Page 69 of Exactly What I Needed
It wasn’t just this once. Anytime I was with him, I felt like this. Closing my eyes, a small smile slid across my lips. To hell with all the guilt that I was feeling. I wanted to be selfish when it came to him. Because every girl deserved to feel the way I did when I was with him.
Chapter 24
Void had left while I was in the photoshoot. Asher texted to let me know the address of the little house they were renting and that I should come over whenever I could. That he wanted to see me. That he missed me already. And that he still needed to give me my present. I crashed maybe an hour later and didn’t get up until five-thirty in the evening on Sunday. Exhausted and a little hungover.
I figured I could go see him after school on Monday and had quickly gone back to sleep. Now that school was over the next day, I was excitedly driving to the little house. I hadn’t bothered to tell Sydney I’d be late coming home from work today. My mind had been occupied by nothing except Asher and some photo samples Izzy emailed me this morning. They were the ones she wanted me to choose from for the music poster.
My head was on cloud nine. I rounded a corner and realized the GPS was taking me to a home still in my little town. Closer to my house than the hotel had been. How convenient.
Glancing out the window, I turned my music down a little and looked for the house number. Three black letters nailed to cream stucco beside a cute front porch let me know I’d found it, and I pulled into the small driveway, parking behind the two-car garage and beside a gray Elantra.
Grabbing my purse, I slung the pale blue strap over my shoulder and shut the car door. My stomach churned not from nerves, but from excitement. I was genuinely excited to see Asher. Smoothing out some wrinkles in my short-sleeved, floral, pink, school-appropriate sundress, I practically skipped up the steps to the house.
There was a keypad on the front door above the black handle, blending well with the overall modern theme of the house. I pulled up Asher’s text that had the code and typed it in. There was whirring, and the lock disengaged.
Pushing my thumb against the handle, I walked inside.
Directly into the living room. There were shoes tossed to the right and a coat rack already filled with jackets and hoodies. Gray hardwood was accented with a fancy cream area rug to my left. A dark gray, leather sectional faced the mounted television against the wall. Past the room was the kitchen and a hallway that disappeared around a corner to the right.
My eyes locked onto five pairs of eyes staring at me from the living room to my left—three of whom I recognized.
“Hey, Cosi,” Kieron drawled, a grin spreading across his face. Jaxon waved, his arm slung around a cute, curly-haired blonde girl with a small, heart-shaped face. Drake nodded and ran a hand up and down the arm of the girl leaning against his chest. She had a nose ring and gauges, muchmore eccentric-looking than I would ever feel comfortable dressing like. And I was jealous.
Both of the girls were absolutely gorgeous.
Jaxon pointed to his girl. “This is Ava. Ava, that’s Cosette. Asher’s girlfriend.” She smiled brightly and waved.
“And this is Nova,” Drake added. Nova smiled as well, shifting her slightly scary look into something inviting.
“Hi.” I waved and then kicked my heels off.
Asher slid around the corner, shirtless with a grin on his face.
“Kieron, can I talk to you for a minute?” I quickly said, and the grin immediately fell from Asher’s face. His eyes widened, confused and in disbelief.
“M-m-me?” Kieron stood from the couch, shocked.
“Yes. Privately for just a second,” I stated again.
Asher threw his hands in the air, pointing to himself as if to say, “What about me?”
Kieron jumped over the back of the couch, grinning. He faced Asher and lifted both hands, flipping him off. Asher’s mouth fell open, still frozen in place. I shook my head and silently followed Kieron into the office to my right.
Once the door shut behind us, he crossed his arms and lifted a brow. “What’s up?”
“I need your honest opinion on something. BUT,” I emphasized and paused. He tipped his head. “But you have to forget what you sawimmediatelyafter we leave this room. Got it?”
“What will I be seeing?” he questioned. I dug through my purse and pulled out my phone. Tightening my fingers around it, I sucked in my bottom lip. Rethinking things.
“I want to make something for Asher, but I need to know if it’s too soon to give him something like this or not. Plus, I want an unbiased opinion on which picture to use,” I hesitantly explained.
“Never too soon. But a picture? Of what?”
“Me.” I narrowed my gaze.
“I have to forget the pictures of you that you’re going to show me. Why?” he asked and then gasped. “Are they spicy photos?” A malicious grin slid across his face, and he wiggled his brows.
“This was a horrible idea. I’ll ask Jaxon or Drake instead,” I muttered and turned around to leave.
