"Music is the tool to express life – and all that makes a difference." 

– Herbie Hancock

Hailey POV

I watch as a bunch of people I have never seen in my life before, drag Asher away and into the sea of people who are curiously trying to get a look at what is going on, or maybe it's just simply because Asher was here.

Nobody is focusing on me so I slip push past the sea of people that are too focused on screaming Ashers name, I ignore how tight my chest feels from how uncomfortable this situation is right now, I thought he was half-joking about being some big singer guy, but from the look of the sea of people that have crowded in this small hallway, id says he is a pretty big deal.

Asher Reed... I honestly have no idea who he is, which I could tell bummed him out, I'm not exactly very musical... I wasn't lying when I told him I don't listen to music unless it's on the radio or in a bar or club, I don't exactly have time to enjoy anything at all in my life, I was always juggling my job and my coursework, there wasn't time for anything else.

Talking to Asher was surprisingly nice though... I won't lie, I was completely terrified he was going to assault me, he's certainly taller than me and bigger in build, like.. really bigger when the lights turned on I was totally shocked.

He's quite possibly the most handsome man I've ever laid eyes on, he was slightly tan from the sun from what I could see under his cap, he has beautiful dark green eyes that seemed gentle to me, I still remember them looking at me when the lights turned on, it felt like the world had stopped around us, or perhaps it only happens for me and I freaked him out from shamefully staring at him for so long?

His hair was short and dark brown, his eyebrows were thick but perfectly styled, he has a slight stubble but if anything, it made his eyes stand out more than I hate to admit it, I don't think I've ever seen a guy look so much better looking than any girl or guy I have ever seen before, he beats Austin by a mile in the looks and body department, if I had to compare the two of them together, Asher would look like a man and Austin would look like a boy standing next to him.

I make it to my room, room 410 and the noise within the hallway has begun to die down and people are beginning to walk away, most likely following behind Asher and the people who had dragged him away.

I hope he doesn't miss his concert, he didn't seem that stressed about it but the woman who dragged him away seemed very upset about him vanishing, although it was hardly his fault and there was nothing he could have done about it, I wasn't exactly expecting the power to go out, neither was he.

That reminds me... I gave him my name but not my answer to hanging out with him, which I honestly think was a joke or just him being friendly, he seems like a really nice guy and I have a feeling he just felt bad for me, I know most people would feel bad hearing something like 'yeah, my boyfriend cheating on me with my best friend' after I had told him I instantly regretted it.

I didn't come here on impulse to pour my feelings out to the first person that is nice to me.

I feel like such a failure, and a loser, I can't believe I told him anything at all, but he was just so easy to speak to, which surprised me, I thought all famous people were all high and mighty, uninterested in normal people, and honestly, if he never mentioned what he did for work, he would come off as just a regular guy, who happens to be incredibly handsome and out of my league.

It's 6 PM and I'm beyond exhausted, dropping my bag in the corner of the room I look around and admire how beautiful the room is, I have a clear view of Portland from my window and it's probably worth the money I spent on this room, I mean, hopefully, I didn't look at the price, so I'm taking it the view is a good sign.

Theirs a double bed laid with pillows that are perfectly positioned and theirs a desk in the corner of the room, also theirs a comfortable lounge area with two sofas and a flatscreen positioned in front of the seats, it's lovely and cozy and I can already tell this wasn't my worse idea yet to come here, after all despite being stuck in an elevator for hours...

Asher made me laugh and smile, I forgot all about my shit life falling apart when he spoke to me, and when he did speak to me I was enchanted by his rich and deep his voice is, his voice was so attractive that I started to imagine what he looked like, but everything I came up with didn't even come close to the real thing, I'm still totally speechless when the lights came on and I got to see his face.

I kick off my boots and go for the remote, it's too late to head for food so I might just order something up to my room and binge watch something on TV for tonight, the buzz from earlier in the halls and from being with Asher is still intensely playing in my mind.

If I close my eyes, I can still feel his hands on mine, they were bigger than mine and I had expected them to be rough but surprisingly they were quite soft as he held onto me so gently.. everything about his touch made my stomach clench, I haven't felt like that since I first started dating Austin, in the early years of our relationship he was exactly like that.

