Page 29 of Exactly What I Needed
“Like anything you see?” He winked, and I rolled my eyes.
“We need to have a serious conversation, so knock it off.”
He leaned back a little farther, spreading his legs as he propped the phone up against something on the coffee table. My belly flip-flopped as that persistent pulse raged between my legs. Deep in my core, a fire roared. His eyes darkened in desire, but he remained quiet.
“Tera knows,” I blurted out.
He took a sharp breath in. “Knows what?”
“Seriously? You’re still going to play coy?”
He shrugged his shoulders. “You’re the one making it very clear that this isn’t something that can happen.” He gestured between himself and me. “Again.”
“Except itdoeskeep happening.”
“And?”
“And.” I gritted my teeth. “It can’t. Not again, again. Even she warned me about how much it would destroy Sydney. So, not only am I risking losing my best friend, potentially pissing my parents off enough that—”
“I know what’s at stake, Princess.” He quickly inserted, and I furrowed my brows. “I heard the conversation between you and Danny at your school.”
My eyes widened as I realized what he was saying. “That Picsnap video. I totally forgot about that.” He knew way more than I’d ever purposefully told him.
“For one, you don’t know if Danny would really take it far enough to destroy your parents with this. Besides, from my understanding, all of your reasons for not having anything to do with an ‘us’ involve everyone else. None of them take you into consideration. What doyouwant?” he asked bluntly.
I stared at him, shaking my head. That didn’t matter. What I wanted wasn’t of concern here. Plus, I wasn’t in the mood to latch onto someone only for them to leave the moment another girl showed up.
“Cosette Duval. What do you want?” he asked again, leaning forward. Placing his elbows against his knees, he tipped his head.
“That doesn’t matter,” I whispered, and he sighed.
“Yes, it does. That’s all that matters.”
“What about you?!”
“I think you’re very aware of what I want.” Lifting a brow, he pulled his luscious lips into a thin line.
“Right. A fuck buddy,” I mumbled under my breath quietly.
His brows stitched together, and he tipped his head in confusion.
“What’d you say?” he asked, and then I heard a faint knocking sound coming from the background of the phone. Asher glanced over his shoulder and scowled. “I’ve got to go.” Standing up from the couch, he pulled his phone close to his face, his features twisting in frustration.
“Cosette, I’ll come to your party and then disappear from your life. Just like you asked,” he said, and then abruptly ended the call.
“No,” I gasped, my voice catching in my throat. That’s not what I wanted. Why wasn’t he fighting harder? Why was he giving in so easily? Had another girl just arrived at his hotel room?
Wait, I shouldn’t be so upset. This was good for me. Now I wouldn’t have to constantly dodge his advances, then fail and feel guilty because of how it would hurt Sydney. I wouldn’t be risking anything that could ruin my friendship with her anymore over some celebrity.
Sighing, I placed my phone against my chest, both hurt and relieved.
Mostly hurt.
It vibrated, and I immediately looked at it, hoping it was Asher.
And it was.
Opening it, I furrowed my brows, confused at what he said.
