PRESENT

I take the last suitcase out of my car trunk before slamming it closed, wheeling the suitcase along the pathway that leads to the villa's entrance. I forgot how big it is and I'm left briefly gaping at it as I make my way inside. It's been well over a decade since I was last here and, for that reason, it looks entirely new.

The homely and wooden layout is nothing short of inviting. The living room is the first thing you step into upon entering, with its plush sofas surrounding a circular throw rug and a sleek TV. To the right is an open-concept kitchen that is part of the living room, the only thing dividing the two rooms being the tiled floor where the kitchen behinds and cuts off from the rest of the wooden structure. Even the stairs that curve up in a spiral toward the second floor just on the left of the first floor is made entirely of wood. It disappears into a small circle opening that, if you peek through, showcases the large second floor where all the rooms are located. Five, to be exact, alongside three bathrooms and a game room that I know to be furnished with a pool table, more couches and a large TV, and a poker table.

"Remind me again why we don't live here?" I hear Mia holler from upstairs.

I ditch the suitcase along with the rest piled up to the side—unpacking can wait—and bound upstairs where everyone else is. Immediately upon entering the second floor there's a main area with some bean bag chairs and a small round table. My sisters have taken up the space while the parents duck into the rooms and decide which one they want. Asher leans against one of the walls with his arms crossed. His face is impassive, his head still in that dark place and overcrowded with the demons he was supposed to leave behind in the city, and I vow to make this a weekend where he can forget. I want to give him a shred of his regular life back, if even for a moment.

"This place is not meant for civilization." Lexie says in response to Mia's question. "The wifi is shit, there isn't anyone around for at least two miles, and driving to the local stores would easily take over half an hour. Unless you plan on starting a farm, there isn't much to do."

"Not true." I defend. "This place is meant for you to enjoy the natural world, not the man-made one. It's perfect timing that we came in the middle of the winter because the lake must be frozen for ice skating and the hills are covered in sheets of snow for sledding and skiing. It's going to be a great weekend."

"I could get used to this." Eleanor sighs and curls by the fireplace that's already lit up, sinking into her bean bag chair and cracking open her book. I knew she'd take to this place the fastest. All my sweet girl needed was her books and a quiet place with a view.

"Who are we sharing rooms with?" Harmony cuts to the chase and the rest of my sisters nod in agreement. I roll my eyes. They lasted all of three minutes before their first-world problems came up.

"We get this room!" Darren hollers from down the hall. His head peeks out and Abigail follows a minute after. They're both grinning wide. "It's the biggest one. You snooze you lose, suckers."

"Real mature, Darren." Mia laughs.

"We got the second biggest one, losers." Dad gloats and pops his head out of the one next to Darren's room. Mom rolls her eyes behind him but she does look pretty smug.

"Who are the parents here again?" Lexie asks in all seriousness.

"Definitely us." Abigail winks. "Besides, the parents are the ones that need bigger rooms for our busy nights."

The girls and I all call out a chorus of ew's, booing them with our thumbs turned down while they laugh and retreat back into their rooms.

My laughter gradually dies out when I notice Asher still sulking, looking down at the ground but not quite seeing. My heart constricts painfully. Everyone has him read so wrong. After the match yesterday, and I'll admit he was unbelievably ruthless to his opponent, everyone was convinced that Asher was vicious and unkind at heart. That he didn't feel. But couldn't they see? He is hurting badly and in plain sight, trying to hide behind cunning smirks and cold laughs. His opponent might have lost yesterday's match but Asher is the one who's still bleeding out. He calls me his princess when he's my knight in broken armour. I meant it when I said I would save him and this weekend is just the beginning. I won't stop until I see him laugh and smile with the genuineness that has been missing for years.

I clear my throat and saunter over to him. He looks up at the sound of my heeled-boots clacking noisily on the wooden floor and raises a curious brow at the smirk on my face. I cross my arms when I stand in front of him.

"Remember how you said you've never broken a promise to me?" I start and confusion brings his brows together.

"Yeah?"

"That may be true but there's still one promise you've yet to fulfill."

"And which one is that?"

"Last time we came here was when you and I were eleven. You promised to teach me how to ice skate because I didn't know how."

"But you can skate now, right?" He's still not following until I shake my head.

"Never learned. I've been waiting patiently for you to collect your dues so now it's time."

