Did she mean to do that?
Did she fall on me? Lips first?
Am I higher than I thought?
Wait. What just happened?
Chapter Sixteen
Ally
I can’t breathe.
Oh my God.
Holy shit.
I just did that.
I just kissed Asher Brooks. My best friend. The dude I’ve been in love with for so long I can’t even fathom why the fuck I waited so long to do that.
Oh my God. It was… It was… It was everything.
I hold my lips with my hands because I almost feel like they may fall off and die from the perfection they just felt and witnessed. I can still feel his tongue against mine. He deepened that kiss with a quickness I’ve never experienced. I can still feel his hands at my waist and the way his lashes kissed my cheeks.
I did not plan that. I wasn’t expecting to grow the balls and take what I wanted. I also wasn’t expecting to be so overwhelmed by his actions when he saw Taco grab me. Asher isn’t a fighter, but he fought for me. Me. I know that I would fight for him—shit, I’d kill for him—but that’s because I love him. With my whole heart. I never expected him to do it for me. I never really thought he’d have to, but he did.
For me. That has to mean something.
Even with the craziness of his family, I can still feel him on my lips. I hear his words, see the compassion in his eyes. When his fingers moved along my cheek, catching my tears, I didn’t care if we were only supposed to be friends. I wanted more. I wanted him. My heart is pounding, my stomach is fluttering like crazy, and holy shit, that really just happened.
And I want more. So much more.
I turn to see him hold up his hands and announce, “All of you—and I mean this—get one pirate joke a day!”
Fallon looks him over as Emery stands beside her, inspecting and holding back her laughter. “Nope. I can’t commit to only one joke a day. It’s going to be at least ten an hour,” she says as she squints at him. “Who did you get in a fight with, and why?”
Asher glares at her as he answers. “That idiot Ally was dating because he had her by her throat.”
Then everyone looks at me. I grimace. “Yeah, I know. I’m dumb.”
“You’re so much better than him!” Fallon yells at me, and I nod. “You’re lucky you have a great friend who will protect you.”
I move my attention to Asher, but Lucas is looking at him. “Man, how’s the other guy look?”
Aiden scoffs. “Like roadkill. Asher got him good, and the only reason he’s a pirate right now is because the dude was wearing a ring.”
Lucas smacks Asher on the back. “That’s my boy.”
“Lucas!” Fallon exclaims.
“What? He stood up for his friend. He’s a hero. Be proud of him!”
“But he could have lost his eye.”
Lucas shrugs. “Yes, but he looks dashing with the patch.”
“Dad, be real. He looks like a wannabe Jack Sparrow,” Stella says dryly as she looks him over.
“Hopefully his audition tape for that gets lost with the one for Fast and Furious,” Emery says, shaking her head, and I snort.
Asher glares. With one eye. “Guys, I’m good. Can someone get these girls out of here?”
They both feign hurt. “We came to support you and make sure you’re okay, Bootstrap Ash. Be nice,” Emery teases, and then she snorts. “Ha! How will Asher communicate with his other pirate friends?”
Stella grins. “How?”
“Aye to aye!” she announces in her best pirate voice. Asher is not impressed. My side hurts from laughing. Poor Fallon and Lucas are trying not to laugh, while Aiden is lying across the bed cackling. “I got another one! If Asher were a pirate in college, what grades would he get?”
Asher is going to lose his shit. Emery, she doesn’t care. “High seas!”
No one can contain their laughter—well, except Asher. “Chuckle it up, chuckles.”
Oh, she does. She holds up her palms to him, snorting and choking on her laughter. “One more, one more.”
“Can I be discharged?” Asher yells, but Emery is louder.
“It’s really going to be hard to get Asher on the phone now that he’s a pirate.”
Emery looks at us, and Fallon asks, “Why?”
“You know, because he’ll leave it…off the hook!”
The laughter in the room is abundant as Asher hits the nurse button continuously. “Yeah, all of you laugh. What a family I have,” he complains, but it’s too funny to ignore.
