Getting Some Advice Of Her Own

Ashley shut the bedroom door and lazily wandered around the basement rec room, her mind slipping back into her vivid dream from earlier. Not only was it one of the most erotic fantasies she'd had in, at the very least, years, but it was the first time she dreamt about someone she knew in that way. Ashley often had sex dreams, yet even when she was happy with Brandon, he was never in them; no one really was. Every time it was a more blurry figure; a constant fallback was a celebrity that she just couldn't place, but never once was it her boyfriend or any other guy she knew. Now...now she was having the clearest dreams with Zack in them, and they were constantly switching from lusty erotic moments to sweet deep moments of connection where she said everything she felt she needed to.

Ashley let out a sigh and lightly shook her head, reminding herself of what she realized only moments earlier, that slowing down was important. She needed to take her time before getting into anything serious to protect herself; she couldn't take another Brandon situation, even though it seemed unlikely with Zack now. "I need...to talk to someone," Ashley murmured under her breath, quickly making her way up the stairs, heading straight to Victoria's room. Ashley peeked inside with a quick knock, seeing neither Kurt nor Victoria inside, "Damn it, Vicky, where are you?"

Making her way back down the stairs, Ashley moved to Heather's room and knocked on the door, "Come in!" Heather's chipper tone called back,

Ashley walked into the room just as Heather finished putting on a fresh shirt, pulling the light blue fabric over her massive bust and her toned stomach, "Hey Ash!" Heather smiled with a wave, "I'm sure Zack told you, but we were all so worried last night; I'm glad you're okay,"

"Thanks, Heather," Ashley smiled back, "But um, do you know where Vicky disappeared to? I need to talk to her again,"

"Damn, hon, I'm sorry, but she and dickhead headed down to the ranger station to report the phone line being down," Heather explained, her tone regretful and almost disappointed at the thought of Victoria and Kurt off; on some mini-adventure together, "Everything alright?"

"Yeah...I guess so," Ashley mumbled back, "I just got a lot on my mind, and talking to Vicky earlier helped me some, but now I...I think I see just how in over my head I've gotten,"

Heather cleared his throat and cupped her hands with a smile, "Weeeell, Doctor Heather Ravers, licensed relationship therapist, had an opening if you want," The brunette almost too eagerly offered, unable to deny her interest in the juicy drama-filled subject that had been going since day one,

Ashley let out a weak laugh and chewed on her lip, thinking over the offer for a moment before giving in and shutting the bedroom door behind her, "Okay, but please keep this all between us? I really don't need Brandon hearing a word of this and making the whole situation worse for me,"

"Patient, Doctor confidentiality is a must," Heather giggled back as she jumped up and sat on the edge of the bed, "Now please, start from the beginning and tell me what's got you down, hold no details back, they may be vital,"

Ashley gave her eyes a small toss, amused by Heather's lighthearted reaction, "Okay "Doctor" I recently broke up with my boyfriend; maybe you've heard about that?" Ashley sarcastically began, "The thing is, while I am absolutely pissed off with him and do want him about twelve miles away from me at all times now, I don't care too much about the loss of that relationship, which is a pretty big surprise to me," Ashley admitted,

"That's nothing to be ashamed about; you got burnt in this situation, the breakup might hurt and sting, but that doesn't mean you have to be crippled over it. If that were true, I'd never have made it through my junior year," Heather hummed, taking a moment to think about her string of college boyfriends she dumped after mere weeks, "So if Brandon isn't your problem, what is?"

"I'm getting to it, don't rush me," Ashley retorted, "The problem that's starting to hit me is, I think I don't care about that relationship because I met someone else...and I think I may be a little head over heels for him too," Ashley couldn't help but smile as she thought of Zack,

"Oh? Hmmm, and do I know this hunk?" Heather teased back,

Ashley pursed her lips and raised a brow, "No," She replied, playing along with Heather's game, "But let's just call him...Jack," Heather let out a small laugh and nodded, "So Jack has...helped immensely with my break up, he picked up every broken piece and put it back in place. Jack also has...let's just say Jack was rewarded for all his chivalrous duties as of last night. You know...really rewarded...and again in the morning too,"

"Ahhh, I am familiar with the concept," Heather nodded, "Go on,"

