He chuckled as he reached down to me. “Come on, Ally girl.”
I cursed as I took his hands and he pulled me up to my feet. I groaned deeply. He bit back a grin as he let go of my hands. We walked over to the benches, which I promptly lay down on. He was still laughing at my antics when he brought me my street shoes. I sat back up and started unlacing my climbing shoes. Asher straddled the bench and sat down. He had been quieter than usual. His smile was gone, his eyes shadowed. The bags under those eyes drew my attention.
“You okay?” I asked. “You’re kind of quiet today.”
He licked his lips before meeting my gaze. “My dad came home last night.”
I stopped untying my shoe. “How did it go?”
He scoffed and looked back down at the bench. “It went the same as it usually does.”
“How does it usually go?” I asked, my voice soft.
He swallowed hard then looked at me. “Not great.” His shoulders were slumped, his jaw clenched. I’d never seen him like this.
I reached over and took his hand, getting his attention. “Hey, I’m your only appointment this morning, right?”
He nodded.
“Then let’s go get some coffee.” I started taking off my climbing shoes.
“Uh, yeah, sure. We have a break room,” he said. I quickly pulled on my shoes. He got to his feet and picked up my climbing shoes as I finished tying my street sneakers. When I stood up, he led me through a door that said ‘Employees Only.’ We walked down a bright hall and around a corner.
“Hey, Asher.” A pretty, light-blond girl in the center’s blue uniform shirt and a pair of gray capri leggings was putting her stuff away in the break room. “Are you done with your morning appointments? We could…” Her voice trailed off as I stepped into the break room behind Asher. Her light brown eyes shot to me, then back to Asher.
“Brittney, this is Ally,” Asher said as he walked towards the coffee maker.
“Lexie, actually, only Asher calls me Ally,” I offered with a smile.
Brittney raised an eyebrow. “Um, we’re not allowed to have clients back here.”
Asher opened a cabinet and pulled out a couple of coffee mugs. “She’s one of my best friends.”
Brittney smiled. "Oh, just didn't want you to get in trouble," she said before leaving the break room. I stepped up beside him as he poured coffee. He silently handed me a cup before he poured his own. I put cream in mine and stirred it with a stirrer. Asher picked up his mug and moved to the couch. I followed, tucked a knee under me, and sat down facing him.
“I thought you guys didn’t have coffee,” I said with a grin.
He snorted. “We didn’t. Everyone got on the manager’s back about it. We finally got a coffee maker last month.”
My grin faded. “Tell me what’s going on, Ash.”
He sighed and lay his head back on the couch. “Every time he comes back it’s the same.” He lifted his head and looked down at his coffee. “Why are you paying this much for that? Where is your sister? Why are her grades off?” He turned to me. “Even when I call and tell him she’s ditching, or that her speeding tickets upped our car insurance. It’s like he just… he doesn’t even check his messages.”
“But he blames you anyway?” I asked, already hating this guy.
He nodded. “Every time he leaves, I’m glad to see him go,” he admitted quietly. “And after a couple of months, I hope when he comes back it’ll be different.”
“And it never is,”
He swallowed hard. “Right. It’s always the same.”
I set my mug down on the floor and moved my arm over the back of the couch so my hand rested on his shoulder. He looked down at me, his eyes rough. He moved his hand over to my knee. Ignoring the tingles running up my leg, I wrapped my other arm around his and rested my cheek on his shoulder.
“It’s not your fault, Ash,” I reminded him.
He nodded. “I know.”
I tilted my head and looked up at his face. “Do you?” I asked in a quiet voice. His thumb moved in a figure eight pattern over my leggings. “Your dad is an ass.” He turned to look down at me. “Seriously. He’s an ass. He’s her father, not you. He’s dumped his responsibility onto you, and to see you handling it when he ran like a bitch…”
His lips twitched. “I know you’re right, I do. But if I don’t try then she’ll…”
“You don’t want to let Jessica down,” I guessed.
He nodded. “She’s all the family I’ve got left.”
I squeezed his arm. He looked down at me. “You have more family than just her.”
The shadows in his eyes lifted some as he gave me a small grin. “I know, but I’m all she has.”
“And she’s lucky to have you,” I told him. “Even if she doesn’t know it.”
He let out a deep breath before he leaned down and gently kissed the top of my head. “Thank you,” he whispered.
I opened my eyes and met his. “For what?”
“Listening. Reminding me.”
I lifted my cheek from his arm. I’m always here for you, Ash.”
His eyes ran over my face. “I know.” He slowly turned his mug in his hands. "So, what are your plans for the rest of the day?"
I gave him another squeeze before letting go of his arm and picking up my coffee. "I'm stashing some of my research materials at Miles' before we go shopping for job hunting clothes."
Asher smirked. "Miles is going clothes shopping with you?"
I smiled. "Yeah, the poor guy."
Asher burst out laughing.
"What?" I asked, trying not to laugh. "I don't know what this ‘business casual’ is." That didn't help. Asher continued to laugh.
After that, the subject changed to lighter things. I managed to make him laugh enough to chase the shadows from his eyes and put a smile on his face before I left.
With my knotted stomach, Miles drove me over to the only tattoo shop in town. Dragonfly Tattoo was in a nice brick building on Main Street. Miles took a parking spot a few doors down from the shop. He put the car into park as I took a deep breath.
“You’ll do great,” Miles reminded me.
I gave him a small smile and looked down at my clothes. Since I was applying for a job, Miles had suggested I wear business casual. Shopping with Miles had been... different. He simply asked what my size was and helped me start looking. His ears were red the entire time we were in the women's section, but he didn't even complain once. He did tap his leg so much, though, that he had to have bruises by the end of our trip. In the end, we found a pair of black slacks, a green button-up blouse and black ballet flats. It felt like a costume and that, any minute now, someone would call me out on it. I eyed the shop storefront.
“Lexie.” Miles’ voice was the silky-smooth one I loved. Calm moved through me, settling my raw nerves.
“I feel ridiculous,” I muttered.
He smiled. “I know the feeling.”
I turned to him. “You do?”
He smiled that secret smile that showed you how handsome he really was. “Every time my parents made me put on a suit and dragged me along to functions.”
I smiled at the idea of Miles in a suit. “Does it go away?”
He nodded. “The more often you wear it, the more you get used to it.” I snorted and looked back out the window.
“Lexie,” Miles said again. I turned back to him. “You are going to do great. Just go in there and be yourself.”
I chewed on the corner of my bottom lip and nodded. He reached into the back and pulled out the portfolio I had put together over the last few weeks. He held it out to me. Hades made a whining, talking noise.
I took the portfolio and opened the door. “Are you sure you want to wait with Hades?”
Miles gave me a patient smile. “Of course. Go.”
I grumbled under my breath before stepping out onto the sidewalk. The sun beat down on me, making my skin start break out in a sweat instantly. It was the best motivation to get indoors that I could imagine.