Love Her Wilde

Make Your Move: Asher

The second her Valium kicked in she was asleep on my shoulder, just as she had all but promised earlier. It was strange how much I didn't mind. It was strange how much I liked it. This little moment that, quite probably meant nothing, was more affection than I'd had in the last year. Bridget wasn't much for public displays of affection... or private displays either, really. Mason hadn't been all that far off when he'd guessed we were an "only on special occasions" couple. Birthdays, anniversaries, mostly when she was trying to convince me to do something I wasn't all that inclined to do. Physicality was a form of currency to Bridget, and she knew how to use it. And for the last eighteen months, I had allowed her to use it to my own detriment. But then... I was also used to it. Not like my dad was the most loving man in the world. I was used to having to perform for a crumb of positive attention. It had been that way ever since my mother died.

I hadn't realized how attention starved I was until the past few days. Watching Lita and Ryder. Even the rest of the group as friends. It was evident how much they cared for each other... and how much I desperately wanted it for myself. I wanted to be a part of it. Not necessarily in a romantic sense, but in a familial way. I wanted those bonds, those inside jokes. I wanted the calls of celebration when I merely walked into the room. I wanted it more than I'd wanted anything in a long time.

We landed in Hawaii around two that afternoon, which was six in the evening Chicago time. We were immediately whisked to the resort in a limo (courtesy of Shayne), where we were led to a set of five private bungalows on an even more private beach. This... this was the definition of paradise. Mason and I were paired off in one, Ryder and Lita were obviously sharing, and Dylan would be with Shayne after his arrival. The other two were for the bride and groom's parents while any other guests would be staying in the main hotel. Honestly, I didn't care where anyone else was staying. I just knew that being this close to Dylan, and likely drunk, for the next ten days, spelled nothing but danger. Sweet, delicious danger.

We all agreed to meet for a low-key dinner and drinks after naps and freshening up. Ryder, Mason and I all headed to the outdoor restaurant while the girls got ready together. Mason immediately ordered a round of tequila and I began to sincerely doubt how "low-key" the night was going to be. Hell, I was beginning to doubt these people knew what low-key even was. Especially considering that by the time the girls strolled into view, we were on all our third shot of the night, and at least for me, second pint.

"Bout goddamn time!" Mason shouted. "Thought we were getting drunk on our own."

"Jesus," Dylan sighed with a roll of her dark eyes. "Sounds like you're well on your way, pal."

As I took a swig from my ice-cold beer, I allowed my gaze to wander to the approaching women, and though Lita was beautiful in her own right, my eyes stuck on Dylan.

Despite just walking out of the blustery Chicago winter, her skin already had a bronzed glow to it, which only stood out more against the cream colored, crocheted romper she donned. Her hair was still slightly damp from a shower, and all pushed over her head to rest on the left side of her face. She wore hardly any makeup, maybe some lip gloss and mascara and she still looked like she'd walked out of my fantasies. So much for hoping her usual dark makeup was being used to hide something, because she was even more radiant now. On her nose sat little round framed glasses. I wasn't sure if they were for looks or she actually needed them, but she looked cute as hell regardless.

Yep. I was fucked.

Or I wanted to be.

Goddammit, the next ten days were going to be an exercise in self-control that I wasn't entirely sure that I had.

"You have some catching up to do," Mason retorted with a wink.

I struggled to hide my excitement as she laughed and settled into the open seat on my left. She smelled like wildflowers and fresh rain. I wanted to bathe in her scent. I wanted to be totally overwhelmed by her until I couldn't focus on anything else.