I'm following the map that leads to you

Asher glanced over at Ella, definitely taking into account the blush rising on her cheeks. She was cute, he was willing to admit that, and that blush made her a lot cuter. "That's good. Live for the moment so you don't end up crabby and dumb like me. Oh, and smoke a little bud. It never really hurts anybody."

---

Jase would give him that massage right here right now if she could. She'd love to run her hands over the taunt muscles of his back, working out of the stress he carried there. "Well at least you're making bank, right? That's better than nothing, though it sounds like a pain in the ass."

Ella laughed at Asher's reply, shaking her head and looking at him. "You're not dumb, just a little crabby," she said with a cheeky grin. Her eyebrows raised in surprise at what he said next, definitely not expecting him to be the type to be familiar with weed. God, she was so fucking thankful for him pulling over. "I'm so glad you said that..." She murmured as she picked up her backpack and searched through it for a few moments. She pulled out a small tin and opened it. Inside were a row of joints that she had pre-rolled one night in a shitty hotel room.

---

Lucas shrugged before nodding, because yeah, it was true and he really shouldn't complain. He could be a lot worse off, putting up with even more shit and getting paid next to nothing. "Yeah, I guess," he said, looking at Jase. "What about you? Do you work here all the time?" He asked, because he definitely remembered Jase taking his order quite a few times when he was in the diner.

Asher kept his eyes on the road, cutting them over for a moment to glance at the open tin before doing a double take. "Oh my God," he murmured, smile on his face, "You know we've gotta smoke one of those, right?" He started opening the sunroof and checked his mirrors, noticing that there were few cars behind them, and none of them were cops. Awesome. Asher was probably the king of smoking in cars, to be honest. When he was a teenager, he used to keep all of the essentials in his car in order not to get caught: eye drops, a pack of gum, and one of his less worn body sprays. Ever since then, he continued to keep that in every car he owned. Including this one.

---

Jase nodded, finishing off her toast before continuing to speak. "I take a few classes at the community college up the road. My parents couldn't afford to send me to an actual university, so I stayed at home taking classes until I moved up about two years ago. This job keeps everything on, I guess." It wasn't a horrible job, working at the diner. She got paid a tad more than minimum wage and tended to work overtime more than any other employee, including the cooks who often swapped out at appropriate times.

"Holy shit," Ella replied, a grin appearing on her face when Asher said that they had to smoke one. She couldn't believe that this was happening. When she first got in the car with Asher, she thought that he was attractive but that he was grumpy and kind of boring. But shit, her opinion had changed. She waited for Asher to open the windows before she picked up a joint from the box and pulled the lighter from her pocket, cupping the end of the joint as she lit it and took a long pull.

---

Lucas nodded as he listened to Jase, interested in her story. He liked that she worked so hard for everything. Lucas was fortunate enough to have connections in his family. He did all the work at college, but when it came to work, it wasn't hard for him to find a job because of his father. "What do you study at college?" He asked, drinking the last of his coffee from the cup before picking up a piece of bacon from the plate and eating it in one bite.

Asher chuckled at Ella's comment, taking the correct turn onto the nearly empty stretch of road. "I haven't smoked in years," he admitted, resting his arm behind Ella's headrest, turning the radio up just a tad, just so it could provide some background noise, "I hope I still got it." Anna never did like it when Asher smoked weed, and it was mainly due to a bad experience she had when they had done it once back in high school. He promised her that he'd never smoke again if it made her happy, but it was a huge promise to make considering he spent a lot of his time at school stoned out of his mind.

---

"I study computer science," Jase said with a shrug, "It's kind of boring, but I've always been really good with computers and technology. I wanted to major in music engineering but I figured I'd be able to pick it up after working with computers for so long." Truth be told, Jase wished she'd been able to do some sort of double major with both programs, but with how her schedule was set up, it would've involved too much work that could've caused her the job at the diner. There was absolutely no way she could ever lose this job. She'd rather have to choose between majors instead of choose between which park bench to sleep on.

"I'm sure you have, its just like riding a bicycle - you never forget." Ella replied with a shrug and a playful little smirk on her lips. She gave up smoking weed for the entire final year she was at college because she was so focused on passing and as soon as she finished her final exam, she rolled herself a nice fat blunt. She took another long pull from the joint, a blissful smile on her lips, her eyes falling shut. It was good fucking weed. She exhaled slowly before opening her eyes again and passing the joint over to Asher.

---

Lucas was a little shocked when she said she was studying computer science, although he didn't know what he was expecting her to say but she was constantly finding new ways to surprise him. "That's cool," he nodded. He didn't know much about computers, only what he needed to know for his job and stuff. "How long do you have left until you graduate?" He asked, picking up another bit of bacon. He was more interested in talking to her than he was eating.

