Page 29 of Ashley & the A-Listers (Sweetverse)

29. IS THIS A DATE?

ASHLEY

I’m bored, River’s text had said. What are you up to?

And now here they were, in Ashley’s house, her cheeks flushing as she gave River the tour.

“So this is where it all started for you two, huh?” River asked. “You and Dylan? Little rascals running around together?”

Ashley snorted. “Yeah, this is it!”

Cameron and therefore Dylan were at cross fit, and River apparently didn’t have any work to distract him at the moment. A free day, a day off.

“I’ve actually been thinking about remodeling a bit,” she shared as they completed the loop, gaze working over every inch of outdated paint and carpet and wallpaper.

“How come?” River asked, and slid into one of the breakfast bar stools while she opened the fridge to get them drinks.

“I don’t know,” she lied. She did know, but was too afraid to say it out loud. “I’m outgrowing it.”

River smiled, a dimple in his cheek appearing. “Well, why not start today? What else do you have going on?”

“I—” Ashley balked, because she’d had these plans forever, but had found excuse after excuse.

Now she had someone offering to help and, well… she couldn’t think of a reason not to right then. Between the two of them, they could get at least one room painted, yeah?

She studied him. “You’re not one to sit around, are you?”

River shrugged. “I am a work-a-holic. It’s hard to sit still.”

She laughed, because it really was just that easy. “Fuck. Okay. Yeah… yes, let’s do it,” Ashley agreed, pushing a bottle of water in River’s direction.

“Do you know what paint colors you want?” River asked.

With a grin, she admitted, “I’ve been thinking about doing this for ages. I even know which room to start with.” She squinted at him, a little intimidated by how excited she was at the prospect of starting this project. “Do you really want to help?”

River glanced at her keys on the edge of the bar. “Do you want to grab a coffee while we’re out?”

“You read my mind!” she gushed, and they shared a matching smile.

A person to run errands with and start a DIY project? In her late twenties, this was certainly considered a date, right?

She chuckled at the thought and picked up her keys. “Are we doing this?”

River stood from the bar, palms pressed flat to the top, and Ashley studied the way his muscles flexed, the way the ink of the tattoos curled around them.

What was his routine?

“We’re doing this,” he said, and drew a line with his palm toward the door. “Lead the way.”

After they picked up two caramel macchiatos from a local cafe, they wandered around the hardware shop, and while waiting for the paint to mix, flocked to the light section like moths.

The bright white lights were harsh and unforgivable, just like the ones in Cameron’s apartment.

The next aisle was more welcoming, lit like a tunnel with a display of the string lights they offered.

“Cameron needs these,” River mused, and Ashley glanced at him, noting the way he stared at the lights.

“The star-shaped ones,” Ashley suggested sarcastically. At River’s silence, she explained, “Because he’s a movie star.”

He snorted softly, gaze flicking to her as if she was ridiculous, as if he was charmed. “He’d laugh at that.”

Once they returned, it got a bit tedious, what with the taping and moving chairs and taking outdated art down off the dining room walls.

He’d brought along another one of those 24K gold cones, and Ashley scoffed… before retrieving a lighter and showing him the patio out back to boost their morale.

“This place is really cute,” he said. “I can see why you held onto it so long.”

The breeze was making the trees whisper while the sun shone down, hot, but cool enough in the shade as they sat in the wicker furniture. She and Dylan had built snowmen in this yard at some point.

“Yeah, there’s memories. But it’s small,” she admitted.

“Why does that matter?” he asked.

Ashley’s attention was rapt on the trees. “Well. I think it’s too small for even, say, Dylan and I,” she murmured, flushing, and shifted her gaze to the end of the joint while she rolled the filter between her fingers before passing it. “And I mean, I do want a pack eventually,” she muttered, so quietly that she had to repeat it louder for River to hear when he said, “What?” and wouldn’t let it go.

Her cheeks were even redder now, and she stood, ready to make her way back inside so she didn’t have to meet his eyes.

“Have you always wanted a pack?” he asked, following after packing the joint away in its little glass tube.

“Don’t all alphas?”

“I suppose so,” he said.

The first moment she rolled the paint on the wall, she knew she’d picked the perfect color.

“Cameron has mentioned a pack recently,” River alleged as Ashley laid the roller on the wall. She paused, studying him and searching for… a hint, she guessed?

“Oh yeah?” she asked, oh-so-casually. His lips twitched and she continued rolling the brush. “Do you want one, too?”

“I think…” He hesitated, giving the question more thought than she had intended. “I think the idea of a pack is romantic, and Cameron and I both are hopeless romantics. But…” River trailed off. “Cameron can’t even tell the world about me . Once he finally does that, then I’ll be ready to think about a pack with him.”

Ashley frowned at that, something in her chest lurching for River. “How often does that come up… going public?”

“Uhm… pretty often, I’d say,” he shared. “The last time it came up, Cam’s management said I ‘wasn’t a threat’ because I’m a beta. That no one would take me seriously anyway, even if we did announce we were together.”