I sit on the sofa and get comfortable as I flick through the channels whilst I check out the menu that was laid next to the bedside table, I decide to go with something simple and cheap, I'm feeling more tired than hungry so I  order my food and continue to flick through the channel until something catches my attention and makes my mouth go dry.

Asher's name is all over this channel and it says they're currently live at the concert hall he mentioned in the elevator, and I'm sat there completely out of my mind, to be honest, I thought he was joking but this is seriously not a joke anymore, his name 'ASHER REED' in big capital letters and his picture is currently on TV as they talk about him, they're saying on TV that they are minutes away from him coming out on stage.

You can hear the screams in the background from the fans outside the room where they are currently streaming live from and it's completely overwhelming, there are so many people there screaming Asher's name, obvious that they are all there to see him.

That's when it finally his me, he's a big deal, and he's apparently a household freaking name!!

I feel like such an idiot, I  probably most definitely insulted him when I said I didn't know who he was, he's probably glad to be there rather than still stuck in that elevator with some weirdo who doesn't even know who he is.

I watch as the fans scream louder and that's because Asher steps out on stage, smiling widely with his pearly white teeth, he's no longer wearing the clothes he had on, he's dressed into something completely different, and I won't lie, if I was there I'd be screaming alongside with his fans at how crazy good he looks right now, I'm honestly surprised his shirt can handle all those muscles in that crop top.

Someone knocks at my door and I turn the TV off in a panic, for some reason, it feels like I just almost got caught watching porn by the room service, I don't know what I should be more embarrassed about, fantasizing about a guy or spilling my sob story out to him.

I clear my throat and answer the door. "Room service for a Miss Quinn?" A man in a hotel uniform says and I nod my head.

He smiles politely and I open the door wide so he can come inside with the trolly of food, I watch as he puts the bowl of soup on the table in front of the TV alongside the spoon and the glass of ice tea I ordered.

The man walks back to me and stops as if he just remembered something. "That reminds me, a man dropped this at the front desk for you." He hands me a card with a number written on the back that says 'Asher Reed contact' "We don't give personal details out so I couldn't give him your room number, it's hotel policy." He says politely and I nod my head, still shocked he gave me his freaking personal phone number.

"Thanks.. uh, I understand, thank you," I mumble out as the man strolls the trolling out of the room, politely smiles when I give him a small tip, then says goodbye, and shuts the door as he walks off down the hall.

I skim over the card again and all it says is his name with his number scribbled underneath, nothing more, and my chest is beating wildly, I'm trying to think of why he would leave this for me and nothing comes to mind.

Why would he leave this? He was just being friendly.. right? Holy shit, what do I do in this situation? I don't want to get involved with someone who very clearly pointed out he hooks up with girls at every stop, he didn't say it but he didn't deny it either.

I'm just not in a place where I can go out with a guy and not think about the ways he is going to break my heart, the pain is still very raw and the hurt is still there, Asher seems like a really nice guy, too nice.. but, I'm terrified, I don't want to get hurt again.

I know what 'hanging out' leads to, theirs no way a guy like that just wants to hang out with me or keep me company on my Vacation, I'm a nobody and he's.. clearly someone massive, it would never work out between us, even being friends with him would be hard...

I'm attracted to him, any hot-blooded female would be, especially since he would such a gentleman and helped calm my shaking hands down, he was nothing but sweet to me, it felt good talking to him, I have never felt more at ease since my moms passing then I did when I was sat on the floor with Asher in that elevator.

I put the note with his number down on the table and stop thinking about it for now, for now, I'm just going to focus on eating this soup then head to bed, today had been such a long day, I don't even know what to think of it all yet, it's still too surreal for me to actually believe it happened.

Once my soup is all gone, I lock my front door, but not before I put the Do Not Disturb sign on the front of the door. I get changed out of my clothes then turn off the lights, I'm totally exhausted from today that all I want to do is sleep in an actual bed with actual pillows and not on the floor of my new apartment, I throw the pillows off from the bed and crawl under the quilt.

Closing my eyes I see Asher's face, the same look he gave me when the lights came on and he was looking at me in awe, but I don't know why he was looking at me like that... perhaps I dreamed it.. who knows, all I know is that I sleep to the thought of his hands touching me again, calming me down once again, to the sound of his voice and the feel of his hands on mine.