Asher took the joint between his fingers, slipping it between his lips for a moment as he took a generous pull from it. He moved it from his lips, letting the smoke settle in his mouth before tilting his head a bit to exhale. "Goddamn," he mumbled, smiling softly, "I missed weed so fucking much," he said before repeating his actions. God, he forgot how much he loved smoking weed. He missed the effects, too. Whenever he was stoned, he got super cuddly and sweet and a big ball of fluff, basically.

---

Jase could tell Lucas was surprised by her majoir - everyone was surprised when she said she was a computer science major. "I'm the little shit that can create viruses that'll erase your computer's data, but I could also create the software to counteract what I did. It's a give and take relationship," she commented, picking up her mug to take a sip of coffee, "I've got another month or so left. Then I'm going to try to get a job at Intel or something and see if I can juggle working here and there."

Ella let out a soft laugh when he said he'd missed weed, and she shook her head before letting out a soft sigh. "Why did you leave it so long, dude?" She asked as she picked up her backpack again, rummaging through it before pulling out a large bag of chips because she was awful and always got the munchies so bad. "Oh wait, your wife," she said, answering herself before he could. She paused before she laughed again, looking over at him. "How are you going to hide getting stoned from her?" She asked, an amused little grin on her features.

---

Lucas let out a laugh at what Jase said, shaking her head because he could imagine her creating viruses for fun. He nodded as she spoke before frowning slightly in confusion. "Why would you need two jobs?" He asked, "I thought computer geeks like you got really well paying jobs, my roommate did anyway." He said with a little shrug. He couldn't imagine having to work his own job as well as another one. God, she was so hard working and he kind of admired her for that.

Before Asher could answer Ella's question, she said the answer, so he just nodded. He was in the middle of taking another long drag when Ella's words made him freeze. "Shit," he groaned, pulling it from his mouth and releasing the smoke, "Goddamn it, I didn't even think of that." He was so stupid. So fucking stupid. Now how was he supposed to go home and lie to Anna about being high?

---

"It'd be nice to have a little extra money. Yeah, the pay I get from the diner keeps everything on but that doesn't necessarily mean I have the luxury of eating a home cooked meal all the time. I end up eating here most of the time if I know I have nothing left at home except macaroni cups and canned fruit." Jase didn't really see it as too much of a problem, what with eating dinner at the diner at all that. It was never inconvenient for her or for their chef, Danny. Everyone was sort of in the same boat, and on some nights when they closed, they even had a big dinner for everyone who had worked that day that guaranteed leftovers for at least another two days.

Ella bit down on her lower lip, smile faltering a little when Asher kind of freaked out a little. She felt really bad for him, man. "Just don't go back," she joked, opening the bag of chips and popping a few in her mouth. "Or maybe she won't notice." She said with a little shrug, trying to make Asher feel better. She didn't want him to have a shit high where he felt paranoid and stuff. "Just have a shower as soon as you get in." She couldn't help but feel disappointed when she spoke about him going home because she was really enjoying hanging out with him.

---

"Sounds like a little family here," Lucas said with a smile. He didn't have many home cooked meals either, but not because he couldn't afford them. It was just him in his apartment, and when he wasn't eating at the diner he was getting home late and ordering a takeout. He didn't have the time or motivation to cook a big meal for just himself. He made up for it on the weekends though, spending hours in the gym to work off his unhealthy food and then he'd go and visit his family and have a meal with them at his old house.

Asher thought about all of his options, weighing them all to see which one would be the smartest and would provide the smallest reaction from his wife - and that was not going back. "We're going to a hotel tonight," he declared, "There's a Four Seasons like half an hour away from here. We'll crash there for the night and then I'll go back home." Yup, a Four fuckin' Seasons. Asher wasn't a basic bitch.

---

Jase smiled at Lucas' comment, eyes darting over towards the kitchen as they all started laughing at something, pots and pans banging together in the commotion. She looked back at Lucas and nodded. "It definitely is," she said softly, "What about your job? Have anyone that seems like family there too?"

Ella raised both eyebrows in shock at his decision, before nodding and shrugging. "Sure, just drop me off before you get there and I can catch another lift." She said, taking the joint from Asher and taking a long pull from it, exhaling after a few moments. "This has been really fun though, so thanks, Asher." She said with a small smile as she looked at him. She would be a little sad to say goodbye to him, even though they had only just met. He was a decent guy, she just hoped he made the right decision about what to do with his wife.

Lucas followed Jase's gaze towards the kitchen, hearing the sudden laughter erupting from behind the wall. He looked back at the girl in front of him before shrugging. "Not really, a lot of people are in competition with each other, even though work for the same firm." He said. "But I do get on really well with my boss' secretary, she's nice and brings me cookies sometimes." He laughed.

Asher raised an eyebrow at Ella as she spoke, shaking his head to her words. "Ella, you don't get it, do you?" He asked, chuckling a little incredulously, "You're coming with me. At least for tonight. I can afford to pay for two people, hell, I could pay for ten people if I wanted to." He was pretty flush with cash, that Asher, though he wasn't planning on using a card just in case his wife got suspicious and checked his bank statement online or something.

