Ivy's POV

Sunday, August 12, 2018

"Why won't you die?!?" I hear as I spring up in bed. What is going on? I look over towards the t.v. and see Emily biting her lip while cursing the firstborn of a fire atronach on Oblivion. I clear my throat. When she looks over at me, she looks chagrined but quickly turns back because obviously, the death of that creature is more important than the sleep of this one. I look over at my alarm clock and see that it is only 7:30 a.m. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, she did go to sleep really early.

"Emily dear, if you would switch to a weapon with a different effect, I'm sure you could put that poor thing out of its misery. As the saying goes, you can't fight fire with fire." I say with a big yawn. I slide out from under my covers as I see her facepalm before quickly changing weapons. Her victory is swift.

"Thanks, Ivy, sorry for waking you." She calls over her shoulder while searching out her next unsuspecting victim.

"Don't worry about it," I say as I make my way to my closet." I have a morning date anyway. At least now I have plenty of time to get ready." I start pushing around all of my clothes trying to decide what to wear. I settle on a lace and silk short sleeved blouse with a pair of loose, billowy charcoal colored shorts that almost look like a skirt. I pair them with a simple champagne pearl necklace and black flats. I don't want to overdress for coffee, but I can't help but to try and look pretty. I want to please my mate with my appearance. Maybe I'm trying too hard, but Emersyn assures me that it is perfectly natural.

I pull my hair into a tight bun before grabbing my shower caddy and bathrobe. I washed my hair when I showered last night, so I don't need to again, but I really want to freshen up so I head down the hall and take a quick shower, being careful not to get my hair too wet. When I get to the room, I quickly style my hair into its usual wild state and put on some mascara and peach tinted lip balm. Once that is done, I pull on my outfit and check the time. 9:00 a.m. I grab my small black handbag and put my phone, wallet, and keys inside before bidding Emily goodbye and leaving my dorm.

I decide to take my time walking to Slater House while calling my mom. I don't want her to think I didn't want to tell her about Asher. She will understand why I told my dad first, though. I've always been a Daddy's girl. When I make it to the front of the dorm it is already almost 9:30. I sit on the opposite bench from the night before so that I am facing the rest of the campus. I pull out my phone and dial my mother. She answers after the first ring.

" Ivy, my baby girl, your dad told me the good news. I'm so happy for you." She says, foregoing a hello.

" Thanks, mom. You are going to love him, I just know it." Suddenly, the scent of my mate reaches my nose. I stiffen hoping he didn't hear me because I doubt that would be a normal thing to say about him after one meeting if he weren't my mate. I lower my voice, " I have to go now, he's here. I'll talk to you soon." I say before quickly ending the call and turning to Asher.

I stay back for a moment, just taking all of him in. I missed him, more than I realized, and seeing him again feels like coming home. I sigh in contentment just before my eyes reach his shirt. I can't control the smile that takes over my face. On his shirt is a picture of Frank, the 6-foot tall bunny rabbit. Frank, the time traveling harbinger of doom. Donnie Darko's real imaginary friend and he wants to know why I'm wearing my stupid man suit. I don't even try to control myself as I rush to him and wrap my arms around him while pressing my body flush against his.

He returns the hug immediately and I raise my mouth to his ear as I lower my voice in my best Frank imitation, which sucks just as bad as all of my others, and say, " 28 days. 6 hours. 42 minutes. 12 seconds. That is when the world will end." After another minute, I release him and take a couple of steps back, still beaming at him. Returning to my normal voice, I ask, "You ready to get some coffee, love?"

Something flashed in his eyes at my words. Want? Need? Hope? I couldn't quite tell which because it was gone almost as suddenly is it appeared. It makes me unreasonably happy to know that he seemingly wants this as much as I do.

"Yeah, of course." He smiles softly at me and I almost attack hug him again, but I'm able to stop myself at the last second.

" I've never been there, so you will have to lead the way." I tell him. He chuckles before holding out his arm in an "after you" gesture, but I take advantage and grab his hand. He looks surprised but pleased as he starts to walk towards the center of campus. " So, Asher, tell me about yourself. We didn't really get a chance to get to know much about each other yesterday."

" What do you want to know? I'm really not that interesting." He says with a self-deprecating chuckle.

I bump my shoulder against his, " I doubt that very much, I am already very interested." I say with a flirty smile and wink. He blushes adorably while rubbing his free hand over the back of his neck. I can see his pleased smile even though he tries to hide his face. " How about we start with the basics, huh? What's your favorite color?"

He looks into my eyes as he says in a low voice, " Blue. Bright blue." His blush comes back full force as he looks away. He clears his throat, " What about you?"

" Purple, definitely." I bump his shoulder again before adding, " But chocolate brown is certainly starting to grow on me. Okay... let's see... ooh. I know. Tell me your most embarrassing experience."

He is resistant at first but then seems to accept his fate. " When I was 14, I was in gym class and we were supposed to be playing dodgeball. I was a lot smaller then, and quite the nerd. I hated it because I was a target. So while teams were being picked, I was huddled against a wall trying to be invisible when I noticed the fire alarm. My first thought was to pull it because then we would get out of gym. I didn't even consider the repercussions until my hand was already on it, and then it was kind of one of those ' I meant to but I didn't mean to' situations. It was like my brain said yes and no at the same time. I couldn't even stop it. So I pulled it. The alarm went off, and the sprinkler system came on. And of course, I was still standing there, with my hand still on the alarm looking just as shocked as everyone else. The school had to call the fire department to come and reset the alarm, and for the next almost year, I was known as Chief, as in Fire Chief. It was better than other names I had been called, but it always reminded me of how I had to wait at school for my parents to come and talk with the firefighters and the principal. I felt like such an idiot. But hey, at least I didn't get any balls to the face."

" Ah, by the nine divines, I cannot believe you just said that! Balls to the face!" I laugh out. At this point I have stopped us and am bent at the waist, trying to catch my breath, but I just can't stop.

He seems to suddenly realize what he said because his face goes red and he starts to stammer," Wait. No no no, that's not w-what I m-meant. I meant dodgeballs. You know, from the game. Oh, aurora borealis, you know what I was saying. Calm yourself, woman."

It takes another minute to compose myself, and I can tell he is trying to hold back his own laughter. I squeeze his hand and tilt my head, telling him I'm ready to continue. The rest of the walk to The Busy Bean is made in a comfortable silence. I keep catching him looking over as if he wants to say something, but I think he is afraid of what will fall out of his mouth if he actually opens it.

When we reach the cafe, I let go of Asher's hand before hurrying forward. I pull open the door while bowing and sweeping my arm out in a grand gesture. " After you, my liege."

He gets a goofy grin on his face as he shakes his head and walks forward. As he passes, he says, " Thank you, my lady." Once he is through the door, I follow him and reclaim his hand. I can't help myself, I crave his touch. I had intended to buy our coffee, being as I was the one to invite him, but he insisted, so after we placed our order and received our drinks, we decide to sit outside. The shop has gotten crowded in the few minutes since we arrived, so we are now having to walk in a single file. Just before we sit down, I decide to ask another question. " Hey Asher, when is your birthday?" He doesn't stop walking as he turns to me to answer, and before I can stop him, he bumps into someone. The guy is big, like bodybuilder big, and as he turns around, I can tell that he is angry.

Asher opens his mouth to say something, I'm sure it would have been a polite apology. I mean, it isn't like he hurt the guy, so it shouldn't have been a big deal. But before Asher could speak, the guy pulled his fist back, preparing for a punch. He intended to strike my mate. He wanted to cause harm to the one I held most dear. I saw red.

A/N: Please please please comment and vote people. Thanks for reading.