Recollection

Maniacally driving through the menagerie of streets, the four of us landed directly in front of Exhibit A in the heart of central L.A. Andy left the car running and quickly exited without a word.
Ashley soon jumped into the vacant seat, adjusted it to accommodate the height difference, rearranged the mirrors and with a smile and a wave, the three of us were now driving off.

"Where we going?"

Ashley remained silent.

I pressured him over and over but he didn't budge and I gave up trying and turned my gaze to what was passing by through the side window. Eventually the sign stating we were entering Santa Monica came into view and remembrance filled my entire body.

Santa Monica was where I first met Ashley. Ryan, a mutual friend of ours, was holding a small beach party one night after Ashley and his band mates in Stolen Hearts were finished their small gig. I attended partly on Ryan's insistence, but due to good reviews from numerous sources, I just had to see for myself what the fuss was all about. Plus, I heard where there was a party with enough women and booze to go around, Ashley was sure to be there!

I kept to myself for most of the party, until Ryan nearly ripped me off my feet and planted me firmly in front of Mr. Purdy himself. Flanked by obviously from a bottle blondes with fake spray tans, he gave me a quick passing glance and engrossed himself back into the girls by his side. I was never one for making a scene but he intrigued me immensely and I felt I needed to get this man's attention.

I grabbed the bottle of whiskey from his hands, downed a good chunk of it before looking into his eyes, saying if he wanted one hell of a good time, he'd leave the phonies behind! I blew him a goodbye kiss then turned and walked away.

Ashley and his curiosity found me a little later sitting at water's edge. It didn't take us long to down a couple bottles and get a little crazy. We thought a quick dip in the Pacific would be an awesome idea, so we ran into the warm salt water, still fully dressed. Spending what seemed like forever in the water, splashing around and pulling one another underneath the depths, we found our way out and ended up back at his place.

Grazing back to reality, I noticed that Ash had parked the car in a vacant spot a few feet from a set of stairs that led to the massive beach. He asked me to stay put until he got Hunter and the bags out of the back seat. Feeling defeated, I agreed.

Moments later, he helped me squeeze out and we were limping down the stairs. He sat me down in the sand, anchored Hunter in my free arm and proceeded to lay out a blanket for the three of us. Miraculously, he lifted both Hunter and I and soon we were embraced in his arms upon the blanket. I leaned back against his chest, breathing in a mixture of Ashley's scent and the salt-tinged water, I closed my eyes taking pleasure from the calmness.

Notes