We rushed back to the house to change before we went to the Underground. I had a little trouble choosing an outfit since my legs were still bruised and stitched, and I didn't really want to show that off. Danielle and Veronica combined their uncanny fashion sense and came up with an outfit. They had to work a little to convince me to wear it, since the top was cropped and would show my belly a little. 

Veronica teased, "C'mon, do it for Louis."

"Fine!" I said and changed right in front of them.

"Holy crap, those bruises still look horrible!" Veronica commented.

"Why do you think I told him I never wanted to see him again?" I asked in a matter-of-fact way.

"Don't know where you got that courage, girl, but you really put him in his place today. I think we should really re-create that scene and put it into a movie. You'd get a standing ovation for that gutsy performance!"

I shrugged, as if I didn't know where my courage came from. In reality, I knew that I got it from Louis.

Veronica and I headed downstairs to meet the guys, and Danielle ran to her room to retrieve her purse. My mother spotted us and asked, in a suprisingly voice, "Where are you ladies off to?"

"We're just going to a club."

"Who else is going?" She asked. "You both look fabulous."

Wait. What was going on? My mother - the evil woman who could have been Walt Disney's muse when he created all of his wicked queens - just gave us a compliment. 

Then Danielle rushed up to us and asked, "Are you ready?"

My mother turned up her nose at Danielle and said, "Oh, you're going, too? I suppose that all of the help are tagging along as well. Don't forget to take a shower when you get home." Then she walked away.

Well, whatever that momentary glimpse of propriety was, it must have been temporary insanity because her bitchiness was back in full force.

I'd had two bad experiences at the Underground, but this time would be different, I just knew it. I was going with people whom I cared about and I was so pumped up on adrenaline that I felt like I could take on the world. It helped that I forced myself not to dwell on questions about mine and Louis' future. 

We walked in a group through the subway tunnels and Louis kept me close to him, his arm around my shoulders. We came upon the old woman sitting in the alcove, and I had a strange feeling of relief that she was back. I stopped several feet away from her and Louis looked at me curiously. I leaned over and said quietly, “I want to help her.” 

"Really?" He seemed surprised and confused at the same time. 

“I just...it's a long story, but should I give her some money or something?” 

“Chances are that she'll use it for drugs or alcohol. But you can give her some if you want to.” 

I pulled out a $100 bill and squatted down in front of her, handing her the cash. Her eyes bulged out of her head as she looked at the money and then at me. “Use this to buy some food for yourself, okay?” I instructed.

She nodded and said "thank you" through her almost-toothless grin. 

I smiled, stood up and continued on with Louis. He gave my shoulder a squeeze as we walked, and he planted a little kiss to my forehead. 

We got inside the club and it seemed uncharacteristically crowded, and it smelled strongly of beer and sweat. I choked down my gag reflex and focused on Louis, who kept a tight grasp on my hand and led me to a table with everyone else. They ordered a few pitchers of beer, and even though I was too young to drink, I took a few (okay, maybe more than a few) sips of his. The taste was growing on me, and it made me feel even more high than I already was due to the day's events. 

“Are you going to sing tonight?” I asked Louis. 

“Nah, probably not. Gotta make sure I take care of my girl.” 

“But it's so hot when you sing,” I said, my mouth practically touching his ear. I kissed his sweet spot right under his ear and then I sang a few of the lyrics from the song I'd heard him sing when I first came here. “I'm all yours, I've got no control, no control. Powerless, and I don't care it's obvious, I just can't get enough of you.” 

He captured my mouth in a quick kiss and snickered, “What's gotten into you?” 

“New-found confidence, I guess,” I said. 

“I like it,” he said. “Just don't get too carried away.” 

“Why not?” I hummed seductively into his ear. 

“Because you're a little drunk, and you've been through a lot today.” 

Instead of arguing, I yanked him onto the dance floor. It was pretty crowded, so we were forced to dance with our bodies almost touching. Liam and Veronica followed us out, too, and we crammed together in the limited space, moving the best we could. It was dark and a heavy cloud of smoke hung in the air, but that didn't stop a few people from noticing Liam. He occasionally smiled and waved to people who took notice of him, but mostly his eyes were trained on Veronica. And mine were on Louis. 

