3. Asa

CHAPTER 3

ASA

I pace outside of the arena in Silver Spoon Falls, my hands shoved into the pockets of my suit. The damn thing feels about three sizes too small. It might actually be too small. I don’t fucking know.

I just told the man at the shop what I needed, and he swore he knew what he was doing.

I’m not convinced.

My balls don’t have breathing room. Is that normal?

I pull out my phone and pull up my messages with my older brother, Aidan.

Me

Yo, question.

Aidan

Fuck off. I’m busy.

Me

Are your balls supposed to be able to breathe in a suit?

Aidan

Why the fuck are you in a suit? Also… why the fuck are you asking me?

Me

I have a date. And you’re the one who always wears this ridiculous shit. Answer the question.

Aidan

What do you mean, a date? And my balls breathe fine.

“Motherfucker,” I mutter.

Me

I knew the prick at the shop was full of shit when he said it was supposed to fit this way. I look like someone poured me into this motherfucker.

Aidan

LOL. Take a pic.

I send him back the middle finger emoji. And then I think about it for two seconds, say screw it, and send him the requested photo. I may be poured into this bitch, but I still look good.

What? It’s true.

Aidan

Jesus Christ. You are in a suit.

Me

Told you.

Aidan

Who are you even dating?

Actually, what I meant to say is who the fuck is dating you?

I send him two middle finger emojis this time. Why are both of my siblings assholes? I mean, Caroline is adorable, but she’s still an asshole. Aidan is just a full-blown asshole, though.

Aidan

Seriously, brother. Who are you going out with?

Me

Don’t know. It’s a blind date.

Aidan

That explains so much. She definitely doesn’t know you if she agreed to date you.

Me

You know what? I’m done talking to you. Bye, Felisha.

Aidan

Good luck on your date, asshole.

I chuckle, preparing to type out a message, when someone taps me on the arm.

“Shit. Am I in your way?” I step aside.

“Um, no,” a sweet little voice replies from somewhere near my shoulder. “I think… I’m supposed to be meeting you here?”

I shove my phone in my pocket and glance down into the prettiest brown doe eyes I’ve ever seen. My fucking heart actually stutters to a stop before jolting against my ribcage. Goddamn. This is my date?

She’s… Christ. She’s fucking beautiful.

Brunette hair is pinned on top of her head, a few tendrils hanging loose around her heart-shaped face. Long lashes frame those gorgeous eyes. The little pair of glasses perched on her button nose shouldn’t be nearly as sexy as they are, but they give her this naughty librarian vibe that has my dick thinking about bending her over a fucking bookcase and seeing how many times she can come while she’s reading dirty lines from her favorite books to me.

Her blue sweater dress hugs her curvy body in a way that should be criminal. Lock me up and throw away the fucking key criminal. These thoughts are impure.

“You’re my date?” I ask, trying to confirm my good fortune.

“Yes. My name is Leslie,” she whispers, her perfect lips moving in a way that’s fascinating. And then her tongue skates over her bottom lip, wrecking every good intention I had for tonight. Poof. Just gone. I need to taste that tongue. Those lips. Every inch of her perfect body.

I need her pregnant with my kid. Yesterday.

Yes, this is what needs to happen. I need to plant my kid in her immediately. Then she won’t realize I’m an asshole who doesn’t deserve her. Or, if she does, it’ll be too late. She’ll already be mine.

“I’m probably not what you were expecting,” she says, a blush staining her cheeks.

“Are you kidding me?” I gape at her. “You’re goddamn perfect, Leslie baby. I’m just trying to figure out how a motherfucker like me got this lucky. Shit… I mean… Dammit, I…” I exhale a slow breath when amusement dances in her eyes. “I meant all of that, just with a lot less cursing, sweetheart.”

“You’re trying not to curse for me?” she asks.

“Failing miserably.” I grimace, scrubbing a hand through my hair. “But yeah, trying.”

“I’ll make you a deal.” She beams up at me, practically batting those fucking lashes. And goddamn. That’s never been so appealing before. I’ve never immediately wanted to say yes like I do right now. She’s magic. There’s no other explanation. “You don’t change who you are to try to please me, and I won’t change who I am to try to please you. We’ll just be two real people getting to know each other. How does that sound, Asa?”

“Depends.” I cock my head to the side, studying her. “Does the real me get to ask the real you why you picked me?”

Her cheeks heat, turning pink. “Um, well, I guess so.” She licks her lips again, seeming nervous. “I work at the car dealership in Silver Spoon Falls. I’ve seen you in there a few times, and you always seem like you’re just living your best life. I guess I just…” She shrugs helplessly. “I guess I liked that, you know?”

