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Steel pressed a kiss to the top of my head "He’ll be okay with this Once he sees hoe feel, it’ll all be good, I promise"

I knew that Steel coht? Really, what did I know? It wasn’t that Asher verbally ever said that he hated ain When I went to his house, after calling several tiht through me, and then he left town He went to stay at his uncle’s in Texas for a ive me They all looked at me with pity in their eyes

When Asher returned, it was as if the man didn’t knoho I was The Asher who had loved one and in his place stood an eer He then accepted a scholarship to the University of Florida and I never saw hiain

I was left to claay out of despair all onwhat I had done to lose hiht I had my heartbreak finally under control, Asher came back

I was now fifteen years old and I had one oter ashamed of when I looked at et Asher Sutton’s attention, not in the way I so desperately wanted it But it made me feel less like a child in front of hi froun talking to , and even thoughht, I knew that at some point, I had to letto be that "somebody" because I’d not only have to be around Asher, but hidingSteel would be hard Impossible even I needed someone else to date, but he would have to be a brave soul Asher was around a to me even more I rarely walked to a class that Asher didn’t walka perht was neverif he wantedon me Finally, I’d decided he’d have to come to me He hadn’t, of course He was Asher Sutton And I was just an inexperienced young girl with no idea how to handle hih, I was older, and I finally looked e I had plenty to be happy about and I had decided that I didn’t need Asher to be happy I was turning over a new leaf

"Dixie, you haveuh, company," my mother called up the stairs We were about to leave for school Who was here and why? Was this another birthday surprise? I’d awakened to my favorite breakfast, chocolate cake on a plate, a tradition they began when I was four I’d wanted my birthday cake so bad, I’d asked God in my prayers for my parents to let me have cake for breakfast oniven me cake for breakfast

That wasn’t a surprise, of course, but during breakfast they had also given h I’d only askedht the ca I was into lately Last summer, I’d found an old ca photos, azines

His voice stopped me as I hit the first step Asher Sutton was in lanced down at the skirt and top I earing Secretly, I’d thought of Asher when I picked the he’d seeof the University of Florida"

"Good choice, although Alabaive the Baht They were talking football Asher was thinking of going all the way to Florida? That was so far I’d have three full years left of high school while he ay at Florida, falling in love, ed, which immediately made my stomach feel sick

I sloalked the rest of the way down the stairs and put a smile on my face Asher was inMo his mother had made for her, or to borrow a tool from Daddy Asher was here forroo on his face with ease "Happy birthday, Dixie," he replied

"Thank you," I replied, beaive you a ride to school on such an iht it would be nice to visit the birthday girl" He paused and looked back at my parents "That is, if it’s okay with the both of you?"

My ht in the into this, but I couldn’t correct her in front of Asher

"Reckon it is, if I can have your word that you’ll treat irl like the lady she is I’ve heard about that truck of yours Dixie ain’t one of the to crawl under the coffee table and hide there forever

"Yes, sir You have nothing to worry about Dixie’stime with her, as a friend, only as a friend"

Asher had just said I was his friend three times and that was all the wake up call I needed to stopme up for school on my birthday He only saw me as his friend and that was all

Daddy didn’t look very convinced But he nodded, indicating he was buying it "Known you since you were born You’re a good boy, even if you’ve got a bit of a reputation with girls I trust you’ll do right byby the second I hurried to the door saying, "we need to go or we’ll be late," and opening it quickly The coolbreeze helped my heated cheeks, but it would take an ice storood day, honey Wear your seatbelt," Mo truck I feared that if we didn’t get away soon, dad would be asking Asher about his intentions and whatnot

I clier side of the truck and it dawned on me then that the other Suttons weren’t here Asher shared this truck with the twins and they rode to school together every day

Asher got inside with a chuckle "Don’t worry about the parents No need to be e to forget that scene inside I wasn’t looking at hiot another ride"

"Why?"

"Because I didn’t want theive you this" I looked up from my lap to see a s ift, not on my birthday at least, unless you count the white bunny Davey Miller gave rade It was the saarten year which made me feel pretty special at the time