---

"I'm not too fond of competition," Jase admitted with a little shrug, "I mean, I guess it's healthy or whatever but excessive competition is extremely hellish. But I don't know, that's my two cents." She didn't like fighting for men, was what she really should've said. Yeah, that bugged her a lot.

Ella raised an eyebrow when Asher told her she didn't get it, and yeah, she was definitely a little confused. Her lips formed a small 'o' when he explained himself, and she let out a small nervous laugh. "Oh okay, right," she murmured, feeling the blush rise up on her cheeks again. She didn't even fucking know why she was acting like a little school kid, it was getting really embarrassing. "Sure, that sounds good to me." She said, looking over at him with a smile. She took another pull from the joint, eyes falling shut, exhaling the smoke after a few moments, a blissful little smile on her lips.

---

"That's fair enough," Lucas murmured, a little smile playing on his lips as he looked at Jase. God, he really should have turned his laptop off sooner. The girl was so interesting, definitely not like anyone else he'd met. Although, when he tried to pick up girls he usually went to a club and got drunk, so he never remembered the girl much the next day anyway.

"I hope that's not weird or anything," Asher added, "I mean, if you don't want to come, you don't have to. But when I was your age, I was never spending nights at a Four Seasons hotel just for the hell of it." Sure, his father had become successful at a very early age in his life, but Asher was a little shit when he was younger, so it wasn't like his father was treating him like a brat or something. He didn't really get to enjoy the luxuries until he was out of college for several years.

---

Jase couldn't help the smile that stayed on her face. Lucas was so different from other guys she'd talked to. For starters, he was a lot more attractive than guys she'd met at bars and whatnot. And he was well educated, which was something she could definitely respect. There was something about him that really drew her in, and maybe that was just his entire presence in general - the dude was magnetic. "Hey, uh, I hope this isn't too forward, but could I have your number? You know, so when I start hacking computers I'll call to make sure you're offline and unaffected."

"No, no I'd love to stay there," she nodded, passing the joint back to Asher before eating a few chips from the bag. "I doubt I'd be able to get another lift tonight so its better than staying in a shit motel." Ella admitted, with a little shrug of her shoulders. "Thanks for letting me stay." She murmured, a soft smile on her features as she looked at Asher.

---

Lucas raised his eyebrows in surprise when she asked for his number, because holy shit the girl was confident as well and that was really attractive. "Yeah, sure of course," he said happily, feeling stupid for not asking her first. "Here, pass me your phone and I'll put my number in and you put yours in mine." He said as he pulled his phone out of his trouser pocket, passing it to Jase over the table.

Asher slipped the joint between his lips, letting it dangle there for a moment. "No problem," he said gently, "I'd feel really uncomfortable with you out in some seedy motel. Like yeah, it's still light out, but the freaks come out at night." He took a drag from the joint, releasing the smoke from his mouth lazily, blissful smile on his lips as he had another go.

---

Jase pulled her phone from her pocket, unlocking it before passing it over to him. He took his and typed her number in, adding her full name and a little smiley face at the end of it. "Should I take a picture for my contact ID?" She asked. Then, without a moment's notice, she flipped the camera and took a picture with her eyes screwed shut and her tongue out. "Too late."

Ella ate some more chips from the bag, so glad she had them with her. She let out a little laugh at what Asher had said. "How do I know you're not one of those freaks?" She asked with a little smirk on her features before laughing again and eating some more chips. Damn, she was hungry.

---

Lucas did the same on Jase's phone, putting his number in and putting the poop emoji with a smiley face next to his name. He laughed when Jase didn't even give him a chance to answer before she put a picture as the contact. "Fine, I'm taking one too." He grinned, flipping the camera and taking a picture of himself pouting and throwing up a peace sign, because Lucas secretly is a thirteen year old teenage girl.

Asher licked his lips suggestively around the joint, turning to look at Ella. "Oh trust me, I'm a freak all right." Fuck yeah, sexual innuendos. He tapped his fingers against the wheel to the song playing, glancing over at the bag of chips in Ella's hand. "Mind handing me one of those?" He asked, taking the joint from his lips before opening his mouth, tongue sticking out a little bit as he waited. They looked really good, and from the looks of how Ella was scarfing them down, they must've been amazing.

---

Jase laughed at Lucas' face, actually having to cover her mouth with her hand a little to mute it because seriously? Who was the guy? A cute nerd, that's what he was. She slid his phone back to him and shook her head once her laughter died down, eyes darting towards the door as it opened. Jase was about to pout and stand to serve them, but luckily one of the waitresses from the back emerged with her pad in hand, knowing look on her face as she met eyes with Jase. "I owe her big time," she murmured with a little grin.