Page 24 of Collide

Asher doesn’t miss a beat though, a loud snort sound coming from his direction. “You’re in trouble then, Mase.” He puts down the big tote he carried in. “Mads, how the hell do your clothes weigh so much?”

I shrug. “I shoved a lot in there. Rolled up my shirts and pants, saved a ton of room.”

“Yet you leave out the one important detail that maybe you have too many. Oh, and also the fact that maybe if you had less, the tote wouldn’t be so heavy.” Mason teases.

I mock gasp. “Excuse me? A girl have too many clothes? Never!”

“Right, sorry. I forgot. You can’t tell a woman she has too many clothes. Same with shoes, purses, holiday decorations…” Mason ticks more items off.

He must not notice my face because if he did he’d shut up quickly.

“Wow, bro. You just dig your hole deeper.” Asher laughs as he plops down on the couch. “But serious question Mads- you feeding us?”

I grab a towel from the box in front of me and throw it at Asher. “You worked up a sweat from two boxes?”

“Hahaha.” Mason points at Asher and laughs. “Good one, sis. But I agree with Asher. You definitely owe us food.”

I giggle and shake my head. “I can’t with you two. But yes, you know I’ll feed you. I already have pizza on the way.”

Asher’s face lights up. “Already on the way? You’re the best, Mads.”

“She takes after her amazing brother, that’s why.”

“Will my amazing brother keep being amazing and run down to the corner store for drinks? Much cheaper than soda from the pizza shop.”

“You paying?”

I groan. “Wow. You two move a few boxes and it’s like I asked you to rescue me from a tower and behead the dragon.”

“What?” Asher laughs. “That would definitely cost more. Like a whole week's worth of meals.”

“Just a week? More like a year.” Mason chimes in.

“A year? To save your sister?”

“Sorry, Mads. But I’m not about to behead a dragon and still have to cook my dinner every night.”

“You’re ridiculous. Now go get us drinks.” I grab my wallet from the coffee table and hand Mason a ten dollar bill. “Asher wants to help me unpack.” I doubt he does but it’s my excuse to keep him here.

Mason cackles all the way to the door. “I’d much rather make a drink run.”

“And I’d much rather not move from this couch.” Asher replies but a cute grin stretches across his face.

He’s grown more handsome over the last year, if that’s even possible. His features are more defined, and he’s lost all of his baby face now that he’s grown in a full beard.

He keeps it neat and trimmed, just like his hair. Honestly, it’s sexy as fuck. I’ve resisted the urge to run my fingers through it, imagining the hair to be soft.

My feelings for Asher haven’t diminished in the least, if you couldn’t tell. If anything has changed, it’s that they’ve only grown stronger. And I’ve gotten better at hiding them.

Or at least I think I have.

It’s hard to tell. There’s flirty moments, and then there’s not.

There’s moments where I think Asher feels the same way I do, and there’s moments where I think Mason suspects something.

But all they are is moments. And there’s not enough of them to make sense of it all.

“Be back, kids.” Mason throws up the peace sign before closing the door behind him.

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