RILEY

MY FRIENDS AREN'T TELLING ME WHERE WE'RE GOING TONIGHT.

Originally, Mattie asked me what I wanted to do for my birthday.

All of that went out because we never talked about it again. I never told them what I wanted because... well, I don't know what I want. A little happy birthday helium balloon and a birthday message would be fine enough for me. But Kianna, Sutton and Mattie told me to get dressed because they're taking me somewhere and it's my twenty-first so I can't say no. I don't know where and they won't budge.

So here I am, sitting in the passenger seat of Mattie's car staring at the signs of every place we pass by. Yup. They're not letting me drive tonight either. And honestly? That's very wise. I plan to take full advantage of wherever. This is how I know that they're my girls. They know so well.

"You're gonna love it," Sutton claims from the backseat, "Now stop asking questions."

I oblige.

For the rest of the way, I take pictures of myself. Tonight, I decided to go with a little green eyeshadow over my eyelids, glitter to make it pop, my usual liner and lashes. It sucks that my natural lashes weren't long enough. I used my middle finger to dap blush over my cheeks and I couldn't be done without applying lipgloss. Kie said I look like a beautiful nightmare.

I'm wearing a long sleeved black dress that I've been dying to put on ever since I brought it. It's turtle neck which is perfect for the weather with a section exposing my chest—not my breasts— not that I have breasts to show because I'm flat chested. Another split carved out one side of my leg—the right one— and the material is so soft I never want to take it off.

The car finally comes to a stop outside a hookah lounge and bar. I know because there's a neon light sign that can't go unnoticed. I unbuckle my seatbelt and turn around to look at my best friends.

Kie and Sutton are grinning from ear to ear.

"Told ya you'll love it." Sutton winks at me.

Outside, Mattie shrieks. "It's cold!" She slams the door shut, the entire car shaking from impact. I dread stepping out now because as much as I'm fine living in Warren, the cold and I are enemies.

"Hoes never get cold!"Kie claims, hopping out of the car behind our blonde friend. I hear Mattie chuckle and she swings an arm around Kie's mesh covered shoulders.

Sutton's tanned hand wraps around mine when my feet hit the asphalt. Cold air attacks my exposed skin but it's not the crippling type of cold. It's bearable enough where I'm able to make it to the entrance doors of the hookah lounge without begging for a coat or puffer jacket.

Music blasts through speakers and wraps us in a bubble the minute we enter. I don't know what's louder, my heart beating or the base of the song that's on. It's a shame I've never been here before because it's unlike any hookah lounge I've ever been to. People are drinking straight from the bottle, some are grinding on each other and it looks like so much fun. No one is standing in a corner by themselves. I know I'm about to have a good time when I spot a few guys playing pool. Yup. There seems to be other games here as well. Then I see Cole. As in—my brother—Cole. Coleslaw.

He's walking towards us, with both arms outstretched for a hug. "Happy birthday twin."

"Happy birthday to you." I go in for the hug, and I swear my jaw touched the floor. "What are you doing here?"

"We had a group chat without you." Kie answers. "Your brother wanted to spend his birthday with you."

"You sneaky little—"

"Or... we're the best friends ever and you love us?" Mattie's voice is sugary sweet.

"That too." I say, releasing Cole, "I do love you guys. You too Cole."

"Love you too sis. Let's get some bottles." Cole leads us to his section where I recognize Tyler, sitting on one of the cherry red couches with smoke all around his features.

"Riley," Tyler greets with the same tone he always does. "Happy 21st. How do you like the place?"

"Thanks Tyler." I start off, giving the environment another scan. Yup. I love it. "It's sick."

"Right?" It's Rhett's voice, he gives me a tiny hug. "Happy birthday."

My phone vibrates. I know it's a text message before I see it.

ASHER:
You look so pretty

Then a picture pops up on the screen. It's me. But I'm not sure which angle it's been taken.

