21 comments/ 16858 views/ 27 favorites The Stand-In Girlfriend Ch. 10-13 By: mspat CHAPTER 10 Ashton slowly and quietly made his way up the stairs towards his old bedroom where his fiancée lay sleeping. Since her parents arrival in London and they were staying at his parents' home Chevonne refused to sleep in the same bedroom with Ashton. Relegating him to the living room couch. She told Ashton her parents wouldn't approve and sleeping in the same bedroom with him while they were in the house made her uncomfortable. Ashton was surprised that he found falling asleep difficult without Chevonne in the room with him. He wondered how he'd become so accustomed to her being in the room with him in such a short time. But he couldn't deny the fact that he spent half the night fighting the urge to go up to his old bedroom and lie on the floor next the bed Chevonne was sleeping in. The only thing stopping him was the idea of possibly running into her parents (especially her father) and having to explain why he was going into or coming out of his bedroom. But he didn't have to worry about running into her parents this morning because his parents had taken Chevonne's parents out for a real U.K. breakfast. A shiver ran through Ashton's body as he stood at the bedroom door knowing that Chevonne was on the other side and he would be seeing her again. He reached out to quietly ease it open. He made his way over to the bed and gingerly laid down on the mattress next to Chevonne. He positioned himself on his side, rested his head against his hand and waited for Chevonne to awaken. He knew it would be soon. Chevonne slowly opened her eyes and brought her hands up to wipe the sleep from her eyes. After wiping her eyes she brought her arms above her head to stretch her body awake to greet the morning. "That's the sexiest thing I've ever seen." Chevonne froze. She turned around and saw Ashton lying on the other side of the bed. "What're you doing in here?" Chevonne asked lying on her side to face Ashton, resting and her head on her hand aping his position. "Don't tell me you forgot about last night," Ashton said moving closer to Chevonne and putting an arm around her waist. "I didn't forget about last night," Chevonne said removing Ashton's arm from around her waist. "You're the one whose forgetting about last night." "How could I forget about something so beautiful, so satisfying, so right?" Ashton asked putting his arm back around Chevonne's waist. "It was only a kiss, Ashton," Chevonne said rolling her eyes towards the ceiling. "You mean it started with a kiss," Ashton said leaning over and kissing Chevonne on the neck. Ashton smiled at the shiver he felt make it's way through Chevonne's body. "We're not going through this again," Chevonne said. "Are you saying you didn't like it the first time," Ashton said kissing her neck making his way up to her jaw and slowly up to her earlobes where he gently bit her. "Have you thought about what we discussed last night?" Chevonne asked removing his arm from around her waist once again and putting some distance between his lips and her body by getting out of the bed. "Refresh my memory," Ashton said getting out of the bed and making his way over to her unable to stand the distance between them. "I asked you if you noticed that our parents seem very much in favor of us getting married," Chevonne said, "Even though they didn't know we were seeing each other, they haven't put up any argument whatsoever against us getting married. I asked you if you found that strange?" "And how did I answer that question?" Ashton asked pulling Chevonne into his arms and once again making a meal out of her neck. "You didn't answer it," Chevonne said. "You did what you're doing now making a meal out of my neck." "Oh, yeah," Ashton said as he tried to slip the sleeve of the nightgown Chevonne was wearing off her shoulder. "I remember that." "And do you remember what happened after that?" Chevonne asked. "Yes, I do," Ashton said as he froze, stopped kissing Chevonne on the neck and returned the sleeve of her nightgown back to it's proper place on her shoulder. "You didn't need to knee me so hard." "I only kneed you hard enough to get your attention," Chevonne said. "How did you get into my room?" "Snuck in," Ashton said. "You're a very heavy sleeper." "You're going to be a heavy sleeper if my father catches you in here," Chevonne said. "Your parents aren't here. Our parents went out to breakfast and to check out halls where our wedding can be held." "Why are you so calm about this?" Chevonne asked almost screaming at him. "Can't you see how crazy all of this is?" "There's nothing crazy about it," Ashton said. "Our parents are behaving the way any parents would behave when their children have made what they feel are wise choices about whom they want to marry." "But we aren't really engaged," Chevonne said trying not to give into her desire to hit Ashton up side the head to bring him back to reality. "So we won't be getting married. This whole thing between us is fake, a scheme." "There was nothing fake about the two kisses we shared last night," Ashton said raising his eyebrows up and down. "And did you or did you not say that you're attracted to me. Well, I'm attracted to you too." "No," Chevonne said putting her hand on her hips and shaking her head, "you're not attracted to me. You're in love with Katina." "How long have you been here?" Ashton asked. "Almost two weeks," Chevonne replied. "And how many times have I mentioned Katrina besides the times when she's called me?" Ashton asked. "Never," Chevonne said. "But that's only because you've been trying to keep this farce of a plan from being discovered. You haven't had tome to think of anything else." "You're right," Ashton said. "I have been trying to keep this farce of a plan from being discovered. But that hasn't kept visions of you out mind. It hasn't taken away my desire to kiss you, hold you and make you scream my name as I make wild, passionate love to you." "You don...." Ashton cut off her words by pulling her into his arms and covering her lips with his. He tightened his hold on Chevonne when he felt her body seem to melt into his. "We can't do this. I won't do this," Chevonne said trying to push her way out of his embrace. "I won't allow you to use me as a sexual stand in for Katrina. We're going to end this mess today. My parents have been here for almost a week and things have only gotten crazier since their arrival." "What do you mean?" Ashton asked. "My mother and your mother are going on and on about a wedding that isn't going to happen and grandchildren their not going to have." "Both of those things could and might happen," Ashton said. "What about Katrina?" Chevonne asked. "Isn't she the woman you really love?" "Katrina has been cheating on me," Ashton said. "Cheating on you?" Chevonne replied her voice showing her surprise. "How do you know she's cheating on you?" "I received these last night," Ashton said pulling out his cell and showing Chevonne pictures that someone sent to him through his email. The pictures showed Katrina with an African-American man eating dinner, dancing, kissing and holding hands around the city of Atlanta. Ashton thought the surprised look that appeared on Chevonne's face as she looked at the picture was of it showing Katrina kissing a black man. But