The Senior Trip

Chapter 54

Asher

Her hands move from my hair to my neck and I've never been happier to realize they aren't stopping there. I help her remove my board shorts and move myself back on top of her. I'm expecting her to tell me to stop—to say we've gone far enough for one night. No one knows what tomorrow brings for us and this is a big move, but she doesn't.

"Are you sure?" I ask.

She doesn't hesitate. "Yes."

"I don't have anything..." I tell her.

"I'm on something," she replies.

I brush a strand of hair from her face, giving her a little more time to change her mind. When she moves her lips to meet mine, I give in. The thought quickly enters my head that her first time should be with me—but I'll never disrespect her and know exactly what she's giving me.

We take our time and enjoy each other and the way the night air is still making the thin curtains move as though they are designed to add to the experience. If I had tried to plan a perfect experience for this perfect girl, I couldn't have even come close to this night.

Days ago we were practically strangers, but tonight we are—what? Friends? More?

Her palms touch my face, her lips finding my brow and laying kisses across it. I know what she's doing now, trying to calm the thoughts she can read so easily in my expression. This first time should be awkward, but it's not. We move together like a slow dance after years of being together and I scoop her closer to me, making sure she feels safe in my arms.

I kiss her shoulder, her neck and the line of her jaw before finding her mouth once again. I'm conflicted, my body racing to finish while my brain wants this night to go a little longer. Her arms wrap around my neck and she hold me close, her lips at my ear—each breath and small sound flowing straight down my spine and along my skin. When it's time, something inside me drives me to get us as close as possible, to feel her everywhere against me and hear her when I finally lose the battle against my head.

After a few minutes, I roll over and pull her onto my chest, careful not to move her hurt ankle. I kiss the top of her head and push the hair that's fallen on her face away so I can see down on her.

We may have just done one of the most intimate things people can do, but all conversation about it feels like dangerous territory with the threat of tomorrow now looming.

"I have something for you," I tell her.

"Really?" she asks. She pops her head up and looks around the room incredulously.

Leaning over the bed I grab my board shorts and pull the tiny ring from the pocket. It's tucked in my fist so she can't see it yet. A fear creep in that maybe it's too much. Before it seemed like the perfect gift to remember our last night here together, but now it seems more serious somehow.

I lay back down and she rests her head on her folded hands on my chest so she can look up at me. I can't stop touching her. My free hand pulls her hair playfully like a kid on the playground, then twirls it around my finger before letting fall back onto her shoulder. "I wanted something to help us remember this night. Our last night here in town and that sunset we watched together."

I hold out my fist and feel all the nervous energy of the first day of school or a big game. I want her to want it. I want her to want to remember this night as much as I will. I'll never forget it for the rest of my life. Her smile is contagious as he practically pries my fingers open.

"Oh my God, Asher. It's perfect. It's blue and purple like the sky." She holds it up in the dark room as if she's trying to put the colors from early back up where they once were. I wish we could. I wish we could put them back just for a little while and wonder the town now—as who we are after. We could hold hands and be whatever we are now for hours it takes for the sun to set again. I want a day of that so badly.

She put the ring on her right-hand finger and wiggles them. "I got you something too," she says with a small laugh.

"What? When?" I ask, practically sitting up.

"You aren't the only sneaky one," she replies. Scootching over, she retrieves something from the tiny pocket on her cover-up dress. Then she makes her way back over to me and offers me her closed fist. "It's not as good as a ring, but I saw it and had to get it."

I take her hand in mine and bring it to my lips. When the kiss is complete, she opens her fist and turns over her palm, exposing a small hand carved wooden apple. The memories of that day together coming flooding back in snap shots. The way we had found the tree and shared the apples, and so much more of ourselves as we ate them.

"I love it," I tell her.

I take the small trinket into my hand and feel the weight of it. What I don't tell her is no matter what happens when we step back into the real world, if she seeks me out 50 years from now, I will still have this perfect reminder of us. 

***Hi readers! Thanks for reading the story so far. I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments. I know a lot of you are interested in the music authors listen to while writing and I have a playlist posted on Spotify. If you are using the Wattpad app you should be able to click on the Spotify icon and listen. However, for these chapters in particular (man it's been a long time since I've written anything steamy!) I listened to a group called Two Feet. I love listening to them while writing because it isn't distracting but is a good soundtrack for the story. I will be adding the songs to the list over the next few days so check them out.