Decade

Ashleigh sighed softly as her fingertips danced across the steering wheel as she waited for her drunken friend to exit the bar. Johnny had called earlier, completely shit faced, wanting her to pick him up around midnight. She wanted to tell him to catch a cab home, but she knew he'd never do that. He would rather drive drunk than catch a cab, and she would never let him do that. So here she was at half past midnight waiting for him to exit the bar. Her bunny slippers were on tapping on the break and gas pedals lightly as she looked out the window of her car. She wanted him to hurry because she needed to get some sleep for work the next morning.

Johnny came stumbling out of the bar about twenty minutes later, some blond bimbo hanging on his every movement. She breathed in and shook her head as she turned her eyes away from the distraction. She didn't want to see him all over some chick when all she wanted was to be that girl. She had crushed on Johnny for almost a decade now. The two had been best friends for fourteen years, and over ten of that had been spent secretly having feelings for him.

He opened the door and fell inside the car, chuckling a bit, making Ashleigh sigh once more before she helped him buckle his seat belt, before she drove out of the parking lot. She knew this routine far too well. Johnny would go back to her shabby apartment and crash on her couch and pass out. He would wake up in the morning when she did, and before work she would drop him off at his car. This happened between two to three times a week. She loved him, and understood he enjoyed to have some fun every now and then, but she also believed there was a cut off at some point.

"Johnny, you've got to stop getting so damned shit faced all the time," She said softly, knowing he was probably too drunk to understand her.

He groaned, "I know," He mumbled, placing his forehead against the window.

"You say that every time, and yet in two nights you'll be doing the same thing," He scolded.

"No, I won't," he said, exhaling loudly.

She furrowed her brows together realizing he wasn't quite as drunk as usual. He wasn't slurring his words, nor had he leaned over and drunkenly pecked her cheek like he usually would. He actually seemed a bit sober tonight, which confused her. She didn't understand why he wanted her to come and get him if he was in fact able enough to drive.

"Are you okay?" She asked, turning to look at him as she parked her car in the drive way.

"No," He said, and then opened the door.

She shook her head, not understanding what he was doing or even thinking at this point. She locked up her car and then followed him to the door, digging through her purse for her house keys. She found them and then opened up the door and stepped inside her small apartment, Johnny not too far behind her. She spun around and looked at him, noticing his brown eyes were clouded over with an emotion she had never saw before.

"J, what's wrong?" She asked softly, as she took a few steps closer to him.

"I'm so fucking sick of doing this!" He growled, tossing his hands into the air, "I don't think you get it, Ashleigh!"

"Get what?" She asked, wondering what he was talking about and why he was having a sudden outburst of anger at her. What had she done wrong?

"I just. . . I don't know what the fuck to do," He said, as he walked over to her couch and fell back on it.

She stood there completely confused for a few minutes before she walked over and sat down on the couch beside him. She frowned as her eyes traveled to the floor. She chewed on her bottom lip as she tried to think about what she could have possibly done to make him so mad at her.

"What did I do?" She murmured softly, needing to know why he was so pissed at her.

"You didn't even care!" He frowned, as he turned to look at her. "You could care less, and then you didn't even come looking for me! You never do!"

"What the hell are you talking about, Johnny?"

"You never come in the bar to get me! You just wait in the car!"

"What?" She asked, once again confused.

Johnny growled once more as he stood up and began pacing around her living room. For the past year he had been doing everything he could think of to try to get Ashleigh to show him she cared. He would flaunt various girls in front of her hoping to stir up a reaction. He would pretend to be completely shit faced at the bar, hoping she would care enough to come inside and drag him out. He had invited her along on tours, hoping they could get even closer. He was sick of pretending to be her best friend when he wanted so much more from her. He had always wanted more from her, only now he was realizing that time was running out and he was wasting time that could be spent with her.

"I'm so fucking sick of pretending to be your friend," He stated, looking over at her.

Tears began swelling inside her brown eyes as she looked up at him. She instantly assumed that he had only pretended to be her friend because of everything they had been through together. Though, when a tear trickled down her cheek and Johnny shook his head, laughing slightly as he leaned over to brush it away, she went back to being confused.

"You're confusing the hell out of me," She frowned.

He laughed, "I know, and I'm sorry."

"What are you trying to say?"

"I'm trying to say I'm sick of pretending to be your friend, but only because I want more than that with you." He smiled, when he saw her shocked reaction. "I want to be with you Ash," He murmured.

She wasted no time in leaping onto him and grabbing his face in hers, quickly connecting their lips together. She had been holding back on this for so long, so she wasn't about to pass up the opportunity to kiss him now. Johnny responded to her kiss by running his tongue over her bottom lip, asking for entrance. Tongues tangled together as they explored each others mouth. Both of them were in complete heaven as they pulled away.

"What took you so long?" She murmured, cupping his face in her hands.

He chuckled, "Stupidity," He murmured, "But now I have you, and I'm not letting go," He murmured softly, as he leaned in and kissed the corner of her mouth.

A decade of friendship ended up blossoming into a romance that would last the test of time.