She decided on a black strapless dress that was saved from being too revealing for the clubhouse by the Fifties-esque full skirt that fell just below the knee and elected to pair it with leopard-print wedges. Fancy without too much effort and it had convenient pockets for her phone and keys. It had been a humid day and the clubhouse was sure to get stuffy quickly, no matter how many windows or doors were propped open. Ashleigh was vain enough that if the party was in her honor then she wanted to look good. But more than that, if Paul had been dipping his dick in Texas pussy then she’d find out tonight. If he had, then her choices just got a whole lot easier, and if they were well and truly over, then she wanted him to regret it on every level.
Her stomach churned the whole drive to the clubhouse. She’d left it as late as she dared. The sunset was displaying its most spectacularly vivid shades as she pulled up in the clubhouse lot. She could see from the number of bikes lined up that everyone was home. Good thing, bad thing, it didn’t matter. She’d have to face him tonight, and given that she’d had a lot of time to think about things, he’d be expecting an answer or a damn good reason why she didn’t have one.
The door was ajar, so she sucked in a deep breath, lifted her chin and straightened her spine while she was still walking over the limestone chippings, none of which was easy in heels.
She didn’t have a chance to look around for Paul when she stepped inside because Dolly accosted her almost immediately. If Ashleigh hadn’t known better she would have suspected that Dolly had been waiting by the door; actually, she might have been.
“So, you are alive! I was thinkin’ I’d have to come over and break the door down to get you out.”
“Hiya, Aunt Dolly.” Ashleigh replied, resigned to her fate, and kissed the older woman on the proffered cheek.
Dolly half dragged her over to the bar, where her mother was waiting by her father’s side. “What’ll it be? Tequila?”
Dolly was about to shout over to the new Prospect, but Ashleigh, trying to keep the panic out of her voice, interrupted. “No! No. I need to pace myself. We’ve got all night yet. Just a beer please.”
“You’d have a lot longer if you hadn’t taken your sweet time turnin’ up, cher.” Her mother’s arched eyebrow spoke volumes.
“Wardrobe emergency.” Ashleigh replied vaguely. Her mother’s eyebrow didn’t lower.
“Your mama tells me you’ve not been round to the house while we’ve been gone.” Her father’s face was all concern. She wouldn’t be lying to him for long, but that didn’t make her feel any better about hiding the truth now.
“I’ve just been tired, Daddy. Been busy at work and had things to do around the apartment, that’s all.” Her mother’s eyebrow hadn’t dropped an inch.
Ashleigh was thinking about trying to make an escape; where to she wasn’t sure. Normally she’d have found Dean for a game of pool, but that wasn’t an option, and knowing that made her sad. She cast about for inspiration. She couldn’t see Paul, but she did see Crash over by the pool table. She grabbed her as yet untouched bottle of beer that the prospect had placed on the bar and saluted her parents and Dolly.
“I’m goin’ to mingle. See you in a few.”
She made good her escape. There were no hard questions from Crash or from Dizzy and Sinatra when they joined them for a couple of games of doubles. People kept bringing her bottles of beer, which she kept putting down in corners and ‘forgetting’ to pick up again. She saw the other patches around; Kong had gotten his party on early with Leah who was, for the moment, by his side with her hand down his jeans.
The sound of a heavy door closing caused Ashleigh to look up. When she found the source, the Chapel door, she saw Paul and Chiz exiting the room.
Something in her whirling mind got a little clearer. She hadn’t realized just how much she’d missed him. Her first instinct was to run across the room and jump into his arms, but the look in his eyes stopped her. She couldn’t tell if those black pools were angry, or just determined, but they were something that didn’t involve smiling. He said something to Chiz and started to head her way. She couldn’t leave without making it obvious that she was avoiding him, and she wasn’t sure that she wanted to, she just didn’t want to have the conversation in the middle of the clubhouse. She took a swallow of the beer she was holding; one swallow wouldn’t hurt, purely for medicinal purposes, to calm her racing heart. She put the bottle down on the edge of the pool table rather than drop it or throw it.