This chapter is dedicated to @malgram! Thank you for all your votes, they made my day!!❤❤❤

-:Cecelia's PoV:-

After a few minutes of navigating through the heavily trafficked roads in comfortable silence, Ashton pulled into the parking lot of a small, lowkey Chinese place. I stepped out of the truck, surveying the place and admiring the cozy vibes the place gave off. 

Ashton and I met in front of the truck's hood.

"It's not much," he spoke. "A small place, but it serves the best food."

"I love it, Ash," I said honestly. I smiled up at him for good measure. His shoulders sagged a little as if in relief. Cute. I stepped up on my tiptoes and pressed a kiss on his cheek. He stilled in surprise before grinning like a fool.

"Let's go, then," he urged, pulling me with him.

We went in and seated ourselves in one of the corner booths overlooking the roadside. We sat beside each other, me tucked under one of his arms. It was very comfortable. We skimmed through the mouthwatering menu, choosing in a way we got the most variety of dishes.

Ash flagged down a waiter when we were done. He seemed to be in his mid-twenties, I guessed.

"Hello and welcome to Colton's," he greeted cheerfully. "I'm Jared and I'll be your server for the evening. What can I get you?"

"Hey, Jared," Ashton grinned.

"Ashton!" He exclaimed, "I didn't recognize you for a second. How are you, man?"

"Cool. You?"

"Fly. Who's this lovely lady with you today?"

"Jared, meet my ma- I mean, girlfriend Cecelia," Ash introduced. "Ce, meet Jared. We've known each other for a few years since I'm addicted to the food this place serves."

"Nice to meet you," I said politely.

"You too!" Jared beamed, "It's nice to know that this boy finally got himself a girlfriend." 

I smiled at him, amused.

Ash quickly placed our order when he realized that there would be no more conversation between us. Jared nodded zealously before scurrying away, without commenting on the quantity we ordered. I could see why he had that job. He was sunshine personified. Not to mention, polite.

"You know," I said after a beat of silence. "I once superglued Julian to his seat at the Pack lunch."

"You what?" Ash asked, chuckling.

"I did," my lips twitched up. "When he tried to get up, he almost tore his pants. There was a sound of tearing seams but it sounded more like a fart. Everyone near him laughed so much. He blushed so hard but he caught on immediately. The entire meal time I was stifling my chortles while he was glaring at me. He had to sit on the seat till every last one was out, which was a long time."

"Why would you do that?" Ash laughed.

"He put a garden snake in my room that morning," I shrugged.

"Why?" He questioned, shaking his head.

"Because we're crazy," I flashed him a smile. "Are you sure you want to stick with me? I'm not marked yet, you can still get away." I joked.

"I'm sure," he kissed the top of my head. "Hayden and I set Noel up on a blind date with a human girl once," he smiled in remembrance.

"Isn't he gay?" I asked.

"Exactly," he grinned. "He was so mad at me, he chased us throughout the Packhouse, and the Pack lands like a maniac for ages! He caught us in the end, which we did not expect, and pushed us into the river with a gazillion curses and death threats. He was mad because the girl was too 'touchy feely' and wouldn't leave him alone even after he told her he was gay."

"Holy shit, I'd kill to see that," I laughed, thinking how sweet Noel was. He must have been really irritated to do something as drastic as pushing the guys into the river. "You guys are cruel."

"So are you, Ms. Superglue."

"Eww," I scrunched up my nose. "Don't ever call me that again."

"Why?" He teased, "Ms. Superglue."

"Ashton," I tried not to smile.

"Yes, Ms. Superglue?"

"I'll-" I began only to be cut off by Jared who had come with our order. My mouth watered, effectively shutting down my protests. Ashton seemed to be on the same wavelength because we found ourselves attacking all the food like the animals we were.

The hot and sour soup was the best I'd ever had and those spring rolls . . . I was sold. The Chow Mein and fried rice were otherworldly. I regretted never going to that place before.

We finished eating simultaneously, leaning back in our seats to become comfortable. My eyes were hooded shut with the ginormous amount of food I ate. My usually flat stomach was protruding ever so slightly. I was satisfied.

"Told you they serve the best Chinese," Ash groaned, patting his stomach.

"I concur," I breathed out. 

Then we both ended up chuckling, clutching our stomachs, and laughing. It was too funny. We had eaten like the creatures of the wild, stuffing ourselves till we literally couldn't fit anything else. We ate enough for five humans at least. I wondered what Jared was thinking then and cracked up again. He must've been horrified.

