Unexpected

“I missed you so much it hurts, Ellie.” Asher's head falls, forehead meeting mine. He closes his eyes and takes a slow, steady breath.

I cradle his cheeks with my hands, feeling my pulse everywhere and say, “I dreamt of you, every night, Asher. I would wake up just as heartbroken as the day they took you away, desperate to fall asleep again because there I could hold you.” I press my mouth to his for a fraction of a second. “Kiss you.” My legs squeeze him tighter. “Feel you.”

His hands dig into my thighs and that burning pressure builds inside me again. I bite the corner of my lip and he chuckles.

“I dreamed of you too.”

A new emotion hits me, relief, and it’s so strong it brings tears to my eyes. I sniffle, refusing to let a single tear fall, and ask, “What’s the plan tonight? I know you better than to think you brought me to a hotel for sex without buying me dinner first.”

That last bit was a joke. Although, If I’m being completely honest with myself, I wouldn’t mind. A lifetime ago, he promised me an orgasm and has yet to deliver. My cheeks heat at the thought and he smiles, seeming to be thinking the same thing.

Asher lets my legs go and I stand, leaning against the car again. He takes my hand and we stroll across the parking lot towards the entrance of the hotel. “I rented the ballroom, thought I could make up for prom.” He stops walking, a frown falling across his face. “I never thought to ask. Did you go?”

I shake my head. “No. I could barely stand to look in the mirror, let alone face the senior class at that point.”

He smiles again, only this time it looks sad. He takes my other hand, facing me. “I couldn’t let you go to jail, Ellie. I know I didn’t handle

that mess the best, but I was trying to protect you.”

“I know,” I say, tears welling in my eyes. I wipe them away with my thumb before they can ruin my makeup. Damn it. I said I wouldn't cry.

“Aw, shit.” Asher pulls me into a hug. His strong arms wrap around me and I’ve never felt more at home. I love the way he kisses, but this… I missed this more than I can describe. “I’m fucking this up, aren’t I?”

I shake my head and look up into those perfect, purple eyes. “No. This is perfect.” I rise on my toes and press a chaste kiss to his lips. “We should go. I had big plans for tonight, and someone owes me a mind-blowing orgasm.”

Asher chuckles and takes my hand again. “Then I guess we’d better get started.”

Eight months later

“Jesus, woman.” Asher huffs, moving the last of my boxes into his two-bedroom condo. “How much stuff did you cram into your dorm room?”

I roll my eyes, ignoring his faux irritation, and rip the tape off a box labeled bedroom. Things between Asher and I have been like a dream. We picked up right where we left off, like jail and heartbreak never happened.

I grab the stack of books in the box and walk them over to my nightstand. “I thought I’d be in that room for four years. How was I supposed to know you’d come back into my life and make my wildest dreams come true?”

“Really?” Asher arches his eyebrows and shakes his head. He sneaks up behind me and wraps his arm around my waist, pulling us onto the bed. I squeal, falling on top of him, and then roll onto my side. Asher pushes the hair out of my face and smiles. “Is that all you dreamed about? Crappy take-out and mind-blowing sex?”

I bite my lip and shrug. “I’m nineteen. What else should I be thinking about?”

Asher looks at me with an intensity that makes me shiver. That worry line appears between his brows again and my stomach twists. I push up onto my elbow and ask, “What’s wrong?”

He blows out a breath then climbs out of bed. He walks out of the room, without a word, leaving me to wonder, What the hell just happened?

I sit there, my heart ravaging my rib cage. My brain is racing a million miles a minute, asking questions I don’t want the answer to. Are we moving too fast? Is he having second thoughts?

Asher comes back into the room a few minutes later, hands in his pockets. He stops at the edge of the bed and stares at me. I sit up fully, waiting for the ax to fall and for him to say he’s changed his mind. But he just stares.

“Asher, you’re scaring me,” I manage to whisper. “What’s wrong?”

He sits on the bed beside me and takes my hand. He’s shaking. I put my other hand on top of his and wait. Finally, he says, “Marry me, El.”

I blink, too stunned to speak for a second. Marry him? He wants me to marry him? I let out a laugh, relieved. “I thought you were going to tell me you weren’t ready to live together.”

He shakes his head and pulls a small, velvet box from his pants pocket. The air in my lungs vanishes, my chest tightening as he lifts the lid. A white gold, solitaire diamond stares at me. Waiting for an answer.

“Not right now,” he insists. “But after we graduate.”

“Asher,” I say, breathlessly. I look up at him, happy tears welling in my eyes. “Yes.”