Always Asher Read online

  Asher’s eyes scanned over me lazily before he gave me a lopsided grin. “You look gorgeous. We’re set for the night. Go have fun with the girls.”

  I smiled and walked over to the sofa. “Eve is meeting us there.” I bent down and kissed him.

  “Ew, that’s my cousin.” Luca gagged.

  I flipped him off and kissed Asher one more time before the doorbell rang.

  “I love you, be safe. Call me if you need me to kill anyone!” Asher called as I roamed over to the door and opened it.

  Mags pulled me into a bone-crushing hug before peeking her head in. “Bye!” she called to them before she linked our arms and slammed the front door.

  “Luca looks delicious in those sweats.” She threw her head back and groaned. “Too bad he’s such a dick.”

  I shook my head and got into the passenger side of her car. “What’s going on with you two?”

  She shrugged. “Has Eve texted to confirm she’s making it?”

  “No.” I nibbled on my thumb as she drove to The Coffee Shop.

  “I seriously hate Gerald. He’s not a good person and I don’t know why Eve is still hanging around him.”

  “Gerald is the first guy she’s given a chance since Flynn. She’s probably trying to hold onto the idea of a perfect relationship.”

  She pulled into a parking spot. “Well, it’s not perfect. She needs to kick his ass to the curb!”

  I nodded. “I think so too but it’s important we support her and not grill her tonight.”

  She blew out a breath. “You’re right.” She turned to me and smiled before she hopped out of the car.

  We walked in and found Eve in a booth in the back. Her head was down and she was tapping away at her phone.

  “Hey bitch!” Mags dropped into the seat next to her and I slid in the other side.

  “H-Hi!” she squeaked. “It’s good to see you guys.”

  “Yeah, it is. I’ve missed you. How’re you doing?” I smiled.

  She shook her head. “I’m totally fine. Great! How about you two?” The waitress came over with three drinks. “I ordered us all our favorite soda. I hope you guys don’t mind.”

  I shook my head. “I am forever in your debt.” I placed the straw in my orange soda and gulped some down.

  Mags did the same. “I’m surprised you remember what we like since your head's so far up Gerald’s—” I cut her off by kicking her under the table. She shot me a glare. “Since you have been busy with Gerald.” She corrected and sent me a sickly sweet smile.

  Eve glanced between us before nodding. “Yeah, sorry. He’s very… clingy.”

  “Why do you put up with that?” Mags asked.

  Eve shrugged. “It’s good to just feel wanted, I guess. So...” She turned toward me. “How’s work going?”

  I let out a sarcastic laugh. “Well, Preston is seeing Linda. You know, my nosy coworker?”

  Mags’ mouth dropped and Eve gasped.

  “No fucking way!” Mags shouted.

  I nodded. “She told me a couple of days ago. But, plus side is, she left Asher alone.”

  “I can’t believe women like that are out there.” Eve shook her head.

  “Ditto, girl.” Mags took a swing of her grape soda. “Alright, I have a confession.”

  “What’s that?” Eve looked at her hesitantly.

  “I slept with Luca that night that we were all together.” She slapped her hand on her forehead.

  I straightened. “What the fuck! On my couch?”

  “Of course not. On your floor.”

  Eve giggled beside her.

  “Because that makes it so much better.” I rolled my eyes. “So, wait. Why are you hating on Luca now?”

  “Haven’t you noticed?”

  I shook my head.

  “The asshole fucked me and then promptly ignored me! He’s still ignoring me!” She slammed her empty glass down.

  The waitress came over with refills. We thanked her and she left, eying Mags.

  “I didn’t realize that. I’m so sorry. Do you want me to talk to him?” I reached out and grabbed her hand.

  She shook her head. “No, please don’t. Just leave it be.”

  I nodded. “Whatever you want.”

  Eve cursed under her breath.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Gerald’s here. He wants me to come home.”

  “Home? You’re living with him?” My mouth dropped.

  She shook her head. “No, but I have been staying over a lot. He seems to think we are.”

