Chapter 20
Chapter Twenty
Asher
“ T he last milkshake might have been a mistake,” Julie says, as she stumbles into the lobby of our hotel. “I can’t feel my toes.”
I wrap my arm around her waist to steady her and grin, utterly charmed by drunk Julie, with her cheerful disposition and mile wide smile and her willingness to cling to me so she stays upright. “That’s the perfect amount of drunk.”
As we walk across the lobby to the elevator, she looks up at me with a considering expression on her face. “How do you figure?”
“Well, any less drunk and you would just have a stomachache from too many milkshakes. Any more drunk and you’d spend some time with your head in the toilet, and you’d have a killer hangover tomorrow. You are exactly in the middle, and on the drunk/sober continuum, that is the perfect place to be.”
“Continuum is a good word,” she says absently. While we wait for the elevator, she leans her head against my shoulder and rolls her neck so she’s looking up at me. “You know, you’re pretty smart for a football player. ”
“Quarterback, Juliette. I’m a quarterback.”
“A hot ass quarterback,” she mumbles under her breath.
My grin widens. “Hot ass, huh? Tell me more.”
She reaches up and pokes me in the cheek. “Nuh uh, Hot Shot. I’m not that drunk, just the perfect amount, remember?”
The elevator dings with its arrival and when the doors slide open, we walk inside. Leaning up against the back wall, I kiss the top of her head, breathing in her honey vanilla scent. “Everything about you is the perfect amount, Juliette.”
“I think you might be perfect for me, Asher,” she whispers, resting her head back on my shoulder and closing her eyes.
I close my own eyes at that and take a few deep breaths. I try and remind myself that this is drunk Julie who has no filter and will likely regret saying this in the morning, but it’s no use. Hearing her say that twists up my insides because I want to be perfect for her with a fierceness that, until Julie, has been reserved for football and football alone. But for the first time ever, I can see what my life might look like one day after football is over, and it looks just like her.
Too fast, Asher. Way too fast.
But it’s no use. This train has already left the station.
The elevator opens onto our floor, and with my arm around her waist, we walk down the hall. The hotel didn’t have any separate room available, so I booked adjoining rooms, which I’m grateful for now so I can hear Julie in case she gets sick in the middle of the night. Standing in front of our rooms, I dig around in my pocket and find her key, holding it against the door until I hear the lock disengage.
“Come on, Juliette. Time to get you into bed.”
“Good idea.” She walks into the room, and with a dramatic sigh, flops down on the bed and collapses backwards, her feet hanging off the side. I drop to one knee and take off the Converse she wore out tonight. You would think high-top Converse would be out of character for Julie, but somehow, they make perfect sense. Everything about her makes perfect sense to me. Setting aside her shoes I ask, “Where are your pajamas?”
She cracks open an eye and hits me with a sexy smirk. “You going to undress me, Asher?”
Lord give me strength .
“Not tonight, Juliette. Tonight, I’m going to get you your pajamas and make sure you’re hydrated before I tuck you into bed. So where are they?”
“Over there.” She gestures towards the big suitcase sitting on the luggage rack in the corner. On my way to the suitcase, I flip the lock and open the adjoining door. Then I unzip the suitcase and right on top is a matching pajama set—pants and a long-sleeve shirt covered in tiny pink hearts. I smile at them because she really does contain multitudes. I want to unravel every single one of her layers.
I grab one of her hands and pull her into a sitting position, handing her the pajamas. “Do you think you can get dressed by yourself?”
“I’m not that drunk. Just the right amount, right?” Without warning, she tears her shirt over her head, revealing a black lacy bra. It stands out against her creamy skin, and I can see the shadows of her nipples beneath the thin material. Julie. Half-naked. On a bed. Black lace.
Jesus take the wheel .
“Let me help you there.” As fast as I can, I grab the shirt and tug it over her head. Once she has her arms in, she reaches back and unhooks her bra, and in the sexiest fucking move I have ever seen, she somehow manages to pull it off her shoulders and slide it through one of the arms of her pajama shirt. Women really should be ruling the world .
I have to get out of this room and calm the hell down before she takes her pants off or it really might end me.
“Juliette, you okay to get your pants? I’m going to run to my room and grab you a bottle of water.”
“I’m a grown ass woman, pal. I can take my own pants off. But I really wish you would do it for me.” She mumbles that last part under her breath. I stifle a groan and run next door like my ass is on fire.
I grab the bottle of water I stashed in my backpack earlier today and take a few deep breaths to steady myself before unlocking the adjoining door on my side and walking back into her room. She’s already in bed, comforter pulled up to her chin and blonde hair spread out all over the pillow. She looks so cozy that my arms literally ache with the need to wrap her up and hold onto her all night. Approaching the bed, I sit on the side and look down at her. She gives me half a grin.
“You think you can sit up and drink some water? In the morning you’ll be glad you did.”
“You got it, Hot Shot.”
She sits up and downs half the bottle in one go before handing it back to me. Then, before I even have a chance to set the bottle on the nightstand, she leans forward and wraps her arms around my neck. Surprised by the move, it takes me a second before I respond by wrapping her up just like I wanted and pulling her close. She feels so good against me, and my insides are a tangle of emotion and arousal.
“Thanks, Asher,” she whispers into my ear.
“Thanks for what?”
“For tonight. It was fun. I never drink too much with anyone except for Hallie, Molly, and Emma, and sometimes Ben and his friends. I never feel comfortable being out of control. But I feel comfortable with you. Safe.”
I tighten my arms around her waist. I am steeped in warmth and emotion and fierce gratitude for whatever power made it so that I get to live on this earth at the same time as Julie Parker. That I was lucky enough to cross paths with her. To be here right now, in this moment, with her.
I drop my head and kiss the spot where her shoulder meets her neck.
“You’re always safe with me, Juliette.”
“I know,” she whispers back. And the fact that she does, that she gets it, feels like the biggest gift she could give me.
Untangling myself from her, I gently push her back until her head lays on the pillows.
“Sure you don’t want to join me here Hot Shot? It’s a really big bed.”
I stroke my hand over her hair, pushing it back from her face. “I want that more than anything, but the first time we share a bed, you’re going to choose it without drinking first, and you’re going to be clearheaded enough to remember every second of it.”
“Is that a promise?”
“You know it, Juliette. Now, where’s your phone? I’ll plug it in for you, so it’s charged in the morning.”
“In my bag.” She points to the bag she dropped on the floor before she hit the bed. I grab it and root around, not seeing a phone.
“You sure? I don’t see it.”
She grabs the bag and rifles through it before her head pops up. “Oh my god. I think I left it at the arcade. Remember I took it out when we were playing air hockey so I could have photographic evidence that I beat you again? I think I put it on the air hockey table before we played the last game and must have left it there.”
“No problem. It’s just a block away. I can run back and get it for you. ”
“You sure?”
“Absolutely sure.”
“You’re a good guy, Asher Hansley.”
“You make me want to be the best guy.” I lean down and kiss her forehead, pulling the covers up over her.
“That’s all I get?” She actually pouts, and if I didn’t want to lean over and kiss her so fiercely I would laugh.
“That’s it, baby. Like I said, the next time my lips are on yours, you’re going to choose it with a clear head.”
“That’s not the only thing I’m going to choose,” she mutters, snuggling further into the pillow.
I look at her for another few seconds and then hightail it back through the adjoining door, thinking that a cold shower might just be in order before I go get Julie’s phone.