*****

I stir awake from how bright it is in the room, the morning sun is practically blinding me as I forgot to close the curtains last night, having been too tired to do it, I practically ate then fell asleep, the bed was way too comfortable and the thought of Asher was just too much, I don't even remember falling asleep.

I go to grab my phone on the bedside table but then I remember I don't even have one, something I still haven't gotten used to, I really need to get one, I need to have it just in case my dad calls, or Ivan, but first things first.

I need to get up from this comfy bed to shower, brush my teeth then get ready for a new day of getting my shit together.

As I get up and get sorted, I rush around after the shower and dry my hair whilst I get ready, since the weather is nice today outside, I decided to go with a nice long dress I brought with me instead of jeans, not wanting to be feeling hot and stuffy all day while I go out and walk around.

I've never seen Portland, or even went on Vacation alone, I can't even remember the last time I simply just wandered around without a place in mind to go, it's scary but exciting, for the first time I have no idea what the hell I am doing.

I see Asher's number exactly where I left it, I decided to bring it with me, still unsure what to do exactly with his personal number, a part of me wants to see him again but the big part of me is simply scared that he's only going to use me to get one thing out of me then leave me, I... I just don't know...

I lock close my front door and make my way to the elevator, yesterday is still so fresh in my mind at what had happened, it seems crazy now that I think about it, I was stuck in a blackout inside of an elevator with a famous singer and if I was ever to tell someone about it, they simply would think I had went fan crazy for the guy.

I press for the elevator and wait, I hear voices behind me but pay them no mind as I stand and wait for, not feeling like walking down five flight of stairs, but the thought of being inside this steel box again makes my skin crawl, I wasn't lying when I said I hated heights and enclosed spaces, always have and I'm pretty sure I always will.

The elevator comes and dings open so I stand inside, it's just me, which doesn't surprise me considering how early it is right now, it's exactly 8 AM in the morning and I'm pretty sure everyone is sleeping or just waking up within the hotel right now.

I hear someone yell for me to hold the door so I stick my hand in front of the doors to stop them from closing, whoever shouted for me to hold the door seems very familiar, but there's no way, he's not even on this floor, he was on the top floor, I watched yesterday as he pressed floor 8.

Yet, as I watch completely baffled, I see Asher Reed grinning at me as he makes his way towards the elevator. I'm either still sleeping or he is actually walking towards me right now, on my floor and steps away from me.

He steps into the elevator and I feel seriously warm with him being so close to me again, I can barely even look up at him for some weird reason, but I had noticed how good he is dressed today.

I can feel his eyes on me as the elevator doors close shut. "We need to stop meeting like this." He jokes and I glance at him shyly and laugh nervously.

He leans forward and presses the button for the ground floor then goes back to where he was standing. "You're up early, heading out?" He asks.

I nod my head. "Yeah.. I didn't feel like sitting inside when it's so nice outside." I pause. "What about you? How was your concert last night?" I ask curiously, remembering I turned it off before it started.

He smiles handsomely at me, then leans against the wall. "I couldn't sleep." He says with a look in his eye whilst he stares at my face. "It went good, but I'm so fucking happy that it's over, I finally have time off." He says with a smile.

I smile back. "I saw that it was live on TV last night."

His eyes widen. "Did you watch?" He asks and I shake my head.

He frowns slightly then goes to open his mouth to say something but the doors of the elevator open and people are stood waiting outside, we're on the ground floor so I make my way out, with Asher following behind me as the people waiting for the lift walk into the elevator, but not before I catch the look of their faces as they stare at Asher walk past them.

Asher comes to walk beside me and I look at him shyly, people are staring at us- or him as we walk past them. "Want to join me for breakfast?" Asher asks and I look at him confused.

Breakfast? I could eat but.. "Are you sure? I don't want to intrude.." I say slowly.

He smiles handsomely at me as he walks with me outside the hotel building. "My treat, you're not intruding." He pauses. "I think I saw a sandwich shop down the road, you in?"

My belly rumbles and I give up, too hungry to fight him on this. "Okay.. why not."