Chapter 27
SUMMER
Asher came over to my apartment so that I could cook us dinner while he helped me study for the upcoming exam—even though my space isn’t designed for any sort of elaborate cooking.
I stir the marinara sauce on the stove while Asher leans against a wall with Milo contentedly purring in his arms. He’s been sporadically quizzing me, but is now fully distracted by the five-pound feline against his chest.
She loves him for some unknown reason. Her eyes are closed, and her little orange and white face looks like she’s smiling; she’s so happy.
“What do you think about going out for dinner tomorrow?” he asks suddenly.
My spine stiffens as I freeze, the sauce simmering in front of me. “I would love to…” I respond slowly. “But we both know going out in public together probably isn’t the best idea until I’ve graduated.”
His face falls at the reminder that we are each other’s dirty little secrets. “I know,” he responds. “I was thinking we could head out of the city. Let’s go over to Bellevue. There’s a new restaurant there that I’ve been wanting to try, and I’d like to take you out on a real date… at least once.”
I walk over to him, and he sets a disgruntled Milo on the ground so that I can take both of his hands with mine.
“Hey,” I say softly, meeting his piercing green eyes and offering a comforting smile.
“We’ll get to go out on plenty of dates as soon as I’ve graduated.
Honestly, we could probably start being more open once I’ve been assigned a clinic for practicum. ”
He looks away from me. “None of this bothers you?” he demands. “Having to drive out of town to go out in public together?”
“I don’t think it’s as big a deal as you’re making it out to be,” I reply quietly.
“No?” he scoffs. “You enjoy being my dirty secret, is that it?” he asks, voicing my earlier thoughts. Though saying it out loud makes it sound uglier than it did in my head.
“No, that’s not what I’m saying. But I think it’s obvious that we have something special. Something that other people may never experience in their lifetime. And if we have to hide our relationship until I’ve graduated… I’m willing to do so. For us. I’d weather any storm with you.”
His eyes soften, the dark green the color of Washington’s pine trees before it snows. I place my hand against his cheek, and he leans into it. His eyes flutter shut, and he places a soft kiss against my palm. “I’ve never felt this way about anyone before,” he murmurs.
“Neither have I,” I admit.
He pushes a strand of hair behind my ear. “You have no idea what you do to me, do you?” he asks softly.
I bite my lower lip and shake my head.
Asher starts to lean in as the pasta water boils over, sizzling as it hits the hot stove. I curse while darting across the kitchen to turn the heat down.
“Not much of a cook?” he muses.
I shoot him a playful glare, my lips quivering as I try not to smile. “Having this small of a kitchen doesn’t inspire much cooking.”
He leans against the counter beside me as I add the pasta to the boiling water. “You can always cook in my kitchen,” he says with a grin. “I can teach you a few things.”
“Oh?” I ask with a raised eyebrow. “What sort of things, Professor Stirling?”
Mischief sparkles in his eyes as he crosses behind me, placing both of his hands on either side of me, boxing me in. “Oh, all sorts of things,” he murmurs, his lips brushing the sensitive skin behind my ear.
“Do any of those things involve cooking?” I ask with a wry smile.
“They can, if that’s what you’re into.”
I playfully shove him away with a roll of my eyes and receive a swat to my ass in return. He retreats to the wall as I add a pinch of salt to the sauce.
We continue in comfortable silence. I finish up dinner while Asher watches.
It’s nice not to be expected to be ‘on’ all the time, not to have to fill the space with idle conversation and small talk that no one actually cares about.
I haven’t dated during grad school—initially, I’d tried, but it was never worth it.
Either it was someone outside the program who didn’t understand the time commitment my master’s degree demanded of me, or it was someone in the program, and we hardly ever saw each other.
I had always been too worried that giving the proper amount of time to a boyfriend would cause my grades to plummet, and that wasn’t something I was ever willing to risk.
The time commitment of a relationship had just never seemed worth it. The guys had never seemed worth it.
But Asher is.
Asher clears his throat, finally breaking the silence.
“You’re not going home for break, are you?
” he asks, though I know he’s already aware of the answer.
We’d talked a bit more about my mother’s behavior over Thanksgiving and how I was taking space from her until I felt ready to reach out.
I haven’t even considered going home for winter break.
“No,” I respond simply. “My mother is still upset over Thanksgiving, so we’re not really talking at the moment.
