~ Asher's POV ~
- - - - - Several Weeks Later - - - - -
Asher walked out of the dean's office with calm steps. His face was stoic and unreadable, but his eyes looked a little nervous. In his hand was a document that he clenched pretty tightly. The long hallway was empty and quiet as he made his way out. It was about 5 PM and it was the last day of school, which means that everyone was already out to celebrate the start of their summer break.
Asher pushed one last door and he was greeted with the cool summer breeze. Right in front of him, standing on the steps, was Zoie. She had her finger in her mouth, probably biting her nails as she waited for him in anticipation.
"How'd it go?" she asked nervously, walking up the steps.
Asher lifted the paper in his hand and beamed, "You're looking at the new transfer student to the International Relations department!"
Zoie's eyes widened in excitement. She grabbed the paper and read it over and over again. It was a transfer document issued by the dean that allowed Asher to change his major from undecided to International Relations. This was a decision that he'd been mauling over for the past few months. It all started when he was reading Zoie's book, and then he took a class on the subject. He did more research and stayed in the library reading more books. One of the things that he read was actually a research paper written by none other than Adrian Luciano, his dad. That moment felt like a confirmation. From then on, Asher was set on studying International Politics, continuing what his dad couldn't do.
"Oh my gosh, Ash! I knew you could do it!" Zoie jumped up and down in excitement as she pulled him into a hug. The campus was pretty much empty, so they didn't have to worry too much about their PDA.
"I really thought he was gonna give me a hard time, but the dean's actually pretty chill," Asher sighed in relief and hugged her back. "Oh, and he really liked that paper we wrote on the oil crisis in the middle east,"
"We wrote?" Zoie narrowed her eyes. "You wrote that paper, all I did was edit the grammar a little bit,"
"Still," he shrugged. "I couldn't have done it without you,"
Zoie's lips curved into a smile. Her hand reached to cup his cheek as she said, "Oh, stop it. You need to give yourself more credit, you're a great writer!"
Asher's lips curved into a smile too. He leaned his face into her hand and his hands snaked around her body, cupping her ass.
"Not as great as you though," he winked.
"Ash!" Zoie gaped and her cheeks flared red in embarrassment. She looked from side to side, making sure no one saw that. Then, she tried to push him away, but he held on tighter.
"What? No one's here," he said shamelessly.
"Asher," Zoie glared at him warningly.
Asher just stared back at her, keeping his hands in place.
Seeing that Asher wasn't backing down, Zoie hissed under her breath, "Seventy,"
Asher let out a sigh and lifted his hands up in surrender. Seventy was their safeword and whenever Zoie used it, he had to concede no matter what.
Ha. Always so careful.
"Hey," Asher said suddenly, pulling the transfer document from her hand. "I think this calls for a celebration, don't you think?"
Zoie looked up at him and smiled. There was something in the way she smiled that Asher couldn't put his finger on. It was a look of mischief combined with excitement.
"Absolutely," she beamed. "Come on!"
Zoie quickly turned to her heels and he followed after her. The next thing he knew, they were racing to the parking lot, making their way to the BMW. Zoie had the car key, so she went straight to the driver's seat. In the past, Asher wouldn't give the driver's seat up to anyone. He loves driving. He thinks he's the best driver out there. But only for Zoie, he's willing to make an exception.
Asher blasted the stereo as a rock song began to play. He rolled his window down and Zoie did the same. The cool summer air blew against their faces and Asher pumped his fist in the air, screaming, howling, and laughing like two people without a care in the world. Asher turned his face to Zoie as they both laughed. He always loved the way she laughs. The sun was shining on her dark brown hair, her purple-blue eyes glowed brilliantly, and her cheeks were rosy pink. She was so beautiful to look at, he could stare at her all day.
"Wait," Asher looked at her quizzically as she went north instead of south, the opposite direction to their house. "Where are we going?"
"It's the first day of summer break, Ash," she reminded him. "Do you really wanna be cooped up in the house all day?"
"Honestly, I wouldn't mind that," he said with a laugh.
We got the playroom and we got each other. What else do we need?
"We've been staying in the house all week long," she said as she rolled her eyes. "I'm taking you somewhere today,"
"Where?"
"You'll see,"
Asher narrowed his eyes at her. She was being exceptionally cryptic today, which means she probably had a surprise waiting for him. Asher decided to play along and kicked back in his seat, getting himself comfortable.
"Well, alright then," he said. "Hit it,"
Zoie turned to him with a playful smirk. Then, she hit the gas pedal and the car soared down the streets, racing faster than the beat of his heart.
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~ Zoie's POV ~
Zoie's heart was pounding in excitement. They'd been driving for almost two hours and that means they were close. Ever since Asher built the playhouse, they rarely leave the house anymore except for school or the usual trips to the grocery store. And with their summer internships coming in the near future, taking a road trip was definitely not in the schedule, but Zoie thought it was time for an adventure. One that, hopefully, they will remember forever.
"Here we are!" Zoie announced proudly as the car pulled up on the side of the road. There was nothing around them except for tall Redwood trees and a small trail leading into the woods.
"What is this?" Asher looked around in confusion. "We're in the middle of freaking nowhere!"
