You'll Never Leave My Heart.

“You know, when you asked me out I never expected you to take me to such an extravagant place. I mean, really- how could you afford all this?” I asked Asher.

“Hey, this is all part of my amazing plan to get you to fall hopelessly in love with me,” Asher defended himself. I laughed, taking a bite out of my McDouble. That’s right- we were at McDonalds. Now, if it were another guy, I would probably think that the date would only get worse. But it was Asher we’re talking about, so I kind of looked forward to the rest of the date and I didn’t mind that he took me to McDonalds.

“Oh? And how does that plan go?” I asked.

“You see, any guy could take you some fancy restaurant and sweep you off your feed with a $13 dollar meal, correct?” he asked.

“Sure.”

“But I, on the other hand, am so sure that I could do that very same thing- only with a $3 meal, my amazing company and a mind-blowing evening,” he said, grinning cheekily.

His smile was definitely contagious. “Right. So what’s going on after this?” I asked.

“Well, if you haven’t guessed my budget is a little bit low. So I figure we can go to a walk and see where we end up?” he suggested.

“Sounds good,” I said, throwing my trash in the bag. Asher had finished up a while ago and was patiently waiting for me to finish. “Let’s go.”

He threw the bag away and we left. We’d been walking in silence a couple minutes before Asher spoke. “You know, you don’t need to be so nervous,” he said, teasingly.

“Me? I’m not nervous,” I told him. And I wasn’t. Well, not entirely. I just didn’t really know what to say.

“Mhm,” he said, not believing me. “So, was nobody home when I picked you up?”

I shook my head. “Aarica was there, and so was my mom,” I said.

“Ah,” he said, nodding. “Wait, you live with Aarica?”

“No, she’s just over a lot.”

He nodded. “So if I come over to your house more often, she’ll be there?” he asked.

My breathing got caught in my throat slightly and I looked at him. His face was serious, but his eyes were dancing with amusement. I then realized he was making fun of me. “You jerk!” I said, pushing him.

He laughed. “You should’ve seen your face,” he said between laughter.

I felt my cheeks heat up, as I stopped walking and crossed my arms. “I hate you,” I said.

“Aw, I’m just kidding,” he said, grinning. I glared at him. “I’m sorry, Anamae. Could you ever forgive me?”

“Nope.”

“Anamaaaae,” he whined, frowning.

I smiled slightly at how ridiculous he looked. A couple people passing by gave him a strange look. “I don’t think I can forgive you,” I said. He made some weird whiny noise, before stomping his foot. He seriously looked like a little kid. Asher continued to attract more stares. A little kid was even giving him a weird look. “Okay, Asher. You can stop now,” I mumbled to him.

He smirked. “Does this mean I’m forgiven?” he said. “’Cause babe, I can go on all night long.”

I blushed at that comment. “Yes, you’re forgiven,” I said.

“Good,” he said, smiling triumphantly. He walked over and laced his fingers with mine. “Now, let’s get back to this fantastic date.”

“Fantastic, oh?” I asked.

“Don’t lie, you know it’s the best date you’ve ever been on,” he said.

“It’s certainly like no other, I’ll give you that,” I told him.

“That’s a good thing, right?” he asked.

“Hm, I don’t know,” I said, pursing my lips in thought.

“Oh really? You don’t?” he asked.

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure that’s what I just said…” I said.

Suddenly he stop walking and pulled my hand so I stopped walking too and turn around to face him. His hands left went to my waist and pulled me close to him. His hands were tight on my waist and I could feel his breath on my lips. “You sure you don’t know if it’s a good thing?” he whispered.

My breath was caught in my throat and my heart was beating wildly. I knew that was the exact response he was looking for but I wouldn’t let him know that. Even though he could feel my uneven breath and I wouldn’t doubt he could hear my heart- yeah, that’s how bad it was. “I still don’t know,” I whispered back, amazed at how I kept my voice normal.

“Well, I think you should make up your mind…” he whispered. “Don’t you?”

“I think I just did.”

“And?”

I leaned closer, pressing my lips to his quickly, pulling away slightly when he started kissing back. My lips grazed his as I spoke. “And… I still don’t forgive you.” I pushed him away. I saw the look on his face and immediately started laughing.

“That was evil,” he said, frowning.

“You should’ve seen your face!” I mocked him.

“Okay, okay. Fair enough,” he said, rolling his eyes. He was smiling slightly though. He pulled out his phone. “What time do you have to be home?”

“My mom’s home tonight, so probably by like ten,” I answered, shrugging. “What time is it now?”

“Nine. So we should probably head back to your house,” he said. I nodded, remembering I had to take him home.

“Okay, then let’s go,” I said.

“So we’re even now?” he asked, grabbing my hand.

I grinned. “Maybe.”