Chapter 10
Tip ten; hand necklace. That is all.
Ivy
I lift a hand to push the glasses further up my nose and stare dumbly at the words on the screen.
What the fuck does this shit mean?
My brow furrows when I move to the next page and the confusion inside me just grows.
It doesn't help that I can't concentrate, my mind shifting to the memory of last night. My body still feels hot from having his hands on me, and his voice in my ears telling me how to kiss - how he would kiss.
And then, when he did.
My lips tingle at the memory and I narrow my eyes at the screen in front of me.
This is not good. Not good at all.
I jump slightly when my bedroom door opens suddenly, my stomach dropping and filling with butterflies simultaneously as the man centring my thoughts walks in like he doesn't have a care in the world.
The door shuts with a click.
A raise a brow, trying desperately to ignore the riot of butterflies in my stomach. "What are you doing here?"
Unprompted, the visual of him in the closet with me last night enters my mind and I shift.
He leans against my closed door, staring at me unperturbed. "I have a lesson."
I blink and finally notice the pile of books in his hand. "Oh, right. Umm. Now?" I look around the room, all my own shit taking up the space on the bed and more shit on the desk. "We'll work on the floor."
Asher walks closer and takes a seat on my bed, the mattress jostling from the interruption.
"Or the bed." I mutter and lean up on my knees to begin clearing some space for him.
I collect the pile of papers for my assignment and shove them in my notebook before closing my laptop and leaning over the side of the bed to place it all on the floor.
A groan hits the air and I freeze, realising my back is to Asher.
And my ass is up in the air.
Fuck, my ass is in Asher's face and all I'm wearing is a pair of gym shorts.
"Ivy-"
I move rapidly, the mattress bouncing under me as I move back to a seated position, avoiding Asher's eyes.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to -" I pause, "do that."
He chuckles, and I see his head shake from the corner of my eye. "You're so innocent."
A scoff rips out of me, "Yeah I know, I'm naive."
I can feel his eyes on me, but I do everything in my power to ignore him. "I didn't say that." He murmurs.
He didn't have to. I've been told it practically my whole life. Sheltered. Naive.
I don't reply, shifting so my legs criss-cross under me, my knee hitting the bedside table.
"What do you need to work on?"
He huffs, "I'm not talking about my tutoring lessons."
My brows draw in but I still don't look at him. Focusing on a piece of pulled thread on my cover. "What?"
"I have to make up for yesterday."
Shock and something I can't name renders me speechless. "You-" I clear my throat. "You don't have to do that."
"I made a promise."
I swallow, feeling suddenly exposed. Vulnerable. "Asher, you don't have to continue, I'm giving you an out."
He practically glares at the side of my face, yet I still don't turn to look at him. "I don't want an out. I told you I would teach you everything you wanted to know and I'm not the type of guy to break a promise."
"Asher." I sigh, "look-"
"You said you wanted to know about kissing?" He cuts me off.
I blush. Like an idiot. Again. The heat in my cheeks only has my embarrassment skyrocketing.
"Aren't I meant to be tutoring you?" I mumble, avoiding the question.
He shrugs, "we can do it after."
I don't reply for a second and I feel and hear him sigh. "Ivy, will you look at me?"
I pull one more time at the thread pinched between my thumb and forefinger before turning to stare at him.
I concede. "Okay."
I look at him, my eyes flicking between his eyes and the corner of his smile, trying to avoid looking directly at his lips because then I'll remember exactly what they felt like against mine last night.
"What do you know already, tell me what you've done?"
I glance away, not wanting to look at him as I spill my guts. "Not a lot, I-" I roll my eyes at myself. "I never wanted to date growing up, I didn't care and now I feel like I'm being left behind."
"That's not a bad thing Ivy, everyone works at their own pace."
I give him a glare that has no heat in it. "Oh yeah, when did you have your first kiss?"
A blush seems to light up his cheeks and he clears his throat. "That's not-"
I raise a brow, feeling suddenly powerful to have the ever charming Asher Hudson embarrassed by my question.
It doesn't last long before he straighten his position on my bed and those striking blue eyes land directly on mine, not an ounce of embarrassment to be seen anymore.
"I think I was eight. But it doesn't count."
My brows furrow. How does it not count? "Okay, first proper kiss then?"
He rolls his eyes. "Twelve. Everyone-" he cuts off when he sees my face, his head tilting to the side. "When did you have your first proper kiss?"
I scrunch my nose up. "Nineteen." I mutter, "proper and otherwise."
"That's not bad, Ivy."
