Page 45 of Poinsettia Lane

She can’t respond. Everything has shut down, because her worst fear has come to light. It’s as she thought, once the landscaping is finished, he has no reason to be with her anymore.We’re done.

“Let’s get you inside.” Everly feels Asim’s strong arms band around her from a distance, like she’s not fully connected to her body anymore, and next thing she knows, he’s carrying her across the patio and inside the house. Her hat falls off along the way, but she doesn’t even try to grab it; she feels immobilized, helpless, as if she’s sinking to the bottom of an icy lake, lethargic and disconnected from reality.

Asim props her on a chair in the dining room before rushing to the kitchen, returning a moment later with a glass of ice water and a cool cloth that he dabs gently on her forehead.

“Drink this," he says, kneeling in front of her chair and holding it up to her lips. “Steady now. How do you feel?”

Everly doesn’t know what to say, but those words won’t leave her head.We’re done.She shakes her head, trying to dispel them, trying to get them out, but it doesn’t work. She feels her lips moving around them, and she whispers, “we’re done” as she stares at the glass in front of her without really seeing it.

“We’re done?” Asim pulls back, confusion written across his face as his eyes dart between hers. “We will be soon…”

He cocks his head when she flinches at his words, letting his sentence trail off, eyeing her as her breath stutters and her eyes turn glassy before she twists away from him, curling her arms protectively around herself.

Eternity passes in the silence between them and Everly nearly loses herself again before he breaks it.

“Oh no, my sweet Ever, I didn’t mean you and I. Is that what you thought? No, I meant the project. We’realmost done with the project. Your anxiety thought I meant us, didn’t it?” He pulls her off the chair onto the cool stone floor, cradling her in his arms and murmuring to her.

“No my darling, I am most certainly not done with you. You and I, we have so much left to our story.” His arms are wrapped around her and the icy feeling starts to thaw as his words penetrate the fog in her mind.

“We arenotdone," he emphasizes, clearly trying to get it through her head.

Not done.

Everly blinks, moving her lips to the new words. “Not done,” she whispers again.

“Not even close," he says. “I’m not even close to done with you, my darling Ever.”

His arms are still around her, and she’s picking up more of his words, letting them sink into her brain. His lips graze the top of her head, and she notices the feeling of one of his thighs against her back, the other underneath her legs as she sits sideways against him.

Not done. Not even close.

My darling Ever.

Everly sucks in a deep, shaky breath, and wrenches her eyes up to his. “You meant the project," she says and he nods, holding her eyes steady with his.

“Of course, you meant the project. I’m so sorry, oh my god I’m such a—”

“Don’t you dare finish that sentence," Asim interjects. “If you say anything mean about the beautiful woman I’m dating, I’ll have some seriously unhappy words for you.” He glares down at her, but a smile twitches the corners of his mouth.

“Dating?” Everly looks up at him, and then squeaks when he squeezes her tightly.

“Did I not take you out on a date?”

“I… yeah.” Everly is still catching up with everything after the world slowed around her and then snapped forward again into light-speed.

“So, if we’re dating, does that mean we’re going on another?” She peeks up at him through her eyelashes, his arms still banded around her.

“I certainly would like to, what do you think?” he asks.

Everly nods her head, tucking it in against his chest underneath his chin. “Yes, I’d like that too.” Her voice is soft, and all at once, the surplus of frantic energy and tension drains from her body. She slumps against him, exhausted.

They sit in comfortable silence for a few more minutes, Asim’s hands following a soothing path as he rubs up and down her arm before he gives her another gentle squeeze and stands up, picking her up with him and placing her on her feet.

“How about a break. Let’s have a snack, and then see how you are feeling?” he asks, and Everly’s stomach grumbles, answering for her.

She snorts a grimace at herself and takes his hand, pulling him into the kitchen with her. Everly keeps sneaking glances at him, afraid every time of what she will find in his face when he looks at her, not wanting to see evidence that his words were a lie. Pity, revulsion, disappointment, rejection. Her anxiety tells her they’re all there on his face, clear as day, they must be. She finds none of them though, and she wouldn’t believe it if she hadn’t experienced this type of open acceptance from him before as well.

They put together a simple plate with some cheese, fruit, and veggies, sitting side by side at the kitchen counter. Asim doesn’t stop touching her, and she relishes each one. His arm brushing hers as they reach forward, his knee bumping hers as he twists on the stool, his hand grazing hers in passing to and from the plate. It builds a slow heat, and she knows he’s doing it on purpose.

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