"The only thing is Zack...er, Jack hasn't outwardly asked me about going steady even though I think we both would agree with the idea. I think Jack thinks it's too soon since we've only just started hanging out, and worse yet...I think it might be too soon as well. I mean, only a few days after breaking off my first real relationship, and I jump right into another one with a brand new guy? What if I'm just using him to feel better, like a rebound? I don't think I am, you know?" Ashley rapidly began to explain while starting to pace around the room, "Actually, I've been feeling some powerful pulls towards him, even having these amazing dreams about being together once and for all! Every time we talk, everything is so smooth and natural; every time we kiss or touch each other, it's like electricity is flowing between us, so why the hell are we hesitating?!" Ashley finally exclaimed with a toss of her hands,

"I'd assume that's because --" Heather began to reply only for Ashley to cut her off as she decided to answer her own question,

"Obviously, it's because we're both spinning from the speed of our relationships and how our old ones ended. Jack was leftover nothing by his last girlfriend, and that's got to have had an effect on him and me? I fell head over heels for my last boyfriend, too, and look how that turned out? I always get my head in the clouds and think, "Oh, this guy is the one! He's my soulmate! He's everything I was ever looking for!" and then I lock them down immediately. But what happens if I do that again and this fails? I can't keep going in a cycle of blind romance and utter destruction with every relationship, right?" Ashley sighed as she collapsed down onto the couch, "God damn it...I want to tell him I want him so fucking baaaaad, but I also want to keep things relaxed while we figure everything out. What do I do, Heather?"

Heather let out a slow breath and pushed herself to her feet, "Okay, let me offer my advice, and it's just that, the advice I'd follow," Heather clarified, "I say you need to suck it up and throw a blanket over that whole relationship aspect right now," The cheerleader firmly stated making Ashley's heart slightly sink, "You two don't need to be together, to be together, you know? Clearly, you two have an attraction to each other, and hey, maybe that's all it is, or maybe it's not, but right now that's concrete, so run with that. Enjoy each other physically, have so fucking fun this week, become best friends, fuck until the sun comes up, just be fucking happy together! Relationships can always come later on down the road, and by then it won't feel like this obligation that you need to take to feel connected to a guy; it'll just be something you want to mark your territory for others,"

"That's a...possessive take on relationships," Ashley replied with an uncertain look on her face,

Heather let out a laugh, "Okay, I know it sounds kinda weird when I say it like that, but...take Gavin and me!" Heather suddenly exclaimed with a smile, "We've messed around a little, and I haven't been thinking about a relationship with him this whole time. No, I think that he's a cute, friendly guy who makes me laugh and is just submissive enough to do exactly what I say when we screw around. On the flip side, he gets to be with...well, me!" Heather not so humbly said before wincing at her own words, "Ugh, no, that sounded like me being a bitch...I meant we both are getting something we want out of it while being friends. If we ended up wanting to date, that'd take some time; we'd really have to get to know each other, see if we mesh well in our normal environments. Dating isn't just saying, "I like this person, so I'll make them mine," it's saying, "I like this person, and I can see spending all aspects of my life with them," And that right there, that takes time to figure out. So as much as you may impulsively want to lock "Jack" down right now, I suggest you wait it out and just enjoy his company for a while,"

Ashley let out a long defeated exhale and shut her eyes, "You're...right," The blonde slowly nodded, "It makes me upset, but I know it makes the most sense. It's just...something about not knowing I have him, not being able to say that's my man, and knowing he's telling everyone else I'm his girl bugs me to my core,"

"You'll get over that," Heather simply replied, "Just give this way a chance, and hey, later on, if you still want that relationship, you fucking go for it, girl!"

Ashley slowly broke out into a smile, "I...suppose I can settle for sharing his bed for a little while," The blonde giddily said, "He knows just how to treat me, after all,"

"Hope "Jack" doesn't make poor Zack uncomfortable with you two fucking in his bed," Heather teased back as she pulled Ashley up to her feet and gave her a quick hug, "Don't freak out, just go have fun with him,"

"Thanks, Heather, I really needed this," Ashley sincerely replied as she fully returned the hug before heading towards the door, "Gavin though...really?" Ashley grinned while glancing back over her shoulder,

"Super sweet, with a super cock, don't judge," Heather shrugged back as Ashley opened the door and stepped out of the bedroom.