The Tornado Page 9

  “And successful, to boot?” I added, noting his modest reaction.

  We ate in comfortable silence for a few minutes until Asher spoke up again. "You're a hard person to track down," he said lightly.

  I glanced at him. "What do you mean?"

  "I tried to call you about your meds. The number you listed on your gym application said it was out of service." Asher swirled a berry in his yogurt before popping his spoon in his mouth.

  "Oh…yeah…" I said uncomfortably. "That. Well, I haven't had that phone number for a few months now."

  "I figured as much," Asher said and reached into his pocket. "Your girl at the café gave me this." I took the scrap from his fingers and saw that it was my own phone number written out in Ruby's large, bubbly handwriting. She had drawn several hearts and kisses at the end. I would kill her.

  I returned it. "You should send me a text or something so I have yours, too." I felt awkward saying so; I hadn't discussed exchanging numbers with a guy in a very long time.

  "Your friend also mentioned you've been having a rough day," Asher added, spooning up some more yogurt. He didn't look at me. "Want to talk about it?"

  I sighed and popped a giant spoonful of my concoction into my mouth before answering. No, I really didn't want to talk about it. I didn’t want to talk about the official letter that came in the mail this morning. The one asking me to go back to the pits of Hell. But I knew my weak story from the other night hadn't really done anything to provide any solid answers. Answers I knew that Asher sort of deserved. But I couldn’t do it. It would only bring up a whole round of questions I didn't want to deal with.

  It would also bring down the darkness to this lovely night I was sharing with Asher. I didn’t want to ruin my time with him. I didn’t want to darken my time with him ever. I felt good around him. I felt…almost free of my demons when he was around. I felt safe with him.

  "Just life, stressing me out," I answered finally, after I swallowed. I felt his eyes on me then and knew he wasn't buying it. "And on top of that, my favorite ballet in the history of the world is coming to town and I can't even go see it."

  "Oh, yeah?" Asher asked, fiddling with his spoon. "What is it? Why can't you go see it?"

  I sighed. I knew how trivial it must sound to him, but not being able to go see Giselle was truly eating away at me. "It's called Giselle. And I wasn't going to go originally because tickets are so freaking expensive and I couldn't justify buying something that wasn't a necessity. I've been so good about not spending any extra money on stuff I don't need, so I can get that studio. Then, when I finally decided an hour ago 'to hell with it, I'm going to that ballet,' I called the box office and they said the damn thing is already sold out."

  "Sold out? Really?" Asher asked, glancing over at me. "Tickets to a ballet? In one day?" He caught my expression and bit back his grin.

  Disappointment surged through me. "People love their performing arts in this city," I replied, shrugging.

  "Well, I'm sorry to hear that," Asher said. "I can't really relate but, it's important to you and that sucks."

  I half-smiled at his attempt to be comforting. "It's not the end of the world," I said. "At least this way I haven't dipped into my studio fund. Eyes on the prize and all that."

  "Right," Asher said. "So that's it? The ballet?" He held up a hand. "Not that I'm saying that's not a big deal. Just wondering if there was anything else on your mind."

  I couldn't help a smile. He was trying so hard to be sweet and relate to my disappointment over the ballet. I also didn't miss the way he was prying deeper into my issues, as though he knew something else was up.

  "Juliet!"

  The impatient female voice met my ears over the distant sound of traffic. I snapped my head up in annoyance, seeing my older sister, Alexis, behind the wheel of her BMW, pulling up to the curb. She was frowning, her eyes cutting back and forth between Asher and me as she stormed toward us.

  Asher smiled at the name and glanced at me. "You sure that's not your real name?"

  "No," I insisted. "She just does it to be annoying and when she has attitude."

  "Juliet!" Alexis yelled, finally standing in front of us. "Who the hell is this chump?” She scowled at Asher. “Is he hassling you? Because if you are, Mr. Hotshot, you’re going to have to deal with me and it won’t be pretty—" She clapped a hand to her forehead. Alexis's large brown eyes narrowed as they took Asher in, and as she got a good look at his face, recognition lit up in her eyes. "Oh. My. God. The Tornado! What…? What on earth is Asher Prince doing with my little sister?” Her face grimaced when she referred to me, like she thought Asher was too good for my company.

