He shook his head, his tone bitter. “Not a chance.” A moment passed before he sighed again. “We should get going. Let me take you back to your car.”
“Yeah,” I murmured. “Sounds like a plan.” I climbed into the passenger seat and drummed my fingertips on my legs as he drove, but as we approached the job site, it occurred to me that we hadn’t been alone together since he’d moved back in with Kieran. Maybe it would distract him, spending time with me. And if it didn’t, well, it was at least worth a try. “Hey, do you want to maybe… hang out tonight?”
Micah looked at me with a smile tugging at his lips. “Hang out?” He raised his eyebrows.
“You can come by my place. We can have dinner. No Kieran there to… interrupt.” My cheeks burned as I asked, hoping he was picking up what I was implying.
He gave me a little smirk and I suspected he knewexactlywhat I was suggesting. “I think I can manage that. Let me go home and change. Shower this day off me. I’ll be there in under an hour.”
My stomach swooped and fluttered at his promise, and I nodded, swallowing the nerves that were zinging through me. “Perfect,” I murmured.
Back in my car, I headed home, anxiety and excitement dueling inside me.
Chapter 20 - Micah
True to my promise, I was at Asher’s house in under an hour, ringing the bell. A moment later, the door swung open and Asher stood on the other side, grinning, his dark hair still damp from a shower, wearing a pair of athletic shorts and a heathered gray T-shirt.
“Hey,” he murmured as I stepped inside.
I was hit with the urge to kiss him immediately, to pull him close and show him how grateful I was for everything he’d done for me in the past few days, but I resisted. Instead, feeling self-conscious and uncertain, I shoved my hands into my pockets and nodded as he closed the door behind me. “Hey.”
“Have you had dinner?”
I shook my head. “What were you thinking?”
“I was going to make something low-effort. I still have some of that taco soup you made.”
“I’m fine with whatever.”Why is this so awkward?I wondered.
Asher nodded. “Okay, great.” He headed into the kitchen and I followed him.
“Need any help?” When he shook his head, I perched on a barstool at the breakfast bar to watch as he heated up the soup I’d made when he was injured. It didn’t take long until he’d put the steaming bowls on the table and we sat across from each other, eating quietly.
“I’m not good at this,” Asher said about halfway through the meal.
I frowned and let out a soft sigh, not sure what to say. I put my spoon down and looked at him, a pang of concern hitting me as I read the uncertainty in his dark eyes. “We don’t have to do this, y’know. We can—”
“No. I want to.”
“Want to what, exactly?” It was probably best to get expectations on the table now.
“I don’t know. Explore this. Spend time with you. Be friends again.”
I nodded. “I want that, too.”
He gave me a relieved smile. “Okay. Well… how was your day?”
I chuckled and shook my head. “You were there.”
“I didn’t follow you around or anything. I was busy doing my own job.”
“Fair,” I murmured. “It was good. Pretty straightforward. Just one hiccup.”
“What’s that?”
Another quiet laugh escaped me. “There’s this guy on set I can’t stop checking out. He’sreallydistracting.”
He let out a sharp breath through his nose, a quiet laugh, and gave me a soft smile. “Same,” he murmured. “Same.”
