'Time won't fly, it's like I'm paralyzed by it

I'd like to be my old self again

But I'm still trying to find it.'

*ASHER'S POV*

October 22, 2023.

"Make a wish!"

For the first time in three years, I didn't roll my eyes at my mom's cheerful tone, nor did I ask to turn back time while blowing the one candle.

I wished this day would never end.

My muscles throbbing with fatigue wouldn't have agreed, but they were silenced by the claps around and a new burst of energy pumping through my veins when I reopened my eyes to my favorite smile, right next to me.

"Happy birthday. I didn't gift-wrap it because I thought I'd give you a break on the physio." Althea put a green gift bag on my knees as I turned to her, ignoring the cake in front of me—No offense to Kylie. Raspberry pistachio was my favorite, but nothing could make my mouth water more than those peachy lips rolling together as Althea followed my movements attentively.

"You didn't have to... The gift, I mean."

Though I also appreciated the ribbon loosely linking the bag handles so I didn't have to do more than tug on lightly with one hand.

"I wanted to." She shrugged, a cryptic twinkle in her dark eyes that peered up at me, exactly like on our first date, as I uncovered a piece of peach-colored fabric, this time way larger than a wristband.

"It's a tradition, and since you have an office job now, I thought you needed a special suit jacket."

"You m-made it?"

"Yeah, well, the kids drew all the designs." She pointed to the silver lines of marker as if they were the most important, and yes, the heart, the robot, the frog, and each little drawing were fucking important. As much as the smooth seams, the striking contrast of colors, and the magnets hidden under the buttons making it easier to close with one hand. "I did the sewing, and I'm a little rusty, so please be lenient."

"Rusty? Not even Ar'ani can do that!"

My mom repeated all the time that the best gifts had no price tag, and I'd used to believe it was a bullshit excuse to scrimp until seven years ago, when I'd unwrapped a piece of terry cloth the hot new girl had spent the night to make for me, and my breath had got knocked off my chest, replaced by unfamiliar flutters.

What was the most unbelievable though: that she'd spent so much time for this gift when she'd barely met me or that she'd done it again now that she knew almost every dark secret of mine?

"I'll wear 't all the time." I chuckled, still breathless, even if I now recognized the twitches that had grown inside my ribcage, strong enough that everything around the table disappeared.

I vaguely caught Grandma preaching it would 'look more elegant than my baggy clothes' and Paxton claiming I would have no excuse to avoid video conferences, but my mind was set on only one thing as I leaned closer to Althea and whispered,

"Let me thank you."

That stopped the humble shakes of her head instantly as her large eyes snapped towards me, and through the dark brown shades, I could glimpse the reflection of the many, many ways I'd thanked her over the years.

Let's say I could be creative too in showing my thankfulness, and I still caught her off guard when I pulled her into a simple and appropriate hug. Okay, maybe not 'simple' when it was a whole workout to reach my left arm, and even if it was more decent than a striptease with a speedo, my thoughts were far from 'appropriate' when, after freezing for a second, she melted closer.

The warmth of her hands on my back, the tickles of her intoxicating perfume and smooth curls as I breathed in the crook of her neck, her boobs brushing my chest with her every uneven rise... It was almost like in my many fantasies.

It lacked only a few inches for my left arm to join the other around her waist, and I focused all the tingles she aroused in my nerves to close the tiny distance... bend my left elbow more, tug her closer into me, lift her up in my arms, and never let go.

For a second, it all flashed before my eyes. But then an 'aw' echoed around, followed by another flash, and I came back to reality: the few inches that were still there, the distance growing as Althea pulled away, her gaze following too attentively the movements of her hands smoothing her dress, and the phone pointed at us across the table.

"Mom!" I grumbled, instantly regretting it. Not that my mom cared about my annoyed tone, and that was the problem, as her green eyes lit up more than the flash of her phone.

Using my voice to talk with Althea was slowly and surely becoming a reflex, and I'd forgotten that my family hadn't heard me use something else than the tablet in so long.

When I'd started talking at the beginning of the dinner, they'd all gaped at me like I was a one-year-old pronouncing his first words, and my mom still was at the sound of her nickname.