"Goddess," I chocked out.

"Dessert?" Ashton asked.

"Absolutely," I agreed before we fell into another round of laughter.

"I see you're enjoying yourselves," Jared appeared at our table with a smile.

"Yeah," Ash responded. "Can we please get the cheque?"

"Sure," he slid the bill towards Ashton.

"We're splitting," I stated, recovering from my humor. Ashton frowned. "Please?"

"How about you pay for dessert and I pay for the meal?"

"Ash . . . "

"C'mon, Ce," he gave me a convincing look.

"Fine," I pouted, not wanting to argue.

"Thanks," he pecked my lips before quickly paying. "Keep the change," he smiled at Jared who grinned and walked away.

"Froyos?" Ashton asked, "Or ice creams?"

"Ice cream," I said without missing a beat.

"Let's walk there," he suggested. That's how we found ourselves outside a small ice cream parlor a block away with our treats in our hands, laughing and chatting.

"And then we were punished for a week with extra training," I laughed. "Only we loved it too much so it wasn't a punishment."

"Noel, Hayden, and I accidentally set the shed on fire when we were twelve," he told me. "It was the fourth of July and we were trying to have a bonfire and set off some fireworks. Dad was furious. They grounded us for a month. We were never allowed to be near anything inflammable for a good year or two."

"Julian and I went out in town when I was sixteen and he was seventeen," I remembered. "Actually, I dragged him to a new club that day to get drunk. He was depressed because he hadn't found his mate yet. I literally dragged him out like a dog that night. We got so drunk, we didn't reply to any mind links or phone calls. It didn't help that Julian had found Liana that day. 

"Damn, when we stumbled back to the Packhouse at five-thirty in the morning with pounding headaches and killer hangovers . . . Alpha Curtis was waiting for us. We were scolded in front of the entire pack that day. They put us on kitchen duty for a fortnight as punishment."

Ash and I burst out laughing like we were drunk. I guess we were: on euphoria. It was so peaceful. I wished it could always be like that.

I finished my cone in one last bite. Ash was still eating, so I gave him the puppy dog eyes.

"No," he said, shaking his head. "It's mine."

"So am I," I blurted out. "Pllleeaasseee?"

I batted my eyelashes for good measure.

"Fine," he groaned, holding his hand out to me. "One small bi-"

I bit a huge chunk of his ice cream off before he could finish. He gasped and leveled a playful glare at me.

"You didn't," he said in disbelief.

"Umm-hmm," I swallowed and licked my lips. "I like that. Butterscotch."

He stuffed the rest of the ice cream in his face, challengingly chewing down on his dessert. I caught on to what he was planning and took off with a squeal. We weaved through the pedestrians, some were agitated while the others were entertained by our merry chase.

We didn't care.

The crowd thinned out gradually as we moved farther away from the busy streets. He caught me by the park, surprising me. I didn't expect him to catch me. I screeched loudly but no one paid us any heed since the park was nearly empty. Ashton released a throaty chuckle as the momentum of his catch sent us spinning in a half-circle.

He set me down and I spun around with a grin. Over his shoulder, I spotted monkey bars which lifted my mood further. 

"We're going there!" I stated, pointing at them.

"Where?" Ash turned around. "The monkey bars?" He questioned.

"Yes!" I exclaimed.

I grabbed Ash's hand and dragged him there. For a kid's park, the monkey bars were quite high. I jumped up to grasp one of them. Ashton leaned against the pole of the bars, his hands crossed over his chest, watching me, entertained. Then his gaze shifted and his eyes darkened.

I registered that my dress had ridden up.

"Eyes up here, Summers," I chided, lifting myself over. I realized I shouldn't have pulled myself over like that on the monkey bars while wearing a dress. But I was wearing shoes and the monkey bars are the best . . . 

"They were," he replied hoarsely before averting his gaze with evident effort.

"Is that seriously all it took to turn you on?" I asked, beguiled and curious in equal measures.

"No," he replied unconvincingly, clearing his throat.

"Liar liar pants on fire," I teased. 

"Well mine aren't so I'm guessing I passed the lie detector test," he said dryly. 

"Sure you did, Ash." I laughed. He pulled a face, making me chuckle. I made sure my dress wasn't riding up when I moved on the bars to hang upside down at my knees. 

I fought back a gag reflex. Ashton realized what was going on. He quickly rushed over and slipped his hands under my arms, bracing for when I kicked my legs off the bars. They fell to the ground with a thud. I felt sick.

