Ashley Ch 04 1

By the time Ashey hit the pavement, it was almost noon. Her house sat near downtown, and the sun was nice and warm so she decided to walk to the library instead of drive. Today looked like it was going to be gorgeous and she had energy to spare. It already felt like her body had burned up the waffles and bacon she'd scarfed down and, to her grateful surprise, no lingering traces of nausea bothered her.

She paused at her car for a moment to find her sunglasses, leaning over to the passenger side when she saw them tossed onto the seat there. Before she could straighten up, she felt eyes on her. Or, more specifically, on her rear end. She snatched up the glasses and hurried back out of the car to find her neighbor, Dale, openly eyeing her legs. She blushed and opened her mouth to snap at him when she caught that scent of honeysuckle again. It melted away most of her anger and left her with a pleasant tingle across her skin. She managed a tight smile for the older man before sliding on her shades, shutting the door and making a show of seeing if it was locked. She waited until he ambled back into his house before setting off down the street.

Dirty old man, she thought as she rubbed at a sticky spot on the side of her neck. Was it a splot of syrup that had somehow gotten there? Whatever, she thought, now wiping her hand against her shorts, Dale had always creeped her out some. Still, it had been mildly flattering to have him watch her ass like that. Proved that all her jogging wasn't a waste of time, at least. That didn't mean she wanted him to be the one to notice, though. A girl had her standards, and Ashley's standards did not include giving an eyeful to her skeezy middle-aged neighbor!

The sunshine felt fantastic on her skin, and that helped buoy her along the pavement. Maybe if she got done with putting up the posters in enough time, she could go home and start working on her tan. The thought of laying out in the backyard without Chester to keep her company was sad, but that cat was liable to show back up any time. He'd always had a mind of his own and at different points in time would stay away for days. Especially if something spooked him, like when Dale had gotten a new dog. She couldn't imagine what might scare him off this time, but she also wasn't a cat and didn't pretend to understand how he thought.

It only took her fifteen minutes to walk to the library. Her hair was completely dry by the time she got there, and her blond curls bounced merrily around her shoulders. She slid her sunglasses up to rest on her head as pushed through the doors. A soft whoosh of air conditioning blew against her face as she walked inside, but it wasn't set so high that it gave her goosebumps.

As Ashley inhaled, a happy smile crossed her face. She loved the smell of the library: pages of aging books and floor polish. It reminded her of the summer days she would spend in here with her sister and her granny, finding fun crafts they could do at home during those long, school-less days. A pang of grief welled up in her, tears threatening for a moment as she missed her grandmother with a ferocity that might've surprised people who didn't know her well. She closed her eyes and pressed her hand against her mouth for a moment, waiting for the grief to pass.

The smell of flowers washed over her, dashing away her sadness in a wave of warm fuzzy relaxation. Ashley wanted to curl up on the floor, wrap up in her favorite blanket and take a nap. Her legs began to buckle, which snapped her back awake. She glanced around in confusion, wondering why she'd felt so sleepy there for a moment. After all, the library wasn't exactly cozy. And she'd been thinking about...something... With a shrug, she shook her head and wandered over to the computers.

Ashley pulled out her White phone and uploaded a few pics of Chester from her phone to her itPhoto account. Then she set about designing her flyer. She made sure it wasn't too cute but also something that would catch people's eye. She hesitated for a moment about putting her cell number on there, but she knew it was the only way people would probably contact her. Even though she'd lived here entire life, Dalton wasn't so small that she knew everyone and vice versa. Whatever it took to bring her fat boy home she was going to try.

When she was done, she hit save and print. She had to say, she thought the flyer looked pretty darn good. She signed off the computer and made her way up to the counter. For a second she didn't recognize the person manning it until he turned around. "Oh hey, Jimmy," she grinned at the kid who greeted her. "I didn't know you were working here."

Jimmy smiled at her, looking like his older brother had when he and Ashley dated. "Hiya, Ash. I haven't seen you in ages."

"Yeah, it's been a long time. How's Troy been?" They had been high school sweethearts, she and Troy, but had agreed to go their separate ways after graduation. Since then, Troy had gone on to Auburn for college while Ashley had stayed close to home and gone to Dalton Christian College before leaving to care for her grandmother.

