(last chap before break. decided to end this first.)
[Edward POV]
"Did you take long to plan that? Wow…" I teased, a playful smirk on my face.
Ashley blushed slightly, a hint of embarrassment creeping onto her cheeks. She chuckled dryly, but her expression quickly shifted from disappointment to elation when I continued, "Lucky for you, I'm a sucker for stuff like that. It reminds me of the anime I've watched."
"Oh, that works? You're easy," she teased flirtatiously.
I pretended to be baffled, raising an eyebrow. "I'm a man. We will talk to a tree if they start a conversation with us. This is the first time a girl ever tried to pick me up, so I'm really looking forward to what you have in store."
"Sorry to disappoint, but that's it. I didn't plan further than that." Ashley said with a slight smirk, her hand resting gently on my forearm.
I scoffed, feigning offense. "You already threw the conversation to me?"
"Isn't that a man's job?" she shot back playfully. "I tried using the old subtle look at you, but you ignored it all."
"Yeah, I did that on purpose," I admitted with a grin, enjoying the playful back-and-forth. She looked a bit taken aback and said, disappointedly, "Should I take that as a hint to get lost then?"
I didn't respond directly to that. Instead, I said, "I had a plan in mind to decompress alone, but the plan has changed. Want a drink—wait, I shouldn't offer you this one." I turned, scanning the deck for a staff member to bring her a drink, but I couldn't find anyone.
"Why not?!" she asked incredulously. "Are you the type not to share your drinks?"
I turned back to her and replied, "This is almost pure vodka. I know I'm drinking it, but I don't want to be the one who offers it to underage girls."
She exclaimed in realization, slightly nodding her head. "I was thinking it was weird that you were drinking sparkling water like taking a shot. It's fine. I can drink it."
"Yeah, you look like you do," I said seriously.
She looked befuddled. "What does that mean?"
"I don't know. You just have that vibe. Like you may have liver problems. Or was just done with life."
"AT MY AGE?!" she asked, shock evident in her voice. "Ah, I get what you mean," she said, suddenly nodding in understanding. "A lot of people ask me if I'm tired even though I'm at my peak form. Like this." She dropped her smile and put on a poker face.
I scrutinized her, chuckling lightly. "Yeah… definitely not tired. More like you're mad at the world and everything in it. Or… just hungry…"
"Wait, really?" She cupped her mouth, then touched her face slightly. "Did it reveal too much?"
I snorted, laughing. "It really does."
"So, want to get something to eat?" she suddenly invited me.
"Are you asking me to dinner?" I asked, disbelief coloring my tone. "You said you had no more plans, but that was pretty smooth."
She clicked her tongue in satisfaction, shrugging as if enjoying the compliment. "It wasn't a plan. I'm just that smooth."
"For someone who doesn't like to socialize with people, you kinda are," I noted, genuinely amazed.
Ashley looked befuddled. "H-How did you know that?"
"You don't like socializing?" I replied. "I noticed it from the very beginning. You're someone who would rather spend your days alone inside your house, watching TV and eating snacks than going to a party. I can bet you were only here because you were dragged into it."
She blinked, taken aback. "Wow, you really read me well. Shay dragged me here."
"Shay? Shay Mitchell?" I mumbled, finally recalling the girl Ashley had been talking about. She was one of the cast members from Pretty Little Liars. Then it hit me that Ashley was in the show too. The series had a great start but suffered in the last few seasons.
I poured myself another glass and downed it, feeling the warmth spread through me. Ashley's eyes were glued to the drink, and she asked, "Can I try that? You seem to really enjoy it."
"I can honestly say that the best drink in the world would pale in comparison to what I'm drinking," I replied with a slight smirk, feeling my mind begin to feel hazy as I started to get drunk.
"Now I definitely have to try it," she said, picking up my empty glass and gesturing for me to pour more. I shrugged and said, "Well then, don't blame me if you can't handle it."
"I usually do just fine with alcohol," she bragged, confidence brimming in her voice. I hesitated for a moment before finally deciding to share. "Only one glass, alright?"
"Stingy," she teased as I poured the drink for her. She took a sip, her eyes widening in surprise. Even her pupils seemed to enlarge. Then, she quickly downed the entire thing and exclaimed in satisfaction, a drunken blush immediately appearing on her face.
"Oh my god, that was great!" she declared, her head dropping onto my arm as she laid down next to me. Her words slurred together as she added, "Once more pleashh~"
We shared another drink as we enjoyed the sunset, however after that second one, her body swayed and she fell asleep.
I snorted derisively. "And you said you can handle your alcohol."