"I've only kissed two-" I cut myself off, "well, three guys."
"I'm guessing I'm the third?"
I nod.
He hums under his breath. "Okay, well then tell me what you know. How were the kisses?"
"Short. " I say quickly and think for a second, "boring, sloppy." I cringe.
"Do you have any other experiences? What about your books, movies?"
Even with all the books I've read. Real life did not compare.
"I watched some-" I stop myself from saying it and Asher tilts his head at me.
"Watched?"
"YouTube."
He starts to grin and I whack his arm. "Don't laugh."
"I'm not laughing." He says as he laughs and shakes his head. "What do you mean YouTube?"
"You know, the videos?"
He shakes his head, his smile become more and more contagious, and I feel my own lips starting to lift even as I try to stop it.
I can't help it. It's like when he smiles it makes me want to.
I force that thought away. Burying it deep, deep, deep down.
I continue, avoiding looking his smile now too. "Of the blonde lady, and she teaches you how to kiss?"
"No."
"You never looked up how to kiss on YouTube?"
Asher, again, shakes his head. "No."
"What did you look up then when you got curious?"
He grins like a devil. "Porn."
I roll my eyes. "Well, that's the extent of my knowledge. The video every twelve year old girl looks up when she's curious about how to kiss."
"Can you show me the video?"
I throw a pillow at his smug face. "No, I'm not showing you the video."
"Well, all I have to do is look up how to kiss on YouTube and it'll come up right?"
I cross my arms and refuse to answer and he laughs, straightening from his lazy position. "Well come on then, let's practice."
"Now?"
He nods, "do you have somewhere to be?"
I shake my head slowly.
"Okay, well, you're going to have to get closer to me."
I look at the much needed space between us and purse my lips.
"You're practically falling off the bed to get away from me."
My eyes swing up to his, indignant. "I am not falling off the bed."
"Your knee is resting on your bedside table." He laughs under his breath. "I won't bite." He gives me a look, "not yet anyway."
I move a fraction closer.
"Bit more." Asher prompts.
I move closer and closer until our thighs touch.
"Good girl."
I narrow my eyes. "I'm not a dog."
He laughs. "No, you are not." But he doesn't take his words back. "Okay, kiss me."
I swing my eyes to him, wide. "I thought you were teaching me?"
"I got to see what level you're at."
"What level-" I sputter. "Asher, this is embarrassing."
"Ivy, stop thinking so hard and just kiss me."
"Maybe I should find someone else. I probably shouldn't be kissing my best friends brother in my bed."
"And I shouldn't be kissing my best friends little sister but here we are."
And then he kisses me.
I rear back after giving him a quick peck.
"Really?" He looks unimpressed.
"You said kiss, not make out."
"You know what I meant."
I narrow my eyes. "You're impossible. Incorrigible." I huff, "impossible."
"You already said that."
"Asher." I whine like a child.
"Do you want to be taught or do you want to be known as lousy-"
I kiss him to shut him up, leaning up slightly on my knees so I can reach him without straining my neck. My hand moves to his jaw, skimming across the five o'clock shadow he'd let grow in and move my lips against his.
My fingers move towards his hair and I pull by accident, a grunt leaving his lips that I capture in my own.
I pull back, "sor-"
"Don't stop." He mutters and then his hand is on my neck and he's pulling me back into him, another curving around my waist like he wants to pull me further into his body.
"You're so bossy." I murmur against his lips and he grunts again, lifting me until I'm straddling his lap.
I jerk but the feel of his lips and his hands on me quickly overrides any self-preservation I may have had.
This is what the books talk about. Is this what it was meant to be like all along? This does not feel like practice.
We kiss for what feels like hours yet could only have been a few minutes, my eyes shut and riding the wave that is Asher Hudson.
He groans, "You have to stop grinding on me like that."
I pull back, my lips tingling and my eyes move to his lips, noticing how puffy and pink they are. I'm sure mine mirror his.
And then his words penetrate my thick skull and embarrassment comes crashing in.
Of course. He just wants help with his school work and in return he'll help a friend out. And here I am grinding on him like a bitch in heat.
Get a hold of yourself Ivy. He's Asher Hudson and your, you.
I slip off Asher's lap, clear my throat and drop my head, wiping my lips to give myself something to do to disguise the embarrassment before slipping back onto my side of the bed.
"Right. Sorry."
"Ivy."
I ignore his tone, not needing his pity right now. I already feel crap; I don't need to feel worse. I flip the book over. "Tell me what you need done, any assignments?"