that wasn't it. The look on her face was because the man in pictures eating, dancing, kissing and holding hands with Katrina was her brother. Martin. "Oh, my god," Chevonne said her hand over her mouth, "that's my brother Martin. "What?!" Ashton almost screamed.. "The man in the picture with Katrina is my brother Martin," Chevonne said again. Ashton became so angry his body began to shake making him want to throw his cell phone against the wall and break it in two. But he didn't because it would only leave him with a broken phone and that wouldn't change any thing. So he settled for letting a loud growl rip from his throat. "Does that make you feel better?" she asked arching an eyebrow at him. "Yes, it does," Ashton said as he exited the room. Chevonne watched him as he stormed out of the room slamming the door behind him. After he closed the door Chevonne went over to her purse, pulled out her cell phone and dialed a number. "Hello?" "Why did you send Ashton those pictures," she asked the person on the other end of the phone. "How do you know I was the one who sent him the pictures?" "He showed me the pictures and I saw that they were sent from your email address, Evelyn, mssweetbrownsugah," Chevonne replied her tone showing her growing anger at her friend. "I figured if I knew that Martin was cheating on me, he should know that, that stank, hoe, bitch Katrina is cheating on him," Evelyn replied. "You hurt him Evelyn," Chevonne said. "He didn't deserve that." "I know," Evelyn said blowing out a sigh, "I was angry and I did it without thinking. I'm sorry." "You should've handled your business and confronted Martin," Chevonne said. "You didn't have the right to spring this on Ashton this way." "I said I was sorry," Evelyn said her voice revealing her shame for what she'd done, "I wasn't thinking clearly." "Have you talked to Martin?" "No, I thought I'd let Ashton get the ball rolling by confronting Katrina first." "You're such a coward," Chevonne said. "I know, I know," Evelyn said not feeling too proud of herself. "I don't want to lose him, Von. It might possible for us to work through this." Chevonne didn't respond. She clamped down on her tongue to keep herself from voicing her opinion about what a fool she thought her best friend was being trying to hold on to a man who had no desire to be held on to. Everyone that knew her brother knew he was the poster child for manho. If manho was an actual word it would feature Martin's picture. It was well known around town that if you wanted somebody that only wanted sex and nothing else, that Martin was your man. But if you were looking for love or a commitment Martin wasn't the person to be with. But Evelyn like many before her thought she could change Martin whether he wanted it or not. She thought that she could get him to fall in love with her, change his ways and get him to make a commitment to her. Because she and Chevonne were friends Chevonne tried to talk her out of even talking to Martin when her brother showed interest in Evelyn but Evelyn wouldn't listen and became involved with Martin anyway. Chevonne cringed when she thought about all the times she held Evelyn in her arms as she cried about the way Martin treated her. Or the fights they would get into when Evelyn accused her of not giving Martin her messages when she called and her heartless brother never bothered to call her back. The fights and crying were just one of the reasons Chevonne didn't want her friend to start dating her brother. She didn't want to be drawn into their relationship by having Evelyn ask her if he was truly not there when she called or if he called anyone or went out with anyone else when she wasn't around. Chevonne didn't want to be the one to answer those questions. Because Martin was her brother and Evelyn was her best friend she didn't want to be caught in the middle of their relationship. "Say something Von," Evelyn said bring Chevonne out of her thoughts. "I know you're biting at the bit to tell me I'm making a fool of myself trying to hang on to a man who isn't worried about hanging on to me." "I'm not biting at the bit to tell you anything," Chevonne said. "I'm glad to hear that," Evelyn said her anger too out of control to hide it, "because the last thing I need is advice from someone sitting on her coochie like it's the Hope Diamond. It's a wonder there's not a section in Fort Knox just for your coochie. Do you go there very week or so to dust it off? Do you go there and make sure the force field around it is still working and keeping the guards away? Everybody can't be like you Chevonne and be frigid while we pretend to be waiting on the right man. Most of us are adult enough to embrace the fact that we have sexual urges and are brave enough to give into them when we find someone we're attractive to. We're mature enough to understand that sex doesn't always mean love and we don't have to be married to justify giving into our sexual needs. We're not like you, foolish enough to think that marriage is a guarantee of love." Evelyn panicked when she heard the click signaling that Chevonne had ended their conversation. "Oh, my god," Evelyn said looking down at her cell phone. "What have I done?" She redialed Chevonne's number and her call went directly to voicemail meaning Chevonne had turned off her cell phone. Evelyn threw her phone across the room smashing it against the wall. She threw her head back looking up at the ceiling tears falling from her eyes. She wondered how she could say such hateful things to a woman she loved like a sister and whose friendship she cherished more than anything. Wiping the tears from her eyes she tried to think of how she was going to fix the situation. She decided to call Ashton. She went over to her purse and pulled out the business card that Ashton gave her, picked up her home phone and dialed Ashton's cell. "Hello?" Ashton said. "This is Evelyn, Ashton," Evelyn said her voice filled with panic. "I need to talk to you and I don't want you to say anything until I finish." "Alright," Ashton said wondering what was going on. Evelyn told him everything. She told him she was the one who sent the pictures of Martin and Katrina to him and why she sent the pictures. She shamefully told him everything she said to Chevonne including her Fort Knox remarks Chevonne's coochie. "I tried to call her back, to apologize" Evelyn said her shame growing, "but she's turned off her phone." "I'll check on her," Ashton said closing his phone and making his way back upstairs to his old bedroom. When he reached the room he heard mumbling and was surprised when he put his ear to the door to hear not crying but cursing flying about the room like there was a military man on the other side instead of Chevonne. He tapped on the door, it flew open. Ashton looked past Chevonne and saw here suitcase sitting on the bed with clothes thrown in it. "Where're you going?" he asked slipping pass Chevonne. "I need to fly back to Atlanta," Chevonne said going back over to the bed to continue stuffing her things into her suitcase. "Why?" Ashton asked pulling her clothes out. "I have some business to take care of," Chevonne said thinking of the ass whuppin she was going to give Evelyn the moment she found her. "Does this business involve Evelyn?" Ashton asked. Chevonne froze and stopped throwing clothes