Next week is vacation so I'll be writing a lot and hopefully updating more than once. :) thanks for understanding about the lack of an update last week. hope yall haven't abandoned the book. 

Chapter 21

"Where are you going?" I whine with a small frown when I feel the bed shifting beneath me.

"The gym," Asa whispers in response and I groan into his pillow. "I'll be back before you even wake up."

"Can't you stay in bed?" I mumble as I immediately feel the loss of warmth. He chuckles quietly.

"I haven't been to the gym all week, Ivy," he explains in the same quiet tone. I hear him walking around the room and opening his drawers.

"And you still look beautiful," I explain, "now get back in bed."

He laughs again as he approaches me. "I like the gym. It helps me get out my anger."

"Sleeping does that too," I inform him and he brushes his hand through my hair.

"Go back to sleep." With a frustrated huff, I bury my face further in his pillows and attempt to fall back asleep. I wake up a half hour later and decide to just start the day.

I make myself breakfast, shower, and put on actual clothes. My hair is still tied up in a towel when the front door opens. I stare at the entrance of the living room and feel my heart skip a beat when he smiles widely at the sight of me. "You're awake," he coos as he drops his gym bag.

"Unfortunately," I mutter as I take in his appearance. There's a thick line of sweat down the front and back of his shirt and I'm sure if I was closer, I'd be forced to smell him.

"Now we have the whole day ahead of us," he reminds me as he reaches his hands behind his back and peels off his wet top. His chest glistens with moisture and I keep my eyes locked on his face.

"So we can nap is what you're saying," I propose and receive a scoff in return.

"I won't be able to fall asleep," he announces, which gets a tired sigh from me. "I'm going to shower. I'll see you when I get out."

"You'll see me passed out in your bed," I mutter and he throws his gross shirt at me. I dodge it and glare at him, which gets an evil laugh in response. Instead of returning to bed like I want to, I stretch out on the couch after styling my hair. When I hear the water shut off and him shuffling around in the bathroom, I turn my attention from my phone and to the door.

He exit and spots me, which results in an even larger grin forming on his face. "You're still up," he acknowledges once more as he crosses the living room to change in his room. I only roll my eyes in response, waiting for him to come back so we can hang out. However, he returns from his room fully dressed in shoes and a coat. I take in his appearance in a state of pure confusion. Where the hell is he going now? "Come on."

My brows furrow as I glance behind me and then at his hands. "Me?" I ask, wondering if he's on the phone or something.

"Who else is here, Ivy?" he retorts and I stare in confusion. "Come on, we're going out."

"Where are we going?" I question as I look down at my outfit. Will a sweater and jeans suffice? He isn't too dressed up so I suppose it will.

"It's a surprise," he insists as he grabs my hands and tugs me off the couch. In an attempt to be a good surprise-receiver, I decide not to ask any more questions. I shove on my shoes, grab my purse, and trail behind him outside. It isn't until we're ten minutes into the ride that the curiosity gets the best of me.

"Where are we going?" I blurt into the silent car.

"I told you: out," he answers, which gets a head shake from me.

"We're out right now. What's the destination?" I urge and he represses a smile.

"Can't you just horribly sing along to your music and let me drive in peace?" he questions as he turns on the radio. I offer him a pout and watch as a slow smile spreads across his face. "You're going to like it."

We eventually reach a large, modern building constructed of long glass windows and smooth, cinder exterior. I squint to read the name and he waits for me to catch on. "An interactive museum?" I question with my eyebrows slowly making their way up my face. He offers a brief nod and turns away from me.

"Yeah," he answers in short. "Come on, let's go."

I get out of the car wearing a stupid smile, which seems to catch his attention because he chuckles quietly. "So why'd you choose this place?" I wonder as I stare up at the towering building.

"I don't know," he replies as he raises and drops his shoulders slowly. "I figured it seemed cool enough."

"Cool? You bash my love for history and museums all the time," I defend with squinted eyes.

