Take Me On (Take Me Series Book 1) Read online

  “I’m Ash London, and you are?” He reached out his big hand and took mine in his.

  “Lila Stephens… I’m a friend of Tori’s.” I smoothed out the wrinkles in my coat with my free hand, and tried to straighten myself up.

  “Sorry that guy was such a dick to you.”

  “He was drunk. It happens, I guess. Thank you… for everything.”

  “No problem. Can I buy you a drink?” He dropped my hand and motioned toward the bar.

  “I’m actually on my way out, but thanks anyway.” I smiled and turned away quickly.

  “Some other time then…”

  Thankfully, the door wasn’t far away, and my legs remembered how to move again. I could feel him staring a hole right through me as I headed toward the exit. The cold blast of air as I emerged from the club was just what I needed to bring me back to my senses.

  Wait. Did I really just do that? Who in their right mind turns down the opportunity to have a drink with Ash London? I contemplated going back inside and taking him up on his offer, but…

  No... I wouldn’t go back. I didn’t want to look like a fan girl desperate for his attention. Offering to buy a girl a drink was probably no big deal to him anyway. He was just being nice, and even if he did think he could take me home because of who he was, he was wrong.

  * * *

  Despite being out late, I was up early working the next morning. My work always proved to be a great distraction, and I needed one so I wouldn’t dwell on the encounter I’d had with Ash.

  A knock at the door pulled my attention away from what little bit I had left to do. In no real hurry, I walked down the steps to the front door slowly. My feet were killing me from the heels I’d worn the night before. They were fabulous, but they pinched my feet and were nowhere near being comfortable. The things I do for fashion...

  “Be right there!” I yelled to buy myself an extra second or two. I opened the door to see Tori’s green eyes sparkling at me and a wide grin plastered across her face. Her curly hair bounced as she reached out to hug me.

  “You could’ve just used your key. You know you don’t have to knock.”

  “I know, but I didn’t want to scare you since I didn’t tell you I was coming over first. Are you busy? I was out and about and thought I’d stop by.”

  “I’m never too busy for you, sweetums. Get your butt in here!”

  Tori bent down to pet Manny, who’d ambled over to greet her. She handed me a small box and said, “I brought donuts.”

  “I fucking love you.”

  “Take it as an I’m-sorry-I-didn’t-see-you-before-you-left peace offering. I wanted to hang out with you more, but I kept getting pulled in every direction. It was so crazy.”

  “Don’t worry about it. I left pretty abruptly anyway.” I bit my lip and looked away as the memory of Ash holding me protectively in those strong arms of his flashed through my mind. I could almost feel him still pressed against me.

  “Something bad happen?”

  “No, not at all. Just didn’t want to drink too much and fall on my ass on the subway.” I didn’t want to talk about it, and hoped she wouldn’t push the issue.

  “So,” she crossed her arms, “did you have a little run-in with Ash last night?”

  Great. She knows. Of course, she does. “Yes. One I’d like to forget. How did you know? Did you see what happened?”

  Tori shook her head. “I didn’t see anything. He called our house to talk to Matty this morning, and I answered. Said he met my friend, Lila, last night, and thought he was going to get kicked out of the place because he almost beat some guy’s ass for being rude to you.”

  “No, he didn’t say that!” I shoved her shoulder, sending her back a step. “You’re lying!”

  “How would I know about it if I was making it up?” she asked as she grabbed my shoulders and playfully shook me.

  “What else did he say?” I hurried to the couch and motioned for her to follow me.

  “Not much, just that he offered to buy you a drink and you didn’t go for it.”

  “Great. That’s how he’ll remember me. The girl who said no.” I rolled my eyes and sighed as I placed the box of donuts on the coffee table.

  “He’s so used to women falling all over him that I think he forgets what it’s like to be turned down. At least he remembered you,” she said with a shrug of the shoulders as she reached for a donut.

