Work Text:
“Garcia, what in the world are you making? It smells delicious,” Joe questioned as he walked into the common room.
“Danishes, do you guys know what you want for dinner?” she questioned back. It was an every shift occurrence that Ashley cooked, she knew everyone in the house loved her cooking, and she loved doing it so why not?
“Can you do that chicken pot pie that you make? The one with the cheddar biscuit crust?” Mouch asked as he walked over to see the danishes that Ashley just pulled out of the oven.
“I sure can, is that okay with everyone else?” She got a chorus of yes’s in response, as she was about to grab plates to put the danishes on, the bell went off signalling they had a call.
Ambulance 61, person injured 200 South LaSalle
Ashley groaned, and looked at Brett. “Show time.”
-
“Can you believe the audacity of that guy wanting us to take the victim out the back door?”
“Oh I know! That was insane,” Sylvie exclaimed. “Really goes to show how little some people think of others.”
“Tough call, girls?” Hermann questioned.
“We get called to this restaurant right?” Ashley began to explain as she walked over to the oven to start handing out the danishes. “So, one of the cooks is there, hand covered in a towel and the manager is hovering over us yapping about us needing to take him out the back because he has a full house,” she scoffed as she grabbed plates. “I remove the towel and find the guy has three fingers missing and they're sitting next to a cucumber, and he starts to explain how he got distracted and looked away for two seconds. So, of course, being who I am, we take him through the front after putting his two fingers in a bag of ice. The manager had a fit.” She finished explaining as she walked over to the table the guys were sitting at to hand out the danishes, receiving thank you’s from each of the guys.
“The surgeons at Med are able to reattach the fingers, thankfully, but the nerve of that guy you know?” Sylvie questioned, shaking her head. The guys all murmured their agreement, all too busy eating the tasty treat Ashley just handed them. Sylvie gave Ashley a knowing look, and they both chuckled as she walked out, two plates in hand.
She knocked on Chief Boden’s door, waiting for him to wave her in before entering. “I made danishes, Chief, thought I’d bring you one before the rest of the guys ate them all.” She smiled at him as she set the plate down.
“Oh thank you! I bet these are delicious, Garcia. You never fail to amaze us with your talents,” Chief chuckled, pulling the plate towards himself and smelling it. He made a blissed face before speaking again, “I can’t wait to bite into this, I already know this is going to be amazing.”
“Let me know how you like it, I’ve got to take this to Severide before he has a fit about me leaving him out,” she rolled her eyes, and chuckled fondly. She waved as she exited the room, walking towards Severide’s quarters.
As she came to a stop outside his door, she could see he was on the phone. They locked eyes, Severide giving her a slight tilt of his chin to let her know that she could come in. She smiled and handed him the plate, nodding towards the door while mouthing, ‘I’ll talk to you later’ she walked out and back towards the common room.
-
Stella and Sylvie were standing near the stove when Ashley walked in. “Everything good?” She questioned.
“Yeah we were just talking about how Sylvie here needs to ask Casey out on a date already.” She pointedly looked at Brett. Ashley chuckled.
“If we’re going to talk about that then we need to talk about how you need to ask Kelly out,” Ashley pointed out, grabbing the chicken and ingredients to start on dinner.
“Woah woah woah. Okay, Ms. Kevin Doesn’t Like Me Like That, when he really does.”
“To be fair,” Ashley started, nervously grabbing the dirty dishes, “he makes me super nervous and I feel like I can’t function when I’m near him. I mean, have you seen him? Them lips? God.” At that point, she was washing the dishes, a light blush on her cheeks. Just the thought of Kevin had her feeling woozy.
“Ashley, you should really just ask him out. Or ask Kim to give you an in with him, you know she would.” Brett pointed out, walking away to grab the dirty dishes from the guys.
“You think Ki-” Ashley started, getting cut off by Otis as he walked up beside her.
“Smash, can you move in with Joe and I? Joe doesn’t cook as good as you, and these three days a week aren’t cutting it for me.” He made a sad face, desperation clear in his voice.
“Um, Otis, you do know that you don’t have to live with me for me to cook for you right? You can always come over to Kelly and I’s place for dinner.” Ashley stated, making a face at the nickname Otis picked up from Voight the one time he heard him call her that.
“Are you...are you serious? This whole time I could've been well fed everyday?”
“Yes? I thought you knew that? Everyone is welcome there anytime, I usually make enough for more than two people anyway.” Otis gave her another look before she continued. “How about you all come over tomorrow night? It’ll be Monday, we have Tuesday off. I’ll make a few dishes, and some desserts. We can have a little dinner party?”
