Until I Met You

Chapter 10: Asher

That was messed up, I chuckle to myself.

I could feel her heart rate accelerating, the sweat beading off of her neck, and the rapid breaths exuding from her chest.

She was drunk. I'm drunk. And in that moment, I made her feel vulnerable. Miss perfect always keeps her walls up, but for a fleeting moment, I had knocked them down. Peeled the layers away until there was nothing left but the girl who lived beneath them.

She had froze like deer in headlights when I told her I liked what I saw. And hell, that tight black dress and those ocean blue eyes were enough to send me over the edge if, and I mean if, she wasn't who she was.

So I'm not going to lie and say it wasn't fun to rile her up a little bit. To finally gain control over the situation, when she has beaten me at my own game so many times before.

I'm vaguely aware of the blonde laying next to me, her hand underneath my pants. What usually turned me on, however, was turning me off.

I quickly rise, buttoning and zipping up my jeans, throwing my shirt back on.

"Get dressed," I bark.

The blonde starts to complain but one look and she quickly gets up, putting her sorry excuse for a shirt back onto her head.

I can't forget why I came in here in the first place. I received a text from an unknown number. I know it was from the gang. Every text we get ends with a code, in this case, a series of numbers. The code changes every week, and only a handful of guys in charge gives them out in person. That way, we know if we we're being framed by the cops.

The text instructed me to go into the homeowner's room and find a wad of cash. I've been to this guy's house before and I immediately knew it was Derek. Apparently this asshole is quite the user but took off with a large sum of cash before paying for his share of the drugs.

Now I'm the guy who needs to come and seek out retribution. Lucky me.

"It's time to go," I put my arm around Raquel's waist, or Rachel, or whatever this chick's name is, and usher her to the door.

She begins to whine, but I quickly shut the door in her face when she's on the other side and lock it. I need to do this quickly and efficiently.

If I was hiding a wad of cash in my room, where would it be? I look under the mattress and inspect it for any holes. Placing money in your mattress is too by the book, I decide. He knows better than to do that. What about the air conditioning vent? I flash the light from my phone into the dark tunnel but it's not there either.

Come on. Come on. I don't have a lot of time.

I check the drawers of his desk and dresser but it's not there either. I slam them shut.

Fuck.

Suddenly, the door handle begins to rattle. It's difficult to make out who it is, what with the music shaking the foundation of the house and drowning out all of the other noise from the other side of that door.

Quickly, I hide under the bed. If that's Derek, he has a key, and I can't risk him finding out what I'm doing. Not only would that cause a scene, but it would also give me away. And I've already been told what happens to gang members that are ratted out. Let's just say I wasn't going to do anything to risk that.

Besides, who knows if this guys gotta gun. If he's using drugs and stashing away this much money, I wouldn't put it beyond him.

The door opens a crack, a sliver of light making its way into the room, and someone steps inside, slowly clicking it shut. I can hear the click of high heels as someone began methodically hitting their heel against the wooden slabs on the floor. After a minute or so, one of them sounds hollow.