  I couldn’t help but giggle as she crinkled her brows at me. “Funny you should say women fall all over him, because I quite literally did fall all over him. I would’ve hit the floor and broken my face or possible my ass if he hadn’t caught me.”

  “He caught you?” A further look of bewilderment overtook her. “What are you talking about?”

  “He didn’t tell you?”

  “No!”

  Not divulging all the gory details of the encounter that’d left me so frazzled was nice of him. “Yeah, that drunken asshole bumped into me and I would’ve hit the floor, but apparently, unbeknownst to me, Ash was standing right there and caught me. I’m not sure how I missed him standing so close to me. I guess I didn’t notice because I was busy putting on my coat and trying to see where you were. The alcohol might have been a factor, too.”

  A loud cackle burst out of Tori. “I’m sorry! I shouldn’t laugh, but I can picture you falling,” she said as she mimicked what she thought I must’ve looked like by flailing her arms around wildly and distorting her face.

  “Gee, thanks! I’m glad my misfortune is so amusing to you,” I teased as I poked her arm.

  “Now I see why he remembered you!”

  “You ass!” The tears rolled down my face from laughing so hard. The conversation wasn’t even that funny but Tori’s laugh was contagious, and you couldn’t help but laugh when you heard it, no matter what you were feeling before.

  “I kid, I kid,” Tori said.

  A few minutes of pure hilarity passed, and we collected ourselves for more serious conversation.

  “Do you want to come over for dinner tomorrow?” she asked, wiping away one last tear from her eye.

  “Sure. Why not? Who all will be there?”

  “Probably just me, Matty, and you, unless Matty invites some more people. He hasn’t said anything about it yet if he has. I wouldn’t be shocked if he does, though.”

  “Ash won’t be there, will he?”

  “Probably not. He hasn’t really been too social lately. Last night was the first time in a long time that he’s even been out, at least with Matty anyway, and that’s only because he pretty much had to go since it was a band-related event. I don’t know what else he’s been up to, but I think he’s been spending a lot of time at home trying to write. We never see much of him when he goes into writing mode. He’s like a hermit.”

  “Good because I don’t think I can handle another face to face with him anytime soon. What are you having for dinner, and do I need to bring anything?”

  “Don’t know yet. We may even just order take out from somewhere. You can bring Manny if you want, but that’s all you need to worry about. We can’t leave the poor little pooch out of the fun.”

  “I might do that. He loves getting out of the house.” A small pause occurred, and I decided to ask her something that had been bugging me. “Why didn’t you tell me Ash lived so close when you were helping me find a place?”

  She shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess I just didn’t think too much about it at the time. That’s how I knew this was a good neighborhood, though. He grew up in this part of town, and then bought the place he’s living in now last year.”

  “Just wondered.”

  “Can I ask you something, Lila?” Her head tilted to the side and her arms crossed as she addressed me.

  “Yeah, go ahead.” I cautiously looked at her. I wasn’t sure where she was going to go with her question, but I had an idea of where it might be headed, so I braced myself.

  “Why does Ash make you nervous? Is it because you might just maybe lik
e him just a teeny little bit?”

  “No.” I shifted in my seat and rolled my eyes. “I think he’s attractive, but that’s it. I’m not interested in him at all, and I’m sure he wouldn’t be interested in me either. I don’t even know him.”

  “Okay, Okay. I had to ask. I was just curious.”

  * * *

  The next evening, I scurried around trying to get myself together and out the door before I ended up being totally late to dinner. It was because I was running so late that I decided to leave Manny at home, even though Tori had graciously invited him, too. I would’ve had to get a taxi if he came along, and I didn’t think it was worth the hassle, so I chose to let him continue his evening nap instead.

  I hurried down the street as fast as my Louboutins could carry me without tripping. I’d opted for a pair of leather ankle booties and paired them with some skinny jeans and a black top. I second guessed my decision to wear my red pea coat instead of my heavier winter coat once I was a couple blocks from home, and an icy burst of cold air blasted through it. You’d have thought I’d learned my lesson with that damn pea coat, but I loved it, and couldn’t bear to not wear it.

