Plain Jane

Like A Doll

Aston was actually very calm under situations like this, his touch soothed me. Unlike Mr. Brooding who only made me confused and anxious, Aston made me open my eyes, slow down, and breathe. Even though that's what Amelia should be doing as we sat in the back of Aston's SUV, speeding to Regional West.

Her husband was on his way to meet us at the hospital but Amelia was cursing the very day he was born for putting her through this pain.

"With all do respect please shut the f**k up." Amelia snapped at Aston as he tried to calm her down. His face turned beet red and he chuckled laughing it off.

"Well she's not as bad as my sister was, not that was not something I will ever go through again with her." He said, grimacing at the memory.

"Does it hurt?" I whispered to Aston. His eyes widened when Amelia answered for him.

"Go ahead answer her, since you have given birth before Mr. Smith." She narrowed her eyes at him. He gulped and shook his head at me, ducking it down to stare at his blank phone. "Yes Jane, it hurts. Badly."

I shut up after that, staring at the window at the passing cars. I felt a hand squeeze my thigh and my head snapped up to meet Aston's eyes. He held his phone up for me to read the message: follow along. Then he motioned with his eyes to look up at Ryan, who was staring straight ahead jaw clenched.

"Your lips look soft." Aston yell-whispered. "I wonder what they taste like."

"Whoa-" I said, noticing where this was going, but he was leaning in already, gingerly putting his lips against mine. It was nothing like Ryan's crushing kisses, or Cayden's slow sensual one. It was tiny, feather like, and barely there.

"We're here." I heard Ryan say as he jumped out of the car, grabbing Amelia's hand to keep her steady as she climbed out behind him. He shot a withering look at me and slammed the door in Aston's face, as Amelia bent over outside the car in pain.

"I knew he had a thing for you." He smiled and shook his head. "I'm guessing this means you have a thing for him too and are opposed to going out to dinner with me tonight?"

"No actually, I would love to." I agreed, not thinking about my protective glasses on my face and my work only motto.

"Great, I'll talk to you once we get Amelia settled." He smiled one last time, flashing his dimples, before getting out of the car.

.....

The birth of Amelia's baby boy, Jaden, went well. She was in labor for a short three hours, in which Aston, Ryan and I sat in a tense silence in the waiting room. Her husband came out and told us we could go home, and they would be allowed to let visitors in the room tomorrow so we could see Jaden.

Aston put his hand on the small of my back as we walked out, giving me an odd feeling. It isn't at all weird that the guy you are plotting against to ruin his company wants to take you on a date? It isn't at all weird that Ryan and Aston don't really seem to get along and he tried to make Ryan jealous in the car?

My doubts were interrupted when I zoned back into an argument between Ryan and Aston. "She will be riding with me, thank you Mr. Smith."

"Actually Jane has agreed to a dinner with me, so we will be going." Aston smirked at Ryan, beginning to walk me to his car. I looked over my shoulder at Ryan's face, it was stone cold no emotion on it.

Aston pushed me forward towards the car door, making me turn to look up at him underneath my eyelashes. "Where are we going? I'm sorry I spaced out." I asked.

He paused for a minute, running his hand through his beautiful blonde hair and running his tongue over his lips. "Um- yeah we are we are going to.." He trailed off, still staring at me. "I'm so sorry Jane. I'm so sorry, I uh just remembered I can't have dinner tonight, I have something to attend to. My apologies, look um Ryan is still here, why don't you go ride with him?" He said hastily, grabbing my hand and practically dragging me towards a fuming Ryan.

He opened the door to reveal a smiling man, someone who was just angry not but two minutes ago. "You take her, I have something to do." He said. He shut the door after I got in the car and jogged towards his own, pulling away immediately.

I'm not a doll or child you can just share! I crossed my arms, looking out the window, waiting till the car moved.

"What happened between you two?" Ryan asked, a hint of bitterness in his voice.

"Nothing." Which was true.

"Well I also have something to do, actually. So I'll drop you off." He said. I turned to face him, but he was back to smiling at his phone. I looked a little closer and saw a woman's name on the top of the screen, Lindsay. It even had a bear emoji next to it. Something in me stirred and I wrung my hands together in anger.

"Who are you talking to?" I asked.

"None ya." He answered, not even looking up.

"Typical." I breathed.

"Typical Jane?" He snapped, throwing his phone on the seat, scooting close to me. "Typical? Are you kidding me? You want to know what's typical is a flaunting tease of a red head like you thinking you can do whatever you damn well please whenever and with whomever! That's what's typical! A typical twenty something, a f*****g typical woman!" He screamed.

"I can do what ever I damn well please! Want to know why? Because I am an adult! f**k you Ryan, f**k you! I didn't do s**t to you!" I screamed back.

"You had s*x with me to get over Cayden, that's not doing anything?!"

"You complied! No one forced you! I'm sorry I'm so disgusting that you regret doing it! I wouldn't want to be 'that girl' that ruined your company, now would I?" I screamed. The car was at a red light so I grabbed my bag and opened the door.

"I never said that Jane, get back in the car!" He yelled. I slammed the door walking across four lanes of stopped cars to get to the sidewalk. Not to mention it was pouring and I had no idea where to go.

Ryan jumped out of the car at the last second, just as the car started moving. "Jane, wait!" He yelled, the rain soaking him to the bone, his hair sticking to his forehead.

"What do you want?" I said, my voice hoarse from yelling. We stood in the middle of the sidewalk, the people angrily walking around us.

"Your hair is wet again, just like the first time we met. You remember that?" He said, looking down at me through his eyelashes.

"How could I not?" I mutter. He picks up a piece of my red hair, limply letting it go and trailing a finger down my jaw line. His face was showing different conflicting emotions. It was like a weird scene of The Notebook.

But then his car pulled up to the curb, and he shot me a look.

And then I realized it wasn't a movie, because his phone buzzed with a text. And he pulled it out, opening the car door and getting in.

Nope not The Notebook. I thought as he pulled away.