~Ashton~
I looked over at Esther sleeping in the seat next to me. She looked so peaceful and adorable. She had passed out a few minutes after we had gotten back in my car. I was surprised she hadn't fallen asleep in my office but I guess she was too busy watching that damn kid's show, Ladybug something. I wasn't even paying attention and I could tell that Adrian kid was oblivious to everything.
I didn't dare wake Esther up when I pulled into my driveway. I parked the car, walked over to her side and picked her up. I carried her upstairs and laid her in my bed. Turning the lights off, I went into the bathroom which was connected to my room so I could shower before going to bed.
I brushed my teeth while I waited for the shower to warm up. I got in and washed my hair, trying not to think of what I would do if Esther were in here with me. I did what I needed to and got out, wanting to get back in my room and cuddle with her. I never thought I would be clingy when I got in a relationship but god damn is she addicting.
I grabbed a towel and wrapped it around myself. I started reaching for my razor and shaving cream to shave the little stubble on my chin and neck when my heart dropped. Esther started screaming and I booked it back to my room. "Esther," I called as I ran over to her. She was hugging her knees and rocking back and forth in the spot I had left her. "Esther, what's wrong? What happened?"
She was shaking and it didn't seem like she could form any words. I sat next to her and pulled her into my arms. "You're okay, baby. Deep breaths, it's okay." I rubbed her back trying to calm her down from whatever just happened. "Deep breaths, Mae."
What the fuck scared her this bad? Whatever it was, I wasn't going to let it hurt her again. "Come on, Mae." I took a deep breath and slowly let it out, hoping she would too. "Your turn now, just take a deep breath for me, darling."
She listened and did as I told her. "Good girl, do it again for me."
I made her take deep breaths again and again until she calmed down and was able to talk. "I'm sorry." She laid her head on my chest.
"There's nothing to apologize for, darling." I started to run my fingers through her hair. "What happened?"
"It's nothing, I just get nightmares like that sometimes." She tried to explain.
"What was it about?"
"Something that happened to me a couple years ago. I never really healed from it mentally I guess."
I could tell she didn't want to talk about it and I wasn't going to press about it right now. I nodded and laid my head on top of hers. Whoever did this is going to regret ever knowing her name, let alone laying a finger on her.
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The next morning I woke up before Esther and walked downstairs to make breakfast. I opened the cabinets and grabbed everything I would need for chocolate chip pancakes. I set the pan on the stove and started to whip up the batter. I did everything quietly so I wouldn't wake up Esther. After she had fallen back asleep last night she hadn't had any other nightmares but I still didn't want to wake her up by being too loud. She didn't tell me much about the nightmares. It seemed like a sore subject and I didn't want to ask too much if she didn't want to talk about it yet.
I poured that batter into the pan and watched it cook for a minute as I started hearing floorboards creaking up in my room. Esther must've woken up.
Sure enough, a few minutes later Esther slowly came downstairs and found me in the kitchen. "Good morning, darling."
She smiled as she walked over to me. "Good morning."
I wrapped my arms around her waist and pulled her closer to me. I kissed her forehead as she tried, and failed, to look over my shoulder. I chuckled and moved to the side to let her see what I was cooking. "Are those chocolate chip pancakes?" She gasped excitedly.
"They are, indeed." I lifted her chin with my index finger and brought my lips down on hers.
"Those are my favorite." She said, breaking the kiss. "How did you know?"
I pulled her back to me so I could kiss her again. "I'm just a good guesser." I mumbled against her lips.
We started kissing again when I smelled something burning. I cursed and ran over to the stove. Grabbing my spatula, I scooped the burning pancake out of the pan. I turned around to throw the pancake in the trash when I saw Esther trying to suppress a laugh. "If you laugh I'll make you eat it." I threatened, throwing her a playful glare.
I chucked the pancake in the trash and turned back to make a new one. I saw Esther lean against the counter, watching me while I poured more batter into the pan. I turned the burner to low heat and walked over to the counter Esther was leaning against. I lifted her up onto the counter and leaned towards her, wanting more of her.
She leaned away from me. "Ah ah ah," She put her finger to my lips as if to say 'shush'. "I'd like to eat this pancake, not burn it."
I groaned and walked back to the stove to check on the pancake. Flipping it, I turned around and walked back over to stand in between Esther's legs. I leaned forward, holding onto her waist so she couldn't move. "Please, just one more?" What can I say, she's addicting.
"We're begging now, are we?" She laughed. I don't care what I have to do, I just want another kiss.
I rolled my eyes. "Shut up and kiss me already." She giggled and leaned forward, pecking me on the lips. "Seriously? That's it?"
"Yep, now go get the pancake so it doesn't burn."
"Yes, ma'am." I mocked as I rolled my eyes.
I finished cooking and gave Esther a plate as I started to get some pancakes onto mine. I reached over to the counter near the stove to get syrup and realized it wasn't there anymore. I turned around and found the culprit. Esther had already snatched it and was pouring it onto her pancakes. "I was going to get that for you, darling." I walked over and sat next to her at the table.
"You were busy so I got it for myself." She shrugged.
I chuckled and watched as she took her first bite, moaning from the taste. Fuck, Don't think about it. Now is not the time, Ash. I leaned over and kissed her neck and mumbled in her ear. "I love that sound."
She paused and started blushing. She looked down at her plate, trying to hide the blushing. I lifted her head and kissed her lips. "Don't be embarrassed, darling."
I sat back in my chair and started eating. As I took my first bite I realized how fucking great of a chef I am.
No wonder Esther moaned, these are fucking amazing.
Esther finished her plate in a matter of seconds and I was going to ask if she wanted another one when her phone started ringing from upstairs. "I'll be right back." She stated as she got up from the table and ran upstairs. I finished my pancakes as Esther was on the phone and when I was done I put our plates in the sink. I heard Esther run downstairs as I was rinsing the syrup off the plates. I turned around and saw that she had changed clothes and thrown her hair up in a bun while she was upstairs. She seemed out of breath as she turned to me. "Have you seen my shoes?"
"What? Why do you need your shoes? What's going on?"
"Apparently my mom texted me last night saying she wanted me to be home at nine this morning but I never got the text and now she's mad." She rushed.
"Mae, I'm sure it's fine. Your mom seems nice, I'm sure she'll understand. Plus you're not that late anyway, it's only ten." Why is Esther so worried? She's only an hour late, her mom shouldn't be too mad if we just explain what happened.
She stopped looking for her shoes and turned to me. "You don't know her."
I furrowed my eyebrows. "What do you mean?"
She shook her head and went back to looking for her shoes. "It's nothing, just help me find my shoes and then drive me home please."
I decided not to ask any more questions, at least not right now, and I helped Esther to find her shoes. I found them under my bed and walked downstairs to give them to Esther. She thanked me and dragged me to my car. "Please hurry up, Ash. I need to get home."
I looked over at her as I put the key in the ignition "Esther, how mad is your mom going to be?" Was her mom really going to be that mad over her not seeing a text?
She was quiet for a minute as I pulled out of my driveway and started driving towards her house. "I don't know, it'll be fine. She'll probably just yell at me for a while but that's it I think."
It was quiet for the rest of the drive and as we pulled into Esther's driveway I barely had time to park before she opened the door and ran towards her house.
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Author notes:
I was really craving chocolate chip pancakes while writing this chapter if y'all can't tell.
Anywho, the next chapter will be up tomorrow around 11am CDT
[Edited 3/16/22]
xoxo ~ Alex