Unexpected

“Well, that’s a relief.”

It’s not. Bees buzz inside me, creating an almost painful unease. I thought I was worried about how Asher would act around me today. Worried that he may try to kiss me again because I opened that door. I thought I was nervous to see how Liam would react to me after everything that happened yesterday. Turns out, those nerves are competing with the disappointment of Asher not being at school today.

“Miss me?”

I look up from the beef stroganoff I’ve yet to touch, unable to fight the smile that lifts my lips. I don’t want to be excited to see Asher. We aren’t friends, more like forced acquaintances, but the bees transcending into butterflies inside me don’t seem to know this.

“I didn’t think you were coming today. Your bike wasn’t out front.”

Asher tucks his long legs under the bench and sits across from me. He twists the cap off his water, swallows, then pops a stick of gum in his mouth. “Had some shit to deal with at home, but I’m here now. Isn’t that what counts?”

“Just so we’re on the same page, there will not be a repeat of yesterday,” I warn. “If that’s what you’re looking for, then you might as well leave.”

I’ve thought about the way Liam reacted to seeing Asher and me together all morning. As mad as Liam was, I think I can fix things between us if I cut all ties with Asher. Easy enough, considering we don’t have that many ties to begin with, but I don’t want to go back to what Liam and I were. I want to transcend into what we should have been all along—a real couple—and I don’t think that’s possible unless I make Liam change the way he sees me.

Asher’s brows knit together. “Ellie, what are you talking about?”

“The kiss,” I whisper.

He laughs, really laughs, and my heart soars. I haven’t heard Asher this carefree since we were kids. There’s nothing behind the sound except pure amusement. No hints of judgment, or ulterior motives, or wicked scheming. He leans his elbows on the table and glances at the apple on my tray. “You gonna eat that?”

I shake my head. Asher stretches out his long arm and takes the fruit. His breath wafts across the table, and I catch the distinct smell of beer lingering under mint. My smile falls, my mood souring with concern. “Are you drunk?”

Asher takes a bite and wipes away the juice that drips down his chin. “No, beautiful, not drunk.”

My brows furrow as I take in his disheveled appearance. Messy hair. Wrinkled shirt. Asher wears the rugged bad boy look well. Today, however, he’s teetering on hobo. “But you have been drinking.”

Asher groans and tosses the half-eaten apple back onto my tray. “Let it go, El.”

“Asher!” I whisper-yell. “It's eleven-thirty! What the hell is wrong with you?”

“Aw.” He covers his heart with his hands and juts his bottom lip out like a lovesick cartoon character. “You care.”

I roll my eyes. He’s so frustrating. I can’t believe I thought for a fraction of a second yesterday that he was cute. I’m pleading temporary insanity. Asher is not cute. He’s annoying. “Rumors are spreading that I’m your girlfriend. I never agreed to that.”

Asher flashes a cocky grin that says he’s convinced I'm going to give in. I may. Might. In all likelihood, I’ll probably agree to the fake girlfriend thing, but I'm not going to make things easy.

“Pretty sure you agreed when you kissed me yesterday. Or have you forgotten?” he asks.

Of course I haven’t forgotten. I’ve only kissed two people in my entire life! I roll my eyes and pretend he doesn’t get under my skin. I’m not even sure I should count yesterday as a kiss. Without tongue, it was more like our mouths hugged for two-point-five seconds. “Was I supposed to dream about it all night? It was a kiss, not some mind-blowing orgasm.”

“I can give you one of those if you’d like.” Asher wiggles his eyebrows and licks his lips.

My cheeks heat. Liam and I have been fooling around for years, but I can’t say with certainty I’ve ever reached the big O. However, that doesn’t mean I’m ready to jump feet first into bed with Asher. Even if he could make that happen.

“Hard pass.” I glance around the cafeteria for Liam. I am sitting at our usual table today, hoping to mend the bridge I demolished yesterday. “You need to leave and put a stop to these rumors before it’s too late.”

“Why do you have to be so difficult?” Asher groans. “Why can’t you be like ‘thanks for having my back’?” He pauses, expecting me to thank him. When I don’t, he grunts and adds, “Liam has never done anything for you. Hell, he’s the reason half of the school thinks you’re a slut. Me,” Asher taps his chest with one finger, “I beat the shit out of the kids who were placing bets on how quickly you’d spread your legs for them. I saved you from a hell you didn’t even know was coming by making you mine.”

“Wait, what?” People are taking bets on me? Does Liam know? Is he doing anything to stop it? My stomach churns. Based on how things went down yesterday, both with the cafeteria and with the whispers, I’d say no.

“Just fucking forget it. I should have known you’d pick him,” Asher mumbles. He shakes his head and pushes up from the table.

“Trouble in paradise?” Liam gloats as he approaches. His smug smile is aggravating. I get that he may not like seeing Asher and me together, but as my friend, he should want to see me happy, even if the happiness is fake. Not find my discord amusing.

“No,” Asher growls at the same time I say, “Yes.”

Liam’s temperament changes. That smile I was just complaining about, it falls faster than a tower of cards on a windy day. He puffs his chest and shoves Asher back a step. “Did you hurt her?”