Chapter Twenty-Two - Asher
Asher
Icome awake first, blinking against a sliver of sunlight shining right at my face from a gap in my curtains while the memories of yesterday evening rush back into my mind.
She’s here.
And she said she’s falling in love with me.
At least I hope that’s what happened and it wasn’t some kind of tequila-induced dream, leading up to a rude awakening. I sigh, relieved, when I feel her move right next to me, smushing her face against my shoulder with a little, sleepy sigh.
As much as she says she dislikes being touched, she tends to snuggle up while she’s asleep. Just like now. She”s draped all over me, like an octopus, her soft breath feathering against my throat, her lips only millimeters away from my skin as she has me in her tight grasp.
She looks so relaxed. So serene. I turn a bit until I lay on my side and can look at her better, lifting my hand to softly brush a strand of her hair away from her face.
I hated seeing her anxious yesterday, eyes darting as her heart raced and she searched an escape, her fingers nervously tapping against the closest surface in an attempt to calm herself.
Millie was right when she put me in my place.
I should have interfered with the situation so much earlier, should have nipped it right in the bud before it even had a chance to unfold, because it was so damned obvious where it would be going.
Kayla didn’t have to tell me for me to know that she’s insecure about people sticking by her. I really have to work on my people skills, but I am sure if Kayla will let me, I can learn to read her like a book, understand her language and know which pages to flick.
And I just have to hope that she will stick around long enough for me to show her that I’m serious. The next time someone even looks at her crossly, I”ll jump in like a vicious Chihuahua defending their owner and bite those sexist motherfuckers’ calves. Maybe not literally, but definitely verbally.
I was making all kinds of plans to win her back. Camp in front of her door until she talked to me, beg for forgiveness, stalk her like a man out of his mind. The more tequila flowed down my throat, the wilder my ideas got, right up until I heard that knock on my door.
I could have cried in relief that she was there.
No way was I going to sleep on my own, all of my thoughts were occupied with her, and I was counting on the alcohol to put me to sleep. As soon as she stepped inside, even before she started talking, she silenced those thoughts and all I wanted was to go to bed and have her in my arms.
And when I did. I fell asleep immediately. What a fucking day.
Now, I feel like shit. My head hurts and my mouth tastes like death. But I also don”t want to get up for some painkillers. I”d rather have my head hurt than move and wake her up.
A small sound escapes the back of Kayla”s throat, and she nudges her nose against my skin as she slowly comes awake, her long eyelashes fluttering as she blinks her eyes open slowly.
For a moment, her eyes grow wide and she tenses, even stopping to breathe. Then she relaxes again, probably as she remembers how she got here, and takes a deep breath before closing her eyes again and rubbing her chin against my shoulder.
”Morning, Sweetheart,” I say softly, not able to stop the smile tugging at my lips, and press my lips against her forehead. It”s all I can reach from this position, and since my mouth tastes like a dead raccoon, thanks to the tequila, it”s all she”ll get for now.
”Morning, Honey,” she answers, her voice hoarse from sleep, and lets out a long, contented sigh as she tightens her hold on me the slightest bit.
I lock my hands behind the small of her back, stroking it with my thumb as she shuffles even closer. For a while, we stay just like that.
Just hugging. Breathing each other in. Fuck sex. Well, no, maybe not, but this is the most intimate thing to ever happen to me.
She’s like a cat. Flinching or freezing whenever she’s touched in public, ready to sharpen her claws and slit your throat or leave deep scratches in your skin. Even when Millie links her arm with hers, you can see that she’s not thrilled.
But right now?
She can’t get enough. She scoots over, trying to get closer, until I almost fall off my bed. And it’s a damned queen size bed. Yet she wants closer, as if she wants to crawl into my skin.
”I”d love to stay here, but I really need to pee,” she admits softly after a while, and both of us tremble with my chuckle.
She lifts herself up with a dissatisfied groan and I let her go, but not without a pout on my lips.
