“What do I do?”
He pulled away and cupped my face. “There’s nothing you can do but support her and let her know she has a way out.”
I gulped. “You’re right. I wish I could help more.”
“I love your empathy.” He pressed his lips to mine and I felt the tension leave my body.
“Keep doing that,” I mumbled against his lips.
He hoisted me up, and I wrapped my legs around him. “As you wish.”
The rest of the night, Asher helped me forget about everything for a while. It was just me and him. I couldn’t fathom how I went so long not being in his arms.
Asher and I once again sat in Mr. Higgins’ stuffy office. For an awesome man, he sure did have poor taste in decor. He called me to his office and sent Linda in to cover my class in the middle of our poetry lesson. I shifted in my seat as Asher bounced his leg up and down.
“It’s been a little over a month since you both testified with Rosie’s case.” He grabbed an envelope and pushed it over to us. “I’m thrilled to tell you that Rosie won her case.”
Asher grabbed it, and he opened it up to reveal a letter stating the favorable verdict.
I placed a hand on my chest. “Thank God.”
“Both of your testimonies helped, but there was a lot of unarguable evidence.” He paused at the knock on his door. “Excuse me.” He went over to open the door.
I smiled at Asher who smiled back.
“Ms. Reed! Mr. Wells!” Rosie ran over to greet us.
I turned toward the door and saw her parents standing there. “Thank you both for your involvement in this.”
I got up and shook both of their hands. “Please don’t thank me, I’d do anything for Rosie.”
They smiled and shook Asher’s hand. “Rosie’s such a sweet girl. We would do anything to help her,” he said.
“Mom, can I go to class with Ms. Reed?” Rosie’s face was brimming with excitement.
She shook her head. “I’d rather you hang out with me for the rest of the week, okay?”
She pouted her lip and nodded. “Yeah, okay.”
“But you’ll be back on Monday!” I patted her shoulder and she shot me a big toothy smile.
“Thank you again. Both of you,” Ben said.
After we spoke with Rosie’s parents, Mr. Higgins dismissed us to go back to work. Asher walked with me to my classroom.
“I can’t tell you how relieved I am,” I said.
He raked a hand through his hair. “I am too. Poor girl didn’t need to go through all of the legalities.”
I shook my head as we made it to my classroom. “No, she didn’t.”
“I’ll see you after school.” He winked and walked down the hall.
I opened the door to see my students watching some documentary as Linda sat on her phone at my desk.
She jumped up, stuffing her phone in her pocket and scrambling over to me. “I had no idea what you were teaching so I put on something about animals.”
I took a deep breath. “Linda, you’re an RTI teacher. You should know about persuasive writing.”
She shrugged. “I didn’t have time to look it over.”
“This is reading and writing, not science. They aren’t getting anything out of watching this.” I gestured toward the board where a documentary about lions played.
She huffed, turned away from me and walked out the door.
I scowled, turned on the lights and shut off my projector.
“I have some exciting news for you guys before we head to lunch.” I walked back in front of the class.
Their heads popped up as they squirmed in their seats, a good sign that they were listening.
“Rosie will be back on Monday.” I grinned as they started chatting and hollering in excitement. “Alright, save that excitement for Monday! Let’s get in line and head to lunch.”
I was thankful for the friendships that Rosie made in her class. She needed to have support when she came back. It had been a couple of months since she left school so I knew it would be an adjustment for her.
Asher and I were snuggled up on his king-size bed, with his comforter laying over us. We celebrated Rosie’s win by eating pizza and watching movies. These were the kind of nights I lived for.
My phone vibrated on the nightstand for the tenth time in an hour.
I groaned and answered it. It was the same unknown number from the nine other calls.
“Why aren’t you answering my calls?” Preston’s voice came through.
“I blocked your old number for a reason.” I pressed the speaker button and Asher rolled his eyes.
“You really fucked me over with that case.”
“I don’t care if I did!” Anger surged through me. “You should not be representing a child molester. That piece of shit got what he deserved.”
“Those types of nasty cases are exactly how I bought your engagement ring.” His voice was gruff.
A shiver went through me. “Good thing I threw that thing at you. I’d never condone something like that.”
“Why would you testify against me like that and fuck with my career?”
My mouth dropped. “I don’t care about your career. I care about Rosie.”
“Oh, get the fuck off your high horse.”
Asher snatched the phone out of my hand. “Watch how you speak to her, you slimy fuck. She never deserved any of the shit you put her through. You need to leave her alone. You fucked up big time. A woman like her comes around once in a lifetime and now she’s mine, forever. Lose her number, prick.” He hit the end button and reached over me to sit the phone down.
“Thank you.” I caressed his cheek and pulled him down so his lips met mine.
He kissed me with dominance before he pulled back. “He needs to leave you alone.”
“Hopefully, he will now.” I peppered kisses down his neck.
He grunted. “That feels so good.”
I smirked. “I can make you feel even better.”
“I dare you to try.” He teased me before he captured me in another searing kiss that