“Yes!” Stella exclaimed, “you can invite the folks over at the 21st.” She winked, walking off to go sit at the table next to Mouch. “Trudy would be willing to come right?” She asked.
“Yeah, of course she would. Do you want me to let her know?” Mouch questioned.
“No, no Ashley and Brett can run over there real quick, right girls?” Stella looked at Ashley, a smirk on her face.
“Right, we can do that right now,” Brett said, grabbing Ashley and dragging her out. “We’ll be right back.” Ashley looked ready to kill Stella as she was dragged out.
-
Brett and Ashley pulled up to the 21st district, parking in front, they got out of the Ambo and stood there for a minute.
“I think I’m going to be sick,” Ashley said.
“You’re going to be fine, we’re going to go in, tell Trudy the plan, and then go upstairs and let the Intelligence team know. Ready?”
“Nope.” Brett chuckled as she grabbed Ashley’s arm once again, dragging her up the steps, and to Trudy’s desk. “Hi Trudy.”
“Hey Trudy!” Brett exclaimed.
“Girls! Hi, how are you guys doing? You need anything?”
“Um, I’m just here to let you know that I’m having a dinner party at my place tomorrow night. I invited the people from 51, and figured I’d invite you guys here as well. Mouch said you’d be good to come?” She questioned.
“Of course! Of course I’ll come, did you let Hank and the gang know?”
“Not yet, I was hoping you could buzz me up so I could ask them?”
“Yeah, yeah. Are you inviting Kevin too?” Trudy questioned, a smirk on her face. She enjoyed the blush that spread across Ashley’s face.
“Yes.” Ashley answered reluctantly, hating that everyone knew about her little crush on the cop.
“Good, go ahead up there now.”
“Thanks, you should come up Trudy. I don’t know if I’ll be able to get a clear shot of Ashley stumbling over her words and turning beet red.” Brett cackled, pulling her phone out of her pocket and walking up the steps where Ashley was holding the gate open.
“You know what? I will. Alvez, watch the desk for me.” She giggled, running around the desk to get to the steps like a little school girl.
“Why are you guys like this?” Ashley asked, letting the gate closed as she walked slowly being Brett and Trudy, who were running up the steps. The question fell deaf on their ears as they were already at the top. She could hear everyone greeting the two as Trudy said something along the lines of ‘there’s a visitor here for you.’
“Who is it?” Kim questioned as she sat on the edge of her desk.
Trudy smiled as her and Brett stepped to the side, “it’s Ashley!” She exclaimed, sweeping her arm to the side to welcome her up the rest of the steps. There was a chorus of ‘Ashley!’ and a soft, scratchy ‘Smash!’ as she smiled shyly at everyone.
“Hey guys, how are you?” She questioned, getting pulled into a hug by Kim, and then Erin. She made her rounds as she hugged each of the guys, hugging Al a little tighter as he whispered a ‘how’ve you been sweetpea’ in her ear.
“Hey Ashley,” Kevin smiled softly at her, pulling her into a tight hug. Ashley looped her arms around his neck, burying her face in his shoulder as she whispered a ‘hi, Kev’ to him as he wound his arms around her waist. She couldn’t help but think about how right it felt to be in his arms. The sound of someone clearing their throat had them leaping apart from one another, chuckles being heard as Hank gave Kevin a pointed look.
“What? I don’t get a hug?” He questioned, leaning against the wall. Ashley squinted her eyes playfully as she tilted her head, walking towards him.
“Of course you get a hug, what kind of person would I be to not hug my biggest fan?” She questioned, wrapping her arms around his waist.
“Oh, a fan. Is that what I am?” He asked, smiling fondly as he looked down at her.
“Yup,” she smiled, looking back up at him and then laughing as she rested her head back on his chest. “You’ll always be my biggest fan.”
“That’s true,” he said as he pulled back from her, but kept his arm around her shoulder. He liked her close to him, tucked away, and safe. “So, I know you didn’t just stop by to say hi. What’s up?”
“Well, Otis was complaining about how I need to move in with him because me feeding him three times out of the week isn’t enough, so I suggested we have a dinner party at mine and Kelly’s tomorrow night. And I figured it’d be nice to have everyone together for it. I was going to do a couple different dishes, and some desserts. We’ll have beer and wine, also.”
“Sold! You had me at beer, I’m in.” Adam exclaimed, clapping his hands. “You in Kev?” He asked, sending a wink at Ashley.
“Yeah, I’m down.” He nodded.
“You can count Jay and I in also, Ash.” Erin said, looking up from her computer Jay nodding his agreement.
“I’m in.” Al stated. Ashley looked up to Hank to see him nodding.
“I’ll be there of course. What were you thinking of making?”
“I don’t know, honestly. Did you guys have any suggestions?”