This was vastly different than the dance club in LA. I felt like that was years ago, not just a few months. This, being here with Louis, letting go of my inhibitions, this felt like me, like where I was supposed to be. This felt like a whole new life.

Louis yanked me close when a slow song began to play, and he grinned mischievously. He wrapped one arm around my waist and held my hand with the other. Our cheeks were touching, the slight film of sweat making them stick together. I inhaled deeply, letting everything about him fill my senses. 

About half way through the song, I asked, "You were going to kiss me that night at Megan's wedding, weren't you?” 

"I wanted to kiss you so badly that I could feel it in my toes,” he said. His gaze was intense, only showing a hint of smile. 

I looked down and blushed a little. I couldn't wrap my brain around the fact that he wanted to be with me. When I looked back up at him, he tenderly pressed his lips against mine, sending tingles throughout my whole body. His hand slipped under my chin as he continued to kiss me gently. I couldn't describe what I was feeling in this moment. Louis made me feel extraordinary, like I was so much more to him than just a kiss, much more than just a girlfriend. He cherished me in a way I'd never experienced before. I couldn't comprehend how I was so uncertain about his intentions one moment, but in the next, I felt convinced that he never wanted to let me go.  

After that first slow song, another one came on and he spun me around, so my back was pressed against his front. He snaked his arms around my waist and as his hands touched the bare skin revealed by my cropped shirt, they felt almost like they were burning into me, but not in a painful way. He sang along with the song, close enough to my ear that I could hear him. I much preferred his voice over the one playing over the sound system. He pressed himself tight against me while we danced and swayed in this odd position. It felt a little like Dirty Dancing, to be honest, and I realized that it wasn't such a bad comparison. My affluent family would never approve of me dating the help, but it gave me such a rush to do it anyway.

We danced for a long time, but we finally took a break because my leg was hurting. I would get the stitches out in a few days and the bruises were fading. But it still hurt from time to time.

I caught Veronica's arm and dragged her with me to the restrooms. Just outside the bathroom door, I literally ran into Harry, my face smashing up against his chest as he came a bit too quickly around the corner. 

“Hey, gorgeous,” he schmoozed. “Back for more, I see."

“Right,” I scoffed. "I don't think you'll want to try anything else because I will happily have you thrown in prison if you don't keep your hands to yourself!"

Veronica laughed at my nerve. Harry turned to her and picked up her hand, kissing it. “And who is this lovely lady?” 

She scowled at him. “I happen to be Liam Payne's girlfriend, so unless you want to get your ass kicked, and then sent to prison, I'd suggest you never touch either one of us again.” 

He rolled his eyes, dropped her hand and walked away. 

We laughed so hard that I had to run for the bathroom.

I didn't want to spend any more time in this poorly ventilated, foul-smelling room than I had to, but I wanted to talk with Veronica for a moment, just the two of us.

"What's up?" She asked, splashing her face with a little water.

"What's up is...well, remember how we talked about Richard when we were in Beverly Hills? That's when I think I finally realized that I wasn't in love with him."

"Yeah?" She patted her face dry with a towel.

"That's the reason I never wanted to sleep with him. But I know I'm in love with Louis, so..."

"So, now you know what it's like to want it, right?" She asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Yes!" I practically screamed, which make her cackle with laughter.

"Well, good for you!" She said. "Go for it!"

"So, do I just come right out and tell him? Or do I just make the first move? My lack of experience isn't serving me very well right now."

"Just do whatever feels right," she said, winking. 

"I just don't know how he really feels about me, you know?"

"You can't be serious," she said. "He is so crazy for you that he can't even see straight."

"It feels like that, but he's so hesitant about coming with me when I go to Harvard, and he doesn't seem really eager to talk about what's going to happen between us at the end of the summer."

"Well, then maybe you should take it slow. I'm sure he's just trying to figure things out. It's been kind of a whirlwind romance." On a tangent, she said, "Seriously, you should sell your fucking story to Harlequin! It's amazing." And then she resumed her original thought. "Anyway, just give him a little time. Don't rush into anything. You have all the time in the world now that Dick is finally out of the picture."