My eyes trail after her as she crosses the room, her long, naked legs moving gracefully with each step and the curve of her ass a teasing sight under the hem of the black metal-band shirt I wore before the event yesterday.
Damn, I could watch her walk around in my clothes all day. Any other day, that sight would be enough to pull her back into bed and fuck her until her morning-hoarse voice gives out.
Just before she turns the corner to the bathroom, she halts, looking at me over her shoulder and shooting me a wink.
Holy crap, this woman. I rub my hand over my face, disbelief shooting through me.
She really came here. She really chose me.
Fuck, I can’t believe it.
With a happy sigh, I rub my hand over my face and get up, trudging to the kitchen to start my coffee machine and check out the breakfast situation while the coffee runs through. Because who needs a fancy automatic coffee machine if you can have a good old filter one?
I do, but my dad can’t be bothered to get one for the apartment and I’m too stingy to buy one with how little I’m actually here. So filtered coffee it is.
But before I decide on breakfast, I get a breath mint. Otherwise, I”m probably going to puke from the foul taste of alcohol and sleep in my mouth.
God, I”m never drinking tequila again. But it was the only alcohol I had at home and the prospect of not seeing Kayla again . . . well, it warranted a proper one-man booze party.
Do I regret it today? Absolutely.
But in no frame of mind did I dare hope that she would come over.
With a small smile on my face, I open my cupboards to see what I”m dealing with. This one is empty. The next one has eggs. I think I have flour on the counter. Oh, hell yeah, there are some painkillers. I quickly pop two in and gulp them down with a sip of water from the sink.
After scouting the rest of my kitchen, I”m pretty sure I have everything for waffles. Perfect to celebrate this new beginning to our relationship, even though we definitely still have a lot to talk about.
Also, waffles are the perfect hangover food, and I am definitely hung over.
I look up when I hear Kayla’s bare feet patter over the ground, just as the waffle iron is warm enough to fill in the first load of dough.
Without a word, she opens my fridge and checks it for stuff to eat our waffles with, pulling out my strawberries, blueberries, and whipped cream, grinning at me as she pops one of the strawberries into her mouth as she walks over.
When she’s next to me, she leans her head against my shoulder and lets out a deep, contented sigh.
I want to protest when she steps away again, but she only turns around, places her palms on my kitchen counter and then lifts herself onto it.
Making her the perfect height to cage her in with my arms and kiss her. And I just have to make use of that.
”Hmm.” She sighs against my lips when I press them against hers. ”No offense, and I appreciate the mint, but you still taste like foul tequila. Go brush your teeth.”
She pushes me off playfully and I give in, padding over to my bathroom with fake devastation.
“Oh, the rejection,” I say dramatically and chuckle when I see a blueberry fly past me. I blow her a kiss as I turn the corner to my bathroom and laugh when I only narrowly avoid getting hit in the face by a second fruit.
I brush my teeth in record time and take another second to brush my sleep-messy hair before I put it back into a hair bun.
And I’m fucking whistling while doing it, because I just can’t contain the goddamn happiness that bubbles in my core.
When I walk back into the kitchen, I find her commanding the waffle iron, filling it with the next load of dough as she quietly hums. Coming closer, I make out the same melody I heard in my very apartment a few weeks back as she tinkered with her lyrics.
I cross my arms in front of my stomach and lean against the doorframe, watching her, just like back then. I can’t get enough of her. The way she almost dances while she works, ‘Can’t help falling in love’ the perfect soundtrack to this morning, and even more perfect coming from her very lips.
When she sees me from the corner of her eyes, she grins and jumps right back on the counter, the finished waffle on a plate next to her.
It smells heavenly in here, but I can’t pay it any mind when she opens her arms for me to step into. Her legs open willingly, and I put my arms around her, burying my head in the crook of her neck and taking a deep breath.
”You know we”re going to have to talk about this, right?” I mumble against her skin and feel her whole body move with the sigh that escapes her. No tensing, though; that’s a plus.
