Asher
It's a good thing we were just a hookup.
Why did I have to say that to her? Was I seriously that stupid?
I didn’t care how odd our forged friendship began, but Mallory was the only girl after Roxie that I remotely wanted to spend time with and with whom I could potentially see myself pursuing something more. It was saying a lot, especially since I’d originally thought of her as a jinx. Now I wasn’t so sure.
I mean, yes, I was still fucking up my moves, but maybe there was something more to it that I couldn’t see yet. Maybe all this happened for some bigger purpose.
Maybe it was kismet.
What I didn’t tell Mallory, or anyone else for that matter, is that after Roxie dumped me I was a complete wreck. I couldn’t eat and I couldn’t sleep for weeks. About the only thing I could do was breakdance, which was ironic given that it was the catalyst for our relationship’s demise in the first place. But then the night I first saw Mallory at the club was something out of a cheesy teen movie. Looking back, it felt like one of life’s defining moments. Who knows? Maybe it really was one.
It was as if there was a spotlight on her. Everywhere she moved, despite the growing crowd around us, I easily found her, unable to take my gaze off of her swinging hips and glowing face. She was a fairy, a goddess, and muse. She was the prettiest thing I’d ever laid my eyes on.
After about an hour watching her like some sort of creeper, I decided to finally approach her. I had no idea that we’d end up in bed, and contrary to popular belief, I did not plan on taking her to the hotel. At the risk of sounding like someone ashamed of his sexual exploits, I really never do stuff like that.
Hollywood or not, I never slept around in fear of having my heart broken once again. But that night I let my guard down and I allowed Mallory to burst through my walls.
Even then, I knew she was different.
So maybe I got it all wrong. She was never the jinx. I was, for acting out of character.
I forced a smile, noting the pout on her lips. Was it disappointment? Nah, the universe couldn’t be that kind to me.
I gulped. “So where shall we smoke up?”
Her head snapped from left to right. “The parking garage is pretty empty. Wanna just do it here? And maybe we should stop calling it ‘smoke up.’ It makes it sound like we’re doing drugs or something.”
My jaw dropped to the floor. “In here? Are you crazy? We might as well be smoking drugs. At least that’d look somewhat normal.”
She shrugged. “I was thinking it’s close to the bar. Maybe after we’re done, you can test out if it worked or not by going back onto the floor again to dance.”
I cringed, thinking of Scottie and his crew. “I don't know…”
Mallory placed her hand on my arm, giving me an encouraging squeeze. “Come on. I believe in you. Besides, I’ll be right there.”
And that was the final crack that caused my shield to break completely.
I nodded, feeling a lump well up in my throat. I could only stand quietly, watching as she moved around me.
***
“Is that enough smoke?” I brought my hand to my mouth, coughing away the organic smell emanating from the leaf bundle. My eyes burned, tightening as the white smoke dried out my eyes. “Are you sure you don’t need to light it again?”
Holding the sage in one hand and her phone in the other, Mallory somehow lifted an index finger as if to tell me to wait, while she read something on her phone. “No, this is okay. We just have to make sure it’s still smoking.”
I glanced around the parking garage. It was empty, but packed wall to wall with familiar looking cars, most likely belonging to the breakers battling. “Okay, well, let’s hurry up and do this before someone comes.”
She took a deep breath and nodded. “Let’s do this.”
I narrowed my eyes nervously as she circled me, fanning the smoke in my direction. “Are you supposed to say a chant or something?”
I heard her snort. “No, think of this as a smoke bath. I’m just washing the bad stuff away from you. Do you chant when you clean yourself?”
“I just sing in the shower.”
She chuckled. “Why doesn’t that surprise me?”
A small smile worked its way on my lips. “Don’t joke with me. Are you saying you don’t sing?”
“No. I play the piano. That’s about how musical I get.”
“Oh, come on. That’s disappointing.”
“I told you I hate performing. Why would I do something I know I suck at?” Her eyes widened. “I didn’t mean that. I’m sorry.”
