Angels and Guardians

Author's note:

This is part 5 of a multi-part series. Best if read after parts 1-4.

Thanks for reading, and please remember to vote!

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Chapter 18

Love Regained

Jon talked with Ashley for a bit backstage, introducing her to his agent. To his manager's somewhat annoyance, Jon offered Ashley a job with the band as female lead vocalist. Ashley was dumbfounded at the invitation, but denied the offer when she recovered her words. The band was surprised at her answer. They were doing very well, making millions, and she, only 18, was just offered a share in their wealth and a chance at never having to apply for a job again. However, they understood and admired her reasons for her answer. She listed them off in the order of importance she placed on them. First was Joe, she didn't know yet if it was a forever thing, but taking the job would end the relationship for sure. Second were her friends, for pretty much the same reason. Third and last was school. With an education, she could make anything work. If the band thing ended in four years, she would be four years behind. Jon then told her that he would have his manager email her concert dates. If she could make any of them, just let him know. "Even if it is Tokyo, I'll fly you and two friends out so you can perform with us. I'll even give you 1% of our take for the concert," he said. She said her sincere thanks and left them with her cell number and email address.

She walked back to meet up with her friends, working on the math in her head. "Holy shit," she thought. "A club performance like tonight would be not quite $300...if the civic center hosted the concert, that would be $1800. So, I'd get a free trip AND a good chunk of money for 1 ½ hours of work." Ashley made a mental note to definitely take him up on some of his offers. She was greeted with hugs and kisses from the group, along with a series of compliments. Joe noticed that even though she was smiling broadly, something had shaken Ashley. "What is it," he asked.

Her hands and voice were trembling. "Uh...I was just offered a job for next year."

Kim was excited for her. "Really! Doing what?"

Ashley replied, still shaking, "Um, well, the same thing I did tonight. Singing, dancing, doing music video shoots."

Jasmine looked like she just swallowed a world's worth of jumping beans. She bounced over to Ashley and gave her a huge hug. "Congratulations!"

Joe spoke next, "Yeah, for real. Grats, honey. What did they offer?"

Ashley spoke in a tiny voice, embarrassed about the amount. "Well, it would depend on how well they do next year, but somewhere between 900 and 1.3."

Joe shook his head to clear it. He knew business terms and this was big, especially for an unknown teenaged girl.

Jasmine didn't grasp as much and spoke before he did. "$900 a month? That's great! You get to go on trips and get paid for it. What is 1.3, though?"

Joe said slowly, "Jazz, heh, you aren't seeing the whole picture. In business, what she just said was they offered her between $900,000 and $1.3 MILLION for next year." He paused, then said, "Basically, she just hit the lottery."

Ashley cut in, "Well, before y'all go berserk, I turned it down."

Jill was astonished. "You did what?!"

"I turned it down. I want to go to college, I want to be with Joe, I want to hang out with you guys. Besides, the band could fall apart tomorrow on a whim."

Joe nodded. "That's true, sweetie. But you didn't even want to take a chance?"

"Well, they did offer a smaller package."

"Yes?"

"They invited me to sing at as many concerts as I want to. They'd fly me and two of you there, and give me 1% of the ticket profits. I'll probably do that, instead."

Jasmine protested, "1%? That's nothing. Why would you do that?"

Joe smiled, having just done the math. "Jasmine, if they played at the Civic Center, and every seat was filled, Ashley would probably get $1800."

Jasmine wasn't convinced. "Yeah right."

Joe explained, "Tickets for cheap seats at a concert with this big a name would normally go for what, $60 each?"

"Yeah...?"

"Ok, so after ticket fees and the band management cut, $45 is about what the band gets for each seat. The Civic Center holds about 4000 people. Take one percent of that total, and you get $1800. Not bad for a couple of hours of work and a free trip!"

Jasmine finally got it. "Oh shit," she said.

Ashley giggled, then nudged Joe. "I thought you said you weren't good at math! I got the same answer, and I worked on it in my head all the way back to y'all. You did it in like 8 seconds!"

He answered, "well, when you put a dollar sign in front of the numbers, it becomes interesting, and I can do that pretty well."

They walked back to Jill's vehicle and headed home. It wouldn't take a psychic to guess as to what they talked about the whole time. They made it back before midnight, and all of them piled out of the SUV. "You're all coming in?" Joe asked.

