Euphoria | a.i (discontinued)

{chapter twelve}

Songs to vibe to for this chapter:

Wet Dreamz- J.Cole

Don't Wanna Know- Bombs And Bottles

Califormula- Blackbear

(Ashton's POV)

I felt my nerves relaxed when Zaria agreed to go to the park with me. Our date was going so well, I didn't want to end up boring her by taking her to some lame park. The park was one of my favorite places to go. The air was fresh and it was quiet, perfect to just take a walk and think. I actually found myself taking walks often. It was just me and my thoughts, no bullshit. I parked the car once we got there and turned it off. Zaria and I got out of the car and started walking.

The park itself was pretty big, there was a small pond in the middle of it with benches around it here and there. Zaria stood close to me when me were walking. She was shorter than I was, I couldn't help but to smile at the idea of her not being able to reach stuff on the top of her cabinets.

"Why are you smiling?" I was snapped out of my thoughts.

"What? Oh, nothing" I looked over to her, she just nodded at me. There was a small breeze, making Zaria's hair blow slighty. She was standing close enough that I could smell her coconut shampoo in the air. Suddenly I felt her small hand grab mine, lacing our fingers together.

"What are you doing?" I wasn't expecting her to want to hold my hand. She quickly let go of it, clearly embarrassed.

"I-I thought- ..I di-didnt mean to-  ..I mean, I'm sorry." she looked away, muttering to herself about how stupid that move was. I laughed a little at her sudden panic before grabbing her hand and lacing our fingers back together. Her hands were soft, small and a bit cold from the winter breeze.

"Zaria, babe, it's okay" she looked at me, blushing a little.

"So tell me, what brings a Miami girl to New York?" I asked.

"Oh you know, school and stuff. Colleges in Miami were just not as good as they are here. Plus, I've always wanted to live on my own. Things at home have never been too good." she looked down and her voice got quiet.

"Oh, I didn't mean to-" she quickly cut me off.

"Ash, it's okay. I mean I'm here now and I'm okay" she gave me a reassuring smile. My heart beated faster when she called me Ash, there was just something about the way it rolled off her tongue. It made me feel happy. A gust of cold wind hit us and I felt Zaria squeeze my hand. She grabbed onto my arm and snuggling her face into it, looking for some warmth. I smiled at her instincts.

"I'm sorry" she said when she realized what she was doing. She stopped squeezing my hand and removed her face from my arm.

"It's fine" I assured her. We found a bench by the pond and sat down. Zaria never let go of my hand so I put our hands in my lap. I simultaneously rubbed circles on the back of her hand.

"What about you? I'm no Australian but Australia seems so much better than here" her face looked so confused, wondering why I would leave Australia to come here. I laughed a little at her confusion.

"You're right, Australia is great. But I've always wanted to go out and explore the world, you know? One place forever just seems so boring" I said, and it was true.

"I feel you" she said giggling, having the same thought as me, "That's another reason why I left Miami. Speaking of, why were you in Miami?" she asked.

"Oh, I was just visiting somebody down there. And I also met a babe of a girl while I was there" I said chuckling a little.

"Oh really? What's she like?" Zaria teased back.