Though I felt my insides wilt a little, I remained smiling. “Come on, Mal. No one will hear you in the shower. I mean, I’m pretty sure I sound like five cats fighting to their death when I croon Queen out loud.”
“Only five cats? Not more?”
“Well, I’m not as bad as six, but I’m definitely not as good as four.”
Her answering giggles warmed my heart. See, this is what I’d miss once we were all done with our anti-hexing activities. I highly doubted she wanted to remain in touch, which was probably just as well, considering I’d soon be across the country. Still, in the short time I’d gotten to know Mallory, I just felt so comfortable with her. I didn’t have to put on an act around her and I didn’t need to prove myself. I could just be me—the real me.
I’d miss that.
“How are you feeling?” she asked, circling me for the fourth time.
I squinted an eye, waiting for some oomph or bam! to overcome me. I shrugged, feeling a bit disappointed when I felt nothing out of the ordinary. “I feel…normal.”
“Normal’s good, isn’t it?”
“I guess…” I scratched against my temple and grimaced.
“You up to going back into the bar to test it out? Or maybe you can do a few tricks here before you work yourself up to that.”
“Tricks?” I laughed. “Is that what you think breaking is?”
“I don’t know.” She clasped her hands around the sage tightly and shifted uncomfortably. “We don’t need to go inside the bar if you don’t want to. Let’s just leave before we get caught by someone.”
As if on cue, the ominous tone of a police siren blared somewhere near us. It was one loud horn, short and sweet, but it was definitely behind me. Scared to turn around, I decided to look at Mallory instead and saw the telltale lights of red and blue reflecting off her fear struck face.
Chapter 23
Mallory
“Don’t…just don’t.” I gripped the steering wheel so tightly I was white-knuckled. I glanced at the rearview mirror, cringing at the reflection of the police station that still seemed too close for comfort.
“Maybe if I didn’t force you to sage me—”
I lifted a hand shushing, Asher. “I said don’t talk about it, okay?” I shifted in my seat, straightening myself. “Besides, it was my dumb idea to do it in the parking garage. Of course somebody would see us…a cop, for that matter.”
Asher stared out the window, his elbow propped against the side of the car with his chin resting on his fist. His eyebrows furrowed together as we drove by the bar, which now looked like a large exodus for an Adidas commercial. Shaking his head slightly, he sighed. “At least the cop had a good humor about it. It could have been worse.”
“Good humor?” I cringed, remembering how the cop, who looked old enough to be my dad, practically fell over from laughing so hard when we told him what we were doing.
Snickering in our faces, he had wiped the tears from his eyes and let out a loud howl. “I thought you kids were smoking pot, but I knew no one was dumb enough to do drugs out in the open like that. For a split second, I even thought you kids were in the process of arson!” His face straightened. “That is a felony, by the way.”
Asher growled. “We told you that we’re sorry and we won’t do it again.”
“You mean you won’t try chasing ghosts away with the stuff I cook lamb chops with?”
He slapped his thigh loudly, attracting the attention of his colleagues, who peeked over at us from their desks. Wanting to sink into a hole, I watched helplessly as the cop gestured for his fellow officers. “Come here! You have to hear this story.”
I lifted one finger at a time from the steering wheel, tightening my hold once again. Shuddering, I shook my head in disgust. “Let’s just never talk about this again, okay? Just wipe it from your memory.”
“Fine by me.”
We drove in silence for a bit, but once I turned onto the freeway, Asher sat straight up.
“What’s wrong?” I asked absently, heading toward the carpool lane.
“Can you not drive me home? I really don’t want to face the guys yet.”
I groaned. “Asher, I have some work to do tonight. I’ve already wasted enough time at the precinct.” I paused and muttered, “Those were words I never expected to speak during my lifetime.”
Asher rolled his eyes. “If you haven’t noticed, it’s a Saturday.”
“Yeah, and I’ve been putting off a piece I’ve been writing for weeks because I’ve been so busy helping you out. I have to go home and work on it.”
