Once Asher and I had stepped into the small, dark closet, one of the girls locked it behind us. She giggled, “Enjoy your seven minutes. Starting now!” The hotel room closet was cramped. Only a handful of inches separated Asher and me. Plus, Asher had to lean forward not to hit his head on the shel
Shouldn’t Cynthia be in trouble for making us late? I nervously hooked my fingers together in my lap. Elena was right. I had made everyone late by oversleeping. Even if the party hadn’t been my idea, my inability to wake up on time had been due to my own negligence. I deserved to be punished.
With Joseph’s words looming over me, I could help the dark cloud of emotions that clung to me throughout the next week. At least, with some rest, my body seemed to recover, and without the brutal practices, I made it through my days without being so exhausted. Avoiding both Asher and Joseph, I con
I wasn’t terribly impressed with Aimee’s ex, Brent. He was handsome enough, I supposed, and had nice, long blond hair. But the obvious greed in his gaze was off-putting, and I didn’t much care for the calculating way he sized up Asher. Asher, for his part, seemed thoroughly disinterested in anythi
Asher didn’t owe me anything. But as the father of my baby, Joseph did. I had agreed to meet with Joseph to set things straight. I still felt bad for what happened the other day outside of the bus. He had said horrible things to me, but… he might have been right about my feelings for Asher. I
Returning from my dinner with Joseph, I moved my feet slower than before. The weight of his words, like the weight of this new pendant on my neck, dragged me down. I had hoped to set things right between us. I supposed this necklace gift was a part of that. But more and more, I felt like I was the
So I lifted my chin, and told Asher, “No.” His eyes narrowed, and his jaw locked. But he didn’t demand again. His mask slipped for just a moment, and among the anger that furrowed his brow, I could have sworn I saw a dash of hurt in his eyes. But when I blinked, any trace of feeling had vanished a
Aimee was so stubborn in her blind defense of Brent. Was I the same with Joseph? I suspected I might know the answer, and it scared me. No, we had to be different, right? If we weren’t… If Joseph never changed… I couldn’t bear to think of it. Yet looking at Joseph’s necklace around my neck, all I