into her suitcase. "How do you know?" "She called me," Ashton said. "She told me everything." "Everything?" Chevonne replied praying that Evelyn hadn't told him everything she said to her. "Everything," Ashton said unpacking and closing her suitcase and removing it from the bed. "I'm going to kill her," Chevonne said grabbing her purse off the bed, making her way out of the bedroom door. "Oh, no you're not," Ashton said grabbing her pulling her back into the bedroom and throwing her down onto the bed. "Let me go," Chevonne said struggling to free herself from Ashton's grasp. "I'm not going to let you go until you calm down," Ashton said pinning her down with his body. "You expect me to calm down after what she said to me?" Chevonne said. "I'll show her whose coochie is locked up in Fort Knox." "Whose what is locked up where?" Ashton asked not understanding what Chevonne was saying. "Coochie," Chevonne said. The look on Ashton's face said he still didn't understand. "Coochie," Chevonne said again. The same look of not understanding was on Ashton's face. "Vagina, hole, snatch, pussy, cunt muff, twat, beaver, fuck hole." "I got it," Ashton said cutting her off and laughing, "I got it." "It's not funny," Chevonne said laughing along with Ashton as tears rolled down his cheeks because he was laughing so hard. "I'm sorry," Ashton said, "but your description was so funny. "Is it true?" "Is what true?" Chevonne asked. "That your ---- is locked up in Fort Knox?" "Oh, no you didn't," Chevonne said throwing him off her and jumping on top of him. "I was kidding, I was kidding," Ashton screamed, laughing still and wrapping his arms around her to keep her from hitting him. After he got control of her arms he flipped their position so that he was on top of Chevonne. "When I get free I'm going to kick your butt," Chevonne said fighting to free herself. "You look so beautiful when you struggle," Ashton said. Chevonne stopped thinking that was a strange thing for him to say. "Let me go," she said. "Why?" Ashton asked. "Are you afraid I'm going to kiss you?" "Yes," Chevonne said. "and I told you I won't be a sexual stand-in for Katrina." "I would never do that to you," Ashton said. "I love you too much to do something like that to you." "What?" Chevonne said. "I love you," Ashton said as he leaned down and kissed her on the lips. "You love me?" Chevonne said surprised that he would make such a declaration. "You're just saying that because you just found out that Katrina's cheating on you." "I'm saying it because it's how I feel," Ashton said leaning down and kissing her again. "That doesn't make any sense," Chevonne said shaking her head denying what she was hearing. "You don't know me well enough to be in love with me. " "I know myself well enough to know and recognize where my heart lies," Ashton replied. "And it doesn't lie with Katrina." "Why did you get so upset when you learned that Katrina was cheating on you?" "Because I had been beating myself up for falling in love with you," Ashton said kissing her again. "I was worried about how I was going to tell her and how she was going to react to hearing that I wasn't in love with her." "How could you fall in love with me?" Chevonne asked. "I've always been in love with you," Ashton said. "I have been in love with you since the first day I saw you walking around campus two years ago. I wanted to get to know you and learn everything I could about you." "If you were in love with me, how did you wound up with Katrina?" "I was a coward," Ashton said. "The day I knocked on your door it was my intention to introduce myself to you, but when you opened the door I lost my nerve and I asked for Katrina who I knew was your roommate." "Why didn't you tell me what you wanted when I answered the door?" Chevonne asked. "I was too afraid of telling you I was interested in you and you telling me that you weren't interested in me," Ashton said. "I just couldn't take that chance. I knew it would kill me to hear those words come from your lips." "Did you think I wouldn't be interested in you because you're white?" Chevonne asked. "Yes," Ashton said hanging his head in shame. "I thought that you would never consider dating me because I wasn't black." "I'm not a racist, Ashton," Chevonne said. "I expect to be treated with respect no matter what color the man I'm dating is." "I'm sorry," Ashton said. "It was wrong of me to make such an assumption about you. I'm I forgiven?" "I don't know," Chevonne said slipping her arms around his neck and smiling. "You're going to have to convince me that you're worth forgiving." "I think I can do that," Ashton said kissing her passionately on the lips. Ashton tightened his hold on Chevonne and dove in and kissed her the way he'd wanted to every since the first day he laid eyes on her. His tongue moved around her mouth like a thunderstorm falling on parched land seeping into every part of her mouth drowning it in passion. The Stand-In Girlfriend Ch. 10-13 They stopped kissing when Chevonne started laughing uncontrollably. "What's so funny?" Ashton asked. "Katrina was the stand-in girlfriend," Chevonne said. "She isn't going to like that at all." "She's not going to be too happy that we're getting married either," Ashton said. "We can't get married," Chevonne said, "we just acknowledged our feelings for each other and we still have to deal with Katrina." "You are going to marry me," Ashton said his tone letting her know he wouldn't chicken out on this decision, "and I'll deal with Katrina. "But." "No, buts," Ashton said. "We're getting married." "Suppose I'm not ready to get married?" Chevonne asked. "Are you saying you're not ready to spend the rest of our natural lives together?" Ashton asked. "Are you saying you're not ready to have children with me? Are you saying you don't think it's time you brought your coochie out of Fort Knox so I can enjoy it?" His last remark got him a smack upside the head from Chevonne and made her laugh. "Is that why you want to marry me?" she teased. "Yes," Ashton said, "and the fact that I love you with all my heart." "I guess I better accept your proposal if you're that much in love with me," Chevonne said, "and I'm that much in love with you." "We're getting married?" Ashton asked. "We're getting married," Chevonne said. "It's about time." Chevonne and Ashton jumped up off the bed when they heard his mother's voice. They were surprised to see both their parents standing in the doorway of the bedroom and both mothers with tears in their eyes. "Now we can truly plan the engagement party and the wedding," his mother said. CHAPTER 11 "Damn!" Katrina almost screamed snapping her cell phone shut. "Where is he?" She had been calling Ashton for almost an hour and she couldn't reach him. For some unknown reason he wasn't answering his phone. 'Something isn't right', she thought to herself. 