ME:
I know

Okay Riley, it's a compliment just take it.

ME:
Thanks
this is stalker-ish tho

ASHER:
Do you think so?
I thought it was authentic
off guard pics are the best

ME:
Won't say that's wrong
Where's Tommy?

ASHER:
With my parents, why?
Miss babysitting?
I could arrange something
for you

I'm typing a response to Asher when my phone rings. I know it's my mother's number even though I deleted it recently. I should've blocked her instead.  I don't answer but I step away from everyone for a second and find the restroom. I don't even know why I want to hear what she has to say. She left a voicemail.

I follow the sign to the restroom and push the door open. Surprisingly, it's empty to the point it's echoey.

I put the phone on the surface near the sink and play on the voicemail.

My fierce artist, you're still ignoring me. You would've called me back by now but it's my fault and I don't blame you. I couldn't let your birthday pass without wishing you. When you and Cole were born, it truly was the best day of my life. You were so soft and tiny, but you screamed with all your lungs (laughs) your dad said that you're a fighter. And he was right, too bad he's not here to see how beautiful and amazing you turned out... without much of my help, this is all you Riley. So, happy birth—

Make it stop. Please. It's a miracle she remembers my birthday and cares to call. I don't want to hear anymore. I don't realize I'm crying until a droplet splashes on my wrist. I don't cry. This isn't me. What is happening to me?

I yank paper towels from the dispenser, stare at myself in the mirror and use my left hand to dab my cheeks where the vertical lines had formed from my tears. Great. I'm crying. My makeup isn't messed up. It's not as bad as I thought it would be. If I was in a sob session then I would've totally gotten bloodshot eyes and pink puffy cheeks. I look fine. I don't know why I'm crying in the first place, I'm not an emotional person.

My mother's got to go. So I blocked her number this time around and with good reason. I don't want to hear about her. I don't want to talk to her. I don't want to think about her. Not anymore.

The bathroom door creaks open and I toss the napkins in the trash. The footsteps that follow slows.

"You okay?" I know it's Asher before I see him.

"I'm great, just making sure my make-up is fine,"It's not exactly a lie. I turn around to face him. "Why are you here?"

He's leaning on one of the stalls with one hand tucked into the pocket of his jeans. Feet crossed over at the ankles. Eyes on me. Then he shakes his fluffy dark hair with the other hand which totally doesn't need fixing. He looks perfect. God. Why does he have to be so effortlessly attractive? "Checking on you. You just stormed off. I thought I said something wrong and the picture might've creeped you the fuck out for real."

"I'm fine and you didn't say or do anything wrong,"I wave him off and then I take a deep breath. "The picture might be creepy, yeah but it's nothing to do with that. Uh, flatter me some more though, come on. How pretty do I look right now?"

The last thing I want to do is talk about why I'm here.

Asher doesn't hesitate. "Pretty enough to kiss."

Why is that an instant turn on for me?

I sink my teeth into my bottom lip. "Yeah? Then do it."

His brown eyes twinkle perilously. "Don't ask for something you don't want."

"Who says I don't want it?"

It's my birthday. Why the heck not?

I really don't expect him to do it though.

For one, men have this weird thing and I assume especially for Asher since he's close to Cole. I'm probably off-limits, you know the sister that no members on the hockey team can find hot or steal a glance at out of a guilty conscience or consideration of my brother which is funny because Cole or anyone I know can't tell me who I can and cannot date or hook up with. But for Asher, it's a respectable thing I would think. Right?

There's no number two. Because I lost my train of thought.

Asher's strong hand grips the side of my waist and he pulls me closer. My pelvis crashes into him. He's teasing, he's definitely not going to do it. I don't know what to do with my hands so I place them on his broad shoulders. Then I sweep my hands around his neck.

Excitement pumps my heart. A citrus smell invades my nostrils that's radiating off of him. His other hand grips the side of my jaw and I still manage to convince myself that he's not going to kiss me. The rings on his fingers are icy cold against my cheek which is a total contrast to the fire within me right now.

