Chapter 25
With her lips lingering on his, Ashleigh was pleasantly surprised to feel James put his arms around her waist, pulling her closer to him.
“He…he’s kissing me back,” thought Ashleigh, placing her hands on the back of his head as she enjoyed the feeling of his warm, soft lips pressing back against hers.
As James continued to draw her closer to him, she could now feel the warmth of his body and the soft thud of his heartbeat through the silky material of her robe and gown and the soft, musky scent of his aftershave filled her nose.
I…I don’t want this moment to stop,” thought Ashleigh as she quickly began to lose herself in James’ tight embrace.
She began to experience the feelings she had always experienced since the very first time she met James, but now the feelings had returned, and they were now much more intense than they ever had been before. At that moment in time, she could think of nothing more than wishing for James’ firm yet gentle hands to explore her new body. There was a deep longing in her heart for more.
As it turned out, this was not to be the case as James quickly broke their embrace, taking a step back from her much to the astonishment of Ashleigh. This was just in the nick of time it seemed as the door opened behind Ashleigh and there stood Rose.
“Erm…Thank you for…erm…escorting me back to my room…James,” mumbled Ashleigh,, she could feel her face beginning to become flushed. However, she couldn’t differentiate whether it was due to what had just transpired or the fact Rose had almost seen them.
“Miss Ashleigh,” replied James, nodding his head and smiling, before making his way to his room next door.
“Come on miss,” said Rose, taking Ashleigh by the hand. “I av’ made sure your dress is properly pressed and everythin’ is ready for ya…you just need to shower,” she added, leading Ashleigh back into her room.
As Ashleigh entered the room, the first thing she noticed was that Rose had drawn back the curtains, made the bed and laid out a set of fresh underwear ready for her.
“Be off with ya then Miss,” instructed Rose, “I been told by Miss Pippa that Miss Tiffany be down soon to do your face,” she added with a smile, gesturing towards the bathroom.
Ashleigh promptly followed Rose’s instructions, heading to the bathroom and closing the door behind her.
“Be back in a jiffy,” shouted Rose from the other side of the door.
Ashleigh turned on the shower before removing her robe, hanging it on the door and letting her nightgown slip down her body, allowing it to drop to the floor. Ashleigh stepped out of her nightgown and kicked off her slippers before peeling off her knickers, which had become rather wet, letting those drop to the floor also before shuffling them using her foot, into a pile with her nightgown.
“I guess I enjoyed that exchange with James…A little more than I thought,” she pondered, looking down at her soiled underwear.
She turned to glance in the mirror at her now naked body as she twirled around to take in as much as she could.
“I guess I can see what both Wes and James see…if I’m brutally honest,” she thought, letting out a giggle before picking up the hairbrush she had noticed by the sink. She gave the hairbrush a quick run through her hair before she stepped into the shower.
“Hmm…man that feels refreshing,” thought Ashleigh, standing under the showerhead, allowing the hot water to cascade over her.
As she began to wash her hair and her body, Ashleigh quickly became aware of the rather floral scent of the products she was using, finding their soft aroma to be rather relaxing. As she showered, Ashleigh was unable to think of anything more than her and James, the kiss, the scent of his aftershave and the way she felt when he was holding her.
As she rinsed herself off and turned off the shower, Ashleigh heard the sound of the bedroom door close once more, followed by Rose’s voice.
“Jus’ me back again Miss,” she called.
“Okay, Rose…I’m almost done,” stated Ashleigh as she climbed out of the shower and grabbed a soft, white towel from the rail.
Ashleigh dried her body off as best she could. Realising all her clothes were in the bedroom, Ashleigh slipped the soft, silky robe back on, making sure to tie it rather tight. She gathered up her dirty laundry from the ground along with the towel, before taking a deep breath and nervously opening the bathroom door.
There she found Rose, hair dryer in hand as she sat awaiting Ashleigh to enter the room.
“C’mon then Miss, we aven’t got all day, “ said Rose with a chuckle as she patted the edge of the bed with her free hand.
Ashleigh placed her laundry into the basket and sat on the edge of the bed in front of Rose, who quickly began to dry and brush her hair for her.
When her hair was finally dry, Rose picked up the underwear from the bed and handed it to Ashleigh, who instinctively went to make her way to the bathroom.
“There be no need for that Miss,” stated Rose, “Not like you got anything that I aven’t…just many years younger than I,” she added with a laugh.
Ashleigh blushed before nodding her head and smiling. She quickly slipped on the black, lace knickers and pulled them up beneath her robe. She then nervously untied her robe, allowing it to drape back across her shoulders and down her arms.
“Erm…how am I going to do this with the same dignity as my knickers,” wondered Ashleigh, standing bare-chested, facing the bathroom door with her back to Rose.
That question was quickly taken out of her hands, however, as she didn’t notice Rose approach her. Before she knew it Rose had reached over and taken the bra from her hands and removed her robe the rest of the way.
“Oh for heaven's sake lass…gimme it ere’,” stated Rose, “No need t’ be shy round me,” she added with a chuckle.
Rose reached around Ashleigh with the bra, placing the cups around her breasts.
“Now all you av’ t’ do is place yer arms in straps an’ adjust yourself,” said Rose as she fastened the clasp around Ashleigh’s back.
Ashleigh slipped her arms into the straps of her bra before adjusting her breasts to make sure they were sitting correctly in the cups. Rose then began to fiddle with the straps, adjusting them on Ashleigh’s shoulders.
“Ow does that feel?” asked Rose, regarding the adjustments she had made to the straps.
“Better…thank you,” replied Ashleigh.
“It still feels crazy…how much support bras offer…it’s like a huge weight is lifted,” thought Ashleigh, smiling to herself.
At that very moment, there was a knock at the door before the door began to open.
“Makeup time Ashleigh,” stated Tiffany as she entered the room pulling a huge case behind her which Ashleigh assumed to be full of makeup.
Ashleigh quickly scrambled to grab her robe from the ground and put it back on.
“Oh my god, Ashleigh I love that set, I have the same one, but it looks amazing on you,” stated Tiffany, gesturing to Ashleigh’s underwear.
“…Thanks…” muttered Ashleigh as she quickly fastened the robe around herself once more.
“Something I’ll never get used to is how open women are with each other…you’d never get guys complimenting each other on their underwear…that would just be…well….weird,” thought Ashleigh as she giggled to herself.
Ashleigh sat down on the corner of the bed once more as Tiffany pulled up her case and began to set everything up. As she set about her work, Ashleigh kept her eyes closed the majority of the time. That was, however, until there was a knock at the door once again. Rose opened the door to find a rather tall lady standing outside the door with a camera in her hand.
“Hello, I’m Rebekah, the wedding photographer,” she stated.
“Oh my god…” thought Ashleigh as she overheard the lady’s words.
“Pippa has instructed me to get a few shots of…Ashleigh is it?” said Rebekah rather gleefully as she entered the room. “I already have photographs of our bride and bridesmaids getting ready, but she wants some of you, one of her best friends, as you get ready too,” she added with a smile.
“Aw… what a wonderful idea,” shrieked Tiffany as she picked up her brushes and continued to go about her work on Ashleigh’s face.
Ashleigh once again closed her eyes, taking in the strange sensations as each product was applied gently to her face. As she sat with her eyes closed. However, she couldn’t help but feel a little uneasy with each click made by the shutter of the camera.
“Just act natural…as if I’m not even here,” said Rebekah as she continued to click away.
“Easier said than done,” thought Ashleigh, keeping her eyes firmly shut. “I guess Pip wants something to remember this…and me by.”