'Something is going on.' It had been harder and harder for her to get in touch with Ashton over the last two weeks and when they did talk there was something in his voice that had changed. Their conversations weren't the same. It seemed that Ashton had become very protective of Chevonne. He wasn't laughing anymore at the racist remarks she made about Chevonne and blacks in general. He had gone so far as to tell her she shouldn't make such comments because they were hurtful and wrong. When she asked him why he was suddenly becoming offended by what she was saying his reply was that he'd done some growing up and realized that what they had been doing was wrong and he would no longer tolerate that kind of talk. She couldn't understand the sudden change that had come over Ashton in the two weeks since they put their plan in motion. Everything in her was telling she needed to go to London. To get to Ashton. That something was seriously wrong. "What's wrong?" Katrina looked up to see Martin had joined her on the balcony of their hotel suite. "I think I'm going to have to cut our time together short," she said going over to him and putting her arms around his neck. "Family problems?" Martin asked. "No, pre-family problems," Katrina said chuckling. "Your sister is having problems with her fiancé's family?" "Yes, they had a fight about something his mother either said or did," Katrina said leaning in and giving Martin a peck on the lips. "He left and now she can't find him. She thinks he might be cheating on her." "Wow. Maybe she should take the fact that she doesn't trust him as a sign that she shouldn't marry him." "I've tried telling her that but she said she's put too much time and effort in the relationship to let it go or give up on it." At that moment Katrina's cell phone rung. She looked at the screen. It was Ashton calling. "Excuse me," she told Martin. "I need to take this in private." "No, problem," Martin said. "I'll go get us something to eat. You want anything special?" "Anything you get will be fine with me," Katrina said. "Okay," Martin said as he leaned over and kissed her on the lips. "I'll be back." "Hello," Katrina said as she walked Martin to the door to make sure he left and to lock the door so he couldn't surprise her when he returned. "I saw that you called," Ashton said his tone flat and emotionless. "Yes, I did," Katrina replied not liking or understanding the unfriendly tone of Ashton's voice. "I've been trying to reach you for over an hour. Why didn't you answer your phone?" "I've been busy," Ashton said. "My mother took Chevonne shopping and to meet some of her friends and some of our family members and I went with them. I guess I didn't feel my phone vibrating or I had my hands full." "Your mother took her shopping and introduced her to her friends and members of your family?!" Katrina said not believing what she was hearing. "Yes," Ashton said. "It seems that my family likes Chevonne. They find her to be a very charming and likable person." "You're kidding me?" "No, I'm not." "She hasn't done or said anything embarrassing or improper?" Katrina asked. "It appears that we were wrong about Chevonne," Ashton said. "She knows how to carry herself in any situation. Did you know that she speaks three languages bedsides English?" "You sound impressed," Katrina said snidely. "I am," Ashton replied. "The woman is full of surprises. Did you know she worked two jobs and saved up every paycheck so she could send her parents on a cruise around the world to thank them for paying for her to go to college? I find that to be very impressive." "Oh, really," Katrina said her tone very smug. "Yes, really," Ashton replied. "What else have you learned about Ms. Perfect?" Katrina asked. "Nobody's perfect," Ashton said. "But I've found Chevonne to be a very interesting and loyal person. The type that if she makes you a promise she doesn't break it and I bet she's the type of person that if she's dating you she doesn't cheat." Katrina had been pacing back and forth in her hotel suite as she spoke to Ashton but his words made her stop in her tracks. "What do you mean by that?" she asked. "I didn't mean anything by it," Ashton said deciding against telling Katrina that he knew about her and Chevonne's brother over the phone. "I think I should come to London," Katrina said a hint of panic in her voice. "Things aren't going the way we thought or wanted them to go. I think we should sit down and tell your parents we're getting married. We should tell them that you and Chevonne aren't really couple and that I'm the one you love and intend to marry." "You don't have to come to London," Ashton said. "I'm flying back to the states next week. You and I can talk then." "Next week is too long to wait," Katrina said her voice growing more panicky. "I can be in London by tomorrow and we can put an end to this whole mess." "No," Ashton said his voice stern and final. "I'll be there next week." "Something isn't right, Ashton," Katrina said a wave of fear overcoming her. "I can hear it in your voice. Are you fucking Chevonne? Is that why you want me to wait until you arrive next week? So that you can keep having sex with your brown sugar baby." "I'm not having sex with Chevonne," Ashton said as he fought to keep control of his temper. "Why would you say such a thing?" "I guess it's the way you're going on and on about how much your mother likes her and how she can speak three languages besides English," Katrina said not hiding the jealousy she felt. "That could make me just a little suspicious. You do remember you're marrying me right?" "I never proposed to you Katrina," Ashton reminded her. "But we talked about getting married," Katrina whined. "And the only reason you didn't propose was because I wanted to wait to try and form a better relationship with your mother." "Talking about it isn't the same as proposing," Ashton remarked. "But we did all of this so we could give the idea of getting married serious consideration." "As you said you were the one who didn't want to go into a marriage with my mother hating you," Ashton said. "You said that it would make the marriage less likely to succeed and I agreed with you." "Okay," Katrina said. "You're right. I didn't want to get married knowing that your mother hated me. But I'm willing to overlook how your mother feels about me. We can talk seriously about getting married when I arrive in London tomorrow. And after we talk we can sit your parents down and explain you and Chevonne and put this entire mess behind us." Ashton was trying to avoid being mean and Katrina about him and Chevonne over the phone but she wasn't leaving him much choice by insisting on coming to London. She was pushing him into a corner that he was having a hard time getting out of. "I'll fly down to Atlanta tomorrow and we can talk," Ashton said, "about everything then." "Why I can't I fly to London?" Katrina asked. "I don't want to take you away from your family," Ashton said, "and I don't mind flying to you." "What about Chevonne?" Katrina asked. "How are you going to explain her leaving early to your parents?" "She's not coming with me," Ashton said quickly bracing himself for Katrina's next question. "Why isn't she coming with you?" Katrina asked unable to stand the thought of Chevonne getting closer to Ashton's mother. "I told you my mother likes her and she has made plans for her and Chevonne to do a lot of things together," Ashton said. "That's only because she believes that you and Chevonne are really getting married," Katrina said. "I think she's pretending to like Chevonne because she thinks that you really love her. If you tell her you actually love and want to marry me she'll be so overjoyed that the first thing she'll do is insist that Chevonne leave." "My mother isn't pretending," Ashton said. "She really