Nicolas Newton held her hands and stared deeply into her hazel eyes. Her palm was so soft to his touch and he rubbed it continuously as he relished their time together. The pub lights shone every now and then on a part of her sleepy face and he chuckled to himself -She had been a very beautiful girl even in her despair and he was only going to make her more beautiful as his own.
"Babe" he whispered softly into her ears. She looked like she was a little dizzy from the cocktail and that's why he held her close, away from those prying eyes and horny dudes at the pub.
Her cocktail dress was a little free from the hips down,and yet it didn't hide her curvy frame, besides it was a little damp from the drinks she poured on herself as she staggered towards a seat on her own, in the middle of the party.
She had been yelling at him when he tried to touch her and the other men had thought he was some guy wanting to take advantage of her.
Only the invited guests knew him to be the only son of the business moguls in town, the Newtons and so they automatically assumed she was his girlfriend
And only Nick understood her sentiment.
Ashley was usually like this and he knew it was because of the state of things in her family.
She was used to being taken advantage of, bullied or controlled but despite her drunk state, she had refused to be vulnerable. She only stopped pushing him and yelling at him when he leaned in to kiss her on the lips.
It had been the softest, quickest kiss ever but it did its job- she immediately fell in his arms voluntarily and shut her eyes with a wry smile playing on her lips.
"You drank too much, babe" he whispered rubbing her hair and balancing it on his chest. He looked around and found a million eyes glancing their way.
It was expected as he was the son of the wealthy Newtons who started this cocktail party which was in fact his own pub, and now that he made his mark in the girl's life, no one dared go near her even if he left her there to be sober, but he was not going to.
Not on his nelly.
"Mmmmmh" she mumbled something and when he lowered his ear to listen to her, he nodded inarguably. She had said, "Don't leave me, baby" and then passed out after.
Nick lifted her in his arms and dashed out of the pub towards the rooms upstairs.
Everyone followed his steps with their gaze, some bowing as he passed by, and others mouthing a "Beautiful love" comment at his romantic gestures.
Nicolas set her on the bed in the king-size bedroom upstairs. Then he slightly unzipped her dress and watched her sleep. It was her first cocktail party ever, and he hit himself for letting her drink so much.
It didn't matter that he was a public figure- some men could still have taken advantage of her and that's only because assholes were simply assholes, especially as they didn't know until then that she was his girlfriend.
If his parents were at the pub with him, they would not have approved of Ashley, judging by her lowly background, and that was why he did not invite them.
He wasn't about to hurt the pretty girl's heart more than it was already hurt.
It was his own pub and he could do whatever he wanted in it.
"Baby" she mumbled a few minutes later. "Stay with me" He bent down and kissed her forehead and then laid beside her, tugging at her long, dark hair.
**************
Nicolas opened his eyes slowly, shielding his face from the blinding rays of sunlight seeping in through the purple curtains.
His stomach was rumbling. He hadn't had anything to eat since his girlfriend's accident. Yet he was in no mood for some food.
He got up slowly and to his dismay, Ash was not on his bed. He had been dreaming. About their second date at the pub two and a half years ago. It looked too real, like it was happening all over again but he had woken up from the revelation of the moment.
He got up immediately searching for her everywhere, in the bathroom, lounge, dining room and kitchen and even his study room.
Reality dawned on him seeing that Ashley was nowhere around his house. Was she going to leave so soon after coming back to him?
He started back into the house after some minutes but decided to check the pool once more. Ashley had always liked that place.
He walked to the spot where they usually sat at the edge of the pool, and sure enough, she was there, feeling the water with her legs-her left one still heavy with band-aid.
He stood transfixed to the spot as he didn't know how to react. He tried to sneak back into his room but it was too late; she had caught him.
"Good morning baby!" She yelled, with her hands splashing the water. "Come here, let's swim together!"
He stood there staring at her reflection in the pool. She looked like she wasn't there and that he was only imagining it, no matter how real she appeared to be.
He was so lost in thoughts that he didn't know she was already right in front of him.
"Did you sleep well?" She asked, smiling sheepishly. He tried to touch her but she recoiled and he could swear that her stance was awkward that moment.
"Nick, you can't touch me, please" she begged. "Let's just go swim together!"
"Why?" He asked
"I'm vulnerable right now and you look so good right now too" she chuckled, seeing that she got a smile out of him.
She pulled him into the pool dragging his shirt, and he relished their moment together praying silently that it would last.
The other day he had found her lying dead in the alley and reported her death to her parents the following day, but now she was hovering around him acting like all was well.
He could have sworn he was just overthinking it, but there she was, with the proof of her accident- her injured leg. It was crazy.
Twenty five minutes into their swimming, his neighbor stopped by with a basket of apples.
Old Mrs Nelson knew Nicolas to be a public figure, a well-to-do person but she never stopped bringing him fruits and veggies every time she harvested them in her dainty little orchard and he never rejected them too.
He was a happy, carefree child and she was going to be his friend for as long as they lived next to each other.