Unexpected

by Bailey B

  I nod as he presses play.

  My mind runs as the movie starts, wondering if this is one of those movies where the couple ends up together. Is he trying to tell me something? Or am I overthinking this?

  “Oh, my god!” I squeal when I realize what’s happening on the screen. I zoned out the first few minutes, but now I cover my mouth with my hands as an Australian dude, who looks like he should be a Hemsworth brother, offers his date forty dollars in front of her parents for quote, “Coming in her mouth.”

  “He took the pants!” Asher laughs. He leans closer and puts one arm over my shoulders. His other hand reaches into the popcorn bowl that has somehow found its way into my lap. I thought I put it on the cushions, but at some point, the space between us was eliminated.

  I swallow hard and shift to comfortably rest my head on Asher's shoulder. My pits are sweating to the point where I can feel the wetness on my shirt and I hope to god my deodorant works because if this stress sweat makes me smell bad, I might die from humiliation.

  By the time the on-screen couple makes it to St. Patrick’s day, our bowl of popcorn is empty. Asher moves it from my lap to the space beside him. I stare at the TV, unable to focus because his fingers are twisting a lock of my hair, giving me goosebumps.

  “Ellie?”

  I turn my head to look at Asher and he’s close. So close I can feel his breath on my face. I look up into his eyes and bite the corner of my bottom lip, hardly able to breathe. This could be our moment, the one that takes us from fake to real. All the signs are there: the stupid movie, the closeness, how he’s found a way to touch me nearly all afternoon.

  “Yeah?” I whisper.

  Asher leans closer until our lips are almost touching. “I…” He tilts his head and I suck in a breath, then close my eyes.

  “Lainey!” Mom hollers as she unlocks the front door. Asher pulls back and scoots a few inches away. His arm leaves my shoulders and he clasps his hands in his lap. Seriously, Mom? I'm so frustrated I could scream.

  “Can you…oh.” Mom stops yelling and smiles. “Hi, Asher. Do you think you kids can help me with the groceries?”

  “Sure thing, Mrs. Walker,” Asher replies, rising to his feet. He holds his hand out for me. I used to think the gesture was him being kind, but now I wonder if it’s another way to touch me. If he feels the same pull I do.

  “Asher, hun,” Mom states with a grin, “if you’re going to keep seeing Lainey, we might as well get rid of the formalities. Call me Susan. “

  “So, you approve?” he asks, one brow arched.

  Mom giggles and opens the fridge to put the milk away. She ignores the question and reaches for another bag of things to put away. “Will you be staying for supper tonight?”

  "Oh." Asher smiles politely and shakes his head. He hands over a tub of butter and says, “I don’t want to impose.”

  “James and I have a date tonight, so it’s no opposition.” Mom tosses an empty shopping bag into the recycling bin, then smirks. “Just no hanky-panky. Clothes must be on at all times tonight.”

  My jaw drops. I'm mortified. I cover my face with my hands and mumble “Oh, god. Mom!”

  “It’s getting late,” Mom whispers, rubbing her fingers across my scalp. When I was little, she used to wake me up for school that way, playing with my hair and singing a song. I smile at the memory and rub my eyes. “You should probably get to bed.”

  Asher and I ordered a pizza and watched both Princess Switch movies. They were cute and have the chick from High School Musical. Mom was obsessed with Zac Effron, so anything she could put on that was appropriate with him in it, she did. Asher and I must have watched those movies a million times when we were little. So, when we saw that chick was in the princess movies, there was no question what we'd watch.

  Once I finished the first one, I had to know what happened next. I’m pretty sure I finished the last movie, but considering we fell asleep we might not have. Oh, well. The second one was predictable. Girl’s evil cousin tricks guy. Guy leaves girl. Girl finds him just in time. The end.

  “Okay.” I yawn. “‘I'll wake Asher.”

  Mom looks down at him, asleep on my lap. She’s got that proud mother look in her eye, even though he’s not her kid, and smiles. “No, he can stay, but you need to go to your room.”

  “Are you sure, Mom?” I ask, already knowing her answer. “Doesn’t that break your sleep over rule?”

