Hello everyone! Sorry I've been absent for a bit. Things have been busy and once again, I've started writing another story because my brain doesn't know when to quit. HOWEVER! That doesn't mean I'm giving up on Delaney and Asher because I love them too much. Though, that means that updates will be a bit slower. Fair warning. I'll see how far I get in the other story before I post it, but I hope I get around to doing that soon. Thank you all for sticking with me and my discombobulated brain :D
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Before I unlocked the door, I turned around to Asher. "Listen, my grandpa may not be the easiest to deal with. It all depends on the timing of things and how many drinks he's had." I sighed. "I don't know all that happened but back in the day-"
Asher raised his hands up. "I don't want to pry into your family's business. It doesn't matter to me."
I smiled as I nudged the door open. "Thanks."
Once I entered, I jumped back and screamed. Oh, it was horrible! It was the most disgusting thing I've seen, and I've seen a plethora of customers at Mimi's.
Right in front of me was Maisy with some sort of green crusted face mask, her hair tightly pulled back, and covering herself in a grey robe.
"Shield your eyes!" I jumped to cover Asher's face. "It's a witch that'll turn you into stone!"
Maisy crossed her arms. "Shut up, Lane."
Asher eyed at her as he stepped into the house. "Well, she's certainly casting a spell on me."
Maisy rolled her eyes, but still welcomed the compliment. "Hi, I'm Maisy, Delaney's older sister. I also happen to have a boyfriend, so I would watch it if I were you." Her mask cracked as she giggled. "And you are?"
Realizing she was off the market, he moved closer to me. "I'm Asher, Delaney's lovely magical assistant."
Nooooo!
I leaped onto his back, clamping my hands over his mouth. "Shut up, shut up, shut up," I hissed.
Maisy pointed at him. "What did he just say?"
I tightened my grip on him as he tried to throw me off. Nice try, human skyscraper. Ever since it was apparent that I wouldn't grow any taller, I have trained my thighs and hands to reign superior when I needed to be on people's shoulders. "He said he's my...tragical assistant. Yeah, that's right! We're in the drama club together." I pulled his head back, so he was looking at me. "Oh Romeo, oh Romeo, why are you so stupid-o?"
Maisy shook her head, a smile tracing her lips as she came closer. "No, he didn't."
"Yes, he did."
Her Cheshire grin was nearly too big for her face as she said, "You're doing the magic show even though Dad said no."
I hopped off his back and covered her mouth. "Shut up!" I shot daggers at Asher. "Thanks a lot, asshat."
He straightened his hoodie. "I believe the correct term for me is ashhat."
"Now is not the time for puns!" I snapped. I focused in on Maisy. "You cannot say anything to Dad about this, understand? You will no longer be my sister and I will hate you forever. Just pretend you never heard this idiot, and it will all be okay."
I let up my hold, allowing her to respond. Her smile never wavered. "Oh dear sister, how the tables have turned."
I gritted my teeth. "What do you want?"
She let out a laugh. "Hmmm, let's see. What's the best way to make you my servant?"
"Maisy, please," I whimpered. "Don't pick now to be a total bitch."
She narrowed her eyes. "I can be a total bitch if you want. Let me go get Dad."
I grabbed her elbow. "Sorry, sorry. I really want to do this! There's this guy who's a major asshole that I have to show up now! You've said I don't do anything. Now I am, but you're going to take that away from me?"
"You do realize we're just talking about magic tricks here, right?" Asher asked.
I summoned all my negative energy into the scowl I gave him.
He smiled awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. "But I'm just a lowly assistant, what do I know?"
I turned back to Maisy. I hated the feeling of relying on her. The fact that my chance in the competition solely rested on her was almost enough for me to throw in the towel right then and there. Almost.
She folded her arms. "You should probably try to understand why Dad hates magic, you know. Maybe you'll see it's not worth it."
I bit my lip. "I'm not Dad, Maisy. I respect that he doesn't want to be involved in it, but why should it affect me? I'm go through a lot to get this figured out. I even tackled him at Mimi's." I jerked my chin in Asher's direction. "I can't let that be in vain."
"I'd prefer that it wasn't in vain either." Asher laughed. "Plus, I like being paid."