“You compose songs? Wow, I never knew that.” I refrained from reminding him that he hadn’t really asked enough about me to get to know me. Then again, it wasn’t as if I was willing to divulge any more information about myself than absolutely necessary.
I shrugged. “Eh, it’s part of the curriculum.”
What I didn’t tell him was how I wanted to present it to Damien, hoping he’d let me play it during the spring performance.
“Well, just let me crash at your place then,” he asked as if it were something as simple as borrowing a quarter from me.
Had I not been following a huge semi-truck, I would have shot him a look of shock. “Excuse me?”
“Why not? You need to do work and I don’t want to go home. Just let me hang out at your place for a while. I promise, you won’t even notice that I’m there.”
I glanced at the time. Claudia was out getting her hair done and Jinny was probably with her fiancé. They wouldn’t be back home for a few hours.
“Fine,” I muttered reluctantly. “You have to be out of there by eight.”
“Fine,” he agreed. He glanced over and smiled. “Thanks.”
Those damn butterflies wouldn’t go away.
***
“Wall of Shame?” Asher mused, scanning the photos covering the infamous fridge.
I pressed my hands flat on the piano keys, causing a sound so horrible that I was sure Beethoven was turning in his grave. How could I have forgotten about the Fridge of Shame when I told Asher he could help himself to a bottle of water?
I practically ran to the kitchen, squeezing myself into the tiny space between him and the fridge. “Don’t look at those!”
He raised his eyebrows and chuckled.
I shook my head and scowled, repeating, “Don’t look, please.”
“It’s really not that bad,” he commented, gently pushing me away. “In fact, it’s mildly entertaining.”
I groaned, nearly stepping over my own feet. “It’s embarrassing.”
“Why? You’re hardly in it.” He paused, eyeing the picture in the middle of the rest. It was obviously the focal point of the whole collage. Snickering, he tapped against the photo and mused, “That outfit looks familiar. Can I take a wild guess when this was taken?”
“I rather you not,” I murmured, staring at my feet.
Before responding, he unscrewed the lid of his water bottle and took a quick swig. I followed the path the water made down his throat, taking note of how his Adam’s apple bounced. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and grinned teasingly. “I meant to ask you, why did you leave that morning without saying goodbye?”
“I…” How could I put into words a feeling that was indescribable?
“Yes?” he coaxed.
“Um, I…I don’t do stuff like that and I just didn’t want to handle the awkward morning after dance.”
There. That was a politically correct blanket statement.
He grinned as if enjoying his own private joke. “Yeah, I know what you mean about that.”
“Really?” I crossed my arms and narrowed my eyes suspiciously. “I still can’t believe that I was the first one you…um…you know, after Roxie.”
“Do I really come off as a player?”
“No,” I answered truthfully.
“Then why the assumptions?”
I thought quietly for a moment, wondering how I could say you’re really hot without embarrassing myself completely. I finally decided on, “I’m sure girls throw themselves at you all the time. You must have some willpower to be able to push away all your b-boy groupies. You guys are like rock stars or something, right?”
“Nah.” He rubbed the back of his head bashfully, blushing. Even the top of his ears reddened.
“Really?” I asked in disbelief. “Are you sure about that? Sarah didn’t seem to think so.”
“Well, if they were throwing themselves at me, I was too tunnel-visioned to notice.” He glanced at the fridge again, scanning until he found my only other picture. “You only have two on here.”
“Yeah, so?”
“Guess we’re in the same boat when it comes to having fun, eh?”
“I wouldn’t really call one-night stands and walk of shames fun.” I fumbled around with my thumbs and forced a smile.
His eyes burned into mine, staring at me so intensely that I felt it in my core. The air between us felt as if it were crackling with that ever familiar electricity. “Really? I’d say we had a lot of fun during our hookup.”
I forced a laugh, which came out sounding shrill. “Uh, yeah. Our clichéd hookup that didn’t just turn into a onetime thing and instead into a number of awkward walk of shames.”