And we need to talk about it soon. Because I’m fucking scared. This whole morning feels too good to be true.
”I know,” she assures me and presses her lips against my cheek. Her hand does that nice rubbing thing on my neck, and I close my eyes, turning into putty in her arms. Until I smell something burning.
”Shit,” I exclaim and shoot up, pulling the pitch-black waffle out of the iron. ”Whoops.”
Kayla giggles and shakes her head at me as I try to clean the iron a bit with a paper towel before pouring more batter in it. Once it”s in, she beckons me closer with little grabby hands, but as much as it pains me, I shake my head.
”I might be falling in love with you, but I”m also really fucking hungry.” I chuckle when she turns beet red and take two mugs out of my cupboard when my coffee machine beeps to signal that the pot is done. ”Milk?”
”Please,” she says softly and pulls open the waffle iron as the little light on it changes from red to green with a soft click.
When I return with our mugs, filled to the brim with caffeine goodness, she is pulling apart the fresh waffle and puts a piece of it into her mouth, her eyes going wide as though I caught her doing something forbidden before her face breaks into a sheepish smile.
I shake my head at her, grinning from ear to ear.
”What?” she asks with her mouth still full. ”It”s called quality control. Here.” She holds up a piece for me and smiles so fucking sweetly I don”t even need any fruit with my waffles.
I step back between her legs and set down our mugs, catching her wrist to keep it steady as I take the piece of waffle from her fingers with my mouth.
”Hmm,” I hum contemplatively, then nod. ”It”s good.”
Her stomach makes a sound, and we both look at the iron that”s slowly working its way through the next waffle. Then we look at each other.
”Pancakes?” I ask her, my eyebrow raised and a grin on my lips. I love waffles but I can’t have my woman going hungry. And then there’s the fact I’m also starving, even though my stomach is less vocal about it.
”Pancakes,” she confirms with a nod and embarrassed smile and jumps off the counter, but not before reaching for another piece of the waffle and putting it in her mouth with a grin.
While I get a pan ready, I point her to my cupboard with the plates and grin when she has to get on her tiptoes to reach them, making my shirt ride up her thighs.
When she catches me staring at her, she rolls her eyes, but I can see the dimple in her cheek from her trying not to laugh.
By the time she has the table set, the pancakes are almost finished, and I bring our mugs to the table. As I take them out of the pan with my spatula, I feel her trot up behind me and lay her head between my shoulder blades, her arms sneaking around my middle.
”Careful, Sweetheart,” I mumble. “The pan is hot. I don’t want to hurt you.” But I feel a slight pang of disappointment when she lets go of me.
Once sat down at the table, opposite another, the atmosphere between us shifts. Not in a bad way, more in a contemplative one, although she seems a bit nervous.
Her eyes dart around the room and only land on me when I”m either looking at my food or raising my mug to drink coffee.
And I feel myself growing nervous too. This morning is too perfect. Too fragile. I’m scared that at any moment it might break, cracking my heart right along with it. What if I wake up now? If all of this is something my mind made up in a perfect dream?
Because if this is what being with Kayla is like, if this is what I could have every single morning of my life, I’m not kidding when I say I would kill for this.
So I gulp down my pancake bite and take a deep breath, gathering all my courage as I breach the topic.
”Let”s get that elephant out of the room, Sweetheart?” I ask her softly.
Her fork freezes halfway to her mouth before she lets it sink with wide eyes and a visible gulp.
”Yeah. Maybe let’s do that. Sorry,” she says with a sigh, sets the fork down completely, and rubs both of her hands over her face before lowering them to the table again. ”My thoughts are all over the place.”
”It”s alright, Sweetheart.” I reach over the table and grab her hand, her fingertips currently tapping against the tabletop nervously. ”What”s on your mind?”
A moment of silence follows as she gathers her thoughts and I’m not interrupting her when she needs to make sense of her brain.
