Asher ✓

53 | unrequited

FEBRUARY 28, 2019 / ASHER AND TALLULAH'S APARTMENT

Asher had just returned from a birthday dinner with his father.

He shed his coat, scarf and shoes, shivering slightly as his icy nose and ears tingled in the sudden warmth of his new apartment. The gift Vasily had gotten him (he was almost certain it was a shaving kit, but he'd open it later) sat prettily on the dining table.

It had been a quaint, lighthearted dinner at a family restaurant closer to Asher's old house. Lots of laughing, stolen pieces of conversation in between juicy bites of steak and a promise to stop by the shop to visit Vanessa and Vasily more.

Thankfully Tallulah left the air conditioner on, which was pumping heat into the otherwise frigid loft, before she left to attend the premiere of a sports documentary for which she was writing a review. Before Tallulah, Asher hadn't dated in over a year. 

He hadn't felt anything close to romance, or even allowed himself to flirt, after Ryanel. Safe to say, he was rustier with the art of seduction than he had ever been in his life. Which is maybe why he fell so easily for Tallulah. 

The thing between them wasn't seduction, or romance — initially. She was just a good friend. A great friend, actually, who seemed to know when Asher needed to be listened to, shut up or talked over. 

They'd spend nights in watching Star Wars, but Tallulah would also push him into outings on the town. She seemed to know New York City with an intimacy Asher never did, where the loveliest live music was played, which poetry slams didn't charge for entry and which night markets had the best-value food.

"Comes with having been a broke uni student in the city," she explained.

With Tallulah none of the does she, doesn't she? mind games of his past relationships mattered. He didn't have to wonder if it was clingy to call so soon, or text so relentlessly, or want to see her again after just two days. She let him know how she felt as soon as she felt it, but always with a no-pressure clause.

This relationship was wholly more adult. All there was, was honesty, trust and friendship. It had been four months so the future was admittedly still uncertain. At this point in time, however, Asher knew he needed Tallulah in his life.

His phone rang as he plopped down on the sofa and detached his prosthetic leg.

"Hey, Ryanel," Asher answered while massaging his cold, irritated knee joint. "What's up?"

"Just calling to say happy birthday. Did you want to go for dinner tomorrow to celebrate? My cousins are in town and dying to catch up with you."

Asher smiled at the memory of Ryanel's boisterous cousins. "Damn. I'm actually flying to Toronto tomorrow for a birthday getaway. Tallulah's organised it."

"Oh, you guys are still going strong?" Ryanel's surprised voice asked. "Good on you."

"Thanks."

"Well, when will you be back?"

"Monday evening," Asher answered remorsefully. "It's a weekend trip."

One beat of silence followed, in which Asher could imagine Ryanel's lips pursing the way they always did when he was frustrated. He knew that Tuesday would be the earliest they could meet up, by which time it would be the fifth of the month and well past the ideal period to celebrate Asher's non-existent birthday.