"No shit?" His lips quirk up the slightest inch and I try not to feel giddy at the sight of it. Now we're getting somewhere. "I guess I owe you, then."

"Fifteen minutes." I point a finger at him as I back up. "Meet me at the lake."

"Us too!" Harmony shoots up and I clamp down a sigh. Oh, Mona. Read the room.

"It's a big lake." Lexie adds, her eyes flicking between us with a reserved smile. "We won't interrupt your lesson."

"Mostly." Mia adds, biting the inside of her cheek in her usual mischief.

"Then it's all set." I grin at Asher again who's clearly trying to dissect what I'm up to but to no avail. He may know me like the back of his hand but I'm bringing in a storm he won't be ready for. "Fifteen minutes, Ash."

"Okay?" He mumbles but those lips tip up a second inch, slowly but surely promising me the smile I'm going to work for.

I bound down the stairs and to my suitcase, unpacking the skates I brought for both Asher and I. Like I said, I've given this trip a fair share of thought. I also grab some warm clothes so I won't freeze my ass off and snatch a couple of bandaids for my own peace of mind. I make quick work of slipping into my warmer attire, including bundling up in my winter jacket, wool hat, and gloves, before pouring some hot chocolate into a thermos and finally stepping out. By the time I make the short walk to the lake that's hidden behind the forest of bare trees, Asher is already waiting for me and my heart pounds faster.

His face is red from the cold as he lazily skates in a circle, barely focusing on what he's doing. He moves gracefully as if he's in element and I crack a smile at the irony of what's in front of me. Ice Boy, huh? Maybe sometimes.

"I'm ready!" My declaration alerts him of my presence and he looks up, skidding to a halt in front me. He blinks slowly.

"What...the fuck are you wearing?"

"What?" I frown and look down at myself. So maybe my jacket is puffy enough to make me look like a pastry and maybe the two scarves around my neck are a bit much but I hate winter and ice alike. "I'm just being cautious. This is protection."

"Against what? Baking on medium heat until golden brown?"

"Ha-ha." I deadpan. "More like I don't want to go home with broken limbs. I'm likely to fall—a lot."

"So fall." He shrugs and takes the thermos from my hand to set it down on the grass-less dirt. His bare hands grab my gloved ones as he slowly pulls me onto the ice and murmurs, "I'll catch you."

My lips tug up into an involuntary grin. Damn it, Ash. I'm supposed to be the one making you smile.

"Good luck catching me when I weigh double my weight in these clothes." I warn him seriously.

"I bench-press triple your weight, probably more." He gloats with a smirk that melts me despite the frigid air. "You can trust me."

"I know." My smile widens. It disappears all too fast when I suddenly wobble on the ice like a fish out of water and yelp. Asher's grip on my elbows tightens to steady me and pulls me against him. His sturdy posture keeps me upright despite my constant wiggling and inability to maintain my balance. "Why did I think this was a good idea? I'm going to die."

"You're not going to die, Princess." He chuckles under his breath and I silently tally that as another win. "Just hold on to me."

I take his request a little too seriously by throwing my arms around his neck and plastering our bodies together. His arms come around my waist and I feel warmth pass over the top of my head with another one of his barely-there laughs. "If you hold me like this then I'll be skating for the both of us. What's the point in that?"

"It'll give the ice and I some time to get acquainted. I may trust you but I do not trust what's beneath me."

"Fair enough."

He starts gliding backwards slowly but steadily and I try to match his movements, letting the blades of my skates slide across the ice with the same ease and feather-light touch as him. Now that I'm holding Asher like my personal totem pole, I'm actually balanced enough to keep my skates straight and sturdy.

"There you go." He encourages when I've more or less got it down. "Ready to let go a little bit?"

"No." I protest in alarm.

"You're fine. Just keep doing what you're doing." He slowly unwinds my death grip on his body and puts some distance between us so he can hold my hands. I clutch his with enough force that I briefly wonder if I'm stopping his blood-circulation. He seems unbothered as he continues to watch my stance and drag us across the ice steadily.

"Good." He murmurs. "Just one foot in front of the other."

I teeter suddenly and my breath catches but Asher grips me confidently and prevents me from falling. I laugh nervously as he continues to glide. "This is like impending death. How can people enjoy this?"

"Once you get good enough at it, it no longer requires thinking. It's just muscle memory and it makes you feel like you're flying. It's a great way to take your mind off..."