does like Chevonne." "This can't be happening, Ashton," Katrina said her eyes stinging with tears she couldn't keep inside. "Your mother wasn't supposed to like Chevonne. She was supposed to dislike Chevonne and insist that you and I get back together. Besides it's only been two weeks. How can she and your mother be so buddy-buddy already?" "Chevonne and my mother have a lot in common," Ashton said. "I think they connected on some level." "On what level?" Katrina asked. "I don't know," Ashton said. "All I know is that Chevonne and my mother became friends the moment they met." "You're going to have to tell your parents the truth before I get there then," Katrina said. "And after I arrive we can all sit down and talk things over. I'm sure once they see how much we love each other they'll understand why we took such an extreme step to get them to like me." Tired of hearing Katrina lying about how much she loved him Ashton decided to let her know that he knew that she was cheating on him. He sent her an email that he'd written earlier and intended to send it to her but Chevonne talked him out of sending it saying it would be better for him to talk to her face to face. But Katrina was pushing the situation leaving him no choice but to tell her. "Do you have your laptop with you?" he asked. "Yes," Katrina replied. "You know I take it with me wherever I go." "I'm sending you an email," Ashton said as he pressed the send button above the email he'd composed earlier and sent it to Katrina. Katrina opened her computer turned it on and once it had powered up and connected to the internet she signed in to her email account. The email Ashton sent her showed up seconds later. She was about to open it when a sense of dread came over her. "What's in the email?" she asked Ashton. "Just open it," Ashton insisted. "Why won't you tell me what's in it?" Katrina asked. "Because I want you to open the email and read it for yourself," Ashton replied. Katrina opened the email and saw the pictures of her and Martin having lunch at a local restaurant, walking in the park holding hands afterwards and the last one was of her and Martin kissing. Ashton listened as Katrina bgan stuttering as she tried to form the words that would explain what was happening in the pictures. He didn't say anything he just waited for her to compose herself. "I can explain this," Katrina said. Ashton didn't say anything. "This isn't what it appears to be," she said. "It appears to be a picture of you having lunch with a man, going for a walk in the park holding hands, afterwards and you kissing him," Ashton said laying out what the pictures seemed to reveal to him. "Okay," Katrina said when she noticed that each picture was dated and timed stamped letting her know that it would be useless to lie to Ashton. "I became lonely after you left." "You became lonely after only two days?" Ashton said. "It hasn't been going on that long," Katrina said, "I was using him until you came back. I was going to end it when you came back." "I think we should end things between us," Ashton said. "It's obvious that we're not meant to be together." "What do you mean we're not meant to be together?" Katrina said not understanding how things had gone so badly, so out of control. "You can't break up with me because I slept with someone else." "It's not because you slept with someone else," Ashton said. "It's because you slept with someone else and I'm not upset about it. I'm not hurt about it. I don't care." "That's because your heart knows I love you," Katrina said, "and that you're the only man for me and I'm the only woman for you." "No, Katrina. That's not what my heart is saying," Ashton said. "Yes, it is," Katrina demanded. "Why can't you see that?" "I think we should end this conversation," Ashton said. "I'll fly to Atlanta next week and we can talk then. We're both too upset to talk or be reasonable about anything right now." "You're trying to breaking up with me," Katrina said. "I'm not going to be reasonable about that. Not when I've invested so much of my time into maintaining a relationship with you." "Excuse me," Ashton said. "You heard me," Katrina said. "I've invested too much of my time in this relationship to just let you end it like that. In fact if you do try to stop seeing me I'll tell your parents and Chevonne exactly what's going on. "They already know," Ashton said. "They've known since the beginning." "You're lying," Katrina said. "No, I'm not," Ashton said. "Chevonne told me the first day we arrived in London that she knew what was going on and my parents told me last week that they knew what I was doing when they saw me and Chevonne together." "I don't believe you," Katrina said. "You're just trying to keep me from telling them what you're up to." "I'm not lying, Katrina," Ashton said. "Chevonne and my parents knew what we were planning on doing from day one." "If Chevonne knew what was going on, why did she agree to do it?" "Why did you try to blackmail me?" Ashton asked his voice becoming angry and tight ignoring Katrina's question. "We were both in on the plan together. We both knew what we were doing. Why would you threaten to tell my parents and Chevonne?" "To keep you from walking away from me," Katrina said. "It's not fair for you to just up and leave me because I had a little sex on the side." "I told you I didn't care about that," Ashton said. "The reason I think we should stop seeing each other because it's obvious that we don't love each other. My reaction to seeing the pictures was one of it doesn't matter. I wasn't angry learning about what you had been doing while we were apart because I didn't care. And that isn't how I'm suppose to feel if I'm considering marrying you. It's suppose to matter to me that you're cheating. I should feel betrayed, hurt, angry. I should feel something, but I didn't. It was as if I had been giving something to numb my senses. The closest thing I came to feeling was relief because it gave me a reason to end our relationship." "Are you trying to hurt me, Ashton?" Katrina asked her voice shaky. "Is that what you're trying to do? Because if it is I have to tell that you've succeed and you can stop now. I get it. It's over between us. There's no need for you to say anything more. I've got your message, it came through loud and clear!" The next thing Ashton heard was the clicking sound of Katrina ending the call and their conversation. He didn't want to hurt Katrina but he had to let her know that he no longer (if he ever did) loved her. He didn't want to break the news to her in such a hurtful manner but she left him no choice. He just couldn't take her lies anymore. Ashton made his way upstairs to the room where Chevonne was taking a nap. He crawled into bed beside her, wrapped his arms around her waist, pulled her against his body and closed his eyes to also take a nap. He knew he was still going to have to fly to Atlanta to talk to Katrina because he wanted to make sure that she understood their relationship was truly over. But right now he wanted to put his conversation with Katrina behind him and enjoy holding the woman he loved and would be marrying in a month. He smiled and a sense of joy came over him thinking about of how wonderful their live were going to be. Martin came back with carry out for him and Katrina to eat. He followed Katrina into