  "Like that's stopped you before?" Mom arches her brows. "I know about you and Liam, Lane. He's been coming through your window for years. "

  I stare at her, jaw dropped. "You never said anything."

  Mom shrugs and brushes her fingers over Asher's hair. She smiles, getting that look again, and says, "I’ll tell your father about Asher so he doesn’t freak out in the morning.”

  I guess that's the end of that. “Thanks, Mom.”

  She pats my shoulder then disappears down the dark hallway. I slip out from underneath Asher, careful not to wake him, my mind still spinning. Mom knew about Liam sleeping in my bed, which means she probably knows that we were doing more than sleeping. I swallow hard. Eventually, she's going to get the EOB from the insurance about today's visit at Planned Parenthood. I just hope when it comes, I'll be off at college and she can put two and two together. At least that way I won't have to explain anything.

  I flip the light on in my room and choke back a scream. No one should be in my room, especially Liam, but there he is, sitting on my bed, looking like he’s been to hell and back. “What the hell are you doing here?”

  Liam stares at his hands and whispers, “I broke up with Corah.”

  “You did what?" I look behind me to Asher. He's still asleep. I don't want him knowing Liam is here, so I close the door. No matter how I look at this situation, it isn't good, but if I can keep Asher from waking, maybe I won't have to tell him about it. "Liam, you can’t.”

  “She lied to me.” He looks up at me, eyes red and puffy. “She was never pregnant. She used her cousin's ultrasound because she was scared I was going to leave her." He pauses and shakes his head. "She lied to me, Lainey."

  “Holy crap.” I sit on the bed and pull Liam into a hug. Big arms wrap around my waist, pulling me close, as his head rests against my chest. I thread my fingers through Liam's hair, waiting for the butterflies in my stomach to spring to life. They don't. The only thing I'm feeling is sorrow, because as happy as I am to hear that Liam won't be a father, I'm also heartbroken. No man should ever be put through something like this. “I’m so sorry. Are you okay?”

  He shakes his head and looks up at me. “She only came clean because she knew I’d eventually leave her. For you.”

  “Liam…” I drop my arms to my slides and scoot back an inch. If he would have come to me a few weeks ago, before I found out about the almost baby and the need for an STD test, I might have felt differently. I cared for him so much, I thought I was in love. Now, I look at Liam and realize I do love him, but I'm not in love with him.

  “I never would have stayed with Corah if it wasn’t for the baby. I was going to take you to prom." He takes my hand. I look down at our intertwined fingers, still shocked there's no zing of electricity. I tuck my lips between my lips to fight a frown and meet Liam's gaze again. "It was always supposed to be you and me, Lainey. What happened to us?”

  "You hurt me." I pull my hand back and hug myself. The wounds in my heart from every time I was pushed aside and forgotten for someone else burst open. All the pain I've locked away hits me at once, pooling tears behind my eyes. "You were sleeping with other people behind my back."

  "We weren’t exclusive. You knew I was with other girls."

  I shake my head and wipe at my eyes before the flood gates break loose. "I knew you were doing stuff with those girls, but I didn't know you were doing that."

  Liam snorts and leans back onto his hands. "What did you think I was doing with them? Cuddling and watching movies? I only did that kind of shit with you, Lainey."

  "
I don’t know." I stand and pace across the room to my desk. That picture of Liam and I stares at me. I wish I could go back to that day, to when he was my moon and my sun, but now things are different. I'm different. "I never sat down and thought about it, but none of that matters." I turn to Liam and wonder, Did he even think about the shit he was exposing me to? Probably not. "We never used a condom, Liam. How many other girls did you do that with?”

  "None," he insists, standing and crossing the room. He touches my elbow and looks me in the eye. "Only you."

  I shake my head and step out of his grasp. Anger burns beneath my skin, scorching my insides. How dare he think I'm that naive. "Stop lying to me! That can’t be true if you thought Corah was pregnant."

  "Fine", Liam growls, his heartbroken, caring demeanor replaced with irritation. "Do you want the truth? All of them. I fucking hate condoms."

