8. Asher
Asher
They have been gone a long time.
Too long, really.
I don’t want to storm into the diner, crashing whatever little coffee date they’re having just because I feel like I need to have Jade in my sights at all times. It doesn’t make any sense. And unfortunately, I’m well aware that I have no claim on Jade.
There was one near-kiss, but that doesn’t mean anything.
Does it? Fuck.
I feel like a teenager instead of my seasoned twenty-five years. Like I’m starting to develop a crush that won’t leave my mind.
I shake my head and count the stack of cash Guzman left. He’s been coming to me for years, so I know he won’t have screwed me over, and he always leaves a hefty tip. I made sure to dock his last hour since I kept him longer than needed, but the old man just smirked and patted my shoulder, saying, “Don’t be an idiot about things. You’re a smart kid who grew up too fast, but you’ve done well for yourself. Be sure to make some impulsive decisions every now and then, too.”
Sage, old wiseman.
“What do you think is taking them so long?” I grumble, not for the first time since the girls left two hours ago.
“ Oh dios. I don’t know, Ashe,” Ty sighs, wiping away the ink and blood from his client. “If you’re going to get your panties in a twist, why don’t you just go talk to her?”
“No, no. That’d be weird.” I wipe down my chair for the third time. “Wouldn’t it?”
“For fuck’s sake. Estúpido, ” Ty groans. “They’re girls. You know how Roxie is, she doesn’t shut up. And apparently,” Ty widens his eyes and circles his hand in an overly dramatic gesture I don’t appreciate, “your girl is going through some stuff. Let them work through it.”
He’s right. Damn it, I hate it when he’s right.
“Also, stop being so fucking pussy whipped,” Ty drawls, dipping his needle in ink and getting back to work.
“You’re fucking lucky you’re inking someone up right now or you and I would be in the street,” I snap, disgusted that he’d even say something like that. “Be a decent human being.”
“Oh, relax, papi .” He shakes his head, never looking away from his work.
“Read the fucking room.” My voice booms as I yell at him, and his second client, who is waiting in the lobby, jumps.
Just as he makes eye contact with me, I hear the bell over the door jingle, and I hope for Ty’s sake it’s Jade and Roxie.
“Uh, oh. Did you guys watch porn together or something? Why is there so much tension?” Roxie rolls her eyes and makes the whole room uncomfortable but keeps me from wanting to kill my best friend.
“ Hermosa mujer loca. Why do you always have to make it so weird?” Ty asks, never looking up.
“You wouldn’t have me any other way,” she boasts, blowing a kiss to him—one that I know he’ll hold close to his heart like the pining bastard he is—and skips over to her station, while Jade just shakes her head at Roxie’s antics and giggles.
She looks lighter. Like she’s not as burdened as she was when she left, and for that, I’ll need to thank Roxie.
She might be the pseudo-little sister who is a constant pain in my ass, but she’s a good person to have in your corner. She’s a good person, period.
“Hey,” Jade greets me softly, stepping over to my station and taking a closer look at all my things. She’s observant, with a keen eye for art. I’ve noticed this as I’ve watched her today, and I like it. “Did you do all these?” she asks, pointing to the framed work.
“I wish I could say I did, but no. Some, yes.” I move to the side of my corkboard hanging over my desk, the side I save for the really intriguing ideas and sketches I can’t perfect. “The sketches here… these are mine.”
“Wow,” she breathes, and I feel my chest puff with pride. “You are able to do so many different styles.” She steps closer, leaning over the desk so her back arches slightly and her ass sticks out. I do my best not to ogle, but I’m only human.
She’s not wrong. I’ve spent years perfecting as many different tattooing styles as I can; traditional, fine line, watercolor, Japanese, new school, tribal—the list goes on. I wanted to be able to say yes to whatever a client wanted when they came in with an idea and a wish, so I got to learning.
“It took a long time, a lot of practice,” I offer, shrugging my shoulders like it’s not a big deal.
“What’s your favorite?” Her green eyes sparkle at me with intrigue.
