Ash's Marriage Trigger - 10. Chapter 10- Halloween

Enveloped in warmth, Ash woke up aroused as fuck. As his mind struggled to think, his body made him aware of what was happening. The warm hand that was stroking him relentlessly was not his own. But it wasn’t enough to distract him from the hardness grinding against him from behind. He squirmed against it before realizing that the teeth grazing his shoulder belonged to Cove Mitchell.

Ash inhaled a sharp, shaky breath and thrusted against the hand that continued its movements. Then, Cove scooted away from him. The copper-eyed man was confused until he found himself on his back again with Cove straddling him. By then, his eyes had adjusted enough to realize that Cove was nude from the waist down and that his shaft was just as stiff and awake as Ash’s.

When Cove lined up both their shafts and began to thrust against him, Ash decided it was one of the best ways to wake up on a Saturday morning. He reached down to wrap a hand around them as the silver-eyed man continued to move. Several minutes later, Ash held his own flesh closer to him as he came. The amount of cum that spilled along his stomach was less than the mess he had made the night before, and Ash was relieved none of it dripped onto the sheets.

But then Cove came all over Ash’s lower abdomen, too. Just how many times would the other man have to change the sheets? Ash began to feel bad. Their use of condoms was for easier clean-up than actual protection. And yet, there they were, making all sorts of messes. The copper-eyed man tried his best to keep their joined fluids from dripping onto the bed when the sound of laughter drew his attention back to Cove.

“Go ahead and use the bathroom first,” Cove urged. “And I’ll find you a change of clothes.”

While Ash stood beneath the spray of water in the shower, he frowned. What the hell was he still doing there? His original plan to leave immediately after dinner had been destroyed, and he took partial blame for that. Ash had vowed to wake up as early as possible and sneak out of the property before Cove or his daughter awoke. His second escape plan had been foiled by a morning wood that ultimately woke them both up.

Had he just been defeated twice by Cove’s cock?

When he finished drying up, he pulled on the clothes Cove found for him. Other than the pants being too long, they fit him rather well. A glance in the mirror made him realize why. The shirt was one that Ash himself had allowed Cove to keep six years ago. The colors were faded, but the fabric had surprisingly held up.

As the two men swapped places, Ash hunted for his shoes. They were generally hard to miss, so when he saw no trace of them, he assumed that Cove tucked them away. If Ash was desperate enough, he could leave and drive home barefooted. He contemplated it as he unlocked and opened the bedroom door and found himself locking eyes with his mini-me from across the hallway.

The little girl looked as surprised as Ash felt while holding open the door to her room. “Bigger-me! You slept over?”

“Yes, that somehow happened,” Ash responded. He looked on as Ashley rushed over to him and began to tug insistently on one of his pants legs.

“I forgot to give you the picture I drew you!” She stated as she led the man to her room. Though he had seen a glimpse of it the night before, he could more clearly see the lavender and violet shades that made up the decorations of her room. A bright sea green served as contrast spots on leaves and objects like her chair. Ashley rushed over to her desk and handed her masterpiece over a few seconds later.

Ash swallowed hard at the scene the little girl had worked so hard on coloring. No one had ever drawn his likeness with such accurate detail, not even his nephews and nieces. Did that mean that Ashley had a sharp memory? Should he be watching what he said around her?

“Do you know how to braid hair?”

“Yes, but I only know two different types of braids.”

Ash detangled her thick hair from tips to roots when the little girl handed him a comb and sat down in her teal chair. He had learned to braid the hard way whenever he had to babysit his nieces. If Ash made the braids too tightly, it would cause them headaches. If he made them too loose, they’d unravel and appear messy. When the child spoke her mind, Ash was nearly done dividing the hair into two even sections.

“Why don’t you have a wife?”

Ash took a deep breath before answering. “I’ve never had romantic feelings towards women like some men do….” He explained as he began to form a dutch braid on the left side of the parted hair. “I’ve only ever liked men.”

“Why don’t you have a husband, then?”

The copper-eyed man nearly choked on his own saliva. He hit his chest with a fist and cleared his throat before attempting to answer. “I’m just not ready for one yet…or ever.”

The little girl went suspiciously quiet after his response, and Ash took advantage of the silence to finish up one braid and work on the other. Since Ashley’s dark hair was thicker than that of his nieces, he didn’t need to do much to make the braids appear fuller. When Ash finished tying off the final plait, he realized they weren’t exactly like the iconic Wednesday Addams braids, but they suited her. He took a picture of the back with his phone and held it down for her to see.

“What do you think?”

“It’s so extra!” She squealed as she stood up and gave a twirl on the floor. “I love it!”

Her bright smile felt like a sewing needle stabbing sharply into Ash’s heart as if it were some kind of pin cushion and not a vital organ. What the ever-loving fuck was he doing? The child was clever and sweet. He was a terrible influence and shouldn’t even be around impressionable kids.

“You’ve just saved me hours of studying endless youtube videos on braiding,” Cove admitted from the doorway.

