Miles of Pleasure (32 page)

Soon the guys were standing behind her. They huddled up for a quick pep talk, and then listened as they were being announced. Ashton pulled Kaylee aside and brushed her hair back lightly and rested his hands on her cheeks.

"Just relax out there tonight, and go with the flow. If you need me, just look over and I'll be there," he told her, then slowly bent his head down and touched his lips to hers. Even over the roar of the crowd, he could hear her moan as he deepened the kiss for a brief moment. When he pulled away, he proudly saw that his kisses still affected her. He kissed her lips quickly once more, before backing away and taking her hand to pull her onstage.

She was still in a slight daze as the notes for the first song began. She smiled, knowing that she would be able to get Ashton back. She hadn't lost him for good like she had thought a few days ago.

The band played a perfect set that night, better than they had played in a long time. When the last song was finished, Kaylee felt such a wave of satisfaction and pride soar through her. With things between her and Ashton on the mend, the chemistry on stage surged to a level it hadn't been at in a while.

As she started to walk off behind the curtain, she saw three members of the stage crew each carrying a stool to the center of the stage. Ashton thanked them with a nod of his head, and took a seat on the middle stool, mic in hand. Noah took the stool on the far side, with a different looking guitar in his hands, leaving one stool open.

Kaylee was confused as to what was happening, since their show was supposed to be over; they had played their last song. Remembering Ashton's words before their set, she looked to him for reassurance.

Ashton jerked his head over to the remaining stool, the one sitting next to him. He patted it, telling her to come and sit down. Kaylee looked around as she slowly walked over to the stool.

No one in the crowd knew what was happening, but they were all excited. Most of them were shouting and screaming their love and admiration for the band. The noise didn't die down until Ashton put the mic to his mouth and made a motion with his hand for them to quiet down,

"We just wanted to thank you for being such a great audience for us tonight. Normally this is where we end the show, but I've been working on a new song, and hoped that we could try it out for you tonight."

The crowd erupted again. He let them scream for a moment, then motioned for them to quiet down once more. "This song is a little different than our normal sound, so listen carefully."

Kaylee sat there, still unaware of what was going on, and hating how uncomfortable she felt. The anxiety of the situation was multiplied as she looked out into the crowd. She felt like they could tell that she had no clue what was going on up there, and she hoped they weren't laughing at her.

The first few notes of the song were played by Noah, an acoustic sound with a little twang to it. Soon Ashton's voice blended well with the notes coming from the guitar. As he sang, he looked over to Kaylee, and grabbed her hand for reassurance.

As I lay in this bed all alone

My thoughts drift to memories of the past

Meaningless nights with meaningless girls

Moments of pleasure I knew would never last

You invaded my head, and my heart

I never wanted anyone to know

We made love with so much passion

Fueled the fire and made my feelings grow

(Chorus)

I'm looking forward to the future

Don't want to relive my past

You've changed my life for the better

And baby, I'll fight to make it last

Through trauma and happiness

We've always helped each other through

I want you as my friend and my wife

I want to live my life with you

(Chorus)

I'm looking forward to the future

Don't want to relive my past

You've changed my life for the better

And baby, I'll fight to make it last

Forever and always in my life

Please say yes, and be my wife

By the end of the song, Kaylee had tears streaming down her face, and she swore that she could see moisture in the eyes of Ashton as he sang too.

To accentuate the end of the song, Ashton got off the stool and handed the mic to Colton, who had materialized behind him. Coltonheld out the mic, as Ashton dropped to his knee in front of Kaylee and reached under his stool to pull out a box that had been taped there.

He took Kaylee's hand in his and saw the petrified look on her face. He smiled at her, knowing that this was the moment they would both remember for the rest of their lives.

"Kaylee, I love you with all that I am, and I know that I can't live the rest of my life without you. You mean the world to me, my friend, lover, and sparring partner. Will you make an honest man out of me and marry me?"

He opened the box and held it out to her, with a beautiful platinum engagement ring shining in it.

Kaylee could now see the tears glistening in his eyes, as her own flowed freely down her face. As she heard the words coming out of his mouth, she knew what her answer would be before he even asked. Shaking her head and laughing, she choked out "YES!"

Ashton looked up at her, as if he couldn't believe what she had said. "Yes?" He asked her again.

"Yes," she laughed.

Ashton jumped up and grabbed Kaylee in a hug, sweeping her off her feet and swinging her around in circles with him. He finally put her down before they got too dizzy, and kissed her deeply.

"She said yes!" Colton shouted into the microphone that had captured the whole proposal. The audience went crazy, watching the newly engaged couple, as Ashton finally broke away from Kaylee and slipped the ring on her finger. He kissed her once again before they were pushed off stage by Colton and Noah. Jayden followed close behind them.

Back in the dressing room, Noah hugged his sister and whispered words of congratulations in her ear. The other guys followed suit, shaking Ashton's hand after hugging Kaylee.

"You guys all knew about this?" she asked them, almost in a scolding voice.

"Ashton asked my permission last night, and we worked on the music for the song while you were sleeping. He picked up the ring while we were at the movie today, and while you were napping, we let Colton and Jayden in on the plans," Noah told her proudly.

Ashton pulled her back into his arms as she finally got a look at her ring. She couldn't have picked out a more perfect ring for herself. In the center of the ring sat a large princess cut diamond, and the band of the ring was channel set with princess diamonds that even passed underneath the large solitaire. It sparkled perfectly in the light, matching the look in her eyes.

A light knock on the dressing room made them all turn. David, the band's publicist, peeked his head in to make sure everyone was decent before coming into the room.

"Congratulations you two," he said, looking at Ashton and Kaylee. "A little heads up before you do something this big next time?" he asked Ashton with a smile, knowing that he would be fielding a lot of calls from the press over the next few days. He looked at his watch. "Time to greet the fans; let's get to the green room."

And just as quickly as he had entered, he left.

"We'll be there in a minute, okay guys?" Ashton asked, as he held Kaylee back from leaving with the rest of them.

Once the guys were gone, he pulled Kaylee over to the couch and sat down, tugging her onto his lap. He held her hand in his, admiring how the ring looked on her finger. "Kaylee, I meant every word of what I said out there. And I know that things haven't been perfect between us lately. Are you sure about this?" he asked, a bit of uncertainty in his eyes.

Kaylee lifted his chin so that he was looking into her eyes. "Ashton, I have never been more sure about anything in my life. These past few days have been hell on me, and I've been trying to figure out a way to say that I was sorry, and that I do trust you. You just beat me to the punch," she admitted. "I'm not saying that I won't mess up from time to time and get a bit jealous, but please be patient with me, and realize that I get jealous because I love you so much, and I don't want to lose you."

"I'm yours, for life. We have so much to look forward to sharing, and I couldn't imagine doing any of it with anyone but you. And to think, we used to fight constantly. I don't think anyone could have predicted us being together and getting married," Ashton reassured her.

"I know I never would have predicted it. I guess in all our fighting, you just managed to get under my skin."

"For good," he whispered.

"For the rest of my life," she said, and kissed him.