The solution was 70% Euphoria and 30% sparkling water and lime. No one could handle it other than myself—and surprisingly, Max. I figured the effect wouldn't last long; she'd wake up in about half an hour.
I glanced down at Ashley, bemused by how quickly she had succumbed to sleep. She had picked a great spot to rest her head—right on my bicep—though her face was turned away from mine. I could feel her nuzzle in closer, pushing her back against me as if she wanted to settle more comfortably on the lounge chair.
The chair was made for one person, but it was big enough for both of us. I shifted slightly to make room, even considering sitting up. However, she grabbed my arm and wouldn't let go. Then, unexpectedly, she turned over to get even more comfortable.
From across the deck, Brenda and Vanessa both fell into disbelief as they noticed Ashley lying down next to me. They weren't looking at the situation together; Vanessa was with Shay, and Brenda was with Danielle.
Vanessa mumbled with a slight furrow on her brow, "She's so… forward."
Brenda muttered, "That's very romantic. Sharing a lounge together, cuddling while watching the sunset. Ah, I want a boyfriend so bad."
In a way, I did get my wish to drink alone without any interruptions. Ashley didn't wake up until after the sunset was over. Feeling a bit famished, I wanted to go inside and eat, but she hadn't woken up yet, so I had to wait.
Time passed, and people had gone inside the yacht to drink, change their clothes, and party. But Ashley's eyes remained closed.
I sighed softly, then noticed her pupils moving around under her eyelids. I almost burst out laughing but held it back. "Benson, why don't you wake up now? If you were embarrassed, I can assure you, no one else knows that you passed out other than me."
With her eyes still closed, she mumbled, "Really?"
"Yeah, it's only been half an hour," I replied, my speech slightly slurred.
Ashley opened one eye to peek, and upon realizing there was no one around us, she slowly sat up and apologized, "Sorry for the trouble."
"It's fine. Let's go grab dinner. What do you want to eat? I'll cook," I said casually, not minding the earlier affairs at all.
…
During dinner, as I went behind the stove to cook for myself and Ashley, the rest of the crew—Vanessa, Brenda, Danielle, and basically everyone—decided they wanted to try my cooking too. Before I knew it, I became the designated cook for the entire ship.
Lobster thermidor, seared salmon, and various fish dishes flowed out of the kitchen in a flurry. For myself, I had made a huge pot of Japanese-style seafood curry with rice, which took quite a while to complete.
While I was cooking, my sous chef—the staff responsible for assisting in the kitchen—was handling some octopus when he accidentally cut the ink pouch. The ink flew everywhere, mostly landing on my white shirt and splattering my face.
He looked at me with shock, but I didn't react much, still feeling the buzz from my earlier drinks. I smiled and said, "Don't worry about it."
Then, I took off my shirt, revealing my muscular torso as I continued cooking. With the light of the cooking fire reflecting on my sculpted abs, the girls' eyes become glued on the scene in front of them.
"Oh my god! I need a picture of this," Brenda exclaimed, pulling out her phone. "Ed? Can I take a picture? Please!!"
"Sure," I replied casually, continuing to cook the steak shirtless. The girls swooned, while the guys were pushed backward, caught off guard by the unexpected dinner show.
Finally, I finished cooking my crab curry, but those ungrateful hyenas managed to get to that too.
"Well, at least they are enjoying it," I mumbled in satisfaction, watching everyone stuff their faces with my food. Suddenly, I shouted, "Make sure not to leave any leftovers! Or else I will leave you on the ship and make you apologize to the seafood family yourself!"
After dinner, feeling a bit worn out but satisfied, I wanted to hang out in my room, have some beer, and watch TV. Just as I settled in, I heard a soft knock on the door.
The first people to knock were Brenda and Danielle. As I opened the door, Brenda rushed in, anxiety written all over her face. "Ed, do you have anything that can save the party? I tried to make it work, but your staff wouldn't give me the booze I needed!"
"That's because only you and Danielle are of legal drinking age," I replied. "They're from a legitimate business. They won't let you do that."
"Damn it! But you're their boss!" Brenda insisted urgently. "Help me, and I'll give Danielle to you."
"HEY!" Danielle protested. "You can't whore me out for booze!"
Brenda suddenly spotted my Euphoria-mixed drinks and exclaimed, "Wait. There's one there! Dany, flash him your cooch to distract him. I'll steal it—"
Before she could finish her thought, I grabbed her hand firmly. "Oh no, you don't. Both of you, out."
"NO!" Brenda shouted as Danielle dragged her out of the room.