I study her intently, processing what she didn’t say as much as what she did. I’m a smart motherfucker. I can read between the lines. This sweet little thing is attracted to me. Enough that she requested a date with me. I’m guessing that isn’t something she does often.

“My reputation didn’t scare you?” I ask, curious as hell.

“Should it?” She blinks at me.

“According to my sister, most people think I’m the devil’s assistant.”

“I had heard that.” She grins, two killer dimples popping out. “You know what people say about me, Asa?”

“What’s that, baby?”

She lifts up on her toes, leaning closer. Her sweet scent swirls around me, and I have to plant my feet and shove my hands deep into my pockets to keep myself from putting them all over her. “That I’m a boring, mousy little good girl,” she whispers. “Maybe they’re wrong about both of us.”

“You tired of being a good girl, baby? Is that why you wanted to go out with me?”

“No.” She holds my gaze, hers earnest, honest. “I asked to go out with you because…” She licks her lips and then huffs a breath. “I’m attracted to you, Asa Steele. Maybe I shouldn’t tell you that, but it’s true.”

Well, fuck me.

There’s no way my dick is going down now. The bastard can’t even breathe in these pants, and he’s hard as a goddamn stone slab.

“Oh, yeah?” I take a step toward her, getting up in her personal space. “Well, then you should know that I’m attracted to you, too, Leslie. And I’m mad as hell.”

Her brows furrow with confusion. “Because you’re attracted to me?”

“Fuck no,” I growl. “I’m mad as hell that you’ve been watching me, and I haven’t gotten to watch you. Doesn’t seem very fair, sweetheart.” I tap her nose. “So, while you watch The Nutcracker , I’m going to watch the fuck out of you.” I smirk at her. “Maybe then we’ll be even.”

Her gaze flits past me to the entrance to the arena and then drifts back to me. “You don’t really want to see the ballet at all, do you?”

“Baby, I don’t know the first fucking thing about ballet,” I say cheerfully. “Couldn’t tell you one move from another.”

“Me neither,” she admits, laughing softly.

“Well, shit. And here I thought I was taking you somewhere impressive for a first date.”

“Oh, I am impressed!” she promises, those doe eyes wide. “I just… can I be honest, Asa?”

“Always,” I murmur, wondering how long I have to wait to kiss her. Surely, fifteen minutes is long enough, right? Right?? Goddamn. Maybe I should have asked Caroline for some pointers or rules or something.

“I’d much rather spend the night getting to know you,” she whispers. “And I don’t think we’ll be able to do very much talking in there.”

“Shit. You’re right.” Why didn’t I think of that? Oh, right. Because not talking was my plan before I met her. I kinda figured the less she had to talk to me, the better. Bad plan, clearly. Because all I want to do is spend the rest of my damn life talking to this girl. She is fascinating in ways I did not anticipate.

I quickly run through the options, tossing out any that require us to deal with other people. I don’t want to share her. I want her all to myself for the night. But she may slap me if I suggest taking her back to my place. It’s absolutely where I want this to end, but…

“How do you feel about a little adventure, Leslie?” I ask, settling on the next best thing.

“What kind of adventure?”

“The best kind,” I smirk, slipping my hand into hers. “The kind that breaks all the fucking rules, baby.”

Her eyes light up.

An hour later, I drop a picnic basket on top of the blanket I spread out on the banks of the Falls, a secluded spot in the middle of fucking nowhere on the outskirts of Silver Spoon Falls.

With the moon shining overhead and the beams of my truck aimed in this direction, we have just enough light to see. It’s not much, but Leslie seems to approve as she spins around in a circle, smiling from ear to ear while I set to work building a bonfire to help keep her nice and warm. She looks cute as hell in my jacket.

We had to make a pit stop so I could grab supplies on the way here, but I’d say my choice was a success. She’s happy as a clam. And we’re the only two out here.

“Have you ever been out here, baby?” I ask her, stacking wood in the pit someone built ages ago. We aren’t technically supposed to be out here, but the sheriff has more important shit to do than to keep running off motherfuckers who come out here to fuck.

“No,” she says, sinking onto a log beside the firepit. “I’ve heard about this place, but my parents were always super strict. I wasn’t allowed to come to the parties out here when I was younger.” A ghost of a smile dances at her lips. “I haven’t had a reason to since I moved back to town.”

“How long have you been back?”

“A few years.”

Jesus Christ. She’s been right under my nose for a few years?

“How have I never met you before?” I ask, pausing to stare at her in bewilderment.

“We don’t really move in the same circles, Asa,” she says. “You spend most of your time in Midnight Falls. I spend most of mine in Silver Spoon Falls. And you were in the military.”

