“Well hi there, Ashton. How are you doing? Long time no see,” she breathed, setting her hand on his arm as she batted her eyelashes.

“Er, hi Kelly,” he greeted, clearly uncomfortable.

An angry expression crossed her face. “It’s Shelly,” she growled. I burst out laughing but quickly turned it into a cough when she turned to glare at me, which of course, made Nate laugh. Ashton was just staring at me in horror as the waitress looked me over distastefully. “Who’s this?” she asked, obviously trying to be polite, but failing miserably.

Ashton took my hand and pulled me to his side as he spoke, “This is my girlfriend, Anna.”

I winced at the furious expression that crossed her face. She looked like she wanted to kill me. I had the strong feeling that this girl was going to spit in my food. I inwardly sighed, but decided if she was going to do it anyway then I may as well have some fun too.

“Nice to meet you, Kelly,” I greeted, trying desperately to hide my grin.

“It’s Shelly!” she snapped.

“Oh, right yeah, sorry.” I grinned, looking anywhere but Nate, who was clearly trying to hold in his laughter.

One of Shelly’s eyebrows rose wickedly as she turned her attention back to Ashton. “I didn’t know you had a girlfriend. Does she know we slept together?”

I smiled as Ashton seemed to squirm on the spot. I nodded in confirmation, deciding to help him out. This girl was clearly trying to cause trouble between the two of us. “Oh yeah don’t worry, I know my boy’s slept with half of LA,” I dismissed. “Hey, were you the one that taught him that thing that he does with his hand? Because damn, if you did then, I owe you a big thanks,” I added, grinning. Nate lost the battle and his laughter rang out as he shook his head, clutching at his side.

Shelly’s nose scrunched up distastefully as she snatched three menus from the side, obviously dissatisfied with my reaction. “You want a table?”

She didn’t wait for an answer as she turned around and strutted off, practically throwing the menus down onto an empty table. Ashton’s hand closed over mine, squeezing tightly as we crossed the restaurant to get to the table she had stopped at. As I slid into the booth, Ashton slid in beside me, still looking extremely uncomfortable and apologetic.

Shelly seemed determined to ignore me as she took our drinks order. As soon as she was gone, Nate shook his head, still chuckling to himself. “Oh God, that was freaking hilarious,” Nate laughed.

Ashton groaned. “I’m really sorry. I forgot she worked here.”

I smiled and waved my hand dismissively. “Ashton, if I got annoyed or upset every time I met a girl you’d slept with, I’d be upset all damn day,” I joked, shrugging.

His anxious eyes softened, and the tension that was in his shoulders seemed to fade as he smiled gratefully. “I guess. That was a class way to deal with an ex though. That was awesome,” he congratulated. His head cocked to the side, and his eyes turned playful. “But what thing are we talking about that I do with my hand?” he asked, raising one eyebrow knowingly.

I grinned. “I think you know,” I replied, feeling the blush creep onto my cheeks. He chuckled and leant in, kissing my burning cheek before brushing a loose strand of my hair back into place.

“Wow, she’s a firecracker, Taylor. No wonder you’re in love with her,” Nate said, looking at me in awe.

My heart stopped as my eyes widened in surprise at the revelation. Ashton has told Nate that he’s in love with me? But then I realised that this was all part of the charade and undercover assignment. Of course, he had to lie to his friends about me. He was just playing the part of loved up boyfriend like he was supposed to.

When my eyes flicked to Ashton, I noticed he was glaring at his best friend for some reason. Thankfully though, the waitress chose that moment to come back with our drinks.

Shelly was still ignoring me as she started taking our food order. After scribbling down what the boys wanted, she turned her evil eyes on me. “And you?” she asked impatiently.

“I’ll have chocolate chip pancakes, please. Oh and Shelly, I’ll leave you a fifty dollar tip if you don’t spit in my food,” I smiled sweetly, handing her my menu. Nate was laughing again now.

She laughed and for the first time, smiled at me. “Right okay, I’ll go get your order.”

Nate was practically crying with laughter as she walked off. “You know, I think you should leave Taylor and be with me, Anna,” he said, winking at me.

“Hmm, I don’t think you could handle me,” I countered. That was the honest truth; he would probably crumble under the pressure of one of my meltdowns.

“Oh really? I would definitely like to try,” he purred suggestively.

Ashton’s body seemed to tense up at my side. I smiled, placing my hand over his because for some reason that I couldn’t fathom, Ashton seemed to be jealous and worried that I was going to fall for his best friend. “I’ll tell you what, Nate, if he screws up,” I nodded my head at Ashton, “then I’ll give you a go.”

“Sweet!” Nate chirped.

Ashton shook his head adamantly and slung his arm over my shoulder. “I’m not gonna screw up, Baby Girl,” he said, leaning in and planting a soft kiss on the base of my neck. I whimpered and tipped my head to the side as his lips left a burning trail against my overheated skin. In that moment, I wanted nothing more than to drag him to the bathroom and have him consume me completely.