"Are you okay?" He asked as I turned around and put my head against his chest.

"Gimme a minute," I mumbled, waiting for my stomach to settle down. It was too full for me to perform gymnastics six feet up in the air. Ash wordlessly ran a soothing hand down my back.

I pulled away when I was fine. Ash looked down at me with a 'better?' look. I gave him a reassuring smile and pecked his lips.

Only, he wanted more and it turned into quite a hot make-out session. Sparks. Fireworks. A fucking explosion. I moaned involuntarily and that seemed to encourage Ash because he kissed me with more ferocity. I matched his fervor, forgetting we were in a children's park.

We jumped apart when we heard a high-pitched squeal. A girl was sitting on the swings with her mother pushing her high up. She squealed again as she went higher.

A chuckle escaped my mouth at that. There I had thought we had been caught. Now that would've been embarrassing.

"A kiss is all it takes to turn you on, hun?" Ashton snapped me out of my thoughts. I blushed.

"No," I squeaked. He laughed.

"Liar liar pants on fire," he sang, quoting me from minutes ago.

"Whatever," I grumbled like a kid. He kissed me again and I kissed him back eagerly. He was addictive. His scent of oak and mint was moreish. He always smelt slightly of dew and I loved that.

"We have got to get back home," I said between kisses, pulling him closer with the hand I had around his neck. 

My actions contradicted my own words.

He hummed, backing me against the pole he was standing against earlier. He licked my lip for entrance but I cheekily denied him. He groaned in frustration before he bit down on my lip gently, making me gasp. He took that opportunity to thrust his tongue into my mouth. We fought for dominance but none of us gave in. 

It was electric, the feel of his arms on my waist and my back, the feel of his mouth against mine, the feel of our bodies pressed together. Everything. It was magical. Warmth blossomed in my belly and spread all over my body. I tugged at his hair, successfully eliciting a groan from him. I smirked, not breaking the kiss.

He seemed to take that as a challenge, because the next thing I knew, his hand was traveling down my side agonizingly slow, teasing and tantalizing my body just right. I squirmed under his touch and he knew it. I did my best to not let any sound escape me. My legs felt weak, making me cling to him tighter. Then his hand reached my ass and squeezed it, massaging it gently. I couldn't keep it in. 

He swallowed my moan triumphantly.

Eventually, we both pulled away for air. Even though we both were a hot, panting mess I clicked my tongue in frustration. He chuckled and leaned down to peck my lips one more time to appease me. We were flushed, our heartbeats wild and off the charts. Our lips were red and swollen.

"That was . . . "

"Freaking amazing?" I supplied.

"That doesn't even begin to cover it," he hugged me.

"Tell me about it," I breathed out, melting into him.

A few moments passed by before he reminded me we had to get home. Begrudgingly, we walked back to his truck with me tucked under one of his arms. We didn't talk but the silence was peaceful.

On the drive back home we made idle chatter. Ash drove with one hand over the steering wheel and the other intertwined with mine. The radio was on and I raised the volume when 'Photograph' by Ed Sheeran came over. I sang along softly, looking out the open windows.

When he parked in front of the Packhouse, none of us moved. We turned to look at each other and smiled.

"I see you out there!" An annoying voice reached us. I groaned in despair.

"Leave us the fuck alone, Jules," I bit at him.

"Love you too, Lia," he called back mirthfully. I expected Ash to growl or something but was pleasantly surprised to see him smiling at our interaction. Again, I found myself wondering what I had missed between the two of them.

"I have to go," I whispered regretfully.

He hummed, brushing a kiss across my knuckles. I blushed.

I leaned over and kissed him quickly. I couldn't believe I was already addicted. The tranquility that enveloped me there was immense.

And then our world tumbling down with the next four words that echoed in my mind. Sera growled.

'The rogues are attacking!'

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A/N:-

Heyy ya'll!! Here's the update I promised you guys. 

How was your weekend??? 

I wrote this chapter watching the French Open finals. Stefanos v/s Djokovic. I'm on the edge of my seat. The score isn't helping either since they're practically tied. Two all (sets), one all (in the 5th set), fifteen all. They're both mind-blowing today. This is awesome!!!

I did well on my test! Woo hoo!! Thank you guys for being so understanding and supportive. I love you all.

QOTD: Do you believe in true love?

I hope you liked the chapter. If you did, make sure to tap the star on your way out!! Comment your thoughts.

Until next time, all my love,
xoxo.

(13.6.21)