Perspective

52- You're never babysitting again

I wake up with an aching head and a stinging on my ribs. Sitting up, I scan the room. We're all passed out on the floor of Jess's house.

Last night we went to a party and we got wasted. I remember taking a Lyft somewhere but that's about it. We must've taken it back to Jess's house since her parents were out of town.

My phone stares ringing loudly.

Ugh. It better be important.

"Pick up your phone!" Jess snaps, throwing a pillow at me.

I quickly answer my phone and leave the room.

"Hello?" I ask.

"Babe?" Asher asks.

"Oh hey, Ash."

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Just hungover."

"We won our game, by the way."

"Really? Good job, baby. I'm proud of you. Wait. You already played a game this early in the morning?"

"Babe. It's 3:30 in the afternoon. How wasted were you guys?" He asks with a laugh.

"I don't even know," I groan. "I miss you."

"I miss you too, beautiful. One more week and I'll be back."

"And we can kiss and hug and cuddle. I can't wait."

"Chase," Asher starts."I..."

"Yeah?"

Is he going to say it? Holy shit.

"Actually, nothing. Never mind," Asher says with a slight laugh. "I'll call you later."

"Okay. Bye, babe."

"Bye, sunshine."

:::

The front door opens and Asher walks in with Jace.

"Ash!" I call, running over to him and hugging him tight.

The past two weeks were so lonely without him. Sure, I spent most of it with my friends and the Bradley's but without him, it wasn't the same.

"I missed you, baby," He murmurs, hugging me back.

He kisses my lips once we pull back.

"DADA!" Harper screams, running over.

"Harp!" Asher lifts up his son and hugs him. "Did you have fun with Uncle Jace and Mommy?"

"Yeah!" Harper says.

Jace and I exchange looks as Harper talks about giraffes. He hasn't said the word for the past two weeks, so we should be good. I also slipped up and said "shit" in front of him and he did repeat it once, but I got him to stop.

"Dada! Dada!" Harper grabs Asher's face. "Fucked!"

And I spoke too soon.

"What was that, Harp?" Asher asks.

"Fucked!" Harper repeats, louder.

"And where did you learn that word? Actually, who taught you that word?" My boyfriend asks.

Harper points right at Jace.

"Mommy said shit!" Harper tells Asher, throwing me under the bus as well.

"Harper!" I gasp. "You little traitor."

Harper giggles as I start tickling him.

"No more," He finally says.

"Alright, no more tickles," I agree, taking him from Asher.

"Meet me outside, I need to have a word with both of you," Asher says, clearing his throat.

I set Harper down and let him watch TV for a bit while the three of us talk. Reagan and Teagan are with their parents at the mall so it's quiet.

"What's up, babe?" I ask Asher stepping outside the house.

"What's up? Really? I'm gone for 14 days and you two already taught him cuss words. You're never babysitting again," Asher says, shaking his head.

"Chase won't need to," Jace says. "Especially since she'll probably become his actual mom."

That thought has crossed my mind several times, but we're only 18 and just started dating.

"And who knows, you two might make another kid," Jace continues.

"Chase, hand me the baseball bat," Asher says to me.

I get his bat out and as I pass it to him, he leans in next to my ear.

"We totally should," He says.

Oh my god.

"Asher!" I gasp, playfully shoving him back.

"FUCK! SHIT!" Harper laughs.

"Before we do anything, I need to whoop both your asses," Asher says.

Jace and I look at each other.

I stick my hand out. "It's been nice knowing you, Jace."

Jace shakes my hand. "Yeah, you too."

We drop our hands and look at Asher who's watching us with an amused expression.

"Run," Jace and I whisper and take off into the house.

"I swear to god," Asher says, running after us.

I nearly trip as I run up the stairs, but I somehow manage to catch myself. I can hear Asher and Harper laughing from behind me.

As I pass by Asher's room, I pause.

I haven't been inside in forever. I open the door and glance around. It looks the same, only there's more picture frames on his shelf. I go closer and see that a lot of them are the two of us.

"Gotcha," Asher says, picking me up from behind.

I giggle as he nuzzles my neck.

"Stop, babe," I whine, pushing his head back.

Harper runs in and climbs on the bed so he can jump on it.

"We can finally kiss in peace," Asher says. "Sort of. Jace is probably outside and Harper's too busy jumping on my bed."

"Better hurry then."

As Asher's kissing me, there's a thought that flashes in my head.

How the hell am I supposed to tell him that I got drunk and ended up getting a tattoo of his name?

•••

Thanks for reading :)

~M