Page 90 of Exactly What I Needed
Kieron chuckled. “Calm. That’s something I for damn sure haven’t felt in a long time.”
Silence filled the room, the conversation drifting away as exhaustion crept into my bones. Calm. Peace. Free. Those words were exactly the ones I’d use to describe how I felt with Asher too.
A small smile crept across my lips as I drifted to sleep.
The alarm went off too early. A vague memory of being carried into the bed crossed my mind, and I groaned, rolling into Asher’s chest. He pressed snooze on his phone, pulling me closer against his body.
“I’ll take you to school today because I don’t dare drive to your car, just in case. Leave me your keys, and I’ll have security bring your vehicle at some point before you’re done teaching,” he rasped, his voice a little huskier than usual.
“Shhhh.” I snuggled up harder against his chest. “I’m still sleeping.”
He chuckled and wrapped me tighter in his embrace. Just five more minutes. That’s all I wanted. A measly, amazing, comforting—
The screech of the alarm interrupted my daydream once more.
“Ugghh,” I groaned.
“Come on, Princess. We have paparazzi to ditch this morning.” Asher gently urged me awake. Eventually, I managed to roll out of bed. A quick shower and makeup applied, I pulled on one of his outfits he’d bought me. Another cute teacher dress in a pale blue gingham pattern. A little shorter than I normally preferred, but I didn’t mind. He’d put effort into buying me outfits, and it was totally cute.
He’d even bought me a few new heels, and I pulled on a surprisingly comfortable pair of white ones. Asher handed me a fresh cup of coffee when I met him at the door, my purse slung over my shoulder.
Taking his bike helmet from his outstretched hand, I knew what was about to happen.
And we were cruising down the road. Wind whipped against my hands while I clung tightly to Asher. My fingers squeezed his waist as hard as possible. It was a good thing we left as early as we did. Ditching the paparazzitook longer than yesterday. They were getting smarter, and I thought he would have to find a different mode of transportation before too long.
The bike slowed, leaning to the side as we rounded a corner. I blinked my eyes open, scanning the teacher parking lot. My shoulders sagged with relief when I noticed the cars that were already here were empty, and no one else was pulling in.
Asher idled up beside the back entrance and lifted an arm. I braced against him, climbing down. Once my feet hit the pavement, I lifted my chin and he unbuckled my helmet, then gently tugged it off my head. I replaced my glasses as he set it in his lap.
“I’ll see you after work?” he asked.
I sighed. Which was all the answer he needed.
“Let me know how things go with Sydney. I’ll miss you…” His voice softened with those last three words, and I pushed my glasses farther up the bridge of my nose.
“You know what, I would rather come see you when I’m done teaching. So, I’ll just text Sydney or something,” I replied, and his eyes widened, brightening with excitement.
“Fuck yes.” He nodded and quickly pulled his helmet off his head. His lips were against mine before I had a chance to walk away. Then that velvety deliciousness was gone, and his face was hidden underneath the helmet once more.
“See you this afternoon, Princess,” he said, his voice muffled.
I pulled my bottom lip between my teeth and smiled as he leaned forward and drove away. Leaving me standing alone in the parking lot. I could get used to this. Way too easily, I was already getting used to this.Would it be so wrong to feel like this every day? To have someone around who wanted nothing more from me than to be with me.
Unlike my so-called best friend. Glancing at my phone for the first time this morning, I scrolled through the unread text messages. All of them were wondering why I hadn’t made her appointment yet. Why I wasn’t answering because she needed advice. Even a few were upset that her boudoir photos hadn’t come back yet. Not a single one asked where I was or if I was okay.
Did she really care that little about me that if it didn’t benefit her, she was unconcerned for anything else? Was it my fault that she felt that way? Maybe I’d accidentally taught her to react like that. Or had she always been that way, and I’d merely been so desperate for friendship that I didn’t care how she treated me.
Could I even call this a friendship? I mean, she let me live at her house that her parents had given her. Only a friend would do that, right? Except I did all the laundry, cooking, and cleaning.
I plopped down in my spinny chair and froze.
Hold on, was I merely a live-in maid for her? Was that why she was okay with me living there for free? This wasn’t reality, was it? Maybe I was just reading into things because this is the first time I’d gone off script, done something different than I would’ve ever done before. That had to be it. Yeah, that was the answer to all of this.
Athudbounced around my classroom, and my gaze shot up as I subtly checked that the ring around my neck was tucked into my dress. Selena slammed the door shut behind her and ran to the front, breathing rapidly.
“Miss Duval!” she cried out, her eyes wide and clutching her phone tightly.
“Good morning?”