The younger of the Collins brothers said, "Good. He graduated last spring and is working for some insurance company in Birmingham." Jimmy ran a hand through his dark hair as he talked. "I was sorry to hear about your grandma."

Ashley shifted. "Thanks." She didn't want to think about that right now. "Are you graduating soon?"

That earned Ashley a grin. "That was last year. I took a year off while trying to figure out what I wanted to study. "

Ashley propped her elbows on the counter and leaned in conspiratorially. "And the verdict is?"

"Graphic design."

"Oh, that's a great choice!" Even as a kid, Jimmy had been artistic so it was good to see he could do something with that talent.

"Thanks. I think so too. Anyway," he pivoted to lean towards her on the other side of the counter, "what brings you by?"

Ashley's face fell a bit. "My cat ran away." Those three little letters again made her shift, her thighs pressing together at the strangle tingle that buzzed between them. "I made a flyer that I needed to print off."

"Oh no, I'm so sorry to hear that," Jimmy commiserated. "Let me grab that for you."

When he went off to the office, Ashley watched him with curiosity. It was strange to see her ex's little brother so grown up. Even though Troy had been the athlete of their family, Jimmy had grown broad shoulders and a tight physique if that chambray shirt he was wearing wasn't lying. She felt a pang of longing for Troy, thinking maybe she shouldn't have been so firm with him on the physical part of their relationship.

Ashley remained lost in the past, thinking about the things Troy could probably do with those strong hands of his when Jimmy waved a hand in front of her eyes. "Earth to Ashley!"

She snapped back to the present, breathing a touch heavily for just standing around, and chuckled. "Didn't mean to space out there."

A faint flush crept up into Jimmy's face as his eyes bounced up from her shirt to her face. "I...uh, fine, er..I'm okay. I mean," he stumbled, face grower redder by the moment as his eyes couldn't keep from dropping back to her chest, "here." He shoved the flyer at Ashley, who gave him a funny smile before looking at the paper.

Everything looked good, so she said, "Perfect. How much is it—a dollar?" Ashley fished a bill out of her purse and handed it across the counter

Jimmy looked like a beet at this point, but he still couldn't meet her eye. Two things occurred to Ashley at the same time. One was that Jimmy was staring at her breasts, and her seeing him do it so openly didn't keep him from continuing to stare. The other was that his hands were pressing down on his groin on the other side of their divider. Now it was her turn to blush. Was he...oh God, he had a hard-on from ogling her!

Ashley's face caught fire in indignation. "James Collins!" she snapped, a touch too loudly in the hush of the mostly empty library. She tried to say more, but the eyes in the heads that turned their way gave her pause. They were all looking at her breasts, too! Why her boobs were the sudden object of interest to these people, she didn't know, but she felt a rush of heat flare in between her legs again, even as her own blush deepened. With a furious huff, she threw the dollar at Jimmy and hissed, "You little perv!" Then she snatched up her flyer and spun to leave.

She heard Jimmy offer, just loud enough for her to hear, "I'm real sorry about your cat."

What happened next Ashley couldn't explain. The second the word "cat" reached her ears, her knees grew weak. An image flashed before her eyes for just a second, one of her on her knees while Jimmy shoved that hard-on down her throat. She stumbled as a spike of deep pleasure stabbed through her lower abdomen, those she managed to catch herself before falling. It wasn't an orgasm, she didn't think, though she couldn't be totally sure, but it was close. It frightened her more than anything, and she sped out of the library almost in tears.

Once outside, Ashley almost turned and ran home. Lord, she was mortified! And she felt a tiny bit bad for snapping at Jimmy like that, but he'd caught her so off guard. Plus she couldn't help but wonder if he had caught inappropriate glimpses of her any of the hundreds of times she'd been in his house. How dare he!

She took a few steps back towards her house when she pulled up abruptly. Where pleasure had been mere seconds before, a painful ache throbbed. She took a tentative step in the direction of home, and the ache grew more pronounced. Before she could worry overly much about it, a gentle breeze blew the heavy scent of honeysuckle against her face. All the tension slipped from her lithe frame, her mouth going slack and eyes glazing over for a moment. The pain inside her intensified until she turned around and shuffled back towards town.

Ashley blinked as bright sunlight stunned her before looking around. Where was she? She felt something in her hand and found it was a flyer. Oh, right—Chester! Geez, she was spacing out a lot lately, but not so spacey she'd forgotten to pull this together. She slid her shades back down and headed off towards Kinko's.

