Page 83 of Love is Strange
Art supplies.Casey said to get Ember art supplies. So here I am in an arts and crafts store, and I have no idea what to get her. The young female cashier hasn’t stopped staring at me since I walked through the doors, twenty minutes ago. I’m not sure if it’s because she’s interested in me, or because I have been in here for so long, looking lost as fuck and without asking for help. In the end, I grab a nice looking art book and some pencils, walk up to the desk with them, and hand her my credit card.
“Will that be everything, sir?” she says, blushing at me. Christ!
“Yes, thank you,” I reply shortly and turn away from her, making my disinterest clear.
When I hear the rustling of a bag, I turn back and take my purchases and card without another word. I swiftly exit the shop and head back to the comfort and privacy of my room where I can fantasize about the girl I'm going to have soon. One more year, I can wait that long for her, my Ember.
* * *
It’stime to head home for the short Halloween break, and I’m thankful that I don’t go to a college further away. Otherwise, the frequent drives would be a fucking nightmare. Ember’s present is in my backpack, and although her birthday isn’t until tomorrow, I’m tempted to give it to her early. That’s not the only thing I want to give her, butthatwill have to wait.
I pull up outside my mom’s house and smile when I see Ember’s car parked on the driveway. I smirk, knowing that very soon I'll be in her presence again. I wonder what she thought when she saw the mess I made of her bedcover, not that I’ll tell her it was me of course. I get hard just thinking about how I came all over the bed where she sleeps, just like I did her ass that night. Fuck, I need a minute to calm down. I can’t walk into my house with a fucking hard-on.
I take a few deep breaths and attempt to focus my mind elsewhere, using my recent engineering classes to distract my brain and calm my body. I would like to be able to leave the car and enter the house without fucking embarrassing myself, and after a few moments, my damn cock obeys my head.
I grab my backpack from the passenger seat, and slinging it over my shoulder, I stride up the path and into the house. Memories assault me when I see Casey and Ember sprawled out on the living room floor with their schoolwork, but this time Ember is wearing a pair of skinny jeans that hug her tight ass in a way that makes my cock instantly jump in my pants.
“I’m home! I’m just going to grab a quick shower to wash the journey off. I’ll be down in a minute,” I call out, knowing full well that I’m going to need to do a lot more than shower if I want to spend any time in their company.
Casey doesn’t need to see the evidence of how much I'm lusting after her best friend, and Ember will probably take one look and then blush. If I see that sweet pink on her cheeks again, I won’t be able to resist stealing a kiss and maybe another orgasm from her gorgeous, beautifully responsive body.
I dash up the stairs and head straight for my room when I see Casey’s open bedroom door. I can’t help but wander in, hoping for a peek at Ember’s things.
I’m just picking up her overnight bag when I hear her voice behind me. “What are you doing with my bag?”
Chapter Nine
EMBER
Ash dropsmy bag on the bed and turns his dark, focused gaze entirely on me. I nervously lick my lips, and he suddenly looks hungry. He doesn’t answer, but instead he drops my bag, removes his backpack, and unzips the pocket before pulling out a plain gift box, which he holds out to me.
“I was going to put this in it. A present for your birthday,” he says in a quiet voice.
“Oh, thank you,” I tell him, smiling timidly and knowing that I’m probably ten shades of red by now. While I’m pleased that he thought to buy me a gift, it doesn’t change what happened between us or erase how he made me feel. But I’m aware that my resolve to hate him is beginning to waver.
Ash puts the box down on the bed and walks over to where I’m standing in the doorway. Brushing past me on the way out, he places a soft kiss on my cheek, which I can’t help but lean into. Feeling foolish, I turn away from him, but he doesn't linger, and when I hear the bathroom door close and the shower turn on, I let out the breath I didn't realize I was holding.
Curiosity gets the better of me, so I walk back over to the box and carefully lifting the lid, I peek inside. I drop the cover with a gasp when I see what Ash has bought for me: an expensive sketchpad and artist pencils stare up at me from the bottom of the box. I'm speechless at having received such a thoughtful gift from him, but it’s too much.
When I hear the water stop running, I grab the box and go to his room. I hover in the doorway for a moment before entering. Even though he's hardly ever here anymore, it still smells of him, and I can’t help but inhale deeply. I go over to the bed and put the box down onto it before turning and slamming straight into a hard wall of hot, bare flesh.
Arms wrap around me to stop me from falling, and when I look up, I see Ash’s dark blue eyes carefully assessing me, and I freeze.
He looks past me and frowns when he notices the box on his bed, “Why’s that in here?”
I chew my lip, nervously. “I want you to take it back; it’s way too much.”
Ash scowls. “Don’t you like them?”
I gasp, “No! I love them. They’re just too much. What did they even cost? I know these kinds of supplies aren’t cheap.”
Ash waves me off. “If you like them, then keep them.”
“I can’t,” I say in a small voice, and he looks at me with a raised eyebrow.
He sucks his lip rings into his mouth, and I find myself staring. Ash’s lip quirks up at one corner when he notices where my eyes are, and he leans in closer to me.
He's so close I can feel his breath on my lips.“It’s not too much, and I don’t care about the money. I care about you. Besides, Casey is the one who told me what to get for you. Do you really want me to have to tell her you refused the gift she said you’d love?”
