Welcome to Moongate

Eight: Maybe Some Things Do Change

Talia's Point of View

Asher burst out laughing, his hand clutching his stomach as he tried to control himself. Over his shoulder, a snotty looking blonde was eyeing him up, lingering a little too long over his backside before her eyes finally drifted over to me. Our eyes caught for a brief moment and in that moment I swear she let out a snarl, her lips parting and bearing her teeth in disgust. She reminded me far too much of the Barbie that cost me my life as I knew it in California.

I could feel that little bubble of anger roaring back in my chest, no matter how hard I tried to shove it down it seemed to just keep resurfacing. To my surprise though, as my eyes came back to Asher’s, any thought of Barbie had quickly disappeared. All my frustration suddenly focused on the man in front of me again.

“You are too funny Tally,” he shook his head at me, and I tried to ignore the small step he took between us. His voice did that enticing thing again, a seemingly new habit of his that was being added to the list of things about him that annoyed me, where it dropped a tone lower. “I’ve missed that sarcastic little fire,” he teased, and I tried to ignore the way the butterflies rushed right down my spine. My cheeks burned red again, and I prayed for the disguise of the dark room around us.

Asher, drove me crazy in more ways than one all throughout high school, but it wasn’t until that last night that the two of us had realized just how much. The green of his eyes had darkened a shade, and I knew mine had likely done the same. We were both thinking about it, that last night, the secret we shared between us. I thought of his lips on my neck, how it felt to wrap my fingers through those black curls at the nape of his neck. Against my own will, I found myself leaning into him. The pull between us was magnetic, but it couldn’t happen again.

My eyes quickly shot away from his to scan the crowd. I forced myself to take a step back and away from the pull between us. I had to get out of here, to get as far away from him as possible. He wouldn't let me out of this so easily though, of that I was certain. So, for the first time since my arrival in town, I found myself desperately searching the crowd of people around me, just hoping that I might find someone who would recognize me.

Asher knew exactly what I was doing, only he didn’t seem to resist it in the same way. “Who are you looking for?” He asked, and I was sure if I’d turned back to him, I’d see that stupid smirk again. I wanted to say I'd changed drastically since leaving this town, and if you really looked at my life, I had. But that didn't stop Asher from finding that way to somehow still know me, to see me so clearly as if I were an open book to him.

“Someone else to talk to?” I offered, as if I were bored with this conversation, yet still desperately trying to hide the effect he had on me.

“Corey’s not here,” He chuckled, and it only irritated me more that he knew exactly who my first escape would have been.

“Doesn’t matter, anyone that’s not you will do,” I snapped back, but it didn’t phase him. My attitude never did, he was far too used to being on the receiving end of it after all those years of fighting between us. If anything, it only seemed to entice him more.

“Look, enough of this. I came here to blow of steam tonight and by the looks of it, you did too,” His sudden honesty caught me off guard. It wasn’t like him to drop the irritation game between us, nor was it like him to be brutally honest about anything. So I gave in, eyeing Asher up and down. I expected him to walk away from me now, to bring our conversation to its inevitable end. We both knew the best way for each of us to calm down was to stay as far away from each other as possible. Yet, his feet remained firmly in place, his shoulders relaxed, and clearly he had no intention of going anywhere else.

The confusion must have displayed itself right across my face because Asher’s lips had turned back to that annoying smirk. He leaned in a little closer, his voice dropping a little lower as he spoke, “It’s a party Tal, let’s have some fun.” Fun. The word seemed to echo through my brain. That was exactly why I’d shown up tonight. I needed the escape, I needed to have fun.

“You? Fun? I think not,” I rolled my arms at him, my arms folding defensively over my chest. In truth, the Asher I knew always had fun at these parties. Usually you’d find him drunk, playing lawn games among his friends, or positioned on the couch with some skanky girl across his lap or practically throwing herself at him.. I could see my own words mocking me with that twinkle in his eyes, because he was thinking the exact same thing. We both knew I hadn’t exactly been boring at these parties in high school either, but that certainly didn’t mean we had ever found anything fun about each other.

Asher always got what he wanted, he was used to that. So, it came to no surprise when his arm hooked around my shoulders and payed no regard to my sarcastic answer. “Come on, let’s find something better to drink,” He said, ushering me through the crowd before I could so much as argue another word. Yet, I wasn't sure that I wanted to argue anymore. Asher was right. After the past few days I had, I needed some fun, so who cared about who it was with? Clearly he was the only one here to recognize me, and maybe it was time to put all those years of bickering finally behind us.

The night took a surprisingly pleasant turn after that. Asher led me to a back room in Ryland's house that I was certain I'd never been in before. In fact, it seemed that most people hadn't been there before, being behind a closed door at the back of the house. It was also surprisingly quieter than everywhere else, with less people, but the music blaring just as loudly so I could pretend not to hear Asher whenever he said something that particularly annoyed me.

From behind the Bar, Asher had pulled out a few bottles of wine and a beer for himself. I almost laughed, snatching the beer out of his hand and claiming it for myself, then watching the look of surprise cross his face. It wasn't long before the alcohol was hitting my bloodstream, hard. The room around us was beginning to spin, everything suddenly a little bit brighter, and Asher suddenly a lot funnier.

My inhibitions had fallen away, and I'd entirely lost the capacity to hide the way I felt about Asher's new body. A familiar song came on over the speakers, and I found myself brushing up against him. My arm hooked around his neck and tugged our bodies together. My cheeks heated up when I heard the slight groan escape Asher's lips as his hands found my waist and held me tighter. It had been a long time since we'd been this close.

"Let's dance," I muttered hoarsely, and for once, Asher made no attempt to argue with me.