"I don't bash it," he rebuts in a corrective tone. "I tease you, which is completely different."

"So...you drove forty minutes away to come to an interactive museum because you thought it was cool," I propose dubiously with a mocking nod. He chuckles quietly but keeps his gaze locked ahead on the glass doors.

"No, I drove forty minutes away to come to an interactive museum because I thought you'd think it was cool," he corrects me. "Again, completely different."

"You thought I'd think it was cool?" I ask with raised brows. I stop for a second to stare at him and he pauses and gives me a brief glance.

"That's what I said, right?" he retorts before turning and continuing up the steps. I rush to catch up and find that he's still talking. "You know, of all the history-related things in our town, none of them were remotely interesting. This was by far the most entertaining one in the entire county."

"So you went out of your way to look for a place?" I'm shocked. He actually looked up things for us to do and now here he is confessing to it.

"Obviously," he responds with a small scoff.

"So...do you take all the girls here?" I ask as I peek up at him through my lashes.

He gives me a short side glance before looking around. "Why does it matter?" he wonders playfully before offering a dismissive shake of his head. "I've never even been here."

He slowly approaches the counter where a man is working. "Hello," he greets us with a joyous smile. He'd make a good Santa Claus impersonator. In his pale, chubby fingers he holds up two tickets and gives them a light wave. "Two?"

"Yes," Asa answers while extending his card. I watch him exchange his money for tickets and a pamphlet. After flipping through the pages for a few seconds, we start towards what I'm assuming is the first exhibit.

"I'll pay you back," I insist when my eyes land on a sign that displays the pricey admission fee.

"You don't have to," he assures me and when he sees that I'm going to protest, he allows a small smirk to fall onto his plump mouth. "You can get the next one."

"Next one?" I play into his flirtations as I walk beside him down the long corridor.

"Yeah, find something that you think I'd find cool and then take me there," he proposes and I tilt my head up in thought.

"Museum of money," I announce after deciding to take the career path theme.

"I'd literally rather gouge my eyes out with my toenail clippings," he discourages and I let out a small laugh.

"What about...a tour of a chocolate factory?" I suggest and he perks up a bit.

"Now, you're talking..." he trails as we officially enter the museum.

By the time we finish the long experience, it's already the evening and what I'd call, late dinner time. I fall in step beside him as we cross the parking lot, but I'm too busy staring at the pictures we took. There was a small photo booth after the last exhibit and I all but dragged him into it. Of the four small squares, two are Asa glaring down at me for forcing him to join me. The third one is me grinning up at him and forcing a smile onto his face with my own hands. The last one is him cracking a smile because I tripped over my own feet and nearly fell out of the small booth. Thankfully, he caught me so I didn't faceplant onto the museum's floor. The machine printed two copies and because I was too scared that he'd ask why I was trying to give him one, I kept both.

"Are you hungry?" he wonders and I offer him a slow nod as I break my gaze from the pictures in my hand.

"Yeah." My stomach lets out a lion's roar.

"Where do you want to go?" he presses and I allow my shoulders to rise and fall loosely. "Oh no, don't start this."

"You're the foodie," I explain myself. "You pick where you want to eat and I'll find something that I like on the menu."

"Well, I'm in the mood for breakfast food so a diner it is," he assures me, which takes me by surprise. I was thinking something like fast food or a quick stop in and go restaurant, not a sit down experience. The more time we spend together, the more this is starting to feel like a date. Is it a date? I think he would have outright told me it was. With him, you never really know. 

"So a diner it is," I mutter with a curt nod. I try to hide the smile on my face as I stare down at my feet. I was under the impression that we'd spend today snuggled up on the couch watching movies and I was completely content with that. I genuinely don't care what we do, as long as I'm with him. That being said, it was very sweet of him to go out of his way to find something I'd like and drive all the way out here.

As soon as we buckle our seatbelts and pull onto the road, his phone starts to ring from the space between us. He glances at the screen, which is in both of our lines of sight. It's Maya trying to FaceTime him. "Answer it," he encourages and I pick up his phone and accept the call. It takes a second to connect and Maya's face suddenly appears with a large grin.