I do feel bad, though. He did become a pirate for me. I reach out, squeezing his shoulder, and heat runs up my arm. I think he feels it too because he looks up at me, his eye dark and hooded. My breath catches as my lips part, and his eye locks with mine. I don’t know what to say, but I sure as hell want to kiss him again. I can’t in front of the peanut gallery, though, not until I know what he is thinking. I really wish I knew what he was thinking.
The doctor comes into the room then, stealing Asher’s attention. “All right, you are discharged, Mr. Brooks,” he says, handing him some papers. “You’re not allowed to drive until that patch comes off. Take your meds and make sure to go to your appointment. Can someone take you home?”
I go to volunteer, but Fallon beats me to it. “Yes, he’ll come home with us.”
“Wait, what? No, I’m good!” Asher tries, but Lucas takes him by the shoulder with a stern look on his face. “No, son, you’ll come home. We gotta make sure you don’t walk the plank.”
I press my lips together as the room explodes with laughter. Emery and Lucas high-five, and I notice even the doctor is laughing. Aiden is on the floor, laughing, and Asher, bless him, but he is livid. “Can I be admitted?”
The doctor laughs as he shakes his head. “Nope. But you can leave—and take these people with you. They’re loud.”
“Exactly. Please don’t make me leave with them,” he begs, but the doctor walks out of the room with no concern for Asher’s wishes. Reluctantly, Asher follows his family out. I walk with him, waiting for him to say something, but he doesn’t. He looks at the paperwork, his phone, and soon, an awkward feeling rushes over me. I press my lips together as my heart sinks in my chest.
I think I fucked up.
Once outside, Lucas brings the car up and I try to talk to Asher, but his mom is talking his ear off. I love Fallon, but man, I wish she’d shut up. When she looks at me, she says, “You drove his car, right?”
I nod. “Yeah.”
“Okay, can you take Aiden home and just take the car with you? He doesn’t need it, and knowing you, you’ll be helping him get places.”
I swallow hard. Especially when Asher doesn’t look at me. “Yeah,” I choke out. “No problem.”
When Lucas pulls up with the girls in the back seat of the car, Asher grudgingly gets in. But he doesn’t even really look at me. “Take care of my car. I’ll call you later.”
That’s it?
I stand there, completely crushed, as the tears threaten to fall.
But then I remember Aiden is beside me. He reaches out, wrapping his arm around my neck. “Well, that was eventful.”
I swallow hard and ignore my breaking heart. “Yeah, a story for the ages.”
“My sisters are going to drive him into a mental institution.”
I can’t laugh. “Yeah.”
“You’ll have to go save him.”
“I owe him, huh?”
“For sure. I’ve never seen or known him to fight anyone. Shows how much you mean to him.”
I meet his gaze, and it’s almost as if he sees through me. I don’t know what he is implying or even if he is implying anything. Maybe I’m too emotional. His eyes, his words, they all make me really uncomfortable, so I jerk my head to the side, moving out of his arms in the direction of the car. “Let’s get you home.”
* * *
I didn’t sleep last night.
I tossed, I turned, and I checked my phone a million times an hour.
I felt horrible since Angie was trying to sleep, but I had no choice. I need to talk to Asher. After spending hours at the police station, she got home when I did and fell face first into her bed. I’m so incredibly proud of her for pressing charges. I know I may have forced her to, but she told me the only reason she didn’t when it happened was because I was with Taco. Fuck him. Fuck that—press the charges. Apparently, Nicolette had seen it happen, so Angie has a witness. And in so many words, Taco admitted to it, so hopefully, he’ll get in trouble for his actions. I am worried about Asher since Taco did say he was going to press charges, but I haven’t heard anything yet.
Actually, it’s radio silence on Asher’s end.
I texted him when I got home but no text back. I know he has his phone because his dad went to get it from Aiden. I even tried calling him, but it went to voice mail. I’m trying really hard not to think too much into it. He probably took his meds when he got home and slept off the pain from everything, but still, I wonder why he hasn’t reached out to me. I put myself out there. I made the move, and now, all I can think is that I made the biggest mistake of my life. It didn’t feel like a mistake, though; it felt like I found my home.
The place my heart and lips belong.