“Can you make that sweet potato pie you made at the Thanksgiving potluck? I’ve been craving a piece of it for the longest time.” Adam explained, Kim nodding her agreement.
“Yeah, I can make that.”
“I’ve always been a sucker for your lasagna, you know that. Maybe add some red velvet cupcakes as well?” Hank asked, already knowing she’d be down to make it.
“Oh! Can you make your alfredo? I always love when you make it at the House.” Brett piped up from her spot in the back.
“Okay, so far we have chicken alfredo, lasagna, sweet potato pie, and red velvet cupcakes. Anything else? Kevin, do you have a suggestion?” Ashley asked, looking over at Kevin. He looked at her and smiled, and she could feel her cheeks heat up already.
“Some wings? Like the ones you made for the picnic last summer.” He suggested, tone hopeful.
“Yeah of course. I can do that, anything sweet you want to add?”
“Um..” he smirked at her, eyes mischievous, “some banana pudding? With the whipped cream and cookies on top?”
“Y-yeah. Yeah, you got it.” She mentally rolled her eyes at the fact that she stuttered. Just as she was about to speak up again, her radio crackled.
“Main to 61.”
“Go for 61,” she responded.
“We got a person injured, 602 north California.”
“Got it, main. We’re on our way. That’s our cue, we’ll see you all tomorrow? 6 sound good?” She questioned as she walked away, turning back to see everyone nodding. “Good, see you guys.” As her and Brett walked downstairs, she heard Adam laugh, a ‘just ask her out already man’ coming from his mouth as Kevin responded with a ‘yeah alright.’
-
As Ashley walked out of the fire house the next morning she couldn’t help but think back to what Adam said to Kevin. Was he talking about her? Or was he talking about Brett? Kelly noticed how quiet she was as they walked toward his car.
“You okay over there?” He asked.
“Yeah, yeah I’m good. Just thinking.”
“Thinking about what? Or should I say who?” He smirked.
“Ha ha ha,” she laughed sarcastically, “when I went to let everyone at the 21st know about tonight, Adam said something as we were walking out.” She explained.
“Okay, what did he say?”
“He was talking to Kevin and said something along the lines of just ask her out already, and Kevin said yeah alright, but I don’t know who he was talking about.” She said, as she got into Kelly’s car. “Was he talking about me or Brett? Or someone completely different?”
“Ashley, I love you, but sometimes you aren’t the brightest person.” Kelly stated, starting his car and pulling off. “We’re going to Acme, right?”
“Yes we’re going to Acme, and what do you mean! Just because I didn’t assume he was talking about me, makes me dumb?” She asked, clearly offended.
“No. That’s not what I meant, I mean he clearly has a thing for you. Everyone knows it, everyone here and everyone at the 21st. Even Donna asks Chief if you guys have gotten together yet.” He said, stopping at a red light and looking over at Ashley.
“Wait, she does? How does she know I have a thing for him?”
“Ash, literally everyone knows you have a thing for him, and he has a thing for you. You guys aren’t exactly quiet about it. Christ, even Voight knows. And you know he hates when you date people.”
“Oh God, he really does like me?” She questioned, anxiety filling her tone.
“Yes! We’ve all been trying to tell you that for the longest time, Ash.” Kelly told her, pulling into a spot and turning the car off. “You just didn’t want to listen to anyone because you get so nervous all the time.” He laughed, climbing out
“It’s not my fault! He’s just so good looking, and nice that I can’t help but get a little weak in the knees.” She wailed, hands flailing as she walked beside Kelly into the store.
“A little? You practically fall over every time you see him,” Kelly snickered, grabbing the ingredients he knew she would need. “Just ask him out already. You can do it tonight after you’ve had a little wine in you.”
“Oh My Gosh, should I? I should, right? I’m gonna do it,” she rambled.
“Yes, you’re gonna do it, you got this.”
“I’m gonna do it,” she whispered, looking at Kelly and then continuing to gather ingredients.
She was going to ask Kevin out. What’s the worst thing that could happen, right?
-
Ashley gracefully moved around the kitchen, a soft tune playing on the radio. This is the part she loved, the tranquillity she felt as she danced around, dropping different spices, and ingredients into the pots and bowls around the stove. They’d settled on lasagna, chicken alfredo, wings (honey barbecue, buffalo, and habanero mango ((she may or may not have heard that that was Kevin’s favorite)), and meatballs. She figured she’d add some fries and make some baked macaroni and cheese as sides. Of course she was making the banana pudding, red velvet cupcakes, sweet potato pie, and some cookies as well.
