Ashly's mind is drifting in and out of thoughts and memories, and all of a sudden their conversation from before triggers something again in Ashly's alertness, and for a few minutes she's just silently thinking, lots of memories and discoveries she made during their time apart about herself and Alex coming back to the surface. Once she's ready to share, she turns the music off and speaks up, eyes trained on Alex. "You know, when you were gone, I thought about everything a lot, and I realized all the things I was blind to before. Like, your brother made comments about us when we were at the school, and even when you told me you liked me at the ghost other event, even though you took it back, I should have known the truth long before I did, right? But, honestly, I think I wasn't ready to even consider it. I wouldn't have believed you could like me like that, especially since we'd been rivals for so long." Alex has been watching her quietly, his phone forgotten next to him, his hands h
"How did you know it would work, though? Or did you just do all that for the minute possibility that it could?" Ashly looks expectantly at him, but Alex still has no idea what she's talking about, having a bit of a hard time thinking clearly anyway, having her so close, every part of her touching, and touched by Ashly, sending delicious sensations through him. "Can you please elaborate?" He takes a breath to get a grip, gently and slowly running his fingers along Ashly's back, pleased to feel her skin and body and reacting to her touch as well. "You know, getting me into the heat and then taking advantage of it..." Ashly raises an eyebrow, watching him closely. A hand comes around Alex's neck, her fingers splaying over his throat. "Oh, that." Alex remembers, of course, swallowing a tiny lump down where he's intently aware of Ashly's touch. He knows he would deserve some punishment for fooling her like that. "I told you my feelings made me do some unorthodox things." He swallows h
About the Monika and Sam relationship before their breakup: Monika knows her mate is shy and reserved by nature; she knows this. Even Sam expresses his feelings in an equally quiet way, preferring to show his love through his actions and touches rather than words. He loves Monika so much and for so long that he guards his love so jealously, so closely to his heart. He has loved Monika from afar, through his loneliness and tears, and from the quietest corners of his desolated heart; so, in a sense, this love is sometimes his even more than it is Monika. Of course , he's not going to be able to just say it casually. He also doesn't know how to put it into words most of the time. No words in this world can describe the magnitude of his love, his adoration, his fondness, and his devotion to his monika. It's impossible for him to say it all, so he shows it instead. Besides, he likes taking care of Monika, making sure that Monika eats well and sleeps well, leaning against Monika, holding
The next time someone reacts so strongly to Monika'mate' is Monika's overprotective uncle. It's one of the weekends of their summer break, and Sam is staying the night. It's not the first time he's met Monika's uncle, and it's definitely not the first time he's been to Monika's house either, but it's the first time he stays over. It's actually the first time ever that they're spending the night together, and Monika's uncle just happens to be home for the weekend. He's in the USA most of the time; why would he just fly back to her home country for a weekend, unannounced? Sam thinks that it's probably purposeful, but he just greets him respectfully. Meanwhile, Monika stares at her uncle balefully before she says something to him and then tugs Sam up to her room. Monika Uncle is not ice cold with Sam anymore, but he's not exactly warm and friendly either. Sam is the boy who dares to steal his precious Monika heart, and he's pretty sure he'll get castrated if he breaks Monika's heart.
Eventually, Monika falls back onto the bed, pulling Sam down with her because she has her arms looped around Sam's neck. Her hair fans prettily around her face, and Sam leans down to kiss the corner of her lips. "Your brother is home today, you know?" Monika reminds him; her voice is barely above a whisper. The words are spoken like a secret into the small space between their lips: "And your wall is really thin." "Monika," Sam snorts fondly, "you are very mean." Monika giggles again. She pulls Sam down and gives her another long, hard kiss. "You're the one who went and got excited all by yourself." "Your enthusiasm says otherwise." "You were the one who attacked me first." "You were the one who suggested it." Monika is silent for a while, a sign that she has nothing witty to refute, so she just sighs, "You're lucky. I like you so much." He really is. Sam bites his lips and collapses onto Monika's chest, nosing along the column of Monika's neck. One of Monika's arms moves down
[PHYSICAL TOUCHES] For all her bold declarations in public, her private affection, and her over-the-top gifts, Monika is quite reserved around other people when it comes to physical intimacy. She's not physically intimate with Sam when people are around, but that isn't to say she's not physically affectionate. She is; she's just subtle about it. She sneaks in a kiss when they turn down a corner, holds Sam's hand as she tugs Sam everywhere she wants to go, and hugs Sam when she pleases. But Monika doesn't cling to him in public; she doesn't do PDA; she's her own person, and she likes her space. Sam understands that. When they're in public, she sits next to Sam , but only close enough for their elbows to touch and their knees to knock against one another. Sometimes she sits in front of Sam. They share food or play footsie under the table, but they don't always hold hands on top. Usually, when they sit across from each other in the library, Monika likes to reach over and write somethin
[ACT OF SERVICE] The knowledge of Sam leaving for the States has always been a touchy subject between them. Monika accepts it, but she's not happy about it. Sam isn't happy about it either, but it's his dream; he wants to earn money from him and Monika. Even Monika will get millions from her uncle, but Sam wants to give Monika a better future. He loves them both. His dream and his mate He can't choose. Thankfully, Monika understands that just because he's leaving for a few years doesn't mean he loves Monika any less. It's just that the thought of a long-distance relationship is difficult. For him, who has loved Monika so much and for so long that it's practically who he is at this point, Monika isn't just a part of his life; she's the center of the Sam universe, the arrow that points north, and the sail that will take him home. To part with him—even if it's for his brother—is unbearably painful. For Monika too, because even though she hasn't loved Sam for long, she loves him just
Sebestian and Allen greeted Alex stiffly when they got to the bar. They looked at Alex like they were just waiting for him to run off again. But Alex had gone to his apartment that afternoon and packed a bag to take to Ashly's house. They were calling it a trial run for now, but he had hope that it would become permanent as soon as Ashly was comfortable with that. He wasn't going to run. Nothing could make Alex leave his family behind again. But of course, no one is going to believe him. Well, it's not like Alex wants everyone to believe him either; for him, only two people matter: himself and his mate. But of course Alex knows how important Sebestian and Allen are to Ashly. They are like family to her; they are with her in her most critical time. When she delivers their baby, she cries alone. Sebestian and Allen have her back, so they deserve an answer from Alex. Alex was on his way back to their table with some drinks when he heard Sebestian say, "Now you're saying you don't want