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Asher didn’t know how long he actually stared at the door after Heather had walked through it and closed it behind her. It was as if she had locked him in some kind of tomb. He was in a vault where he had no choice but to figure out the complexities of his emotions on his own.
He’d tasted her tonight, and it had been amazing. The taste of her sweet nectar lingered on his tongue. He never wanted it again.
He rubbed his eyes and deeply sighed. He picked his cell phone up and texted Colton and Lucas. Asher knew they would still be awake. He didn’t want to go to bed yet. His mind was still a mess.
Do you guys want to meet me at Splash Bar in a few minutes?
Even though he anticipated they would be awake, it was a long shot that they would be ready to leave and meet him on such short notice.
I’m up for it.
Colton texted back first.
Sure thing.
Asher breathed a sigh of relief when Lucas responded too. He didn’t want to be alone with his thoughts. He needed to decompress to the point where he wouldn’t visualize Heather’s curvy, naked body every few seconds. He knew it was a shot in the dark, but he had to try.
He needed a drink to calm down. He walked down to the bar that was only a block away from his house. Lucas and Colton loved going to the Splash Bar, which he’d used to his advantage to get them to come.
Asher sat down at the bar. It wasn’t crowded. Good. Maybe people would leave him alone. He didn’t want to deal with anyone besides his friends. He kept his head down and waited for his beer.
The bartender handed him the bottle and a coaster. Asher took a hefty swig and glanced out the window. He saw Colton and Lucas walking in. A light drizzle began to flutter in a misty type of midnight fog that cloaked the street in front of him.
“Hey.” He nudged his chin in the air, acknowledging his friends.
Colton slapped Asher on the back. “Is insomnia knocking at your door again tonight dude?”
“Yes,” Asher nodded. He rubbed his temples. “I was with Heather again tonight.”
Lucas sat at the barstool next to Asher and flagged down the bartender. “How did that go?”
“I don’t know...” Asher trailed off. It was the truth. “Every time I feel like I’m making progress with her, I take a few steps back.”
“I would keep it casual if I were you,” Colton said.
“We are for now,” Asher admitted. “It’s difficult to know what she wants.”
“Screw what she wants” Lucas chuckled. “Just go after that sweet booty and go with the flow.”
Asher frowned. “That’s a pretty asshole thing to say, man.”
Lucas sat back and spread his hands. “I’m just saying. If neither of you are ready to talk commitment, what are you even worrying about? If you don’t want more, and she doesn’t want more than this whole thing is just a hook-up. Right?”
He hadn’t quite thought of it that way. He had to admit that his friend was making, though badly, a point.
“I suppose.” Asher wasn’t sure he believed this was just a booty call. He was falling for Heather, but he didn’t want to admit that to himself, much less his friends.
He chugged down his beer. He was moving too fast. He needed to pace himself both with the drink, and with Heather, but it seemed easier said than done.
“Thanks for meeting me out here,” he said and glanced at Colton and Lucas. He could always count on his buddies to provide an emotional pick-me-up.
“I was just hanging out,” Colton mentioned casually as if it was no big deal.
“It didn’t put me out any either,” Lucas confessed. He took a sip from his beer bottle.
Asher pushed his seat back. “I’m going to hit the head.” Honestly, he was feeling restless and needed to get up, stretch his legs.
On the way to the bathroom, he ran into a pretty girl with long auburn hair that feathered out at the sides. The girl’s eyes drifted up to lock with his.
“Oh my God,” she exclaimed. “Jessica, get over here. It’s Asher Quest from Infinity Prism!”
Asher set his jaw and clinched his teeth. Damn it; he wasn’t in the mood for this tonight.
“Can you please let me pass? I’m sort of in a hurry.”
“Can we get a selfie with you?” The girl shrieked, fawning all over him while she ignored his request.
It was an invasion of privacy. This girl needed to respect the boundaries of personal space. He tried to edge around her, but she moved in much too close for his comfort.
Asher managed to get away, but he knew the girls would be waiting for him when he reemerged a few minutes later. Maybe he should take a page out of Heather’s book and slip out the back door. When he turned the corner, he begrudgingly discovered that there wasn’t an outlet here, only the bathrooms. He grumbled and turned back to face the girls. He might as well just get it over with.
“Go ahead and take your picture,” he said resentfully.
The girls hugged each other in response, beaming as they got their camera ready and poised for a perfect pose with him.
“Okay,” he said when the ordeal was over. “Have a good night.” He walked away, back towards his friends. He forgot all about the fact that he had to go to the bathroom, but he didn’t want to be there at the bar any longer.
“Let’s get out of here,” he murmured to Colton and Lucas.
His friends exchanged a glance with each other. “We might actually stick around here for a little while.” Colton eyed the girls as if he was a hawk circling his prey.
Asher gave them an eye roll and tossed a twenty dollar bill onto the bar counter. “See you guys later.”
