Page 78 of Together

What I wouldn’t give to run my tongue up and down his upper body and for him to do the same to me. He told me early on that he was an affectionate guy and he wasn’t lying. It’s the truth, for sure. And it’s wearing me down. All the little hugs and hand holding, the forehead kisses, the way he places his hand on my lower back. He’s breaking down every defense I have simply by being him. No charade or fancy talking. It’s just… Nikolas.

I hear a knock on my driver’s door window and I turn to see Grace looking annoyed. She turns her finger in the universal hurry it up already signal and I roll my eyes.

“Grace is here looking grumpy as ever.”

“Sounds like it’ll be a fun night.”

“Right. I’ll call you after.”

“Or during. Whatever you need.”

I glance over at Grace who looks even more impatient than she was ten seconds ago. Even though it’s a beautiful summer day, the sun shining brightly, the humidity low and heat bearable, she looks like she’s miserable. I mouth, “I’m coming,” to her and dip my head and say to Nik, “Thank you. I’ll talk to you soon.”

“Told you already, baby. No need to thank me. This is what we do. We’re there for each other. No questions asked. Now, go have dinner with your sisters and eat all the things.”

I hang up and drop my phone into my purse. I don’t take the time to check my appearance in the visor mirror before opening my door. Grace will just be even more irritated if I take another five seconds.

“Yes?”

“You’re so selfish, Ashley. I’ve been standing here for like twenty minutes.”

“Two, actually, and no one told you to wait for me.”

She huffs and spins on her sky-high heels before stomping toward the restaurant. She looks impeccable as always. A black pencil skirt and white sleeveless blouse tucked into the high waist. She must have come straight from the office. I’m sure she was wearing a blazer over her blouse earlier to complete the look of buttoned-up professional lawyer.

I used to think she dressed this way to intimidate people but now I think that’s just her preferred attire. It’s a lot different than my lavender tunic that I used to wear pre-pregnancy but is flowy enough that it doubles as a maternity top, a simple pair of black leggings, and a pair of flip-flops. The weather might be bearable this summer, but I’m still seven months pregnant and I have no desire to cram my feet into actual shoes if I don’t have to.

“After you,” I say sarcastically under my breath because unlike her, I’m not here to start a fight.

“It’s sweltering out there,” she gripes to me when we’re inside the restaurant in the air conditioning.

“It’s actually not,” I argue. She shoots me a glare because she doesn’t appreciate when people don’t agree with her. “What? It’s a gorgeous day and I’m not going to sit here and listen to you bitch and moan about it.”

“What’s gotten into you?”

Nikis the first thing that comes to my head, but I don’t say that. I simply shrug. If I told her that Nik was changing me, she’d only bring up all the past relationships that I’ve changed my personality for. But this time it’s different. Nik is different. I don’t know if we’re technically in a relationship or not, but I don’t want to be with anyone else and the way he acts, I don’t think he does, either.

And the ways he’s changing me are for the better. It’s not about conforming to who he wants me to be. He’s challenging me to stand up for myself, to learn what I like best about me and what I want out of life. He makes sure that when I agree to anything — be it what show to watch, what to have for dinner, what radio station to listen to, or anything else — that I’m agreeing because that’s what I want, not what I think he wants to hear.

It’s been both challenging and refreshing.

I’ve learned a lot about myself in the past six months I’ve been spending with Nik. For instance, I really, really, hate spin classes. I used to bust my ass on a stationary bike, sweating my ass off and almost falling down after getting off that tiny little seat while I was with Zachary because he encouraged me to try it. So I kept going because he said he was proud of me.

Turns out, I’m not a fan.

Plenty of people love it and that’s great for them.

Me? Not so much. It’s hell. Literal. Hell. I’d rather do yoga or, you know, sit on my ass and eat junk food all night but still manage to stay in shape. That would begreat.

“Is Lucy here yet?”

“Of course she is. Lucy’s never late,” she says, so high and mighty. What a snob. Ugh. This dinner is supposed to be fun and relaxing. Just the three of us enjoying a good meal but Grace is already throwing around her attitude. It makes me want to leave right now, not even sticking around for the delicious food I know I’ll get to eat soon.

“Whatever,” I mumble.

“Good teenage word there, Ashley. Sounds real classy.” Grace chides. “Your little blue-collar boyfriend like it when you talk like that? Probably does. Makes him feel right at home.” I stare at her slack-jawed as we wait for the hostess to bring us to Lucy. When did she become so condescending?

As we walk to our table, I count to ten in my head to calm myself down. I was already on edge about tonight’s dinner but Grace’s snide comments aren’t helping. I’ve always known Grace thought a lot of herself, but it never seemed like she thought down on others.

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