If she could have recorded, she would have, and that was the reason why by the end of the dinner, when I found myself alone with her, I made sure to use the tablet.

"Mom, you really need to stop."

"Stop what?" She blinked at me with that innocent look I'd inherited and practiced many times, though it would have been more convincing without the match in her hand. "Can't I just light up a few candles and make sure my guests feel at home?"

Her guests, aka Althea, because half of us had grown up here; Grandma Liz was already snoring on the couch, and Kylie was her accomplice in all of that, preparing some tea in the kitchen.

As for the 'few candles', she'd barely lit up half of them, and with the starry sky above, it was enough to flood the sunroom with a cozy lighting, ideal for snuggling under the fluffy blankets she'd set there, but not to look through the sewing gear and fabrics Althea was currently picking up in the attic with my dad and Paxton.

"Her home is in New York now." I reminded her because the flickering light could be deceiving—the candles illuminating the family photos where Althea's peachy smile was still appearing, but also that twinkle of hope in my mom's eyes as she tried to play Cupid.

I hadn't minded it at first, on the contrary, when she'd placed us next to each other around the table and had left us alone any chance she'd got, but now, it was getting out of hand, and like for the candles, it would either catch fire or die out. Most likely the latter when Althea would go back to New York.

"Haven't you seen the ring on her finger?"

"I haven't seen her fiancé around." My mom shrugged, glancing around like she could catch something else than candles. "If he's stupido to leave her with you, it's his problem."

"He's working in his big finance business." Big enough to be number one in his field, and still, something wasn't big enough to let his fiancé wear a few inches of heels.

I may have dropped the subject to spend a peaceful dinner with Althea, but I hadn't forgotten.

High heels were a huge part of her unique style, which was a huge part of her. Like her colorful clothes.

Yes, I'd noticed every little change in her... even if it'd stopped concerning me.

"All I see is that she is here with you, and not her fiancé," my mom replied, her cheerful voice rising as if to drown out Althea's words in the back of my mind.

But could you drown out an ocean?

"I saw that hug and the way she smiles when she looks at you."

She hadn't heard the cracks in her tone a week ago. She hadn't tasted the bitterness of her words earlier. She hadn't felt—

"And let's not forget that she kissed you," another singing voice added, and we both turned to find Kylie coming from the kitchen with a full tray of tea.

"What?! Who's the f-fuck told you?" I exclaimed, forgetting my tablet for a second, though my mom was more preoccupied with something else to celebrate hearing my first curse word.

"No, the question is why no one told me?"

"Carol told me this morning when she picked up her order at the bakery."

Great, we'd passed from talk of the clinic to talk of the town.

"That was just a tiny smack because we were playing a story for the kids." I typed on the tablet again because my mom would only listen to the AI voice, and also because that tiny smack had already been enough to imprint Althea's sweetness on my lips, and I didn't want to spoil it with the sour truth. "She's done it for the kids. She's here for the kids, and in ten days she'll go back to New York."

"More than ten days if we count Kylie and Paxton's wedding," my mom remarked, never out of arguments, although she must have been out of candles as she disappeared towards the kitchen, too fast to hear my mumble.

"'Xcept she doesn't know the date..."

Kylie was still there, however, and strangely silent as she placed the cups of tea on the small metal table with the carefulness of a butler serving the queen of England.

"Right?" I called, rolling my chair closer until I almost bumped into the table and knocked over the crockery.

But finally, it was another kind of tea that spilled as Kylie lifted her gaze from the cups.

"Well, uh, she may know the date actually..."

"What? How?!"

Seeing how tense the greetings had still been tonight when Kylie and Paxton had arrived, it was obvious they hadn't gushed about tulle and save-the-date since Althea had found out the truth. So it only meant one thing...

"Well, I may have sent her an invitation months ago..." Her lips pulled in every side like she hesitated between a sheepish smile and a wince before she quickly realized none would work, and she added, "You have to understand, she's my best friend. I haven't seen her in years, and it's the most important day of my life, so I have the right to invite her."

"And what 'bout your future hus'and?"

"Paxton? He knows it. We have no secret for each other." She shrugged, and yes, I caught the hint of accusative reproach underlying in her words, but my attention was already on something else, on someone else.

