Page 48 of The Penalty Shot (Totally Pucked 5)

He’s so kind, and patient, and sweet that it feels so surreal sometimes.

“Are you sure?”

He nods. “Lived with a group of hockey players for a long time, Aud. I can handle me and little man. Plus, I got a new comic I wanted to show him.”

“Thank you for everything that you do. I know I say it a lot, but I truly mean it. I appreciate how supportive and kind you’ve been to me and Alex both. I honestly don’t know what I would do without you right now.”

“It’s nothing, baby. Go enjoy your bath.”

I turn the pot down to simmer and slip away to the bathroom, where I run the hottest bath I can possibly stand, grab my phone and FaceTime Elijah.

He should be home soon, but right now, I want my best friend. He answers after a few rings, and I spend the next hour up to my nose in bubbles, talking with him and Blake about their honeymoon. I want to tell them everything that’s happened, but I don’t want to burden them during their one and only vacation. Just seeing his and Blake’s faces makes me feel better. Only then, though, do I realize that, lately…Asher’s been the person I run to when my life starts to crumble, and that thought, well…it terrifies me.

It makes me vulnerable in ways that I’ve never been before.

After tucking Alex into bed and spending a few minutes lying with him, talking about his day, I slip out once he’s fallen asleep.

I’ve been worried about the kids at school bullying him, but he assured me he has it under control and I want to trust him more than my parents trusted me. I don’t want to suffocate him or take away his choices.

“Hey,” Asher whispers when we meet in the hallway, him by his room and me by mine.

“Hi.”

Suddenly I feel more raw than I ever have standing in front of him, even when he had me stripped bare. This feels completely different, like a piece inside me has been exposed, and suddenly, I feel shy.

“So, I was thinking. This weekend…would you want to go on a date with me?”

My heart flutters in my chest.

A date?

“A d-date? Like, as in?” I say stupidly.

God, Auden, you are such a ditz.

Asher’s lips tug up into a flirty grin. “Like, as in, I would like to take you on a date.” He crosses the hall to me and cradles my jaw delicately in his hand. “I want you to wear the prettiest dress you have, whatever makes you feel the most beautiful, and I want you to let me take you out. I’m going to plan it all, and all you have to do is show up.”

Immediately, my mind goes into overdrive. A date…God, I’ve been on a total of two in my entire life, not to mention, we’re roommates who decided we wouldn’t be complicating things.

This will definitely complicateeverything.

Then, why do I still find myself leaning into his touch, and have the word yes ready to fall from my lips.

“What about not crossing any lines that are too complicated?” I ask.

“Fuck it. Let’s focus on us, right here, and the rest we can figure out later, Auden. I want to take you on a date. Arealone.”

“O-okay,” I whisper, my hands finding his on my jaw as he leans in and brushes his lips over mine in the lightest of kisses.

My heart beats wildly against its cage, maybe as a warning. Maybe I should listen.

But, then again, this feeling that Asher gives me? It’s one I’m not ready to give up.

Not yet, anyway.

The days leading up to the weekend seem to drag by, and after trying on at least fifteen different outfits, I decide on a fitted black dress that MJ let me borrow.

When I tried it on, I stared at myself for a good five minutes in the mirror, in disbelief at what the simple piece of fabric did for me. MJ says it's all about finding outfits that compliment your body type, and this dress…It looks like it was made to fit my body.

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