WANT (completed)

ch. 14 | Coney Island

CASSANDRA'S POV

I have never been this nervous in my entire life. For the last thirty minutes, I've been pacing back and forth in my living room trying to come up with some excuse to cancel on Asa, but nothing seemed good enough and I wasn't a good enough liar to come up with something extravagant. I'm practically sweating considering I'm wearing a white puffer jacket for tonight, but I refuse to take it off, knowing very well he will be here any minute.

And as if right on cue, there's a knock on the door. My eyes flicker over to the time on the oven. It's exactly 6pm. Ugh, why does he have to be so good that he's perfectly on time? I bite down on my lip as I make my way to the door, taking a deep breath before swinging it open. It's just a date. Just one date, I remind myself as my eyes flicker to meet his.

He's beautiful. I love that he's wearing something casual too, some jeans and a sweater, paired with a North Face jacket. I hated it even more that I love it. I smile at him, standing awkwardly for only a second before he grins down at me.

"Hi beautiful," Asa says softly, grabbing me at my waist  and pulling me into a small hug, giving me a squeeze as he brushes his lips against my cheek, pressing a kiss onto it. I smile, hugging him back gently before parting from his touch.

"Hey," I nearly whisper. My cheeks flush and I reach up, tucking my loose hair behind my ear. I don't know why I'm always so nervous around him, but it's probably due to the unwarranted feelings that he drives.

"Ready to go?"

"Yeah, let me just lock up," I turn around, pulling the door handle as I close the door, sticking the key in and locking it. I quickly stuff my keys, wallet, and cell phone into the jacket pockets. Before I can stuff my hands in as well, Asa grabs a hold of one of them, smiling at me boldly as he begins to walk me down the hall.

"How was your day?" Asa questions during the elevator ride, not letting go of my hand for even a second. I couldn't help but glance down at them intertwined every few seconds. God, am I that pathetic that someone holding hands with me makes me feel butterflies? Would I still feel them if it was someone else?

"It was good, nothing special. Did you work today?," I smile up at him, trying to relax. We continue to talk for a few minutes as we make our way to his car, which is parked out in front of the building.

He tells me that he did in fact work, which I figured considering he told me before that he works a lot. Asa seems like he's a pretty busy person, so I hope that I'm not interfering with his work tonight as well. I always feel like I'm in the way of people, including Camara, because just like all the other people in my life, she's thriving, while I feel like I'm not doing anything.

"Where are we going?" I find myself asking him as we begin driving. He hasn't said a word about what we're doing, just to dress comfortably and warm, which I did. I opted for a plain black long sleeve shirt, white puffer jacket, some light washed ripped jeans, and for once, no heels. Instead, I'm just wearing some white platform sneakers that I've never worn before, mostly due to the fact that I rarely go out to something that requires me to be casual.

"It's a surprise," Asa smirks at me, gently reaching over the middle console and grabbing my hand that's been casually resting in my lap. My first instinct was to pull back at the gesture, but I smile at him instead, relaxing into the seat, reminding myself not to look into things as more than they really are.

"I hate surprises," I let out a small laugh when he does the same. I really do dislike surprises, mostly because they're rarely really surprises. Plus, from all the reading I've done, I've come to know that surprises don't end well for the most part. There's always a catch.