His eyes snap up to mine from where they'd been inspecting my footing moments ago. Understanding dawns on him and he blinks as he puts it together. "So, that's what you're doing. I thought you'd lost your mind when you asked for lessons because you hate skating."

I shrug non-chalantly. I'd been doing so well to keep his focus elsewhere and I don't want him thinking about anything else right now. "I do but it's definitely more bearable when you do it with your best friend."

"Liar." He stops us suddenly and pulls me against him. I watch him silently as he shakes his head, his eyes seeing right through me. "This is the last thing you want to be doing but you're doing it for me."

"I have no idea what you're talking about." I say as casually I can although I'm not that surprised at how quickly he caught on. Besides, this is just the beginning.

"You're so..." He blows out a frustrating breath as he tries to find the words.

"Amazing? Irreplaceable? Drop-dead gorgeous? Indeed to all of these but I'd like to keep going now, thanks." I grin cheekily.

He bites the inside of his cheek to stop his smile, a smile that I knew would have been wide enough to reveal those permanently hidden dimples.

Almost there, Ashes.

"Are we doing this or not?" I nudge his knee with my own since our bodies are pressed together. It's kind of crazy that cold winter air puffs out of my mouth and yet I feel like I'm on fire underneath Asher's calculating stare.

"We are definitely doing this but I'm not sure what you are up to." He raises a brow and starts moving us again. I suck in a breath and try to relax myself. Asher is right—I loathe skating. I have a pretty legitimate fear of ice but for him, I'd do anything.

"That's because I'm too smart for you." I quip, keeping up our banter so I don't have to focus on the less-than-reliable ground beneath me. Irrational images of Asher and I falling into the water beneath cracked ice goads at me and I try to shake it away.

"We'll see about that." He retorts. He always did love a good competition between us.

"Just make sure I make it back to cabin in one piece." I'm mostly serious and he snickers because he knows it.

"We're here!"

The excited cheer comes so loudly that my entire body flinches too quickly for Asher to stop. My foot slips out from underneath me and I scream bloody murder as my body lurches forward. I grab Asher like he's my lifeline and briefly register his arms gripping me with undeniable strength right before we both go down and land on the ice, a loud thud echoing around us. The breath knocks out of me for a brief moment but Asher breaks most of my fall. Oh my God, Asher broke my fall! I immediately push my palms on the ice to lift myself up and look down at him. He groans in obvious pain and for a moment I think, way to go dumbass! You squashed him like a pancake!

I cringe and open my mouth, profuse apologies at the ready, but am stunned into silence when his mouth opens into a wide grin right before a laugh bursts out of him.

Not a small chuckle, or a barely there gust of breath, but a full-blown belly laugh that catches my breath for entirely different reasons than moments ago. I stare in awe at his straight white teeth, the unmistakable dip of his left cheek dimple, and his eyes that are squeezed shut from the hysterics he's in.

Woah.

I've made Asher laugh plenty of times in our years of friendship but never like this. In this moment, there's nothing holding him back from those deep rumbles that seem to charge the air around us, vibrating into my core with its sheer strength. His body shakes from the force and there's nothing stopping how genuinely he's feeling this moment.

You're laughing, Ashes. And it's a fucking beautiful laugh.

"Are you done?" I pretend to scowl. "Because I could have died. Didn't I tell you I would?"

That just sets him off even more and he laughs harder, his hand clutching his stomach like he's in pain. But the good kind of pain.

I shake my head. I would make a fool out of myself ten times over if it means making him laugh like this.

I'm surprised at how contagious the sound is and I find myself joining a moment later. What starts as a reluctant giggle gives way to loud laugh that has me collapsing on top of him again when I find it difficult to keep myself upright. We briefly share a look of the position we've found ourselves in and snicker into round two, the volume of our laughs increasing. At one point I accidentally snort and Asher is all but wheezing at the less-than-attractive sound. God, we're a mess.

"Are you okay?" Mona crouches down next to us with wide eyes. "I didn't mean to scare you."

"Don't apologize." Asher commands, drawing in a breath as he tries to pull himself together. "Thank you for scaring the shit out of, Ria. Made my fucking day."

Mona blinks in bewilderment and my giggles make their comeback. I bury my face in Asher's neck because the sight of Mona is likely to set me off for the third time. I feel his hand grip the back of my head, his body still shaking from silent remnants of his laugh.

"This is weird." Mona deadpans. "Can I go now?"

