Chapter 22 Asher
Asher
Full of beauty, grace and wonder
I knew today was going to be hard for Bri, so I knew I needed to do something.
I called Avery earlier this morning to see if I could pick up her spare key so I could surprise Bri when she gets home.
Of course, Avery wanted every single detail before she agreed to anything.
Once I laid out my entire plan, she burst into tears, gushing at how sweet it was.
Avery also filled me in on other things Bri likes to do when she wants to relax.
After picking up the key from Avery and Cas’ house, I went to a few stores to gather everything I needed.
I was setting everything up and making sure everything was in its place when I texted Bri about therapy and where she was going.
I needed to pick her up. I knew she would need some support, so it was a no-brainer for me to be there.
Bri and I pull up to her house, and I bring out the blindfold from the lingerie store and hand it to her. I get out of the driver's side so that I can help her from the car to her house.
“Why am I wearing this thing again?” she huffs.
“Patience, bear. You'll find out soon enough.” We walk to the house slowly so that she doesn’t trip over anything.
“Wait, don’t you need my key?”
“Nope, I have Avery’s spare.”
“Avery? What does she have to do with this?”
“You’ll see.” The key slips into the lock and the door creaks open. I bring her into the living room where everything is set up. My heart is beating as fast as a hummingbird’s wings inside my chest. Everything has to go perfectly.
“Okay, you can take it off now.” I hold my breath the entire time it takes her to slip the fabric from her eyes. Bri gasps while her eyes ping pong around the room.
“What…What did you do? How? Why?” Her questions come out in a rapid fire, and I know I did good.
“You did a hard thing today. Well, you’ve been doing hard things for months, and you deserve to have a self-care day.
I called Avery about my plan so that I could use the spare you gave her, and she gave me all the insight I needed.
As for why? I wanted to give you everything so I can pamper you.
So, that’s what I’m going to do.” I press a soft kiss to her shoulder before giving her a little push to go explore.
Bri walks to the coffee table that’s decorated with all her favorite snacks: sour gummy worms, mustard flavored pretzels, Reese’s, and Twix.
Rose petals and LED tea lights decorate the entire space, bathing the room in intimate lighting.
And a self-care day wouldn’t be complete without two face masks, something Avery told me that she loves to do.
In the middle of the table is a single rose with a note attached to it.
Brianna,
You remind me of this flower. Full of beauty, grace, and wonder.
Your light shines brighter than any woman I’ve ever met.
But I know sometimes it’s hard to shine when all you feel is darkness.
So let me be your guiding light through your darkest of storms. Anytime you can’t see how beautiful you are, I’ll be there to tell you how incredible you are.
And if you just can’t see the light, then I’ll sit with you in the dark, because wherever you are is where I want to be.
Yours, Asher
Bri’s head is in her hands and she’s sobbing. Fuck, I messed up. Maybe the letter was too much? Shit.
“Bri I’m—” But she throws her arms around me, causing me to stumble.
“I love it. Thank you, Asher.”
“You’re welcome. Why don’t you go and check everything out?
I have to do one more thing.” I playfully swat her ass before heading upstairs to draw her a bath.
I have a bucket of sparkling wine on ice, a bag of leftover petals, and her favorite bath salts.
Avery informed me that Bri likes her bath scalding hot, so once the tub is filled about halfway, I sprinkle the salts in.
I stop the faucet when the water is three quarters full and sprinkle in the remaining rose petals.
I place some chocolate, red grapes, two wineglasses—in case she wants me to join—and some more tea lights on a wooden bath tray.
The bucket of sparkling wine with a wine opener sits right next to the tub, and I go ahead and get two white, fuzzy robes and slippers to put on after the bath.
I step back to admire my work, tweaking things here and there. When I’m fully satisfied, I head downstairs to grab Bri. I enter the living room to see Bri sniffing the flower and rereading my note. Her skin glows in the soft lighting; she’ll look even more amazing in the tub.
“Bri, I need you to come with me. You don’t have to wear the blindfold, but I need you to close your eyes for me, love.”
Bri gasps her surprise when I pick her up bridal style and carry her up the stairs. I made sure to dim the bathroom lights before I went to grab Bri.
“Where are we going?” Bri asks. My girl is impatient sometimes.
I lean down to place her back on her feet, her hands still interlocked behind my neck before I whisper in her ear, “We’re here. Open your eyes.”
Bri takes in the surroundings with a hand to her throat. “I—" She’s at a loss for words. Exactly what I wanted.
“You did all this?” She turns toward me with a glassy look in her molten eyes. “For me?” The words fall from her plush lips like a prayer.
“I did. I heard that you happen to love baths. So, I figured I’d set one up for you. It has some more of your favorite snacks and some sparkling wine. I even put the lavender bath salts you love so much.” I kiss her on top of her head before pointing to the door where the robes are.
“There are robes and slippers over there, and the water is hot enough to burn a layer of skin off. Enjoy.” I lean in for a quick kiss before walking out. I don’t get very far before her hand grabs my arm, stopping me.
“You wanna join me?”
I can’t help the smirk that stretches across my face. “I thought you’d never ask.”
This is the first time I’m seeing her fully naked, so I just sit back and admire her while she undresses. Fuck. Her body is ridiculous. Bri looks over her shoulder and winks at me.
“You gonna bathe in your clothes?”
I remove my clothes as quickly as humanly possible before stepping into her whirlpool tub. The second I sink my body into the water, I’m reaching for Bri’s hand to pull her in. She wiggles around in an attempt to situate herself, which means she’s rubbing against my hard cock.