"You're not going to do it, are you?" I stare into his eyes, soon shifting my focus to his lips. Then slowly, adjust my eyes back to his.

The placement of his hand on my cheek switches to my throat. His pupils dilate. The energy shifted. I feel it. I don't back away. I want to forget my mother's phone call. My birthday isn't ruined. I'm not emotional. I didn't just shed tears in a public restroom like it's sad girl hour.

I know I want to kiss him. My pulse races with anticipation and it's possible he feels it racing underneath his hand. I want to cannonball into another dimension. Asher Humphrey is my lucky ticket there. If he pulls away now like I convinced myself he would, I'm going to be very disappointed even if I've foreseen it because there's always a fifty percent chance it'll happen and another fifty that it won't.

Whatever I'm thinking vanishes when his lips crashes against mine. I feel everything he does, everywhere he touches. It honestly seems like he's all over my nerve endings. Automatically, my head tilts at an angle and his head moves in the opposite direction. My mouth parts willingly and his tongue swipes over my bottom lip.

There's nothing gentle about this kiss. At all. His mouth works dangerously with mine and his tongue exploring my mouth sends tremors through my whole body. The swiftness of his tongue and our lips parting on our accord forces my hand to clasp his wrist like I'm anchoring myself. The kiss brings me out of reality, like our souls are crashing into each other and releasing tremendous energy of warmth.

He groans and I promise I might've moaned afterwards.

Calloused hand roams over my side to my ass and he gives me a tight squeeze. It shouldn't feel this good but it does. All five fingers just grabbing and holding onto my flesh with energy surging through them that I can't describe. I feel him using the same hand to lift my right leg and I snake it around him in an attempt to steady myself. The kiss gets hotter, heavier, deeper and more demanding to the point we're stumbling on the counter behind us.

My hands are in his hair, pulling and tugging in the direction I want him. I don't know when or how Asher lifts me up like I weigh the same amount as his hockey stick, all I know is that my ass is on the edge of the cold surface by the sink and he's standing between my opened legs that wraps him like a ribbon. He's the perfect birthday gift. I'm feeling him—all of him—against my body and I wouldn't want this any other way. It makes me feel good that I can get him excited.

Call me whatever but I don't care that we're making out in a public restroom and a bunch of women can walk in any minute now. I don't care that the surface is cold and hard against my ass. Nothing else matters except his lips and mine. Something about Asher's stubble against my skin makes this ten times better. All my senses are so active. I'm literally feeling butterflies in my stomach.

I can't hide the heat on my face when our mouths finally break apart. He dips and presses open mouth kisses on the side of my neck and I slip my hand behind his head, his hair cotton soft against my fingers. When he looks at me again, hot brown eyes leveling with me, that's when I knew he's not done with me yet.

"Happy Birthday pretty girl." His voice is so attractive that it makes my core clench.

Then he tilts my chin up, bringing his mouth to mine, stealing another kiss. I don't get time to say thank you. The air from my lungs disappears. Pretty girl. Those words do something to me. I'm clinging to him hard, losing myself into the kiss. The feel of his body on mine is electrifying and something I'm far from used to. Our heartbeats are in sync. If we keep this up, we're never leaving the restroom.

I have no choice but to think he knows what calling me a pretty girl does to me. No kiss feels the same every time you do it. This whole kiss was explosive and hot and sensual. I definitely feel tingly. This is the type of feeling that I was aiming for, I've forgotten why I was using the dispenser earlier.

On the other hand, I didn't expect the kiss to be so powerful.

When we pull away, I'm this close to fanning myself. Instead, I exhale deeply.

As if I couldn't get hotter, Asher brings his mouth to my ears planting a hot kiss, teeth nibbling. "You haven't seen anything yet."

His breath is as hot as I feel.