This time it's Asher who snorts and I wheeze into his shoulder. It's even less attractive coming from him.

"Go ahead, babe." He tells her.

I lift my head so I can wave her off and pause when I catch Lexie and Mia watching us with smug smiles from a few feet away. I wonder if they knew what would eventually become of Asher and I despite being babies when he first became my best friend.

"Thanks for the lesson. Oh, and the fall." I tell him drily, keeping my palms propped up so I can peer down at him. The grin he gives me is nothing short of dazzling and now I know why he rarely lets it make an appearance. That grin is meant to break hearts and it will surely break mine.

"But I caught you. Didn't I promise I'd catch you?" I don't even mind the gloating when it comes in the form of that gut-punching smile.

"You never break a promise." I confirm. The moment is too sweet, too promising to stop myself from leaning down and kissing the tip of his nose. I pull back and flush a little as he stares at me through hooded eyes. When his hips just barely inch into mine, I know he's reminding me of that day in my room. The thing is he doesn't have to. I haven't stopped thinking about it once. My toes curl inside my skates.

"The ice isn't strong enough for what you two wish you were doing!" Mia taunts from a distance and I choke on my saliva. Asher chuckles under his breath, his nose trailing up my neck as he inhales deeply. I shiver but it's not from the cold. "Come on!"

Reluctantly I push myself off of him and he sits up, tapping my chin with the side of his finger before standing upright. I hold my hands out and he wordlessly takes hold of them to pull me to my feet. Once again I find our bodies practically molded together and my flush deepens when I feel something stiff between us that wasn't there a few minutes ago.

"How is possible to have a hard-on in negative degree weather?" I mumble.

His lopsided smirk almost has me sighing like a school girl. "Princess, I had hard-ons for you before I knew what hard-ons were."

That makes me laugh despite the heat of the moment. He did, huh? Who would have thought? "I thought you hated me when we first met."

"I could never hate you, but I did try." He throws back the words I dished at him after his match and I shake my head as his antics.

"Try harder, then." My eyes purposefully fall to his crotch and I lick my lips. "Emphasis on the harder."

"Tease." He mutters but his eyes glint with the thrill of the bone I just threw him.

"You know what I call a tease? Promising a skating lesson and giving up after the first fall."

"I don't give up." He promises wickedly and grabs my hands, dragging me across the ice so suddenly that I screech again.

He makes good on his promise, though. He dedicates a solid hour to teaching me how to skate and in that hour I only fall thrice. I do a pretty decent job but by the end Asher concludes I'm a lost cause.

I tap out when my ass has had enough of bumping uglies with the ice and hand out hot chocolate instead. After that, I lounge on the frozen dirt and take pictures and videos of Asher skating with the girls so I can remember this moment. So he can remember this moment. He takes turns going a couple of rounds with each of them, teaching them tricks that they're able to pick up on because they can actually skate unlike me. I don't mind just watching, though. Not when it means admiring how the normally tough and tense features on Asher's face have melted into softer and relaxed ones, making him appear much more approachable and kind. It's a good look on him but I love his toughness just as much. I'll take him exactly as he is, demons and all. They're what make him my Asher and I wouldn't have it any other way, determined to make him see himself that way too.

At the two-hour mark the girls and I officially declare that's it's too cold to keep going. Asher calls us wusses but I know it's because he'd been enjoying himself and didn't want to stop. The knowledge that he was having a good time warms me up all over and I hope I can keep this up for the whole weekend.

The girls walk ahead of Asher and I and I link my arm through his, burrowing into his side to shield against the cold as we trek back to the cabin.

"Did you have fun?" I ask tentatively.

Fun is not in Asher's vocabulary but a lot of things aren't—things that I've dragged out of him so far. I'm not disappointed when he nods at my question, a ghost of a smile flickering over his lips that are reddened from the cold. Lips that I want to warm up with my own so badly that my stomach aches with desire.

"I did." His wistful reply takes my mind out of the gutter. "I can't remember the last time I laughed so much."

My heart squeals in victory. "Me neither."

The rest of the walk is silent and it isn't until our cabin comes into view that he quietly admits, "It felt good."

And I tell him just as quietly, "I'm glad, Ashes."

We kick off our boots when we're inside the house and release a collective sigh of relief. The warmth wraps around me like a blanket and I can already feel myself thawing as I waddle into the kitchen. Dad pauses whatever he's stirring on the stove when he spots me.

