Chapter 10

"The man, the model we saw yesterday. He is my ex-boyfriend."

"O-oh…" Ashley felt guilty. She never knew it was like that, but she thought it made sense. The way she looked at him that day with so much devastation should have been enough to tell her that the attractive man wasn't just some fling. Despite feeling guilt for having asked, she wanted to know more. "When did you guys break up?" She asked, fork now cold and left on the plate. As Veronica heard her, she gulped some water to soothe her drying throat.

"2 to 3 years ago." She said.

"Why?"

Quiet. Veronica turned quiet and her already somber face turned even sadder at the question. Ashley bit her lip as she realized what she had asked, immediately speaking to take it back.

"Ah, you don't have to answer that," Ashley said, letting out a nervous laugh that obviously seemed forced.

"Thank you." With a light voice, she muttered as she nodded. The room turned silent once more when Veronica refused to look at her, finding the food on the table more interesting. The air felt suffocating and Ashley hated it. Deciding to slice through the silence, she speaks up and tries to change the subject.

"U-um, are we going to work today?" Ah yes, work, one of the few things they have in common. Besides sex, it's the only thing they can talk about it, really.

"Huh?" Veronica says, lifting her head to look at Ashley. "Right, well, since we are already late, I have informed the secretary team to just send everything necessary to me and I will work from here. This has happened before, so the team knows how to deal with it."

'Well, at least it worked.' Ashley thought. She wanted to keep the conversation going, deciding to ask more questions. However, maybe it's also because she's just genuinely curious as to how Veronica isn't the working robot she seemed to be.

"You've been absent to work before?"

"Yes," Veronica says, putting a piece of the pancake in her mouth. She gulped it down before looking at Ashley with a raised eyebrow. "You seem surprised."

"I mean, you're usually really uptight when it comes to working, you know?" Ashley said. "It's just unusual to me, I guess."

"Well, that is true." Veronica feels her throat drying once more, so she gulped a glass of her water before answering. "I just don't feel like being with people today."

'She used a contraction?' Ashley thought, eyebrows furrowed.

"It's just tiring."

'And another! She must feel like shit.' Ashley thought once more, the food on her fork long forgotten. 'What do I usually do when I feel like shit?'

"Ms. Johnson?" Veronica called out to her and Ashley looked up, seeing her boss eying her hand. Ashley continued to furrow her brows in confusion before responding.

"Yes?"

"You're spilling the syrup all over the place," Veronica says gesturing to the sticky mess of pancake syrup forming a puddle on the sheets of the table. Ashley looks down and widens her eyes.

"Oh shit, I'm sorry, Ghibli," Ashley said, hastily grabbing a piece of tissue napkins in the middle of the table. She tried to rub the syrup away and succeeded, but pouted when she saw the stain that it made.

"What is Ghibli?" Veronica asks, head tilted. Ashley responds, still trying to get the stain off.

"Huh?" She muttered. "Why do you want to know?"

"You just said it out loud."

"What? Really?" Ashley asks, dumbfounded. She continues to scrub on the table sheet with a frustrated pout on her lips.

"Yes. You are being strange. Also, stop that. I have more sheets. I can just throw that one in the washing machine." At that, Ashley reluctantly stops, nodding with a disappointed pout which Veronica found adorable (but it's something she will never admit) "What is Ghibli?" She asks once more.

"Oh, uhm," Ashley purses her lips before answering. "They're a studio that makes these really aesthetic movies, and it's cute. Some great life lessons are in there too. Most of it makes you cry, though." She giggles after rambling. Realizing how much she spoke, her light laughs halting. "Ah, sorry."

"No, no, I want to hear more," Veronica says before eating some more. Ashley hums as she continues to talk about the wonders of the Ghibli studio and their amazing movies. As she talks, she stops herself, widening her eyes as she slammed the table, making Veronica flinch a bit.

"Oh!" Ashely exclaimed. "Why don't we watch it?" She said as she leans on the table with her hands, smiling excitedly at Veronica.

