A/N So what do you think so far? Are you enjoying the story? Please let me know.

Chapter 22: Ash

Once again, Lexa has pulled out all the stops for me. I can't believe how romantic she can be. No one I have ever been with makes me feel the way she does. It is like time stops when it is just the two of us, and there is no one else in the world. I wish that were the case, then things wouldn't be so complicated. We have a fantastic dinner while watching the sunset over the Golden Gate Bridge. Everything is perfect. We dance talking until it is late.

Suddenly our song starts to play, and we dance. Lexa stops dancing and looks me in the eyes, and begins to sing. 'I wonder why it is/I don't argue like this/with anyone but you/I wonder why it is/I won't let my guard down/For anyone but you/We do it all the time/Blowing out my mind/You've got this look I can't describe/ You make me like I'm alive/When everything else is au fait/Without a doubt you're on my side/Heaven has been away too long/Can't find the words to write this song/Oh…Your love.' As she sings to me, I think about everything we have been through and how being here in her arms feels like home to me. I don't know how to explain it, but just being around her makes me feel at home, like everything is right in the world, and nothing can hurt us as long as we are together.

When the song ends, she looks me in the eyes and leans in to kiss me. As soon as our lips meet, it's like my body takes over. It's like my body recognizes her reacting without thinking. I pick her up, carrying her towards the bedroom. Lexa being Lexa and always overthinking things breaks the kiss, asking if, I am sure. I just laugh. I tell her that I want to have my way with her if that is alright with her.

We spend the rest of the night and most of the early morning having our way with each other until we are both so tired, we fall asleep in each other's arms. I wake up with my head on Lexa's naked chest, with her staring at me. Finally, I look up and smile, "Good morning, sunshine. Whatcha doing?"

She smiles down at me and says, "Good morning, beautiful. I was just watching you sleep while thinking about how wonderful last night was."

Suddenly, we hear a light knock on the bedroom door. I look at Lexa with a questioning look, and she just shrugs and gets up. She quickly throws on a pair of boxers and a t-shirt before answering the door. I hear her say, "Good morning, Petrona. What can I do for you?"

I hear Petrona answer, "I just thought that you and Ms. Ashley might like breakfast in bed, so I brought you some homemade waffles and cheese omelets with salsa on the side like you like."

Lexa says, "Thank you."

I hear the door shut, and soon Lexa climbs back in bed with a tray of food. When I look at her, her cheeks are still pink from being embarrassed. Finally, I say, "What's wrong, babe? You look like you just got caught with your hand in the cookie jar or something."

She laughs and says, "How did she know you were in here with me, and how am I going to explain…."

I can't help but laugh at her, "Sweetie, you don't have to explain anything. This is your boat, and they work for you."

"I know that, but…I don't know. I mean, I introduced you as a good friend, not my girlfriend, because well, we weren't supposed to be doing this, not that I didn't enjoy it because I did. It is simply weird, that's all. I mean, I guess I need to get used to everyone knowing my business because, well…I guess there won't be any secrets on this yacht. I guess we should eat and then get ready to meet your interior designer."

"Look, I understand what you mean. We are supposed to be taking a break to figure everything out, but I just couldn't help myself. You make me feel whole like I'm home and everything is perfect when I am in your arms. I feel like this is going to happen whenever we are alone together because you are…I don't know how to explain it, but I feel like as long as we aren't in relationships with other people, we aren't hurting anyone."

"Ash, I'm confused. Are you saying that what we did last night is okay to happen again? How are you going to figure out your feelings for Callie if you are still in my bed?"

"What I'm saying is that I'm okay with it happening again if you are. As far as Callie, I will continue to spend time with her and see where it goes while you are free to have fun with whomever you want. We just need to communicate with each other. I think the kids these days call it friends with benefits."

"Ok, but what if one of us starts a relationship with someone else. What happens then? And are you really going to give Callie a fair chance if you are still sleeping with me? Is she even going to…?"

She interrupts me, "Look, we will figure it out as we go. All I know is last night was amazing, and Callie doesn't need to know. Now finish eating. I'm going to take a shower."

I get up and go to take a shower. I let the hot water beat down on me while I think. What in the hell are you doing? Did you seriously just tell Lexa that you wanted to be friends with benefits and that Callie doesn't need to know? How am I going to figure things out if I keep running back to Lexa? How is she going to trust me if I'm telling her Callie doesn't need to know? Maybe she is the answer! Perhaps this is the universe and my conscious telling me that I need to be with her. But is that fair to her? I mean, she is only 20 and hasn't really experienced her freedom yet. I know she thinks that I am the one for her, but how does she know? Will she even try to find out if I keep letting things like last night happen? I know I'm overthinking things, but everything is so complicated. I need to go with the flow, go shopping with Lexa today, and see what happens, but I need to make it a point to try with Callie. At some point, I do need to ask Callie about the fights, though. I will text her while Lexa gets ready.