227 Sabrina in Ashton's apartmen

Ashton unlocked the door of his apartment and gestured for Sabrina to enter. "Please ignore the mess."

Sabrina wanted to say that it's not a problem, but she swallowed those words when she entered.

The first space is a kitchen with a small square dining table for four people, further down is a living area with one sofa and a television, and she can see the stairs which lead to the loft above what seems to be the closet and a bathroom.

The apartment is a nice and cozy studio, but the problem is that Ashton's clothes are everywhere. "Lack of closet space?", Sabrina asked.

Ashton avoided her gaze and moved like a flash through the living area while collecting things in his hands and pushing them into the closet. "I am sorry, if I knew you will stop by, I would tidy up. I was dressing up for the party in a rush."

Sabrina stifled a laugh because some of his clothes were on the dining table.

Three rounds of clothes-collection later, he gestured toward the sofa. "Please, take a seat."

Sabrina shook her head and smiled. "Don't bother with a cleanup. Seeing it like this helps me to see what your challenges are."

Ashton scratched the back of his head awkwardly and smiled. "You should have said so from the beginning."

Sabrina reached for the small piece of black fabric on the coffee table, hooked it on the tip of her index finger, and lifted it up. "Speedo?"

Aston grabbed his swim trunks from her hand and flicked them inside the closet. "I was thinking between these and a few other options. My final choice is at your house, in Mike's bag."

"You were planning to go for a swim?", Sabrina guessed.

Ashton shrugged. "Not really planning, but if the opportunity presents itself I want to be prepared."

"We have swim trunks for guests available."

Ashton made a face. "Yeah. I saw them. Wearing a US flag on my precious area is not my thing."

Sabrina laughed. "I see. You prefer black fabric over your precious area."

Aston knows that she is talking about his speedo which he just hid in the closet. He didn't want to continue talking about it. "Can I offer you something to drink?"

"Something strong…"

"The strongest I have is orange juice. With pulp. Or I can make a strong ginger tea." He saw that Sabrina's face is unreadable, so he explained: "I don't usually drink alcohol. An exception are parties, where I might have a beer or two. I can go and get something for you in the store downstairs if you are OK with waiting for a few minutes. Let me know what you want, so I don't get something random."

Sabrina looked at him and blinked. "No need. Orange juice is fine."

She thought about how Jackson always drinks something with alcohol in it. And Jackson is prim and proper in front of others, while he is lecherous when no one is watching. No matter how she looks at Ashton, he seems to be a total opposite of Jackson. A nice guy. Sabrina frowned at her thought: Since when is she thinking of Jackson as a not-nice guy?

Sabrina leaned back on the sofa and closed her eyes.

"Is everything OK?", Ashton asked Sabrina when he placed a glass with orange juice on the table in front of her.

She opened her eyes and watched him as he sat on the sofa, as far away as possible from her, like he is afraid to touch her.

"Why do you think that something is wrong?"

Ashton shrugged. "Just a guess. Feel free to ignore it."

Sabrina didn't respond. She eyed the space and asked: "What are you trying to do with this?"

"As I mentioned, my lease will run out in one month and I was thinking of getting a bigger place, but the rents are crazy high. I can't afford a single bedroom and for a studio, this is as big as it gets. Most of my exercising gear is downstairs in the community storage and more than once it disappeared on me. I would need more storage, open and closed shelving and hopefully a place for my bike and skis, the rest are smaller things. The more storage, the better."

Sabrina looked at the ceiling. "There are options to put things up. With high ceilings like these, that is definitely an option. Depending on your budget, the storage can be motorized so that it lowers itself for easy access and it stays up to save you space… and this wall is not utilized…"

Sabrina started listing various options and Ashton listened carefully. He showed her the bathroom and the closet (which is now completely messy because he only dumped his things in there), and then Sabrina went up the stairs in the loft area.

Just as Sabrina guessed, the upper loft area is used as a bedroom. There is a mattress on the floor and low bookshelves on each side.

"Watch your head.", Ashton warned Sabrina when she climbed up.

The ceiling is low so she needs to stay on her knees in order not to bump her head.

Sabrina was curious about the books he has. She got on all four and crawled toward the biggest piles of books.

Ashton waited for Sabrina to come down, but after a few minutes of silence he climbed up to check on her.

