Love Thy Neighbor (Friend-Zoned)(71)

Warmth spreads throughout my body. I turn my face and kiss the inside of her breast. I don’t answer her, just squeeze her tight. She wraps her legs around me and we stay that way for a long while, completely comfortable in our silence.

Fuck me.

I think I’m falling in love with my girl.

***

“Yo, pretty girl, it’s time to go. Get your ass into gear.”

What?

I shuffle out of my bedroom, careful not to touch my still wet toenails, still dressed in my jammies. My brow furrows in confusion and I ask, “What are you talking about, Ash? I don’t have to leave for…” Checking my watch, I tell him, “…another two hours.”

He looks so good in his uniform. Those muscular arms strain his tight black tee and I want to lean against something and sigh. He wears a pair of black jeans that look as if they were made for him, encasing his strong legs. His belt buckle gleams and his black dress shoes look just polished. Shaking his head, he tells me, “Nuh uh. Called Meems, told her you were comin’ in with me tonight.”

My eyes widen, my mouth gapes and I snap, “You think you could’ve told me, asshat?”

His face drops as he mutters, “The f*ck I do now?”

Shaking my head, I exhale loudly in frustration and explain in an almost shout, “It’s a process, Ash! It takes time to get ready to go clubbing. I haven’t touched my hair or makeup yet. I don’t even know what I’m going to wear tonight!”

His face lifts again and he smiles, “The dress you wore last week was hot. Wear that.”

I scoff in disbelief and tell him, “There are rules for dressing, babe! Number one is do not wear the same thing twice in a row.”

His face becomes serious. He stares into oblivion and he nods slowly as if he finally understands my predicament. He stalks past me and goes into my room. I hear him shuffling around and not a minute later he comes back out with tight, long sleeved red and black checkered dress and a pair of plain black pumps.

It could be worse.

It’s actually…not bad.

He looks at me cautiously through wide eyes like he’s expecting me to lose it. I roll my eyes. “Not bad, pinhead.”

He smiles. I’ve never seen Ghost smile like this. It’s an Asher smile. It’s beautiful. It makes me want to f*ck up the person who took this smile away from him. I tell him quietly, “You did good, baby.”

It takes me all of fifteen minutes to get ready. Seriously, a freakin’ record for me. I wear the dress and shoes Ash picked for me, and when I walked out of the bathroom, he looked me up and down wearing a stupid smile as if he is proud of his handiwork.

Halfway to the club, he says to me, “Not wearin’ your lips tonight?”

I smirk. I was hoping he’d notice. “I will be. I’ll fix it in the mirror before we head in.”

He has no idea I’m not wearing lipstick because I have plans to do things with my lips before we enter the club.

As soon as he parks his panty-wetting muscle car into The White Rabbit’s parking lot, I wait patiently til he takes out the keys and turns to me. I climb across the seat and into his lap. I place my arms around his neck and smile softly at him. His face softens as he searches me through a tender gaze. We look into each other’s eyes for a short while and my heart races. I lean forward slowly and kiss his lips, so soft it’s barely a whisper. He growls low in his throat and captures my bottom lip, gently nipping it. Opening my mouth, I push my tongue against his and moan at the contact.

I love this man. With all my heart. He’s it for me. I’ll never find another like him.

I press into him, deepening our kiss. His arms wrap around me, constricting me, making me feel safe and warm. I reach up and cup his cheek. He pulls back a little and says, “Say it.”

Confused, I pull back further and look into his hooded eyes. He repeats, “Say it, baby.”

It dawns on me and with a small smile, I tell him sincerely, “I love you, Asher Collins.”

Looking pained, he closes his eyes and rests his forehead on mine. He whispers, “Don’t deserve you. Not even a bit. But as long as you want me, you got me.”

My eyes close and I whisper, “Don’t leave me. Ever.”

“Never. You’re my girl,” he replies seriously.

My heart swells with joy and I breathe a sigh of relief.

Tonight is going to be a good night.

***

As soon as we enter the club, it’s time to commence mission No one suspects a thing.

Basically, Ash and I have to start acting like our old selves. It’s not something I like doing, but I really do want this relationship to be just mine and his for a little longer. At least til he can tell me he loves me. He almost said it this morning but something is holding him back. I felt the waves of frustration radiating off of him. It hurt a little, but I know he’s trying. I’m doing my best to not take it personally. I know what he went through at home. As far as I’m concerned, I’m lucky he’s claiming me as his girl. That’s a big step for lil old Ghost.

Just before we enter the club, he kisses me long and hard. I’d just put on my lipstick but I don’t care. His lips are drugging. His kisses are mind-consuming. I’m a lucky, lucky girl.

Now it’s showtime.

He follows me through the door and squeezes my ass. I turn to him and see he wears his cheeky new happy smile. I’ve only had the honor of seeing it a few times before. I can’t help but chuckle at him. The real Asher is actually quite a goofy guy. Who knew what was hiding under all the broodiness?