Chapter 9

In the bookstore part of the shop that looked filled with shelves of books that made my heart leap with joy and I began to think of how Belle from Beauty and The Beast would be amazed at this sight. I didn't dare let go of Ashlyn's hand either as I looked at every amazement of books on each section that filled my senses to the highest that I wanted to just take them all home with me. Ashlyn turned around to look at me.

"What do you think?" Ashlyn asked.

"Belle would be amazed and I would feel like her when she entered the library in the castle." I responded with a smile so big.

"You love Beauty and The Beast so much to use it as a reference to this place?" Ashlyn questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"Most definitely. I do blame myself for not exploring much outside of my coffee shop but this place is amazing and the coffee part does too with its pastries. Oh, I should've asked what the name of this place is? I didn't see the sign and just kept following you." I admitted with my cheeks turning rosy.

"It's Heart Of Books & Coffee." Ashlyn replied.

"What a lovely name. So, what are we doing here exactly?" I asked, feeling myself becoming nervous again.

"I figured you would love to look at the books and then have a snack before we head to dinner in a few hours." Ashlyn replied with a wink.

I laughed a little loudly but she is so flirty that I can't help thinking she is enjoying this too much. So, I scouted through shelves putting my fingers across each cover with hopes of finding maybe an Indie Author that would contribute to believing that we all can be on these shelves some day. Venturing toward each shelf and finding something to take back to her place seemed impossible because I saw so many that could use my shelf for home. It took me a while to search through the shelves, unfortunately, but Ashlyn didn't rush and took it with stride on letting me figure out what I wanted.

I did eventually find a few within the two hours, we were at the shop and then grabbed some frozen coffee to take with us to enjoy. Ashlyn decided to let me drive her car for the time being to give her a break and we drove to the park that was down the road from the shop. I loved being in this area and also seeing that their was a nature hike. We walked hand in hand down the hiking trail without anyone saying anything. That is when surprisingly Ashlyn pulled me to the opposite direction of the trail and hid behind a bush.

"Sorry, I needed to take a break and stay hidden for the time being." Ashlyn whispered.

"Why?" I whispered back.

"My ex friend runs these trails from time to time and I was hoping she wouldn't be here. It is only until she passes." Ashlyn whispered.

I felt myself wanting to see who would be jogging past us that Ashlyn didn't want to be seen by but I decided to stay put and kept hold of her hand for comfort. After about twenty minutes just to be on the safe side they both finally emerged from behind the bush and continued their jogging around the trail. It led them both back to the front gate where in hindsight they saw Ashlyn's friend by her car.

"Hey Ashlyn, I had a feeling you were here. Oh, who is this?" The woman asked.

"Tia, what a surprise. Oh, this is Juliet, we are out on a date and we are heading out now." Ashlyn replied avoiding eye contact.

"Pleasure to meet you, Juliet. Ashlyn is quite the catch I must say though Ashlyn I didn't think you were into women? I thought you were straight?" Tia responded with a half smile.

I couldn't help but question what could be wrong with Tia? I mean she is a beautiful plump woman with strawberry blonde hair, bright green emerald eyes, and fair white skin. In my eyes she seemed nice and well mannered.

"I am...uh, curious...yeah, curious. I wanted to see what it was like to be with the same-sex." Ashlyn stuttered nervously.

"Their is no harm in being curious." Tia answered.

"Well, we gotta go. I am getting hungry and I am sure Juliet is too." Ashlyn replied in a hurry.

"Can I join you two? I mean, it'd be nice to get to know Juliet more and hang out with you, I haven't seen you in ages it seems." Tia responded.

"Unfortunately, this is my first outing with Juliet. So, I have to say no, maybe we can catch up next week. Sorry." Ashlyn replied, grabbing my hand as we left Tia standing their and we headed to her car.

Once we got into the car and Ashlyn driven us away from Tia who was still standing their looking baffled by Ashlyn which I didn't blame her, she could of hang out with us for a few hours but something tells me their is more to Ashlyn and Tia then Ashlyn is ready to tell me. Instead, I sat in silence with Ashlyn letting her decide what to bring up because I know something isn't right between them. Though not even a few minutes down the road Ashlyn opened up more than I expected.

"I have a feeling you want to know why I am avoiding Tia and not wanting her to be around us. I will explain tonight back at my place. I just can't discuss her knowing she could be following us to our next location and I don't want her at my apartment either. Why did I even dare to be her friend when I can't stand being around her? I am so stupid at times." Ashlyn said out loud.

"You aren't stupid and we all make mistakes on who we become friends with. I still think Shayne could have found a better woman than Ariel but I didn't and haven't said anything because Ariel has turned Shayne around into a decent person from the anger that Shayne would endure." I replied finding out that I just opened a floodgate for Ashlyn.

"Tia isn't just an ex friend. I was in love with her as much as she was me and well, it became more, no we didn't have sex because I would always back out but Tia is my ex girlfriend. I am sorry, I lied, I have dated a woman but the thing is Tia felt like a soulmate though she was clingy and that really turned me off from her. I broke it off after six months. I refused to settle with someone so clingy and I didn't want you to think that we would be in the same boat. I have been more open with you then I did with her. I feel something between us that I don't want to ruin. Juliet, Tia isn't someone neither of us need as a friend and with your anxiety it would make matters a mess." Ashlyn explained as she stopped the car in front of the restaurant.

I looked at the restaurant we were parked in front of and it was one of my favorites that she also knew that I would like. A Mexican restaurant that I would enjoy having fajitas with steak and chicken. I had to take a deep breath though for needing to give Ashlyn an answer as I looked right back at her with so much hope that I wouldn't hurt her.

"I...I..." I cleared my throat from my nerves of what my mind wanted me to say, "I understand now why you wanted to avoid her and why we hid in those bushes. Tia isn't your connection and definitely not an attraction to you on a personal level. You couldn't be with her for those reasons too."

"Exactly." Ashlyn replied taking a deep breath as relief that I found her answer.

I felt it would be safe to go back to her place instead of being in public anymore. I didn't want her to face anyone else that could ruin our bonding. So, we did just that, went back to her place and spent time together that way.