“Traditional, probably. Or maybe that’s just the style I do most often. It was the first style I learned.” I point to a framed sketch on the wall by the corkboard. “That was the first piece I ever designed; it’s probably still my favorite to this day.” It was a labor of love. The client wanted a piece to celebrate recording his first demo album. He came in with a specific idea and trusted me to bring it to life. He wanted a guitar, an old school microphone, the lyrics ‘It’s only going to get better from here,’ wrapped around the instruments, all while being surrounded by roses and music notes. It came out beautiful. And the client was happy, so I was happy.
“It’s amazing,” Jade compliments with a smile, leaning in closer to look at the drawing that’s faded over years of exposure to light.
“Thanks,” I reply. I can tell she’s interested, looking at each piece with a new hunger. She had the same look at my apartment, but it was softer. More awe. “So, what did you decide?”
Jade sighs deeply, stepping back from my desk much to my inner dismay, and crosses her arms over her chest. “Couldn’t let me stay in a good mood?” she groans.
I chuckle. “Sorry, darlin’, I just wanted to know what the plan was. I’m a planner.”
“Honestly, me too.” She grins and it makes me happy to see. She’s been through too much, relying on people she doesn’t know and hoping that shit doesn’t get worse for her. And that’s just been the last twenty-four hours.
Jade sighs, dropping her head in reluctance before turning to me. I’m not one to have girls hang around past breakfast the next morning—I am a gentleman, after all—any longer than that usually makes my skin crawl. With Jade, though, I find myself not wanting to see her leave. My protective instincts are screaming at me, but I don’t want to seem like a creeper.
“I should go home,” she admits. “Face my mom and the bullshit Sarah’s been spewing, then in two weeks I’ll be back here. Alone and independent. Officially on my own.” Jade stands straighter, like she’s facing a battle head-on. With her hair done in the Viking braids, she looks like she could very well ride into a battle and win .
“I don’t want to. I know it’s going to be hard as fuck. But I think… I think it’s something I need to do.” Her eyes sparkle with determination and I nod. I get it. I really do.
“Let’s go,” I suggest, closing up my drawer and picking up my phone. Jade takes a steadying breath and moves to pick up her bag and her phone. That fucking thing took forever to charge, but at least I know she actually has her phone on her and it won’t die soon. The messages from her mom and Sarah kept coming in while she was gone. I almost turned the damned thing off. Okay, okay; if I’m being honest, I actually almost read each and every one of them to know what I’m literally driving her back to.
I didn’t, I didn’t. But my self-control was being held by a fucking thread.
Jade goes to Roxie and gives her a hug; a tight whole-body hug that makes me seethe with jealousy. Roxie leans back, gives her a piece of paper and speaks in a low tone, which of course ensures I can’t hear them over the music and Ty’s tattoo gun buzzing. Roxie cups Jade’s cheek and my fists clench. I have to turn my head when I see Jade hug her again.
Why do I care so fucking much?
Because this girl, who I only just met, has me wrapped around her finger. I know it.
I turn back just in time to find Ty looking at me with a knowing, annoying smirk before he goes back to work.
“Ready?” Jade asks, to which I nod.
“Let’s go.” I gesture with my head to the front door where I’ve parked off to the side.
“Don’t forget what I said! I’m expecting to see your ass in this building in fourteen days, Henderson!” Roxie yells from her station.
Jade turns around with a laugh and an easy smile. “I promised, didn’t I?” she calls, then Jade waves and walks out.
I stop at the door and look at Roxie with a ‘what was that’ glare and she rolls her eyes. “Be a good friend , Lee. She needs one,” she warns.
“You don’t need to tell him that. He wants to be more,” Ty shouts in his gravelly tone. Dropping a mic without even trying, like the fucker always seems to do.
“Shut up, Ty,” I mumble under my breath and let the door close behind me.
Jade leans on the passenger door of my dark blue, beat-up Honda. It’s nothing fancy, but it’s reliable; honestly, most of the time I use my bike, so it doesn’t make sense to get anything newer. Even though I could kick myself for it now.
Unlocking the door, we both climb in and get situated. She said it was a three-hour drive and so we settle in for the long trip. I turn the ignition and look at Jade, taking in her sweet face.
“Know any good car games?” I ask.
* * *
Three hours goes by insanely fast.
