Things got a little calmed down between the remaining members of the group now that Ashley and Nick were away because no one wanted to do anything big without them there, but there were still get-togethers, and times when Ellis would come home to Rochelle and Sam sitting on the sofa in the living room talking to Zoey, and just the same, Ellis would have a beer or two with Francis and Louis, occasionally Coach. But even with the contact remaining constant, there would still be times when Zoey would whine, "I miss Ashley!" or Louis would comment, "Honestly, it just feels a little weird without Nick.", to which even Francis would nod in agreement.
And of course, on the other end of things, Ashley and Nick wouldn't speak their thoughts out loud, but in their heads they both thought of how they wished the rest of the group was with them sometimes. Mind you, there were other times when they were thankful to be alone as well.
It was evening now, and Ellis had just gotten home from work and was going to get in the shower. Zoey was at Rochelle's and would soon be home so he felt like he should get all the black and brown sludge off of him – whether it be mud or motor oil or maybe even a little dried blood – before she returned.
Which, about as he was getting out, Zoey walked in the door and went to the bedroom to put her things away before kicking off her shoes and flopping down on the couch.
"Hey, there, Miss."
Zoey jumped and blushed a little at the sound of Ellis' Southern drawl coming from the bedroom door.
He laughed and went to sit down next to her, kissing her on the cheek.
She babbled about her day and how she wanted Nick and Ashley to come home and that's when Ellis' previous thoughts jumped up to the front of the line in his head, but just the same he kept his mouth shut, until a few minutes later when they were laying on the couch together, watching TV.
"Hey, Zo.." Ellis shuffled to sit up from underneath her.
She turned to him with wide brown eyes that sparkled like glitter-infused caramel.
"I been thinkin'.. and I don't wanna rush things, 'cause I feel like I don' this way too soon, but I just couldn't help it.. and so I mean.. now we don't have to do this anytime soon, but I just mean.."
Zoey chuckled a bit at Ellis' nervous speech, but at the same time, a million ideas of what he could mean filled her head.
Until he dropped to the floor on bended knee and she lost all ability to speak.
"Now, I mean, like I said.. we don't gotta get married no time soon 'cause I know how you been wantin' to take things slow but.. when we was at Nick and Ashley's wedding I just couldn't get myself to stop thinkin' about how much I wanted us to have the same thing, and so I mean, I'm not.. I mean I don't wanna say we gotta get married right now but.. I just want you to know how I feel and I mean, I love you, Zo, and I don't want you to run off with some other guy that ain't gon' treat you right, so.. I mean.. I just want you to be mine." He held out the small red box and opened it to reveal it's sparkly, pink-tinted contents.
Tears welled up in Zoey's eyes and she willed them to stay back as she burst into exclamation.
"Oh, my Gosh, Ellis, yes!"
He scooped her up into his arms and spun her around the living room as she held herself tightly around his neck. Then he set her down and slid the ring onto her finger.
"I'm yours." She smiled as she looked down at it, then up at him.
"Good." He kissed her forehead.
"Oh, hey, baby?"
"Yeah?"
"You said 'I mean' at least ten times.." she laughed. "You're really cute when you're nervous."
Ellis laughed with her and then kissed her once more.
Later that same night in the lower regions of the state, Ashley and Nick were laying in their condo. Ashley was on her stomach, topless, wearing nothing but a pair of lacy underwear, and Nick, clad in a pair of grey basketball shorts, was laid on his side next to her, tracing his fingers over every scar he found on her back, secretly wishing that if he willed hard enough, they would go away.
It had been silent until finally Ashley spoke.
"Tell me about your other wife, Caroline."
He didn't respond instantly, so she turned her head to face him.
He sighed softly, gently placed his lips on a few scars on her side that he had not gotten to, and then laid down on his back.
"Alright," he said.
Ashley slid off the other side of the bed and grabbed a big black sweatshirt from her bag that read 'THEORY OF A DEADMAN' on the front and slipped it over her naked torso before jumping on the bed and pulling herself close to Nick's side.
He sighed softly again, this time more of a musing sigh as to find a place to begin.
"Well, you see, I used to travel a lot." Ashley beamed up at him with her head on his chest as he began his story.
"Originally, you know, I'm from Boston, but I did spend quite a while near the West coast.
"So anyway, I was in Vegas, and I met this guy that Big told me I was supposed to be working with.. Uh, oh, Big was our 'boss' I suppose you could say."
Ashley gave a small nod.
"So, yeah, I meet up with this guy and he's like, 'hey, first night in Vegas, let's hit some clubs before we have to actually get down to business' and I'm like yeah, sure, whatever, alcohol and show girls, and honestly, I wasn't really in the mood. So we go to this club-slash-bar deal and there's girls dancing and whatnot, and he runs off into the back with some brunette, so I'm like, why not have a drink, Nick? So I'm sitting at the bar and after this guy slides me some scotch, there's a blonde cleanin' down the bar and so she politely asks me to lift my drink for her, 'if I'm not too drunk' she says, and I said
'Well, excuse me, I didn't know you had to get completely drunk at a bar' and after that she sat and talked with me and I mean we talked for hours, basically the entire night, which was extremely long. So the next couple days, if I had free time, I'd go to the bar just to talk to her, and by the end of the week, man I swear I was in love, or so I thought. So I told her I was leaving, she was so torn that we couldn't stay, so that evening I went out and got her a ring, ran her down to a chapel, and we got married, to some Las Vegas wedding extent, and then we stayed in the hotel that night."
The whole time he spoke, he'd been staring at the ceiling as if his thoughts were projecting themselves and he could see it all clear as when it happened.
"About a minute after we check in, I get a call from Big, he says he's gonna meet me at the bar for a drink. I told Caroline I wouldn't be any longer than a couple hours and that I was meeting up with a friend one last time, and I headed down. So, Big just asks me to take out a guy who didn't pay him back out in Cali, and I told him I had an acquaintance of sorts I would call that lived 'round there to help me out, which, mind you, I did, but he wasn't exactly 'up for the job' if you know what I mean, but then again, neither was I."
He paused and looked down at Ashley. "I've never killed anyone."
She just blinked so he resumed.
"So, we chat for a while and I go to head back upstairs and the desk clerk stops me and says, 'Do you need a cart, sir?'. Confused, I asked why and he tells me that my wife already came down with her bags. So I ran upstairs and sure enough, Caroline and her bags are gone, and on the bed is the ring and a note that says 'Things wouldn't work out, Nicky' signed with her name and a little heart. After doing some research – research being asking the desk clerk – I come to find she ran off with a guy that I had decked in the face earlier 'cause he was getting a little grabby with her. So, even though we only knew each other for a short time, that was my first flirt with real love, and it didn't go too well."
"Do you still have the ring?" Ashley asked.
"Nah," he waved his hand as if he was brushing her question aside along with the ring. "I had to pawn it later.. It wasn't too nice, but I'm not cheap."
Ashley laughed a little and then her smile faded. "Well I'm sorry you had to go through that."
He shook his head. "I don't need her. I have you." He rolled over so that he was somewhat hovering over her from the side and then gently kissed her lips.
"I love you." She smiled before she pulled herself back into his chest.
"I love you, too, Ashley." He mumbled into her soft hair before the two fell asleep.
