You Saved Me

Ashley's POV: The only two who didn't drink out of all of us was Ella and Lauren, so we all pile into two of the three cars and drive back to the studio. None of us are drunk, by any means, but we try to avoid drinking and driving at all, aside my stupid stunt at the studio, where I almost ran over Katie.
"So, want to come over tonight, and I'll just take you to school tomorrow?" I ask Katie.
She looks up at me, then says, "That would be nice. Thanks."
"Just make sure to wrap your meat, Purdy Boy," Jake says, slapping me on the back, "We don't need a bunch of mini Ashley's or Katie's running around right now."
"Not really what I had planned for tonight, douche," I counter in the fakest, sweetest voice I can, and rolling my eyes at him.
"It's cool, Jake. I got it covered," Katie says, revealing her upper arm to him, and pointing to a random spot.
"Huh?" Jake and I ask at the same time.
"Basically, I talked to my doctor about...umm...birth control, and he put me on the shot," she tells us, shyly.
"And when did you plan on telling me this?" I ask her, arching an eyebrow in her direction.
"I don't know," she says, shrugging her shoulders.
"When did this happen?" I try another approach.
"About a week and a half ago," she tells me, "I didn't want to say anything until it took effect."
"Which is how long after you have the shot?" I press.
"7 to 10 days," she says, blushing now.
"So you would have told me any day now," I conclude.
"I actually wanted to surprise you for Christmas," she tells me.
"How? By taking him into the nearest coat closet, and fucking him senseless?" Jake asked.
"Shut up, Jake," Katie and I say at the same time.
"No, I was going to ask you if I could spend the night, and...Well, you know," she says.
Whenever we're alone, she has absolutely no problem talking about this kind of thing, but have anyone within earshot, and she somehow becomes the shyest person on the face of the earth when it comes to sex. How the hell does that happen? I honestly don't get it, because trust me, she has Jayy's kinky side too, when we're in the bedroom alone.
"Oh! Ella, turn it up!" Katie calls out spontaneously, then starts dancing between Jake and myself. How the hell does she do that? I can hardly hear the song playing, but I do know it's only just started.
She continues to dance as Ella turns the music up, and I soon realize it's I Miss The Misery by Halestorm.
I watch Katie, thinking of how much she's been changing and wondering why she doing it. I mean, I love Katie, and this seems to be the new her, but at the same time she's not the woman I fell head over heels in love with.
This is actually why I asked her to spend the night with me, so we could talk about this. She's becoming more...well, let's just say, it's not her. It's not Katie.
Ella pulls up to the studio, then she takes Katie and me back to her place, so Katie can pack her overnight bag. Once we're there, Katie heads inside, and a few moments of silence pass between Ella and me.
"Is something wrong? Between you and Katie, I mean," she asked me, and when I look over at her, she's looking at me with concern.
I sigh, then struggle to say, "I just..I don't know. Katie's just...changing. I don't know how I feel about it."
"She's growing up, Ashley," she whispers to me, "She's going to change, but she needs you to be there for her through the changes."
"I know," I sigh again, getting frustrated, "I just don't know how to be there, when some of the changes are so dramatic that sometimes it doesn't feel like she's still my Katie anymore."
"Ashley, this happens in relationships sometimes when there's an age gap like yours and hers," she tells me.
"What do you mean?" I ask, confused by her words.
"You've already found out who you are by now, but she's still so young that she's still experimenting and trying to find out who she is," Ella says, flashing me a look of sympathy, "Say the roles were reversed for a moment. Say you're the 18 year old boy, searching to find who he is in this crazy world we live in, and are dating a 28 year old Katie, who's already been through that and discovered herself. Now, do you think Katie would walk away from you, even when it didn't feel like you were the same man she fell in love with?"
I think about her words for a moment, but quickly realize, no. Katie would never do that. She would stand by my side and love me through it, then learn to love me once I discovered who I was.
"No, she'd never walk away like that. At least not for that reason alone," I tell Ella after a moment, then I see Katie bouncing towards the car again, and she gets in next to me.
I smile down at her, then pull her into my arms and kiss her gently on the lips. My smile turns into a smirk, then I whisper, "Told you I'd get that kiss sooner or later."
"Smart ass," Katie murmurs, smiling and blushing like mad.

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