“You wanted to come out and now you are leaving?” Colton sounded perplexed.
Asher shrugged. “I’ve changed my mind.”
He was allowed to do that. It wasn’t his responsibility to appease anyone, much less a pair of random girls swooning over him at a bar. He had already met a girl at a bar and he couldn’t stop thinking about her.
The last thing Asher wanted to do was voice his reasoning for going home to be about Heather. He knew they would give him hell for that. He was still trying to process these new emotions.
He walked home in the misty rain and took a cold shower. The water was icy but did the trick of calming him down. As soon as he toweled off, he collapsed onto his pillow wearing nothing but his boxers. He drifted off into oblivion as soon as his head hit the pillow.
***
ASHER WOKE UP THE NEXT morning with a groggy, heavy feeling cloaked over his mind. He stretched and rubbed his aching neck. He must have slept the wrong way last night. He shuffled his way to the kitchen where he fumbled around for a glass of water which he downed in a hurry.
He glanced around the apartment. He needed to call his house keeper again. The place was a total wreck. He couldn’t believe he’d actually let Heather see how messy he was. He wondered if she cared. She didn’t seem to mind it last night. He wondered if he paid his housekeeper more if she would do his laundry for him too.
He walked back to his room and yawned, stretched again. He picked up his phone. He had a missed text from Colton. Apparently, they had stayed out at the bar until it closed last night, or early into the dawn hours.
Asher wondered if Heather was already awake yet, and what she might be doing. He created a text for her and read it a few times before sending.
Hope you got home okay.
He erased it and then re-wrote it before finally relenting. He pressed the send button before he could change his mind again.
He stared at the black screen for a few seconds, waiting to see if she would respond. After several minutes of blankly gazing at his phone, he decided she must be busy. He would just have to call her later.
Burt called him a few minutes after that to remind Asher that they had a press interview later that day. Asher groaned. He had forgotten all about it.
“Fine,” he sighed into the phone. “I’ll be there.”
“You have to be there.” Burt reminded him.
Asher hung up.
He wanted to sulk, but he still hadn’t heard back from Heather. Normally, she was quite punctual in responding to his texts, but something felt different, out of place today. Asher wasn’t the patient type. He called her, but there was no answer.
He debated on whether to leave her a message. He decided to go for it. “Hey Heather, its Asher.” He paced the room and ran a hand through his hair. He wasn’t nervous; he was simply trying to keep himself busy.
“I just wanted to see if you wanted to come with me to my press interview later, you know, so you can learn a few things and I can show you the ropes. I know how much it means for you to become a producer one day. Call me.”
He hung up and wondered if he’d sounded too desperate. He just missed her company that was all. He knew she wanted to experience being a news producer. Wouldn’t it help her out to witness a press interview? It couldn’t hurt.
He tossed his phone onto his couch and made himself a bowl of Chex mix cereal. He kept himself busy. He cleaned up on his own, even without calling his housekeeper to bail him out. When it was almost time for him to leave for the press interview, he still hadn’t heard from Heather.
He texted her again. When you get a chance, please let me know that you made it home safely. It wasn’t an outlandish request.
Asher’s heart pounded in his chest. He wouldn’t be able to live with himself if something had happened to her. She was in good hands with his security team, but he began second guessing himself. Asher didn’t know the guy that picked her up last night that well. He should have personally driven her home himself.
Then, his phone dinged. It was Heather. He was able to sag his shoulders in relief.
Yes, I made it home safely. Thanks for last night.
That’s it? That was all she was going to say to him after he had been calling and texting her throughout the day? No. He wasn’t going to be able to make peace with that. He tried to swallow his aggressive side because he didn’t want his frustrations to be aimed directly at Heather. He earnestly cared for her.
He picked up the phone and dialed her number. He was nothing but persistent. She answered on the third ring.
“Hello?” Her voice sounded stretched.
“Heather? Is everything alright?” Asher furrowed his brow with concern.
“Yeah...” Heather trailed off in a cloudy tone. “Everything is fine.”
“Did you get my message about the press interview?” He asked. He held his breath and waited for her response.
“I did.” She cleared her throat. She sounded closer now. “I’m sorry I haven’t called you back yet.”
“It’s not a problem,” Asher obliged, but he didn’t know if he actually meant it.
“I don’t feel well today,” she said in a distant manner. I’m really tired. I just need to stay at home.”
Asher tried to bottle up his disappointment. “I hope you feel better soon. Keep me posted?”
“I will.” Her soft voice punched straight through him.
He hung up; a rattled feeling in his gut. Was he reading too much into it, or did she sound almost standoffish?
Asher didn’t have time to dissect her response to his call. His hair guy was calling him now. It was time to get prepped for the press interview. He would check on Heather later. Maybe he could bring her some soup or something, anything to use as an excuse to see her again.