” Guilt pools in my stomach. I had been the one to tell her that I needed space and not to contact me, but a small part of me had figured she’d have reached out by now.
It hurt that she hadn’t even tried to spend Christmas with me.
Though maybe I’m making her feel the same way.
I guess we have to see who has less pride and reaches out first.
“So, what’s your plan?” he asks. “To spend the break in your studio apartment all alone?”
I shrug. “Milo would be with me. I’d need someone to watch her if I left for that long.
” Normally, I’d ask Sam, but because Derek spent Thanksgiving with Sam’s family, they were going to spend Christmas with Derek’s.
A small pang of jealousy fizzles in my gut.
I wish introducing each other to our families was something that Asher and I could do.
“What if I can talk Elijah into it? He’s got nowhere to go and can handle a cat for a few days.”
I scoff. “For some reason, I don’t really see him as a pet person. Especially not a cat person.”
“He’d watch her if I asked.” When I don’t say anything, he continues. “Do you want to come with me to visit Juliet in California?”
I wring my hands together. “I don’t know,” I respond hesitantly. I’ve never gone on a trip with a significant other before, let alone on a trip to meet such an important family member.
“Come on, run away with me.” He grins. “Don’t you wanna get away?
To a place where no one would recognize us and we could just be together?
Just be us, without the pressure of hiding our relationship?
” He pulls me into his arms and nuzzles my neck, his stubble scratching my skin and sending shivers down my spine.
“We could stay near the beach,” he offers.
“I do love the beach,” I murmur. He pulls back, a victorious grin across his lips, but I stop him. “You don’t think your sister will mind?”
“Why would she mind?” he asks, genuinely confused.
I stare at him, dumbfounded. “Because you’re dating someone who is clearly your student?”
“As soon as break starts, you won’t be my student,” he points out. I could argue that I’ll still be his student until he enters my final grade. “And she already knows about you and the circumstances of how we met.”
“She does?” I ask, shocked.
“Juliet and I weren’t always close, but we’ve grown closer over the years, and I felt comfortable telling her. I trust her. And she lives two states away, so really, what could she do even if she did disapprove?” A playful grin tugs at the corners of his lips, making me want to smile in return.
“Fine,” I sigh, finally caving. “I’ll go. But only if Elijah can watch Milo.”
“I’ll call him now,” Asher says sweetly, kissing me before he pulls out his phone and starts to dial. “And we’re going on that date tomorrow night!”
Asher won’t tell me the name of the restaurant because he claims I’ll look it up, which he’s absolutely right about, but I pretend to be annoyed, nonetheless.
“Oh, come on,” I whine. “Just tell me where we’re going. What if I hate the food?”
“You won’t hate the food.”
I pout and cross my arms, but he just chuckles, his eyes never leaving the road. This is our last dinner together before we go to California to see his sister. I try to ignore my nerves over meeting her.
A devious plan begins to take shape in my mind. I glance at him to see that he’s still focused on driving, his fingers drumming against the steering wheel to the beat of the song playing over the radio.
I can see the city lights fast approaching, so I lean across the middle console for his pants, knowing we won’t be driving for much longer.
“Summer,” he growls out in warning. “I’m driving.”
My hands continue to pull at his belt, and a coy smile dances across my lips. “So, pay attention to the road, Asher.”
I have his jeans unbuttoned and the fly unzipped before he can say anything else. I push my hand into his pants and tug at his quickly hardening cock. I let my thumb trail across his head and smear his arousal.
He lets out a groan that is both pained and impatient.
“Summer,” his voice cracks, and I can’t tell if he’s begging me to stop or begging me to keep going.
I lean over the center console and lick a delicate line up his neck.
Out of the corner of my eye, I can see his knuckles turning white because of the death grip he has on the steering wheel.
I smirk against the soft skin of his throat and gently nip at him.
He quickly inhales, and his cock twitches in my hand.
“What do you want?” I whisper against his ear before sucking his earlobe into my mouth.
“You,” he moans.
“What part of me?”
“Your mouth,” he pleads. “Please.”
“Eyes on the road,” I hum before lowering my head and taking him into my mouth. I moan at the salty taste of him, and his hips thrust his length into my mouth. I grin around him as I hear the car accelerate when he pushes on the gas pedal harder than he intended.