"You're crushing me fatty!" I groan while trying to shove off the giant on top of me.
"Not my fault you're so tiny." Asher laughs before finally rolling off of me.
"Fuck you." I laugh.
We're currently trying to watch a movie in his room but he keeps doing stupid shit to distract me.
Like laying on top of me.
I've been trying to cheer him up after everything that happened with his sister.
He told me everything about her dad and how he didn't tell her.
And as much as Asher is to blame, I think he never meant to hurt her, he just wanted to keep her safe.
No one else in our group has really talked to him-
Well, actually our group has been really weird recently.
Arya and Xander are still not talking.
Xander is mainly hanging out with Jess and Cam.
Arya hangs out with Oliver and sometimes she talks to Ryan and me.
Ryan hangs out with Madison and Lili.
And that just leaves Asher and me.
"Hey, isn't your birthday coming up?" He asks.
"Yep, in a week."
"What are you doing?"
"My dad and I usually spend it together."
"How about we throw you a party."
"I don't know..."
"Come on Lina! It'll be fun!"
"Let me think about it."
"Okay. Wanna go get food then?"
"Yes!"
"Let me get changed and I'll meet you downstairs." He says.
I nod before making my way downstairs.
"You must be Catalina?" I hear a deep voice ask from behind me.
I let out a small shriek before turning around to face him.
He has an unsettling smirk on his face.
"Sorry Mr.Phoenix, you scared me." I laugh.
"You are truly beautiful. I can see why my son talks about you so much."
He does?
"Oh uh thank you," I whisper.
"What are your intentions with my son?"
What?
"Excuse me?"
"I know about you. You received a full ride to Las Flores. So, what do you want from Asher, his money?"
"No! I genuinely like your son." I try to reassure him but he looks like he doesn't believe me.
"I've gone through my fair share of gold diggers Miss Faye, they're all just like you...tan, pretty smile, killer legs." He says while walking closer to me.
What the fuck.
"I'm not a gold digger sir."
"No one ever likes Asher for his personality, he's had 3 girlfriends and they have all willingly walked away with a check written by yours truly."
Okay, now I'm just confused.
Holy shit wait-
"You paid girls to break up with Asher?"
"Yes, I don't need him distracted. So, how much do you want? 50 grand? 100 grand?-"
"I don't want your money."
"Sure you do. Everyone wants my money." He smirks.
I'm about two seconds away from slapping him.
"Well, I don't."
"Listen you fucking bitch-"
"Hey, are you ready to go?" Asher says while walking into the living room.
His dad immediately backs away from me.
"I- uh yeah," I mumble.
"What are you doing here?" He asks his dad.
"I just wanted to introduce myself." His dad shrugs.
Asher looks between his dad and me before grabbing my hand and leading us out.
"What did he say?" He asks as soon as we get into the car.
"Nothing."
"Lina-"
"I'm serious Ash. He just introduced himself." I lie.
I feel bad for lying but he's already going through so much with his sister, the last thing he needs to stress out about is me.
"Okay..."
"So, where should we eat?" I ask.
"Wherever you want malady."
"I think we should have a redo first date, you know since our first one wasn't so great."
We both cringe when we think about how Madison interrupted us.
"Alright, then I have a great place we can go to." He says.
"Please don't tell me this is another surprise." I groan.
"Sorry babe."
Babe?
I like the way that sounds coming from him.
"Can I have a hint?"
"Here we go again." He laughs.
"Ash please!"
"Lina!"
"Ugh fine." I groan.
"Can I choose a song?" I ask.
He nods before handing his phone over to me.
Time to play my hubby...sorry Ash.
I scroll through his Spotify and choose a song.
Once the intro starts playing he immediately turns up the music.
"This is one of his best songs," Ash says.
I don't reply, instead, I start screaming the lyrics of "Die for you" by The Weeknd.
He just laughs at my shitty singing and actually ends up joining me.
Soon enough, we pulled up in front of an Indian restaurant aka my fav.
I mean I love any kind of food but Indian and Italian are my favorite.
"Yessssss! You know me so well." I laugh.
He walks to the other side of the car and opens the door for me.
"What a gentleman," I smirk.
"Shut up." He laughs.
We walk into the restaurant and there are only about 6 people here which automatically makes me feel more comfortable since I'm only wearing a pair of sweats and a hoodie with no makeup.
Once we sit, the waiter comes over to pour us a glass of water and gives us a few minutes to choose.
"Have you talked to Alyssa?" I ask.
I watch as his good mood morphs into one of sadness.
"Not really, but I did text her a couple of days ago to see how she was and she actually replied."
"That's good! What did she say?"