Jill answered, "Yes, we promised you a treat if you were good tonight, remember?"

"Yeah, but I thought y'all were teasing..."

"Shh." Ashley put a finger on his lips. "We promised, and we're not going to let you down." Joe started to speak, but Ashley pressed her finger more firmly. "I want Kim to say goodbye properly, and the rest of us are...well...horny! Just enjoy it, Joe." She led him by the hand inside, and he and the four girls retreated to his bedroom.

They woke up early the next morning, having only a few hours of sleep. Kim was allowed to use the bathroom first, as she had to finish packing for her flight at 9. Jasmine groggily made breakfast for all of them, and was last in taking her shower. Joe's parents were up as well, wanting to say goodbye to their house guest for the past week.

Kim checked in at the ticket counter and had her bags searched. The group made their way upstairs and Kim went through the security checkpoint. When Ashley went to follow, the TSA officer put his arm in front of her, asking for a ticket. When she replied that she didn't have one and that she was just seeing off her friend, he stated that only ticket holding passengers were allowed beyond that point and waved at the sign. Joe stepped forward, pulled a card out of his wallet and presented it to the guard. The guard then cleared them to go through.

When they reached Kim's gate, they gathered near the window overlooking the plane that would take her on the first leg back home. Ashley asked Joe how he managed to get past the security point. "I showed him my secret clearance I.D.," he stated flatly. She was about to ask more, but Jill and Jasmine shook their heads at her.

The group killed time chatting about events the previous week, and reliving some events from early in their high school days for the benefit of Ashley. When Kim's row was announced, she received a tearful hug and kiss goodbye from Jill and Jasmine. Joe wrapped his arms around her in a bear hug, instructing her to take care of herself.

Kim was stoic up to the point when she had to say goodbye to Ashley. "I'm so sorry we got off on the wrong foot this week," Ashley sobbed. It was too much for Kim, and tears started cascading down her cheeks.

"Oh, sweetie! It worked out in the end, didn't it?" she asked as the two collapsed into each other's arms. Ashley held Kim tight as the two cried into each other's shoulders.

Finally, she sniffed and broke the embrace by kissing Kim on the cheek. "We get to know each other, and now you're being taken away. I wish we didn't live so far apart," she said softly.

Kim returned the sentiment, and kissed the last two tears from Ashley's cheeks. She looked at the rest of them and said, "I'll miss you all!" as she slipped through the jetway door.

Her friends stood at the window, staring at the plane. Jill put her arms around Ashley from behind and kissed the back of her head. She whispered quietly into her ear in an attempt to comfort Ashley's pain of losing sight of a new close friend. Ashley stayed in her arms, watching, until the plane made its leap into the sky and disappeared from view.

It was Thanksgiving week, making the students fly through studies in just three short days. Wednesday was even shorter, as the school held a pep rally to send off the football team for their second to last regular season game. Coach Mike only held a meeting with the team after the pep rally, figuring that the players were peaking. Much more practice or hard workouts, and performance would start to decline. He went through some last minute scout videos of their opponents, and gave details on when the bus would leave on Friday. Coach reminded the team that those who planned on driving the two and a half hours there would have no excuse for meeting the bus late at that school. He took down a list of those who would not be taking the bus. Joe raised his hand, of course. After getting the list complete, Coach dismissed the team.

The cheer coach went through a similar drill with the girls. Jill was surprised that only her, Jasmine, and Ashley would not be taking the bus. When she asked Sally, Allison, and Marybeth why they didn't want to ride in the much more comfortable SUV, they answered that their boyfriends were riding the bus. Later, Ashley commented to Jill and Jasmine that Joe had a dream a few weeks back that predicted the others would drift away. She wondered what the other part meant for her.

Joe met the three on the field and told them he was dismissed for practice. Jill said she wanted to run some laps to keep sharp. The others agreed, and they ran with each other around the football field sidelines for an half hour before heading to their homes.

Joe and Ashley got home to find a note from his mom, stating that they were sorry, but they wanted to score some brownie points with some management families in Denver. In short, she was saying that they would not be home for Thanksgiving. Joe showered first, and returned downstairs to fix dinner for himself and Ashley. Ashley offered to help, but he declined, letting her take her shower and get changed.