  My face pinches together in disgust. Tomorrow's phone call with my results can't come fast enough. "Get out, Liam. You disgust me."

  "Don’t make me go," he begs, dropping down to his knees and holding my legs. "We can fix this. I can do better. I’ll let everyone know we’re together this time and I will only be with you. Please, Lainey."

  My heart breaks because I did it. Liam finally sees me as someone worth having, but it's too late. I take his hands and pull him to his feet "I don’t trust you. You've got to work on fixing our friendship before I’d even consider being with you like that again."

  "Fine." He wraps his arms around me and nuzzles into my neck. " I’ll do whatever you want."

  "Thank you." I keep my arms at my sides until Liam realizes I'm not going to fall into his trap. There will be no cuddling that turns into kissing that makes its way into touching. He and I are starting over as friends. Nothing more.

  Liam takes the hint and steps back, shoving his hands in his pockets. "So, that means you and Asher are over then. Right?"

  Asher. I’d almost forgotten about him. I know things between us are fake, but it feels so real. I can't let what we have go until I know where he stands. I shake my head. "No. I’m not breaking up with him. Not until I know you’re serious and feel like this is something I’m ready to do again. Asher has been the perfect boyfriend, Liam. You have a lot of work to do if you want to take his place."

  "You're joking.” He sneers. "You expect me to drop everything and everyone but you're still going to be with him? No. I’m not doing it."

  I shrug not at all surprised. Or even disappointed. "You always know what to say to make me bend my will for you, Liam, but you fall short every time. Crawl back out the way you came and leave me alone."

  I lean against the hood of my car in the school parking lot and watch Asher talk to Russell and a few of the football guys. He hasn’t noticed me yet, and for that I’m grateful. It’s not often I have the chance to appreciate his beauty anymore. Asher throws his head back and laughs. His smile is boisterous and reaches his eyes. Even though I have no idea what they are talking about, I smile too. I tuck my hair behind my ears because just watching him makes me nervous.

  Asher looks up, mid-conversation, as if he can feel my eyes on him, and turns his head towards me. Our gazes lock and heat climbs my neck. I feel stupid. We’ve been fake dating for weeks, but now that Liam and Corah have called it quits, our time is almost up. They’ve kept their breakup under wraps all week, probably because prom is Saturday and they don’t want to risk losing the crown. I don’t think Liam cares much about being prom king, but I know Corah does. Liam may have his faults, but he's got a good heart. He won't ruin Corah’s dream just because she's a lying twat. Even if he should.

  Asher and Russell do some bro shake and then he waves goodbye to the rest of their group. He walks over to me, hands in his pockets. My leg bounces as he crosses the blacktop. He smiles as he draws near and my heart flutters faster.

  Asher sets one hand on either side of me, pinning me to the hood of my car, and leans in for a kiss, but it’s too quick. It doesn’t satisfy the ache in my stomach. “Hey, beautiful.”

  “Hey.” My cheeks burn, releasing the heat down my neck and to my core. “How was your day?”

  He chuckles and brushes his nose against my cheek until his lips reach my ear. I know this is for show, for everyone who may or may not be watching, but I love it. My chest tightens; need wraps a lasso around my heart. I toy with the idea of gripping Asher's shirt and pulling his lips against mine, parting his mouth with my tongue but we haven’t kissed like that in weeks. Not since that party when we first started this mess.

  “Better now that you’re here.” Asher pulls away and leans against the hood beside me. The breath I didn’t realize I was holding burns my lungs. He looks at me funny when I exhale and asks, “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine!” I say, a little too loudly. I smirk and hope he can’t see through my pathetic excuse for armor. “Are you working tonight?”

  He chuckles, apparently used to my weirdness. “Nope. I’m off until Sunday.”

  “Really?” I rack my brain, trying to figure out what he could need this Thursday and Saturday for. I’ve got nothing. Prom is this weekend, but we haven’t talked about going, so I don’t think that’s it.

  “Yup. Why? Were you trying to get out of hanging tonight?”

  For a fraction of a second, I think I see a glimmer of worry flash across Asher's face, but then he smiles. I must have imagined it.

