Love Her Wilde

Suspect List: Asher

"Do we need to?" I retorted; an eyebrow arched in question. "Kinda thought it was a given."

"Oh, you were just gonna walk around assuming I was your girlfriend without a word?" Dylan asked with a laugh. "That sounds dangerous."

"What are we? Fifteen?" I echoed her laugh. "Do I have to have some big elaborate scheme to ask you to prom?"

"No, but a little effort might be nice!" Dylan exclaimed with a bright smile.

Fuck. It felt like eons since I'd seen that smile. In reality it had only been a few hours, max, but... I wanted to keep it on her face, no matter the cost. So, playing along, I rolled my eyes as I sank down to a knee.

"NO!" Dylan shouted, giggling as she tried to pull her hand from my grasp. "Too much! Too much!"

I tried to fight my laughter as she squirmed and squealed. "Damn, first you tell me I have to ask you, and now I'm not asking you right? You're hard to please, woman."

"Oh, am I really?" Dylan retorted, rolling her molten chocolate-colored eyes.

"Well, not in all things... at least not for me."

"You're gross."

"You haven't complained even once in the last three weeks."

"Well, maybe I'm gross, too."

"Oh, I know that you are."

"Goddammit, Asher!" Dylan laughed. "Can you be serious?"

"Not right now." I grabbed her hand back and made like I was going to use her to pull myself up. Instead, however, I gave her a tug and pulled her down until my butt was flat on the floor and she was perched in my lap. She giggled brightly as I nibbled and nuzzled on every open space of skin I could find. I kissed her playfully everywhere: every inch of her face, her neck, the bit of her collarbone I could see. Everywhere but her lips, until I brought my face in line with hers, the tips of our noses brushing as her chest rose with heavy breaths. "So, you gonna be my girlfriend or what?"

Dylan smiled and waved her head. "And they say romance is dead."

"Girl, I will romance the shit outta you."

"Yeah?"

"Any time you want."

Dylan's gaze went soft, as did her smile. She pressed her forehead to mine and sighed. "What if I told you that you already have?" she asked, her voice as soft as the look in her eyes.

"Then I'd say you haven't seen anything yet," I responded just as quietly.

Dylan took a shaky breath in. The vibe in the room had almost instantly changed. It was no longer light, and joy filled, but quieter, and riddled with emotion. "Thank you."

"For what, sweetheart?" I asked, brushing back her hair and giving the tip of her nose a gentle kiss.

"Just... for everything," Dylan stated, her voice sounding a bit choked. "I don't know how I would've made it through tonight without you."

I watched as a tear glistened down her cheek. "Baby..."

"No, I'm serious," Dylan insisted, pushing forward even though her eyes were welled beyond their capacity. "You fucking ran downstairs without knowing what you were going into, you called the cops, you did like... all of the talking, you helped Mason and Ryder patch up the window even though you obviously had no idea what you were doing..."

"Hey!"

Dylan laughed a bit and shook her head, raising a hand to wipe the tears from her cheeks. She took a deep breath and then looked at me. "You were... incredible, Asher and... I don't know how I'll ever be able to thank you."