"Hi," I greet her and I can automatically tell that she finds the situation amusing.

"Well, hello there Ivy," she announces. "I don't recall dialing your number."

"What do you want, Maya?" Asa questions her from the place beside me and she pretends to gasp in shock.

"I call to see how you're surviving and this is how you treat me?" she teases before sighing.

"Unfortunately, I'm still alive. How's your vacation?" he continues the conversation casually. I don't bother angling the phone at him in case he risks glancing at it and accidentally veers us off the road.

"Fun, I guess. My family is a handful but that's nothing new," she acknowledges. "Plus, the weather here is nice. How are your vacations? Or your joint vacation?"

"Good," we answer simultaneously.

"Are you guys in the car?" When I nod at her, she quirks a brow. "Where are you guys going this late?"

"Dinner," I answer in short.

"Didn't feel like cooking?" Maya's eyes search her screen eagerly.

"Don't feel like waiting forty minutes until we get back and then another forty to make a meal," he tells Maya, who stares at me in confusion.

"Forty minutes? Where are you guys?" she presses curiously.

"Marthborough," I answer when I see that Asa isn't going to bother.

"What the hell are you guys doing in Marthborough?" she grunts in genuine surprise.

"An interactive museum," I provide the very brief explanation and watch as her face goes from confusion to pure and absolute amazement.

"Are you guys on a date?" she gasps before letting out a loud cackle. "Holy shit, you guys are on a date, aren't you?" Before I can disprove her theory, she offers me a wink. "Well, don't let me interrupt. Call me whenever, or don't. I'm headed to the airport in an hour and was calling to tell you I'll see you both tomorrow. Have fun and be safe!" She hangs up quickly and I awkwardly return his phone to the spot between us.

"Anyway, like I was saying before she interrupted, I want waffles," he continues in a rather fluid transition. It's so smooth that it makes me laugh until my stomach starts to hurt. He watches me with a knowing smile on his face yet he makes it a point to ask why I'm giggling. "What?"

I contemplate explaining how his subject change was the root of my laughter but decide against it. Having to awkwardly discuss whether or not this is a date could potentially ruin the mood. Instead, I wave my hand and fight through my last few chuckles. "Nothing, continue on about your waffles."

We drive to the diner he has pulled up on the GPS while quietly discussing what we plan on ordering. We pull up and make our way inside, with me dancing around Asa a bit and him watching with a playfully irritated look on his face. "You're acting like Maya," he mumbles as he holds open the door for me.

I shimmy around him before slipping into the restaurant and giving him a mischievous grin. "I mean, you've kissed both of us," I whisper and he gapes at me for a second.

"Table for two?" a young girl asks. She has to be about sixteen and looks less than excited to be here.

"Yes," I confirm with a quick nod. She nods and leads the way to an emptier part of the restaurant. Asa follows behind me with his arms crossed, clearly still sour at my comment. I give him a cheeky grin as I all but skip to the booth the girl is bringing us to.

"Can I get you anything to drink?" she questions as she dishes out the menus once Asa and I take our seats.

"Can I have orange juice?" Asa wonders and she quickly jots it down before turning to me.

"Water for me," I answer and she gives us a small nod. I open up the menu and peek at Asa over it. He's already staring at me so I decide to speak up. "Yes?"

"I told you that as a secret," he points out with a tilted head.

"I'm not allowed to tease you about it?" He gives me a slow shake of his head. "Aw, come on. Who's a better kisser?"

"Maya," he answers shortly and my mouth drops slightly at his quick response. He has to be joking, right? He's kissed Maya once and from the way he explained it, I don't think there was any tongue involved. I was under the impression that it was a quick peck. I quickly dismiss his comment as a joke.

"Interesting," I acknowledge with a slow nod before ducking behind my menu again. There's a momentary silence as I search for chicken parmesan but he disrupts it by clearing his throat.