  “Jeez, thanks, sis,” I said, rolling my eyes. “Love you too.”

  “I didn’t mean it like that, Juliet,” she said, grinning at Asher like the cat who got the cream.

  “I’m not really sure how else you meant it,” I muttered. I heard Asher laugh at us.

  “Oh my god. My husband is a huge fan," she said to Asher. "Huge, huge fan.”

  “Alexis,” I said, tight-lipped. “You’re really embarrassing me.”

  "Uh, thanks," Asher replied. I groaned in embarrassment. My brother-in-law was a huge MMA fan and talked about Asher as though they knew each other in real life.

  "I didn't know my baby sister knew you," Alexis went on, scooting nearer to him. "She never mentioned she had famous friends."

  "Alexis!" I hissed, glaring. "Please! Stop already. My God."

  "So we'll see you Sunday, then?" Alexis went on casually and I was truly horrified.

  Asher looked confused. "What's Sunday?"

  Alexis finally acknowledged me, shifting her eyes in a glare. "You didn't ask him to Sunday dinner? What is wrong with you? Did Mamma and Papa not teach you manners?"

  "Alexis, for God’s sakes, what is wrong with you?" I hissed, bringing my fingers to my temples. I almost jumped out of my skin when I felt Asher's elbow dig lightly into my ribs. He was loving this. I was definitely not feeling the love.

  "What, I'm not invited?" he asked me seriously, though his eyes betrayed his mocked hurt. His blue eyes were twinkling with mischief.

  I gaped at him. "Y-You want to come?" I asked, astonished.

  He shrugged. "Sure. Why not? Unlike you, apparently, I was taught manners. And your sister is expecting me."

  "The whole family," Alexis corrected. "Or, they will be when I tell them about this." She waved a finger. "Not just any random guy off the street is going to hang around our baby sister without meeting the family. No offense. Even if my husband loves you more than me."

  "And so it should be," Asher replied. “I mean, me meeting the family. Not your husband loving me…”

  I couldn’t hold back the grin at Asher’s discomfort, even though I was still mad at my sister for embarrassing me in front of him.

  "Good. So we'll see you on Sunday," Alexis repeated as though I weren't sitting there. "I'll let her give you the details later."

  "Oh, thank you," I said sarcastically. “She’s not even using my name, now. Thanks, Asher Prince. You’ve made my family forget about me.”

  "Oh, stop being a baby. Get in the car," Alexis ordered. “You didn't buy me any yogurt? Jesus,” she said, shaking her head in disappointment. “Nice meeting you, Asher Prince," she added, giving him a big smile as she headed toward her car.

  "Nice meeting you," Asher replied. He rose when I stood up. I looked mortified.

  "I'm sorry," I said in a low voice. "I'm the baby of the family—they do this. You seriously do not need to come on Sunday. Just ignore Alexis."

  "Are you uninviting me to Sunday dinner?" Asher asked.

  "No—no! I mean, clearly you can come if you want, but I don't want you to feel obligated or anything..."

  "I wouldn’t miss it for the world," he said, smiling.

  I stared up at him doubtfully. "You remember I'm Italian, right?" I said, still mortified. "With a big, crazy loud family? We’ve made ball-busting into an art form. A
nd, I repeat, I'm the baby of the family and a girl. You don't know what they'll do to you—"

  "Stop," Asher said with a chuckle. "I can handle myself. And, it would only make you look bad if I didn't come. Your sister just said she was going to tell your whole family she saw us together. And apparently your brother-in-law is in love with me. It’d break his heart, Juliet."

  "Don’t call me that or I’ll be happy to show that ball-busting art form right here, right now,” I said, smirking. “Okay, okay, but don’t say I didn’t warn you," I said, more to myself. I sounded slightly panicked as I glanced over at my impatient sister.

  "All right then. Just tell me when and where," Asher said. He nodded toward the car. "You better go before she kills you."

  I sighed. "All right," I said. I gave him another doubtful look. "I—we'll talk later." I tossed my empty yogurt bowl into a nearby trashcan and climbed in beside my sister. He grinned to himself as Alexis wiggled her fingers in a goodbye wave and I gave him an absolutely bewildered stare before pulling off.

