Chapter 17
17
SUMMER
Frustration simmered in my gut as I tried to make polite small talk with my drunk brother and his even drunker date. I’d been so close to kissing Asher.
So. Close.
Our mouths had literally been inches apart. But Toby had to interrupt. It wasn’t even as if he’d done it maliciously. He’d never done an ill-intentioned thing in his life. He was a freaking golden retriever of a person. But that didn’t make me want to shout at him any less.
For years, I’d been pining for Asher, and this was the closest I’d ever gotten to kissing him. Why couldn’t the universe let me have what I wanted for once? Instead, I got to chat with Toby and Winita until they decided they’d rather make out on the chair beside me.
Sighing, I got up and went to find Asher. I doubted I could re-initiate the kiss, but maybe I could salvage something. After all, the chemistry between us earlier had been intense. I couldn’t have been the only one who’d felt it.
Unfortunately, there was no sign of Asher anywhere. He wasn’t dancing, and the seat he’d occupied earlier, beside Liam, was empty. My heart skipped. Surely he wouldn’t have left.
I walked over and dropped onto Asher’s empty chair.
“Where’s Ash?” I asked Liam. “Did he go home already?”
Liam shook his head. “He went to get a drink a while ago and then went inside. Maybe he needed to use the bathroom.”
“Thanks.”
I got up again and picked my way across the yard to the house, around partygoers and discarded beer bottles. I waved to Grace and Kennedy as I passed them by and stepped over the threshold into the house.
The living area was dark, but light from the hall provided enough illumination for me to cross the room unhindered. For a moment, I wondered what I was doing. I shouldn’t bother Asher on the toilet. What was wrong with me?
Perhaps I’d just make sure that’s where he was. Otherwise, I’d worry that I’d frightened him away from the party. I hated the thought of that.
The music from outside grew fainter as I paced down the hall to the bathroom door. It stood open, and no one was inside. So much for that theory. I took the stairs to my old bedroom, where I’d left my phone when I got changed. I quickly typed a message.
Summer: Where are you?
I sat on the edge of the bed and waited for a reply. When none came after several minutes, I hit the “Call” button. A muted melody came from somewhere below me. I jolted to my feet and rushed down the stairs again. I followed the sound along the hall and into the first bedroom—Max’s old room.
Hesitantly, I pushed the door open and peered inside. The call stopped, but I’d already spotted Asher. He lay sprawled face down on the bed, his feet hanging off the end. My gut clenched. The fact his phone hadn’t woken him concerned me.
I tiptoed over to him and shook his shoulder gently. “Ash? Are you okay?”
His face tilted toward me, and his eyelashes fluttered but didn’t open.
“Come on.” I shook him more firmly. “Look at me.”
“Sum-ma?” he slurred, his eyes forming slits for all of a second before they closed again. “Is ’at you?”
I sat beside him. “How much did you have to drink?”
He didn’t reply. I frowned. It hadn’t been that long since we’d been dancing, and he’d been reasonably sober then—or at least, he’d seemed that way.
“Ash.” I jostled him again. “What did you drink?”
“Jus’ some beer.” With a grunt of effort, he pushed himself into a semi-upright position. His eyes opened, but didn’t seem able to focus, and every few seconds, they closed again, and he struggled to reopen them.
“You’re pretty, Sum-ma. Can I…” He trailed off, his eyes shutting, but then jolted awake again. “Wanna kiss?”
My heart flipped over. I stared at him, unsure how to feel. On the one hand, I’d been waiting forever for him to tell me I was pretty and ask for a kiss, but on the other, he was clearly drunk, and that cheapened the moment.
Anger flashed through me, hot and sharp, that he’d ruin such a special memory, but it quickly dissipated. He was in no shape to be held accountable for anything.
“Kiss?” he repeated.
“No.” I guided him back into a horizontal position and adjusted the pillow to make sure he could breathe properly. “I want you, but only when you’re fully conscious.”
“I know wha’ I…” He drifted off into sleep.
Worry knotted my insides. I stood and hurried outside, back across the deck and the yard until I reached Max, who was sitting with Liam.
“Asher is passed out in your old bedroom. I think he’s just drunk, but would you check him for me?”
“Sure. No problem.” He pushed off from the chair and followed me inside. Liam came too, but fortunately, our parents didn’t notice us or else the entire Braddock family would be hovering over Asher the next time he woke.
In the bedroom, Max turned the overhead light on and knelt beside the bed. He roused Asher and tried to ask a few basic questions with little success. He peeled Asher’s eyelids back and checked his eyes, then sniffed and scanned our surroundings.
“Has he been sick?” he asked.
“Not that I’m aware of. It’s possible he was sick in the bathroom earlier but there’s no sign of vomit in there.”
“Liam?” he asked.
“He wasn’t sick outside either,” Liam confirmed.
Max sat back on his heels. “I don’t think there’s any reason to worry. Most likely he just had a few too many. As long as he doesn’t get feverish or choke on his vomit, he should be fine.”
“I’ll sit with him,” I said.
Both of my brothers turned toward me.
“It’s your birthday,” Liam said. “Surely you’d rather be outside with your friends. I can stay here.”
“No.” My heart thumped erratically. I didn’t want to leave Asher. Not until I knew he was okay. “I’ll stay.”