After stopping at a rest stop to fill up the car with gas—and our arms with goodies—we get on the highway and talk. Jade is easy to talk to. She’s open and curious; she asked interesting questions and offered information. I was almost expecting her to clam up and for the drive to be awkward, but it seems like she’s finally starting to trust me.
I learn so much about her; she loves art, she’s going to school for business at her mother’s demand, but dreams about drawing all day long without any interruptions. Jade graduated high school with honors and got a free ride to Kensington, which she took even though she wasn’t completely sure she wanted to go. She doesn’t have a boyfriend, and she blushes a beautiful bright red when I ask if she has ever had one. My knuckles grip the steering wheel a little tighter when she asks me the same question and I have to figure out a way to describe my ‘dating’ situation. And by that, I mean one-night stands I pick up every once in a while, but never anything serious. I’ve never found someone I want more with than just the physical side.
She gives me a tight grin and a jolty nod before changing the subject to how I got into tattooing.
We talk and talk and talk. And what’s more, I actually enjoy it.
She smiles, she laughs, and her whole being lights up. I find myself smiling and laughing along with her.
But the closer we get to her town, the more her light dims. I don’t know if she was checking or had checked her messages while we talked, but as I exit the highway, she starts to subconsciously curl into herself, wrapping her arms around her stomach, crossing her legs and hunching over slightly.
The mood shifts and I can’t blame her for it. I’m also incredibly concerned about leaving her here. I’ve been thinking about it the whole fucking drive—about how I’m going to have to watch her physically leave my presence and go into a place I know harms her.
A little voice in the back of my mind whispers at me to just turn around, take her back to my house and keep her safe.
But I know I can’t do that.
And that’d be fucking weird if I asked her to stay with me… right?
The GPS goes off, telling me we have five minutes left before we pull up to Jade’s house, and we both are silent.
“Look, Jade,” I swallow nervously. “Can I get your number?”
Her head snaps to the side, looking at me with shock. “Wait, really?”
“Yeah,” I reply. I reposition myself, scooting down in my seat to hold onto the shifter. The GPS signals for me to turn and I follow it, turning into a residential area. I try to slow down without her realizing it. We have less than two minutes now, and I’m not ready for it to end.
“Yeah, okay.” The smile Jade gives me is shy and true. It’s adorable. “And before we get there and my evil mother comes to collect me, I want to tell you how thankful I am. I don’t know what would’ve happened to me if someone else found me last night…” I grit my teeth at the memory of her drugged, naked, and alone in that room. “You’ve been so kind, so generous. I truly am indebted to you, Asher. If you don’t call or message me, I won’t blame you. But…I really hope you do,” she admits hopefully. “Thank you, for everything.”
I pull up next to the house number she gave me. It’s a white house with blue shutters and two big open windows on either side of a red front door. I park, and before I can even turn to her in my seat, a slender woman with dark hair and dark eyes comes storming down the front steps.
“Told you,” Jade groans and takes a deep breath. “Trust me, get away from here as fast as you can. It’s not going to be pretty.” There’s a joking tone to her voice; I can tell she’s trying to be funny about the whole thing, but I’m pretty certain her words are true.
It won’t be a nice sight.
“I’m going to text you,” I promise. I grab her hand and shove a pen into it before pulling my flannel sleeve up so she can write her number on my arm. Based on how her mother looks, I don’t have enough time to get my phone out and actually save her information. Jade neatly scrawls her number on a small patch of untattooed skin on my wrist.
“Thank you.” She smiles sadly, almost like she doesn’t think I’m going to.
“I am,” I say again, stronger. “Fourteen days, Jade. Fourteen and you’ll be out of here. Stay strong.” I’ll help.
She nods and gathers her duffle bag before taking a deep breath and climbing out of my car.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing here?” I hear her mother hiss from where she’s standing with her arms crossed.
Jade looks at me with kindness, whispering, “Bye, Asher,” and I hope the desperation to keep her with me and safe isn’t as overwhelmingly splattered across my face like I feel it in my body.
“Bye, Jade. I’ll talk to you soon,” I stress, not breaking her gaze. She shuts the door, and it feels like there’s a finality in it; like she knows she’s not going to hear from me.
Oh darlin’, how wrong you are.