Chapter 17
“Ring finger on the fifth string,” Asher purred in my ear, gently guiding my fingers to the correct fret on the guitar.
He sat behind me, enveloping me in his embrace while attempting to teach me a few simple chords.
I was too distracted by his touch to remember everything he was saying, but he didn’t seem to care.
“And strum.” He slid his fingers away, letting them brush across my skin before I strummed the chord. It actually sounded decent despite the goosebumps that had erupted across my arms. “There you go, Princess.”
I leaned back against his bare torso, feeling nothing but absolute bliss. Pillows were propped behind his body, and he had nothing but his boxers on, as I relaxed in one of his cut-offs. Strumming through a few of the chords that I could remember, I took a deep breath.
“I should go home at some point,” I mumbled.
“Not yet.” He kissed the back of my neck below the messy bun that now sat atop my head.
“I have school to teach tomorrow.” I giggled, and his lips gently touched mine again.
“But I won’t get to see you until Saturday,” he whined.
“Which is only two days away.”
“How will I ever survive?”
I smiled to myself as he slid his arms around my waist and pulled himself closer to me.
Resting his chin on my shoulder, he simply held me and then began mindlessly rambling about something.
Before I knew it, I was laughing deeply, while the guitar leaned against the side of the bed.
Some stupid comment from him resulted in over an hour of conversation.
I lost track of time with him lying on my stomach, settled between my legs.
Running my fingers through his hair, I shook my head.
Maybe I could just stay the night? What would be the harm in that?
Wait, no, that couldn’t happen. I didn’t have a change of clothes, and Sydney would wonder where I was.
Plus, there were chores to finish at home. I also had work tomorrow morning.
“Anyway, I know our schedules make it hard to have a serious relationship, but I still don’t understand why she cheated on Kieron,” he rambled.
“I don’t get why anyone cheats, ever.” I ran a thumb across his eyebrows. He closed his eyes and hummed. “I’m still surprised that they’ve all been able to hide having girlfriends.”
“I told you. We like to keep our private lives private.”
“But for how long? There’s bound to be a crazy fangirl who just happens to see something at some point.”
He sighed. “Yeah, I know…”
“So again, that leads back to this. There’s more than just you and I involved in this secret now.” I watched as his chest rose and fell deeply, his eyes finally opening and meeting mine.
“I’m sorry, Cosette. I was just really excited, and I guess I didn’t think it all the way through,” he quietly replied.
I gave him a tight smile and leaned back against the headboard.
My fingers continued to play through his hair, brushing back and forth tenderly.
Part of me was ashamed to admit that I was actually happy others knew.
That meant I held some solid claim on him, no matter how little that was; in his world, I was fully his, and he was fully mine.
“How’s the bite?” he asked, breaking my thoughts. I looked back down at him and leaned forward. My lips pecked a kiss against his mouth.
“Bruised but just fine. You took very good care of me,” I replied softly, and he grinned, clearly smugly pleased. I rolled my eyes. “But don’t expect to ever hear me say that again. Your ego is big enough already.”
“Stay,” he blurted out.
I furrowed my brows, shocked and caught off guard. “What?”
“Tonight. Stay the night.”
“And what exactly will I wear tomorrow? My requirement to be at work still hasn’t changed,” I replied, and he rolled his eyes.
“I can order you something and have it delivered here.” He grinned, pushing himself out of my lap, and slid off the bed.
“There’s also the issue of Sydney?” I watched him grab his pants off the floor and dig through the pockets, searching for his phone.
“Tell her you’re at a friend’s house for the night.” He walked over to my dress that had been carelessly tossed aside.
“She is the friend I would stay with, dummy. Besides, what if she needs groceries or something?”
He didn’t say anything as he grabbed my phone from the dress pocket and crawled back onto the bed. Lying down once again on my stomach, he handed me my phone before unlocking his. I watched him begin scrolling through different websites that sold clothes.
Shaking my head, I glanced at my screen. There were two unread text messages from Sydney, so I quickly tapped the icon and unlocked it. My jaw dropped open. I could not believe my luck.
Slapping Asher’s forehead lightly, I squealed.
“What? What?” He swatted my hand away.
“Sydney texted saying she won’t be home tonight. She’s staying at her parents to start setting up for my birthday party.” I squeaked in excitement. Asher’s eyes brightened, sparkling with anticipation.
“So, you’re staying?”