On the way towards the copy store, she bumped into Mr. Arthur, her high school history teacher. He'd been the favorite teacher she ever had, his biting sense of humor paired with his dark good looks and relative youth a dangerous combination for all the girls in school. He asked about her family and expressed his condolences for her grandmother's passing. "And what's this?" he asked, tugging the paper from her hands.

"Oh, that's Chester. He's run off so I was headed down to Kinko's to make some copies and hang them up around town in case anyone spots him."

He nodded and handed the flyer back to Ashley. "Well, that sucks. Once you make copies, go post one up near the school. We've got a crop of real animal lovers as seniors right now, so I'm sure someone would love to help you find your kitty."

Unprepared, Ashley groaned and nearly dropped to the ground as thick pleasure flooded her pussy again. Only the quick hands of Mr. Arthur kept her from hitting the pavement. He gripped her arms and helped ease her down before kneeling beside her. "Ash, are you okay?" He rubbed her arms before pressing the backs if his fingers against her forehead. "You're shaking and flushed, but you don't feel feverish. Have you eaten anything today?"

She couldn't quite find her voice yet, but she looked her former teacher in the eyes and nodded. Her face grew redder as her panties became completely soaked. Could Mr. Arthur smell them? She certainly could, and she would be thoroughly mortified if he realized that a random burst of sexual arousal had been what dropped her to her knees. But his expression of concern never changed. Finally, she managed to say, "Yeah, yeah I'm...I'm fine. Just getting over a touch of food poisoning is all. Guess it caught up to me all of a sudden."

He insisted on helping her back to her feet, and once up he felt her forehead again. "Do you need me to give you a ride? My car is right across the street..."

"No, really," she begged off, unable to meet his eyes all of a sudden. The notion of getting into his car gave her the sudden mental image of her bent over the center console from the backseat with Mr. Arthur fucking her from behind. She felt like her face might spontaneously combust if he had any inkling of the disturbing thoughts racing through her mind. "I should really get going. Thanks for your help."

She wasn't sure in the moment, but later, when she was asked to recall the encounter, she was positive his hand cupped her ass and squeezed as she hurried past him. His touch had felt like fire that continued to burn between her legs as she rushed to Kinko's. She didn't stop to talk to anyone else along the way.

Thankfully, Kinko's was uneventful, and by the time she had the fifty copies she wanted, her hormones seemed to be back under control. She grabbed a roll of heavy duty tape to go with her flyer, which they put in a nice envelope for her. When the cashier handed her back her change, his eyes lingered for a moment on her, and Ashley smiled, flashing her dimples. "Have a nice day," she said as she stuffed the change and her receipt into her purse. She bounded out the door ready to find Chester.

The good thing about having grown up here in Dalton, she realized quickly, is that everyone either knew her, her parents, or her sister, Liz. So when she explained the situation to the manager at the Piggly Wiggly, the farmer's market, Ye Olde Book Shoppe, and Raymond's Bakery, they knew she wasn't just some college kid trying to cause trouble. And at places where they might be a little less receptive to helping her out, Ashley pulled out her best former cheerleader charm, smiling and flirting when she needed. And in a couple of hours, all her signs but two were hanging up around downtown.

But now she was pooped. Her stomach growled a bit as she hadn't eaten lunch, but she didn't quite feel like going home. She spied Landry's Corner Cafe and nodded to herself. Perfect. She could put up a flyer, grab an iced coffee and get a pastry, which would tide her over until she got back home. It would be close enough to suppertime then that she could eat a proper meal and prove to herself that she was fully over that nasty food poisoning business.

At this time of day, Landry's was empty except for Sam Landry, the owner. He was still considered a "newcomer" to the town, even though he'd probably lived here for ten years. But his coffee creations were good enough and so reasonably priced enough that Starbucks had never been able to maintain a foothold, even with the college nearby. And while Ashley wasn't exactly a regular, she came in often enough for him to know her by name.

"How do today, Miss Ashley?" Sam asked as he put up his phone and came to the counter.

"Good, thanks, Mr. Landry. Do you mind if I hang one of these up on the door?" she asked, handing the flyer to him.