  I couldn’t believe this was happening.

  Asher Prince, the guy I believed to be the bad-tempered, cantankerous, and scary owner of Blaise’s Gym…was going to be meeting the family.

  Chapter Eleven

  Her

  “I’LL TAKE THE deposit again tonight, Ruby," I said, washing the dishes.

  Ruby eyed me coolly from the counter where she was making cupcakes. "Why are we in such a hurry tonight?" she asked. "You don't teach until seven. And it's only five."

  "I know, but, like, um..." I made a rolling motion with my index fingers, casting about for a suitable lie. "I just have some errands and such to run."

  "Like working on your showcase piece?" Ruby said, spooning lemon curd into the cupcakes.

  I sighed. I should have known better. Ruby was the closest person to me and had the uncanny ability to simply know things.

  "Fine," I huffed. "I just didn't want to tell you because I didn't want you to think that this means I've agreed to do the showcase. I told you I would think about it."

  "But you are working on a piece," Ruby countered.

  "Yes," I reluctantly admitted. "I should be prepared in the event that I do decide to do it—but that doesn’t mean it’s final."

  "You are going to do it," Ruby said. "So, I'm really not sure what more there is to discuss. But it's fine with me. I don't mind if you leave early to work on your showcase piece. Or hang out with alpha-hot Asher some more. Whatever."

  "Oh, shut it," I said, rolling my eyes as I began to rinse off the dishes. "It's not like that. He's a friend."

  "Who's coming over for an Italian Sunday dinner to meet your whole entire family," Ruby reminded. "I know what that means."

  "Yeah, it means that he got railroaded into it when Alexis rolled up and started acting like she was running shit," I said. "He's a nice guy. What was he going to do, say no?"

  "Uh, yes," Ruby said patiently. "He doesn't know your family or owe them anything. You're both grown, he doesn't need your parents' permission to date you or hang out with you or whatever you two are up to. He agreed to come because he wants to. Because he is outright smitten with you."

  "He was just being nice and didn't want to make me look stupid in front of my sister," I insisted. "You know how Alexis is."

  "Well, I certainly don't know him like you know him," Ruby said, piping buttercream. "Or, well, at all for that matter. But I don't think it's rocket science, my dear. The man likes you. So let him like you."

  "I'm telling you, it's not like that." I scrubbed at the mixing bowl Ruby brought over to me. "Just friends. That's all. Like you and me."

  Ruby rolled her blue eyes and shook her head. "You wish I looked at you with dreamy eyes like the way Asher does. You know, for a twenty-three-year-old, you are irritatingly naïve."

  "Your...face is naïve," I shot back lamely.

  Ruby laughed. "Brilliant. I see love makes you stupid.”

  I felt my cell phone buzz in my pocket and I quickly pulled it out, smiling when I saw whom the message was from. Since Ruby had handed out my number, Asher and I had been texting continuously.

  “Let me guess—Officer Safety making sure you got a safe ride secured for tonight.” I nodded in reply, still reading over his text.

  “It’s amazing, Ruby. Every day he makes sure I’m all right. He’ll spend countless hours riding lots of buses with me just to escort me to my door.”

  “No guy has ever done that for me, Jewel. God, I’m so jealous right now. That boy is something.”

  Asher was definitely something. He made me feel comfortable in a way I hadn't felt around the opposite sex in some time. After last year’s nightmare, I’d become a shell of my former self. Asher was the first guy outside of my family that I'd been able to look in the face, talk to, open up a little bit to. I hoped I wasn't being naïve as Ruby had mentioned, but in a completely different way. My instincts told me that I was safe, but I wasn't sure if I could trust it completely.

  “He is…but…”

  “But what?”

  “I’m just not sure if I can trust him. I want to. I really do… I mean, he’s pulled my ass out of the fire on a couple of different occasions and even if it’s no big deal to him—to me, they mean more than I can put into words.”

  “I know, hun,” Ruby said, understanding. “I don’t know what happened to you but I know it was bad. You deserve to be treated like a princess.”