"I was joking," he announces from the other side of the table. He's still worried about that? Deciding to play a little game on him, I ignore his comment and bounce back and forth between potential meals. He says my name once and then twice before his finger pops into the middle portion of the laminated tri fold and pushes it down. "Poison."

"Yes?" I reply with a raised brow. I try my best to look annoyed when all I want to do is laugh.

"I said I was joking...but you know that already," he responds as he assesses the smile that breaks through on my face.

"Of course I already know that," I retort with a roll of my eyes, "I'm a great kisser."

"Oh, that's a stretch," he replies casually as he ducks his head and looks at his menu, which is laid out across the table. I wait for him to laugh but he doesn't. There's not even a hint of playfulness on his face or in his voice.

"Hey," I hiss as I lean forward a bit.

"Yeah?" he responds as he looks at the last page, which has dessert.

"I am a good kisser," I assure him in a quiet voice.

He lifts one shoulder and drops it. "Eh," he concludes, successfully gaining a slightly surprised gasp from me. I've never been directly called a good kisser but I figure I've had enough experience to classify myself as one. Am I really not good?

"Asa," I hiss as I slide his menu across the table to get his attention.

"Do you think they have nutella for my waffles?" he mumbles thoughtlessly as he watches me practically toss his menu across the table.

"Am I really not a good kisser?" I ask him flatly and he finally looks up at me.

He lets out a light laugh and I furrow my eyebrows even tighter than they were before. "You're a good kisser, Ivy. I was joking," he responds but its not sufficient enough for me. It seems like he's just saying it to shut me up. He seems to notice this, though because he sighs loudly and gives me a small smile. "You're a great kisser." Now he's definitely just saying it to get me to stop talking.

I sit back and raise my menu after giving him a short glare. I don't bother making a big deal of it as we eat. In fact, I don't even make a point of showing that his words affected me until much later. We're hanging out on the couch watching a movie after our 'date', if you would. I feel him staring at me so I turn my gaze on him and, rather abruptly, he leans in to kiss me. I don't even bother kissing him back and wait for him to awkwardly pull away and take in my flat expression.

"Uh..." he trails as he assesses my face. "Was that not okay?"

"Oh no it was fine," I reply dryly, "I just figured, why bother kissing you back if I suck at it?"

His mouth drops into a startled 'o' as he realizes what I'm talking about. "Seriously, Ivy? That was hours ago," he comments. "You've been holding that anger in since eight o'clock?" I give him a weak shrug and he laughs and lightly grabs my shoulders. "It was a joke! I was joking. Obviously if I didn't think you were a good kisser, I wouldn't kiss you so much."

"It's fine," I reply with another shrug. During the gap between eating and getting back, I realized that either way, he's going to have to deal with my bad kissing skills for a while whether he likes it or not. "It just all makes sense now."

"What? What are you talking about?" he asks as his eyes search my face.

"You just never wanted to kiss me before, but now I understand," I explain before rolling my eyes.

"Ivy," he starts, "you can't be serious right now." The shocked look on his face causes my lips to quiver and I lose the battle to keep the smile off my face. He sighs in relief as I roll my eyes at him. "You're a very good kisser."

"Oh, are you just saying that because you want me to kiss you?" I ask with a skeptical look on my face.

"I mean it," he assures me. "Besides, I want to get in as many kisses as I can before Maya gets home."

I stare at him in slight confusion. Did he just admit that we're not going to do any of this when Maya gets back? "What?" My voice is quiet and he seems confused as to why I'm no longer smiling.

"She has the tendency to interrupt," he recalls and I immediately catch on and offer up an awkward chuckle. "What'd you think I meant?"

"Uh..." I trail nervously. Should I be honest or should I just let things play out however they do? How would I even say it? 'I didn't know if you were hinting at the fact that we wouldn't treat each other this way when Maya gets back?' I decide to just wait for things to happen so I don't get too ahead of myself. "I didn't know."