Maisy looked between the two of us. "You're paying him?"
I nodded. "I need someone to be my assistant and he's willing to do it for a price. I don't want to wait around for someone when we need to practice as much as we can if we want a shot at winning. Not only do I want to make Grandpa see how much fun it is to perform, I want to show that people are wrong. I do deserve to be front and center. I am going to beat everyone."
She held my gaze before finally letting out a breath. "Well, it seems like you are taking this seriously. But you'll need to prove it. If you can perform a good show for me next week, I won't tell Dad."
"Really?" I asked.
She gave me a small smile. "My lips are sealed." Her smile grew bigger. "As long as you perform a good show and do what I say."
I knew it wasn't going to be that easy.
"What else do you want?" I grumbled.
She plopped herself down on the couch and put her feet up on the ottoman. "Derek and I are celebrating our three-year anniversary next weekend."
"Congrats," I deadpanned.
She had no problem smiling now that her mask was so full of cracks. "Thank you. But there's a slight problem. I'm supposed to babysit Toby."
I shrugged. "Bring him along."
She cringed. "Ew, no. I need you to babysit him and Derek's little sister. You remember Camille, don't you? It'll be next Saturday night. Then on Sunday I'll watch you perform."
I held my arms up in an 'X'. "Uh, no can do. We," I gestured between Asher and I, "have to practice on weekends. It's not like he lives around here. We need full days to make sure we get this down."
We would need it even more if I couldn't convince my grandpa.
"You wouldn't even have a chance if it weren't for me keeping your secret." She clicked on the TV.
I glared.
"I can come over after work a few days during the week for the time being," Asher said. "Besides," he wrapped his arms over my shoulders and leaned down so his cheek was pressed to mine, "I don't want you missing me too much."
I craned my neck back to look at him. "You would?"
He smiled as he let go of me. "Sure. As long as you could drive me home. I don't want to be spending all that money on bus fares."
I smiled back. "Deal."
"Well now that you have all of that figured out," Maisy cut in, "I'll see you Saturday."
I rolled my eyes. "Anything else?"
She tapped her lips. "I'll let you know."
I wasn't going to give her the time to change her mind. I yanked Asher by his sleeve towards the stairwell.
"She seems...fun," he commented as we made our way down.
"You can't get money out of her, believe me," I said.
He ruffled up my hair. "And that's why you're my favorite!"
I couldn't help but feel a bit of pride at that.
I went right over to the couch, poking my grandfather's arm until he woke up. He blinked a few times before yawning. He swung his head Asher's way and turned back to me. "Who's he?"
"Asher Goldberg." Asher put out his hand. "It's wonderful to finally meet you, Mr. Beckett."
Grandpa drowsily shook his hand, mumbling something incoherent.
"Grandpa, this is my assistant. Remember, the one I told you about?" I beamed. "He's going to train with me."
My grandpa began to sit up, though he still looked pretty out of it. "Uh-huh. He's a big fella, ain't he?"
Asher chuckled. "Only six three."
I nearly choked on my spit.
Grandpa laughed. "No wonder Laney chose you. She's always needed to see up high."
Asher grinned at me, though I ignored him. I had to stay focused on the goal at hand. "Grandpa, we need you to teach us. Please."
His eyes darkened. "Delaney."
I got down on my knees. "Please, Grandpa. You're the only one who I can trust with this. You were the best."
Asher nodded. "Sir, it would be a privilege to learn from you. I may not know magic, but I know Delaney is headstrong about this. Maybe a bit obsessive and deranged, but I'm guessing that the reason she hasn't gone somewhere else to learn is probably because she wants to honor your teachings."
I smiled up at him. Thank you, Asher.
I took my grandfather's hand in mine. "I want to prove everyone wrong about us. Sure, you might have taken a dive, but we can win back your status. It all starts with this little competition." I gripped on tighter. "Don't you want to try again?"
Grandpa's eyes bore into mine. He had to have wanted to try again back in the day, so what was wrong with now? Didn't he want to make happy memories over the unhappy ones?
He sighed. "I'm sorry, Delaney."
Grandpa flopped to his other side, burying his face into the backrest. "Let me know when dinner is ready."