  I nervously went over and over in my head just exactly how to get to Tori’s. I’d only made the trek from my house to hers once, and was still trying to remember all of the details. I couldn’t help but glance at Ash’s house as I passed by. A beautiful car that I guessed was his was parked in the short driveway beside the house. I’d seen it almost every time I’d been by his house. I breathed a sigh of relief that it appeared he wasn’t going to Tori’s if he hadn’t left yet, despite feeling a little bummed deep down.

  Moments later I stood on a semi-crowded platform waiting for the train. I knew I had to make a transfer to another train and then walk a couple blocks once I got to my stop there. Five minutes later, it pulled up. I pushed my way onto a crowded car and barely had enough room to clutch onto the pole to keep from falling. There had been a completely empty car in front of that one, but I’d learned pretty early on to never get on one that no one else was on. If there was no one on it, there was a reason, and that reason usually smelled like ass.

  Though it’d been cold outside, the train was hot from so many bodies confined to one small place. If I’d had the room, I would’ve taken my coat off just to get cooled off a bit.

  When the train slowed at the next stop, a group of people rushed to the door. I fought to keep my balance, but my attempt was futile. A short, elderly lady who was built like a brick plowed right through me, and I stumbled backwards. My heel tripped over someone’s foot, and I landed right in the middle of a very large lap.

  Wonderful! Twice in one week. Just what I fucking need. I was just thankful it wasn’t Ash London this time. I mean really… Who gets shoved around to the point of falling on people twice in one week like that? This girl, that’s who.

  A familiar voice spoke. “Easy there, lady. You okay?”

  I turned with a meek smile on my face to look directly into the dark blue eyes I’d seen only two days earlier when I was knocked into him the first time. How was this even happening again? And why, for the love of God, was he riding the train? Didn’t he have an absolutely beautiful car sitting in his driveway that he could’ve taken instead?

  “Oh my God! I am so sorry!” I scrambled out of his lap and to my feet. My only hope was that he would forget who I was and would think I was just some weirdo on the train he’d never seen before.

  “No worries. Here,” he said as he stood up, towering over me, “you can have my seat. I doubt I’ll get pushed around as easily as you.” He smirked at me and moved a few steps away. I didn’t think he knew it was me again since he didn’t say anything else. Thank you, sweet baby Jesus.

  I sat down, mortified over the luck I was having when it came to this man. How could he not think I was crazy if he realized it was me who had fallen on him again? He still stood near enough that I could reach out and touch him if I wanted, and boy did I want to. I shoved that urge away and stared at my fabulous shoes instead of his ass.

  After two stops, the person sitting in the next seat got up and left, and before I knew it, Ash was in the seat beside me. His knee brushed against mine as he sat down. Crossing his arms, he slouched slightly in the seat.

  He wore a dark jacket with a hoodie underneath that he’d pulled up over a Yankees baseball cap on his head, concealing any trace of his hair. I figured the fact that he was slightly unrecognizable, unless you landed in his lap and stared directly into his face, was the only reason people weren’t mobbing him, but I had also heard that New York was fairly celebrity friendly. Maybe New Yorkers liked rock stars enough to leave them alone, too. Hoping he had no clue who I was, I looked away from him, pretending not to notice his knee still lingering near mine.

  “I know you,” he said as he turned slightly toward me.

  “No. I don’t think so.” Breathe in, breathe out. Calm yourself.

  “Yeah… you came flying out of nowhere at me the other night, too. Lila, right?” He leaned closer, and his masculine scent was almost intoxicating as it filled the air around me, drowning out the previous smell of subway funk.

  “Oh.... yeah, I forgot all about that,” I said with an eye roll and a wave of the hand. I’m sure it sounded one hundred percent believable. Yeah, right.

