When
they were heading back to the studio a few minutes later, Brian and Ashalyn
fell back a few feet behind the others.
“Hey,
Ash, I was wondering, would you and Mike want to go out to dinner and a movie
with Leigh and I tonight?” he asked.
“Sure,
that sounds fun,” Ashalyn said, smiling sweetly up at him. “He’s not doing anything tonight, as far as I
know, and neither am I, so I’m sure we can go.”
“Ok,”
Brian said, smiling. “Did you drive
yourself up here, or did one of the other girls bring you?”
“I
don’t even have my own car,” Ashalyn said, chuckling. “Jen brought me.”
“Ok,
well, if you want, I’ll stick around for the rest of the shoot and give you a
ride home,” he said.
“You
want to stay?” she asked. “It could be
another couple of hours, you know.”
“I
know,” he replied. “I’d like to watch,
if you don’t mind.”
“No,
I don’t mind,” she said. “I’d like
that.” She smiled at him.
He
returned her smile. “Ok, cool,” he
said.
When
they got back to the studio, he turned to the other guys. “Hey, guys, I’m staying here to watch, and
then I’m taking Ash home, ok?”
They
exchanged glances. “Ok,” Howie
said. “We’ll head on back to your place
then, Bri.”
“Ok,
see you guys later,” Brian replied.
“Bye,
guys!” they called.
“Bye!”
the girls called back, waving as AJ, Howie, and Nick climbed into the car they
had rented and sped away.
“Well,
time to get back to work,” Elyssa said, heading back into the studio. Ashalyn, Serena, Jenna, and Brian followed
her in.
***
Almost
two hours later, the five of them emerged from the studio, tired from their
long day at the photo shoot. They felt
accomplished though, for they had finished all the shots for their album.
“Bye,
guys,” Ashalyn said, as Jenna climbed into her car, and Elyssa and Serena
climbed into Elyssa’s car.
“Bye!”
they all replied, waving, as Brian and Ashalyn climbed into his car.
Brian
switched on the radio as he started the car.
The sounds of “I Want It That Way” filled the car.
Ashalyn
smiled. “I love this song,” she said,
grinning at Brian. He grinned back.
“Thanks,”
he said, blushing slightly. “Someday,
you’ll be hearing one of your songs on the radio.”
“I
hope so,” Ashalyn replied, a little tremor of excitement running through
her. She realized that soon, JADE could
be famous. It had once seemed like an
impossible dream, but now, it was becoming reality.
***
“Thanks
for the ride home, Brian,” Ashalyn said, as he pulled into her driveway.
“No
problem, Ash,” he replied. “Call Mike
and make sure he wants to go tonight, and then call me, ok?”
“Sure
thing,” Ashalyn said. “I’ll talk to ya
later.”
“Ok. Bye,” Brian said.
“Bye,”
she said, climbing out of the car.
“Hey
Ash!” he called through his open window as she walked up the driveway.
She
turned around. “What?” she called
back.
“You
looked good at that shoot today,” Brian said.
Ashalyn
blushed. “Thanks,” she said, grinning
awkwardly. “Well, bye!” she called and
scurried up the driveway and into her house.
Brian
just grinned and headed for his own home.
***