Page 57 of Keeping Promises

The memory of the last time Asher asked me if I trusted him comes to my brain’s forefront. My response then was that I wanted to, but now, after months of spending time together and getting to know him and seeing that he did, in fact, mean what he said, of wanting to be a part of all of this, my answer has changed.

“Of course. I trust you with our lives.” I mean every word of it.

He nods and holds up what looks to be one of his ties.

“Umm, Asher?”

“You said you trust me, so do just that. Okay?”

I exhale and spin around as he takes the silk tie and places it over my eyes. I reach up, adjusting it.

Once he has it secured, he spins me around. “Can you see me through it? See what I’m doing?” While I can’t see him, I can hear the sound of his clothes shuffling around.

“No, but I have a feeling you’re dancing around like a crazy person.”

His laughter echoes throughout the garage, but he doesn’t make any sort of move for us to exit.

He steps up close enough so that I can feel the heat radiating off his body as his breath dances across the bare skin of my neck. “You know, I have to admit, seeing you with this blindfold on makes me hard, and I can’t help imagine having you naked, squirming under me, wearing only my tie. Maybe even two—one covering your eyes and one binding your wrists together to the headboard.”

Bondage is never something I necessarily considered in bed, but I’m willing to explore anything and everything with Asher.

I let out a small gasp. Asher drags his knuckle along my cheek. “I bet you would like that, too, based on the way your breathing just changed.” His lips ghost against my parted ones.

“Asher,” I whine.

I no longer feel him close to me anymore. “Asher?” I reach out, trying to confirm he didn’t leave me. My breathing changes once again, but this time instead of being turned on, I feel panic. When my palm comes into contact with his firm chest, I feel relieved.

He clears his throat. “Sorry, I needed a moment to get myself in check before I bend you over the hood of my car and fuck you senseless.” My panties have no problem with that idea. “But we’ve got big plans. Date night first, naked time later.” His hand seeks mine, interlocking our fingers.

“Well, lead the way, then, babe.”

Out of habit, I can tell that he leads me to the elevator and up to the sixth floor where my apartment is. Stepping off the elevator, Asher ushers me to my front door. “I’m still confused as to why I couldn’t just meet you here.”

Surrounded by blackness with the blindfold, my senses go into overdrive. The sound of the keys jingling fills my ears, and the smell of Asher’s body wash is intoxicating—my newfound favorite scent.

“Will you just be patient and give me just a minute to escort me inside, and then you’ll see why.” The door behind us clicks.

“On the count of three, I’m going to remove the blindfold, okay?” I feel Asher step up behind me, and his fingers slowly dance up my arms and along my collarbone to where the tie is fastened.

“One.” His lips brush my skin where my shoulder meets my neck. “Two.” Another kiss, and I feel the material press tighter against my eyes as he unties the knot. “Three.” One last kiss as the blindfold drops.

I blink a few times as my eyes adjust. My hands fly to cover my nose and mouth as I take in the view in front of me.

“Oh my God, Asher, you did all of this? When did you have time to plan this?” I am in awe at the transformation of my living room.

He chuckles and looks around the room, gripping the back of his neck. “Actually, today. So, this wasn’t actually my plan for our first date, but thanks to Mother Nature and her monsoon that she dropped on us the past two days, the ’80s movie marathon at a drive-in just outside of town that I have been planning to take you to canceled the event at the last minute. When I got the cancelation notice this morning in my email, I may or may not have panicked a little, but you can thank Lexi and Brynn for saving the day and helping me set all this up. They were putting the finishing touches on when I left to pick you up, so that is why you couldn’t meet me here.”

I look around the room at the twinkling lights, similar to what we set up for New Year’s in years past, hanging from the ceiling. A magnitude of pillows and blankets line the floor where the coffee table used to be.

“Now, I know it’s not anything special, but I found out what movies were on the lineup, and you had all of them on DVD, which, wow, you have a crazy amount of ’80s movies on DVD—like, you do realize movies came out in other decades, right?” he teases.

I shrug. I’m not sure where my love of the ’80s started; I guess it was just the perfect escape from my reality by feeling like I was traveling back in time.

“This is perfect. I love it.” I wrap my arms around Asher’s neck and press my lips to his in a searing kiss. When his tongue swipes mine to deepen the kiss, I feel just like Judd Nelson at the end ofThe Breakfast Clubwhen he pumps his fist into the air as “Don’t You Forget About Me” by the Simple Minds plays.

When I finally pull back from him, I’m both breathless and flushed.

“Well, shit, if I had known that would be your reaction, I would have forgone the drive-in and just did this.” He places his hands on my hips, keeping me close. “Why don’t you go get changed, maybe take a shower if you need to, and come back out here. I’ll finish setting up the drinks and snacks and get the movie ready.”

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