She added the finishing touches to the cupcakes, and took a step back to look at everything on the counter. The cupcakes sat nice on the island, the cookies scattered prettily around the base of the cupcake tower. She placed the pies and pudding in the fridge, needing them to stay chilled. The pans of meatballs sat on the covered stove, a pan of wings sat beside them, the other two sat in front. She decided to have the lasagna and mac on each side of the stove, the alfredo on a separate counter, plates of garlic bread and fries sat around it. Now that everything was in place, all she had to do was get dressed.
They’d decided on semi formal attire, wanting to be cute but not wanting to be too uncomfortable after they ate.
“Ashley! Are you done yet?” Kelly suddenly shouted from upstairs.
“Yes, I’m about to come up to get ready.” Ashley shouted back, turning the radio off and walking up the steps.
“Is this outfit good enough?” He questioned, appearing at the top of the steps. He was dressed in a fitted white button up, and black jeans. A gold chain adorned his throat. I would so fuck him if he was my type, Ashley thought to herself as she nodded at Kelly.
“You look good, babe.” She said, walking the rest of the way up the steps and heading towards her room.
“Great. Okay. It’s not too much right?” He asked, smoothing his shirt down.
“No? Why would it be too much? We all agreed on semi formal.”
“I don’t know, I don’t want to look like I’m trying too hard you know?”
“Kelly you literally could wear and sack and still look good.” Ashley stated as she grabbed her towels to walk into the bathroom.
“Do you know what you’re wearing yet?” Kelly asked, following her into the bathroom and sitting on the closed toilet as she began showering.
“I was thinking about that shirt that I wore to the Christmas party last year? The black one with the white flowers? It has the plunge neckline and the ties around the waist?”
“Oh yeah, I like that one. You’re not backing out from asking Kevin out, right?”
Ashley rolled her eyes, putting conditioner in her hair. “No, Kelly, I’m still gonna do it.” She was more nervous about that than all the people coming to eat her food.
“Good, I’m glad. I think I’m gonna ask Stella out.”
“You what?!” Ashley exclaimed, sticking her head out of the shower. “You are? Oh My Gosh, finally!” She squealed, closing the curtain again.
“Ha ha, yeah.” Kelly chuckled nervously, fidgeting with his hands. “I’m gonna go finish getting ready.”
“Okay, I’m almost done.” She said, humming under her breath. She couldn’t wait for everyone to get here. She especially couldn’t wait for Kelly to ask Stella out.
-
“Ashleeeyyyyy, I’m heerreeeee!” Ashley heard the muffled voice of Otis as she was setting up the plates and cutlery. She chuckled as she walked over to the door, opening it to see Otis, Joe, Mouch, and Trudy.
“Hi guys. Come on in.” She stepped to the side, accepting the hugs they all gave her.
“Are we the first ones here?” Joe asked as he went to sit on the sofa.
“So far, yeah. It’s only 5:45, so they still have time. There’s refreshments in the fridge.” She responded, walking towards the door when another knock sounded. “Hank, Al! Hi, how are you guys?” She pulled them both into a hug.
“I’m good, sweetheart, how are you?” Hank questioned, kissing the side of her head.
“Hi, my sweet pea. You good?” Questioned Al.
“I’m good, glad you guys could make it. There’s drinks in the fridge, and chips and pretzels near the cupcakes.” She said as she led them toward the living room where the others were. Over the next 15 minutes, Ashley greeted everyone at the door, giving hugs and telling them where everything was. As the time ticked by, 6:00 became 6:15 and then 6:30 and there was still no sign of Kevin. She kept glancing over at the door thinking she was being discrete.
“He’ll be here, you know.” Ashley looked over to find Kim by her side.
“Huh?” She feigned ignorance.
“Kevin. He’ll be here, he’s just running a little late. He just texted me to let you know, he’s on his way now.”
“Oh. Yeah, yeah I knew he would be here. I was just...ya know.” She let out a defeated sigh. “I thought I was being discreet about it.”
“Not really. Me and Adam were over there wondering how long it would take for you to come over and ask us about if he was coming or not.” Kim chuckled, picking up some pretzels from the bowl in front of her.
“I...I wasn’t going to,” she laughed, “I didn’t want to seem too clingy or whatever.”
“Girl, no one would have thought that. You look really good by the way,” Kim complimented.
“Thank you! So do you, I like the coordination between you and Adam.”
“Thanks, he wanted to-,” she was cut off by a knock on the door. She looked over wide eyed at Kim, feeling a nervous pit in her stomach. “Go answer it!” Kim exclaimed, and then yelled “I got it!” as she saw Brett walking over to get it. She smiled at Ashley and nodded her head towards the door. “Go ahead.”