”Did you really mean it?” she suddenly bursts out, trying to pull back her hand, but I hold onto it tightly. ”Sorry, I don”t want to insinuate you were lying, but you were drunk and—”
”Sweetheart, I meant every fucking word I said,” I interrupt her quickly. When she freezes up and looks at me like a deer in headlights, I get up and round the table, pulling at her chair to turn her to me and as I kneel between her legs, my elbows on her thighs.
”Really?” Her voice is barely above a whisper and her thumb is caught between her teeth. I grab her wrist and pull it down, keeping her hand in mine.
”Really,” I assure her and nod for emphasis, catching her eyes with mine. ”I know we didn”t exactly start off on the best foot.” I grin when she rolls her eyes, but when she tries to avert her gaze, I reach for her chin and turn her head to make her look at me again. ”But I meant it when I said I”ve been falling for you. I knew you were different the moment you didn”t take my apology, but I had no idea that you’d take over my heart the way you did. I was definitely a goner for you by the time you told me off for introducing you to my parents.”
”Is that why you were so mean to Josh?” She raises her eyebrow curiously, a grin tugging at the corners of her mouth.
I bite my lip when she mentions her friend, that same pang of jealousy making my stomach grumble with displeasure.
”Yeah,” I admit and lower my eyes with a nervous chuckle. ”I wanted to tear his head off. Knowing that he’s ever been with you that way drove me fucking crazy.” I take a deep breath and lift my gaze to meet her eyes again. “Still does, actually. It would be a lie to say I don’t feel a bit . . . intimidated by your relationship.”
”Intimidated?” Her eyebrows scrunch together in adorable confusion before changing to panic. “You”re not making me stop being friends with him though, will you?”
Her eyes shoot to mine, and just from that single look, I know that even if I wanted to, I might as well just show her the door and wish her a nice life. I don’t want her to lose friends over me, so I figure I owe it to both of us to not jump to jealousy-fueled conclusions.
”Let me be honest with you, Sweetheart, it”s not exactly a great feeling.” I put my hands on her thighs and start massaging them subconsciously, only noticing when she starts to squirm a bit. ”But no. I”m not going to make you stop being friends. You”re definitely going to need to cut the ”benefits” thing from your friendship, though, because I’m sure as fuck not sharing you.”
”Of course,” she assures me quickly and nods, finally touching me back by putting her hands on my shoulders, playing with a few loose strands of hair right behind my ear. ”I promise. No more benefits.”
”And I want to get to know him.” I close my eyes for a moment when her fingers start running along my neck, the slightest touch making my skin break into goose bumps. ”Can we compromise on no one-on-one meetings in the beginning?”
”Yeah. That”s more than fair,” she whispers with a nod and lays her forehead against mine. ”Thank you.”
”Nothing to thank me for yet, Sweetheart.” I cup her face for a quick kiss before I go back to my place on the other side of the table. Now that we’ve gotten the heavy topic of the day over with, my hunger is back with a vengeance.
But then I change my mind and bring my plate over to hers, only returning to the other side of the table to move my chair over to eat next to her, our thighs and shoulders touching.
”The amount of time you”ve been with Josh, he probably knows all kinds of fun stuff about you.” I wink at her, chuckling when her face grows redder than the strawberries on her pancake. ”Maybe he”ll share with the class.”
”Is stopping being friends with him still on the table?” she asks with fake-panicking wide eyes, and I grin, leaning in to press my lips against hers.
”Nope.” I grin, only a breath away from her lips. ”Now eat, Sweetheart, before I call him to get some ideas for the rest of the day.”
”Oh,” she says, sounding almost disappointed. I raise my eyebrow at her, and she breaks into a mischievous grin. ”You know, I kind of thought we”d try out those hooks on your bed that you were talking about.”
I groan and lay my head on her shoulder, feeling her shake with laughter. Her hand finds my hair and pats my head affectionately.
”You know, just for that I”m going to order a courier from the nearest sex shop.” I grin and when I look up, I find her looking at me, eyes shining with emotions and happiness. ”Just for reference, what”s the highest number of orgasms you’ve had in one hour?”