Ashley pranced downstairs after freshening up, dressed for comfort in only a t-shirt from a California cheer competition and white bikini panties. The food at dinner was excellent, as always. However, the mood soured a bit as the pair got themselves into an argument. Joe had let Ashley know he thought it would be nice if she saw her parents on Thanksgiving morning, at least.

She dropped her fork noisily on her plate. "Now, why the hell would I do that? They all but called me a slut the last time I saw them!"

"I know, Ashley, but forgive and forget, eh?"

"Jesus! I was looking forward to a nice day off with you. No school, no practice, no games to go to. And, no events to perform for. I've had my limit of events the last few weeks, Joe."

"Like you don't enjoy it..."

She set her jaw and glared at him. "What did you say?" she hissed.

"Look, Ash. It's not like you don't enjoy performing. I see it in your eyes while you do it. And, that's not a bad thing. Just stop complaining about it like it's a chore."

Ashley pondered this for a second. "Well, you MIGHT be right about that," she offered softly. "But it doesn't change the fact that I was looking forward to just spending time with you without having to check my watch every 10 minutes. Are you doing this so you can have some alone time?"

He shook his head. "No, I don't have an ulterior motive. I just think you should see your folks, is all. If it makes you feel better, I'll go with you."

"Well, I sure as hell am not going alone," she spat. Ashley then conceded in her head that Joe had succeeded in convincing her the second she uttered the words. He didn't reply, but he just looked at her. She knew what his eyes were saying, and she slumped her shoulders. "I'll go get my phone," she resigned.

Ashley removed the napkin from her legs that were folded under her Indian-style, and placed it on the table. She sighed as she got up and walked past Joe, heading upstairs. Alone in her room, she held her phone in one hand and held her forehead in the other, as she tried to come up with what to say. Ashley decided she wanted to be with Joe when the reply came, so she brought the phone with her back to the breakfast table where they were eating. She sat back in her chair and refolded her legs. It was an old habit that she did when not in formal company since she was little. She put the phone on the table and propped her head in her hands.

Joe waited a few moments before asking, "you ok, Ash?"

She snapped at him, not meaning to. "I'm fine. Just let me do this, okay?" She whipped up the phone and popped open the texting board. "I'd like to come over in the morning, if that's ok," she texted to her dad. After she was done, she dropped the phone on the table and started playing with what was left on her plate. Her hands trembled as she picked the phone back up when it chimed that there was a reply. She looked at the screen and it said, "We'd love to have you. Dad." She released the pent up air in her lungs and said, "okay, it's all set up."

"There, that wasn't so hard, was it?" Joe asked.

"Don't you dare patronize me, Joe," she defended. Ashley twirled her fork a bit more, lost in thought. Then she got up and asked gently, "are you done?" Joe nodded, and Ashley collected the dirty plates on the table and cleaned up the kitchen.

She joined him in the den after she finished with the kitchen. She sat next to him and started kissing his lips softly, and Joe tossed the remote on the coffee table. As Ashley lost herself in kissing Joe, she knelt over his lap and settled onto his jeans. A lump in the front told her that he wasn't mad about their little spat. She lifted her shirt over her head, keeping a pleasant smile in her eyes to show him she wasn't mad either. Joe moved his lip play over her jaw and chin, down to her neck as he lightly scratched her back. Ashley loved the gentle nails scraping on her skin. He never left a mark, and it was like he was taking care of itches she never knew she had.

She placed her hands behind his head, cradling it as he teased her perfect skin at her throat with his lips and teeth. Ashley began to press her body down, rubbing herself against Joe's pant tent. The parts that were hidden under her panties appreciated the increased friction and she guided his head to her chest. Joe responded by kissing the milky globes, starting along the outside of the curve. He spiraled his kisses toward the front center, making Ashley ache for attention on the pert tips. Joe licked around the edge of one firm, pink nipple and traded sides to repeat on the other. Finally, he centered up and took her right one and drew it lightly into his mouth. While he nursed at her, she reached down and lifted her bottom up to undo his jeans. Ashley reached in and drew out his hardness, rubbing it lovingly.