  It was more than bad. But I also knew Asher had had his own problems once. I’d watched him on TV, and he’d always seemed so angry—the way he tore out of the ring after winning fight after fight, how he never gave interviews, how he never walked out to any music. How he never looked into the camera when it was in his face. He still had that dangerous edge I'd recognized in him then, but that deep-seated anger seemed to be gone. I wondered what had caused the anger in the first place. And I wondered how he had gotten past it.

  “There’s only one way to find out, Jewel,” Ruby said, bringing me out of my thoughts. “Maybe you need to let him in a little. Give him a chance.”

  “How?” I asked.

  “Here, give me your cell.”

  “Why?” I narrowed my eyes in suspicion.

  “Just trust your best friend, okay,” she said, raising her brow. I reluctantly handed my cell over, only to watch her key in something quickly, before handing it back. I looked at the screen and read the text she wrote.

  ‘Would you like to come over for dinner tomorrow? Maybe watch a movie? xxx’

  “Send it to him,” she said.

  I was self-aware enough to realize that fear of the unknown and my inability to really trust anyone were probably my two greatest issues. I didn't know how to help the former. The latter, though, would require a leap of faith.

  “I can’t—look, I need to get to the bank. It’s a nice idea, Ruby, but I’m not ready. Not yet.”

  “I get it,” she replied sincerely. “Get gone. Go work on something awesome and make me proud."

  Saying goodbye, I grabbed the deposit bag and exited the café. Maybe I was being a coward. Maybe Ruby was right. I needed to give Asher a chance. I felt like I owed him. I had to start somewhere, right? I almost felt a panic attack at the idea, but I shook it off.

  Leap of faith.

  I pulled out my phone, my fingers trembling as I deleted the kisses Ruby had keyed in, and then hit the button to send the message. I immediately dropped the phone back into my pocket, my fingers coming up to my temple as I squeezed my eyes shut.

  "What did you just do?" I mumbled.

  I knew that for most people, this was a simple, common, ordinary exercise. People texted their friends all the time with dinner invitations. It was perfectly normal…

  But my own home?! the frightened, rational part of my brain screamed. What's wrong with a restaurant? My pulse picked up, and I felt anxiety climb up my throat.

  Leap of faith, a quieter, stronger voice reminded me, and I took a couple of
deep breaths. On the tail end of that thought, I wondered irrationally what the hell was taking him so long to reply.

  A few moments later, a few long moments later, my phone buzzed. And although I hated myself for it, I scrambled to quickly snatch my phone into my hand to read Asher’s reply.

  ‘About time, Nutcracker.’

  I exhaled a breath I hadn't been aware I'd been holding, and felt a confusing mixture of excitement, anticipation, and sheer, utter panic. My hand moved toward my bag where my meds were stashed, but I pulled my hand back before I caught the zipper.

  “No,” I muttered. And put the meds back into the bag.

  Leap of fucking faith.

  “RUBY, I CAN’T do this," I said frantically the next evening. We were closing the café, and I had exactly one and a half hours until Asher was supposed to arrive at my apartment. "I think I have to cancel."

  "Well, you're not going to do that, obviously," Ruby said calmly. "Just relax! I'm proud of you."

  "I don't know how to do this!" I panicked. "I have never had a guy over before. I mean, not since I lived in New York before I became a basket case. What if he's a psycho? What if he robs me?"

  "He might be a psycho, to be fair," Ruby began, "but I highly doubt he wants to rob you. Your shit isn't that great, anyway. And he's been at your apartment way later than seven-thirty at night before and he's had you alone at his gym. If he wanted to do something to you I'm quite certain he would have done it already." She reached out and grabbed me by the shoulders, giving me a little shake. "Man up! This is a date, you should be prepared to have—"I gave Ruby a murderous look and she grinned in return"—fun," she finished innocently. "Have fun."

  "I feeling like throwing up," I announced. "Everywhere. Like, what do I wear? Do I wear makeup? Am I supposed to shave my legs? I literally do not know what to do. I'm twenty-three. I am so pathetic."

  "I mean, you should always be shaving your legs," Ruby said, eyeing me suspiciously. "And, I think the makeup you have on now is fine. It's subtle. Natural. You should take your hair down, though." Her eyes moved over me critically. "As for what to wear, it's your house. Wear whatever you want to be comfortable in." She shrugged. "Wear panties."