  “Tell him no. We haven’t had a chance to catch up in forever.” Mags pouted.

  I nodded. “Yeah, come on. It’s only tonight.”

  She bit her lip and glanced at the door. Gerald had just stormed in. “I know, but we will do it again soon.”

  Mags shook her head as Gerald stalked over to our table. “Let’s go,” he said.

  “What? No hello?” Mags retorted.

  He ignored her and kept his eyes on Eve who smiled at us. “I really should be going.”

  “Gerald, why don’t you join us?” I asked, patting the spot next to me. “We miss Eve.”

  He rolled his eyes and grunted.

  “Or not,” I mumbled.

  “I love you guys. We’ll do this again soon.” Eve got up and Gerald grabbed her hand and walked her out within mere seconds.

  “You don’t think,” I lowered my voice to a whisper. “He could be hurting her?”

  She shook her head. “Not physically. But I can fucking bank on the fact that he’s mentally abusing her.”

  I sank into my seat. Poor Eve. If only Flynn didn’t high tail it out of here. She would’ve been with him, happy as she used to be.

  After a few more minutes of a worrisome conversation over Eve, we headed back to my house. Surprisingly, all of the mess that was in the living room was cleaned up. Asher smothered me in kisses when we walked in and Luca stood by the couch.

  “How was your night?” I asked.

  “We lost the game, but also indulged in the finer foods.” He laughed.

  “Pizza and wings aren’t the finer foods, dude.” Luca put his shoes on.

  Asher hummed. “We also had cheesy bread.”

  “Oh, yes. The cheesy bread is what did it.” Luca snorted before heading to the door. “I gotta go, great catching up. Later!”

  The door slammed behind him.

  Mags crossed her arms. “I told you!”

  “Wow. Okay, yeah. That was cold.” I shook my head. “I’m sorry.”

  She huffed. “It’s not a big deal. He can be a douche if he wants. I’m heading home though. See you guys later!”

  Mags left quick. My heart ached for her. What was Luca thinking?

  “Can you fill me in?” Asher puffed out his bottom lip.

  I pressed a chaste kiss to his lips and nodded. “Luca and Mags slept together that night we were all here. Now, he’s totally ghosting her.”

  Asher snapped his fingers. “Of course! I knew something like that had happened.”

  I frowned. “Why is he being like that to her?”

  He wrapped his arms around me. “You know Luca. He’s probably caught feelings or some shit and instead of dealing with them, he’s running away.”

  I sighed. “You’re probably right. Mags will call him out on it though.”

  He laughed. “I can’t wait for that. How was Eve?”

  I groaned. “I don’t know how to help her, Asher. I think she’s seriously in trouble. Gerald is a manipulative twerp.”

  “Well, yeah. I could’ve told you that.”

  “What do I do?”

  He pulled away and cupped my face. “There’s nothing you can do but support her and let her know she has a way out.”

  I gulped. “You’re right. I wish I could help more.”

  “I love your empathy.” He pressed his lips to mine and I felt the tension leave my body.

  “Keep doing that,” I mumbled against his lips.

  H
e hoisted me up, and I wrapped my legs around him. “As you wish.”

  The rest of the night, Asher helped me forget about everything for a while. It was just me and him. I couldn’t fathom how I went so long not being in his arms.

  Asher and I once again sat in Mr. Higgins’ stuffy office. For an awesome man, he sure did have poor taste in decor. He called me to his office and sent Linda in to cover my class in the middle of our poetry lesson. I shifted in my seat as Asher bounced his leg up and down.

  “It’s been a little over a month since you both testified with Rosie’s case.” He grabbed an envelope and pushed it over to us. “I’m thrilled to tell you that Rosie won her case.”

  Asher grabbed it, and he opened it up to reveal a letter stating the favorable verdict.

  I placed a hand on my chest. “Thank God.”

  “Both of your testimonies helped, but there was a lot of unarguable evidence.” He paused at the knock on his door. “Excuse me.” He went over to open the door.