"Grandpa?"
He didn't bother to respond.
Tears began to prick behind my eyes once again today. I bit the inside of my cheek. No. I didn't need Asher to give me another pep talk. I could do that on my own. It was time to get this in motion. No one could stop me.
I got up and tugged Asher towards the stairs. I had a new plan.
"You okay?"
I glanced over my shoulder. I smiled. "Of course! Why wouldn't I be?"
"Well, I just witnessed your dreams being crushed."
I flicked his forehead. Wow, I could actually do that without being on stilts! That was why I loved stairs. They filled me with a sense of dominance. Well, if I was in the lead anyway. "It's time to put your skills to good use."
We passed by Maisy, who now had her real face back, but she was too entranced with her house flipping show to spare us a glance. I went into the kitchen and searched around until I found a note from Toby's school, asking for one of our parents' signatures. Apparently building a Lego city with functioning transit systems during class was deemed as inappropriate.
"What are you doing?" Asher asked.
I hushed him and drug him down the hall to reach my room. I flicked on the lights. Yeah, perhaps I should have rethought the whole 'bring someone who I barely know into my private space' idea. I instantly flicked off the lights.
"Whoa, no, you don't get to tease me like that." He reached over and turned the lights back on.
I tried to push him back, but it was like I was merely a small breeze. "There was a reason why laundry baskets were invented." He smirked as he stepped over a huge pile of clothes on the floor.
I watched him navigate the floor like it was a mine field before he got over to my desk. "Wow," he gawked at the makeup spilling over the table top, "so this is where all the magic happens."
I pushed my dirty clothes towards my closet. "Puns are an illegal substance. They are meant to stay behind border lines." I pointed to the door.
He grinned. "I wouldn't dare squander my chance at being allowed in. I'll stop." Asher hopped over to my bed. "Can I?"
I waved him ahead. "I don't care." I dug through my drawer and found my deck of cards and my permission slip.
I went over to my closet and grabbed a card mat that I bought previously at some garage sale. Sometimes at night, I would hide under my covers and practice dealing. I glanced over at the door. There was a chance my parents could pass by.
I stepped over and grabbed the handle.
Asher raised an eyebrow.
"My parents could come by," I said. "Remember the insanity of my family? I can't be seen learning card tricks."
He rolled his eyes. "Then you might as well lock the door."
"Good thinking." I pushed in the lock.
His eyes widened. "I was kidding!" He watched me as I clambered over to the bed.
"Here." I placed the mat down and laid everything in front of us. "I want you to copy my mom's signature."
Asher looked at me. "Are you sure about this?"
I nodded. "Why wouldn't I be?"
He shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe your sister's right. Maybe you should listen to why your family keeps saying no."
I let out an exasperated sigh. "You were just on my side back with Mendoza." I frowned. "Why are you suddenly not supporting me? And don't you dare say it's because I'm going behind people's backs. You do that for a living."
"I have a job, too," he mumbled. "But yeah, that's a fair point." He picked up a pen and scribbled a few times on a scrap piece of paper before he finally had my mom's signature down. I had to admit. I was a bit impressed at how quickly he picked it up.
"Where did you learn to do this?" I held up the papers side by side. He even nailed the little loop at the end of Mom's R's.
He held a finger to his grinning lips. "I can't reveal all my secrets. We hardly know each other."
He reclined back and grabbed one of the many pillows that covered my bedspread. "Ugh, today was exhausting and your bed is so inviting." He patted the spot next to him. "C'mon, let's get all nice and cozy. We deserve to relax."
"No."
His eyes slightly lowered as he gave me a slow smile. "Do I make you nervous?"
I snatched the pillow from under him and smacked him with it. "I want to see cards! Now stop wasting my time."
Asher pursed his lips. "And I was so nice to you today." He sighed and sat up.
He raked his fingers through his dark locks before opening the pack. He started off by doing a regular shuffle, then moved to casino table shuffles, a Ben Wade shuffle where groups of cards seemed to spin around in his hands in a triangular pattern, and finally ended it in a ribbon spread with a wave flip.
I loved every moment of it!
"I want to play a game with you," he said. "It's called Three Card Monte. Heard of it?"