the bedroom and was surprised to see her suitcase sitting on the bed with her clothes in it. "You're leaving?" he asked. "I have to go," she told him. "Things have gotten worse for my sister and I need to be with her." "What happened?" Martin asked watching her shoving clothes sloppily into her suitcase. "Her fiancé called off the wedding," Katrina said and she's heartbroken. My mother says she beside herself, heartbroken, crying her eyes out and asking for me. I'm sorry about ending our time together so abruptly but it can't be helped." "I understand," Martin said, "family first." "You're so wonderful and so understanding," Katrina said walking over and giving Martin a kiss on the lips. "I'll call you when I come back to town and maybe we'll get together." "I won't be able to get together when you come back," Martin said. "My girl will expect me to be back in town by then and I'm going to be spending all my time with her. I had a hard time getting her to understand why I would be gone for two weeks. The last time I talked to her there was something in her voice that said she was angry with me. If I didn't know better I would think she suspected something. But I was extra careful so she couldn't possibly suspect anything was going on." "When will I see you again?" Katrina asked. "I can't say," Martin replied. "I'll have to call you." "I'll tell you what why don't you just forget my number," Katrina said storming out the door and slamming it behind her. "No, problem," Martin said standing in the room alone, pulling out his cell phone and deleting Katrina's number. Katrina made her way out of the elevator, through the lobby hoping the bellman had managed to secure her a cab so that she could head to the airport and catch a flight to London. She was on her way to London to confront Ashton and save their relationship. If he thought he was going to call her and dump her as if the time she'd invested in their relationship didn't matter, he had another think coming. She was entitled to an explanation and he was going to give her one and it had better be a good one and not that shit he tried to feed her over the phone. She considered Ashton to be her's and she wasn't going to give him up without a fight. CHAPTER 12 Chevonne opened her eyes when she felt Ashton slip into bed beside her and put his arms around her waist. They had only been dating a couple of weeks but she noticed little things about him that were clues to how and what he was feeling. The Stand-In Girlfriend Ch. 10-13 Clues like how tight he wrapped his arms around her and was rubbing the fingernail of her middle finger. That meant that he was tense or he was wrestling with a decision he had to make. Chevonne thought from the way he was rubbing her fingernail that it might be a little bit of both. She knew that he had spoken to Katrina over the phone and the conversation must've been an intense one. "You had to tell her didn't you?" she asked. "Not about us or the fact that we're getting married," Ashton said, "but I did break up with her." He felt Chevonne's body tense because she thought he had broken their agreement. He was supposed to fly to Atlanta and speak end his relationship with her in person. "I had to end it with her, Chevonne," he said. "Katrina left me no choice. The moment she heard my voice she knew that something was off. Then like an idiot when she asked how things were going I told her how well you and my mother were getting along and she became upset and suggested that she come to London and we tell my parents everything. I tried to tell her there wasn't any reason for her to come here but she wouldn't listen to me or to anything I said to her. That's when I asked her if she had her laptop with her, she said she did and I sent her the email with the pictures of her and Martin." "Did she say why and how long she and Martin had been seeing each other?" Chevonne asked. "She said she slept with Martin because she was lonely," Ashton said burying his face into Chevonne's hair as he repeated Katrina's words. "And that she was only doing it until I returned. I didn't ask how long they'd been sleeping with each other." "How're you feeling," Chevonne asked, "about her cheating on you?" "I wish we could get married today," Ashton said changing his position so that he was now leaning against the headboard and Chevonne was in his arms. "You know we can't do that," Chevonne said acknowledging his change of topic. "Your mother and my mother would have a fit." "They would get over it," Ashton said., "once they saw how happy we would be." "I'm not sneaking off and getting married," Chevonne said. "That would break my our mothers' hearts. Besides we've already told the newspapers that we're getting married in a month. I'm sure they have people watching us just in case we were thinking of doing something like that." "We outsmarted them when we went to the movies," Ashton said with a devilish look in his eyes. "I'm sure we can do it again." "I'm sure we could too," Chevonne said chuckling when she turned and saw the look in Ashton's eyes, "But we're going to be patient and wait just like we agreed to." "You're no fun," Ashton said pretending to pout. "I'm lots of fun," Chevonne said. "I just don't relish the thought of facing our mothers if we ruin their plans for our wedding by running off and getting married." Ashton had to agree with his fiancée on that point. The combination of his mother and Chevonne's mother could be a scary thought when they both became angry. "How do you think Katrina took you breaking up with her?" Chevonne asked bringing them back to their original subject. "I think she's on a plane winging her way to London," Ashton said. "Really?" Chevonne asked turning to face him. "Yes, really," Ashton said. "She won't accept things are over between us until she hears me say it to her face to face." Chevonne had to agree with Ashton. Katrina wouldn't accept him breaking up with her over the phone, she would have to confront him. She would demand that he do it with her face to face. "How do you think we should handle it?" she asked. "We?" Ashton said amazed that she would use the word 'we.' "Ashton, you're MY fiancé and in a month you're going to be MY husband and I love you so...." "You love me?" Ashton said. "Why do you think I'm marrying you?" Chevonne asked poking him on the shoulder. "We're gong to face Katrina together so she'll know that we're a couple and there's no chance of you and her getting back together." "Say you love me again," Ashton said. "I love you," Chevonne said. Her words surrounded him like a warm blanket on a cold night. Wrapping around him making him feel loved and planted firmly in her heart. "You're willing to confront Katrina with me," he said his voice filled with awe. "I find that amazing." "Are you saying you wouldn't protect our relationship from anyone who tried to attack or challenge it?" Chevonne asked. "Of course I would," Ashton said. "I'm just surprised you would stand with me against Katrina. Especially when everything that has happened is my fault." "You're right," Chevonne said, "everything that has happened is your fault (with the exception of Martin and Katrina getting together). And it all could've been avoided if you had just been honest about your feelings for me. But we can't erase anything that has happened and as selfish