His face left no room for doubt. Under his helmet, he gazed forward with an intensity I had come to know well. I backed out of this girl’s social and found another on Joseph’s page. It was the same. Mixed in with the posts about Joseph, were many, many more of Asher. Picture after picture was po

With Asher at my side, we were led into a private room where a friendly nurse began an ultrasound. I worried my bottom lip, nervous, but Asher placed a steadying hand on my shoulder. I gained strength from his touch, enough to watch the screen when the nurse discovered the embryo. It was tiny yet,

“Thank you,” I told her at the door. She smiled at me. “Friends stick together.” I blinked. Friends? I didn’t feel we really knew each other well enough for that, but the idea of it still made me happy. I returned her smile and nodded. Friday evening, I stood in the hockey arena. In my che

Watching her leave, I leaned against the wall. I’d planned on staying there, but a couple of cheerleaders spotted me and called me over to the drink table. I hesitated. I’d told Nicole I’d wait for her, but I’d already made so much trouble for my fellow cheerleaders. If they wanted to include me s

Nicole spotted me at once and motioned me toward the dance machine. She picked a song, and smiled at me. “Ready to impress?” she asked. Was I ever. Dancing was the perfect way to work off all the stress I’d gathered. Infuriating, overbearing Asher. The music started, and I lost myself to the