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“That’s more after the fact.”
“So you’re not immune to bad tacos?”
Asher frowns. “They were actually quite good.”
Suddenly, I’m worried I’m being rude and that I’ve insulted him. I shouldn’t have made that comment about his money. Jesus, that was the ultimate in tactlessness. Then I insulted his lunch, too. I’m about to apologize when I see that the lines around Asher’s mouth have deepened. Not the frown or grimace lines, but the smile lines. He’s used to doing that. Smiling, I mean. I blink at him, and I’m sorry to say, but I’m also suddenly seeing him as a person for the first time. I mean, not as some immensely rich guy with a famous grandma, an intimidating figure, a powerful man, or even as my boss. He’s just a person who eats tacos and gets gassy like everyone else.
A person who is alarmingly close to me and just as alarmingly attractive. I’m a little shocked at his height. I knew he was tall and broad, but it’s like my senses are just now fully registering his physical magnificence. I notice the way a strand of his dark hair is mussed and is curling over his left ear. I study his rugged jawline and gorgeous lips, and I can’t believe I was ever daring enough to have grabbed and kissed him.
“Uh, yeah, so farts,” I mumble, searching for something to say to cover up my blatant perusal. “Yes. Well, my brothers, as I said, it was basically their whole world. My mom got so mad about all the fart talk that she actually banned the word in the house. We all had to call it fluffing. My brothers took that as a challenge and made up a code name for all their farts. As well as the classifications. My mom created monsters with her desire for politeness. They had The Bedding Fluffer, which was code for a Dutch oven, The Floatlining Flatulence, aka the silent but violent, the Gargantuine Gasper...” I trail off, now embarrassed that I’m just standing here talking about this.
Asher looks more than mildly amused, though. “It sounds like you had a great childhood.”
I can feel myself blushing. “I did. Do you want to get out of here? Maybe go for a walk somewhere?” I can’t believe I just put that out there. I should have just asked if he could take me home, but then I feel like he’d feel bad about ruining our date night that’s not even a real date night.
I curse myself for being way too nice.
Suddenly, Asher reaches out, and it takes me a second to realize he’s not reaching for me. Of course he’s not reaching for me. But at the thought of it, my stomach still cramps, my thighs quiver, and my nipples nipple, I mean, shit, pucker. He then plucks his popcorn and his drink out of my arms. I barely even realized I was still holding anything.
“That would be nice. I’m glad I didn’t ruin the movie for you.”
“You didn’t ruin anything.” God, I wish I could be mean. I wish I could tell him that he ruined my entire night, dang it, and we’d better call this whole dating crap off. Then ask if he could still take care of my backyard and if I might still have some job security. But I can’t. I just can’t. No matter how much I want to. All that comes out is a hiccup, followed by a tiny laugh. “It was pretty bad, wasn’t it?”
He nods. I nod. He shrugs. And then, of course, he smiles and shrugs. And all I can do is follow him out of the theatre.
CHAPTER 9
Asher
The popcorn honestly isn’t that good, and the soda is flat. I pitch mine into the nearest garbage can outside, and Emily does the same. I was stunned that she wanted to give me another chance. She could have just asked me to take her home. I’m pretty sure any other woman would have called me disgusting, deemed the night ruined, and demanded cab fare because they didn’t want to gamble being in an enclosed space with me after the taco gas fiasco.
The theatre area is busy, with a strip mall surrounding it and restaurants bracketing the area. The parking lot is also jam-packed. I don’t know the area, but Emily saves me again.
“There’s a park five minutes or so drive away if you wanted to go walk there.”
A park. It’s a nice suggestion. It’s not quite dark yet, but the sun will be setting soon. It’s a rather romantic setting, and I’m not sure if she realizes it or not. However, the fact that she quickly turns away from me and power walks to the car suggests she does. She doesn’t correct herself, though, and I’m not sure if she just wants to save face, if she’s taking the faking thing seriously, or if she’s too shy. She also has an excellent memory, which is a good thing for me because I’d already forgotten where I’d parked.
