Page 48 of Poinsettia Lane

Taking a shaky breath, she looks away from his mesmerizing eyes so her brain can hopefully start to function again, and they catch on the soft pink color of the robe he’s still wearing. Cracking up at the absurdity of the situation, of being told by a very attractive man in a very serious tone how much he likes her while said man is dressed in her tiny robe, she wraps her arms around her waist and folds herself over her knees in an attempt to contain the intense dichotomy of emotions going through her.

Is she laughing or crying right now? Hard to tell, probably both. It’s like tossing boiling water into dry ice, or hearing a rooster call at bedtime. They just don’t go together, and yet somehow that’s her reality right now.

“It’s the robe, isn’t it? Kinda distorted the message a bit?” Asim says after she’s started to catch her breath again, wry amusement lacing his tone.

“It’s just,” she pauses, unsure of how to put her chaotic feelings into words, “everything, I guess.” It’s a cop out, but she’s beyond anything more at this point.

Everly takes a slow breath and feels him match her action. She turns inward and reflects on his words, realizing when he said whatever she’s feeling is okay, that somehow those words penetrated her foggy brain when nothing else did. She does feel the same, and she wants him to be hers. She also wants to be his.

Everly looks back up at him.

“I want to be yours too," she says, and his entire being lights up.

He cups her face in his hands and leans down, gifting her with a tender kiss, then tucks her up against himagain while he pulls his phone out and orders dinner to be delivered.

~~~

When the washing machine buzzer sounds, Asim untangles himself from her.

“Stay there, I’ll toss everything in the dryer and be right back," he says.

Everly doesn’t mind the view of him walking away, especially in that short robe. His taut thighs are on display, and her eyes run down his legs. Does he have to have amazing calves too? Everly scoffs, wondering if there is anything about this man that isn’t attractive. Naturally, this leads to thoughts of what lies beneath the bathrobe, and she’d be willing to bet that’s just as gorgeous and enticing as the rest of him.

She smoothes out her face when he returns, pretending she wasn’t just thinking about the few parts of him not covered by the robe. Asim holds up two bags; their food arrived while he was changing the laundry. They unload box after box of food onto the coffee table and Everly turns skeptical eyes on Asim.

“Did you get one of each?” she says, eyebrows aiming for her hairline as she scans the plethora of Chinese take-out.

“I didn’t know what you like, so… yeah, kinda.” Asim scratches the back of his head, and Everly sighs at how adorable the bashful look is on him.

“Okay, well, I was kidding, but that’s very sweet. Next time you could just ask, though.” She pokes his ribs and he snatches her fingers, bringing them to his mouth and nibbling on her fingertips.

“Or I’ll skip food altogether and taste you instead," he says, eyes darkening again as he intentionally flicks them down her body.

Everly’s face heats and she splutters before turning away, pleased with his attention but unsure of how to respond to it. She continues her quest of unloading the entire restaurant onto the coffee table when Asim’s arms come around her and he nibbles along her ear next, before pushing her hair to the side and nuzzling his noseinto her neck.

“Is this okay?” he asks, lips moving against her skin, and Everly nods, not trusting that her voice won’t sound like a frog again. She angles her head to give him better access.

“You wreck me, you know that?” His voice is low, suggestive.

“What do you mean?” Everly pauses again, tensing in anticipation against him.

“Everything you do turns me on, Ever.” He growls, his husky voice a rough whisper against her ear. “When you blush, I want to strip your clothes off to see how far down your body it goes. Your beautiful eyes smoldering at me, your silken hair that I want to tangle my fingers in, that laugh. My god that laugh. I could be happy hearing only your laugh for the rest of my life. The way you throw yourself into things whole-heartedly with full dedication. And your body.” He groans, readjusting himself behind her.

“I could keep going, but let’s leave it at that for now, yeah? I’ve already nearly scared you away once today.”

Everly’s breathing is jagged, and she feels his deep inhale before he strokes her hair once, then pulls away. She doesn’t know what to say because her brain is misfiring again, but she feels all those same things about him. His smile, his laugh, his stunning eyes and gentle soul. She wants to drown in him, but she doesn’t know how to put it into words like he can.

Asim takes some sort of hint from the undoubtedly desperate look in her eyes.

“You need me to ask?” he says, referencing their conversation about her anxiety from the boat date. Everly nods.

“Do you like what I said? How I feel about you?”

“Yes,” she whispers. “I do.”

“And do you feel the same way about me?”

Everly bites her lip and nods again. “I really do, I just don’t know how to say all those nice things like you did.”

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