"She was really dry, she said 'fine'."
"She'll come through, don't worry," I say as I reach over and squeeze his hand in reassurance.
"I hope."
He and Alyssa haven't talked in over 2 weeks and I can tell that it's taken a toll on him in every way possible.
During the first week, he would barely eat and sleep, I would find him asleep during class or in his car. That's why I decided to cheer him up.
Ever since then, he's been opening up to me about everything.
He knows what he did was wrong and all he wants to do is tell her how sorry he is and how much he regrets not telling her.
"So your Juilliard audition is coming up!" He changes the subject.
"Yeah..."
A representative from Julliard called me the other day asking me to audition and I kid you not, once the phone call ended, I started screaming and jumping up and down.
"You don't sound excited."
"I am, I'm just really nervous. Their acceptance rate is like 7 percent!" I groan.
"Lina, you're by far one of the most talented people I have ever met, if they don't accept you then it's their loss."
"My own personal sweet talker," I smirk and he bursts out laughing.
We continue talking and the waiter comes back to take our order.
I ordered chicken tikka masala because it's freaking amazing and Asher ordered some samosas, dal soup, and some tandoori chicken.
We love a man with a wide-ranged palate.
"My mom used to take Alyssa and me here all the time. Indian food was her favorite." He says.
"You and your mom were close huh?"
"She was my best friend. We did everything together, she was there for all of my games, she took me for ice cream anytime my team won, she even took me when we lost." He laughs.
"I wish I got to know my mom like that, but since she passed away when I was a baby, I have no memory of her other than the pictures we have."
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be. As much as it sucks not having a mom, I wouldn't change anything about my life. I have amazing friends, a father whom I love more than anything, and an opportunity to audition for my dream school."
"I wish I could see things like that but as much as I am grateful, there is still a part of me that is pissed at the fact that my mom was taken from me."
"I get it."
We continue talking about our families and eventually, our food comes.
Thank god.
This date is already so much better than the first.
Yes, there isn't a fancy setting and overly expensive pasta but there is him and I and great food which is all that matters.
The more I get to know Asher the more I fall for him which is a scary thing to think about because I never allow myself to fall this fast.
Asher has been the first guy to accept all my flaws and he didn't get grossed out by the giant scar on my back.
My scar is by far my biggest insecurity and the fact that he can look past it is honestly a breath of fresh air.
"What are you thinking about Faye?" He says while waving his hand in front of my face.
Shit, I guess I dozed off.
"You."
"Well, I hope it's good." He laughs.
"It is. Promise."
"Lina, I really like you and I want to give us a chance." He says suddenly.
"I like you too," I mumble while a blush begins to form on my face.
"But, I don't wanna mess things up again."
What?
"I wanna keep taking you out on dates and I wanna keep getting to know you. I don't want us to jump into a relationship right away. I wanna take things slow but I wanted to let you know that my eyes are only on you."
Oh, thank god.
As much as I like Asher, the last thing I wanted was to jump into a relationship.
I like how things are going right now.
"I'm really glad you said that. My eyes have always been on you and you only. Ever since the first second, I saw you walk into class late on my first day." I laugh.
"You've liked me for that long?"
"Yeah..." I mumble.
He was about to reply until his phone started ringing.
He apologizes in advance and checks his phone.
His eyes immediately go wide.
"Holy shit." He gasps.
"What?"
"It's Alyssa."
Oh shit.
He continues staring at his phone in shock until I tell him to pick up.
"Hello?"
I can't hear Alyssa's voice on the other side so I just continue eating in silence.
"Yeah, I can meet tomorrow."
"You want Jonathan there too?" His voice was laced with shock.
"Okay, see you tomorrow."
"Bye."
He ends the call and remains silent.
"What happened?" I ask.
"Alyssa wants to talk to Jonathan and me tomorrow about some stuff and I'm fucking nervous." He says.
"I'm sure everything will be okay," I say.
"I think I just lost my appetite." He laughs.
I can tell he's scared, his face has paled a bit and his hands are beginning to sweat.
"Ash, she's your sister and as much as she's pissed at you, she still loves you."
"I fucking hope so."
"I'm sorry for ruining the date." He groans.
"Hey, you didn't ruin anything! I had so much fun with you." I tell him truthfully.
"You're amazing, you know that?" He says.
"I know." I laugh while dramatically flipping my hair.
He laughs before leaning close to me and attaching his lips to mine.
Yep, this date was definitely better than the first.
----------Author's Note-----------
How would y'all feel if Asher's dad "mysteriously" died in an accident?
Jk...kinda.
Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter!
-Pradabagg
Word Count: 1768