He held it out a little from him, as if he needed a little assistance reading it. Ashley studied him, and it struck her that he must be a little older than she'd thought. His dark brown hair was still thick and a touch wavy, without any hints of silver or white in it. And while he had some crow's feet around his aqua blue eyes, he mostly just looked tanned around the hint of stubble on his cheeks and angular jaw. She always thought he looked like an outdoorsy thirty, but he had to be closer to forty now that she thought about it. He looks pretty good no matter what his age is! she mused as she eyed him. What would it be like to kiss him...

"Oh, sure, Ash, no problem." She jumped as he broke her reverie by handing the flyer back to her with a sympathetic smile. "And please, just call me Sam."

"Right. Thanks, Sam," Ashley said with a slightly breathy note in her voice. She took it and hurried off to window, where she put it up with the last of her dwindling tape. She tossed the empty tape roll and final flyer in the trash, smoothed her hair down with the hopes that her curls weren't running wild, and turned back to the counter with a smile. It wouldn't hurt to flirt just a little, even if he was too old for her.

To her surprise, Sam had already made her an iced coffee. When she tried to pay for it, he waved it off. "On the house today, for all the troubles you've been dealing with." He grabbed a scone that had berries in it, put it on a little plate, and poured himself a black coffee before coming around the counter. "Mind if I sit with you for a minute?"

Flattered and flustered, Ashley replied, "No, not at all!" She turned to pick out a seat, but as she walked to it she felt a touch of disappointment. She couldn't feel his eyes on her, not her legs or her butt. It took a lot of concentration to keep from sashaying to get his attention. After all, he was cute, but not the cutest guy in town, right? Annoyed with herself, she slid down into a booth near the restrooms, and he sat down across from her.

She brought the straw up to her lips and took a sip. "Oh man, Mr. Landry, this is amazing!" It was sweet, but not sickeningly so, with a hint of something else offsetting the bitter coffee and sweetened milk. She took a bigger drink, only to feel a sharp pain behind one eye from drinking it too fast. "Ow!" She slapped a hand over that eye and laughed.

"Slow down now before you hurt yourself," he laughed. "And again—Sam."

"Right. Sorry." Ashley took a more moderate sip this time, and she relaxed. It felt nice to do something normal, even if that was just having a drink with a nice acquaintance. Then her stomach growled loudly, and she blushed in embarrassment.

That got another chuckle from Sam, who slid the scone across the table. "Sounds like you need this more than I do."

"Oh, I couldn't, Miste- um, Sam." She already felt bad for not paying for the delicious coffee he gave her.

But he wouldn't take no for an answer. "I insist, Ashley. I eat enough of those things that I'm gonna start making my doctor a rich man soon enough."

She smiled and, as another hunger pain poked her, relented. "Since you insist." She took a bite, letting the buttery crumble mix with the coffee aftertaste. Man, that was a great combo. "This is so good," she managed around another mouthful, tiny crumbs flying from her lips. She didn't even seem to notice. The more she ate, it seemed the hungrier she got, and in no time the scone was devoured. Without a hint of shame, she smashed the remaining crumbs on the plate with her finger and licked them off.

Ashley was suddenly aware that Mr. Landry was studying her. She felt a blush rise in her cheeks as she ran her fingers across her face to make sure there were no lingering crumbs. Unlike everyone else it seemed today, his eyes never wavered from hers. Man, they were so blue, like the ocean when she went to the beach. She could almost picture him out there, standing in the sand like some sort of rugged bronzed hero, her hand in his as he pulled her out into the water. So warm and deep and he pulled her against him and...

"Are you sure you're okay?" Ashley blinked to find Mr. Landry frowning now, a look of concern stamped on his handsome features. She let out a shaky breath as she nodded, feeling completely unsteady. He reached across the table and tucked an errant curl behind her ear, and it took all of her willpower to keep from turned her face into that hand and purring like a kitten. Oh no, she shouldn't have thought about cats, because it just made it impossible to sit still. Her hips ground a little against the hard wooden bench.

She finally found her voice. "Yes, I...I'm okay." Wow, she sounded like a schoolgirl with her voice going all soft like that. Her skin felt flushed all over, her hard nipples scratched uncomfortably against the fabric holding them, and her crotch was somehow both on fire and completely drenched at the same time. The thought of walking home in her sodden panties sounded awful, so she excused herself to the restroom, hoping mightily that the dampness hadn't left any spots on her shorts.