next day to come. She was eager to see Dave Scott again.