Hide & Seek

III. Kiss Me

It was seven-thirty in the evening and Asher and I had just finished our fancy dinner in a poorly lit restaurant, where I paid for what I ordered and he paid for what he ordered. Throughout the entire dinner and even at the end when we were just chilling there he bugged me with his irrelevant questions and I kept wondering when I could leave. My favourite type of night was spent at home, cozy on the couch with my laptop and Netflix, not a "date" with the school's most popular guy. 

That was when I had decided to bug Asher back, see how he liked the taste of his own medicine.

"So, why did you end up crying in that nasty closet?" I smirked, placing my chin upon my hand that rested upright on the table.

A small hint of something flashed across his eyes and before I could identify what it was, he bounced back. "Why was Cora at your house? Having a girl's night out, eh?" He wiggled his eyebrows, clearly insinuating a sexual situation.

"What is wrong with you? Girls can have friends over at each other's houses and do nothing, but I'm sure you didn't know that you dumb fuck." I took a sip from the glass of cold water sitting in front of me. "Are you ready to leave yet?" I asked. He nodded and got up from his seat, coming around to my side of the table to pull my chair out for me.

"Wow. I must admit, you can be quite the gentleman sometimes. Only when your mouth is closed, though," I said as I went to exit the restaurant, smiling and waving goodbye to the servers. 

His jaw dropped. "Hey! I have feelings, you know. And you'll love my mouth being open soon enough," he winked. At that, I snorted.

We then took a stroll through the shops and boutiques, where a whole road intersection closed off.

"This is beautiful," I breathed, taking in the sight. The rows of stores next to each other was symmetrically pleasing to the eye, with cobblestone paths guiding our feet. Many had white fairy lights hanging from above to add a bit more of a magical touch. At the end of the road was a big church right in the middle of the two sidewalks if you stood in the right spot.

"You're more beautiful." I snapped my head back to look at him and he winked again, smirking. I rolled my eyes and admired the scenery again, my line of sight landing on a cute little ice cream shop. I grabbed Asher's arm and dragged him inside, a little bell ringing as the door opened.

One side of the shop was all couches and love seats that were either fuchsia or lime green with sleek white tables in the middle. Vases of fuchsia flowers and daises decorated the tables that sat on top of a furry green rug. On the other side was the ice cream counter and a little cupcake section in the corner, chalkboard behind the counter that served as a menu.

"Hi, can I please get a medium cone with two scoops, one Cookies 'n Creme and one Mango Sorbet?" I grinned like a child in a candy store, which is essentially what I was.

"For sure," the woman behind the counter replied. She wore a light pink polo underneath a vertically black and white striped apron, the thick lines accentuating her figure. She handed me the cone after I paid for it, then I turned to look at Asher. "What are you gonna get?"

"Hmm," he mused and pondered over all his options before deciding on a sundae cup with strawberry sauce. Once he got it, we headed over to the lounge area and sat down on a big velvet couch, taking our first bites of the ice cream. I ate slowly, cherishing each bite, as Asher completely devoured his.

"I've got to say, this is a pretty good date." He spoke up, tossing his garbage in the can by his side.

"What, did you expect me to be a complete diva?" I asked, licking some of the Mango Sorbet that was melting onto the side of the cone.

"Of course, you didn't even want to come with me!" He stole my ice cream cone and took a giant bite out of it before I could say otherwise. I let it slide because there was no point in arguing with Asher—he was too stubborn to let me win any of the arguments.

"Okay," I drawled. "Then how come you forced me to come on a date with you?" The first time I asked this question he had not given me the real answer I was seeking.

He hesitated before answering. I could tell he was debating between telling me the hurtful truth or sugar-coated lie. Finally, he settled on, "I don't know. I wanted to."

I sighed. "Why did you want to?" It was almost as if he wanted me to keep pestering him and asking him questions.

"To see what it felt like to have a pretty girl on my arm," he winked, turning on that natural, playful charm he has. He stood up and pulled me up with him, seeing that I was finishing up my ice cream cone. "Come on, we've got more things to do!"

We exited the door that made the same familiar bell sound and headed in the direction of the church, a slight chill breezing past my shoulders. The sky only had a few visible stars twinkling against the darkness, but they were eye-catching and bright.

We continued walking down the path, and I noticed a group of girls around my age giggling as they walked in our direction. The loudest, most captivating one had wavy brunette hair with blonde accents. She had on a mustard yellow tube top and below was a sparkling diamond piercing in her belly button, along with high-waisted ripped mom jeans and a pair of white Nike Air Force 1's. 

"Shit," Asher muttered under his breath before he grabbed me by the waist and pushed me against the brick wall, slamming his supple lips against mine.