12

Grace

Asher had asked for a summer—a chance to show me that we’d be good together. Not that I’d needed any convincing. From the moment he’d kissed me outside the old house on Evergreen Street, I’d been his. And I’d known it could never be just a summer. Not when it was us.

So when summer ended, I stayed.

The deadline to apply as a transfer student to Tilikum College had already passed, so I decided to take a year off instead of going back to WSU. Asher argued with me about it, but I’d made up my mind. I wasn’t leaving. After all, it was only a year. Most of my scholarships allowed for a break, so I’d be able to pick up next fall where I left off. And I’d miss the friends I’d made, but we’d keep in touch.

Once I convinced Asher that I was doing the right thing, we spent the rest of the night celebrating. Naked, of course.

Not that we ever needed a reason to get naked. We were insatiable.

My mom’s reaction to my decision to stay surprised me. I was prepared for her to try to talk me out of it. She’d been so adamant I go away to school and follow my dreams. But she didn’t. In fact, she tearfully admitted she was relieved. Raising a little boy on her own was tough. She’d never wanted to put pressure on me to stay for her sake, but she was glad that I’d be here.

That, more than anything, made me decide to live with her for the time being. Asher had asked me to move in with him, and I would—probably sooner rather than later. But I told him I thought I should stay with my mom for a while—that she needed me.

He understood. He felt a responsibility to his family, too. We had that in common.

And the funny thing was, my old bedroom didn’t feel like it was trying to drag me back in time anymore. It was just a room—a place to sleep and keep my things. Maybe the difference was that I’d made a choice. I wasn’t living there by default, stuck in stasis while I waited for my life to move forward. Now I had a clear vision of my future, and this was merely one step along the way.

Summer turned to fall, the multicolored leaves transforming our little mountain town into a riot of oranges, reds, and browns. Evan went back to school. Elijah turned four and we threw him a firefighter birthday party. Gavin grumbled about still being in high school, and Levi and Logan started college. Logan even behaved himself. Mostly.

Asher and I fell into a comfortable routine. We both had jobs, and he had classes and shifts at the fire station. Otherwise, we were together. We spent lazy days in his apartment, tangled in his sheets. He took me out on dates—to the movies, or dinner, or to play pool at the Caboose. We hung out with friends, or his brothers. And every Tuesday we had dinner at Gram’s house.

The snows came early, blanketing everything in white. We recreated childhood memories with snowball fights—although now they ended with cozy make-out sessions to warm up, instead of hot chocolate in Gram’s kitchen.

We did a bar crawl on my twenty-first birthday. Spent Christmas together with both of our families. We rescued Logan and Gavin when they got their grandad’s old truck stuck in the snow on a dirt road just outside town. Took Levi with us on a road trip to see Evan.

And it was hard to imagine life getting better.

Until it did.

I woke up in Asher’s bed to the sound of the shower. I’d slept over, and my body was still pleasantly sated from all the things he’d done to me last night. Arching my back, I reached my hands over my head in a lazy stretch. We both had the day off from work, but Asher had class, and my mom needed me to pick up Elijah and watch him for a few hours.

The water turned off. I stayed in bed, waiting for him to finish in the bathroom. A few minutes later he came in with damp hair and a towel wrapped around his waist.

He grinned at me and let the towel drop. “Morning.”

“Morning.” I enjoyed the view while he rubbed the towel over his hair a few times, then grabbed his clothes. There were certainly benefits to being with a man who kept himself in such good shape. The tattoos on his arm highlighted the ripples of muscle. His thighs were thick and sturdy, and his ass… God. I wanted to bite right into it.

“Hey, can you meet me at the firehouse this afternoon?” He finished pulling on his jeans and buttoned them. “I’m heading over there after class.”

I kind of wished we could just stay in bed together all day, but meeting him later would have to do. “Yeah, I can do that. I’ll text you when I get there.”

He tugged a t-shirt over his head. “Awesome.” Pausing next to the bed, he eyed me for a second. “Damn it, you look so good, I could fuck you again right now. But I can’t be late.”

I reached for him and he leaned down to kiss me. “It’s okay, I’ll be more than happy for you to fuck me again later.”

With a smile, he kissed me again. “Perfect. I’ll see you this afternoon?”

“Yep.”

He kissed me a few more times, then groaned, like he was reluctant to leave. Finally, we said goodbye, and I got up to shower.

I spent the morning running a few errands, then picked up the mail for my mom when I got home. I noticed an envelope from my father among the bills and junk mail. It looked like it had a check in it, which was a damned good thing. I’d have been pissed if it didn’t.

Elijah got out of his preschool class at noon, so I picked him up and took him home. He babbled about using tissue paper and glue to make an art project and how they had string cheese and fish crackers for snack time. I fed him lunch and set him up at the table with crayons and a new coloring book Asher had picked up for him the other day. When he got tired of that, I let him watch cartoons while I started dinner so my mom wouldn’t have to cook tonight.

Mom came home from work looking tired. I made us both some tea, then we sat at the table and chatted for a while. Getting off her feet seemed to help perk her up.

“Are you staying for dinner tonight?” she asked.

“No, I’m supposed to meet Asher.”

“That’s fine. I need to run to the store first, but I’ll take Eli with me so you can go.” She stood and took our mugs to the sink. “Get your shoes on, buddy. Wait, go potty first.”

He groaned. “I don’t have to.”

“Go try anyway.”

He got up with a sigh and shuffled to the bathroom.

Mom shook her head. “You never argued about going to the bathroom when you were little. I wonder if it’s a boy thing. Maybe I’ll ask Gram.”

“She would certainly know.”

“Yeah she would. I swear, that woman is a saint, raising five grandsons.”

“She is pretty amazing. But so are you.”

She smiled. “Thanks, honey. And thanks for everything today.”

“It’s no problem.”

Elijah came out and put on his shoes and coat while Mom put the casserole I’d started in the fridge so she could heat it up when they got back. I said goodbye, but didn’t leave to meet Asher yet. I hung back so I could clean up a little and run a load of dishes. I knew my mom would appreciate coming home to a tidy house.

After I finished, I drove into town and parked at the fire station. The snow had mostly melted and the spring air smelled fresh. I paused outside my car to send Asher a text, letting him know I was here. My stomach fluttered with anticipation. Which seemed a little silly, considering I’d been with him this morning. But I couldn’t wait to see him.