I watch him leave, trying to collect myself. What am I doing?
How does he do that? How does he just switch it off?
Asher glances over his shoulder, raising a brow. "You coming?" he calls softly, his voice laced with amusement.
I mutter, "Not anymore," under my breath, but I follow him back to our table.
He laughs, shaking his head, and reaches back to take my hand, leading me the rest of the way. When we sit down, he actually lets me study this time, and for a moment, everything feels normal again. Almost.
It's silent for a while, the two of us focused on our work, but eventually, I can't keep the thought in anymore. "I think Charlie knows about us," I say quietly, not looking at him.
Asher's head snaps up, his brow furrowed. "Charlie?"
"She's been avoiding me. I saw her this morning, and she practically ran off without saying a word."
He shakes his head, leaning back in his chair. "If my sister knew, trust me, she wouldn't keep her mouth shut. She would've said something by now."
"I don't know," I mutter, fiddling with my pen. "It just feels like she's avoiding me."
"You and Charlie have been best friends forever," Asher says, his voice softening. "Whatever's going on, I'm sure it's nothing."
I want to believe him, but I can't shake the feeling that things are changing. Between Asher and me, and between Charlie and me. And that scares me. I don't want to lose my best friend over something . . . over something that might not even be real.
I shove that thought down into the deepest parts of me, hoping that will help the sting of pain be buried.
It doesn't. I look at Asher across the room.
"Thanks for helping me with tutoring by the way, you've been a godsend." He says casually when my eyes catch onto his.
I force a smile and nod but feel my heart drop. It's only tutoring. One thing in exchange for another. He looks relaxed, while I feel anything but.
I won't lose my best friend over something that was never meant to be anything.
Chapter 25
Tip twenty-five; If you want it, ask for it.
Ivy
Ifidget in my seat, Asher's hand warm on my thigh, finger brushing the skin right above my knee as he parks the car on the curb outside my house. I can feel his eyes on the side of my face as if waiting for me to look at him.
I stare at the house, tracking the windows for any movement.
"You didn't have to drop me home." I finally turn to look at Asher, finding his attention moving slowly from my eyes to my lips, his own curved into a devastating smile.
My own eyes drop to his lips, remembering the way he kissed me in the library, the way he told me to be quiet. I blow out a soft breath.
He doesn't reply, switching the car off and leaving the vehicle to walk around my side and open the door for me. His brows raise in silent challenge when I don't immediately move. "You scared to be seen with me Ivy?" He gives me a wink. "I got to say, I'mnot used to a girl not wanting to show me off, but I guess I'll just have to work harder."
"It's not-" I pause and release a breath of air before slipping from the car and standing beside him. It feels odd to be walking towards my house with Asher by my side even if we have done it multiple times through the years. If anyone were to look they would find nothing wrong with this scene and yet everything felt wrong about it.
His fingers brush mine for the slightest second before they brush again and then he is taking my hand in his, squeezing my fingers and dragging me around the corner, hidden from sight. He pushes my back against the brick, our chests flush.
He bares down on me, a cocky brow raised.
"You know Leon's inside right?" I whisper, forcing myself to stay still and not strain my neck to see if my brother is going to magically walk out the front door, around the corner and find his best friend trapping me against the wall.
I could just imagine how that conversation would go down and who would leave it with a black eye.