“I can stay.” I smiled.
“Fuck yes!” He jumped up, whooping and hollering, and then froze. “I mean—” Coughing, he cleared his throat and calmed himself down. “Sounds good.” He coolly laid back down against my stomach. I giggled quietly, happy to see how giddy he was despite his cool facade he liked to carry.
He raised his phone and pointed at a couple of outfits he’d found. Outfits that looked nothing like what I would have expected him to be interested in. They were things more similar to what I normally wore.
“You like these?” I pointed at the retro-style jumper.
“Yes? What’s that reaction for?” He furrowed his brows. “It’s what you normally like to wear, is it not?”
“Well, yes, but…”
He rolled his eyes. “If you haven’t figured it out yet, you’re my type.”
“But I wasn’t wearing my usual style the night we met,” I replied, confused as can be, and mindlessly slid my fingers along each of his earrings.
“I knew that.”
“How?” I gasped in shock and added the jumper and cute matching blouse to the cart. He pulled his phone back down and began the checkout process.
“I also knew you were unfamiliar with our music. It’s kind of hard to fake it when you’re with someone like Sydney, Princess,” he replied nonchalantly and glanced at the time on his phone. “The outfit will be here in a couple hours.”
My mouth was permanently stuck open. “In a couple hours? How is that even possible?”
He chuckled and shrugged. “I have connections.”
I rolled my eyes while he gently pushed my jaw shut. “Show off.”
“Oh, by the way. I have something that’s yours still.” He sat up, setting his phone down on the mattress, and slid back off the bed. I glanced at it, realizing that he’d left it screen up. He wasn’t hiding things from me.
When he opened the closet doors to my right, I lifted a brow in curiosity. “What’s that?”
He disappeared inside for a moment and then returned, his hands clasped behind his back. Nerves bubbled in my stomach as he sauntered over to me, a devilish grin plastered on his face.
“Asher, what do you have?” I pressed again.
His grin widening, he stopped at the edge of the bed. “You don’t get it back.”
“What is it?” I swung to face him.
“And I’m keeping another thing of yours,” he replied, pulling his bottom lip in between his teeth.
I narrowed my gaze suspiciously. “Show me what you’re holding.”
He brought his hands forward, and once again, I found my jaw against the floor. Dangling between his fingers was my lacy thong from night one.
“Give it back,” I demanded.
“Nope. It’s mine. Plus the one from tonight.” He grinned, and I swung my gaze to my second pair sitting on the floor beside my dress. His gaze followed mine, and silence fell between us.
Slowly, our eyes met once more, locked in on the beginning of a race to see who could get to my panties first. I stared him down while he tightened his fingers around the pair he already had.
And then I shot across the bed at the same time he dashed forward. Graceful as ever, I dove off the side of the mattress and crashed to the floor as he rounded the foot of the bed. Scrambling to my feet, I slid across the hardwood, reaching the thin fabric just in time for him to dive forward.
My hand clamped down on the thong, snatching it just before he was able to grab it.
“Give it here,” he growled, and I shook my head, curling it up within my fist.
“No. You don’t need another one of my thongs.” I glared threateningly at him.
But all it did was make him smile and chuckle. “I’m so scared right now,” he teased, and I rolled my eyes.
“You still don’t get them.”
“How about a trade?” he offered, and I raised a curious but hesitant brow.
“I’m listening.”
“Something personal of mine for something personal of yours,” he presented, and I remained silent but watched him.
“It won’t fit you, but here,” he continued and slid a ring from his pinky finger.
From within the thong he was already holding, he unfurled a small silver chain, as if he’d been planning this all along.
“My parents gave this to me the day we released our debut single. It didn’t go viral, and we hardly ever perform it, but I’ve worn this every day since. ”
He slid the silver ring with black flames swirling into a nothingness on the chain and gently let it fall around my neck. “Now, it’s yours.”
“You want to give me that for a pair of my underwear?” I questioned, feeling like what he was offering was much more personal than what I was.
He smiled and let his hand fall back to his side. “It’s not just underwear, Princess.” His voice was soft. Bending down, he brushed his thumb across my cheek.
“I don’t know if I can give you what you’re asking for,” I whispered, as I realized what he was truly seeking. What he really wanted. He gently pressed his lips against my forehead.
“I don’t need you to say the words,” he replied as a tear slid down my cheek.
“You’re asking me to choose between you or my best friend, Asher.”