Ashley gaped. “He said that?”

River shared a look of disbelief with her. “I know! It was rude, but… true. I mean, Cam has millions of fans at this point, and he’s an omega. What would an omega want with a beta, when he could have any alpha he wants?”

The matter-of-fact way he said it told Ashley all she needed to know. He’d been over this in his head a hundred, maybe a thousand times. She wondered how long he and Cam had discussed the topic.

“River… I don’t think that’s true. I mean, do the fans’ opinions really mean so much?”

He shrugged, but didn’t hide the pinch of hurt on his face fast enough. “I think so. I mean, why else wouldn’t Cameron do anything about it?”

She didn’t have an answer for that, but wished she could ease some of the hurt. At the very least, she could listen, let him vent.

“How much are we oversharing?” River asked, and Ashley laughed.

“There’s no such thing,” she answered.

“Well, I’ve always been the stepping stone guy. The one they date while they wait for someone better to come around.”

“What?” she asked, because that couldn’t be right. River was so handsome, and creative and talented and sweet and… “Really?”

“In college, I dated a girl who was always stringing me along. Eventually she ended things so she could explore a connection she had with an exchange student. Then, after college, I was in a relationship with a guy who always wanted to come to the parties of the people I knew, but never wanted to, like, go on dates? I didn’t see it at the time, but looking back…” He huffed out a breath, one hand rubbing a flower from his collage of tattoos. “I was stupid for not seeing it sooner.” He paused as if realizing what he was doing. “I got these as a reminder. They’re columbines.”

“What do they represent?” Ashley asked. Did all the flowers on his arm mean something? She spotted a fern and a few she didn’t recognize.

“Foolishness,” River said with a chuckle, and her heart panged. “All that to admit… sometimes I’m afraid Cameron will turn out the same way. Especially the longer we go keeping it a secret. Like, is he ashamed? Or just waiting for something better?”

Ashley hummed in thought. Cam and River were one in her mind; there wasn’t one without the other. The idea of Cam waiting for something better, something other, was foreign. “I can see where you’re coming from, what with your past experiences. I haven’t known either of you for long, but you guys are a match made in heaven,” she said. “I mean, when you come along for training, all he wants to do is impress you.”

It was River’s turn to flush, and she enjoyed the color on his cheeks. He ducked his head once before grinning and turning to face her.

“I’m not the only one he wants to impress, you know,” he said.

Ashley tried to remain completely casual. “What do you mean?”

“Oh, come on,” River drawled. “You know he’s got it bad for you.”

“Listen, I know things aren’t exactly… neutral between Cam and I, but he’s my client, and I want to take the boundary between client and trainer seriously.”

“We smoked weed together,” River said. “And Dylan confessed his love for you in front of him. Which was quite the power move, by the way. Very romantic.”

Ashley gulped. “Okay, so?—”

“All I’m saying is, I think it’s time to stop pretending something isn’t happening there.”

Ashley sighed low and slow. “And… how do you feel about that?” Ashley asked, swallowing.

Her heart pounded in her chest as she awaited his answer. She didn’t know why she was suddenly nervous—River had been nothing but sweet and flirty and welcoming towards her.

“I think he’s drawn to you, and you’re drawn to him. I think there’s something there you both want to explore.”

“And you’d… be okay with that?” she asked hesitantly. “Not that that’s what I intend. I don’t know what I want to do!” she blurted.

River chuckled softly, and the smooth sound put her at ease. “I’m not trying to discourage you. I mean, these things can mutually exist, you know? All I ask is that… I don’t get left out.”

Ashley leaned over and nudged him. “It wouldn’t be fun without you there, anyway.”

He glanced at her and smiled, and it was utterly soft and made her stomach leap. Did this beta just give Ashley permission to pursue his omega?

Did she want to pursue this omega? She wasn’t brave enough to ask about the heat.

And maybe that was too soon, anyway. She and Cameron could always explore their… connection after.

“There’s no rush. But… thank you for trusting me with this,” Ashley said, touched.

“Anyways, I think that’s why he’s been asking about a pack recently. Why do you want a pack?” he asked.

“Oh. Yeah. Well, I…” He’d shared such a personal piece of himself, and Ashley wanted to do the same. But it was easier to admit when she wasn’t having to meet his eyes, so she continued painting. “Ever since I found out I was an alpha, a few weeks after I graduated—” a few weeks after Dylan had left— “I got it in my head that I wanted a pack. You know, a proper one. I wanted the white picket fence and a perfect pack.” she scoffed. “Of course, I think I was just distracting myself from the fact that my best friend had left. I wanted people who wouldn’t leave.”

“You wanted a family,” River suggested.

“Yeah. And I still do.”

“You’ve got Dylan, at least,” River pointed out.

Ashley smiled softly, brushing a hand over her bite mark through her shirt. “Yeah, I do.”

“Maybe one day we’ll both get what we want,” River said, and she felt him look at her, his gaze warm.

She returned it, getting lost in his jade green eyes. “Maybe one day.”