  I keep my gaze trained on the school and everyone who hasn’t left yet. There aren't many people still on campus, most people bolted the moment the bell rang but there are still a few familiar faces lingering.

  Liam shuffles down the steps and we lock eyes. He frowns and shakes his head. He hasn't made any effort to talk to me since crawling out my window last weekend. So much for proving things can be different. I look away and to the parking lot. I won’t let him ruin this moment. “Actually, I thought I’d take you on a date.”

  Asher chuckles again and steps in front of me. I’m sure he noticed Liam and is putting on a show again. The thought hurts my heart. I want so badly for this to be real. I look up into his amethyst eyes. They’re darker today, rich in color. “Isn’t it supposed to be the other way around? Aren’t I supposed to take you out?

  “Yes.” I wiggle out from underneath Asher. Being this close to him is too hard. Especially since there’s a chance everything could end tonight. I need to get used to being without his touch, just in case things don’t go as planned. “You’ve been so great the past few weeks, I wanted to do something nice.”

  Asher smiles and looks at me in a way I’ve only dreamed about. His eyes could be spilling the secrets of his soul, telling me how much he cares and how happy he is with me. Or, I could be over-analyzing things and setting myself up for heartbreak.

  “Sounds like fun. What time should I pick you up?”

  “Nuh-uh,” I smirk and look over my shoulder at him. I lean against the driver’s side door and cross my arms. “This is my date. Be at my house by seven, but then I’m driving.”

  Asher steps in front of me again. He dips his head, pressing those lips to mine for a tender, two-second kiss. “Whatever you say, beautiful.”

  “This place is nice,” Asher states, staring out the window out our beach view from the table I reserved. The Ocean Side Cafe isn’t the fanciest place in town, but the food is decent and the view is gorgeous. If you can snag one of the six window tables. Lucky for us, Alandra owed Maggie a favor and she cashed it in for me.

  “It’s alright.” I hide behind my menu, pretending to decide what I want to eat. My head spins from nervousness. At some point tonight, we need to have the talk before Asher hears on Monday that Liam and Corah broke up. It needs to come from me, so I can control the conversation.

  “El?” Asher asks. There’s no denying the worry in his tone this time. He’s onto me, and that makes my pulse race faster.

  “Yeah?” I squeak, then clear my throat and ask again.

  “What’s wrong?”

&nbs
p; Our waitress chooses that moment to reappear, giving me a few more minutes to get my bearings and figure out what I’m going to say. “Have you folks figured out what you want?”

  She looks to Asher, batting her mascara covered lashes. I’m sure she’s wondering what a guy like him is doing with a girl like me. Even in my best dress tonight, I feel too plain and boring to be his girlfriend. That’s why the fake thing worked, I didn’t have to worry about things like this. Asher looks at me and says, “Ladies first.”

  We order our entrees and, all too soon, the waitress is gone. Asher sets his hand on the table, palm up. I lace my fingers with his and force a smile. My lungs feel like they’re trapped in a vice and I am freaking out inside. Maybe it’s better to see how the cards fall on Monday. Maybe Asher will make the first move and ask me to be his forever. That could happen. Right?

  “What’s wrong, beautiful? You’ve been acting weird since lunch today.”

  “Liam and Corah broke up,” I blurt.

  Asher leans back into his chair, his hand sliding from mine. He looks out the window, at the waves crashing along the shore. The sun has just begun to set, painting the sky in wisps of red and orange. It's beautiful. Too beautiful for heartbreak. “I guess that means we’re breaking up too then, huh?”

  “Actually, I was thinking…” My leg bounces under the table with such fierceness I’m shaking. My stomach turns, bile climbing my throat. I grab a roll from the basket between us. I don’t bother with the cinnamon butter. Just tear off a piece and shove it in my mouth. I need to soak up the acid boiling over inside me before it makes an embarrassing appearance. I swallow then ask my question in one rushed breath. “Would you want to do this for real?”

  I shove another torn piece of bread into my mouth. I’m trying like hell to keep my composure but each passing millisecond feels like a lifetime in itself. I don’t know how long it takes for Asher to turn his gaze to me.