"Well, can I kiss you?" he blurts, "or are you still not going to kiss me?"

I grin widely at him. "I'm going to make you wait until Maya gets back," I comment and his eyebrows rise.

"Not even a goodnight kiss?" he questions and I frown at him.

"You're going to bed?" I mumble sadly. It's only midnight. He doesn't even have to work in the morning.

"If you kiss me, I'll stay up for another hour," he encourages with a small smirk on his lips.

"You want me to buy your time with kisses?" I ask for clarification and he grins and boyishly nods his head. I stare at him for a few seconds and pretend to contemplate it before turning my gaze back to the television. "Goodnight, Asa." I reach across him and grab the remote.

Not satisfied with my decision, he leans over and presses a kiss to my cheek and then my forehead and my nose and then my chin. When he finally pulls away after kissing every part of my face except my mouth, I open my eyes and watch him with a satisfied smirk. I give in on my previous statement and attempt to lean in to kiss him but he purposefully moves back. With a pat to my head, he rises and winks at me. "Goodnight, Poison."

+++

"Still opposed to kissing me?" Asa blurts when we collapse on the couch. We cleaned the apartment in preparation for Maya's arrival. Even though he hates to admit it, I can tell he's excited for her homecoming. He tried to fill our day up with things to do so that he won't be busy watching the time. We both slept in, showered (separately, of course), went out for lunch, saw a movie, walked around the mall, came back and cleaned. And now there's only an hour until Maya's supposed to get back.

"Can't wait for Maya?" I tease as I keep my eyes locked on my phone.

"I can...but I don't want to," he retorts, "plus it'll give us something to do...you know, kill time."

I glance up at him and let out a quiet chuckle. "There are sixty minutes left; you'll survive," I retort with a roll of my eyes.

"It'll be inconsiderate if the second she walks in the door, we run away to makeout in my room," he reminds me and I give him a long glance. I lean over and peck his lips.

"Better?" I question with a roll of my eyes.

"I didn't even get a chance to react!" he rebuts.

"Too bad, now let's watch TV," I reply before turning my attention back to the paused episode. He grumbles quietly for a few seconds before shutting up and letting us return our attention to the television. Twenty minutes pass before an intense sex scene breaks out. What are the odds; the show was completely clean for the last six episodes. Now they want to throw this in there, huh?

"Well, well, well, would you look at that?" Asa mutters and I turn to glare at him. His tongue traces his lips enticingly and gives me a suggestive raise of his eyebrows.

"Why do you want to kiss me so bad?" I question and the grin on his face doesn't falter.

"I don't know," he responds shyly. "I just want to."

"Am I just so good of a kisser that you always want to kiss me?" I tease and he bites his lip for a second.

"If I say yes, can I kiss you?" he wonders hopefully. I watch his curious gaze for a few seconds before sighing and leaning into him. To my surprise, he pulls away for a second and locks eyes with me. "Only if you want to. I don't want you to feel like I'm pressuring you."

My lips spread back into a smile and I offer him a light peck on the mouth before falling into him more. A noise of satisfaction sounds from his mouth the second I knot my arms around his neck and pull him to me eagerly. The sense of urgency between us grows faster and the desire gets stronger in a matter of seconds. It doesn't surprise me nor do I complain when he wastes no time in pulling me onto his lap. In fact, I match his speed at shifting my legs on either side of him and pressing my body to his. His fingers gently trace my spine and I inadvertently shudder at the soft touch. When I pull away to breathe, he lightly takes my bottom lip between his teeth.

"I'm not done yet," he mutters with his eyes still closed but I turn my mouth onto his neck. He exhales quietly as I nip at his jawline and I feel his hands tense on my hips. "Ivy."

"Yes?" I mumble back between kisses.

"Not to kill the mood but...I work in a professional setting," he reminds me in a breathy tone and I giggle against his skin.

"So?" I trail as I lightly nudge his head over. He willingly moves and lets out a quiet huff when my lips connect with his warm skin.

