The one to Asher.
Me: Do you ever think about me?
I could feel the pulse in my temples as I stared at the screen. “Mags! How can I face him tomorrow at school? I can’t use a sick day.” My bottom lip quivered.
She waved me away. “Just wait until he—”
The ding of my phone cut her off. Mags and Eve were on both sides of me as I opened the text from Asher.
Asher: All the fucking time. I never stopped. I will pick you up tomorrow morning. We still need to talk.
Squeals erupted from both sides of me, and from me as well. My heart hammered in my chest, and butterflies filled my stomach.
“Told ya, honey!” Mags did a victory dance, and Eve clapped her hands violently.
I covered my face in my hands and threw myself back on the floor. I felt like a teenage girl again.
Asher still thought about me.
I yanked open Asher’s passenger side door and crawled into the seat.
“Need some help there?” he asked, with a bemused smile overtaking his features.
I shook my head. My cheeks heated up, as a feeling of embarrassment invaded me. “I can do it.” I sat in the seat and shut the door. I stared at everything in the truck aside from him.
Asher’s thumb stroked my cheek. I stiffened. He always got so close without me noticing. “What’s wrong? You look like you’ve been crying.”
I didn’t dare move a muscle. His thumb against my cheek spread warmth through my body that I hadn’t felt in years. “Mags and Eve came over last night and we got a little carried away with the wine,” I breathed out.
He pulled away and put his hand on the gear shift before backing out of the drive. “Mags and Eve were over? What about your fiance?”
I sighed and fiddled with the ends of my hair. “We had an argument and he left. I haven’t spoken to him since.”
“I don’t like him.” He scrunched up his nose, a small action that pulled at my heartstrings.
I bit my cheek to contain the smile that so badly wanted to escape. “He doesn’t like you either.”
Asher laughed. “Is that so? I guess you could say that I got under his skin, then?”
I blew out air. “Yeah, I think you did.”
“Why do you think that?” He glanced over with a smirk. “I think it’s because he saw the undeniable chemistry that still lingers between us.”
My lips tugged upward. I hated how good that comment made me feel. I knew I had to stop it but he always knew how to make me smile. “I had my car towed to a shop in town. I’ll know what’s wrong with it by lunch. Thank you for taking me to work.”
His eyebrows raised before he shot me a grin. “It’s alright. Don’t mind one bit.”
I leaned my head against the seat and closed my eyes. I sighed in relief, the medicine I took for the hangover was finally starting to work.
“About that message last night.” He paused. “I think it’s only fair if you answer the same question.”
“In all fairness, Mags texted you that. Not me.” I parted my eyelids to glance at him.
His jaw tensed. “Is that so?”
I nodded.
“Doesn’t matter. I answered. Do you ever think of me?” His eyes didn’t stray from the road.
My chest constricted as my eyes shut again. “All the fucking time, but it isn’t right.”
It felt like I was betraying Preston with that answer and it made me feel awful. Preston may have his flaws but he didn’t deserve this.
After a few minutes of silence between us, the truck came to a stop. I slipped the seatbelt off and got out. The autumn wind swirled around me, making my brown hair whip around freely. I walked to the entrance of the school with Asher beside me.
“Why did you change your major?” I asked. He had been so dead set on law school.
“That profession was filled with douchebags. They were a bunch of entitled assholes who thought they were better than everyone else. I hated it.” The words hissed through his teeth.
I blinked. “I’m sorry.”
I was sorry. I knew that those people were exactly as he said. My dad was one of them. Hell, my fiance was too. But even though I knew all that, it hurt my heart that he had learned that first hand. Especially when he was so passionate about the career.
He reached in front of me to pull open the glass door. “I’m not.” He held the door open so I could walk through. “I ended up in the right place.”
We entered through the front office and said hi to Mrs. Fields, the secretary. We walked in silence down the hallway. Asher scratched the back of his head once we reached my classroom door.
I smiled. “I’ll let you know about the car once I find out.”
He nodded. “I’ll see you at lunch.”
“See you,” I mumbled and unlocked my classroom door. As I walked through, I turned on the lights and SmartBoard. I ambled over to my desk to sort through some papers and pull out the lesson plans.
My door opened and Linda strolled into the classroom. Her hair was up in a tight bun and a pink dress hung just above her knees. Glasses sat on top of her nose and she glowered at me through them.
I sighed, grabbed my graded papers and placed them into the pass backs bin. “What now?”
Her lips pursed. “Aren’t you engaged to a hot ass lawyer?”
I leveled my eyes. “I am engaged to Preston, yes. You know that.”
“Are you sure Asher knows that?” she asked.
I pinched the bridge of my nose. A sense of irritation began to fill me. “Of course he knows. He met Preston last night when he dropped me off at home. My car is in the