  I smiled at Asher who smiled back.

  “Ms. Reed! Mr. Wells!” Rosie ran over to greet us.

  I turned toward the door and saw her parents standing there. “Thank you both for your involvement in this.”

  I got up and shook both of their hands. “Please don’t thank me, I’d do anything for Rosie.”

  They smiled and shook Asher’s hand. “Rosie’s such a sweet girl. We would do anything to help her,” he said.

  “Mom, can I go to class with Ms. Reed?” Rosie’s face was brimming with excitement.

  She shook her head. “I’d rather you hang out with me for the rest of the week, okay?”

  She pouted her lip and nodded. “Yeah, okay.”

  “But you’ll be back on Monday!” I patted her shoulder and she shot me a big toothy smile.

  “Thank you again. Both of you,” Ben said.

  After we spoke with Rosie’s parents, Mr. Higgins dismissed us to go back to work. Asher walked with me to my classroom.

  “I can’t tell you how relieved I am,” I said.

  He raked a hand through his hair. “I am too. Poor girl didn’t need to go through all of the legalities.”

  I shook my head as we made it to my classroom. “No, she didn’t.”

  “I’ll see you after school.” He winked and walked down the hall.

  I opened the door to see my students watching some documentary as Linda sat on her phone at my desk.

  She jumped up, stuffing her phone in her pocket and scrambling over to me. “I had no idea what you were teaching so I put on something about animals.”

  I took a deep breath. “Linda, you’re an RTI teacher. You should know about persuasive writing.”

  She shrugged. “I didn’t have time to look it over.”

  “This is reading and writing, not science. They aren’t getting anything out of watching this.” I gestured toward the board where a documentary about lions played.

  She huffed, turned away from me and walked out the door.

  I scowled, turned on the lights and shut off my projector.

  “I have some exciting news for you guys before we head to lunch.” I walked back in front of the class.

  Their heads popped up as they squirmed in their seats, a good sign that they were listening.

  “Rosie will be back on Monday.” I grinned as they started chatting and hollering in excitement. “Alright, save that excitement for Monday! Let’s get in line and head to lunch.”

  I was thankful for the friendships that Rosie made in her class. She needed to have support when she came back. It had been a couple of months since she left school so I knew it would be an adjustment for her.

  Asher and I were snuggled up on his king-size bed, with his comforter laying over us. We celebrated Rosie’s win by eating pizza and watching movies. These were the kind of nights I lived for.

  My phone vibrated on the nightstand for the tenth time in an hour.

  I groaned and answered it. It was the same unknown number from the nine other calls.

  “Why aren’t you answering my calls?” Preston’s voice came through.

  “I blocked your old number for a reason.” I pressed the speaker button and Asher rolled his eyes.

  “You really fucked me over with that case.”

  “I don’t care if I did!” Anger surged through me. “You should not be representing a child molester. That piece of shit got what he deserved.”

  “Those types of nasty cases are exactly how I bought your engagement ring.” His voice was gruff.

  A shiver went through me. “Good thing I threw that thing at you. I’d never condone something like that.”

  “Why would you testify against me like that and fuck with my career?”

  My mouth dropped. “I don’t care about your career. I care about Rosie.”

  “Oh, get the fuck off your high horse.”

  Asher snatched the phone out of my hand. “Watch how you speak to her, you slimy fuck. She never deserved any of the shit you put her through. You need to leave her alone. You fucked up big time. A woman like her comes around once in a lifetime and now she’s mine, forever. Lose her number, prick.” He hit the end button and reached over me to sit the phone down.

  “Thank you.” I caressed his cheek and pulled him down so his lips met mine.

  He kissed me with dominance before he pulled back. “He needs to leave you alone.”

  “Hopefully, he will now.” I peppered kisses down his neck.

  He grunted. “That feels so good.”

  I smirked. “I can make you feel even better.”

  “I dare you to try.” He teased me before he captured me in another searing kiss that made me melt inside.

