LUCKY KISS Read online

  Peggy’s voice stopped.

  I hadn’t blinked my eyes yet.

  Asher hadn’t moved.

  He was holding up the line.

  But nobody would say a word.

  He was the kind of person who would punch first and worry about things later.

  “Holy hell,” Peggy whispered. “Is that guy military? Like one of those SEALs that can swim with two hundred pounds of equipment?”

  “Trust me, he’s not,” I whispered.

  “You know him,” Peggy said.

  “Sadly, I do,” I said.

  “I don’t think he’s going to move until he talks to you.”

  I looked around the cafe.

  The tension in the place was pretty bad.

  That was the effect of Asher.

  Wherever he went, he caused trouble.

  He was an asshole then.

  And I was sure he was an asshole now.

  At least this time, I could take care of myself.

  It was time to thank this Ash-hole for his business.

  And then show this asshole the door.

  * * *

  Asher moved out of the way as I walked to the end of the counter. He had no problems trying to just walk around the counter as though he worked there.

  “Employees only,” I said.

  “How long have you worked here?” he asked.

  “I own the place.”

  “Really? And I had to pay full price?”

  “If I knew you were coming, it would have been triple the price.”

  Asher chuckled. “Still holding grudges, huh?”

  “Nope.”

  “I’m pretty sure there’s four eyes staring at me that would say different.”

  I gritted my teeth. “Wow. Same old jokes. Good for you.”

  “I’m just messing with you for a second. For old time’s sake. That’s all.”

  “Well, you got your coffee. You called me four eyes. I think we’re done. Have a good one.”

  “Whoa, wait a second here,” he said.

  His fingertips grazed my arm as I had started to turn.

  “What?” I asked.

  “That’s it? We were neighbors for ten years. Then I had to move, and we never talked again.”

  “And my life has been amazing since then.”

  “What if I’m trying to apologize for everything I ever said or did to you?”

  Now that got my full attention.

  I turned to face him again. “Okay. I’m listening.”

  Asher grinned. “I only asked what if. I didn’t say I was.”

  “Of course. Once an Ash-hole, always and Ash-hole.”

  “I embrace it,” he said. “It’s a way of life.”

  “And what exactly brings you in here? On the run? Escape from prison? What is it?”

  Asher sipped his coffee and smacked his lips together obnoxiously. “If you want to know the truth, I was just coming from the strip club. Where I slept. In my truck.”

  “Of course,” I said. “Dare I ask if you work there?”

  “Work there?” Asher asked. “No. I go there for fun.”

  “And just sleep in your truck…?”

  “Well, I wasn’t alone, Lauren. There’s nothing worse than being alone at the end of the night. Or in the morning.”

  He smirked, and I felt like slapping him.

  So, he fucked some woman in the back of his truck last night. Then this morning. Then wandered his ass over to my cafe. Which explained why he smelled like cucumber and man sweat. And it looked like there was a little glitter on his face.

  I didn’t want to know on what body part of the woman that glitter was and how it got on his face.

  Worse than all of that, I hated that it somehow and someway made me feel a little jealous.

  Of what?

  This was Asher.

  He was an asshole from the day I met him.

  Why would that have changed now?

  “Your silence tells me you go to bed every night alone,” he said.

  “Have a good day, Asher,” I said. “I have a business to run. You’re probably due for some antibiotics.”

  He laughed. “You’re a ball of fire now, Lauren. I kind of like that. You should grab a drink with me tonight.”

  “Excuse me?”

  Asher reached into his pocket and pulled out a wrinkled and messy business card.

  I had to laugh.

  I never thought there would be a day when Asher handed me a business card.

  There was a motorcycle with flames across the top.

  “Hate these stupid things,” he said. “They only come in handy when I’m picking up a pretty woman.”

  I scoffed. “Oh, please…”

  He handed me the card. “Call my cell. Or shoot me a text. I’ll let you know where I’m at tonight.”

  “Not a chance,” I said.

  “Whatever you say,” Asher said. “One way or another, a pretty woman will be riding my ugly face just after midnight.”

  “I feel bad for whoever that is,” I said.

  Asher didn’t respond.

  He just stared.

  His eyes trying to win me over, like they always used to do.

  Except this time, I didn’t have dolls that he could break. Or a frog he could throw at me. Or say some stupid thing like kissing me could get me pregnant.

  We were adults and all the bad boy and coolness about him no longer existed.

  Asher backed up and finally left.

  Without causing a scene.

  Which meant I could exhale.

  I turned and was faced with both Peggy and Marissa.

  Side by side.

  Shoulder to shoulder.

  The same look on their face.

  Which was…

  How did someone like me know someone like Asher?

  * * *

  “It’s quiet now, so start talking,” Marissa said.

  “There’s nothing to talk about.”

  “Yes, there is,” she said. “I can’t stop thinking about that guy.”

  “Do yourself a favor and stop thinking about him. He’s a bad person.”

  “Bad… how?”

  “I’ve had my fair share of bad guys,” Peggy said. “Long before I met Stu and we fell in love.”