"Haven't I?"

"No. But first tell me what I wasn't going to do again?"

Of course he wants me to admit it. "I didn't think you would kiss me."

His Adam apple bobs. "Really? You gave me those eyes. You knew what you were doing."

Which worked because when his hand was around my throat? Instant throbbing between my legs.

"What eyes?" I pretend I don't know what he's talking about. "I mean, do I really know what I was doing? You brought up the whole pretty enough to kiss thing. What was that huh?"

"Riley Rose Becker." He says my entire name like I'm trouble. Like I've surfaced with two horns on my forehead.

He's still trapped between my legs and now that I'm looking at him up close I'll admit that I'm jealous of how long his eyelashes are. "How did you..." seriously, how does he know my middle name? "I'm going to kill my friends."

What did they speak about in this group chat?

"Since you know so much, what's my favorite color?" If I ask something as easy as where I'm from I know he'd get it right because I'm positive he already knows I'm from Detroit.

"I would go with black on the first look," His eyes rake over my black dress. "I have a feeling that your favorite color is green. The little things you do have are green."

My breath hitches. He's right. "It's green. I do like black though."

"I know," the words come out of his mouth so confidently. "It's your birthday. You just make the wish. I'll fulfill them." I'm staring at his hair as he speaks. My fingers have messed it up a little bit.

Suddenly, Asher Humphrey is ten times hotter than he ever was before.

"Anything?" My eyes meet his and they twinkle in my sight.

He nods his head. "Anything."

My phone vibrates. I groan a little too loudly. It's a text from Kianna. I never thought she'd be an unintentional cockblock.

KIE:
Hennessy or vodka?
The bottle girls will come around
Wya?

"Is everything okay? Your face is super red."

"Shut up."I'm usually not this flustered. "Help me down."

Asher moves himself from between my legs which I've untangled from around his waist. My middle feels empty and achy without him there.

I go straight to the camera on my phone and lift my hand at an angle to see myself. The lighting in the restroom sucks. He's right though. Again. My cheeks are flushed. My lips are swollen and the shine it had from lipgloss totally disappeared. It literally screams you've been fucking or at best making out in the restroom.

Do I care? No, not really.

I turn so that I'm staring in the mirror, Asher runs his fingers through my hair. "What kind of shampoo do you use?" He asks.

"Why? Want hair like mine?"

"Sure I want my hair to smell like coconuts."

"And vanilla," I add, trying to take a quick mirror selfie. "It's just Native. Pretty good stuff."

Asher catches what I'm doing and hooks his arm loosely around my neck. "I'm photobombing you right now."

"Of course you are."I take the picture and bump my ass against him. Which is a mistake because something strikes me, traveling from the tip of my toes straight to my core. I'm not only torturing him but also myself.

He groans, a hand falling to my hips squeezing me there. "You're killing me."

Goosebumps prickle my skin. "Okay I'm done messing with you. We gotta get out of here."

As much as I'd like to stay here with my back pressed against his hard chest and his arm around my neck. Chin pressed against the top of my head. I can't.

"I'll go first," I suggest, and as of right now no one has entered the restroom. "Are you good?" He knows the situation I'm asking about.

"Yeah."Asher answers, unhooking his arm from around my neck. I think we both know it's a lie. We both are liars.

"Okay,"I brush my hair back and make sure my legs aren't wobbly. "Pretty enough to kiss huh?"

"Fuck yeah."

"See you out there." I push the door open to escape my little bubble of pleasure and just like that I'm back into the real world.

The music is still booming. People are still dancing and chatting. Nothing stopped. Nothing changed. Everything looks exactly like I left it.

Except I don't look like I did when I first got here.

——-

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Well? 👀 it got a little spicy 🥵
What do you guys thinks about a title change? I don't know THE ART IN BARGAINING was a little too long😭 and this new title is significant to what's about to come! Also a long chapter, happy Friday ❤️