“Oh God,” Ashley said, releasing a nervous breath. She walked over to the door, putting her hand on the knob for a second before turning it and opening the door. She felt like the wind had been knocked out of her. Kevin stood in front of her, a black turtleneck on, black jeans and a maroon overcoat. He had a gold chain on, and God was his beard glistening? It sure was.
“He-hey Kevin. How are you?” She swallowed hard, willing her nerves to calm down.
“I’m good, Ash, how are you?” He questioned, giving her a once over.
“Good, good. You know, just living the life,” she nervously chuckled.
Kevin nodded, a smile on his face as he looked at her. “You gonna let me in sweetheart?” He asked, a smirk on his lips.
“Oh! Oh, uh, yeah, yeah, yes. Come in, come in.” she stepped to the side, allowing enough space for him to walk by. She could smell his cologne as he came in and took his coat off. Am I going to faint? Is this death for me right now? She thought to herself as she watched Kevin for a second. “I can take your jacket for you, if you’d like.”
“Um..” he hesitated, “I was actually going to hold onto it. I don’t think I can stay too long,” he spoke carefully.
“Oh, okay.” Ashley nodded dejectedly. “Right, well if you want anything to eat, it’s all in the kitchen. There’s soda and water in the fridge if you don’t want a beer.” She spoke hurriedly, waving her arms around. She glanced at him once more and smiled halfheartedly before she went back towards the kitchen.
“What’s wrong?” Kim said, noticing her sudden change.
“Nothing per se. He just said that he couldn’t stay long. I’m assuming he’s only staying for maybe 20 minutes considering he doesn’t want to put his coat down,” she shrugged. “Have you seen Kelly?”
“Last I saw him he was over in the living room with Stella.” Kim gave her a sad look.
“Thanks,” Ashley gave her a tight lipped smile and went to find Kelly. “Hey can I talk to you?” She asked Kelly when she found him sitting on the sofa talking to Stella and Brett. “Actually, all three of you, so can we huddle on one couch for a second?” She asked. The three friends nodded, squeezing together while Ashley kneeled in front of them.
“What’s up?” Kelly asked.
“Okay, so I was going to do that thing tonight but I can’t.”
“What? Why not?” Kelly asked the same time Stella asked “What thing?”
“I was going to ask Kevin out on a date, but he said he can’t stay long so what’s the point? He doesn’t even want to hang out here at my house, why would he want to go on a date, right? I’d just be humiliating myself!” She softly exclaimed.
“No, that’s probably not the case at all. He most likely has something to do, maybe with his job?” Brett suggested.
“Yeah, babe, maybe something came up with his family. You should still do it.” Stella piped up.
“If you don’t do it, I’m not doing it.” Kelly said, arms crossed.
“Woah, wait. That’s not fair,” Ashley pouted. “Fine i’ll do it, but if I get rejected you better be ready with ice cream and movies tonight. Got it?” She pointed at them.
“Deal,” they said in unison.
“Gosh.” Ashley said as she walked off. Here goes nothing.
-
It was about 20 minutes later, Ashley was talking to Hank and Chief Boden when Kevin walked over.
“Hey, sorry to interrupt y’all, but can I steal Ashley for a second?” He questioned, looking questioningly at the two men in front of him. They both squinted at him.
“What do you need her for?” Hank asked, arms crossed over his chest. He knew they both had a thing for each other, but it was always fun to mess with Kevin.
“Oh, uh, I just needed her opinion on something. Over there,” he hooked his thumb over his shoulder, nervously drumming his finger on his leg.
Ashley sucked her teeth, “Hank, leave him alone. What did you need, Kevin?” She asked politely. She tried her best to not let her nerves get to her, it was now or never with asking him out.
“You mind coming over there with me?” He nodded his head toward the kitchen. Ashley nodded, murmuring a “be right back” to the two men she was talking to.
“What’s up?” She asked when they reached the far end of the kitchen, her back against the counter as Kevin stood in front of her.
“Okay, first, your wings were amazing, as I knew they would be. Second, I know I said I had to leave early, but I really don’t want to. I was hoping you could maybe help me with something? So I won’t have to?” He questioned, tone hopeful.
“Yeah, of course. Whatever you need.” Ashley nodded, looking intently at him through her glasses.
“Alright, so as you know I was on shift earlier so I didn’t have time, but I was going to leave here and go to the courthouse to get a restraining order against this woman who’s been bothering me,” he started. Ashley had no idea where this was going, but was fully invested in the story. “I’ve tried literally everything and this restraining order is my last resort. I’ve tried telling her I have a girlfriend, but she didn’t believe me because I don’t have any pictures on my Instagram with her. So I was wondering if you could maybe take a few with me? And I could post those and put some cheesy caption and hope that that gets her off my back?” Kevin questioned, tone nervous.
Ashley stay silent for a minute, taking in the information and thought Fuck it, why not?