Joe continued to suck gently at her breasts, alternating sides as he felt her hand use the moisture forming at his tip to lubricate his shaft as she stroked him. She lowered herself to grind him through the fabric of her cotton underwear and it felt hot and moist to him. Suddenly, in one quick movement, she raised up, pulled aside her covering, and guided him inside. As Ashley sank onto him he grunted into her chest. She started to rise and fall onto his lap, letting him penetrate her fully each time. Joe released her breast and returned to her mouth, exploring it with his tongue. She danced hers around and along his, and when he retreated, she would follow into his mouth to return the favor. As they continued their tongue dance, Ashley steadily increased her tempo, ignoring the slight fatigue in her thighs.

Ashley knew he was getting close as she felt Joe thrust up now to meet her. Inside, the hot firm rod pulsed against her walls. When she kissed his neck, she felt the blood course through his veins in perfect timing to the slight throbs inside her. Her lubrication increased, and they glided against each other easily. She leaned back slightly and held her bottom lip lightly in her teeth, concentrating on the exquisite feelings running through her. Joe thought the look on her face was adorable and sexy rolled into one. Her expression told him that she was seriously working toward release, but in an amazingly pretty way.

He didn't stop his impulse to tell her what was drumming in his head. "God, Ashley. You're so beautiful!" Right after he said it, his orgasm ran through his belly, into the sack between his legs and out in rolling pulses through his engorged muscle.

Joe's compliment and following pulses inside her combined to make her smile greatly as the climax took over her body. The fire of the repetitive motion of her legs was forgotten as a tidal wave of pleasure surged through Ashley, starting at her toes, up her legs, and straight to her head. The release seemed to bounce off the top of her skull and roll in powerful ripples through her stomach and down into the molten pocket holding Joe's twitching organ. Her stomach and vagina convulsed in powerful rhythmic contractions, milking Joe of every micro ounce of pleasure. His spurting lessened, but Ashley's continued for a bit more. She fell into his neck, grunting softly as she rode the successive ripples. Finally the contractions stopped, and they settled into loving kisses, saying nothing more for the night.

The next morning, Ashley found Joe in the kitchen, preparing a turkey. "Hey," she said. "I thought your parents were out of town?"

He answered that they were, and often are for Thanksgiving. "I think they use the day to get away and enjoy each other. Or, they sneak off to see the Cowboys play. I found a ticket stub once a few years back. I don't remember a time they were ever here for the holiday."

"Then why fuss with that big bird?"

"'Cause, Jill and Jasmine still usually come over for dinner. They spend the day with their family, then spend the night here with me."

"I see," Ashley said.

Joe grinned at her as he gutted the turkey. "No, not like that...well, maybe that, too. But I think they always felt bad that I was alone for Thanksgiving. They never had to. But they just did it to be nice, I guess." He paused to jam some stuffing up the unfortunate birds rear. "Now that you've made me think about it, I've always enjoyed having them here. Starting the turkey on Thanksgiving morning has become habit for me." He expertly whipped twine around the legs and set the prepped turkey in the pan.

As he started the oven, Ashley opened the fridge to grab some cheese as a light breakfast. She found that he had stacked several sealed bowls inside. She looked in a few and realized that he had prepared ingredients into portions and staged them for later. "How long have you been up?" she asked.

"Well, I took a shower at about 5:00." He finished putting the turkey in the oven and looked at her. She was dressed in jeans, tennis shoes, a white blouse and form-fitting black floral vest. Her damp hair was in her usual ponytail. Ashley nibbled on a stick of string cheese as she watched him.

She noticed him looking at her, and said to him, "I didn't get a chance last night to say I'm sorry."

He went over and hugged her tight, his nose being teased with her light delicious perfume. "That's ok, baby. You're actions told me quite enough. Are you ready?"

She finished the last bite with a sigh, "as ready as I'll ever be."

"Aww...it'll be fine. I promise," he said as he opened the door ahead of her.

Ashley fidgeted after she rang the bell, ready to bolt for the car if she didn't like how things looked. Joe placed his hand on the small of her back to quiet her. It didn't take long for her mom to answer the door. "Ashley!" she exclaimed as she reached out and hugged her daughter tightly. Her dad followed as he gave her a firm hug as well. "Happy Thanksgiving, Joe," Ashley's mom greeted. He returned the sentiment as her parents welcomed them inside. They were led into the modest living room and invited to sit down.