  “I didn’t.” He flashed that wickedly sexy smile at me, and my body threatened to fall out of my seat, but I managed to keep it together. “I would never forget a woman so brilliant as to devise such an elaborate scheme just to get close to me... twice, I might add.”

  “Wow. You’re really cocky aren’t you?” The words escaped, floating out into the empty space between us before I had time to even think about what I said.

  “Oh, I’m very... cocky.”

  I walked right into that one.

  “So, do you make a habit out of that? Falling helplessly into a man’s arms to get his attention?”

  “No, not at all.”

  “Well, you certainly have my attention.”

  “Hey, it’s not my fault people like to push me around.”

  “People like to push you around? Or is it maybe that you don’t balance so well on those stilettos?” He pointed down at my shoes and leaned forward to get a better look at them.

  “Watch it, buddy. I’ll have you know I can rock the highest of heels with the best of them.”

  “If you say so, but I’ve seen you fall twice in the last few days and you were wearing very similar shoes both times.”

  He noticed my shoes the first time? How good of a look did he get? “Not my fault either time. I can do anything in heels and not fall.”

  He leaned into me and spoke close to my ear. “Oh, really? I’d like to challenge you on that one. Maybe see what kind of trouble you can get into in those heels.”

  “You wish.” I smiled coyly as if I were some kind of master flirter. Shit, I hadn’t flirted with anyone in years and was only going on what I thought someone in a movie might do in that situation.

  “So where are you headed?” he asked.

  “Probably the same place you’re headed since we’re on the same train right now.”

  “I wasn’t sure I’d make it. I had a meeting that I got out of sooner than I thought. I figured it’d be easier to just jump on the train from there… You said you were friends with Tori?” He sat back and crossed his arms.

  “Yeah, she’s my best friend.”

  “Tori’s cool. I’m surprised I haven’t met you before if you’re her best friend. I’ve known her for years now.” Ash eyed me as if he were trying to catch me in a lie. If I was her best friend…

  “I just moved to Brooklyn not that long ago, but we got to be good friends before she moved here.” I sat quietly for a moment before working up the nerve to keep the conversation going. “You know I’m actually a little relieved you’re here. I’ve not been to their house since I moved to New York enough times to remember the way for sure, and I was a little conc
erned I’d get lost.”

  “Stick with me. I’ll show you the way. We need to change trains at the next stop.”

  “I thought so.”

  A few minutes later and we were on the next train. We didn’t say anything to each other until we got to our next stop, though I did stand as close to him as I could without actually groping him. Keeping my hands to myself had proven tougher than I imagined. A sexual side of me that had been long dormant reared its head, and I fought to keep it at bay.

  As we walked off the train and up the steps, Ash began to speak. “I guess I’ll get to see if you can actually walk in those things since we’ll have to walk a block and a half.”

  “You just worry about how well you walk, and I’ll worry about how well I walk.” I shook my ass subtly as I walked in front of him, hoping he’d notice.

  “Fair enough. You said you just moved here? Where did you move from?” He caught up to me in about a step.

  “West Virginia.”

  “Where in West Virginia?”

  “Morgantown. It’s about an hour south of—”

  “Pittsburgh,” he finished.

  “Yeah, that’s right.” I was more than a little impressed that he not only knew the town I’d grown up in, but had maybe even been there.

  “We’ve driven through there on I-79 tons of times. Never really stopped other than at a Burger King or McDonalds, but it seems like we end up heading south a lot of times after we do Pittsburgh. Do you miss it?”

  “Not really. I guess I haven’t been here long enough yet. Do you miss Brooklyn when you tour?”

  “Sometimes, but I’d miss it a lot more if I had a soft, warm body wearing heels like those to come home to.” He wiggled his eyebrows up and down and smirked.

  I rolled my eyes at him. We were almost there and his comments were more than I expected to handle at the moment. I was flattered, but still skeptical. Surely he talked to all the girls like that.