Choices
Summary: Ashton Irwin thought he had everything he needed in life in the form of his daughter. Funny the difference a choice can make.
A/N: New series!
Content: Nothing too crazy/out of the norm.
Word Count: Just shy of 3K
And away, and away we go!
Chapter 1
âIs this seat taken?â a womanâs voice drawled, pulling me from my thoughts.
âHuh? Oh, no, go ahead,â I said, motioning to the empty seat next to me at the bar. I held my hand up in a half wave to get the bartenderâs attention, âCal,â I called out to him, âlittle help?â
âThanks,â she smiled softly, getting comfortable on the seat and rummaging through her purse for her wallet.
âNot a problem,â I half-smiled back, before turning my attention back to my own drink. I took a sip, still not sure what I was doing here, or if I was in the mood for something stronger.
âCan I buy you a drink?â another guy slurred at the woman. âI mean if he doesnât have the balls to ask, I will,â he further explained, motioning at me. I rolled my eyes and bit my tongue.
âIâm okay, thank you,â she smiled pleasantly at the man before turning to Calum, the bartender. âJack and coke, please,â she ordered, handing over some money and her ID. From what I could see, it was an out-of-state ID, but I couldnât see which state. Based on her accent, I assumed some Southern state.
âWow,â the man whistled, looking at me, âIf youâre not gonna hit on her, I am.â
âOr, you could leave her alone,â I suggested firmly. This is why I donât go out, I told myself.
âWhy donât we let the lady decide?â he slurred again. âWhatâs your name, darlinâ?â
She looked at the man and smiled another polite smile. Then, âI wouldnât waste your efforts, Iâm not interested, but thank you.â She took the drink from Calum and took a long drink, sighing in content.
I scoffed into my drink. Good for you, I thought to myself.
The man scoffed too, âNot interested, you say? Then why are you by yourself at a bar on a Friday night?â
âTrying to enjoy my night,â she said, her pleasantness fading away to a clipped tone. Another long drink from the glass.
âYouâd enjoy it a lot more if you accepted some friendly flirting,â he told her.
âIâd appreciate it if you left me alone, now,â she said, trying to keep her voice both firm but polite.
âYou know what Iâd apprec-â
âOkay!â I said abruptly, turning to face the guy. âThe lady said she wasnât interested. I strongly suggest you listen to her.â
âOr what, tough guy?â he asked, standing up.
I stood up myself, towering over the guy. âOr youâll have to deal with me.â
He looked me up and down thinking over his choices. He shook his head, grabbed his jacket, and walked out of the bar.
I sighed and sat back down. âSorry, weâre not all like that, I promise,â I told her.
The anger she had towards the guy turned full force on me, âI didnât ask, nor did I want your help. I had that handled just fine, thanks.â
âYouâre welcome.â
She let out a small scream of frustration. âUgh! Youâre impossible!â
âYou donât know the first thing about me,â I told her.
âOh, so you donât have a savior complex? Iâm not some damsel in distress. I can hold my own.â
âJust trying to help.â It wasnât worth getting mad that she was mad. I didnât know her or her story. But you want to, my brain told me. I shook my head to get rid of the thought. I turned my attention to the baseball game on the TV, the only reason I had agreed to go out in the first place.
âWell, next time, donât,â she retorted, pursing her lips.
âAnd sit idly by while some douche says derogatory comments towards you? Canât do that.â
âAnd why not?â
âWhy donât you ask my savior complex?â I teased.
This got a laugh out of her, âAlright, maybe I overreacted. Iâm just trying to prove that I can take care of myself.â
âYou moved this far to prove a point?â I asked.
âWhat?â
âThe accent. Southern?â
âGood ear,â she smiled.
I shrugged. It was an easy enough accent to detect. âAnd what possessed you to move from the warmth of the South to the bitter cold of Seattle?â
âGrad school,â she confessed.
