Page 48 of Exactly What I Needed
“I have school to teach tomorrow.” I giggled, and his lips gently touched mine again.
“But I won’t get to see you until Saturday,” he whined.
“Which is only two days away.”
“How will I ever survive?”
I smiled to myself as he slid his arms around my waist and pulled himself closer to me. Resting his chin on my shoulder, he simply held me and then began mindlessly rambling about something. Before I knew it, I was laughing deeply, while the guitar leaned against the side of the bed. Some stupid comment from him resulted in over an hour of conversation.
I lost track of time with him lying on my stomach, settled between my legs. Running my fingers through his hair, I shook my head. Maybe I could just stay the night? What would be the harm in that? Wait, no, that couldn’t happen. I didn’t have a change of clothes, and Sydney would wonder where I was. Plus, there were chores to finish at home. I also had work tomorrow morning.
“Anyway, I know our schedules make it hard to have a serious relationship, but I still don’t understand why she cheated on Kieron,” he rambled.
“I don’t get why anyone cheats, ever.” I ran a thumb across his eyebrows. He closed his eyes and hummed. “I’m still surprised that they’ve all been able to hide having girlfriends.”
“I told you. We like to keep our private lives private.”
“But for how long? There’s bound to be a crazy fangirl who just happens to see something at some point.”
He sighed. “Yeah, I know…”
“So again, that leads back to this. There’s more than just you and I involved in this secret now.” I watched as his chest rose and fell deeply, his eyes finally opening and meeting mine.
“I’m sorry, Cosette. I was just really excited, and I guess I didn’t think it all the way through,” he quietly replied.
I gave him a tight smile and leaned back against the headboard. My fingers continued to play through his hair, brushing back and forth tenderly. Part of me was ashamed to admit that I was actually happy others knew. That meant I held some solid claim on him, no matter how little that was; in his world, I was fully his, and he was fully mine.
“How’s the bite?” he asked, breaking my thoughts. I looked back down at him and leaned forward. My lips pecked a kiss against his mouth.
“Bruised but just fine. You took very good care of me,” I replied softly, and he grinned, clearly smugly pleased. I rolled my eyes. “But don’t expect to ever hear me say that again. Your ego is big enough already.”
“Stay,” he blurted out.
I furrowed my brows, shocked and caught off guard. “What?”
“Tonight. Stay the night.”
“And what exactly will I wear tomorrow? My requirement to be at work still hasn’t changed,” I replied, and he rolled his eyes.
“I can order you something and have it delivered here.” He grinned, pushing himself out of my lap, and slid off the bed.
“There’s also the issue of Sydney?” I watched him grab his pants off the floor and dig through the pockets, searching for his phone.
“Tell her you’re at a friend’s house for the night.” He walked over to my dress that had been carelessly tossed aside.
“She is the friend I would stay with, dummy. Besides, what if she needs groceries or something?”
He didn’t say anything as he grabbed my phone from the dress pocket and crawled back onto the bed. Lying down once again on my stomach, he handed me my phone before unlocking his. I watched him begin scrolling through different websites that sold clothes.
Shaking my head, I glanced at my screen. There were two unread text messages from Sydney, so I quickly tapped the icon and unlocked it. My jaw dropped open. I could not believe my luck.
Slapping Asher’s forehead lightly, I squealed.
“What? What?” He swatted my hand away.
“Sydney texted saying she won’t be home tonight. She’s staying at her parents to start setting up for my birthday party.” I squeaked in excitement. Asher’s eyes brightened, sparkling with anticipation.
“So, you’re staying?”
