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I heard Asher came to visit me every day in the hospital when I was in a coma. Then when I came out of it, he was always there with Josh and Dad. They were there every day, every chance they could get.
“Why don’t you try a piece of shrimp?” He nods at the platter of grilled shrimp dipped in lemon and garlic.
“Oh no.” I wrinkle my nose. “I don’t think I could.”
He grabs a fork and spears one of the shrimp then holds it out to me. “Try it.”
I want to say no again but the thought of him feeding me has me hooked in place like an idiot schoolgirl who’d agree to go to the ends of the earth with the boy she likes.
“Come on, you know me. I’m not going to give you something you don’t like.” He nods, biting the inside of his lip.
I release a heavy sigh and decide to brave it. “Okay. Just a little bite, though.”
He moves the fork closer. When I open my mouth his eyes drop to my lips and, just for an instant, the blue of his irises darkens. If I didn’t know better I’d think that was desire in his eyes.
I lean in and take a bite of the shrimp, no longer thinkingit’s shrimp.Instead I’m transfixed with trying to figure out what that look is.
Then the burst of flavors hits me and my eyes snap wide. I lean in again and take the rest of the shrimp and, oh my God, how the hell could I have possibly thoughtthiswas gross?
“See, told you.” Asher smiles.
“Oh my God. This is divine.”
“That’s exactly what you said last time, too.”
“Did you get me to eat it?”
“I did.”
“How? And when?” I’m completely curious.
“You were fifteen. I went on vacation with you and your family to Cancun. Josh and I had just graduated so your dad wanted to do something special. Anyway you and I made a bet. I won. That’s how you ended up eating shrimp.”
I’ve seen pictures of us at Cancun and that’s all they were to me—pictures. It’s nice to get some more context.
“What was the bet?”
“We played chess. I bet that I’d put you in checkmate within the first five minutes.”
“Well, no wonder I lost because I don’t play chess.” I shake my head and giggle.
“Yes… you do. You won the championship at school the year before.”
The smile falls off my face. “Me?”
“Yes, you.”
“Who taught me to play chess?”
“I did.” A spark of pride comes into his eyes.
I stare back at him, feeling dazed. I never knew we spent so much time together. Or rather, I don’t remember. The only memory I have of Asher and me is the worst one. The one from that night.
Josh, Dad, and Beth did so much work with me after the accident to help me remember certain things about my life but there was so much more memories that I lost. Most of them with Asher it seems.
I guess I might have tried harder to reacquaint myself with more memories we shared, but because I remembered his rejection, I thought it was best to stay away. Then Dad died and my world changed forever.
“I guess there’s a lot I still don’t remember,” I state with an awkward smile.
