The Stand-In Girlfriend Ch. 07-09

CHAPTER 7

After dinner Chevonne said goodnight to Ashton,

his mother, his father and Spencer saying she was tired after their long flight from the states. Chevonne said she was going to take a shower and then go straight to bed but she really wanted to call her mother and let her know what was going on before Alice called her to talk about her engagement to Ashton.

During dinner Alice asked about her family, Chevonne told her about her mother, her father and her brother Martin.

Alice insisted that Chevonne give her, her mother's phone number so they could discuss plans for the wedding (Chevonne had never met such a determined person in her life, the woman seemed determined to make her part of their family).

Chevonne tried to tell her she wanted to talk to her mother and explain how things happened so fast between her and Ashton. But Alice was determined to talk to her mother.

Chevonne gave her, her parents home phone number and explained that since her parents were away on a cruise that Alice wouldn't be able to talk them until they returned. But always thinking Alice asked if her mother had a mobile phone.

Speaking before she thought Chevonne automatically answered that she did. Alice pushed the pen and piece of paper with her parents home number on it towards Chevonne and asked her to write down her mother's mobile number.

Chevonne wrote the number down. Before she wrote the number down she got Alice to promise not to call until next week to give Chevonne time to talk to her parents, especially her mother.

Chevonne planned on calling her mother that night to tell her the truth about what was happening with her and Ashton. But the thought of how disappointed her mother would be with her she pushed that idea out of her mind.

She decided she easing her mother into the idea of her and Ashton being together and the idea of them getting married would be a better way to go.

Having come up with a plan she could live with Chevonne went to her purse to get her cell phone only to discover that she'd left it downstairs. Now she couldn't call her mother. She decided the call could wait until tomorrow.

Chevonne changed her mind about taking a shower and opted for a bubble bath instead to calm her nerves.

Ashton came up to bed two hours after Chevonne did hoping he would find her asleep so he could slip into bed unnoticed. He didn't want to argue with Chevonne about them sleeping in the same bed.

They had come with a plan that would've allow Ashton to sleep in his old bedroom. He was going to sleep in his old bedroom by making his parents think that he and Chevonne had an argument and she had locked him out of the guest bedroom.

But he couldn't sleep in his old bedroom because Spencer had decided to spend the night instead of going home to his flat and was sleeping in there.

Ashton could've slept in the guesthouse (which he suggested to Spencer that he use. Spencer turned it down saying it would create needless work for the house staff) but he didn't like the thought of Spencer being in the house with Chevonne without him being there.

Spencer offered to let Ashton sleep in his old room and he would sleep in the guest bedroom with Chevonne, but Ashton wasn't going to allow that. He knocked on the door and flinched a little when he heard Chevonne answer "come in."

He slowly opened the door to see Chevonne lying on the bed on top of the covers wearing a pair of shorts and a shirt that exposed her mid section. Ashton's eyes slowly drifted over her body as the scent of coco butter once again filled his nostrils.

Because of the way Chevonne normally dressed he always pictured her wearing sweatpants and a sweatshirt to bed. He never dreamed she would wear something so sexy and tempting.

Her long brown legs seemed to go on forever, they looked so soft, smooth and sexy causing the desire to reach out and touch them to find out if they were as soft as they looked to rise up in him.

"Yes," Chevonne said after he stood by the door staring at her and not saying anything for almost a minute.

"I'm going to have to sleep in here tonight," Ashton said preparing himself for Chevonne's reaction.

"Okay," Chevonne said.

"Excuse me?" Ashton said surprised when she didn't get angry with him or start shouting like he expected.

"Okay," Chevonne said. "You can sleep in here."

Ashton breathed a sigh of relief and a smile appeared on his face.

"Thank you," he said making his way towards the bed. "I didn't expect you to be so understanding."

"Hey, you have to sleep somewhere and I figured that Spencer might be staying when he stayed so late," Chevonne said.

Ashton went over to the dresser and took out the things he would need to dress for bed. He went into the bathroom and took a shower.

When he came out twenty minutes later and found the top mattress lying on the floor and the box spring made up for someone to sleep on.

Chevonne was lying on the top mattress, her back propped up against three pillows, reading a book. He went over and gently kicked her foot with his foot. Chevonne looked up at him.