  Faith sat on my desk with her slim legs open in a flowy dress. How was I supposed to ignore that? I moved in between her legs and ran my thumbs up and down her thighs.

  “I’m so thankful we reconnected. I couldn’t imagine life without you now.” She shivered under my touch.

  “Mmm. Yeah, me too,” I murmured. I inched up under her dress and her breath hitched.

  “We’re at work.” She put both hands on mine.

  I shrugged. “It’s early in the morning. Like way earlier than we usually get here. Even if someone is here, they won’t be coming to my office.”

  She nibbled on her lip. “It’s still wrong.”

  I reached up and used my thumb to pull her lip from her teeth's grasp. “Work sex is forbidden but that makes it so much sexier.”

  She rolled her eyes and let out a soft moan as I kissed along her collarbone. “Fine, but it has to be quick.”

  I leaned back and slid her panties down, letting them hit the floor as I grabbed her hips. My dick pulsed as I pulled it out and moved forward to her entrance. I teased it with my head before I pushed into her. She gasped as she grabbed my shoulders to steady herself. She let out small whimpers before sinking her teeth into my shoulder. The sensation went through me as I rocked back and forth inside her.

  “I love fucking you on my desk,” I whispered in her ear.

  She moaned in response and clenched her walls around me. I let myself come, exploding inside of her. I rested my forehead against hers.

  “That was amazing,” she admitted.

  As we stayed put and tried to collect ourselves, a sharp knock came from my door.

  I felt her tense under me and she covered her mouth. I pulled back, slipped out of her and stuffed myself back into my pants. I tossed her an old shirt from my drawer to clean up the mess.

  “Just a second,” I called.

  She cleaned up quickly and scrambled to get her panties back on as I walked to the door. I glanced back to see her put the cum-filled shirt back in my desk drawer and give me a thumbs up.

  I chuckled, shook my head and unlocked the door. When I opened the door our least favorite person was standing there

  “Why was I hearing a consistent banging in here?” Linda peered around me to find Faith sitting at my desk scribbling on so
me paper.

  “Consistent banging?” I reached up and scratched my head.

  She turned from Faith to me. “Yes. I heard it before I knocked. I was listening to make sure I was hearing it right.”

  Faith’s head popped up and she narrowed her eyes at the woman in front of me.

  Linda stepped around me and into my office. “You know there are kids in this school who don't need to hear about… indiscretions by their teachers.”

  Faith slammed her palms down and stood up, staring at her with a glare that could cut steel. “You need to back off and mind your own business for once. We weren't doing anything wrong.”

  Linda stepped back and held her hand to her chest. “I feel like I need to report what happened here to Principal Higgins.”

  I ran a hand down my face. “You don’t need to do that because nothing happened.”

  “I don’t believe you.” She walked out of the office, swaying her hips.

  Faith’s eyes bulged. “What are we going to do? We can lose our jobs, Asher!” Her breaths became quick.

  I rushed over to her and pulled her into my arms. “Don’t worry about it. We didn’t do anything wrong.”

  “Sex during work is wrong!”

  “Honey, we aren’t on the clock right now. It’s not during school hours.” I kissed the top of her head. “Besides, it was worth it.”

  She huffed, and slapped my chest. “I just don’t want her to ruin our reputations.”

  “Linda is a nosy bitch of the worst kind,” I assured her as she forced a laugh and sat down.

  Principal Higgins knocked on the open door, causing Faith to jump.

  He gave us a hesitant smile. “Can I have a word?”

  Linda stood behind him, shooting daggers at us.

  “Of course, come in.” I cleared my throat. “Does she really need to be here?”

  He glanced back at Linda. “No.”

  She frowned. “But, sir, what if they try to say something that’s not true?”

  “You’re not needed anymore, Linda. Please go prepare for your day,” he stated with no room for argument.

  She stomped off out of the gym, which made the gym doors slam on her way out.

  He clasped his hands. “Linda told me she caught the both of you… engaging in sexual activities this morning. She was concerned because you left the door open.”