It Was Always You

C H A P T E R 20

Kate
I take my spare time as a chance to catch up with Ivory.

We barely talked the past days and I feel like she should know about Asher.

We're in the coffee shop and wait for our order. "So, what do you wanna talk about?"

I gulp, this is harder than I thought. They are best friends and she was already acting weird when she found out we're friends.

"It's about Asher," I start and she leans back in her seat.

I nervously bite my lip and finally look up, "We've been hanging out a lot recently and-" I take a deep breath, "Not as friends anymore."

She starts laughing. Why is she laughing?

"That's the crazy thing you wanted to talk about? I expected that already."

I sigh in relief, "You're not mad?"

"No, of course not. Why should I be?"

"I don't know, maybe because you didn't seem to like the fact that we were friends in the first place," I tell her.

She sits straight, "It was just weird but that doesn't mean I have a problem with it. I've been waiting for you two to get on all year."

I smile, "Good. That's good."

"What do you say, we call Layla and go to the theater's?"

I nod, "Sounds awesome."

• • •

An hour later, Layla, Ivory and I are ordering popcorn and nachos for the movie, when I get a text from Asher.

[Asher] Are you free?
[Kate] Nope, girls night.

Layla got her popcorn and we go inside, looking for our seats.

[Asher] Will I get to see you at practice tomorrow?

"Kate! Turn your phone off," Ivory whisper-shouts at me. "Sorry!"

[Kate] I'll be there.
[Kate] I need to turn my phone off, I'll text you later.

I quickly reply to Asher and turn my phone off.

For the rest of the day, it's just Layla, Ivory and I enjoying our girl night.

• • •

The next day goes by really fast and I'm on my way to the gym and practice.

When I get inside, Asher immediately comes up to me.

"Hey, baby," he greets me with a kiss, making me smile. "Hey."

"Do you wanna go to my place after practice?" He asks and I nod, agreeing.

"Okay, great. You can choose a movie."

"Oh, wow, thank you," I tease and he laughs.

"I need to go now, see you later," he kisses me quickly and runs to the team.

I make my way to Layla and Ivory, who are already sitting on the bleachers.

"You two are actually really cute," Layla says as I sit down. "Thanks."

"Are you two official?" Ivory asks and I shift uncomfortable.

Asher and I haven't talked about this yet. "No, not yet."

They seem to notice that I don't want to talk about it, so they change the subject.

"I think I'm taking a break from boys," Layla says out of sudden.

"How come?" I ask confused.

Layla loves having her fun with boys. She doesn't sleep with them, but she enjoys their company in other ways.

"I don't want to be an easy target for guys, I think."

"You're kidding, huh?" Ivory laughs and I can see the hurt in Layla's usually bright eyes.

"See, even you think I can't live without boys," she says disappointed.

"I'm sorry," Ivory starts, "I don't think you can't live without them, it's just hard to believe."

"Yeah, I get it," Layla mumbles.

"I think it's a good choice to take a break and just focus on yourself for a while," I tell and she smiles slightly.

It's tense between Layla and Ivory for the rest of practice and we're all relieved when the coach calls it quits.

Ivory and I are waiting for Lewis and Asher outside the gym. "How mad do you think is Layla?"

"She's not mad, just disappointed," I explain, "It won't last long, don't worry."

"Are you sure?"

"She can never be mad for too long," I assure her.

She opens her mouth to say something but closes it when I feel two arms wrap around me.

"Hey," Asher kisses my neck and I turn around. "Are you ready?"

"Yeah, just a minute," I say, raising my eyebrows. He nods, understanding and goes to his car.

I turn back to her, "What did you want to say?"

"Would you talk to her for me?"

I sigh, "Give her some time. If it really doesn't get better, I'll talk to her."

She hugs me, "Thank you."

I smile at her and rush to Asher's car.

"Is everything okay?" He asks as I close the door.

"Yeah, just girl stuff."

He nods and takes my hand. "You can talk to me when something is wrong."

"I know, but everything is alright. Don't worry," I smile assuring.

"Alright."

• • •
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
I'm super sorry for not posting in such a long time! But I'll try to get back to posting regularly. Also the story is slowly coming to an end and I'm already writing a new one so stay tuned!