Chapter Five – Addison
There weren’t many times in my life I was embarrassed by my actions, but last night was one of those times. And I couldn’t even say that it was what I had done with Asher. Instead, it was everything that developed afterward. I could only blame the fact that I found a thirty-year-old bottle of red wine in my parent’s cellar.
I tried to talk through things with Katy, who had fangirled at every detail I had disclosed about the times with Asher, but then she was no help other than telling me that I had royally screwed up and needed to find a way to apologize.
None of that helped the situation I was currently in as I strolled through the small-town’s market. I’d have to come back later to get actual food, but I was just killing time. Killing time until I was being carried to the stocks.
The call with my parents had been awkward. I used a green screen image of my bedroom as a false background, knowing that my parents would think things were off if I didn’t video chat. They weren’t thrown off, but I could sense that my mom knew something was wrong. I know she couldn’t smell the bathroom, which had the strongest hints of sex in the air, but my eyes were still hazed from the two orgasms Asher had given me.
They’d called to let me know that Dad was scooping Mom up for a mini vacation during a two-week break in the tour. For a moment, I had been worried that they were going to come to the cabin, but Dad chimed in to tell me they were going to the Caribbean.
I felt terrible lying to them about my whereabouts and my job when they asked, but I wasn’t ready to divulge any of that information yet. I was still struggling to wrap my own head around it all and figure out my next steps. That’s why I was at the cabin after all.
That wasn’t even the mistake highlight of the evening. Miss non-social media that I am, I searched a popular app and found my crush from high school. I was feeling vengeful after Asher walked out on me and created a generic account for myself. I loaded an old picture of myself from college where I was standing next to Katy. Then boldly, I messaged Bradley.
Did I think he was going to respond? No. Did I scream in alarm and wish that I could take it all back when his reply popped up? Yes. Yes, I did.
But the conversation was already in motion, and after ten minutes, we agreed to meet for dinner. Something about it seemed off-putting, but I had no plans and was curious to see what had become of the guy who had all the girls in high school in a tizzy. His social media profile was as vague as mine; the only picture was a close-up of his face. Other than a little bit of weight around the chin, he looked similar to how he did in school.
Continuing my trek through the small store, I passed the stack of magazines. My cheeks grew red reading the headline HOW TO GET YOUR GUY TO GO DOWN. Asher had no issue diving between my legs. And honestly, he probably would have kept going if my orgasm hadn’t come so quickly.
It had been so long since I’d had an orgasm, especially one that I hadn’t given myself. Asher knew exactly what he was doing with his mouth and tongue. I was still curious to know if he would have continued with our time together if my parents hadn’t called and broken the spell we were in.
“Ugh,” I growled, alarming the older woman in the aisle beside me.
“Are you okay, dear?”
Calming myself, I faked a smile in her direction and explained that I was fine. Luckily I was saved when the alarm on my phone went off.
I made my way toward the pizza place Bradley had agreed to meet me at. During our online conversation, I explained that I wasn’t near our hometown and he offered to come up my way. I may have been surprised because Bradley was pretty selfish in high school.
When I arrived, I didn’t notice anyone that resembled the person I was meeting, so I asked for a table and explained someone was meeting me there. I opted to turn my back to the door, afraid that I would drive myself nuts every time someone walked in.
To keep myself busy, I scrolled through my phone, clicking on news articles and eventually finding myself on the social media network I had avoided for so long.
The server stopped by my table and I ordered a Dr. Pepper and explained that I was still waiting on someone. The clock on my phone showed that Bradley was fifteen minutes late, but he had a much longer drive than me, so I was okay waiting another fifteen minutes.
While I sat alone, I decided to search Asher’s name on the social channel I had logged into. It didn’t take long to find his band and public page, but it took some digging to find his personal account. I was surprised to find it at all since Asher seemed to have a great disdain for his personal life being out to the public.
Most of the information was private, but I scrolled through some of the images. The majority of the pictures were from band tours or with my dad and uncle at random places around the world. The trio had been best friends for as long as I could remember. Tucked away within the albums, I found a few images of Asher at one of our family vacations after I graduated high school. We had visited a beach in the Outer Banks of North Carolina where you could drive a four-wheel drive vehicle. Asher, my dad, and Uncle Ryker were posed at the shoreline with large fishing poles in hand. Dad and Ryker were laughing at something, but Asher looked back at the nearby vehicles. At a closer look, I followed his gaze and found his focus on me. I was lying on a beach chair, a modest one-piece bathing suit covering my body, and reading one of my favorite romantic suspense novels.
“Hey,” a deep voice said from beside me. I jumped in alarm and dropped my phone on the floor at Asher’s feet.
“Shit!” I cried out and reached for the phone, leaning over the booth seat. At the same time, Asher bent down to retrieve the device. We bumped heads and groaned simultaneously.
“Ugh. Sorry,” I said as I lifted my head.
Asher glanced down at the screen of my phone he was holding before handing it over. Thankfully it was a black screen.
“So, what are you doing here?” he asked as he slid into the seat across from me.
I turned and looked over my shoulder to find no one coming or going from the restaurant.
“Being stood up, apparently,” I sighed and turned back around.
“What?” I noticed Asher’s hands clench into a fist at his question.
“Yeah. I. . .um. . .messaged someone I knew from back in high school. We were going to meet up here for dinner.”