Page 37 of Asher

She chuckled and pushed away from me. “That’s exactly what you want to say to a girl who is hungover and emotional.”

“Alright. Just talk to me. How come you never told me this before?” I led her over to the bed and pulled her to sit next to me, though everything in me screamed to have her in my lap. In my arms.

We both needed space to process this conversation.

“Does it really matter? To be honest, no one knows.” Her red nails picked at the edge of her towel showing more of her leg.

I bit back a groan at the sight, instead trying to focus on her words. “Not even Rylie or Stephanie?”

Haley lifted a shoulder. “Nope. I think Rylie suspects, but I’ve never flat out told anyone.”

“Are you waiting for marriage? Is this a religious thing?”

“Why does it matter?” She asked.

“I’m just curious.” I lied. It was more than that. I wanted to process how someone as amazing and beautiful as Haley could still be a virgin. She could have any man she wanted. But maybe that was the point. Maybe she didn’t want any of them.

“It’s not religious and I’m not waiting for marriage.” She chewed on her bottom lip as she tried to come up with the right words. “Honestly, I’m just waiting for a guy that will wait for me to be ready. To be in a committed relationship that lasts more than a month.”

My brows furrowed. “You’ve had boyfriends before.”

Her normally bright eyes dimmed. “No. I’ve had dates and people that I’ve talked to. I’ve never done the whole boyfriend/girlfriend thing. Every guy that I’ve ever dated has tried to get in my pants within the first three dates, and I’m just not interested in being the piece of ass they used to get their rocks off. Not that there is anything wrong with that. It’s just not for me.”

“Okay.”

Her mouth popped open in surprise. “Okay? That’s all? Nothing else to say. You don’t think that I’m being naïve or unrealistic?”

I linked our hands together, placing them in my lap. “You know what you want. that’s not naïve.”

She smiled, looking relieved. “Okay. Now what are we going to do about this?” Haley motioned to her hand. “How do we get an annulment?”

I clenched my jaw. I didn’t want to get an annulment.

I want to give a relationship with Haley a true shot and why get it annulled when I wanted the same result in the end. My blood pumped faster at the thought of us building a life together. One I never thought I would get. “I don’t think we should.”

She jumped up, pulling her hand from mine. She stared at me like I had grown two heads. “Are you insane? Did you hit your head last night while we were drunk? Of course we are getting a damn annulment.”

“No,” I state firmly.

Her jaw ticked. “You aren’t Ross Geller. You don’t get to say no. We don’t even remember fucking getting married. It wouldn’t even stand up in court.”

I stood and walked to her, placing my hands on her shoulders. My thumbs trailing back and forth over each collarbone. “I want to give this a try.”

She stepped back out of my grip. “No, you don’t.” She shook her head, her hair whipping around her.

I pressed my lips together and crossed my arms, prepared to fight for this. “You don’t get to decide that Haley. You don’t get to decide what I want.”

“Oh, really?” She laughed humorlessly, jabbing a finger into my chest. “Every single time something even comes remotely close to happening between us, you pull away and call it a mistake. You callmea mistake. I can’t go through that again, Ash. I can’t have you stand there and tell me I’m a mistake.”

I ground my teeth together pissed that she would believe for one second that she was a mistake. She was the best damn thing that ever happened to me. “I’ve never said you were a mistake.”

“Bullshit.” She threw her hands up and walked back toward the bathroom.

I followed after her. “Tell me when.”

She spun and faced me. “Um, how about the first time we kissed in my car? You pulled away and said it shouldn’t have happened.”

I bit back a curse. “I never called it a mistake.”

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