Asher
“Wow. This place is massive. Where is everyone? Aren’t Frat Houses supposed to be crammed full of douchebags and jocks?” Alyssa twirls through the dining room all the while looking around in awe.
She has a point. Without twenty other guys stinking up the place, it does feel really big and empty. This is the first summer that I’ve stayed put and it’s been so ridiculously quiet. Last year, I went to stay with my brother in Seattle. The year before, I house sat for my cousin and worked full time at my Uncle’s restaurant.
“Mostly everyone returns home for the summer, some go travelling.”
“What about you? No big plans for the summer?”
I mean, I didn’t plan to meet a gorgeous girl, fall in love and begin planning the rest of my life around her. But hell, shit happens.
Instead of sending her running for the hills, I simply give a shake of my head. “Like I said, my mom is in the Army, so she travels around a lot. My brother is an MMA fighter, so he’s constantly bouncing around the country. I don’t think we’ve all been in the same room since… Maybe last thanksgiving?”
“Oh. What about your dad?” Her head tilts and she leans over the kitchen counter. The gesture seems like genuine intrigue but the angle has me resisting the urge to look down the front of her blouse.
“He’s married with four kids, was living in Florida the last time I spoke to him.”
“Lordy, I thought my family situation was chaotic. Am I allowed to ask?”
“About my dad? Yeah.” … “He ran out on my mom right before I was born. He tried for a couple years to still be present for us but then he got a job offer out of state. After that, our relationship dwindled down to a christmas card and a phone call on our birthdays.”
“You’re surprisingly calm, I’m sure I’d be beyond pissed at the guy.”
“I used to be, but you really can’t miss something that you never had. I think our mom did amazing as both parents.”
“I agree,” she trails into a light hearted laugh as she spins away from me. I catch her in my arms, refusing to let her get away from me for more than a second. With my head buried in her neck, I trail my nose up and down her skin. She smells good, like spiced fruit.
I’m tempted. At the moment I want to go a lot further than I think she's ready for. I inhale her scent one last time while trying to summon the courage to distance myself. I press a kiss to her cheek and release her.
“How about you go pick a movie and I’ll go get the popcorn?”
“That sounds like a good deal,” she smiles. Her cheeks are beautifully flushed and her voice is breathier than a minute ago. I turn towards the pantry and pretend not to notice, but inside I’m beaming.
Knock, knock, knock.
“Did we actually order that? I thought we just talked about it.” Alyssa falls back onto the couch in a fit of heavenly giggles as I go to the door. While we had just talked about getting ice cream delivered, the idea was vetoed because we didn’t want to pause the movie or move. Who knows, maybe it’s one of the guys coming back to campus early.
As I pull the door open, I slam it back closed at the sight of my brother on the other side of the door. Fuck!
Obviously, closing the door on him isn’t a long term solution. In a minute he’s going to knock again, Alyssa is going to come over and ask who it was. There’s no good outcome here.
“Ash?” Brady calls through the door before knocking again. Damn it.
I slowly pull the door open, only halfway to reveal just myself.
“Hey, what was that?”
“Sorry…” I can’t continue, I have no feasible excuse as to why I just did that. “There was a mouse. Above the door.”
I’m aware that I sound even more like an idiot, he’s obviously not believing it because he starts laughing.
“What are you hiding in there? Jeez, I’m not mom, you know.” Like the snoop he is, he pushes on the front door and steps in.
There’s no logical reason as to why I don’t want Brady meeting Alyssa yet, it’s just me wanting to keep her all to myself. It’s part of the reason that I’m glad there’s no one else home right now. It’s just us.
I watch Brady as his eyes scan the room before landing on Alyssa. There’s a flicker of something, some expression I can’t read, on his face but then it’s gone.
“Brady, this is Alyssa. Alyssa, this is my older brother, Brady. I’ve told you about him, remember?”
