Perspective

28- Stupid brain

"DADA!" Harper screams and takes off running onto the middle of the field.

I nearly ram into someone's grandma as I run after the 2 year old.

"Gotcha," I mumble, picking up Harper.

The game's over and our school won. Usually once the games are over, the spectators are allowed to go onto the field and I guess Harper knew that because he took off once the referre ended the game.

"Let's go find Dada," I tell Harper, balancing him on my hip.

"Dada!" Harper shouts, pointing at a tall blonde boy whose back is turned towards us.

His jersey says "Bradley 25" so that's ovbious it's Ash.

The person he's talking says something making him turn his head.

He gives me a huge smile and walks over to us.

"Hey, guys," He greets Harper and I.

"Hey," I say as Harper reaches for him.

Asher takes his son and looks down at me.

"You did really good out here," I compliment him.

"Really?" Asher sounds unsure.

I nod. "Yeah. You did really really good."

"Thank you."

Is he blushing?

Harper catches sight of something. "Dow! Dow!"

Asher puts Harper down. "What, baby?"

Wish he would call me that.

WHOA! Chase, lets tone it down a bit.

Harper simply runs over to where Dylan and Carter are.

I wait for Dylan to notice the toddler before taking my eyes off him.

"I'm glad you came," Asher tells me once I meet his gaze.

"I told you that I wouldn't miss it."

"Yeah, I remember. Thanks for taking care of Harp. I know that wasn't how you wanted to spend your Tuesday night," Asher rubs the back of his neck.

I fiddle with my hands. "I don't mind. I love taking care of Harper. He's such a sweet kid. You're doing a great job raising him."

"You think so?" Asher asks.

I nod.

"Oh wow. Thank you," He says, his face turning even more red.

I resist the urge to kiss him.

He wraps his muscular arms around me and pulls me to his chest.

I wish he was ready to date.

"Thank you for everything," He whispers.

"Aww," Someone coos, but I'm savoring the warmth of Asher too much to even look up.

I pull back and look up at Asher who's intensely looking at my lips.

His arm snakes around my waist while one of his hands cups my jaw.

My eyes flutter close as he leans his head down.

His soft pink lips skim mine as I turn my head and kiss his cheek.

Even the slight brushing of our lips was enough for a fire to ignite inside me.

"I...um...I have to go," I say, turning and walking off of the field.

"Chase!" I hear him yelling after me as I walk faster.

Stupid. You could've kissed him. Why did you turn?

Because he isn't ready for a relationship and I don't just want a kiss with him. I want something more. I want to be able to call him my boyfriend. I want to be able to hug and kiss him without it being weird. I want to be there for him through it all.

As I'm walking to my car, lost in my thoughts, I slam face first into a tree.

"Chase!" Asher gasps as my vision goes hazy.

I feel his arms catch me as I stumble. I squeeze my eyes shut trying to refocus.

"Hey, you okay?" Asher asks, his voice gentle and comforting.

I nod, opening my eyes.

"Thank god," he murmurs, touching my jaw and peering at my face, intensely. "No scratches. That's good. Anything hurt?"

Yeah, my heart.

"Nope," I assure him.

"Okay. Back to what happened earlier...why did you do that?"

I swallow and lick my lips. "I-I didn't do anything."

"That's exactly it. We could've kissed—Ah, shit. I didn't ask before doing that. I'm so sorry. I just—was so caught up, I didn't even ask if it was alright to kiss you. I'm really sorry, Chase."

I blink. "It's okay. That's not even the issue."

"Huh?" He looks taken aback. "What is the issue then?"

I take a deep breath. "I feel like we're always going back to this, but you clearly told me that you don't do relationships, so why are you always hugging me, kissing me, and even holding my hand. Like that doesn't make sense."

"Because—" He stops himself. "This isn't a good spot or time to explain," He gestures to the people around us.

Shit. I wonder if anyone saw me run into the tree.

"Saturday? I'll pick you up after your shift and we can talk it all through," Asher says.

"Okay."

"Sweet." He leans forward.

I wait for the feeling of his lips against my cheek, but it never comes.

I frown as I look into his blue eyes. He gives me a sad smile and runs back to Dylan and Carter.

Everything was going so well until my stupid ass had to ruin it.

•••

Thanks for reading:)

~M