“Yeah, I’ll take the pictures with you,” she nodded at him. “We can have Kim take them? Outside on the steps she’s really good at taking pictures.” She suggested. Kevin nodded.
“Yeah, that’d be great. Thank you so so much. I owe you big time for this,” He said, slipping his arms into his coat and grabbing Ashley’s hand. He walked her over to Kim and murmured “she’s down” and then continued walking until they got to the front door. “Where’s your jacket?” He asked.
“It’s in the closet, I’ll grab it real quick. Kim yours is the red one, right?” She asked as she walked towards the closet, Kim responding with a ‘yes.’
“Here,” Ashley said as she handed Kim her coat and put her own on. She nodded towards the door as Kevin and Kim followed behind her. She walked down the front steps, allowing Kim and Kevin to come to a stop before she spoke again. “Can I pick the poses or did you want to do it, Kev?”
“You can pick them. Just tell me where you want me,” he responded. Ashley nodded.
“Sit right there at the top of the step, spread your legs a little. Are you okay with me sitting on your lap?” She asked as she stood in front of Kevin, who now sat on the steps. She fixed his turtle neck a little, pulling his chain until the clasp was in the back. Kevin looked up at her a little surprised.
“I mean, yeah that’s fine with me. Who am I to stop a beautiful woman like yourself from sitting on my lap?” He questioned with a smirk and a wink. “Which, by the way, you look absolutely stunning. Love this top on you,” he licked his lips. Ashley was dressed in tight blue jeans, a tight, black floral top that had a plunge neckline, and black heeled boots. She had a gold cross necklace along with a few rings, a pair of hoops and her regular black glasses; a semi long trench coat kept her warm.
She blushed, and chuckled nervously. “Thank you, you don’t look too bad yourself,” she winked at him before taking a seat on his left leg. She kept her legs in the middle of his, her right arm wound around his neck, her hand at the base of his neck, caressing it. “Kevin, if you want to make this believable you can’t just let your hand dangle like that,” she chuckled. He looked at her sheepishly before putting his hand tentatively on her waist. “We’re grown, you know. You don’t have to be afraid to get a little handsy,” she said as she moved his hand from her waist to her thigh, close to her ass.
“I just didn’t want to over step,” he pouted at her.
“I know, but we have to make this believable, right?”
“Right,” he agreed. “Ready Kim?”
“Ready,” she said from her spot on the pavement.
“Okay, Kim we’ll take a few and then change poses. Sound good?” Ashley asked, fixing her hair a little bit. Kim nodded, giving them a thumbs up. She started snapping the pictures as Ashley and Kevin smiled. After about five or six pictures, they switched poses; this time Ashley sat straight forward, straddling Kevin’s leg while his hand rested on her inner thigh, close to her vagina.
“That’s not too much, is it?” He asked Ashley.
“Not at all,” she looked back at him. “I like having your hands on me,” she said with a smirk. She turned straight forward again, nodding her head slightly to let Kim know to start taking the pictures. After that pose came one more, this time standing up. Ashley had her body turned slightly to the right, her left hand resting on Kevin’s chest, while his hand came to rest on the swell of her ass. She smiled up at him and he smiled back.
Unconsciously, they simultaneously started to lean in. She could feel his breath on her face. God she hoped Kim was still taking the pictures, these would really seal the deal for him. She let her eyes flutter shut as she felt his lips on hers and God was she in Heaven. His lips were plump, and not dry at all. She wound her arms around his neck as his hands fell to her waist, she felt his tongue glide along her bottom lip and before she knew it they were making out.
If he’s this skilled with his tongue while kissing, imagine what he can do with it elsewhere, she thought to herself as Kevin pulled back. She opened her eyes and looked up at him, her glasses a little fogged up.
His tongue flicked out to lick his lip, before he spoke. “Will you go on a date with me?” and what?
“You...what?” She asked dumbly.
“A date, will you go with me? Saturday?” He asked again, hands still firmly planted on her waist.
“What are the odds that I finally get the guts to ask you out and you ask me first?” She laughed, “of course I will,” she smiled up at him. He smiled down at her, his perfect teeth on display.
“I was so nervous to ask you, and then i talked to Ada-,” he got cut off by the door opening. Adam came running out, a smile on his face.
“You asked her out?!” He exclaimed.
“Yeah, bro. Finally.” Kevin chuckled, stepping back from Ashley as Adam came up to them.
“That’s awesome man! See I told you you had nothing to worry about!”
“Yeah,” Kevin said softly as he looked at Ashley. They both tuned out what Adam was rambling on about, too caught up in each other.