  “See?” Marissa asked. “Bad boys can be fun.”

  “Not Asher. Trust me.”

  I felt like backup had arrived when Sarah showed up.

  She was in town for work and I hadn’t seen her in six months. We had done everything possible to stay close throughout the years. It was hard. She went off to college and then right into law school. I sort of bounced around, trying to find myself, ending up at Peggy’s cafe.

  But we always talked. We always texted. And we did everything possible to see each other.

  I threw a rag at Marissa and ran after Sarah.

  We hugged and jumped up and down like we were kids again.

  I was in an apron and crappy clothes. I smelled like coffee, cinnamon, and a hint of sweat. Sarah was in fancy clothes. A killer women’s style suit, all black head to toe with her beautiful black hair pulled back. She looked ready to take someone down.

  We broke the hug and held each other’s arms.

  We were both in tears.

  “How’s it going?” I asked her.

  “I just buried three executives. Three old ass men. Almost made them cry.”

  “God, I love you,” I said to her.

  “Smells good in here.”

  “Whatever you want, it’s yours,” I said. “We need to catch up.”

  “Hey,” she said. “My meeting went so well that I, uh, need to fly to Seattle. Today. Like in an hour.”

  “What?” I asked. “We were going to have a sleepover. I got junk food and cheesy movies.”

  “I know. I’m sorry. This fucking company I’m with… you can’t imagine. I just need to be there.”

  “I get it.”

  “But I have a few hours now.
”

  “Let’s not waste a second.”

  I took Sarah behind the counter.

  “Did you know Asher?” Marissa asked, without hesitation.

  “Oh, come on!” I yelled.

  “Asher?” Sarah asked. “I haven’t heard that name…”

  “He was here today,” Marissa said. “Devouring Lauren with his eyes.”

  “Really?” Sarah asked.

  “No,” I said. “I mean, he was here. But that was it. He was hungover. Smelled like body odor. And he slept in his truck with a stripper. Uh, no thanks.”

  “What did he do to her?” Marissa asked. “Break her heart?”

  “Hardly,” Sarah said. “He picked on her all the time. He was always a jerk. I’m surprised he’s still alive.”

  “Exactly,” I said. “He tortured me. Called me names. Broke my toys. Threw things at me. Messed… whatever. It was a long time ago.”

  “You know that means he liked you,” Peggy said.

  “Screw that,” I said.

  “Any guy that needs to make a woman feel less of herself to know he likes her is a piece of garbage,” Sarah said. “You think you’re a real man? Then make my panties soaked. Not my eyes.”

  “Oh, damn,” Marissa said. “I’d love to see you in court.”

  “I’ve had my moments,” Sarah said.

  “Sarah’s right,” I said. “Asher is a total mess. Believe me. Nothing good comes from him.”

  “But he asked you out,” Marissa said.

  “Get your revenge,” Peggy said.

  “Peggy!” I called out.

  “I’m just saying… let him buy you a couple drinks. Show off that amazing body of yours. Drive him crazy and then walk away.”

  I looked at Sarah for support. She shrugged her shoulders.

  “Not the worst idea,” she said.

  “What?” I called out.

  “I mean, Asher was an asshole,” Sarah said. “He did like you though. I disagree with how he did things. But you’re both adults now. He’s obviously still the same. You’re a successful business owner. If that were me… and I have done this… show it all off and make him watch it walk away.”

  “And that makes you feel good?” I asked.

  “I used to get teased about the size of my tits,” Sarah said boldly. “Remember? Nubs? Bug bites? That hurt. And when I finally grew into myself or whatever bullshit you want to call it, suddenly those guys looked at me different. So, fuck them then. I’ll wear the lowest cut shirt so they see they were wrong, but they’ll never know just how wrong.”

  “I like this one,” Peggy said, pointing at Sarah. “She’s bold.”

  I sighed. “You all suck. I thought I was going to have a good night with my best friend.”

  “You still can,” Marissa said. “Minus the best friend part. Or… get your revenge on Asher and then come over to my place and spill the dirt.”

  “Make sure you call me when you do,” Sarah said. “I’ll be in some hotel in Seattle going over depositions.”

  “I’ll get the story in the morning,” Peggy said.

  It was like they all made plans for me.

  But it was my decision to make.

  Stay home and review receipts like a loser… Loser Lauren…

  Or go out and make Asher buy me a couple drinks and flirt and make him watch me walk away.

  “I hate you all,” I said.

  Sarah grabbed my hand. “But you hate Asher more.”

  Ugh… she was right.

  6

  (Asher)

  THEN

  I couldn’t stand any of them.

  That’s just how I played it in my life.

  My parents were a mess. Big deal. Big surprise. Whatever.

  I was lucky enough that on most days there was food in the house. On the other days when there wasn’t, I did what I had to do.

  That’s how it was.

  If I went outside to catch my breath, she was usually there.

  Lauren.

  Loser Lauren.

  The four eyed girl who lived next door to me.