"Yes," she said.

"Why?" he asked.

"Because I'm not sleeping in the same bed with you," Chevonne said.

"Because you don't think you can keep your hands off me," Ashton said teasing her.

"Please," Chevonne said homegirl style throwing in a neck twist, "you wish."

"You could've waited," Ashton said, "I would've helped you."

"It wasn't a problem," Chevonne said.

"Why did you choose to sleep on the floor?"

"The top mattress is way more comfortable than the box spring."

Ashton climbed up onto the box spring.

"You're right," he said as he laid down and the springs pressed into his body. "Goodnight," he said to Chevonne after he managed to find a comfortable position.

"Goodnight," Chevonne replied back.

"Are you still angry with me?" Ashton asked after being silent for a few minutes.

"No," Chevonne said, "I'm more surprised than angry."

"Why surprised?"

"You didn't strike me as the type of person that needed to seek anyone's approval when you wanted to do something."

"I don't normally."

"Why now?"

"I love Katrina," Ashton said. "I want to spend my life with her and I want my parents to love her too. I thought this might be a way to accomplish that."

"Do your parents have a problem with black people?" Chevonne asked.

"No."

"Then why me?"

"To shock my parents," Ashton said feeling the pressure of shame laying on his heart.

"To show them you could've done worse than Katrina?" Chevonne asked swallowing the sob that almost escaped her mouth.

"Chevonne, I'm so sorry."

"Why did you think your parents would have to be shocked into accepting Katrina by bringing a black person to meet them if they don't have a problem with black people?" Chevonne asked ignoring Ashton's apology.

"You know how almost every parent says they'll support their child no matter who they fall in love with?" Ashton asked.

"Yes," Chevonne said remembering her parents always said the same words to her.

"Well, I didn't believe my parents when they said it," Ashton said.

"Did you think about how I would feel if I found out what you and Katrina planned on doing?"

Chevonne asked even though she already knew the answer to that question she had to hear him say it.

"No," Ashton said.

"Why didn't my feelings matter?"

"Because Katrina and I were only thinking of ourselves and what we wanted," Ashton said. "We were being selfish."

"The two of you were being more than selfish," Chevonne said her voice becoming tense and tight.

"You were both being asses. Selfish asses."

Ashton understood her anger and the truth of her words left him unable to say anything in response.

"What is your address?" Chevonne asked as she threw the covers back, put her book down and got out of her makeshift bed.

"Where're you going?" Ashton asked.

"I forgot to call Evelyn," Chevonne said slipping on her robe. "I need to call her and give her your parents' address."

"The card I gave her has my parents address on it," Ashton said.

"Oh, yeah I forgot," Chevonne said making her way towards the bedroom door.

"Where're you going?" Ashton asked again.

"I left my phone downstairs," Chevonne said standing in the doorway. "I'm going to go get it and call Evelyn so she won't worry about me and call the police to report me missing."

"You can use my mobile phone," Ashton said reaching over to the nightstand picking up his mobile phone and holding it out for Chevonne to use.

"No, thank you," Chevonne said, "I'll go downstairs and get my phone."

"I'll go with you and help you search for it," Ashton said throwing back the covers and getting out of bed.

"You don't have to do that," Chevonne told him.

"I want to help," Ashton said slipping on his robe.

"I'm trying to get away from you Ashton," Chevonne said her voice showing her frustration with him.

"I know," Ashton said. "For some reason I don't want you away from me. Not even to go downstairs."

"I need to be alone right now," Chevonne said, "away from you, because if I don't I'm going to hurt you physically."

"Chevonne, I'm so...."

"Please don't say you're sorry again!" Chevonne said cutting off his apology. "It's not enough. I know it's all you can give me but it's just not enough. It doesn't make what you did any easier to bear, it doesn't take away the pain you caused me. So please stop saying you're sorry because it just doesn't help."

"Okay," Ashton said., "I'll go sleep on the couch and I'll see you in the morning."

'Not if I can help it', Chevonne thought to herself as he left the room.

Ashton's alarm clock went off waking him up. He reached over and turned it off. It was six in the morning. His parents would be preparing to start their day at seven.