It did sound familiar, but I wanted to see more so I shook my head.
He dealt himself three cards, facedown. "Okay, you see them?"
I nodded.
He collected them into his left palm. "The first card is a joker." He flipped it over in his palm to show me the face and flipped once more so the back was showing again. "The second is also a joker." He repeated the same action. "And the third is an ace."
I nodded.
"Now, as someone who's watched countless magic shows, you're pretty smart and I have no doubt that you'll figure this out." He winked. "So how about for every time you find the ace, you get a kiss from yours truly?"
I cringed. "Isn't that more a win for you?"
He grinned. "I like to think we're all winners here."
I rolled my eyes. "I'll pass. How about I get a new lipstick?"
Asher's eyes nearly popped out of his head. "Do you know how expensive those things are!?"
I pointed to my maroon lips. "I think I do. Don't worry, there's some that only cost seven bucks. Totally legit too!"
He made a face. "Fine. However, if you don't get it right, then I win. Since I want to go easy on you, how about I get a homemade cookie?"
I raised an eyebrow. "Cookies?"
He shrugged. "I'm a sucker for sweets. And it's always been a dream of mine to have a woman make me something."
I laughed. "You're on."
I could do this. I've seen plenty of videos on sleight-of-hand. Hell, I practiced it myself when I had the chance.
Asher continued with the trick. "The ace is on top. So, if I put it on the bottom, where is it?"
"The bottom," I said without much thought.
I instantly knew I had made a mistake. Why did my pride have to blind me...damn him! He built me up! He knew how much I would eat those compliments up and the thought of him having to spend his own money was too good to pass up. He knew it.
He swindled me before actually swindling me.
Was I honestly that easy?
He switched the small deck to his right hand to reveal the bottom: Joker. "Wrong. One cookie for me."
"Then the top!" I hurried.
He flipped it over: Joker. "Wrong again. Two cookies."
Come on Delaney! You got this!
I clenched my fists. "Then it's in the middle."
He fanned the cards out and showed it: Joker. "Three cookies." He gathered the cards back together.
I breathed harshly out my nostrils. "Do you even have the ace still?"
Asher smiled as he showed the bottom: Ace. "Four cookies."
I have never wanted to strangle someone and worship them at the same time. I had to admit, I was a little attracted to him right then.
"Still want to continue?" he taunted.
I almost didn't want to, but the thought of seeing what else he had in store was more than enough to press me forward. "Yep!"
"Well, since you're doing pretty shitty with the ace, how about you find a joker for me?"
I nodded. If there was an ace on the bottom, then the middle and top should be the joker. "There should be one on top."
He showed the ace. "Wrong. Five."
He wasn't even shuffling them! "Then the middle," I tried again.
He fanned it out again and picked out the middle card: Ace. "Six. Look," he flipped up the joker and then the ace on either side of one card that remained with its back showing, "if you can tell me what this middle card is, I will forgive your debts. Watching you like this is making me sad."
His grin said otherwise.
"Shouldn't it be a joker?" I asked.
He turned it over and revealed a red king. "Should we make my order a dozen?"
I stared at the cards in front of me for several minutes before I gazed up at him. "That was so...great!"
He winked. "You want that kiss now?"
I let out a laugh. "Kind of, to be honest. That was so much fun!" I leaped at him, wrapping my arms around him in a hug as we fell against my mattress. I squeezed him tight in my excitement before I pushed up slightly on my hands to get a look at him. "Thank you for that! I should have known better because of the double lifts with the cards, but you pulled it off so well. I'm so lucky to have you as my partner. We're going to be great!"
He blinked at me a couple of times before giving out a hoarse chuckle. "I'm lucky too."
I watched him. "Really? Even though I should have caught on to the trick earlier? You really mean that?"
Asher smiled softly. "Of course." His smile grew wider. "Who else could I scam so easily?"
I bopped his forehead with my palm before rolling off to the side. "Okay," I rubbed my hands together excitedly, "what's next?"
That was the night I ended up twenty-five dollars and a dozen cookies in debt.
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Asher shuffling cards like:
While Delaney is:
I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Leave a comment and vote if you did :)