He wore a white shirt and gym pants but still seemed more elegantly dressed than Ash. How did Cove pull that off? The silver-eyed man lifted his daughter into his arms.

“You have my thanks and first choice on what to eat for breakfast.”

“I was actually going to start heading back-” Ash began, only to be interrupted.

“You’re not gonna trick-or-treat with us?” Ashley asked as she turned her attention from her father immediately, and Ash could see tears rapidly brimming her eyes.

How could she be so upset so fast? Ash’s nieces had employed similar tactics but never at such speed. The fact that her silver eyes were just like her father’s somehow caused the man to feel twice as much guilt. Before he knew it, he’d stopped Cove from trying to assuage her.

“Alright, let’s compromise,” Ash suggested as he held out his hand. “I’ll join you both so long as you don’t force your dad and me to dress up as any other Addams family characters. Deal?”

Ashley sniffled before locking gazes with the copper-eyed man, taking his hand and giving it a firm shake. “Deal.”

Cove barely managed to stifle a laugh. “Is that a yes for breakfast, then?”

“Feels like an everything-bagel drowned in cream cheese kind of morning….” A smile tugged on the corner of Ash’s lips when Cove didn’t stifle his laughter that time.

Ash was seated across from Ashley a few moments later with his bagel in front of him. The little girl glared at her grilled cheese sandwich that Cove had cut for her diagonally to create two triangles. Curious, he asked her if that wasn’t the breakfast she had envisioned.

“No, it’s just…triangles and circles are easy,” She said before taking a bite out of the corner. “Squares and rectangles drive me nuts.”

“My daughter can add four plus two,” Ash glanced over at Cove as he sat down next to his daughter with his own plate of scrambled eggs, toast, and diced tomatoes. “But never ask her to differentiate between a square and a rectangle.”

“Your grilled cheese is one way to find out,” Ash pointed out. “If you slash a square diagonally, you get two triangles. Doesn’t quite work on a rectangle.” He then reached out for one of the square cheese slices and grabbed a few to lay one down in front of Ashley. “A square’s sides are all even…and a rectangle looks like it ate two squares.” He then slid two wrapped cheese slices together until they made a rectangle. “Two sides are always longer.”

“So…a rectangle’s a long square?” Ashley deduced.

“Yeah, that. The weird part is when you cut it in half this way….” Ash replied as he grabbed one of Cove’s toast and sliced it in half horizontally. “A square also looks like it ate two rectangles.”

“Shapes are carnivorous now?” Cove questioned.

“No, it makes sense!” Ashley replied. “Squares are half of rectangles, and rectangles are half of squares!”

“‘All sides of a square are equal’ is too simple, is it?” Cove teased as he retrieved his toast. “Had to teach her a weirder version, didn’t you?”

“Hey, weird versions are the ones that are interesting enough to stick,” Ash countered. “On a side note,” He whispered. “She can already do addition? How old is she again?”

“Either way, I know who to call when she starts working on multiplication tables,” Cove commented.

After breakfast, the three of them took turns reading a children’s novel aloud. Ash was once again impressed with Ashley’s ability to read at her age, even though she struggled with every other word. Soon, it was time for lunch, and after that, they had a marathon of Addams Family cartoons. In no time at all, Ashley was fully dressed in her costume.

“How do I look?” Ashley asked as she crossed her arms across her chest and made the most serious face she could muster. The black dress with stiff white collar and cuffs paired with the braids was all that was needed to turn her into Wednesday Addams. “I wanted to paint my nails black and wear black lipstick. But daddy said I’m still too young for that.”

“I think he might be right,” Ash agreed as he handed her a purple Halloween bucket in the shape of a pumpkin. “Besides, I don’t remember the original Wednesday wearing any make-up.”

“It must be Halloween for you to agree with me on something,” Cove joked as he urged them out the door.

“You might be right about that, too,” Ash retorted.

They walked around the neighborhood, knocking only on the houses with their door lights on. Some families decorated their homes with spooky flair. They acted out their Halloween costume characters even as they gave out candy. The weather was perfect; chilly but without any wind or rain.

Two hours and a sack full of candy later, Cove held a worn-out Ashley in his arms as they returned to the Mitchell abode. Ash carried the bag and bucket and helped open the door for them. “It’s time for me to head out,” Ash whispered.

Cove gave him a nod. “Thanks for going along with all of this….”

“It’s fine,” Ash responded. “My nieces and nephews outgrew trick-or-treating, so it was nice to see Ashley and her peers having fun.”

“What are you doing next weekend?”

Hiding from family. Hiding from the world. “Nothing.”

“Would you care to join us again?”

No. “Yes,” Ash frowned as the words fell from his lips. He was sure that the word was the opposite of what his mind told him to say, yet…

“See you, then,” Cove affirmed with a smile.

As Ash walked out of the Mitchell household and closed the door behind him, he felt like a complete and total idiot. The night was not supposed to end with Cove having false expectations and hope. As he stood out in the cold, his hand leaning against the top of his car, Ash felt lost.