“There you are.” Felicity breezed up to us, looking radiant in her gown. “Hi Mrs. Bennet, it’s so good to see you.”
Julia smiled, happiness glittering in her eyes.
“Where’s Jase?” Asher asked.
“Talking to Coach Hasson. He’s no longer a Raider but he still can’t let go.”
“You should know by now, Fee, baby, once a Raider, always—”
“A Raider,” the two of us answered, sharing a smile.
“Damn straight.”
“Well, if you don’t mind, I need to borrow Mya for a little while.”
My eyes slid to Asher’s and he grinned. “Fine by me.”
“I’ll see you later,” I said.
Asher’s parents were letting him host a graduation party, one last time before we headed to the Hamptons for summer vacation and then all went our separate ways for college. Since the guys had summer practice we were leaving early. It was hard to believe we would all be in different colleges. Lucky for me though, Jason and Felicity would only be across the river at UPenn so we’d still see each other.
“Come on.” Felicity grabbed my hand, flashing me a knowing smirk. “I promise to return her in one piece.”
My brows furrowed, trying to decipher the intent in her expression, but before I could figure out what the hell was going on, she was pulling me away from Asher and his parents, towards her bright yellow car.
“No way.” I shook my head, gawking at the scraps of lace and silk. “No fucking way.”
“Come on, he’ll love it. Tell her, Hails.” She flicked her gaze to Hailee who threw up her hands.
“Don’t drag me into this. Besides, I’m with Mya on this one. It’s...”
“Obscene,” I said.
“It’s sexy,” Flick countered. “Jason loves it when I—”
I clapped a hand over her mouth. “We don’t need to hear about how much Jason loves anything. I’m not wearing that.” Asher loved me regardless of what I wore, and it wasn’t like we needed any help in the bedroom. He was insatiable, and I was all too happy to oblige him.
Felicity pouted. “I still think you should get it.”
“It’s a party. A party Asher is throwing.” I gave her a pointed look. “I’ll be lucky to drag him away from the guys for ten seconds let alone long enough to seduce him with... that.” My nose scrunched up as I looked at the lingerie again. I wasn’t opposed to wearing pretty things, but it was too much.
“You’re no fun.”
“But you love me.” I nudged Felicity’s arm and smiled at her.
“Yeah, I do. Come on, let’s look in the other section.”
We wandered around the store, stopping to look at a rack of bras. “Does anyone else wish we were doing something low key to celebrate?” I asked, fingering a simple black bra with a small heart detail in the front.
“You’re not feeling the party?” Hailee asked.
“It’s cool, I just... our time together is limited. I thought it might be nice to hang out, just the six of us.”
“If you tell Asher that, he’d cancel in a heartbeat,” she replied.
“I know but I don’t want to ruin his fun.” Asher deserved a party. After a tough few months, he was finally in a good place. His mom was in and out of physical therapy, but she was home and doing okay. His dad had turned over a new leaf, being the husband he should have always been. And we’d recently had news Jermaine had pleaded guilty to aggravated assault with a deadly weapon which meant there would be no trial and the prosecution were confident he would receive the maximum sentence.
It wasn’t easy hearing my oldest childhood friend would spend a long time behind bars, but it was no less than he deserved and I’d made my peace with the fact I hadn’t been able to save him. Love wasn’t always enough, and that was okay. To make a relationship work it required compromise and trust, communication and respect. Both people had to accept responsibility for their actions and hold their hands up and apologize when they got it wrong. They had to fight for each other and stand up for what they believed. But most of all, they had to realize you couldn’t change someone who didn’t want to change themselves.
“Know what I think?” Felicity pulled me from my thoughts.
“What?” I asked.
“I think tonight is going to be epic.”
“Oh yeah,” I chuckled, “and why’s that?”
“Because, my friend,” she looped her arm through mine, “we survived high school. And if we can survive high school, we can survive anything.”
“Where is everyone?” I asked as we approached Asher’s house. It was steeped in darkness, no sign of life as we reached the door.
“You’ll see,” Felicity replied cryptically, a knowing glint in her eye.
“What did you do?” Hailee whisper-hissed.
“Me? Oh, this isn’t me, this is all—”
“Ladies.” The familiar cadence of Asher’s voice hit me and my stomach clenched. “Welcome to the party.”
“Party?” I gawked at him. “You do know the definition of party is people? Noise and laughter. Music.” My eyes went to the house again as I strained to hear something—anything—which hinted at the chaos inside.
Felicity shot me an amused look. “Don’t say I didn’t tell you so.” She disappeared inside, Hailee trailing after her.
“What was all that about?” Asher’s eyes danced with intrigue as he closed the distance between us, hooking his arm around my waist and bringing me flush against his body.
“Nothing,” I smiled coyly. “What’s going on, Ash?” My brow rose as my hands smoothed up his hard chest.
“Don’t you trust me, Hernandez?”
“Always,” I said without hesitation. “But you’re up to something.”
“Maybe.” He kissed the end of my nose, one of his hands brushing my face. “Come on. I think this is a surprise you’ll like.”
Taking my hand, Asher led me into the house. I’d never felt comfortable here but over the last three months it had become my second home. With his parents spending so much time at the hospital, we’d stayed here a lot. And even when his mom was finally released, I still came over. She loved spending time with us.
A sultry beat drifted down the dimly lit hall, sending shivers up my spine. That, and the sight of Asher in dark jeans and a fitted Henley. He always looked good, but tonight he looked good enough to eat. I smiled to myself, still in awe of how a girl like me had caught the eye of someone like him. But Asher had taught me that what people saw didn’t define us. It was what was on the inside that counted. And our souls were the same.
“Asher, what is—” The words died on my tongue as we entered the living room. Jason was serving the girls cocktails from the temporary bar set up in the corner of the room while Cam messed with the docking station, selecting a song he knew we loved.
“Surprise.” Asher pulled me in front of him, pressing up against me and wrapping his arms around my waist.
“But the party...”