"Exactly," she said as she grabbed her backpack and threw him his. "Come on!"
Zoie exited the car and Asher did the same. She made sure to lock the car before making her way into the trail. Asher stopped for a beat before he went to follow her. He shook his head and muttered under his breath, "Woman, I swear, you're gonna be the death of me,"
"Oh, don't be so dramatic," she replied.
They continued walking and Asher took in his surroundings. There was nothing, literally nothing else except trees and rocks. There were no other humans or any signs of life. There was only the sound of running water and birds chirping. And still, they went further and further inside.
"Hey, if what you want is privacy, we have plenty of that in the apartment," he tried to argue.
"It's not about that," she said cryptically. "It's something else,"
Zoie pulled out her phone and followed the direction in her Google map. Asher was following closely behind, but he didn't seem amused. He was definitely not your average mountain man. He doesn't hike or do nature. He loves cars and cities. Zoie wasn't much of a nature girl herself, but today was an exception.
"How much longer do we have to walk?" he protested, seeing that the soles of his sneakers were now covered in dirt.
"We're almost there,"
"How'd you even know about this place?"
"Tik Tok,"
"What?"
"I saw this video that Vic and Jo were talking about and it looked cool,"
"Wait a minute. So, we drove for two hours to get to the middle of nowhere because of some Tik Tok vid-"
"We're here!" she cut him off suddenly, pulling his hand to the side as they arrived at a clearing.
Asher's jaw fell to the ground as he saw what was in front of him. Zoie was also pleasantly surprised. She already saw this sight in the Tik Tok video, but the real thing was so much greater.
Standing in front of them was this tall, grand waterfall. The sound of rushing water filled the air as the cool breeze blew on their faces. And right where the water fell into a lake, there was a small rainbow forming.
"Pretty cool, huh?" she turned to him.
Asher didn't say anything for a while and he just took it in. This was definitely not something they could see in the city. Or in the playroom, for that matter.
"This is... amazing!" he said finally. "Like, for real. It's fúcking fantastic!"
"Glad you agree," she smiled proudly and threw her glance to the waterfall.
It really was a breathtaking sight. The sun was now setting and the sky had these orange and blue hues. And the best part? They had the place all for themselves.
"You know what we have to do now, right?" Asher said suddenly, catching Zoie off guard.
"What?"
Asher put his backpack down and took off his jacket and shirt. Zoie noted the glint of mischief in his eyes and she shook her head warningly.
"Oh, no, no, no. No!"
She was walking back and putting her hand out to stop him, but it was no use. In one fell swoop, he threw her backpack to the ground, lifted her entire body up, and jumped into the crystal blue water.
"Asher-!!!"
* SPLASH! *
All Zoie could do was close her eyes and hold her breath as they sunk deeper and deeper into the water. She was totally unprepared, still in her full clothes. The water was cold and it stung her skin. The first chance she got, she swam up to the surface as hard as she could and took in a deep breath.
"Oh- my - God! It's - so - cold!" she screamed in ragged breaths as soon as her head was above the water. Meanwhile, Asher swam up and he was laughing maniacally, looking at her in amusement.
Zoie shot him a glare. She was paddling and wailing around as much as she could, trying to shake off the coldness.
"Come here," Asher said and he pulled her into his arms. His strong arms secured her tightly and her face was flushed against his rock-hard chest.
"Better?" he asked.
"Not really," she huffed.
She was about to say something else when suddenly he pulled her up and his lips crashed onto hers. He linked her legs around his waist and supported her body weight completely. His breaths were hot and wanting on her skin. He gripped her body tighter and she was pressed tightly against his chest. Then, he started leaving wet open-mouthed kisses all across her jaw and neck.
"How about now?" he murmured against her skin.
"A little bit better," the words came out in a whisper.
Asher pulled away slightly, but his hands still held onto her waist and she wrapped her legs around him tighter. He swallowed hard as his eyes darted from her eyes down to her lips, and down to the rest of her body. His eyes darkened and his body stiffened.
Zoie didn't know what was going on with him, but whatever it was, she was feeling it too!
Zoie's skin ached and her stomach twisted. All she wanted to do was to pull him closer, feeling more and more of him. She bit her lip as her hungry eyes roamed his broad chest, noting how the muscles flexed as he held onto her tighter. They looked so enticing and she just wanted to roll her tongue all over them.
"Sweet girl," he said suddenly.
"Y-yeah...?"
Asher was looking at her with that hooded look in his eyes. Then, he swallowed hard and she was watching the way his Adam's apple moved. Water was dripping from his neck down to his chest and she was totally entranced by the sight of him.
Oh God. He's not thinking about doing that here... is he?
The long silence in the air felt like an eternity. For the longest time, they just stared at each other, with both their minds running wild. Her hands were literally shaking as they were dying to touch and roam Asher's perfectly sculpted body. Her heart was beating fast and her breathing felt ragged. She wanted to feel more of him, she wanted to taste more of him. She wanted his mouth on her skin and his hands to touch her where her stomach was twisting...
Oh God. What am I thinking?!
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- - - - - - To Be Continued - - - - - -