Page 89 of Penalized Love

“You okay?”

“More than okay,”I whisper, tilting my head to look up at him. His green eyes are soft as they gaze down at me.

He reaches up to tuck a strand of wet hair behind my ear.“I wish we could stay like this forever.”

“Me too.” I kiss his lips, and he responds instantly.“But I have to get back ASAP.”

“I know. Let’s get you dried off and dressed.”

We step out of the bathroom. Asher grabs my clothes from where we haphazardly discarded them and hands them to me. I drop my towel and pull on my panties and shorts. When I finish putting on my tank top, I find Asher holding my hoodie.

“I don’t want you to go,”he says.

I turn to look at him and grab my last article of clothing.“And I don’t want to either. But we both know I have to.” With a heavy sigh, I put the hoodie on.“But I’ll see you when you hit the ice in a few hours. Speaking of, you need to go get some sleep ahead of that. It’s too early for you to be up.”

“I promise to go back to bed as soon as I walk you back to your room,”he says as he puts on a new pair of boxer briefs.

I stare at him for a moment.“You can’t walk me back.”

“Watch me.”This time, he’s putting on a pair of basketball shorts, and I see him reaching for a white t-shirt next.

“What if someone sees you?”

Asher shrugs, as if this isn’t the craziest idea in the world.“The chances of someone seeing us this time of morning outside of some cameras that might be in the hallway are slim to none. I’ll take those chances.”

I want to argue with him, but I know it’s pointless. Once Asher sets his mind to something, there’s no changing it. And if I’m being honest, I also want to have a few more minutes with him, even if it’s just walking down the hallway.

“Fine, but we have to be quick and quiet.”

He flashes me a grin, happy that I agreed.“I can do that.”

Asher grabs his sweatshirt and throws it on while I gather the rest of my things. Once he has his hotel room key in hand, he checks the peephole to make sure the coast is clear before opening the door. The hallway is empty and silent, which makessense given the time of morning. We step out of the room, and Asher takes my hand, lacing our fingers as we approach the elevator.

The elevator ride down feels both agonizingly slow and far too quick. He holds my hand the entire time, allowing his thumb to caress my skin as if trying to soothe all of my worries. The simple touch does more to me than I will ever admit out loud. We walk out into another quiet hallway when the elevator doors slide open. The plush carpet muffles our footsteps as we make our way toward my dad’s room.

As we approach the door, a sense of dread crawls up my spine. Not only do I not want to leave Asher’s side, but I don’t want to go back into the room and risk waking Dad up.

“I’m a couple of doors down,”I tell Asher.“You might want to turn around now, just in case.”

“I’m not going to leave you before I walk you to your door, but I will do this,”he says as he pulls me to a stop. He puts his index finger under my chin, tilting my face up so that I can look directly into his eyes. I already know what he’s about to do, and the fact that he’s going to do this in public, albeit in an empty hallway, feels impulsive, but yet so right.

Asher’s lips meet mine in a tender kiss that has me ready to melt into a puddle on this floor. I know this is our“goodbye for now”kiss, and I hate that things have to be this way. When he pulls back, I’m left feeling slightly dizzy.

“I’ll see you in a few hours, okay?”he whispers before resting his forehead against mine.

“Yes, you will.”

My boyfriend stares at me for a second more before grabbing my hand and walking me to my door. I pull out the keycard, and with one last squeeze of my hand, Asher turns and walks back down the hallway to the elevator. I watch him go until hedisappears around the corner. It’s then I realize that I already miss him.

I turn my attention back to the task at hand and hold my breath as I swipe my hotel key against the card reader. I pray that it doesn’t make a sound. The lock disengages with a soft click, and I open the door. The room is dark and quiet, the only sound being my dad’s steady breathing from his bed.

I tiptoe inside, shutting the door behind me. I use my phone’s light to guide me as I reach my bed. Soon, I’m taking off my hoodie and shoes, and the next thing I know, I’m slipping under the covers. I curl onto my side, hugging a pillow to my chest as I try to calm myself down from the excitement of the last few hours.

Mission. Accomplished.

34

ASHER

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