Quote of the day: Lying seems like a good idea until you have to go deeper with lying to protect it.

     Cool air grazed Ashley's exposed skin lightly as she steered awake. Waking up that morning she had a huge smile plastered on her face. The cotton blanket caressed her naked skin softly leaving her with a bigger smile, she opened her eyes expecting to see Greg but the bed was empty. She felt an instant pang of pain go through her heart.

      Wasn't it a normalcy to wake up in the morning and stare at the face of the one you loved after a night of vigorous love making? She must be ugly then if he couldn't even wait till she woke up, scratch that, she knew she wasn't ugly. Maybe he didn't find her as desirable as he thought, maybe he didn't...all this thoughts went down the drain when her eyes fell on the coffee mug sitting on the side stool.

    She smiled again, there was steam at the top so it was still hot, she sat up gently and made to pick up the coffee when she saw him. Every single brain cells in her head went haywire at the sight of him. He was standing at the balcony to her room shirtless with a coffee mug in hand, the Calvin Klein boxers he was wearing peeked out from the top of his jean leaving little to imagination. She sat there ogling his amazing body until he turned back and her face went red like tomatoes.

      "Awake? Morning," Greg said calmly looking her up hungrily. She looked down at herself and saw that the blanket was gathered at her waist leaving the upper parts of her, naked and exposed to his eyes. She thought of covering herself but decided not to, she wasn't some shy girl to do so.

       "Good morning," she said with a smile, but Greg looked shocked. Why?

   He walked into the room still with that shocked look on his handsome face, once he was at her front he dropped the mug on the side stool and kept on scrutinizing her, while she busied herself with checking out his all too gorgeous body. She suppressed a grunt at the sight of his plastered wound that did nothing but bring back the events of yesterday to her mind.

     "Are you fine?" He asked dragging her out of her reverie. She looked up at his face and he was still with that look, with that same shocked look he sat close to her touching her forehead, what the heck.

    "Yes, I'm fine, and why do you have that look?" She asked ignoring his hand that was still on her forehead.

      "Well, you answered my greetings, wow, that is very surprising." She wanted to hit him hard for that stupid assumption of his that she wasn't a normal person in the morning, it only happens that the few mornings they have spent together just wasn't the best of her mornings.

       "Answering greetings is what normal people do," she said with a look of fact.
 
      "Normal people, but not you in the morning," he said with a chuckle. She hit him with her right hand and picked up her coffee, she thought of drenching him in it but thought otherwise, so instead she took a sip.

     "Don't you have work?" She asked. She clearly didn't want him to go to work but she couldn't stop him from going either.

        "Yeah, finally I know you will still show the signs that the real Ashley is somewhere there," he said pointing at her head. "Its the weekend Ashley, did you forget that yesterday was friday."

     "Ohh..." She said, a blush creeping up her still calming face. "Well don't you have to workout?"

     "It seems like you my dear are eager to send me out of your room," Greg said gazing all over her body. "If you must know, I ain't working out today because I kinda had a busy night."

   Ashley blushed hard and stood up hurriedly from the bed dropping the coffee mug on the table, and what a wise choice that was. The blanket fell off her giving Greg a more appealing look to stare at, he pulled her back to the bed and peered down into her eyes with desire.

     "Where do you think you are going, mi amor?" He asked, bending to kiss her neck.

     "Ba..th...room," she stuttered out trying to bite back the moan that escaped her lips the instant his mouth touched her skin.

     "Well not until I'm done," he said and kissed her lips, softly.

__________________________

When she and Greg finally got out of her room it was past noon, she met Davis and Chloe in the sitting room without Nora in sight. Immediately she and Greg walked in, both Davis and Nora looked up with a teasing glint in their eyes, oh not this.

     "Stepping out of the room at two, now what have you been up to Gregory Kane Marshall?" Davis asked with a mischievous smile. What really got her thinking was the name kane, it reminded her of her father.

        "Something that is absolutely no business of yours," Greg deadpanned sitting at the dining table but not before pulling out a chair for her.

       "Where is Nora?" Ashley asked.

      "Oh we sent her out because we didn't want her to hear our discission," Chloe said squealing. Now what could this two have been discussing?

     "The surprise birthday party," Greg said beside her.

     "What surprise? What birthday?" She asked feeling clueless. None of them had discussed a birthday with her, not even Greg.