He took a slight step toward me, closing the gap between our bodies, his peppermint breath once again invading my nostrils. “So every time we hang out, it’s a walk of shame.”
I laughed again, cringing at the cackling sound. I gulped. “Considering I was being oiled in my bra and panties in front of you, why yes, I do consider it shameful. Nice boxer briefs, by the way. I had you pegged for a plaid printed boxer guy, myself.”
Ugh, why did I say that out loud?
Giggling nervously, I held my breath as he took another step toward me. This time his head tilted toward mine, zeroing in on my lips.
Oh my God, he was gonna kiss me!
Surprisingly, the thought didn’t make me run for the hills, full of anxiety. I was more than ready to feel him and taste him again.
I lifted my chin as if to facilitate his move, swallowing back the pounding of my heart that felt as if it had reached my throat.
This is it. This is it.
“Honey, I’m home!” The front door burst open, followed by a loud crash and what reminded me of a dozen balls rolling around on the floor.
Ugh! Damnit, Claudia!
I spun around to find Claudia’s mouth wide open, successfully imitating my deer in headlights expression from my infamous walk of shame. Two bags of groceries were spilled out in front of her, littering her feet with oranges and cans.
“Hey,” she said slowly, making no effort to pick up the mess around her.
Breaking away from whatever spell Asher had cast over me, I bit back a groan and walked around the countertop toward Claudia. “Shut the door, why don’t you? I don’t want any flies making it inside.”
Mouth slightly agape, Claudia nodded, absently closing the door behind her. She shot me a bewildered look before waving at Asher. “Hi, I’m Claudia. Mallory’s roommate.”
“I remember. I met you that night at the Club,” Asher replied kindly. In a moment he was by my side, collecting the stray fruit that had rolled all the way to the couch.
Claudia scratched at her head, which was topped with a lopsided bun. “We met personally?”
“Oh yeah. You and your b
ride-to-be friend were really entertaining. Did she get married yet?”
Claudia’s eyes darkened so slightly that I doubt Asher noticed. However, having known her for years, I was able to pick up on the slightest change of her demeanor. Making a mental note to ask her about it later, I explained, “Asher was just hanging out for a while. He’s hiding from his friends.”
The cute, bashful look returned on his face. “No, I’m not.”
“It’s okay, you can admit it,” I teased. I smirked in Claudia’s direction and grunted. “Can’t say I blame you for it.”
If Claudia’s eyes bugged out even more, I was sure they’d pop out. Mumbling a thank you as we handed her the food, she speed walked toward the kitchen and practically threw the groceries onto the table before spinning around with an accusatory finger. “You know, I would have guessed you were here plotting another jinx cleanse or something, but whatever you two were doing by the fridge didn’t scream bad luck to me.”
Damn her and her big mouth.
I flinched, avoiding Asher’s stare. “Oh yeah…I sort of told Claudia about the whole anti-hex thing we’ve been going through. I hope you don’t mind,” I said quickly, hoping to avert attention away from the fact that she caught us pre-kiss.
“Nah, you know my friends know about it…sort of.” He shook his head quickly and smiled. “Besides, I did make you go viral to begin with.”
“At least not of the genital kind,” Claudia teased in a sing-song voice.
Argh, why was she so infuriating sometimes? Remind me why we were even friends again!
I pursed my lips and scowled. “Anyway, I was just about to take Asher home.”
Now it was his turn to look surprised. “You were?”
I tilted my head to the side, widening my eyes. “Yes,” I said through gritted teeth. “Don’t you remember?”
“I…”
“Oh, rats! You guys are leaving?” Claudia’s perky voice interrupted behind us. “I was going to ask Asher if he wanted to stay for some pizza and beer.”
At the sound of those two words, I was immediately transported back to the parking garage pre-sage incident. I cringed. “I don’t think he’d want to.”
Breaking Hearts (B-boy #3) Page 12
