Chapter
32
“So, are you glad the tour’s over with?” Brian asked, as
they wandered slowly down the hallway.
Ashalyn
shrugged. “Kinda, I guess, but not
really.” She laughed slightly at what
she had just said. “I mean, it’ll be
nice to get home and sleep in my own bed and not have to be on the road all the
time… but I’ll miss it, you know?”
“I
know,” Brian agreed. “It’s the same way
for me.”
“I’ll
miss all you guys too,” Ashalyn added softly.
“Yeah,
I always kinda miss the guys too when we’re not touring, with us living so far
apart now,” Brian said.
Ashalyn
nodded, but that was not what she had meant.
Of course, she would miss Nick, AJ, and Howie, but it was Brian that she
was most concerned about. How would she
go through the next few months without seeing him, when she had been with him
nearly non-stop for the past few months?
“I’ll
miss you girls too,” Brian added suddenly, eyeing Ashalyn, his gaze dropping
when it met hers.
“Well,
we all live in Atlanta, like you, so maybe we could get together sometime,”
Ashalyn proposed, trying to sound casual.
“Yeah,”
Brian said, a flicker of light flashing through his blue eyes. “That’d be great.” He paused a moment, then added, “It’ll be
hard to go home. To live in that house,
all alone, when I’ve been surrounded by people for three months.”
Ashalyn
nodded. She knew how he felt. She knew how difficult it would be for him to
go back home and get on with his life without Leighanne there. It would be the same way for her, without
Mike. Mike…
“Brian?”
Ashalyn asked suddenly.
“Yeah?”
“Do
you think it’s normal to still be grieving for someone who died five months
ago?” she asked.
Brian
smiled sadly. “You mean Mike, don’t
you?” She nodded solemnly. “Ash, of course it’s normal. You think I’m not still grieving for
Leighanne? Of course I am.”
She
gazed at him sympathetically, not knowing what to say.
“But
you know what?” Brian continued.
“Eventually, I’m gonna have to move on.
I’ll always miss Leigh, just like you’ll always love Mike, but we can’t
dwell on them forever. We’ll always
love them, but that doesn’t mean we can’t let other people into our lives.”
Ashalyn
stared at him, her blue eyes wide. It
was as if he had opened a door to her soul.
“I agree,” she replied softly.
He
smiled slightly. “I think Leighanne
would want me to fall in love again, if I found the right woman,” he murmured.
She
nodded. “I’m sure Mike would want the
same for me,” she replied, her gaze never leaving his eyes.
Brian
gazed right back at her. He suddenly
felt overcome with emotion as he stared into the beautiful blue depths of her
eyes.
As
if in a trance, he let his head dip down towards her. Involuntarily, Ashalyn’s face turned up
towards his. Slowly, their lips met and
locked in a tender kiss.
Brian’s
hands wrapped slowly around Ashalyn’s waist, locking in the small of her
back. Hers drifted up around his neck,
and she pressed her body closer to his, as the gentle kiss turned more
passionate.
The
kiss was lengthy, and when Ashalyn finally released her hold around Brian’s
neck and backed away, she was left speechless, stunned by the realization of
what had just happened and the electricity that coursed through her body.
“Ash…”
Brian whispered, her name rolling melodically from his lips.
“Bri…”
she whispered back, overcome with emotion.
And
suddenly, as if they were magnets, they found themselves back in each others
arms, their lips pressed together once again.
***
