Free For the Love of Gracie by Amy K. Mcclung

promptly turned to walk back into the bar, and he grabbed my wrist. 
    Angrily , I pointed at him. "Let go of me! No one makes my friends feel bad! I'm going back in there to give him a piece of my mind."
    Ashton laughed. "I think you already did that, Gracie." 
    Cameron wrapped his arm around mine. "Forget about him. I love you for coming to my rescue, but he's not worth it." 
    I kissed his cheek. "I don’t like anyone hurting you." I turned to look at Ashton and Gavin. "Any of you." 
    Gavin spoke up, "You're an awesome friend, Gracie." He kissed my cheek. "We're all lucky to have you. Let's go home. I've had enough fun for one night." 
    Ashton reached for my hand. "I can take you home, if you'd like?" 
    I nodded. "Yeah, sure." I hugged Cameron and Gavin before following Ash to his bike. 
    "I thought maybe Cam and Gav would want some alone time," Ashton said, mounting his bike. 
    "Oh, yeah, that makes sense." 
    He reached for my hand again, "Plus, selfishly, I wanted to spend some time with you." 
    The grin on my face couldn't speak louder to the joy I felt hearing those words.  "Are you sleepy?"
    He shook his head. "Nope. Where do you want to go?" 
    Pressing my body against him, I breathed, "Anywhere, as long as I'm with you." Ash's body didn’t tense at my words or the emotions they insinuated. 
     
    We pulled into a nice neighborhood, just north of Nashville. Ashton pulled into a driveway and I stepped off the bike first. I removed my helmet and shook out my hair. 
    "Where are we?" 
    He reached for my hand, guiding me to the front door. "My house. I thought we could just hang out." 
    His house was red brick with blue shutters that matched a blue front door. He unlocked it and moved aside for me to enter. The front door opened into a living room with a marble mantled fireplace across from the couch. 
    "No TV?" I asked, surprised. 
    He laughed. "Of course I have a TV, silly. Big screen is down in the den, and I have another one in the bedroom. " 
    I laughed .  The response I really wanted to give was to ask if I could see the one in the bedroom. 
    We passed through the living room as he gave me a tour. The next room was the kitchen, then he waved at the bedroom door as we passed it to go to the basement into the den. The downstairs was set up like a movie room with a big screen television, a small couch, recliners, and DVDs.  Lining the walls were neon beer signs, a dartboard, and in the corner, a pool table. 
    Oh holy sweet love, the fantasy on the pool table started again in my head. 
    "You wanna hang out down here a bit? Watch a movie?" he asked, with a twinge of nervousness it seemed.
    "Yeah, I'd like that." I sat on the couch, and then patted the seat next to me. He sat down and I leaned against him to watch the comedy he had chosen for us. He slid his arm around my shoulder and held me close.  Cameron and I watched movies like this all the time, but this felt so much more intimate.  
    "I'm proud of you for standing up to that guy tonight," he said. 
    I glanced up at him. "Like I said, I don’t like people hurting my friends. Cameron acts tough about it. The truth is, every time he deals with people like that, it kills him a little more and I hate it." 
    He kissed the side of my head. "I hate jerks like that. I'm glad we're friends, Gracie. I feel very protective of you myself."
    If he added that he thought of me like a sister, I would seriously die right here of heartbreak. He left it at that, though. 
    I fell asleep at some point. When I woke up, I was curled up against Ashton's chest with my arm around him. His head was lying back against the couch as he slept, snoring lightly. He looked adorable. I ran my hand along his chest, wanting to wake him up with my lips pressed to his, but I had to hold back. His body shifted slightly. His arms wrapped around me, pulling me closer. 
    I sighed with content ment. 
    He muttered, "Mmm…Gracie," and it made my heart race.
    I glanced up to see