He wanted to talk to Chevonne before they came downstairs to eat breakfast. He wanted to see if she was alright and if she was still angry with him. He headed up to the bathroom to clean up and to get dressed.

Ashton reread the note he found taped to the guest bedroom door from Chevonne informing him that she had been invited to breakfast by Eric Commons the man they met on the plane and she would return before lunch and for him and his parents not to worry.

At the bottom of the note was the license plate number, the model name, and color of the car Eric was driving, Eric's driver's license number and his home address. She also let him know that sent a picture of Eric and his car she had taken with her phone to him and Evelyn just in case.

"I'm going to strangle her," Ashton said out loud.

"Whom are you going to strangle?"

Ashton turned to see Spencer coming down the stairs.

"Chevonne," Ashton said.

"Why?" Spencer asked.

"She's not here," Ashton said.

"Where is she?" Spencer asked. "I thought the only person she knew here was you."

"She went to have breakfast with this bloke we met on the plane ride over," Ashton said.

"You're a light sleeper," Spencer remarked, "how did she get passed you?"

"We talked about the plan Katrina and I devised," Ashton said trying to keep the shame he was feeling out of his voice, "Chevonne decided she needed to get away from me so I slept on the couch in the family room."

"I see," Spencer said.

"You see wh...."

Ashton's mobile phone began to vibrate. He looked at the caller I.D. and saw that it was Evelyn.

"Hello?"

"Who is Eric?" Evelyn asked without saying hello.

"A fellow, Chevonne meet on the plane," Ashton said.

"I thought you and she were pretending to be in a relationship," Evelyn said.

"We are," Ashton replied. "We had a fight last night and Chevonne said she needed to get away from me so she went out for breakfast with her new friend."

"You must've done something to really upset her," Evelyn said.

Ashton didn't respond.

"I'm calling because I've been calling her cell phone and not getting an answer," Evelyn said. "My call goes directly to her voice mail."

"Maybe she's having such a good time she turned her phone off," Ashton said.

"You're probably right," Evelyn said, "but if I don't hear from her one second after ten, I'm calling Scotland Yard."

"I don't think that'll be necessary," Ashton said.

"Just letting you know," Evelyn said.

Translation: I don't give a damn what you think, if I don't hear from Chevonne by ten o'clock I'm calling the Yard."

"I'll make sure she calls you," Ashton said.

"Thank you," Evelyn said before hanging up the phone.

"Good morning."

Ashton turned to see his parents coming down the stairs.

"Good morning mother," he said going over to give his mother a good morning kiss and hug. "Good morning dad," he said giving his father a hug.

"Good morning son," his father said returning his hug.

"Where is Chevonne?" his mother asked.

"She went out to breakfast with a friend," Spencer said answering before Ashton could say anything.

"I thought the only people she knew in London was our family," Alice said.

"She met this bloke Eric Commons on the plane coming over," Ashton said giving his brother the evil eye.

"You allowed her to go off with a stranger!," his mother almost screamed.

"I didn't allow her go off with anyone," Ashton said defending himself. "She was gone when I awaken this morning."

"How did that happen?" his father asked.

"We had a fight," Ashton said.

"What did you do this time?" his mother asked before Ashton could finish telling her what happened between him and Chevonne.

"Why are you assuming I was in the wrong?" Ashton asked.

Alice gave her son a look that said 'yeah right.'

"I was hoping to give her some good news," Alice said sounding disappointed that Chevonne wasn't there.

"What is your good news?" Ashton asked glad for the partial change of subject.

"Chevonne left her mobile phone down here in the family room last night," Alice said. "It rung and I answered it. It was her mother calling. She asked who I was and I told her I was her fiancé's mother. She asked to speak to Chevonne and I told her that Chevonne was upstairs preparing for bed. She told me not to disturb her that she would call her tomorrow to talk to her. We started talking before she hung up, both of us going on and on about what a cute couple our children made together and how our families had never met."

'Please don't say it', Ashton pleaded mentally already knowing that praying was useless because for some reason God was still working against him. But still he prayed. 'Please don't say what I think you're going to say.'

"So we're going to make arrangements for the families to get together sometime during the two months Chevonne will be visiting," Alice said.