I don’t say anything for a long moment as I get the fire going, and then I climb to my feet and pace toward her, sinking down onto the log beside her. “You have an unfair advantage over me, gorgeous girl. We’re going to have to fix it,” I murmur, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. My knuckles trail along her cheek, making her shiver.

“What do you mean?”

“You know a helluva lot about me. I don’t know much about you.”

“There isn’t much to know,” she whispers, staring at me like she can’t look away. “I was born and raised here. I went to Texas A&M for business management. I moved back after I graduated. Now, I work in the back office at the dealership.”

“No, baby,” I say softly, smiling at her. “That’s pieces of your story. But that isn’t you. Who are you? What do you enjoy? What makes your heart race? What do you stay up late at night thinking about? What do you dream about? What do you want more than anything? Those are the things I want to know.”

How else am I supposed to give her the things she wants most? I may not have ever dated, but I have a sister. I know how this works. We find out what they want, and then we spend our lives making sure they have it. We keep them smiling. We ensure they never cry over us. And, if we’re ever stupid enough to make them cry, we move heaven and earth to fix it. Those are the rules.

I need to know her rules, though. I need to know her. And I need her to know me, too. I don’t want her to know the same Asa everyone else knows–the one who raises hell and causes problems and never takes shit seriously. She gets the real Asa.

Shit. I hope she’ll let me give her the real Asa.

Maybe it’s way too fucking soon to be thinking like this. Maybe I need to slow it the fuck down and take this a step at a time. But everything in me is screaming that this is it. She’s my one. And I need to move now. Before some other asshole sweeps in and snatches her up. She’s a perfect little goddess. I’m a pain in the ass. She can do better.

Which means… I have to be better. Simple solution.

Caroline would be proud.

“You really want to know me, huh?” Leslie asks, her expression soft.

“You’re damn right, I do.”

“Well then, let’s see…” She taps her bottom lip, thinking. And then she shoots me a mischievous look. “The first time I watched porn, I got a virus on my computer. Every time I started it up, it automatically started a video of this older guy dressed in a horse costume. And he had all these piercings.”

“Jesus Christ,” I mutter. “Please tell me that wasn’t what you were watching.”

“God, no. But I couldn’t get it off my computer!” she cries, hiding behind her hands. “My mom had to use it while I was at school one day. Oh my gosh, Asa. I thought my parents were going to send me to see a sex therapist after that.”

I chuckle, tugging her hands away from her face. “What kind of video were you watching, baby?”

“I don’t know,” she lies. “Just a video.”

“Liar.” I grin at her. “What was it?”

“Just porn.” She waves her hand in the air, her cheeks bright pink. “It doesn’t even matter.”

“Do you still watch porn, Leslie?”

“No. I read it like a lady,” she says.

“And what do you read?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” she asks, laughing.

“Uh, fuck yeah. Why do you think I’m asking?”

“Do you watch porn?”

“I did occasionally when I was younger, but not so much now.” I shrug.

“Why not?”

“Don’t see the point.”

“Why not?”

“You want the truth?” I cock a brow at her. “Wasn’t sure my dick even knew how to work anymore until about an hour and a half ago. Why watch a bunch of people fuck on screen when it didn’t do anything for me? Apparently, you’re the only thing that does that, gorgeous girl.”

Her mouth falls open, her doe eyes going wide.

“Yeah,” I murmur, gently sliding her mouth closed with a finger beneath her chin. “I said it.”

She stares at me for a long moment and then giggles abruptly. “I probably shouldn’t like that as much as I do,” she admits.

“You should,” I disagree. “You definitely fucking should, Leslie.” I lean close, brushing my lips across her cheek. “I certainly fucking like it.”

She whimpers, a sweet little sound that makes my balls ache.

I groan, pulling back slightly to grab the picnic basket. “Tell me something else about you before I forget to feed you.”

“Um, I wanted to be a rodeo girl when I was little.”

I stop fishing stuff out of the basket to stare at her. “Are you fucking with me?”

“Nope,” she says. “It seemed like fun.”

“Have you ever been to a rodeo?”

She wrinkles her nose. “That’s why I changed my mind, Asa. I went to one and realized that I don’t like dirt very much. There is dirt everywhere at rodeos.” Her lips purse into an adorable pout. “There are also clowns. Immediately, no.”

I throw my head back, laughing loudly. Jesus Christ. This girl is fucking perfect. I don’t care what it takes, I’m making her mine. There is no other option. She’s it for me. Fuck timelines or going slow or being rational. This girl is my future wife.

I feel it in my bones.