Until November (Until, #1)(55)

With Asher gone on job sites more often, I am starting to feel bored. I work for my dad and Liz, plus I took on a few other small clients in town. But even with the extra work I am doing, I still have plenty of free time.

First, I started going to the gym. I was working out so much that I had definition where I never thought I would and I was losing tons of weight. Then, one day Asher looked at me and actually complained.

“Babe, I loved your body. I loved having something to grab onto. I loved how soft you were. I know that you want to be healthy, but I miss the softness.”

His voice was soft and the look in his eyes said that he loved me no matter what, but that he missed the way I looked.  And I don’t know any woman who would not want their man to tell him that they shouldn’t lose weight. I really didn’t care. I wasn’t working out to lose weight. I was doing it out of boredom, but I was happy to hear that he liked my body the way it was.

That night, I may have gone a wee bit overboard. I hadn’t been on a diet, but I had been watching what I was eating. So, that night, I made homemade chicken Alfredo with garlic bread and asparagus. For dessert, I made apple cobbler with vanilla ice-cream. There were more than three days’ worth of calories in that meal, but it was so worth it. In the middle of eating, Asher started laughing at me.

“What?”

“You sound like you’re really enjoying your food,” he said, watching me take a bite of apple cobbler.

“It’s yummy.”

“Yeah,” he said, leaning over to give me a very sweet vanilla apple kiss.

After dinner, I was sprawled out on top of Asher, him still inside of me his hands running along my back. Our breathing returned to normal and I broached the subject of money. “Since I'm living here now, we should talk about how we’re going to divide the bills for the house.”

“You’re mine. I take care of you. You use your money to buy clothes or groceries for the house, unless I'm with you. Then, I’ll pay. Also, you’re going to need a new ride soon. That thing you call a car is not safe. There are too many deer around here. If one runs in front of you, your car will be totaled. If I'm lucky, I will just be visiting you in the hospital. If I'm not, I’ll be visiting you at the cemetery. I don’t want that shit, so we need to go to the dealer that I got my jeep from and we can pick you out something.”

I lifted my head from his chest, looking down at him. There were a few things that pissed me off, so I was deciding what pissed me off the most before I opened my mouth. I was sated, I had three orgasms and I was in a chill mood, so I was trying really hard not to flip out.

I watched his eyes roam over my face. “This is non-negotiable.”

My eyes narrowed at his words and my temper flared. “Really? So how I spend money and what car I drive is non-negotiable?” I asked, just to make sure that we were on the same page.

“Yep, we might as well get all this shit out of the way,” he said, rolling so I was under him. I felt him slide out of me and I couldn’t help the mewl sound that I made at the loss of him. He kissed my nose and bit my bottom lip. The kiss started to get good when I pulled away.

“What shit?” I asked before he had a chance to put me in an Asher fog, where I unknowingly agree to everything he says.

“You don’t need the money that your grandparents left you. When we have kids, you can put it in a college account for them, but I make enough money to take care of you, me, and any kids we have.”

I took a deep breath, calming myself before I started to yell at the top of my lungs. “I love you, but you are not paying my way. I have taken care of myself for a long time. We need to come to an agreement that we can both live with,” I said in a tone that was a lot calmer than I felt.

“We're starting a life together. If you never got that money, we would still be living the same way we do now. I'm not selling my land or building a new house somewhere else. This was my dream. I knew when I built this house that the woman who I fell in love with would live here with me, and my kids would grow up here on this property. I don’t need more. I have a good car, toys in my garage, and money in the bank. I was planning for you before I even knew who you were. I never wanted to be millionaire. Money does shit to people’s heads. I like your head the way it is. We don’t need it.” Well, he had a good point. Money did mess with people. We were happy and I had never even touched the money from my inheritance. But I knew the money could do some good. I wanted a swimming pool badly. I also wouldn’t mind getting a new car with the money, and maybe a boat. I have always loved the water and have wanted to try skiing. The only thing with that was if I sucked at water skiing, we would be stuck with a boat we didn’t use.

“I have few requests before I put the money away for our future children,” I said, shaking my head.

He gave me a crooked smile and kissed my nose again. “Go for it.”

“First, I'm paying for my own car, if I decide to get a new one.” He started to talk, but I covered his mouth with my hand. He narrowed his eyes, but I carried on like I didn’t notice.

“Second, I would like a swimming pool, and third,” I said loudly before he could cut me off or talk over me. “I would like a boat, but only if it can be returned if I end up not liking it.”

“First, you’re getting a new car whether you want one or not.”