This turned out to be the perfect dinner party after all, Ashley thought as she was dragged in the house by Adam, him still rambling on this time about how her and Kevin “finally got their act together.” And if they stay tucked up against each other the rest of the night, that was their business.
-
It had been two weeks since Kevin asked Ashley out, and the date went amazingly. Kevin had gotten a few ideas from Kim, Sylvie, and Stella on where he should take Ashley. He decided on dinner at The Capital Grille, and then they grabbed hot chocolate and spent hours talking in his car. It was nice, and an easy way for them to get to know each other.
It was now a Friday, and Ashley had no idea what to do with herself. She didn’t have work, and Kelly was out with Stella. She was going to ask Sylvie if she wanted to go out, but she was visiting family, and Joe and Otis had plans with their girlfriends. She could go to the bookstore, but she knew she didn’t need any books at the moment; she had at least two that still needed to be read. Maybe I can go visit Hank, he’ll let me hang out there. She thought to herself as she laid on the sofa. She nodded her head and decided that’s what she was going to do, getting up to go get dressed.
She decided on jeans, a white t-shirt, and black nikes. She parted her hair down the middle, added some hoops along with her glasses, put her jean jacket on and was out the door. On the ride over, she couldn’t help but be a little nervous. She used to show up unannounced all the time, but this time it felt different; she hasn’t done this in years, and now she was seeing Kevin. She decided to stop for patties before going, getting a large variety (two dozen to be exact) even though she knew the Intelligence Unit wouldn’t eat them all.
Parking outside the district, Ashley got out, took a deep breath and started walking towards the door. She had to remind herself that these were the same people she’d had at her house two weekends ago; they were all friends. Why am I so nervous? she thought to herself as she stepped into the building. She saw Trudy at her desk, talking to one of the patrolmen.
“You’re on foot patrol, maybe next time you’ll think before bad mouthing the people you work with,” she gave him a pointed look then faced the door, finally noticing Ashley. “Hey there, girly! What brings you in today?” She exclaimed excitedly.
“I got bored at my house and decided to drop by and bring you all some pastries. I hope this is okay,” Ashley smiled sheepishly.
“Of course it’s okay! We’re always happy to see you, what do ya got in the box?” Trust wiggled her eyebrows.
“I got some pastries from Stan’s Donuts and Coffee, pick whatever you want. And please take more than one, I don’t know why I decided on two dozen but here we are,” she laughed, opening the box for Trudy to pick which sweet treats she wanted.
“Oh trust me, they’ll eat them for sure,” Trudy laughed, picking up a toffee cake and a lemon raspberry donut. “Thank you for these, I’m going to try to eat them throughout the day, but you know how I am with sweets,” she laughed. “Did you want help carrying them?”
“No, I’ve got it. Thank you though, could you buzz me up?”
“You got it, I’ll see you when you come back down,” Trudy waved as Ashley smiled and nodded, heading up the steps.
Ashley got to the top of the steps, standing there as she saw everyone concentrating on their respective computers. “Hey guys,” she said softly, not wanting to startle anyone.
“Ashley!” Adam exclaimed, jumping out of his seat, and grabbing the boxes of pastries. Ashley let him take them, thinking he was going to put them on a desk and give her a hug; instead he put them down and opened the boxes to see what they were.
“Okaayyy, well. I brought sweets for you guys,” she chuckled, smacking the lid as she walked past Adam.
“Oh, I know,” Adam mumbled through a mouthful of donut. Ashley rolled her eyes, Al giving her a hug as everyone said thank you’s while walking towards the boxes.
“Hi, baby,” Ashley heard from beside her. She looked to her left and smiled down at Kevin.
“Hey,” she smiled sweetly, leaning down to give him a kiss on his cheek. “How are you?” She asked as she leaned on the edge of his desk.
“I’m alright, been staring at this screen for way too long; I’m glad I get to stare at something more appealing now,” he smirked at her. She rolled her eyes, trying to hide her blush.
“Flattery will get you everywhere, Mr. Atwater,” Ashley said, chuckling as she pushed off his desk. “You should go grab something out of those boxes before they’re gone,” she winked, walking towards Hanks office. She heard him chuckle and the telltale sign of his chair rolling back. She knocked on Hank's door, seeing that he was on the phone. He waved her to come in, holding up a finger and motioning for her to sit.
“Yeah, I got it. Alright. Bye,” he hung up the phone with a slight eye roll. “Hi sweetheart. What brings you here?” Hank asked with a smile.
“I brought some pastries, figured I could hang out here like I used to,” she said softly, crossing her legs. “Is that okay?”
