Finding Asher

Chapter Three

Asher

I can't say that I'm not used to having a routine. I've spent the last five years of my life on a schedule. Only this time when I wake up, I don't have to worry about being the first one in the shower to avoid things that innocent eyes should never see.

It's nice to wake up, eat what I want for breakfast, take a shower on my own time and drive to a job where I get to spend the day with probably the most beautiful woman I've ever laid my eyes on.

It's only my second week working at Sugar Baby's, but Ashley and Logan have made me feel right at home. When I got out of prison, I was worried about being accepted back into society without carrying around the scar of my past. Criminals tend to be labeled for life and I consider myself lucky to have this chance.

I'm still waiting to mess up and ruin everything like I always do, since it's in my nature. I won't do it intentionally of course, but I feel like this is all too good to be true and it's just a matter of time before something happens to screw it up.

I pull up to the shop, but Ashley's car isn't parked out front. Since I don't have a key, I sit and wait for her to arrive.

About fifteen minutes after the shop was supposed to open, Ashley pulls into the parking spot next to me and begins retrieving groceries from her back seat. I quickly get out to help her, but she's already walking towards the front door by the time I get to her.

"Need a hand?" I ask lamely.

She turns around and opens her mouth to speak, but before she has the chance, the bottom falls out of the brown paper bag she's holding and flour and eggs go everywhere.

She stares at the mess on the ground with her mouth hanging open. I'm tempted to laugh, but judging by the look on her face, she's probably had a bad morning.

I stoop down and begin cleaning up the mess and eventually she joins me.

"I'm sorry," she sighs. "It's been one hell of a morning."

I drop the last of the eggshells into the trash can on the side of the street and reach out my hand to help her up. She gladly takes it and gives me a grateful smile.

"Don't worry about it."

She unlocks the door and takes what's left of the groceries to the kitchen. She emerges seconds later with her eyes full of tears. Normally, I'm not one to get involved in other people's problems, but for some reason, it bothers me to see her like this. I don't know her that well, but I can tell when someone's had enough.

"Is everything okay?" I ask.

She laughs, but it's halfhearted. "Yeah, everything's fine. I just woke up late because my alarm was set to PM instead of AM, then I realized I never made a grocery run and then...well, you saw the rest."

"It's okay to have a bad day, you know. If there's anything I can do to help, please tell me."

She flashes me a genuine smile, but it's gone way too soon. "Trust me, you've made my life so much easier just by being here. I don't know how I ever got by without you."

While she probably doesn't know it, her words make my heart beat a little faster. Surely they didn't have any alternative meaning behind it, but it makes me feel good to know that I'm making things easier for her.

"I'll go preheat the oven. If there's anything else you need, you know where to find me," I tell her before disappearing into the kitchen.

The rest of the day goes on without a hitch and between the two of us, we have things running smoothly by the end of the day. When it's close to closing time, I help her box up leftovers in the front even though she never asked for my help.