My arm shoots around her stomach to hold her in place. “If you keep moving like that, water will end up everywhere because I’ll be fucking you in the tub. Sit still.” I groan when she wiggles a few more times.
“Would that be so bad?” Her fingers trace patterns across my forearms, and I can imagine the sultry look on her face.
“Normally I’d say no. But this isn’t about that.
Wine?” I make a grab for the bottle, and just as I’m about to pour it into the glasses I had set out, Bri is putting said glasses on the floor.
As soon as the cork is free, Bri is making a grab for the bottle and chugging it like a champ. God, I love this woman.
“My kind of woman. My turn.” I grab the bottle and take a long pull, feeling the bubbles slide down my throat.
“Can we try something? I’ve read about it in books, and I’ve been meaning to try it.” Bri’s words carry a hint of hesitation. She doesn’t understand that I’ll do and try anything she asks.
“Now I’m even more curious. What are you thinking?” Of all the things she could ask, I wasn’t expecting this.
“Can you take a drink of the wine and spit it into my mouth? It’s always so hot in books, and I want to see if I like it in real life.” My brain needs to send a message to my throbbing cock to chill the fuck out.
I clear my throat before answering, “Uh, yeah, we can do that. Turn around and sit back on your heels.” She’s about to obey like the good girl she is when I stop her so I can remove the bath tray. Once that’s done, she gets into position, and I hover over her on my knees.
I grab her throat and tilt it up toward me. “Open wide, baby.” She does as I ask and I take a short pull from the bottle before leaning down and spitting it down her open throat. Bri gags a bit, but swallows like the good girl she is.
“Did that live up to the hype?” I know it did for me.
“Mmhmm. Thank you.” She kisses my stomach before returning to her previous position. Water sloshes over the edge as I readjust my position and pull her into my arms. Both of us are content cuddling each other while eating the snacks and polishing off the bottle.
“Hey, bear?” I’ve been curious about something for a few weeks now. I’m not sure how she’ll react. Will she get mad? Will she tell me the truth or flat out lie?
“Yes?”
“I’m curious about something. But before I ask the question, I want you to know you don’t have to answer.”
“Okay…” Bri sounds skeptical. I mean, I don’t blame her. I would be, too.
“Have you gone to see Max at all since everything happened? Every time I go, he asks about you, so I’m just curious.” I can feel her whole body tense, so I place the bottle on the floor and massage her shoulders, allowing her to melt into my touch.
“I haven’t, actually. I haven’t seen my parents, either.” Bri sounds so heartbroken, so I press a soft kiss on her shoulder. I remain silent in case she wants to continue—which she does.
“I just feel bad for everything that happened. I feel like they hate me, like I let them down. I’m having a hard time facing them on my own.”
“It breaks my heart knowing you feel like you’re a disappointment. Would it help if I went with you to visit them? That way you have support if things—and that’s a big if—go south?”
“But I don’t want to drag you down with me.” She sounds so small, almost childlike. I tilt her chin to meet my gaze.
“You wouldn’t be dragging me down. Everyone needs support, and I’d be honored to be yours. So, if you’ll have me, I’d love to help you overcome this next hurdle.”
“Yes. I would.” Bri’s eyes shine with gratitude. Those three words sit on the tip of my tongue, but I bite them down. Not yet.
“You tell me when, and I’ll be there.” The once-hot water grows tepid, chilling out our bodies, so we pull the drain plug and put on our robes and slippers.
We head downstairs to put on green, gooey face masks while gorging on snacks and watching Where The Heart Is—a personal fave of hers.
I love having her in my arms. I could spend hours just cuddling with her.
“Hey, Asher?” Bri asks after pressing pause on the movie.
“Yeah?”
“I, um, want your help with something.”
“Anything.”
“Can you, um…Can you help me be more comfortable with driving? I don’t want to keep relying on you or Ubers all the time.
If I want to take back my life, I need to get over this fear of driving.
” My throat feels tight with so many emotions.
Her vulnerability is a beautiful thing to watch.
I turn her face to meet mine and place a kiss to her lips—face mask be damned.
“I would be honored to help you, thank you for trusting me with this.”
“Thank you.” Bri snuggles deeper into my arms as she plays the movie. We are halfway into the movie when I notice Bri’s eyes become heavy and her breathing has slowed down.
“It’s time for bed. Go upstairs and get ready while I clean everything up down here. I’ll just let myself out when I’m done.”
“Can you stay?”
“Is that what you want?”
“It’s what I need.”
“Then I’ll stay. Go on up, I’ll be there shortly.”
Bri is halfway up the stairs when she turns around. “I’m glad you’re in my life. It feels worth living again, like loving me is…” She swallows, tearing her eyes from mine. “Like loving me is easy.”
Bri locks eyes with me before whispering words that would bring any man to his knees. “Thank you for being my person. For helping me see my worth apart from the shape of my body.” Bri smiles at me before walking the rest of the way up the stairs.
Thank you for being my person. I clutch my chest, and my heart feels full. You’re my person, too, Bri. Everything is put in its place in no time, and I all but run up the stairs.
After I wash off my mask, I head to the bedroom to find Bri already passed out, snoring softly, so I slip in carefully behind her, pulling her back to my front.
I’m so glad she asked me to stay. I never want to wake up alone anymore.
Once you wake up beside the love of your life, the loneliness of sleeping alone is ten times louder.