I nodded, slowly, âThatâs cool.â She had drive, and while Iâd never be able to wrap my head around someone willingly subjecting themselves to grad school, I could appreciate the ambition.
She shrugged, âJust prolonging life.â Her tone was almost bitter, like she wasnât sure whether or not she believed it.
âI get the feeling someone fed you that bullshit line.â
Another laugh, âBingo!â Then, âSo, what do you do?â
âOh, Iâm a cop.â
Her eyes went wide. âWow, thatâs⊠incredibly impressive.â
I shrugged, âItâs not as glamorous as youâd think.â
âRough week, huh?â she asked, nodding at my glass.
I laughed, âItâs just club soda. I try not to drink too often.â
She raised her eyebrows, âGirlfriend doesnât like you drinking?â
âOh, I donât have a girlfriend.â
âOh?â
âNot a lot of time,â was as much as I was willing to fess up to a perfect stranger, no matter how pretty I found her.
She nodded slowly, pursing her lips. âNice tattoos,â she said, changing the subject.
âThanks,â I said, my left arm self-consciously covering the tattoo on my right forearm. So, where you from?â
âAtlanta.â
âAnd you moved here for college?â
She nodded, âYep.â
âWhy? I mean, why Seattle?â
âChange of pace. Trying to broaden my horizons and whatnot.â
âAnd the boyfriend wasnât a fan?â
She scoffed, âNo he was not. Which is why he got bumped to ex-boyfriend.â
âAh, so now you come to bars to verbally abuse the good guys, huh?â I teased.
âKeeps âem on their toes,â she smiled, her eyes dancing.
âMost would say being defensive is a front,â I told her.
âMost would say being secretive is also a front,â she shot back.
I leaned back. She was quick-witted; I liked that. âHow am I secretive?â
âQuiet guy at a bar by himself, defender of innocent girls from the regular creeps? Youâre right, open book.â
âNot secretive, just uninteresting.â
âBullshit. Youâre a cop. By definition that makes you interesting.â
âMy job is interesting. But me? Not so much. Pretty basic stuff.â
âOh really?â
âReally,â I assured. I finished my drink and drummed my hands against the bar, contemplating my next move. I wanted to get back home, but a huge part of me wanted to stay right where I was. âUm⊠you got a safe way to get home?â
She laughed a small, short laugh. âIs that your attempt at asking to see me home?â
I shrugged, âIn my own incredibly lame way, I guess so.â
She took the last swallow from her glass. âEvery instinct is screaming at me, but I got a gut feeling that says youâre one of the good guys. Even if I donât even know your name.â
âItâs Ash,â I told her, offering my hand.
âAsh,â she repeated, taking my hand and smiling. âIâm Nic.â
âOkay, Nic,â I said, liking the way her name sounded on my lips. âCan I walk you home?â
âReally?â
âCall it an apology for my reckless savior-complex.â
She eyed me carefully. âThis isnât a ploy so you can murder me, is it?â
âOh yeah, Iâm the Barkeep Killer. I get rid of douchebag creeps for innocent girls so they think Iâm the good guy. Under the âgood guyâ guise I offer to walk them home, so I can murder them because the one thing I canât protect them from is my own bloodlust that can only be tamed by killing.â I couldnât keep a straight face, and we both started cracking up with laughter. We laughed until our eyes teared up and it hurt to breathe.
âSo, you really want to walk me home?â she finally asked after we caught our breath.
I shrugged. âYeah. Not that itâs not safe, or youâre not capable of taking yourself home. Itâs just⊠I dunno⊠Iâm overstepping. SorryâŠâ I couldnât think of a good enough reason to walk her home that didnât sound completely insane. And she was right, I could be a murderer or some other sort of psycho. I wasnât, but she didnât know that.
âNo, itâs just weâd literally have to walk. I didnât bring my car. I only live a few blocks away.â
âOh, thatâs fine. I walked, too. I mean, I have a car, I just left it at home.â I reached for my jacket and stood up, âShall we?â I asked.
