“You gonna feed Beast or do you want to stand there and stare at me some more?” he asks. I look into his face and see a very arrogant smile with his dimple out.
“Whatever,” I mutter and hear him chuckle as I walk around the bed with my eyes to my feet.
Once in the bathroom, I shut the door and look at myself in the mirror. My green eyes look brighter, my lips are swollen from kissing, my cheeks are pink, and my hair is wild. I remember how I ended up looking like this and smile, then quickly frown. Asher is hot but I’m not the kind of girl that sleeps with, then makes out with, a guy after one date. Plus, we weren’t even on an actual date. Then again, I didn’t know that we were going to sleep together.
Shaking my head at my own crazy thoughts, I decide that I’m just going to be honest and tell him that I don’t do casual. I’m sure that will scare him off. I brush my teeth and pull out a bra and zip up sweatshirt from my bag. After putting both on, I head out of the room to the kitchen.
When I get there, Asher is sitting on a bar stool, still shirtless, with a cup of coffee in front of him. Once he notices me, he does a full body sweep. I get a smile out of him but it’s a small smile. This time, there is no dimple. Hmmm.
“Hi, I’m Susan, Asher’s mom.” At the sound of her voice, I jump. I’m so caught up in Asher’s missing dimple that I forgot his mom is here. She comes around the island and takes my hand in hers.
“I’m November,” I say, smiling back at her. She is very pretty. She has short, dark brown hair that is cut into a cute mom bob. Her eyes are the same color as Asher’s. She’s wearing a white button-up shirt with a large turquoise necklace, dark blue jeans, and brown cowboy boots. She looks very country chic and I’m instantly in love with her. Then she grabs me into a tight hug. The instant her arms wrap around me in a motherly hug, I want to cry.
“It’s nice to finally meet you, November,” she whispers into my hair. I hug her tighter, closing my eyes against the tears that want to escape. She steps back and holds me at arm’s length. “Well, you are as beautiful as everyone said you were.”
I am taken off guard by her comment. I mean, my dad calls me beautiful and Asher told me that this morning, but that was in the heat of the moment. I’m not ugly but I’ve always just been cute. Even my ex-boyfriends have only ever said that I was cute and my mom never once in my life has called me beautiful.
“Thanks,” I mutter, feeling awkward. I can feel heat rise up my cheeks. She smiles brighter and turns towards Asher. They both share a smile and I feel like I’m intruding on a private moment.
“Do you like coffee?” she asks, walking back into the kitchen.
“Like is not the word I would use for how I feel about coffee,” I say. She tilts her head to the side, giving me a questioning look.
“Um…I love coffee,” I say, feeling like a dork. “I’m pretty sure that my coffee consumption alone is helping to get the United States out of debt.” I’m rambling and both she and Asher laugh. I hear scratching and look to the side. Beast has his big paw on the glass door, wanting in. I walk to the door and when I open it, Beast comes in with such force that he knocks me on my butt and starts licking me like he hasn’t seen me in weeks. I’m laughing when I look up and see Asher and his mom watching me with the same smile on their faces.
“Alright, let her up,” Asher says, pushing Beast away. He stands over me with his legs on either side of my body, looking down. “You’re too much,” he mumbles. His hands take mine to lift me off the ground.
His words hit me hard for some reason. My mom used to tell me that I was too much, but every time she said it, she would get a look on her face that said she didn’t know why she even bothered with me. I don’t want to look at Asher and see the same disgust on his face so I let go of his hands, avoiding his eyes. I walk to the island where his mom has a cup of coffee waiting for me. I pour in some milk and add two scoops of sugar. She and Asher are both watching me. I need to get away so I can pull myself together.
“Thank you for the coffee,” I say, looking at Asher’s mom with tears clogging my throat. “I’ll be right back. I just need to get Beast’s food out of my bag.” Walking out of the kitchen and down the hall, I feel like an idiot. My mom isn’t even here and she is making me feel like crap. I’m at the door of Asher’s room when I feel an arm around my waist and I’m flying through the air. I let out a girly scream then land in the bed with Asher on top of me.
“Wh… Wha… What are you doing?” I ask, stuttering and trying to shove him off me.