as this may sound we have to move forward with out lives. When she gets here you're going to do the only thing you can do and that is apologize for using her, for not being honest and if I were you I would be prepared for her to slap your face when she realizes you used her to be close to me." "You expect her to try and slap me?" Ashton asked. "You used her, Ashton," Chevonne said, "of course she's going to try and slap you." "But she didn't love me." "That doesn't prevent her from being hurt," Chevonne said. "You didn't slap me," Ashton pointed out. "I socked you in the jaw," Chevonne pointed out. "I wanted to do more than that when I thought about the type of person Katrina is and I thought you were." Ashton knew immediately what Chevonne was talking about and he began to panic inside. "You don't have to worry," Chevonne said. "I'm not going to ask you why you went along with her racist remarks. I don't want to know. Because I don't know what I would do if I didn't like your answer. I'm going to trust you not to ever let them past your lips again. Because if you do I don't think I could stay married to you." "I promise you, you'll never hear those words come from my lips," Ashton said grateful Chevonne didn't ask him to repeat the words he and Katrina used behind closed doors. "I'm not holding this against you because I've used racist words or said things derogatory when I've been out with my friends or when someone from another race or people of my own race made me angry," Chevonne said. "I've felt ashamed of myself afterwards but it didn't keep or stop me from saying them." "We'll work on it together," Ashton said putting his arms around her. "We have to because we're going to be blessed with beautiful children one day and we don't want them to learn such ugliness from us." "Thank you," Chevonne said. "You've given me a reason to never use those words again. For the sake of our children." Katrina buckled up her seatbelt as the pilot announced that they would be landing soon. She couldn't wait until the plane landed and she reached Ashton. She knew they would work out their problems and their relationship would go back to the way it should be. They would talk, she would tell Ashton that she didn't care if his mother didn't like her and she wanted to be with him. And everything would be alright. She had been mentally kicking herself for coming up with that stupid plan. She suggested it because she thought it would solve two problems she had been dealing with. The problem of Ashton' mother not liking her and Ashton's infatuation with Chevonne. Katrina noticed the first day they met that he had a thing for Chevonne. She couldn't miss the way he would almost light up like a light bulb in a dark room when Chevonne answered the door instead of her. The way he didn't complain about how long it took her to get ready for their dates if he was able to talk to Chevonne while he waited. His attitude was totally different if her roommate wasn't there. He would complain about having to wait and ask her why she couldn't be ready when he arrived and what did she do with her time. Once he even asked her why she couldn't be like Chevonne and be ready to walk out the door when he arrived. Everyone thought because she didn't mention the way he talked incisively about Chevonne that she wasn't paying attention but she noticed, she just didn't mention it because there was nothing she could do about it. Katrina just prayed he would get over his infatuation with her roommate. But it didn't seem to be happening and her patience was wearing thin. That's when she came up with a plan that she thought would help her kill two birds with one stone. First get Ashton over his infatuation with Chevonne and introduce Alice to the woman her son had been talking his head off about. Katrina had seen hints of what she called her ghetto side especially when Chevonne became angry. She would go into this thing call the Sistah-Girl head-roll. Katrina remember Chevonne telling her any woman could do it but black women perfected it. During one of the rare times they were actually getting along and talking to each other Chevonne offered to show her how to do it. Katrina turned her down because she felt it was something only women from the ghetto did and most of the black women she knew avoided doing it because they didn't want to be labeled ghetto. She was hoping that Chevonne's ghetto side would come out fully and be revealed for both Alice and Ashton to see. Katrina hoped Ashton would see how wrong Chevonne was for him and Alice would see the kind of trash her son her son was attracted to. She was hoping that Alice would tell her son that he should aim higher for a woman like her a woman that would be an asset to him in everyway instead of ghetto trash like Chevonne. Katrina didn't count on Chevonne knowing how to behave like a lady, impressing Alice and worming her way into the rest of Ashton's family's good graces. All of that would change once she and Ashton were back together, back in each other's arms. Katrina sat back in her chair and imagined how their reunion would go. She imagine Ashton seeing her and realizing that he was wrong for breaking up with her. He would smile and run towards her with his arms wide open ready to give her a hug thinking that being in his arms would cause her to forget what he put her through. But she wasn't going to make that easy for him. He would do some groveling before she forgave him. If that didn't work she had a way of ruining everything between him and Chevonne. She once heard Chevonne say she didn't date or sleep with men who had a dated or slept with people she was friends with or that she knew. Especially people she spent time with. She said it complicated the situation and kept the ghosts of past relationships alive. She felt that doing so was like wearing the other woman's underwear and she didn't do that. Well she and Chevonne weren't friends but they were roommates and they had spent time together Katrina hoped that would have the desired affect. Katrina's eyes flew open when she felt the plane's landing gear on the runway. When the plane came to a complete stop she unbuckled her seatbelt, grabbed her purse, her carryon bag from the overhead compartment and made her off the plane. As she was going through customs she heard a worker talking about a man who had proposed to his fiancée for all the world to see in Heathrow had set a date for their wedding and that they would be getting married in a month. A chill ran up Katrina's spine. 'That can't be Ashton and Chevonne', she thought to herself. The worker said that a picture of the happy couple was featured on the front page of one of the newspapers. Katrina was rushing over to one of the shops to get a newspaper when she spotted a man reading a newspaper. He had it open and partially raised in front of his face enabling her to see the front page and just like the worker said there was a picture of a man and a woman announcing their plans to get married next month and it was Ashton and Chevonne. Katrina rushed inside the store, purchased a newspaper then she went outside to hire a taxi. The taxi driver put her things in the trunk/boot of his car, she gave him the address to Ashton's parents' home and they were on their way. As they made their way to Ashton's parents' home she looked at the picture of Ashton and Chevonne and her anger grew as she stared at their smiling faces. 