      "Well, Nora's birthday is in two weeks time and we want to throw her a surprise party!" You can guess the person who said this squealing. "We have sent her out since morning in hope that you both will be down early, but for some reason we all can't fathom you guys seemed to take too long in getting up." Chloe glared at her to further emphasize her point.

     "Why am I the last to hear of it?" Ashley asked glaring at Greg, totally ignoring Chloe.

      "I just found out this morning myself!" Chloe yelled.

      "Oh really, but you are not me," she said glaring at Chloe. She knew what Chloe wanted, she wanted gist, and she wasn't getting it, at least not now.

    "Sorry I didn't mean to offend you Mrs Marshall," Chloe said with a more angry glare, both Greg and Davis chuckled at this. But she must say that Mrs Marshall had a nice ring to it.

    "Mrs Marshall, I like it," Greg said with a smile. She glared at him, it seemed like he was enjoying her plight.

      "Wow, what could be going on in Greg's mind, Mrs Marshall huh?" It was Davis who asked now. Ashley wanted to break all of their heads but refrained from doing so, instead she stood up and left the place, she knew Greg would definitely follow. And she heard him follow her, that was good, she needed to discuss with him anyway.

      She stopped only when she was at his garden, she took in the beautiful sight before her with a smile on her face. Soon she felt Greg's hand curl up her waist, pulling her back into him.

     "Something troubling you mi amor?" He said, his breath fanning her neck, she swiveled closer into him.

      "Greg I need to go back to my apartment," she dropped the bomb, without a care to beat about the bush. She missed her own apartment, it was a place that she knew was hers and it made her feel sort of happy. 

     "Okay, I will take you and Chloe back, once your apartment is back in shape." Greg answered coolly which wasn't what she expected him to say.

     "Really, you are not going to argue over it?" She asked.

       "What's the use of arguing? Your mind is already made up, and more so I would prefer I give my consent than you going behind my back." He said with understanding clear in his voice. And he was damn right, she would have gone behind his back if he thought of declining, but him accepting it so fast wasn't fun. "Well there is no danger to beware of anymore, and you my love are never leaving me."

     "Wow, looks like you have grown overnight, are you spotting some sort of gray hair you are hiding from me, Mr Marshall?" She asked chuckling.

       "You should be certain of that Mrs Marshall," he said. Mrs Marshall was indeed a name she would like to be called one day, but she wasn't sure she had that one day in her star.

       "Greg, about Nora's birthday," she said.

     "I was really gon tell you last night, but I was preoccupied." He said.

     "Not that Greg, I think what Nora needs now isn't a surprise birthday party," she said quietly. Ashley knew what she was about to say was very sensitive to him, but she had to.

    "What do you think she needs, my ever thinking girlfriend?" He asked. Him calling her his girlfriend actually had her surprised because ever since she broke up with him they hadn't put a label on their relationship, but if he was saying it now then she must be his girlfriend.

      "What Nora really needs now is to...meet with her father." She said it. Yeah, she did.

      "No!" Greg said, his hand tightening around her waist.

      "Greg, you should give it a thought before declining."

    "No!"

  Ashley turned in his arms sharply and stared up at his face. Greg was pouting wildly like a kid, she suppressed a laugh at this. "Greg she might not say it but she really wants to know her father, believe me that is the best birthday gift you can give her." She remembered the look she had seen on Mr Marshall's face, that same look had been present on Nora's face.
     
     "I don't want her to meet him period!" Greg said still so stubborn.

     "Care to tell me why, Mr Marshall?" She asked.

         "Because he doesn't deserve her," he deadpanned like it was fucking obvious.

      "Greggy," she called running her right hand over his chest soothingly, "don't you think she has the right to decide so herself. Whether he is good enough for her or not, it is up to her, or do you still think she is a kid."

    "Ashley...its..."

     "Sheesh, promise me you will think about it," she said, looking at him with pleading eyes.

     "I..."

      "Come on, promise me."

      "Okay, I promise you," he finally said after several minutes of pondering over it.

    "Thanks," she said pulling him down for a kiss, but before she could kiss him an all too annoying voice spoke from afar.

      "Is that the reason you left, Mr and Mrs Marshall," Davis yelled. And you can guess the person who was currently growling.

  Chapter forty seven.
Mary Aden.