I laughed maniacally at her nickname for him. I couldn't believe I hadn't come up with that.

The rest of the evening was spent dancing, talking, laughing, and drinking a little more. Acutally, a lot more. I danced with all the guys, while Louis took turns with the girls. The night was overwhelmingly fun, and I couldn't get over how grateful I was for these people.

I stayed at Louis' apartment again. I wondered whether my father even knew I'd been missing in action. My mother didn't even seem to care that she hadn't seen me in a week.

I knew I'd eventually have to sleep in my own room, and I would also have to start packing for Boston. But I would be in serious withdrawal when I wasn't snuggled up against Louis every night.

I changed into my pajamas, which was basically a t-shirt and yoga pants while I was staying at Louis' place. My phone rang and I saw Richard's name on the caller ID. "You've got to be kidding me!" I yelled.

Louis rushed over and looked at the phone. "That son-of-a-" He tried to grab the phone out of my hand, but I held it tight and answered.

"What!?" I demanded.

Richard sounded like he was either crying or drunk, or both. "Hey, Ashten, it's me. I just...I just really need to talk to you. Alone. I promise I won't hurt you. I just want us to end on a good note."

"You know that's not possible, and that's entirely your fault!"

"I know I screwed up, Darling. I just said those things at the park to make you mad, but please. I still love you. I don't want to marry Martina, I want you." 

He sounded like he was going to start wailing in a minute, so I had to end this quickly.

"I'm sorry, Richard. You're the one who screwed this up, not me. No more talking!" I almost hung up, but then I shouted, "Have fun fucking Matilda!" And I threw the phone down.

Louis grabbed me around the waist and laughed like crazy  while he kissed me. "You are something else, you know that?"

"I try," I said flippantly. We tumbled onto the bed, laughing. I was still quite giddy from the adrenaline of the day as well as from the beer I'd drank, so I rolled over and kissed him again. Aggressively, this time. I slid my hand into his hair and held his face close to mine so that I could taste and feel him for as long as I wanted to. He responded by settling his hand on my bum and nudging me closer to him. I pushed deeper into the kiss, opening my mouth and sliding my tongue against his. 

Soon, I pushed against his shoulder to make him lie flat on the bed, and I slung one leg over his hips. He looked surprised by my actions, but I didn't let him speak. Instead, I leaned down and resumed our heated kisses. I began to move my hips lightly against his, and the resulting groan vibrated through our kiss. I moved from his lips to his jawline, leaving wet kisses along the way. When I reached that sensitive spot right under his ear, he groaned again, and then he panted, almost painfully, saying, “Please stop.” 

“Why?” I asked, licking the skin under his ear and breathing over it. 

His voice was strained as he answered. “We're not ready for this yet.” 

I put my hands on his chest and looked into his eyes. I suprised myself with my boldness when I said, “I'm ready, Lou. I want you to make love to me.” 

His eyes closed and his jaw clenched. I knew my words impacted him hard. I could tell he was fighting an internal battle, and I knew which side I wanted to win. But I knew what he'd decided when he gently lifted me off of him and laid me down on the bed. 

“Ash, you can't even imagine how much I want you right now, but I don't  think it's the right time yet.” He leaned in an gave me one last peck on the lips, and then he pulled me tightly into his arms. I knew I'd turned him on, and it was hard to ignore the feeling of him pressed against me. 

“Why?" I whispered. "I love you, and I want to give this to you.” 

“I know, honey,” he whispered back. “But you're still going through a lot. Let's just go slow, okay?” 

My emotions were a furious mix of disappointment and lingering lust, but as I calmed down, I felt honored that he was so protective over me. I knew he cared deeply about me, and I loved that he respected me.

The last thing I said before falling asleep was, “I love you.”  But I wasn't awake long enough to hear whether he said it in return. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So, yeah, one hurdle down - Richard is out of the picture (or is he? ha ha)

I actually wish The Underground existed and that I could go there with this group of friends. And heck, I'd invite Harry to join us because, seriously, who can resist that man? Even if he is a jerk in the story.

How many of you have seen Dirty Dancing? Or is that one of those movies that didn't carry over into this generation?