"Well, I am not sure. I still have work to do."

"But what about after?"

"Hmm…" Veronica trailed off. Ashley pouts before wearing a sly smile, making the former narrow her eyes at the suspicious expression on the woman's face.

"Ah, I know," Ashley says as she snaps her fingers. "You just don't want to cry, do you?"

"Excuse me?"

"That's it!" Ashley said as she pointed an accusing finger at Veronica, the woman responding as she also stood up, wearing an almost scandalized expression; eyes wide as she scoffed.

"I will not cry!" She shouted, her brows furrowed.

"Then prove it!" Ashley shouted back.

…

"But no, why is she leaving him?" Veronica said, voice muffled by the surrounding blankets. She sniffled as she watched one character leave with glassy eyes. "Can she not take him with her?"

"See…" Ashley said as she brought a spoonful of ice cream to her mouth. They were in Veronica's bedroom and in front of her large flat screen tv, perfect for watching movies. They had comforters, blankets, and pillows all around them as the room was cold, having an air conditioner. They had prepared a bowl full of sweets like candy, marshmallows, ice cream, etc. It was a diabetes bowl, and they were bound to have a stomachache afterwards, but she called it a rainbow bowl. Veronica called her childish as she rolled her eyes when she heard the name, but now, she was crying like a child herself.

"No, shh, this is upsetting, alright?" Veronica said as she filled her mouth with marshmallows. "It is understandable to cry!"

"Right, but you said you wouldn't cry."

"I don't remember saying that." Veronica said, voice high with denial as she crossed her arms with pursed lips. Ashley furrowed her brows as she kneeled up, ready to protest.

"You did!" Ashley pointed a spoon full of ice cream at her, making the dessert hit her cheek. "Oh, shit."

"So that is how you want it to be, hmm?" Veronica looks at her with narrow eyes, grabbing a spoon full of ice cream as well.

"Huh? U-um, th-that was just a mistake, w-wait…" Ashley nervously laughs, backing away from Veronica, however she was stopped by a hand on her arm. The former gulped as she stared at the woman.

"Take this!" Veronica said as she raised the spoon.

"Wait! No, don't-" Veronica cut Ashley off by landing a big gallop of ice cream to her face. "Fine!" She grabs some ice cream from the bowl with her fingers, slapping it to Veronica's face. The woman gasped before throwing some more contents from the bowl.

In a few moments, they filled the room with loud laughter and shouts as they threw sweets at each other. At the moment, Veronica was trying to land some chocolate sauce on Ashley's cheeks, but the latter was strong enough to resist.

As Veronica was almost about to succeed, she froze at the sight of Ashley underneath her. She stared at the way her cheeks and neck flushed from running around, some light sweat starting to appear on her forehead.

Time seemed to slow down for the both of them as they stared back at each other, breathing each other's harsh breaths, panting from moving around so much. Ashley started feeling hot under her gaze, causing her to speak up and cut Veronica's thoughts off.

"U-um, Ms. Reyes?" Ashely called, stuttering. "C-can you get off of me?"

"What?" Veronica seemed to snap out of her trance before lifting her hands from Ashley's wrists, slowly standing up. "O-oh, right. Well, um, maybe we should clean up now?" She stuttered out as she held out a hand for the other woman to grab and stand. They were both avoiding each other's eyes.

"A-ah, yes, we still have work tomorrow." Ashley said as accepted Veronica's help. Her palm felt boiling and for some reason, her body started raising in temperature too.

"Right, uh work, we have to check the designs tomorrow, so let's go clean?" Veronica said, getting off the bed as she started taking the sheets off. Ashley nods, staying quiet as she can't find it in her to speak. She helps the other clean, going to separate showers once they finished.

When they both got out of the showers, both of their faces still seemed flushed and they still avoided each other's eyes. That night, they slept in the same bed and had the same quick heartbeats as they struggled to calm it, trying to sleep.