Summer Seduction

5. a gentleman

"Hey," I said once he had caught up to me.

"You didn't ask me if I wanted a smoothie," Asher frowned. I let out a light laugh.

"Would you like to get a smoothie?" I asked him jokingly. He smiled as he whipped out a ten-dollar bill.

"Awe, thank you so much for asking. I'd love to," Asher grinned as he placed a hand on his heart.

He and I began making our way to the smoothie shop which was about a five-minute walk. We strolled in silence, not awkwardly, but calmly. The wind was strong enough to give me goosebumps as it ruffled my long hair behind my neck. Out of frustration, I quickly tied it up in a ponytail, on the top of my head, praying that I would not need to attack it with a hairbrush later today. Knots were not my friend, especially considering the length of my hair.

When we reached the store, Asher sped up so that he could open and hold the door for me. My cheeks felt warm as I thanked him. I couldn't remember a time a guy had done that for me intentionally besides a relative. A feeling that I wasn't used to was overcoming me.

There was no line, so I strolled right up to the cashier and order a strawberry kiwi shake. Before I was able to hand the woman my money, Asher ordered. He got some sort of peanut butter shake, something that I was unfamiliar with. I loved peanut butter, but I usually liked to stick to fruity shakes. Asher then handed the cashier his ten-dollar bill with a grin.

Butterflies rose in my stomach, threatening to spill out onto the cash register in front of me. The only guy who had ever paid for me willingly was this boy in my grade named Jake. He had been one of Ryan's friends from baseball. He was also my first kiss. I was convinced that Jake was going to ask me out until he got with a girl in the grade above us. Immediately, I dropped him, and so did Ryan.

"Thank you," I uttered shyly.

"Anytime," Asher responded. We stepped to the side to let the people behind us order as we waited for our shakes. As I watched the workers blend our drinks, I felt his eyes on me, but I didn't dare look at him. He must've known that I could sense his longing gaze, but he must not have cared. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched him scan his eyes over my sun-kissed hair all the way down to my white painted toenails. At that moment, I thanked myself that I had treated myself to a pedicure.

"Here is the strawberry kiwi and peanut butter and banana shake," the worker announced. She held out our two drinks for us to grab. Asher took them and handed me mine. We then ambled out of the shop to find a seat at a table underneath an umbrella.

"You're not allergic to peanut butter, right?" He asked me as he took a sip of his shake.

"Gladly, no." I gulped down on my drink, practically inhaling it, hoping that the pain in my stomach would go away.

"Good because my mom-" Asher started. His mood suddenly shifted as if someone had flipped a switch. His eyes looked glassy as he tried to process what he had just said. "-wouldn't let me have peanut butter growing up since she was allergic. It's one of my favorite foods, though," he continued. His voice was solemn as he recovered this memory from his brain.

"I'm the lucky twin because Ryan's lactose intolerant," I informed him, attempting to change the subject so that I could get him in a better mood. It was obvious that something had made him upset, and I was thinking that it had something to do with his mom. Something seemed off.

"Didn't he just eat ice cream the other day, though?" Asher wondered.

"Oh, just because he can't digest it properly doesn't mean that he won't eat it. If anything, he eats dairy products more than any other food. His favorite dessert is actually-"