For the Love of Ash by Taylor Lavati
Authors: Taylor Lavati
Tags: Romance, Literature & Fiction, Contemporary, Contemporary Fiction, New Adult & College, Sports
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belong.
My nose is tucked away safe.
HA. HA.
You know he talks about you like you're a god.
What the hell was Asher telling people? His scribbled out words made me think that maybe Luke did know more about me. I brushed my finger along his last line, smudging the ink by accident. Asher had a tendency of making things seem better than they really were. I didn't want Luke to think I was this wonderful person, when it was far from the truth.
He talks about me?
daily.
what's he say?
oh now you want to know…
Yeah. Tell me!
give me your cell
NEVER
Seconds ticked by, and I knew he wasn't going to respond until I gave him the stupid number. I wanted to know what Asher had been saying to Luke so badly. Yet, I didn't want to give up my cellphone number. I could imagine Luke taking advantage of it.
It was a prepaid, so I guess I could easily just change it. Damn him. I quickly scribbled down my cellphone number and then chucked the wadded piece of paper behind me. This guy was good. Once the paper was out of my hands, I knew I was doomed. My heart sank.
As if my life just needed one more thing, Luke and I got paired up for a project due in two months. It was easy. All we had to do was read a chapter from our text and present it to the class. But it meant that I had to work with him and be civil. I couldn't just ignore him.
We were assigned chapter seven, which dealt with punishments and rewards for children. I started jotting down ideas for our visual display, while Luke did God knows what behind me. We were supposed to be working on a plan for the remainder of class, but I ended up doing it alone.
As I wrote in my notebook, I looked under my arm and tried to sneak a peek of Luke. Every time I saw him he was hunched over, ear buds in and not working at all. It was frustrating, but I needed good grades, so I wasn't going to slack. I tried to get as much done as possible so I would have less to do at home.
In my one-track mind to finish the work, I didn't hear Dr. Atwater dismiss class. Luke tapped on my shoulder, and when I popped free of my homework bubble, I saw the class thinning out.
"Here," I said to him. I dropped a group of notecards on his desk, so he could at least look them over. I didn't want him to fail for some asinine reason.
"What's this?" he asked me, flipping through them like they were a fan.
"I did your part of the project. I'll have the rest for you before we have to present," I muttered as I cleaned up my desk. I threw my notebook into my bag, zipped my pencil bag, and then shut my backpack. I paused, waiting for him to say something like a thank you, but he didn't. He remained quiet in his seat, so I simply got up.
"Hey, Sunny?" he asked as I was about to leave. Nothing like waiting until the last second. I paused, my back still to him.
"What?"
"You're good, you know?"
"I'm good?" I asked back, turning to face him with a frown.
"Yeah. I don't know your situation." I was about to object and run, but he held up his hand, stopping me. "It's okay. I won't ask again. But I'm not a bad guy."
"I never said you were a bad guy."
"You didn't have to say it."
"Well, you're good, too." I smiled at him when his face lit up in a real smile. I couldn't hide the utter joy that consumed me, so I turned and walked out of the room, resisting the urge to run before Luke completely took me over. I was giddy over making him smile, and my stomach twisted.
Who says that? You're good.
Chapter Twelve
Luke
She was an enigma. That's what I had come to the conclusion of. I didn't understand a single thing about her, but she was different in every way. I wanted to know more about that difference and not just because of Asher—because of her.
Why did she claim to not talk about Asher, yet I could see how proud she was of him? Someone had fucked up her past, and I felt this urge to destroy them for ruining such a smart girl. Maybe that was it. She was so smart that
My nose is tucked away safe.
HA. HA.
You know he talks about you like you're a god.
What the hell was Asher telling people? His scribbled out words made me think that maybe Luke did know more about me. I brushed my finger along his last line, smudging the ink by accident. Asher had a tendency of making things seem better than they really were. I didn't want Luke to think I was this wonderful person, when it was far from the truth.
He talks about me?
daily.
what's he say?
oh now you want to know…
Yeah. Tell me!
give me your cell
NEVER
Seconds ticked by, and I knew he wasn't going to respond until I gave him the stupid number. I wanted to know what Asher had been saying to Luke so badly. Yet, I didn't want to give up my cellphone number. I could imagine Luke taking advantage of it.
It was a prepaid, so I guess I could easily just change it. Damn him. I quickly scribbled down my cellphone number and then chucked the wadded piece of paper behind me. This guy was good. Once the paper was out of my hands, I knew I was doomed. My heart sank.
As if my life just needed one more thing, Luke and I got paired up for a project due in two months. It was easy. All we had to do was read a chapter from our text and present it to the class. But it meant that I had to work with him and be civil. I couldn't just ignore him.
We were assigned chapter seven, which dealt with punishments and rewards for children. I started jotting down ideas for our visual display, while Luke did God knows what behind me. We were supposed to be working on a plan for the remainder of class, but I ended up doing it alone.
As I wrote in my notebook, I looked under my arm and tried to sneak a peek of Luke. Every time I saw him he was hunched over, ear buds in and not working at all. It was frustrating, but I needed good grades, so I wasn't going to slack. I tried to get as much done as possible so I would have less to do at home.
In my one-track mind to finish the work, I didn't hear Dr. Atwater dismiss class. Luke tapped on my shoulder, and when I popped free of my homework bubble, I saw the class thinning out.
"Here," I said to him. I dropped a group of notecards on his desk, so he could at least look them over. I didn't want him to fail for some asinine reason.
"What's this?" he asked me, flipping through them like they were a fan.
"I did your part of the project. I'll have the rest for you before we have to present," I muttered as I cleaned up my desk. I threw my notebook into my bag, zipped my pencil bag, and then shut my backpack. I paused, waiting for him to say something like a thank you, but he didn't. He remained quiet in his seat, so I simply got up.
"Hey, Sunny?" he asked as I was about to leave. Nothing like waiting until the last second. I paused, my back still to him.
"What?"
"You're good, you know?"
"I'm good?" I asked back, turning to face him with a frown.
"Yeah. I don't know your situation." I was about to object and run, but he held up his hand, stopping me. "It's okay. I won't ask again. But I'm not a bad guy."
"I never said you were a bad guy."
"You didn't have to say it."
"Well, you're good, too." I smiled at him when his face lit up in a real smile. I couldn't hide the utter joy that consumed me, so I turned and walked out of the room, resisting the urge to run before Luke completely took me over. I was giddy over making him smile, and my stomach twisted.
Who says that? You're good.
Chapter Twelve
Luke
She was an enigma. That's what I had come to the conclusion of. I didn't understand a single thing about her, but she was different in every way. I wanted to know more about that difference and not just because of Asher—because of her.
Why did she claim to not talk about Asher, yet I could see how proud she was of him? Someone had fucked up her past, and I felt this urge to destroy them for ruining such a smart girl. Maybe that was it. She was so smart that
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