“Yeah, babe that’s fine. You know I love seeing you. I just have to go let them know about what the commander just said, come on.” Hank said, getting up and waiting for Ashley to stand before allowing her to step out first and then putting an arm over his shoulder. “Alright guys listen up,” Hank started. “I just got off the phone with the commander, we’ve got eyes on us with this one so we do everything by the book, we clear?” He looked around as everyone nodded. “Good.”
“No offense, Sarge, but you usually have an attitude and yell when you get off the phone with the commander. Why aren’t you yelling? Not that I want you to or anything, but ya know...it’s strange,” Adam rambled.
“She makes me happy, and keeps me calm. I don’t feel the need to yell with her around,” Hank said, smiling over at Ashley. She smiled back, her cheeks heating up as everyone cooed at her.
“I tend to have that effect on people,” Ashley joked, still feeling bashful.
“It’s true,” Al piped up from his spot in the corner. “Everyone she meets always goes on about how she’s so calming and makes everyone so happy.”
“You know what? Now that I think about it, you did have this calming way about you when I first met you. It was at that police function, and you came with Hank; I was so nervous because I was supposed to be giving a speech, I thought I was going to be sick and you gave me a pep talk,” Kim explained from where she was leant up against her desk. And if Ashley wasn’t blushing before, she sure was now.
“I just...I like to make people happy,” she said shyly.
“And you do, sweetheart. You make everyone happy, including all of us here,” Kevin said, motioning to everyone that stood in the room.
“And that also includes me,” everyone turned to see Trudy walking up the steps. She winked at Ashley before continuing. “Hank, you have a visitor,” As she said that, the DA appeared at the top of the steps. Ashley heard Hank mumble a ‘this should be good’ before he motioned for the DA to follow him into his office.
Ashley looked at the closed door and made a face, “Is that Steve Kot?” She asked Trudy.
“Yup, he aged well, didn’t he?” She winked.
“Not to me, no,” she laughed, “I didn’t forget all the hell he gave me when I first met him, just because he wears expensive cologne and cheap suits doesn’t make him attractive,” Ashley laughed, walking towards Kevin and sitting on the edge of his desk.
“You think I’m attractive though don’t you, sweetheart?” Kevin said, turning towards Ashley in his chair, a smirk on his face.
“I do, I wouldn’t have said yes to a date if I didn’t think you were the finest man I’d ever had the pleasure of knowing,” she winked.
“Hey! What about me?” Jay exclaimed from his desk.
“What about you? You’re Erin’s type, sir, not mine,” she laughed, looking at Jay’s offended face. “You’re attractive in your own way but you lack, ya know, some features that I quite like.”
“Oh yeah? And what’s that?”
“Um...a beard? A curly top, the thickness that Kevin has, and the most obvious thing, melanin, baby,” Ashley explained, chuckling along with the rest of the room.
“It’s okay, Jay, not everyone can hit the jackpot like I did,” Kevin said, licking his lips.
"You always know what to say, huh?" Ashley asked, laughing. "Walk with me to get coffee?"
"Ooh, they're gonna go in there and do naughty things," Adam teased, laughing as Ashley's face turned bright red.
"Leave me alone," Ashley said, grabbing Kevins hand and walking towards the break area. She walked toward the coffee pot, turning to see that everyone had gone back to working on the case they had. Once she realized no one was paying attention she turned to Kevin, stepping close to him and leaning up to meet him in the middle for a kiss.
No matter how many times they did this, Ashley would never get used to this. She couldn't believe she got to kiss Kevin Atwater! He was definitely one of the most attractive guys she's been with, and the fact that he was all hers made her knees a little weak. Her grip tightened on him as he slipped his tongue in her mouth, the taste of the donut he had still on him. He was so skilled with his tongue, and the way he gripped her hips in his hands made her stomach tighten. He placed a few pecks on her lips, going in for one more deep kiss before he pulled back.
"Hank's gonna notice we're missing," he huffed.
"So? We're grown, right?" She asked, ready to go back in for another kiss.
"Yeah," Kevin laughed, placing another kiss on her lips, "we are, but I don't want him killing me. I kind of like living, and being with you, thank you very much," he said, matching the pout Ashley gave him.
"He wouldn't kill you, he'd just give you a stern talking to," she said, giggling as Kevin dug his fingers into her sides.
"Yes exactly, I'd rather skip the whole 'please don't make out with my daughter at work' speech."
"You're right," she pouted harder, "you should get back to work. I'll probably hang around in Hank's office, though. We're still on for Sunday right?" She asked, turning around and finally grabbing herself a cup of coffee.
"Yes ma'am, we're still on for Sunday," he agreed, taking the cup of coffee Ashley offered him.
"Good, because I have a surprise for you," Ashley said, mischievously, winking at Kevin as she walked out.
Sunday can’t come quick enough, Kevin thought as he went back to his desk.