Page 44 of From Asher, With Love

I smile back. “Me, too.”

Keeping the flower in my hand, I slide the box closer, peering inside. The air is sucked from my lungs when I realize what’s inside. I pick out one of the paper hearts.

“You kept all of these?” I ask, sifting through them. I look up to find her eyes on me.

“Of course.” She shrugs, allowing her hair to fall around her face. “Sometimes, when I’m having a bad day, I’ll go through them and try to find my favorite.”

“Which one is your favorite?” Part of me is shocked thinking how less than an hour ago I was cleaning up after my drunk mother, and now I’m sitting on the floor with the person I love most in the world. Knowing my paper hearts have meant something to Charleigh makes my heart swell a thousand times.

She places her hand in the box, moving the hearts around. “Every day, I have a different one. It never stays the same.”

“I never knew you kept them. I assumed you tossed them in the trash.”

“Why would I throw them away? It’s my favorite thing to wake up to in the morning.” Charleigh tilts her head to the side, studying me. I can feel her eyes wandering across my chest, my arms, my face. It’s as if she’s lighting every single piece of my body on fire. “You say you aren’t great with words, Asher. This is my proof you’re wrong.”

I swallow thickly. Fuck, I’m so in love with this girl, it’s terrifying.

“Can I ask you something?” I look down at the box of paper hearts. I don’t know why, but I’m nervous. My heart beats faster, thrumming against the walls of my ribs.

“Sure.”

“What made you fall in love with me?”

She cocks her head to the side. “I don’t get what you mean.”

“I mean…” I sigh, pinching the bridge of my nose. “I’m not exactly the best man for you, Charleigh. I live in a trailer, and the few pieces of clothing I own all have too many holes for me to count. My phone barely works, and I have ten dollars in my wallet. I have nothing to offer you but these paper hearts.” I point to the box and scoot closer to Charleigh’s bed, my back pressed against the mattress.

She moves closer to me, too, pressing her body against mine. She hooks her fingers under my chin, forcing me to look at her. “I love you, Asher, and I couldn’t care less whether you’re poor or have all the money in the world.” She sighs, swiping her tongue across her mouth. Her lips glisten in the moonlight. Leaning forward, she plants a kiss on my cheek, then places the lid back onto the box and slides it back under the bed.

Grabbing my hand, she pulls me to a stand before sitting me down on her bed, where she straddles me, pressing both her hands to my face. She leans down, tucking her hair behind her ear. I keep her close, placing both of my hands on the small of her back. “I love you for the man you are, Asher, and for the man I know you’ll become.”

“I love you, too.” I run my fingers across her cheek. “What do you see in our future?”

“First, I see us graduating together, both of us with a business degree.” Her smile reaches her eyes.

“Yeah?” I whisper.

She nods, biting down on her lip. She rocks her hips, and I fight hard not to take it any further. Although I don’twant to sleep with Charleigh tonight, I won’t stop myself from feeling her this way. “After college, you’ll start your own real estate business and be New York’s most successful real estate executive.”

I smile, loving where Charleigh’s imagination is taking her.

She grips my shoulders and clutches the fabric of my shirt, pulling me up toward her. My shirt makes me remember what my life is like now. It’s hard to imagine there will ever be a time when I won’t be scrounging for pennies just to be able to buy food. A time when I won’t be living in a trailer.

“Where do you fit into this future of mine?” I ask.

With a serious expression, she brings her face to the crook of my neck. Her breath dances across my skin as she breathes me in, whispering against my flesh, “I’ll be with you, silly, surrounded by flowers and paper hearts.”

I grip the back of her head, threading my fingers through her hair. “I like the sound of that.”

“I want you,” Charleigh says against my neck.

I dig my fingers into her back, rocking her hips against me. I swell under my jeans, and it takes everything in me to hold back. I groan, moving my hands to her face, pulling it up to mine.

Her eyebrows pull together, and I see the worry in her. It’s as if she’s afraid I’m going to disappear.

I pull her close. My fingers dip into her floral-scented hair. “I want you, too.” I swallow. “One day. But not tonight.”

She inhales a shaky, unsteady breath, but softly nods. “Okay.”

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