She stood up and slung her purse over her shoulder. She smiled at me, âYeah, letâs go.â
âLead the way.â
âFair warning,â she said as we made our way to the street. âTry anything and I will scream.â
I held up my hands defensively. âYou can trust me. As stupid and as crazy as that seems, you can, okay? Like, yeah I can be a jackass sometimes, but Iâm a pretty good dude.â
âAre you now?â
âYeah. Okay, so I have a little sister. A brother to, but thatâs slightly irrelevant to this particular story. Anyway growing up the one thing that was reinforced just as much as protecting her, was âtreat girls the way you want guys to treat your sister. If you donât want someone to treat your sister that way, donât treat other girls that way.â So, I try to look out for the female population as best I can. Cuz all the other girls are someone elseâs sister or daughter. And I like to think that there are other guys out there whoâd look out for my sister if I couldnât myself.â I left out the daughter bit of the equation. I learned more times than I could count that dropping the âI have a daughterâ bomb didnât bode well for romance.
âWow⊠thatâs actually really sweet of you.â
âGolden rule right? Treat people the way you want to be treated. Or in this case, treat girls the way I want guys to treat my sister. Either way, itâs really not a big deal. Iâm happy to do it.â
âSo, do you walk a lot?â she asked after a small lull.
I shrugged, âI like the exercise.â
She took a step back to eye me up and down. âYou must like to exercise a lotâŠâ
I laughed. Admittedly, I was a well-built guy. It was the kind of body a guy built after joining the police force and chasing criminals, and keeping up with a five year old. âI just keep busy,â I half-lied.
âOh, this is all from being a cop? Bullshit.â
I laughed again, âAnd walking.â She laughed with me, our laughs echoing off the buildings. âSo, tell me something about yourself no one else knows,â I said, trying to make conversation as we walked to her place.
âHmmâŠâ she thought for a minute. âAlright. Despite the fear instilled in me by double-standards and plain old sexism, I love this time of night. When half the world is settling in for the night and the other half is getting ready for a night out, I feel so⊠alive. Like Iâm part of something bigger than myself, yâknow?â
I nodded. âItâs part of why I walk. The world seems almost peaceful.â
âAnd incredibly cold,â she laughed, breathing into her hands and rubbing them together.
Without thinking, I took my jacket and draped it around her shoulders. âNot used to the weather yet?â
âYeah, Iâve only been here for a few weeks.â She put her arms through the sleeves before zipping up the jacket.
âAnd how are you liking it so far?â I asked, draping my arm around her shoulders.
She leaned into me as we continued to walk. âItâs nice. A little colder than Iâm used to, but itâs still nice. So, what about you, Mr. Cop?â
âWhat do you mean?â
âI dunno. Tell me about yourself.â
I shrugged. âIâm a 25 year old cop who likes to walk. Whatâs to tell?â
âYou forgot the part about saving girls from creeps in bars.â
âOnly the pretty verbally abusive ones.â
âPretty?â she asked, stopping to look at me.
âNot⊠like youâre pretty verbally abusive. Not pretty pretty. Well, you are⊠butâŠâ I sputtered. Why did this girl make me feel like such a dupe? I took my hat off to run my hand through my hair before putting the hat back on. âYeah, youâre pretty.â
âYou're not so bad lookinâ yourself,â she responded before walking a few more steps, stopping again in front of a large apartment complex. âWell, this is me.â
I let out a laugh as my eyes fell on the address.
âWhat?â she asked.
âI think weâre neighbors.â I laughed again as I recalled a group of girls in sorority shirts hauling up boxes between fits of giggles a few weeks ago.
Her eyes looked at me, searching my face for an ounce of familiarity. âYouâre âladiesâ guy!â she exclaimed when it finally clicked.
