Page 36 of Wish You Were Mine

I blinked, my eyes adjusting slowly, and made my way down the hall to the first bedroom. I didn’t know whose it was—or had once been—but it had a bed, and that was all that mattered.

I collapsed onto the bed, closed my eyes, and everything went dark.

17

SUMMER

Frustration simmered in my gut as I tried to make polite small talk with my drunk brother and his even drunker date. I’d been so close to kissing Asher.

So. Close.

Our mouths had literally been inches apart. But Toby had to interrupt. It wasn’t even as if he’d done it maliciously. He’d never done an ill-intentioned thing in his life. He was a freaking golden retriever of a person. But that didn’t make me want to shout at him any less.

For years, I’d been pining for Asher, and this was the closest I’d ever gotten to kissing him. Why couldn’t the universe let me have what I wanted for once? Instead, I got to chat with Toby and Winita until they decided they’d rather make out on the chair beside me.

Sighing, I got up and went to find Asher. I doubted I could re-initiate the kiss, but maybe I could salvage something. After all, the chemistry between us earlier had been intense. I couldn’t have been the only one who’d felt it.

Unfortunately, there was no sign of Asher anywhere. He wasn’t dancing, and the seat he’d occupied earlier, beside Liam, was empty. My heart skipped. Surely he wouldn’t have left.

I walked over and dropped onto Asher’s empty chair.

“Where’s Ash?” I asked Liam. “Did he go home already?”

Liam shook his head. “He went to get a drink a while ago and then went inside. Maybe he needed to use the bathroom.”

“Thanks.”

I got up again and picked my way across the yard to the house, around partygoers and discarded beer bottles. I waved to Grace and Kennedy as I passed them by and stepped over the threshold into the house.

The living area was dark, but light from the hall provided enough illumination for me to cross the room unhindered. For a moment, I wondered what I was doing. I shouldn’t bother Asher on the toilet. What was wrong with me?

Perhaps I’d just make sure that’s where he was. Otherwise, I’d worry that I’d frightened him away from the party. I hated the thought of that.

The music from outside grew fainter as I paced down the hall to the bathroom door. It stood open, and no one was inside. So much for that theory. I took the stairs to my old bedroom, where I’d left my phone when I got changed. I quickly typed a message.

Summer: Where are you?

I sat on the edge of the bed and waited for a reply. When none came after several minutes, I hit the “Call” button. A muted melody came from somewhere below me. I jolted to my feet and rushed down the stairs again. I followed the sound along the hall and into the first bedroom—Max’s old room.

Hesitantly, I pushed the door open and peered inside. The call stopped, but I’d already spotted Asher. He lay sprawled face down on the bed, his feet hanging off the end. My gut clenched. The fact his phone hadn’t woken him concerned me.

I tiptoed over to him and shook his shoulder gently. “Ash? Are you okay?”

His face tilted toward me, and his eyelashes fluttered but didn’t open.

“Come on.” I shook him more firmly. “Look at me.”

“Sum-ma?” he slurred, his eyes forming slits for all of a second before they closed again. “Is ’at you?”

I sat beside him. “How much did you have to drink?”

He didn’t reply. I frowned. It hadn’t been that long since we’d been dancing, and he’d been reasonably sober then—or at least, he’d seemed that way.

“Ash.” I jostled him again. “What did you drink?”

“Jus’ some beer.” With a grunt of effort, he pushed himself into a semi-upright position. His eyes opened, but didn’t seem able to focus, and every few seconds, they closed again, and he struggled to reopen them.

“You’re pretty, Sum-ma. Can I…” He trailed off, his eyes shutting, but then jolted awake again. “Wanna kiss?”

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