Chapter Three
Asher
“Beep! Beep! Beep!” The voice was loud, persistent, and incredibly annoying. “Beep! Beep! Beep!”
I groaned and pulled the pillow over my face. “What the fuck?”
“Wakey, wakey, little bro,” Lilith said, pulling the pillow from my face with a sudden tug. “It’s a busy Saturday morning.”
I sat up in bed and ran my hand through my hair. Lilith was standing in the doorway with her arms crossed over her chest and her bright purple hair falling in messy strands down to her shoulders. “I almost forgot, you’re the most annoying alarm clock I know,” I told her, then grabbed my phone from the nightstand. “Wait, I said to wake me if I slept past eleven. I don’t have to be in to work with Franklin until noon. What’s this eight o’clock bullshit?”
“I’ve got a surprise for you,” she said with a wink. “Now come on, get the hell out of bed.”
I considered falling back asleep, which would have been my old response, but kicked my ass instead and crawled out of bed. When I came knocking on Lilith’s door and begging for a place to crash two weeks ago, I hadn’t even been sure she would take me in, considering the last time I visited her I kind of snuck off in the middle of the night, and maybe took a pack of her cigarettes and a couple of twenties, too.
But just because I knew she’d give them to me anyway.
Anyway, at least we’d each quit smoking since then. And if anyone understood me, it was Lilith. She got why I was so good at running away. Hell, we’d grown up in the same shitty house, in the same shitty town outside of Seattle. She’d practically been my running-away role model.
I yawned as I stepped into the bathroom, kicking my boxers off only long enough to get blasted by cold water. Jumping out and cursing the shower I still hadn’t figured out, I splashed some water on my face from the sink instead. Sniffing my armpit, I nodded into the mirror, fairly satisfied.
Then I remembered I’d be spending the day with Franklin, and maybe even seeing Rory again, too.
I eyed the bottle of moisturizer on the edge of the sink, then grabbed my balls, tugging down on them while I thought about the husbands. I sniffed the air and tried to remember that smell, earthy and rich and somehow just like them. My cock hardening, I squirted a little moisturizer in the palm of my hand, then stroked up my shaft with a satisfied groan.
Five minutes later, I jumped back in the shower and subjected myself to alternating blasts of hot and cold to wash the jizz off my belly. I brushed my teeth, then made my way to the kitchen, sparkly clean. Lilith had a few eggs and some toast on the table and a big pot of black coffee waiting.
“Okay, now you’re making me suspicious,” I said, dropping into the chair and feeling the vinyl seat against my thighs, my boxers bunched up. “You going to kick me out or something?”
“Only if you steal from me again,” she joked. “And probably not even then, honestly. I’d just dunk your head in the toilet and make you pay me back.”
I frowned, aware that she wasn’t joking about that. “What’s this surprise about then?”
Lilith grinned, then joined me at the table. “Well, I was thinking the other day about your life back in Los Angeles and the story you told me when you got back to town.”
“Can we skip that for now?”
She held her hands in the air. “Just saying. I know it’s not easy, to give up a life like that. And even though you keep swearing that it’s all behind you, I know you must be missing some of it, too.”
I scoffed. “Unless you mean the money, I promise, you’re sorely mistaken.”
“I mean the driving, Asher. You need more coffee or something?”
I paused, then dropped my fork on the plate. I’d brought my car with me from LA. It was an Evo 9, a road car I’d customized by yanking out a bunch of the electronic security bullshit that would try to stop you from turning too fast or spinning too hard. I felt like I was rescuing her, when I pulled that junk out. My car was made to go fast, just like she was made to go hard, and when I drove, the vehicle became a part of my body.
But in Seattle, I wasn’t using her for any of that. I was staying in my lane.
“Didn’t you make me promise to leave that behind if I was going to stay at your apartment?” I stomped my heel against the chipped linoleum kitchen flooring a couple of times. “Not that it’s the Hilton or anything.”
“I made you promise not to get arrested or break your neck. Nothing wrong with taking your car to a lot that a friend of mine owns outside the city, though.” She turned to the clock on the stove, then drank from her coffee. “Show me how good you are these days, Asher. Make some marks on the pavement. Should be able to get a couple hours in before noon, if we get out the door soon.”
I blinked. “Fuck yeah,” I said, slowly processing the offer. “Fuck yeah! Thank you, Lilith. That sounds perfect”
After that, you would have thought she’d lit my boxers on fire, I ate breakfast and got myself ready so fast. I pulled on a snug pair of jeans and a plain white T-shirt, then kicked my feet into a worn pair of black leather boots. With Lilith following, I walked out to my car, waiting for me in the morning shade, and hopped in.
I tightened my hand around the gear shift, and a thrill pulsed through my body. It felt good just to drive her to the store, but I responded differently when we were going to stretch our legs and get our hearts beating on a real drive. My body just knew somehow, and my car knew, too.
Lilith joined me in the passenger seat, settling her coffee in and tightening the seatbelt. “One hundred percent, Asher, you have to promise me you’ll drive like a normal person to get there.”