I laughed for a third time. Anytime I had passed one of them Iâd always said a small âLadies,â as I made my way out to work or came home. âThatâs me.â
âI didnât recognize you without the cop uniform,â she laughed at the sheer coincidence of it all.
âI didnât recognize you either, so I guess weâre even.â
âWhoâs the girl youâre always with?â she asked.
I gulped, wondering which girl she was referring to.
âYou know, the tall, pretty one,â she pressed, sensing my hesitation.
I sighed in relief, âThatâs my sister. Sheâs over a lot.â
She reached in her purse to pull out her keys and undid the lock. Her roommates were hanging out in the living room and immediately all their eyes went to me. Then, âWhoâs this? Who cares, heâs cute!â came rushing out in a whirlwind.
âGirls, this is Ash. Ash, this is Kayla, Sasha, and Natalie.â
âNice to meet you, ladies,â I nodded.
The same sense of familiarity flicked across their faces once the word âladiesâ left my lips. âOh! Youâre him!â
âYes. Ash is our neighbor,â Nic explained. âHe was just walking me home.â
I nodded again, rocking on my heels. âYeah, well, I guess my job hereâs done. Night ladies. Nic.â I nodded again and turned towards my own door.
âWait,â Nic called out, closing the small distance between us. âThank you, Ash,â she smiled before reaching up to kiss my cheek.
âAnytime,â I said, ducking my head to hide my face turning red. I quickly unlocked my door and let myself in.
My sister looked up from the couch, âWow, I wasnât expecting you back so soon.â
I shrugged. âWasnât feeling it.â
Lauren shook her head, âYouâre never âfeeling itâ, Ash. Thatâs the problem.â
âHowâs that a problem?â
âBecause you deserve to have a life, Ash.â
âI have a life, Lauren.â
She rolled her eyes. âYou know what I mean. Whereâs your jacket?â
âMustâve left it at the bar,â I lied.
âYouâre a terrible liar.â
âI met a girl. I walked her home. She got cold. I gave her my jacket.â
âYou met a girl?! What?!â
I shrugged. âItâs nothing. Turns out sheâs my new neighbor. Iâll get my jacket back eventually.â
âYou canât just casually mention that you met a girl, Ash.â
âYes, I can. It doesnât mean anything. I got other things more important than some girl.â
âBut what if sheâs the girl?â
âThen sheâs right down the hall. She still up?â I asked, changing the topic.
âShe was dozing off when I last checked.â
I nodded. âYou staying? You can have my bed. Iâll take the couch.â
She shook her head, âItâs early and a Friday night. Iâll probably see if Adam wants to do anything.â
I raised my eyebrows. I wasnât sure I liked the thought of my sister being out with a guy by herself, no matter how much I liked the guy.
âIâll be fine, Ash. Iâll see ya later.â She grabbed her coat and purse before heading for the door.
âThanks, Lauren. See ya,â I told her as she pulled the door shut behind her. I made my way down the hallway, poking my head in the bedroom on the right. A night light glowed brightly, casting the bed in a soft glow. I slowly made my way across the dolls and various other toys towards the bed. âNight, Cass,â I whispered, pulling the covers over the little body and kissing her forehead.
âDaddy?â Cassidyâs voice asked, heavy with sleep.
âWhatâs up, love?â I asked, my voice low.
âYou missed bedtime.â
âI know. Weâll go to the park tomorrow, okay?â
âOkay.â
âAlright, get some sleep. I love you.â
âLove you, too.â She rolled over and fell back asleep.
I made my way out of the room and into my own. I sighed as I put my wallet and keys on my dresser and got changed for bed. This is why I donât go out, I told myself for the second time that night. But Nicâs nice, and you wouldnât have met her if you stayed home tonight, another part of my brain pointed out. Yeah, but how would she feel when she finds out I have sole custody of my five year old? I asked myself. I crawled into bed, my mind arguing with itself and my cheek still tingling from Nicâs lips.
~~~
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