"It's weird. I was sure I had more Pokemon cards in my memories."

The someone else that walked in all smiles with my Peachy.

"Here's the doub-ble agent!"

"What?" Paxton stopped in his tracks, his grin tumbling down, and the large box in his arms almost followed the same crash when Kylie explained,

"I may have told him about the invitation we sent to Althea months ago."

Funny how he carefully put the box down, raising his hands like I were a wild animal about to charge at him. I would have, if the cardboard box on the floor hadn't stood in the way of my wheelchair.

The traitor knew me well, and my mind was reeling like a caged lion with a mix of curse words and the possible scenarios of what would have happened that day if their little scheme had worked.

"It's not what it looks like. You know I can't say no to Kylie, even less for that day, and I couldn't tell you either because you wouldn't have come, and I need my best man. But it doesn't matter anymore now that the truth got out anyway." He chuckled, pointing at Althea.

The traitor knew me very well. He knew that I never got wilder than when it came to Althea, but she was also the only one who could calm me down so fast, and it was still true as she stepped beside Paxton with that bashful smile of hers.

"If it can reassure you, I hadn't planned on coming."

"And now?" Kylie spoke up, the same flicker of hope my mom had had in her eyes echoing in her question.

Sometimes I forgot that Althea and Kylie hadn't just been close to be sisters-in-law; they were also best friends, and I wasn't the only one who'd missed the peachy smile that pulled at Althea's lips when I reminded her that she couldn't say no to the bride for that day.

"Fine, I'll try to arrange."

"Really? Thank you!" Kylie wrapped her arms around Althea while jumping, squealing, and clapping.

Oh, no, the squeals were coming from the kitchen, where my mom was supposedly 'busy with the dish'. At least, that was what she said as she called Kylie and Paxton for help, and when they both walked out, leaving me alone with Althea in the dim-lit room, some claps were still echoing inside my ribcage.

"I hadn't remembered how beautiful the candles light could be..." she whispered, her voice dropping hoarser and bringing back some memories.

As if the flickering flames hadn't been enough to trigger them with the cozy light dancing all over the right places of her silhouette and until her magnetizing dark eyes.

"Um, but I think we need more light to look through the boxes." She quickly shook her head, letting me know I wasn't the only one going through memories lane. That, or she'd caught my wandering gaze.

Too bad for her, we had even more memories in bright lightings, and the artificial light coming from the floor lamp was attracting even more my attention to all the right but also the wrong places her short black dress was exposing.

Mamma Mia, that dress had driven me crazy all day, the shape innocent enough to make her look like a princess while still showing off her long legs and the outlines of her queen body under. The only downside was the color. She would have been a thousandth times sexier in red, peach, prints, or any of the shades from the fabrics she was currently pulling out of the box.

"Found what you were looking f-for?"

"Yes, even more! With this, I'll not only be able to adapt the kids' costumes, but also make them more unique, and no one will be left out," she rambled excitedly before slowing down with a shaky breath. "I didn't expect your parents would have kept all of these."

"Count on them to keep ever'thing treasured, well, 'xcept Pax's Pokemon collection." I chuckled, still picturing my mom's face when I'd tried to explain her those were worth a lot of money. "But don't tell him. It's a s-secret."

"Oh—wait, what did you just say?"

I was about to turn to my tablet—as it had been a long day, and even for Althea who knew me so well, it must have been hard to understand the slur coming out of my strained smile—when she snapped her large eyes towards me, and I recognized the sparkle shining in the brown shades and outshining all the lights around.

I knew that look.

"Secret... treasures... That's it! You just gave me an idea for my new collection!"

Can you guess what's this idea is? 👀 

Tell me in the comments, along with all your thoughts on this chapter, Asher's POV, and his family!

We're not the only ones shipping Ashea! 😅😉

I hope you liked this chapter, and as always, don't forget to vote ⭐ if you're excited for what's coming (I am 🤭🤫).

I love you my little peaches!! 🍑🥰😘❤️

PS: Yes, I've chosen the short All Too Well version for this chapter, and not the 10 minutes one (even if I'm obsessed with it) because I think it depicts more a toxic relationship, and it wouldn't fit for Asher and Althea. Do you get what I mean? 🤔