"No hickies," he insists. After nearly twenty more minutes of me teasing Asa, we're interrupted by the familiar ringing of his phone. He ignores it the first time and attempts to the second time but I pull away from him.

"It's probably Maya," I whisper as I lightly push him off of me. At some point in the last few minutes, he flipped us so that he's on top of me. With a frustrated huff, he grabs his phone from the table and answers it.

"Hello?" he greets her. There's indistinct conversation on her part before he ends the call with a short: "yeah, okay."

"Is she here?" I ask as I join him in sitting up.

"Yeah," he answers quietly as he rises from the couch. My eyebrows lift once my gaze drops to his sweatpants and he immediately shoves his hands in his pockets. "Can you go downstairs and help her bring her stuff up?"

With a satisfied smirk and a strong thumbs up, I stand up and pull my shoes on. He gives me a short glare before turning towards his room. Grinning to myself, I take the elevator downstairs. By the time I reach the front door, Maya's dragging a suitcase into the lobby with a boy in tow. Judging by the eerie similarities between their facial structure, I come to the conclusion that this must be Aidan, her brother. He is also carrying items- two bags. I quickly jog over to take one from him but Maya spots me and flings herself in my direction.

"Ivy!" she screams as she throws herself on me. I stumble back, feeling genuine surprise at the way she manages to tie herself around me.

"Hi Maya," I say as I return her hug. When she decides to finally let go, she motions to her brother.

"Ivy, this is my brother Aidan," she nods at him. He offers me a smile and I return it. "Aidan, this is Ivy, my friend and Asa's special friend."

His brows rise as he looks from Maya to be and back. "What? Like his girlfriend?" he questions both of us.

Instead of answering her brother, she lifts her bag and starts in the direction of the elevator. I take a bag from her brother and follow onto the lift, where we take the slow ride up to the fifth floor. "Where is Asa?" Maya wonders as we step into the hallway. I let out a quiet chuckle as we take our usual path to the apartment.

"Uh, he was changing," I explain vaguely. Maya opens the door and leads the way down the hall with me and her brother in tow. We drop her belongings in her room before she goes on the hunt for Asa. She checks the bathroom and the kitchen before going to his room. Just as she's about to kick the door in, he opens it and a grin lines her face. As she did with me, she tosses herself onto him and he returns her hug.

"Hey," Aidan greets him with a boyish nod.

"Hey," Asa replies with something of a smile on his face. It takes me a second to register the large, bright purple hickey on his neck and I seem to notice it at the same time as Maya because she looks from him to me. I immediately avert my gaze and listen to Aidan and Asa catch up. A few minutes pass before we relinquish Aidan back to his family to return home. Maya tells him that she'll see him in a few weeks for Christmas and insists that he can find his way back to the lobby. She waits until the door slams to turn her attention to me and Asa, who has now taken a seat on the couch.

"What the hell is that?" she asks as she raises a finger and points it at his neck. He stares in slight confusion before his dreadful gaze falls on me. I turn my eyes to the floor and he jumps up and hurries to the bathroom, where I hear him audibly curse.

"Nice one, Ivy," he grunts as he returns to his place on the couch.

"So you guys really have been..." she trails while assessing us. After giving a quick nod and scratching her head, she speaks again, "you know, I kind of just assumed you've both been sitting here watching TV the entire time."

"Some of the time," Asa explains with a shrug.

"But you've also been doing...that." Again she waves her accusatory finger at his neck.

"Are we really having this conversation right now?" Asa retorts.

"Would you rather have it later?" she replies with a tilted head.

"Yes, actually," Asa snaps.

"Answer one question for me," she insists as she turns her attention to me.

"Yes?" I reply, feeling slightly nervous.

"Is he a good kisser?" she grins teasingly and I look to Asa, who quirks a brow.

"Eh," I answer and she lets out a roar of laughter while he simultaneously groans. I just sit there with a grin on my face, happy to have them both here.