  First time I saw her, she was eating a sandwich. Slowly. Savoring each bite of her sandwich, maybe not knowing that people would give anything to eat that sandwich and focus on it. But not her. She was stuck in a book. And the only way to get her out of the book was to annoy her.

  It was just part of the fun. Right or wrong, I really didn’t care.

  I picked on her and she reacted to it.

  If I was loud, she listened.

  If I told her to kiss a frog, she would scream at me and try to hit me.

  If I chased her, she ran.

  And no matter what happened, she always found a way to smile.

  And even through her gigantic glasses, she always looked at me like a person.

  I didn’t care what she called me or thought of me.

  The point was… she thought of me.

  And today was no different.

  I paced out back, trying to get my thoughts to calm down a little. Mom was yelling at Dad like a fool and Dad threw something across the kitchen. That set Mom off even more.

  All I wanted to do was raid the fridge for something to eat.

  I couldn’t even get a snack because the chips were in the closet in the kitchen.

  And if I got in the middle of them, it was worse.

  They’d ask me for my opinion.

  One time I told them to just get divorced.

  I mean, it made sense to me.

  That set Mom off even more. She accused Dad of putting that stuff in my head.

  So when they went at it, I went outside and looked for trouble.

  It had rained yesterday.

  And there was a spot where the porch above me dripped and made a mud puddle.

  I saw it and grinned.

  It was time for Lauren to eat a mud pie.

  * * *

  It worked out perfectly.

  She was in a yellow dress.

  The yellow with the dark mud would make her dress look like crap. Like literally crap.

  I held the sloppy mud in my hand and waited for the right time.

  If her grandmother was around and saw me messing around, she’d yell at me.

  Not that I cared about getting yelled at.

  It didn’t bother me.

  I just didn’t want to deal with it.

  I put my hand behind my back.

  I let out a whistle and Lauren looked at me.

  “Asher,” she said.

  She looked at my hand, tucked away, and she shook her head.

  “Did you eat yet?” I asked.

  “What?”

  “Did you eat anything yet?”

  “Eat what?”

  I showed her my hand. “How about a mud pie?”

  “Asher, stop it,” she said.

  She used to just run without thinking. But now she stood there and argued with me. As though at some point she was going to win me over.

  I truthfully didn’t mind that she stood there and argued. I kind of liked it.

  The glasses were horrible but Lauren was actually kind of pretty.

  For whatever reason that made me want to throw the mud at her even more.

  I wound up like a pitched in baseball.

  “Asher!” she cried out. “I’m going out to eat with Gram! Please!”

  That wasn’t going to win me over.

  I moved my thumb and felt something hard.

  I froze in place. I turned my head and watched the mud drip down to the ground.

  There was a rock in my hand.

  It had been mixed in with the mud.

  I hadn’t felt it until now.

  “Asher,” Lauren said. “Did you eat? I can sneak something back for you if you didn’t. I heard yelling…”

  I snapped my head to look at Lauren again. “Your dress looks like pee. And don’t bring me back food from some crappy restaurant. I’m find on my own.”

  I threw the rock and the mud to the
ground and walked away.

  If I had thrown the mud pie at Lauren… with the rock… that could have hurt her. For real.

  I curled my lip.

  Why did I even care about that?

  Why did I even care all at about anything?

  I wiped my hand in the grass and sat out back until I heard Dad leave.

  Then I went inside and scrubbed my hand clean and dug around the fridge for good.

  There wasn’t much.

  Two hours later when I went outside again, there was a white bag waiting for me.

  It had Ashhole written on it.

  There were two chicken tenders and some fries and a soggy pickle.

  Lauren brought me something to eat.

  It made me smile.

  But, whatever…

  She was still a four-eyed dork… even if I did like secretly like her.

  7

  (Asher)

  NOW

  “Where’d you end up last night?” Jared asked me as he settled on the empty barstool next to me.

  “That’s taken,” I said.

  “Oh yeah?”

  I had been curiously looking around the bar, wondering if Lauren was going to actually show up. She shocked me with a text message asking where I was going to be tonight. My original plan was to just go back to the strip club. Another night with Ember would do no more harm to my soul than had already been done in my life.

  Now I was playing a dumb game of waiting.

  I couldn’t get the sight of Lauren out of my head.

  She had been one of the first girls to develop even though she was always a dork. We were both poor as hell, struggling to get by. Her grandmother was raising her, and my mother was pretending to raise me. I couldn’t stand her because she tried to play it off that she wasn’t poor. Like she was too ashamed to admit where she was living and where she came from.

  But that stuff wasn’t the thing on my mind.

  I didn’t want to catch up on years past.

  I wanted her naked, screaming my name the way things should have happened a long time ago. The figure of a girl turned into the curves of a woman and that was like a drug to me. In fact, it was a drug to me. It was the only drug I would give my life for. There was nothing that could top warm whiskey and a wet pussy. Call me whatever you wanted, but I spoke the truth and backed it up with my fists if need be.

  “Hey, you listening to me?” Jared asked me.