ASHLEY'S POV :

      The sun streaming through a gap in the blinds wakes me up , and for just a few seconds , I'm not entirely sure where I am . Then I feel the warm body next to mine , and everything comes back . I finally have my beautiful girl with me again , and this time I'm not going to screw it up .

     I run my hand along her back ,and she stirs slightly , then opens her beautiful gray eyes and smiles at me .

      "Good morning , Ash ." , she murmurs , and kisses my neck .

      "Good morning to you , too , gorgeous ." , I reply , and as she starts to sit up , we hear voices in the hall outside the bedroom door 

      "Well , his car's here , so unless somebody picked him up , he has to be somewhere !" , we hear Juliet say .

      "Then he must be hiding in a cabinet or something , because I've checked everywhere except our room and Tiana's !" , Andy responds .

      Tiana and I both start to giggle quietly , and Juliet says , "Well , ask her , maybe he told her where he was going ."

      There's a tap on the door , and Andy says , "Hey , Tiana , are you awake ?" 

      "Yeah , I'm awake ." , she answers .

      "Do you have any idea where Ash went ?" , he asks .

     "Yes , I do ."

      "Please tell me he didn't go home with one of the plastic bimbos that were hanging around at the show last night ." , he says .

      I've gotten out of bed and put my underwear back on as they've been talking , and I walk over , open the door , and say , "No , I did not , thanks so much for the vote of confidence !" , and he jumps back and nearly trips over Juliet .

      "Give us a few , and we'll be out to talk ." , I tell him , and head upstairs to put on clean clothes , as Tiana starts to do the same .

    After we both clean up and get dressed , we join Andy and Jules in the kitchen , and Tiana pitches in to help her with breakfast , slicing fruit , while Juliet makes waffles .

      "So , uh , I guess this means you guys are together again , right ?" , Andy asks , and I look over at Tiana , letting her decide how to respond .

      "Yeah , I guess it does at that ." , she says , to my complete relief .

      This apparently shows on my face , because Juliet giggles and says , "From the look on his face , I think he was scared that you were gonna say no ." 

      "Nah , I wasn't . " , I tell her . Then as she looks over at me , I admit , "Yeah , maybe a little ." 

      She finishes with the fruit , washes her hands , and comes over to sit by me . She leans in and gives me a quick kiss , then says , " You have nothing to worry about , hon . If I didn't want to be with you , you would've slept in your own room last night ." 

      From the back door comes a shout of "Excuse the actual fuck out of me ? Did she say what she just said ?" 

      We look over to see Brian , Scott , CC , and Tiff standing in the door , and Brian's eyes look like they're about to fall right out of their sockets .

      "Come on in and join the party !" , Andy tells them , as Juliet and Tiana get up to make more waffles , with some help from Scott .

      Brian manages to contain himself until the food is on the table , then he turns to Tiana and asks , "So how did he manage to talk you into it ,anyway ?" 

      "He didn't talk me into anything , I asked him to stay with me ." , she informs him , and he nearly shoots orange juice out of his nose .

      "That's generally how it works when you're a couple , isn't it ?" , she continues .

      "Um , I'm gonna go with yes ." , CC chimes in . "In my experience , that's generally been the case ."

      "So , my question is , how are you guys planning to do this ?" , Andy inquires . " Are you going to let people know you're together , or do you wanna keep it on the down - low . Not judging either way , it would just be sorta helpful to know what to say if the subject comes up ."

     "I'm perfectly fine with being out in the open with it ." , I say . "Keeping it from everyone makes it seem like I have something to be ashamed of , when it's just the opposite . I'm proud as hell to let people know I'm with her !"

      "I think that pretty much covers how I feel , too ." , Tiana adds , giving my hand a quick squeeze . "Besides , if nobody knows we're together , then all those other girls are going to think it's perfectly all right to fling themselves at him . This way , they know better ." 

      "I hate to break it to you , hon , but that won't stop some of them ." , Tiff says .

      "Probably not , but then they can't blame anybody but themselves if they get their asses kicked , can they ?" , she says with a grin .

     "Can you teach me some of those moves , then ?" , Tiff asks , making everybody laugh .

     As we're finishing breakfast , Juliet says , "You know , if you really want people to know that you're a couple , maybe we should all go out and do something today . A bunch of us out as a group always ends up with somebody taking pictures , and you know they'll end up on social media ." 

      I look at Tiana and say , "I'm game if you are ." 

      "Sure , why not ? What did you have in mind ?" , she answers .

      "Fuck it , let's go to Disneyland !" , CC exclaims .

      "We'll definitely be seen by a lot of people there ." , Brian says .

      As calls are made to the rest of the group to see if they want to join us , I put my arms around Tiana , and ask her , "Are you OK with Disneyland , babe ?" 

      "Yeah , it sounds like fun , I've never been there , so you'll have to show me what's actually fun ." , she replies . " And maybe I can get a picture of you wearing Mickey Mouse ears ." 

      I laugh , and say , "What the hell ! I've had my picture taken in all manner of Hello Kitty stuff , so why would that bother me ?" 

     This conversation starts a completely different train of thought in my head , and I sort of become absorbed with it , so I'm a bit startled when Tiana grabs my arm and pulls me out of the kitchen , back into her room .

     "What was that for ?" , I ask her .

      "I thought maybe I should get you away from everyone , before somebody started asking you what the hell you were thinking about ." , she tells me , and I realize that the direction of my thoughts is now ...  quite visible .

      "What ARE you thinking about ?" , she questions .

      I'm sort of embarrassed to admit it , but I finally say , " I was kind of imagining you wearing nothing but a pair of Minnie Mouse ears ." 

      She starts laughing so hard she's not really even making any sounds , just sort of wheezing , with tears streaming down her face . Finally , she composes herself a bit , wraps her arms around me , and says , "I tell you what ; you get through this little outing without embarrassing yourself , or weirding out the others , and that can probably be arranged ."

A / N : I know this is sort of a filler chapter , but I promise that there will be some drama very soon , so stay tuned ! Thanx to everyone who has been reading and voting !