Just two minutes later, another knock sounded. I sighed and opened the door angrily. "I'm not helping you—"
To my surprise, it was Ashley. She had changed her clothes and popped her head in, asking flirtatiously, "Help me with what?"
"Oh, sorry. I thought it was Brenda," I replied casually. "Why are you here?"
"Can I get a tour of your room? This is the only place inside the ship that I haven't seen yet," she requested, looking at me with anticipation.
Wearing a slightly baggy punk metal shirt and yoga shorts, she looked comfortable and inviting.
"Sure, come on in," I said, stepping aside to let her enter. After I closed the door behind me, I found Ashley sitting on the edge of my bed. "Your room is nice," she remarked, already finished with her quick tour.
She spotted the beer on my table and asked with a hint of concern, "You're going to drink again?"
"Ah, that's right," I replied, cracking open a beer and settling into a chair nearby.
She continued, "Why? Is it because of the incident?" I silently agreed with her concern. Ashley pressed on, "So, you're going to drink until you drop? Now you look like someone famous in Hollywood."
I chuckled and turned to her. "You ought to know. You've been here a while."
"I've been here since I was 12. I've seen a lot of shit," she mumbled, grimacing as memories surfaced. "Give me one," she said, reaching for a beer. I tossed one her way.
"But at least you're not snorting white stuff out of your nose," she joked, a playful smile creeping onto her face. "If you did that too, then you'll definitely seem like a Hollywood superstar."
"Well, I don't want to brag, but I am pretty famous too." I replied with a slight chuckle.
She looked up at me with a playful glint in her eye and asked, "Rather than drinking, do you want to play finger fighting with me, but instead of fingers, we use our tongues?"
I burst out laughing. "That'll be a fun game." I sat next to her and, in a bold move, grabbed her by the neck, pulling her face closer to mine. Ashley smiled in anticipation as she inched closer, and soon our lips met in a passionate kiss.
Suddenly, around three minutes in, she pulled back slightly and said, "By the way, I'm not looking for a relationship. This is just a casual thing."
"I'm fine with that," I replied reassuringly. Pulling her in closer, I kissed her neck softly, savoring the moment. Suddenly, she pushed me back to lay down, then jumped on top of me, showering me with kisses.
Ashley was more forward than I thought. All she cared about was the pleasure. We were quite compatible so it made the session even more satisfying.
An hour and a half later, we lay side by side in our natural human state. Her hair disheveled, and she panted slightly as she closed her eyes. "That was amazing," she said breathlessly. "We need to do that again," she mumbled.
I smirked as I turned toward her. "That's work." She suddenly turned towards me and said, "Just remember that I'm not looking for a relationship, so don't fall for me. or be clingy after this."
"We share the same sentiment there." I said with a soft smile. I was going to go away for the world tour in 20 days anyway, so I wasn't going to date anyone.
Her brows furrowed with concern before she said defensively, fearing that I would have the wrong impression about her, "I have my reasons not to get into ANY sort relationship. I'm only doing this with you because I think you're great. I'm not doing this with just anyone."
"Are you afraid that I'll think of you as a whore?" I asked with a slight chuckle. Ashley grimaced in dissatisfaction before saying, "I'm telling you I'm not a slut."
"Then, I'll believe you." I said reassuringly. Ashley smiled in satisfaction as she believed me easily before she drifted off to sleep while I spooned her. Soon, I activated my rest skill and followed her into slumber, content and at ease.
(A/N: I tried really hard not to make it romantic lol)
…
Four hours later, I woke up feeling refreshed. My skin even had a slight glow, and my mind felt clear. "Wait, was I just pent up?" I mumbled in surprise.
I checked on Ashley and found her deep in sleep, so I quietly left to take a shower before heading outside my room. There were still three hours until sunrise, and I wanted to see what was going on with the party.
To my surprise, I spotted only one person on the lounge and deck. Vanessa was lying on the lounge chair I had used earlier. She noticed me approaching and said, "The return boat got here an hour ago. A lot of people have gone too. Only Brenda, Shay, and Danielle stayed behind since they don't have any plans for tomorrow."
I had arranged transport for JB to get back to the port the night before. After the party on the yacht died down when Brenda and I went to our room, some of the party enthusiasts decided to jump on the return boat to go party at the clubs.
"I don't care about that," I said, dragging another chair over to sit down. "Why are you out here?"
With a sarcastic tone, she replied, "I can't sleep. The people in the next room were really noisy. She kept moaning and screaming, so I had to escape."
"Sorry, that was my id. I lost all sense of reason there," I replied casually.
