“Best morning wake up call, ever.” I breathed, as I turned my head and smiled at him.
His bicep tensed as he raked a hand through his unruly morning hair. It was sexy as hell. “I have a date planned for us today and seeing you with only your panties on this morning drove me crazy.”
I giggled and buried my face in the pillow. “You’re the best.”
After a few minutes of catching our breath, we took a shower and got things ready to leave the house. He refused to tell me where we were going.
Two hours later, we pulled into a parking lot of a hiking area in the mountains. My mouth dropped as I looked to Asher.
“You used to love coming here with Luca and me.” He grinned. “Surprised?”
I leaned over and kissed his cheek. “Thank you, I love nature walks.”
He winked before he hopped out of his truck. “You will definitely love this one. I have a surprise for you once we reach our destination.”
I raised my eyebrows, jumped out of the truck and hoisted the backpack up. “Well, let’s go then!” I started walking toward the entrance of the trails with him behind me.
“Wait up,” he shouted, as he jogged up beside me. “I know you’re eager, but you don’t know which path we’re taking. You need me for that.”
I laughed and intertwined our fingers. “Let’s hold hands so we don’t lose each other, then.”
My lungs burst with fresh air, and I welcomed the heat of the sunlight that cascaded down on us. It took us about an hour to get to the special trail that supposedly leads us to our surprise destination.
He smirked and took the bottom of his t-shirt to wipe the sweat from his forehead. My mouth watered when I glanced at the abs underneath. I could honestly go for round two with him right now. “You ready?”
Our footfalls synced with our heartbeats as we began down the special trail. The mountain path widened where the soil was soft and became narrow in the rocky passes. Moss covered most of the rock on the sides of the path. There was no trace of civilization in the wilderness apart from the worn-out path.
As we drew closer, a steady rushing sound had increased until a beautiful waterfall came into view. The roar of the water was breathtaking, and I turned to look at Asher with a huge smile.
“Thank you for bringing me.”
He had been staring at me, his smile widened to show his perfect white teeth. “I know how much you love nature.”
“How’d I get so lucky?” I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him into a drawn-out kiss.
I broke our kiss and pulled the phone out of my backpack. “I have to take some photos. My class has been reading non-fiction books about habitats. They’d love to see this.” I unlocked my phone, brought up the camera and took a few photos.
He stole my phone, switched it to face view and stood where the waterfall was behind us. “Let’s take a picture together.”
I laughed as he grabbed me and smooshed our faces together. We were both smiling hard. I couldn’t help but swoon when he did stuff like this. I loved documenting our time together.
He placed the phone back in my bag, zipped it up and handed it back to me. “Now we have an official couple photo.”
I slung it on and shook my head. “You’re adorable.” I walked further down the trail.
“Wait…” He cupped my face. “Don’t walk away, not yet.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m in love with you and I have been for years.” His hazel eyes were hypnotizing me. I could never tire of hearing his sweet words.
I put my hands over his. “I love you, Asher.”
He leaned in, pressed his lips to mine, and the world melted away. The kiss was slow, soft and achingly sweet. The kiss proved his words of love. His hand rested below my ear, as his thumb caressed my cheek. Our breaths mingled. I ran my fingers across his back, pulled him closer until there was no space left between us and I felt the beating of his heart against my chest.
“I’m sorry,” he said, as he rested his forehead on mine.
“What on earth are you sorry for?”
“Not reaching out to you seven years ago.”
I smiled. “We’ll make up for the lost time.”
“What’s going on with the Jenkins girl?” Linda stopped me in the hallway and stared passively at her french-tip nails. Students maneuvered around us, heading to their buses or to pick up.
I shook my head. “I can’t say anything.”
The anger in her eyes blazed. “Like how you didn’t tell me about Asher?” It was as if she ran on malice instead of any form of pleasantness. Maybe she had a personality disorder the doctors hadn’t diagnosed. Either way, she had as much empathy as a sociopath.
I swallowed the negative words that almost came up. “Linda, we have a school policy. Confidentiality is still a thing concerning students.”
Her eyes rolled as she tossed her golden curls over her shoulder. “Since when do I care about policy?”
“Hopefully, that was a poor attempt at a joke, Ms. Shepherd.” Mr. Higgins stood behind her with his shoulders tense.
She whipped around with an apologetic smile. “O-Of course it was, sir. I actually have some paperwork to do.” She dipped her head and scurried down the hall.
“I don’t know what to do with her.” His head shook and his lips set into a grim line. “Anyway, care to come with me? Mr. Wells is already in my office. We have some more news about the case.”
I nodded and we walked to his office, saying hi to the students who still lingered in the halls. As I entered the office, Asher gave me a lopsided grin as I sat next to him.
Mr. Higgins rounded his desk and sat in his chair. “The court date is scheduled for next week and you are both permitted
