I was in my room, lying on my bed with Hades, when the door downstairs opened. I ignored it and continued scratching his ears as his head lay on my stomach. Footsteps moved up the stairs. Figuring it was probably Tara, I continued to sulk in my misery.
There was a knock on my door. “Ally, it’s me.” Asher’s voice broke my intense staring contest with the ceiling.
“It’s open,” I called.
He opened the door and stepped inside. His eyes ran over me, making me aware that my shorts were riding up my legs.
His eyes met mine. “Hey, you coming to the market?”
I looked back up at the ceiling. “I don’t know,” I admitted. That had been the plan, but Isaac’s stunt this afternoon had just knocked me sideways.
Asher sat on the futon beside me. “Come on, Ally, Ethan can’t really go on without you talking him through his pre-show freak out.”
I snorted. “Yeah he can. Remember Winter Formal?”
He huffed. “Yeah, and he said he kept missing notes.”
I smiled.
“Why does he do this?” I asked, knowing he didn’t have an answer.
“I don’t know. But maybe you should ask him,” he suggested.
“Me?” I asked doubtfully. Why would he listen to me?
He nodded. “Yeah, you. Miles didn’t get anywhere talking to him after you left. But you might.”
I thought about it.
“Besides, if he resists, you could always cry and he’d break like a cheap broom,” Asher added. I chuckled as he smiled down at me. “So, are you coming or am I hanging out here all night?”
I rolled my eyes. “I’m coming, let me get my shoes on.” I scooted to the edge of the bed.
“Are we bringing Hades?” he asked as he got to his feet.
I slipped my sandals on. “Yeah, my poor baby was home all day.” Hades made a soft bark.
Asher chuckled as he headed out the bedroom door with Hades following. I locked my door and headed down the stairs. Asher already had him on the leash.
“Where are you two off to?” Rory asked from the kitchen.
“Farmer’s market,” I answered. “Ethan’s playing tonight.”
“Good, I’ve got a list. Well, Asher gave me a list.” Rory went to the fridge.
I raised an eyebrow. “Are you cooking this week?” I asked, getting a bit scared. Rory could barely boil water, and that was being generous. Asher chuckled.
“Asher’s teaching me a few dishes.” Rory grabbed a list off the fridge and brought it over.
“Is that… safe?” I teased.
Rory shot me a playful glare as he pulled his wallet out. “Ha ha ha.” He handed me several bills. “Just get the groceries.”
I grinned and took the money. We were about to walk out the door when Rory stopped me. “Wait, you’re taking Hades?”
I turned back from the door. “Yeah?”
“Check the cement outside before you do,” he told me as he went to the couch.
“What?” I raised an eyebrow.
He gestured to the driveway. “It’s in the high nineties outside; cement gets hot. Go put your hand on the driveway for five seconds.”
Okay… I gave Hades’ leash to Asher and then went outside and did as he asked. At the count of four I was yanking my hand off the cement. My skin was pink and painful as I went back in. “I had to take my hand off.”
Rory nodded. “Then it’s too hot for Hades to go walking around on asphalt.”
I didn’t like it, but he had a point. The cement was too hot for my baby. I bent down, took off his leash, and rubbed his ears. “I’m sorry, baby. You can’t go with us.” He gave me puppy-dog eyes. He really knew how to play me. “I’ll take you for a walk tonight after it cools off. And I’ll bring you a treat or something from the market.” Hades licked my cheek before he moved to the couch where he promptly started pushing Rory over. He didn’t seem too broken up about it. I put the leash on the hook and left with Asher.
The farmer’s market was held in the town square, which was a large park of grass and trees. The small stage was set up, along with the games for little kids. The four blocks around the square were closed off. Booths and stalls were already bustling in the late afternoon heat. At least the trees gave some shade. Asher parked several blocks away and we walked in. I was eyeing the list when I realized how much there was.
“Damn, I didn’t bring a bag for all this,” I muttered as I put the list away.
“There is usually someone who is selling canvas bags for cheap,” Asher told me. Well, that solved that. We turned the corner and saw the crowd. I paused. The market was busy - very busy. I was missing Hades when Asher took my hand.
“Ally?” he said gently. I looked up at him. “If it’s too crowded we can wait till it thins out.”
I looked back at the crowd and chewed the corner of my bottom lip. The crowd was rather large. Almost as large as the party the other night, and I had handled that alright. Come on, Lexie. Grow a pair. You got this.
I gave Asher a smile. “It’s okay, I can handle this. I hope.” He squeezed my hand and waited until I started walking. We moved into the crowd. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. You got this, you got this.
Asher found the stall for the bags and suggested I buy three. Apparently we were getting a lot of veggies this week. With bags in hand, Asher walked with me to pick out produce.
Asher was picking out strawberry baskets when I spotted Laura. The girl was shy as hell. It had taken her months to say a word to me. Her brown hair was down and in her sweet face, as usual. Even in this heat she was wearing sleeves almost to her wrists.
“Hey, Laura,” I said with a smile. “How’s your dog?”
Laura’s head snapped up, her eyes wide. “Oh, Lexie. I - I didn’t see you.” Her eyes darted to Asher. They grew wider then shot back to me. “His cast is off, and the vet says he should be fine.”
Yep, Laura was still super shy. “That’s great. Why don’t we take them out to the dog park someday soon?” I suggested.
She swallowed hard. “Um… yeah. That’d be fun. Call me and we’ll set it up,” she said quickly. Before I could answer, she disappeared into the crowd.
“She’s still really shy with you,” Asher said.
“Yeah.” I tucked a flyaway hair behind my ear. “I’m trying to be her friend, but… it’s like she doesn’t want one.” I looked up at him. “Am I not catching a hint or something?”
Asher thought about it. “No, I don’t think so.” He looked at another basket of strawberries. “She didn’t seem too comfortable with me here. Maybe that was it?”
I sighed. “Maybe…” We went back to shopping.
It was fun, even with the sun beating down on us. We walked from stall to stall, holding hands as if we… as if we were a couple. I pushed the thought away. It’s not going to happen; he doesn’t think of you that way. But what if he did…?
I still couldn’t. Zeke had kissed me months ago. Even though we still hadn’t talked about it, or kissed since, it had still happened. And until I knew one way or another, I shouldn’t even think about Asher. Right? I didn’t know. Feeling this way for all of them was confusing.
“Ally, are you okay? You just turned pale, even for you,” Asher asked.
I met his eyes, guilt eating at me. “Yeah, I’m fine.”
He looked like he didn’t believe me. “Uh, Sylvie’s stall is next on the list. Do you want to see Isaac?”
I sighed and thought about it. “No, not yet. But Sylvie does have a lot of the veggies we need.”
Asher smiled. “Give me the list and the empty bags. I’ll get the rest of the list.”
“You’re sure?” I asked. My voice had grown raspy. “I can suck it up.”
He shook his head. “Come on, let’s get some water and find the others.”
Asher kept my hand as he headed towards one of the stands. We both bought waters before we headed for the grass area. We spotted Miles and Zeke sitting in the shade, under a tree in the corner of the lot.
“I can go from here,” I croaked. I opened my water and took a quick drink.
“Are you sure? I don’t mind walking you,” he said, his brow drawing down.
I grinned. “I can make fifteen feet.”