"Huh? What's an id?" she asked, confusion flickering across her face.
"It's a psychological thing. It's boring," I said dismissively, but she urged, "I'm not dumb. Explain."
"Well, if you really want to know… Simply put, Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis, identified three components of the mind: the id, the ego, and the superego. The id represents instinctual desires, the superego embodies our moral standards, and the ego acts as the mediator that balances the two."
"Freud compared the ego—in its relation to the id—to a man on horseback: the rider must restrain and direct the superior energy of his animal and at times allow for a satisfaction of its urges if he wants to keep it alive and the species healthy." I continued with a slight smirk.
Vanessa made a disgusted face and mumbled, "Don't use science to defend why you're a man-whore."
"I'm not the one who got turned on by a little moaning," I teased. Vanessa looked at me with disbelief before saying, "Aren't you the least bit apologetic? And it's really loud, like animals in heat—"
Before she could finish, she realized she was about to support my point, grimacing and stopping herself.
"I'm not sorry at all," I replied casually, lying down on the chair next to hers. Vanessa furrowed her eyebrows and sarcastically guessed, "Ah, so you shot your humanity inside her too?"
"I didn't finish 'in' her," I smirked. Vanessa got irritated, saying, "Stop talking about your sex life! Are you trying to make fun of me because I didn't have any?!" She grabbed my arm, forcing me to look into her eyes. "I can if I want to! I'm just choosing not to!"
"You seem pent up. You definitely should try it. I mean, I did it, and now I'm more chill," I said teasingly.
Vanessa scowled before standing up. "I'm going to go to bed! Your party sucks!"
"It's Brenda's party," I corrected her as she walked away. "Shut up Jerk!" she cursed before she entered the lounge again. I chuckled and then mumbled to myself, "Ah, she's going to miss the best part."
I signaled Dwayne to turn off the lights other than what's necessary. In the darkness, the hidden beauty of the sea was finally revealed. The sky was a breathtaking tapestry of stars, shimmering like diamonds scattered across velvet. The half-moon cast a silvery glow, illuminating the area surrounding the yacht.
I stayed there until the sun rose before having breakfast. Danielle and Brenda joined me, and Vanessa didn't come out until 11 am. Ashley– not being a morning person, kept sleeping until I returned to the room, trying to wake her up.
"Hey Benson, we're going home now." I told her. She grumbled before opening her eyes and asked, "What time is it?"
"Noon." I replied. "12.30."
"We'll be back at?" She asked groggily.
"Around 2." I replied.
"Great, then, there's time to do it once more." She said before she sat up and hugged me from behind, her hand slowly caressed my abs before she snuck it inside my pants.
We did it once more while we were changing our clothes. When we arrived at the dock, Benson asked for my personal number.
"We should definitely become friends," she suggested.
"Friends… with benefits?" I said. She nodded slightly, and then I thought about it before replying, "Alright. Deal."
We decided to become casual friends for now, as we were both single, and she wasn't interested in having a real relationship.
The yacht sailed toward a private port in Malibu, a different one from the one in Los Angeles where we started our trip. As the port there was filled with paparazzi, I decided to anchor the ship to avoid the unwanted attention.
Brenda asked worriedly after we docked, "We don't have our cars. How can we go home now?"
Danielle also expressed her concerns, "There will be traffic. It'll take a long time to get back."
"Don't worry about that," I said with a smile. "Our transport is here." As I looked at the sky, a black helicopter flew toward us. There was a helicopter landing spot 200 meters away from where we were.
All of us walked to the helicopter after it landed. Vanessa's face was pale as she climbed aboard. As she strapped on the seatbelt and wore the microphone and headset, I asked, "Are you afraid of flying?"
Vanessa sat right in front of me, and Benson sat on my right. Brenda, Danielle, and Benson were excited to fly, but Vanessa became increasingly pale by the second.
"A little bit!" she replied. I smirked before saying, "Then, don't look outside."
"Why? Are we already in the air?" she asked fearfully. The door wasn't even closed yet, but she already thought we were flying. I grabbed her hand and made her focus on me. "Hey, look at me. You're going to be alright. It's only for 20 minutes. Okay?"
She nodded without a word. But she didn't let go of my hand and kept holding it throughout the whole ride. Benson noticed and smiled. She didn't ask her question before we landed, but then she whispered it in my ear.
"Are you sleeping with Hudgens too?" she asked. I was startled and turned toward her. "No, we're just friends."
"Really? Too bad. I'm pretty sure there's something there between you two. Or maybe I'm mistaken?" she mumbled.