the doorman » a.i au

eighteen; "nothing important."

Friday came quickly.

I watched as Ashton made his way over, grinning as I took in the sight of him dressed up casually, yet formal enough to match what I was wearing. He told me to wear something nice (which wasn’t exactly specific, hence why I turned my closet inside out just to find the perfect outfit) and this time, I made sure not to wear something too trashy for my own good.

“Hey, you,” he leaned in for a kiss.

“Do I look okay?” I asked, almost stuttering.

He stared me up and down as we walked into the lift, almost as if he was scrutinizing me. “You look just great, baby.”

I eyed him suspiciously, not completely believing what he said; yet letting it go anyway. Not that he’d lie, especially not about something as simple as that. I had come to the realization that never once had he lied or hidden anything from me in the course of our relationship and I loved him madly for that.

He didn’t bother knocking the front door. He just barged in, tossing his pair of Converse to the side of the hallway. But I couldn’t do that; I would have gone right behind him if it didn’t feel so awkward to just walk into his home without being invited. I would feel like an intruder, no matter the fact that Ashton was my boyfriend. So instead, I admired the inches of his house from afar.

“Come in. Are you that nervous?”

I hummed in response, not exactly wanting to acknowledge it.

He intertwined our fingers, clasping his hand over my moist one. Warmth of gratitude filled me and I felt my lips curl up as he rubbed the side of my palm – something he did whenever I was nervous.

“Wait,” I pulled on the tips of his finger, “On a scale of one to ten, how intimidating is your dad?”

“Only about ten. I mean, he usually examines all my friends before talking to them. And he never ever laughs or cracks jokes…” those sentences were enough to send me into an internal frenzy. He droned on, but I was too zoned out to listen. And then he laughed.

“Kids, what’s going on?” an orotund voice rang and soon after, a tall man stood before us. Judging from how plummy it sounded, he was obviously of high status. And which other man of a high status would be present in this house at the time of the day?

Shit.

“Hey dad!” Ashton chimed, “I was just talking to Kara here about how scary you are. She’s real nervous.”

If the circumstances were different, I would already have punched him.

They erupted in laughter and gave each other a high five, surprising me. What happened to intimidating?

“Pay up, Ren!”

A feminine groan emitted from another part of the house and it only made both guys laugh harder. My shoulders slacked and I was more confused than before.

“We made a bet involving you. My mum insisted you wouldn’t be nervous but my dad was sure that you would, judging from everything he has heard about you. So obviously, my dad’s gonna be fifty bucks richer,” Ashton finally turned to me and his dad simpered, looking pleased with himself.

Alright, so he was obviously not scary at all. In fact, my perception had completely changed at the point of time. His dad was clearly a fun man to be with, maybe one I would even wish to trade my dad for.