'She said it', Ashton thought running his hand down his face. 'She said it.'

"Isn't that wonderful," his mother said.

"Yes," Ashton said his eyes looking upward and asking God once again why he had forsaken him.

Chevonne returned to Ashton's parents' home at a quarter to ten. When she and Eric pulled up to the front of the house Ashton came out to meet them and he wasn't smiling.

Eric got out, walked around the passenger side and opened the door for Chevonne. Ashton noticed that when Chevonne got out of the car she said goodbye to Eric without looking at him. Something had happened.

"Are you alright?" Ashton asked.

"I'm fine," Chevonne said walking past him.

As soon as she walked into the house Alice asked her if she enjoyed her outing then she told her about her mother calling and their plans for both families to get together before she returned to the states.

"Maybe we'll convince you and Ashton to tie the knot before you leave London," Alice said excitement flowing through her voice at the prospect of Chevonne and Ashton getting married while both their families were together.

"It would be a good time for it," Charles remarked. "Both families together can pick a date that works for everyone."

"Alice we need to tal..."

"Yes, mother, Chevonne and I need to talk," Ashton said grabbing Chevonne by the hand and leading her out to the garden.

"This has to come to an end Ashton?" Chevonne shouted leading her away from the main house to the guesthouse.

"I know that," Ashton said unlocking the door to the guesthouse, opening the door, pulling Chevonne inside and then closing the door. "That's why I brought you here, to talk about how to end this situation. I didn't know things would get so out of control. Katrina and I didn't plan on things getting this crazy."

"How are you going to fix this Ashton?" Chevonne asked.

"I don't know," Ashton said his tone sarcastic. "I really don't know. You're going to have to give me some time to work this out so that things don't blow up in our faces."

"You think things are blowing up now?" Chevonne said. "No, things are not blowing up now. That won't happen until my mother gets here and she finds out what's going on. You need to understand that not all the things you've heard about black women are untrue. My mother created and patented the head roll and with one hand on her hip and the other waving a finger in your face. And if she goes into that move there is no way of stopping her. You're going to get whatever it is she intends to deliver. She doesn't play when it comes to her family. I'm over twenty years old and she has no problem throwing me over her knee and tearing my butt up. Nobody and I mean nobody curses in front of my mother because they know she has no problem doing the same thing to them."

"All the more reason for you to give me time to handle things so your mother won't have to come over here," Ashton said. "If we handle things just right there won't be any need for our families to get together."

"I'll give you until it's time for me to leave to do something," Chevonne said, "if you don't I'm going to tell my parents and your parents what's going on and we'll all, you, me and Katrina will just have to deal with the consequences."

"Okay," Ashton said. "What happened between you and Eric?"

"Nothing for you to worry about," Chevonne said.

"What happened?" Ashton demanded. "Evelyn said she tried calling you and the call went directly to voice mail."

"That happened because I went to the bathroom at the place Eric took me for breakfast and I left my purse at the table. While I was gone Eric reached into my bag and turned my cell phone off." Chevonne said. "When I realized he'd gone into my purse and turned my phone off I told him I wanted him to bring me back to your parents house. After I made it clear to him that he'd crossed the line by sticking his hands in my purse. Nobody does that without my permission."

"Something more than that happened," Ashton said refusing to drop the subject.

"He kissed me," Chevonne said.

"He what?!" Ashton said.

"He kissed me," Chevonne said again. "We were heading back here, sitting at a traffic light when he said there was something he had to do, I said what and he leaned over and kissed me."

"What did you do?" Ashton asked.

"Nothing," Chevonne said. "He caught me off guard and I didn't want to create a scene by slapping him across his silly face in public."

"That bastard," Ashton said folding his hands into fists as anger ran through his body. "How dare he put his filthy lips on you."

Chevonne looked at Ashton wondering why he was reacting the way he was because another man kissed her.

"Why are you so angry?" Chevonne asked.

"He knows that you and I are engaged," Ashton said, "he shouldn't have kissed you."

"We're not actually engaged Ashton," Chevonne pointed out.

"He doesn't know that," Ashton said turning red with anger. "He shouldn't have kissed you."

"I'm going back to the house," Chevonne said her head hurting from everything she'd been through that morning.