Crush

Remember

ASHER

As I stopped the car at the curb, an excited shiver trembled along my spine. Grinning to myself, I looked out the side window and took in Oliver's house. The sun was beating down, casting a bright light across the house. The front garden was neat, the flowers were in bloom, the paint was fresh. It looked tidy, well cared for. And it hadn't changed one bit.

Shutting the car door closed, I jogged along the path and up the porch steps to knock on the door, then rolled back on my heels while I waited to see who would answer.

I'd offered to pick Oliver up for a day of hanging out at my house. It had been a few years since he'd been to the house and, after I told Dad that I'd been chatting with Oliver, he'd insisted on seeing him again. I wasn't going to question Dad's motives as it meant I could spend some time with Oliver. Just me and him. Without his friends. Or his girlfriend. Or the annoying cheerleader who kept sending me messages. I rolled my eyes as I recalled the dirty text she'd sent earlier. She was making it clear that she wanted me. And I wanted anything but her.

The front door opened, pulling my attention to the present, and grinned at Oliver standing in the threshold with a curious look on his face.

"Hey."

"Hey," he replied.

"Ready to go?"

"Sure. Let me go grab my phone." He opened the door wider. "Come on in. I won't be a minute."

Stepping into the house and closing the door softly behind me, I took a deep breath, the homely feel of the house settling around me. The hallway was lit with the bright light coming through the windows next to the front door. It seemed cosy, lived-in, comfortable. Like people actually lived here. Not the sterile and showy feeling in my own house.

Oliver jogged up the stairs, just as his dad came out of a door at the end of the hallway.

"Asher?" He grinned as he walked towards me. "How are you?"

He extended his hand to me and I took it. Shook it. He had a firm grip, but nothing like my dad's. My dad's handshake was like steel - cold, hard, strong.

"I'm good, thank you, sir," I replied.

He shook his head at me. "'Sir' makes me sound like an old man. You've known me for years. Just call me Stephen."

I smiled. I had always liked the guy.

"Enjoy your vacation?" He asked. "Oliver said your family went to Barbados?"

"The Bahamas." Close enough. "We were gonna go for a couple of weeks, but Dad cut it short because ....well, you know."

Stephen nodded his head in understanding, pushing his glasses up his nose, his face solemn. "Ah, running for mayor. Yes, I know. He wants to start his campaign soon, doesn't he?"

"He already has. Soon as we got back from vacation, he announced that he was running for mayor and well ...." I had hardly seen him since. Scratching the back of my head, I gave him a sheepish glance. He nodded again, face sympathetic. He must have heard all kinds of stuff, working for Dad. He probably knew about my dad running for mayor before I did.

Oliver came down the stairs, tucking his phone into the pocket of his shorts and Stephen turned to face him.

"How long do you think you'll be?" he asked him. "Just thinking of dinner, that's all."

Oliver glanced at me before answering his father. "Not sure, but I'll send you a message when I'm ready to come home."

His dad simply grinned again, the smile lighting up his clear blue eyes behind his glasses. "Want me to pick you up?"