Page 40 of Poinsettia Lane

Asim gently squeezes her arm in that comforting way of his, then stands and smoothly slides back into his seat. “Now, would you like some dessert? You don’t have to, I’m happy either way, but if you’d like a suggestion I hear their chocolate mousse is fantastic.”

Everly looks around, realizing what felt like hours was actually only minutes, and takes a moment to assess her body. She’s feeling drained from the panic attack, and doesn’t think a rich dessert would sit well with her at this point. “No, I don’t think I’ll have any. Please get some if you’d like though, I don’t mind.”

Asim simply smiles, and when the waiter comes back around, he declines dessert, requesting fresh water for them both and a hot green tea for Everly. She looks at him in surprise, wondering if it was a lucky guess or if he somehow knows she likes green tea.

“You mentioned it once,” he says, “when talking about your friend. You said Frankie always makes you green tea, that it’s your go-to comfort drink.”

Everly’s heart thumps in her chest for an entirelydifferent reason now.

She doesn’t know what she did to deserve this man showing up in her life, but she’s becoming more grateful every day for the opportunity to get to know him.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

THE SUN FULLY set during Everly’s panic attack, but the sky still holds beautiful shades of deep blues and greens. Asim moves his chair around the table closer to hers, and they watch the fading colors together. Everly turns in her seat, tilting her head back against his shoulder as he winds one arm around her, lightly tracing the skin along her outer arm with his fingertips. They’re holding hands and pointing out stars as they appear in the darkening sky above them, and a wave of peace sweeps over her. Asim senses her quiet mood, or maybe he feels the same, and they spend some time in comfortable silence listening to the sound of the boat and other patrons chatting around them.

Asim murmurs here and there when something occurs to him, telling her more about his siblings and sharing a funny story about his brother nearly falling off a boat when they were younger. He clearly misses his family, but he’s also spoken about how much he loves the community and his job here too. His voice is comforting, resonant and deep, lulling her into a place of calm and safety.

Everly wonders about his future; what his goals and ambitions are. Whether his ideals and dreams might align with hers, then if she’s crazy and getting ahead of herself. She figures the worst has already happened tonight and they got through it, so she dives in.

“What are your life dreams?” she asks, eloquent as always.

“My life dreams? Hmm.”

Asim tips his head sideways and rests his cheek against the top of her head for a moment while he thinks. Everly relishes how natural it feels to be held by him like this.

“Well if we’re talking career goals, I’d love to expand the business, be able to hire more locals and become a town staple. Bring joy to the community. I’ve actually had an idea I’d like to propose to the city council, I’ve been thinking about it for a couple years now and just never gotten around to it.”

“What’s your idea?” Everly tilts her head a little further, curving her neck to the side so she can look up at his face. He looks almost… bashful? She never would have guessed this massive, confident, easy-going man could look that way and she’s even more intrigued now that she’s seen it.

“I’d like to partner with the city to bring more decorative planters to the downtown area. Maybe contract with them to add some native, drought tolerant plants along the sidewalks and in pots downtown. I think it would be nice to replace a lot of the less sustainable landscaping there currently.”

“That would be amazing.” Everly sits forward and twists to face him. “Asim, that’s a really fantastic idea! I can’t believe you’ve had this in your pocket for years. How do we make it happen?”

Asim’s eyes brighten as his eyebrows rise, his lips slowly curve up into a smile. “We?”

“Well,” Everly backpedals, she didn’t mean to insert herself into his life goals. “I mean, obviously it’s your thing, but I know almost all of the council members through my parents. Kinda grew up around them, the people with sway, our families were all in the same circle. I could maybe help if you wanted, not that you can’t do it on your own of course.” She pinches her lips together, determined to stop the rambling herself before he intervenes again.

“I’d be honored if you’d help. I know plants, and I do well enough on the business end, but I don’t know the first thing about bringing a proposal to a group of politicians.” He smiles fondly and she returns it, shifting and settling back into the crook of his arm.

“You don’t need to be nervous to share your opinions and thoughts with me, Ever.” Asim’s voice is a soft murmur above her, and she doesn’t have a good response to that statement. She’s quiet for a few moments while her brain spins.

“I’m…” Everly doesn’t know how to say what she wants to say without sounding like an idiot. She glances at Asim, and his face is soft while he waits patiently for her to find the words she’s looking for.

“I’m not that great with words," Everly rushes through it, cringing at how that very sentence demonstrates it perfectly.

“That’s alright.” Asim is unfazed, and she realizes that he truly means it. “Would it help if I asked questions? When you don’t know the words?”

She blinks as her eyes unfocus, imagining what that would be like, before replying. “Yeah, I think, maybe it would.”

“Alright then," he says. “Even if you don’t have anything to say though, that’s okay too. I don’t mind the quiet.” Asim strokes a hand down her arm and pulls her in closer, surrounding her in comfort and warmth.

Her throat is too tight to talk even if she knew what to say, so she bobs her head up and down before pushing herself a little deeper into his side. He gives her a return squeeze with the arm draped around her and she sighs, allowing herself to finally relax into his embrace.

The stars are out in full by the time the boat putters back up to the dock. Everyone files down the stairs and Everly happily slips her hand into the crook of Asim’s arm as they cross the dock back to the parking lot. Asim helps her into the truck again before climbing in himself, and they drive down the twisting back roads to Everly’s house. The interior smells like him and Everly breathes it in, trying to figure out the individual components that make his scent so unique. She picks out earthy notes, maybe the slightly smokey scent of amber with some sandalwood undertones. Whatever it is, she breathes it in like she needs it to survive.

Everly leans her forehead against the cool glass of the window, a content smile painting her lips as Asim rolls his window down and rests his forearm on it. Cacti andlarge desert brush sweep by the window as they drive, and Everly stares out past it all, reliving their evening together in her mind.

When Asim turns into her neighborhood and she sees the road sign for Poinsettia Lane ahead, she pulls her mind back to the present moment. Everly peeks at Asim from the corner of her eye, noticing his arm is tensed, muscles corded beneath his tattoos as he clenches his hand on top of the steering wheel. Before she can ask if everything’s alright though, they turn into her driveway and he glances her way, eyes softening as he smiles at her.

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