'This wedding isn't going to happen', she said to herself. She didn't know how she would prevent the wedding but she was going to stop it. CHAPTER 13 Katrina stormed through the lobby of the hotel where she was staying angry because once again she had been thwarted in her attempt to see Ashton by his banshee of a mother Alice. Katrina had been in London a week and she hadn't been able to see or speak to Ashton at all. She replayed in her mind what happened the first day she arrived in London. She didn't even get an opportunity to knock on the front door because Alice opened it before she could raise her hand. Katrina wanted to slap the smug look she wore off her face. "May I help you?" Alice asked her voice flowery, sweet and polite. "I want to see Ashton," Katrina said not in the mood to play games. "I'm sorry but he's not available at the moment," Alice said. "When will he be available?" Katrina asked. "To you never," Alice said a big smile on her face. "You can't keep me from seeing him," Katrina said. "Oh, I can't," Alice said her smile growing. "Let's see, I'm standing in the doorway, Ashton is upstairs snuggling with his fiancée and you're down here on the outside wanting to see him and yet you can't. Why because I won't let you in. I think you're the one wrong Miss. I can keep you from seeing him." "This wedding isn't going to happen," Katrina said her determination coming through in her voice and enjoying the way the smile on Alice's face slipped ever so slightly. "Ashton loves me and we're going to get married and there is nothing you can do to stop it." "I don't have to do anything to stop it," Alice said, "because my son never loved you and he wasn't going to marry you." "I will not discuss my relationship with Ashton with you," Katrina said. "That's because there is nothing to discuss," Alice said. "I suggest that you accept that you and Ashton are over. You should go home and get on with your life." "My life is with Ashton," Katrina said confidently. "He's upset with me right now because of something stupid that I did, but he knows like I do that we're meant to be together. Which he'll come to realize once he gets over being angry with me. So you see by keeping us apart you're only delaying our reunion and setting Chevonne up to be hurt when Ashton realizes his mistake and comes back to me." "Ashton has already realized his mistake and ended things with you," Alice pointed out. "You need to accept his decision and leave." "You think Ashton is going to be happy with that...that...that..." "That what?" Sarah Michaelson her hands on her hips walked towards Alice and Katrina the look on her face letting everyone know that she was ready to put her foot up Katrina's arse if she completed what she was about to say. "Hi, Sarah," Alice said struggling to keep her laughter from bubbling up her chest and out of her mouth. "I'm sure you know Katrina." "I've never had the displeasure of meeting Katrina," Sarah said never taking her eyes off Katrina. "Every time we visited Chevonne at school she made it a point to not be there. So we've never met." "Hello, Mrs. Michaelson," Katrina said a fake smile on her face and her hand extended for Chevonne's mother to shake. Sarah looked down at Katrina's hand like it was the most disgusting thing she'd ever seen. Fighting the urge to wipe her hand on her skirt Katrina withdrew her hand. "Don't let me interrupt your conversation," Sarah said her tone daring Katrina to finish what she was about to say about Chevonne, "please finish what you were going to say." Katrina wasn't stupid. She wasn't about to say anything offensive about Chevonne in front of her mother. She told Alice the name of the hotel she was staying in and her room number and asked her to ask Ashton to call her or come by to see her. Alice said told her not to hold her breath waiting for Ashton to come by. That was two days ago and Katrina hadn't seen or heard from Ashton. So she assumed Alice hadn't given him, her message. Katrina was trying to think of what she should do next when someone knocked on her hotel room door. Ashton stood outside Katrina's hotel room thinking about the conversation he was about to have with her and dreading what her reaction might be to what he was about to say to her. He almost turned around and left because he didn't want to deal with the situation but the conversation he heard between his mother and Chevonne's mother two days ago and the talk he had with Chevonne this morning came to mind. He was going downstairs to the kitchen when he heard his mother and Chevonne's mother talking to Katrina. He knew he'd come in on the last part of their conversation because he heard Katrina tell his mother the name of the hotel she was staying and the room number and asked her to ask him to call or come by to see her. It was what he heard his mother and Sarah say after Katrina left that got him to thinking. "That little trollop," Alice said as she closed the front door. "I can't believe she actually expects me to give Ashton her message." "You have to tell Ashton," Sarah said. "What?!" Alice said looking at Sarah as if she had grown another head. "Ashton is going to have to end his relationship with Katrina before he marries my daughter," Sarah said. "If he doesn't Katrina is going to become a part of their relationship and our children's marriage will be over before it can began." "He did end his relationship with that little schemer," Alice said. "Not as far as Katrina is concerned," Sarah said. "Ashton telling her over the phone that it's over between them isn't strong enough for her. He is going to have to tell her face to face that it's over between them or stick his foot up her behind. You saw how determined she was to see Ashton. She's not going to give up and if Ashton doesn't tell her to her face that it's over she'll turn that determination to ending his marriage or in her mind saving him from making a horrible mistake." "Well, I think we need to do something to throw a monkey wrench into her plans," Alice said thinking so hard Sarah could see the wheels I her brain turning. "What're you up to, Alice?" Sarah asked her voice showing just a little apprehension. "We're going to cut that little gold digger off at the path," Alice said almost jumping up and down happy that she'd thought of a way to keep Katrina out of her son's life. "Come on Sarah. You and I have some plans to make." Sarah allowed Alice to lead her out of the foyer shaking her head wondering what she was getting herself into. It didn't surprise Ashton to hear his mother saying the same thing Chevonne had said to him a few days before. He spent the next five days wrestling with ways to tell Katrina that things between them was over because he didn't want to hurt her anymore than he already had. It was when he was preparing to go talk to Katrina that the need to talk to Chevonne over took him. He found her upstairs in his room reading a book, not wanting them to be overheard he took her by the hand, led her out of his bedroom, through the kitchen, out the back door to the gazebo. "What's wrong?" Chevonne asked knowing from the look in his eyes that Ashton was worried about something. Ashton told her about the conversation he heard between their mothers.