He blinked at the sight of Sabrina who is sitting on the mattress (aka his bed) and checking out the books. He stared at her hands who held onto the book and he was confident that before this moment he never thought of book-holding as seductive. Somehow, at that moment, he realized that he is absolutely smitten.

Sabrina noticed him. She smiled. "Chaos theory… Dynamic systems… This is not what a usual sports freak reads."

"Sports freak? From where you got that?", he grumbled while climbing up. "I like to be active, you should say that I am healthy and not a freak!"

Sabrina stifled a laugh. "Sorry. It's just that whenever Hunter mentions you, it's in the context of hiking or hockey or skiing or some other strenuous activity. And even now for storage, you mentioned a bike and skis, so I assumed…" Sabrina exhaled. "I apologize. You like math?"

Ashton confirmed. "I am preparing paperwork to apply for a PhD program in math."

"A nerdy sports freak…", Sabrina teased him.

Ashton made a mocking face and Sabrina burst into giggles.

"I'm sorry…", Sabrina apologized. "I don't mean to make fun of you…"

"You are beautiful when you laugh.", Ashton blurted out. He saw that Sabrina is staring at him and he stuttered: "I shouldn't have said that. I didn't mean to make you feel weird."

Sabrina smiled sadly. "It's been a long time since someone called me beautiful."

Ashton frowned. "How is that possible? You are the most beautiful woman I've ever seen. If I'm in Jackson's place, I would tell you every day how amazing you are."

Sabrina's smile widened. "Thank you."

Ashton looked at Sabrina with a complex expression. "Rina? Are things between you and Jackson OK?"

Sabrina exhaled. Ashton is a nice guy, but she does not want to tell him about her deal with Jackson. She would not tell Liz either, but Jackson hit on Liz and Liz was feeling guilty about it, so Sabrina decided to tell her in order not to make Liz feel like she is the cause of disruption in an otherwise happy relationship.

But Ashton will get an answer like everyone else who suspects that something is off. "It's complicated."

Ashton pressed his lips into a line and nodded. He understood that she does not want to talk about it. "Don't let him bully you. You are a queen who should be worshiped, and you deserve nothing less than that."

Ashton gazed in Sabrina's deep blue eyes and a desire to hold her and kiss all her worries away swelled inside him. But he knew that he shouldn't. And he knew that he needs to increase the distance between them before he does something he can't take back. He moved to leave the loft area, and he froze when he felt that Sabrina is holding onto his hand.

Sabrina saw Ashton turn toward her in slow motion and he stared at her, obviously expecting an explanation. But Sabrina didn't have any to give. She knew that she enjoys his company and his sweet words and his smile, and she doesn't want him to leave. Actually, she wants to get closer.

The low ceiling of the loft provided an illusion of a tightly enclosed space, like a shield from anything or anyone outside of it… a space where they can do whatever they feel like without considering the consequences.

With every passing moment, the unknown energy between them increased, pulling them closer and they were unable to resist it.

Ashton cupped her cheek with his palm.

"Sabrina…", he whispered with the hope that she will snap out of this daze and maybe push him away because he does not have the strength to move away. And he does not want to be away from Sabrina either.

But instead of pushing him away, she inched closer and when her lips grazed over his, electric shocks jolted his insides and Ashton was sure that his heart stopped beating.

Ashton knew that he shouldn't. He knew that she is taken. He knew that this does not have a future. But he felt her loneliness and his heart ached for her and he dreamt about claiming Sabrina's lips many times before. And right now, she is so close that there is no turning back.

Ashton cradled Sabrina in his arms and kissed her again, and again, and again… longingly and passionately, like every kiss is the last one. And she tasted divine. And the way she clung onto him told him that she likes it and that she wants more.

Sabrina knew that they shouldn't. After all, she is taken. It does not matter how she got engaged, because even a fake engagement is still an engagement. But Ashton's kisses made her feel needed and they unlocked a surge of emotions which she kept somewhere deep inside for a long time, and above all, his every kiss made her feel desired.

That is something Jackson never did; he never made her feel like a woman. And Sabrina was greedy for that feeling so she could not stop kissing Ashton. It is a feeling that someone wants to cherish her and devour her at the same time. Desired.

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