"What are you wearing?" He looks horrified.

"Protection." I repeat for the millionth time, stomping my foot for good measure.

"What kind of protection?" Darren snorts, sprinkling something into the pot Dad stirs. "Eating your enemies? Because you look like you could."

I roll my eyes when he and Dad share a snicker over that last than stellar joke. Do men ever grow up?

"Leave her alone." Asher scolds seriously as he comes up behind me. He casually kisses the crown of my head before heading for the fridge and taking a peek inside.

I'm left rooted on the spot in shock at the move he just pulled. It's not like our families haven't seen us exchange chaste kisses and touches before but...you could just tell that one was different. The way Dad and Darren raise their brows says as much. I toss them what I hope is a casual smile so they don't read into it. It's hard enough figuring things out with Asher without everyone butting in.

When things get too awkward for my liking, I retreat upstairs to get out of this wannabe hazmat suit and into something comfier—sweatpants and a warm v-neck shirt. I also pull on some wool socks to protect my feet against the cold wooden floors. When I step out of the room I called dibs on—a room I won't be sharing thanks to eldest child privileges—I find my sisters, Mom, and Abigail all huddled up on the bean bags and whispering. They immediately stop when they spot me.

I raise a brow. "Oh, because that's not suspicious at all."

"It's nothing." Mom waves me off with a smile.

"We're gossiping about you and Asher." Abigail chirps at the same time and immediately winces at the dry look Mom tosses her. "I thought we were on the same page. Definitely not."

I can feel my pulse pound in my ears from nerves. Not even twelve hours in this place with our family and they can all tell? "Nothing to be gossiping about."

"Maybe not yet." Lexie wiggles her brows. "But it's long overdue."

"How is it you guys met before I was born and you still haven't figured your shit out?" Mia crinkles her nose in obvious disappointment.

"Language." Mom and I snap simultaneously, even though she's coming up on seventeen.

"So that's what was going on." Harmony nods when it finally clicks into place. Then she looks confused again. "But all this time I thought Asher was already your boyfriend."

"Woah." I hold my hands up in front of me. "Asher and I are still best friends. Unless we tell you upfront something has changed, please stop getting ideas. Isn't it dinner time?"

I stalk past them and go down the stairs to put some distance between us. I know Asher and I are on the same page about eventually taking our life-long friendship to the next level but that day isn't here yet and I don't want everyone's advances and opinions freaking us out before we have the chance to begin. We're still figuring things out and I think it's important that we get to have privacy while we do that.

Back downstairs, the table is set and ready to go and I grin at the men in the house taking care of that. We raised these boys well.

I choose to sit across from Asher instead of next to him since everyone in this house won't stop getting ideas and he tosses me a look of confusion but ultimately brushes it off. Instead, I sit beside Lexie and ignore how she continuously flicks her eyes between us. Whatever she's waiting for, it won't happen.

Luckily, our family slips into idle talk and I feel a little more normal now that the attention is no longer on Asher and I. I dive into my plate, famished from the skating lessons, and listen to the conversations taking place around me. I'm eavesdropping in on Mom and Abigail's discussion of their impending decision to take a yoga class together when Asher gestures a hand at me to get my attention.

He points to the bowl of salad by my plate. "Could you pass me some of that, baby?"

Pin-drop silence.

My heart comes to a screeching halt alongside everyone's chatter as our families all turn and gape at Asher at the same time like it was rehearsed. I find myself doing the exact same thing. With my fork halfway to my mouth, I blink at him. Did he just call me...?

He gestures his hand again, this time a little impatiently, and I snap out of it. I hastily pass him the bowl and he thanks me, filling up his plate and setting the bowl aside like he didn't just drop a bomb on all of us. I know we didn't formally discuss not bringing up our changing relationship to our families but I'd just assumed he wouldn't want to.

"Thought you said there was nothing to gossip about." Lexie squeaks under her breath.

I finally wrench my gaze away from his non-chalant expression and meet my sister's eyes. "So did I."

Needless to say, this trip just got a hell of a lot more interesting.

________________________

A/N

MY HEART CANNOT GO ON.

I love these two! They are so, so real and I feel every look and word exchanged between them. This was a chapter full of endless feels and I can't stop re-reading because of the cuteness overload. Who else is giddy af?

PLEASE VOTE, comment and share if you liked this chapter!

Happy Reading :)