Living With My Crush Episode 26

Thank you for choosing Siri as your online beautiful sweet story reading partner. Today we have “Living With My Crush Episode 26 Of Living With My Crush by Authoress Funmai Library Living With Thorns Crushing On Me Stories Or Novels To Read with Siri.”

👫 Living With My Crush EPISODE TWENTY SIX: 💞

(👩‍❤️‍👨 He Is My Brother Best Friend ❣️)

(🔸 WE COULD MAKE OUT 🔸)

😊 Michael’s pov 😊

“We won’t be able to catch the hacker,” I said as I buried my head in my hands.

Sandra put her hand on my shoulder as she sat beside me, “Michael, we’re close to getting the hacker and that’s why he’s panicking and telling you to drop the assignment. Stay positive. We’re going to get him very soon.”

I looked up to Sandra and said, “I hope so.’

I just want to get to the hacker before he gets to Rachael.

I dialed Ashton’s number. I wanted him to assure me that Rachael is alright. I wanted him to tell me that he will protect her with his own life. I wanted him to tell me that he’ll keep her safe no matter what. I just needed to be assured.

“Hey Michael,” Ashton said.

“Ashton, how is Rachael? Is she alright?” I asked, fear taking over me.

“Yeah, she’s alright. You sound worried. Is everything okay?” my best friend asked.

“Today, I got a call from the hacker…” I told him everything that I talked with the hacker.

“Michael, don’t worry. I won’t let him get to Rachael. I won’t let anyone hurt her,” he said and I believed him. That’s all I needed to hear.

But I couldn’t stop myself from saying, “When it comes to Rachael, panic and worry takes Over me.”

“I know but don’t worry. You can trust me on keeping Rachael safe. I can even sacrifice my life for her.”

I knew that Ashton meant every word he said.

I could totally trust him.

“Can I talk to Rachael?” I asked him. I just wanted to hear her voice.

“Yeah, sure,” he said. I heard him handling the phone to Rachael.

“Michael, are you alright?” I could sense concern in Rachael’s voice.

“Yes, I’m fine. Just a little worried about you,” I told her.

“Michael, don’t worry about me. I’m safe here with Ashton,” she assured me.

“I know but I can’t help but worry about you.

You’re my sister and I care about you.”

“I know and I care about you too,” she said.

“Please finish the assignment and come back soon,”

“I will,” I said to her.

After a while, she said, “Ashton told me that when Special Squad wanted to start my training of becoming a secret agent, you said no. Why did you say no?” I could sense a hint of anger in her voice.

I rubbed my forehead. Why did Ashton tell her that? Now, she will pester me for becoming a secret agent. I know my sister very well. If you tell her not to do a particular thing, she will exactly do that.

“That’s because I wanted you to be away from danger,” I said.

“Michael, I’m tired of hearing that. If you would’ve said yes to my training then I would’ve been a secret agent by now!” I could tell by her voice that she really wanted to become a secret agent.

Rachael loves anything related to “secret agent” stuff. And now, when she knows that secret agents exist, she will want to become a secret agent. She will pester me for that. I should’ve banned her from watching James Bond movies. It’s messing with her head now.

IfI had stopped her from watching those movies, she wouldn’t have the craze of becoming a secret agent.

“Rachael, we’ll talk about it later,” I told her.

“Why not now?” she asked.

“Because I have lot of work to do. I promise that well talk about it when I return.”

“Okay,” she said reluctantly.

“Okay, I should go now. Stay safe,” I told her.

“You too,” she replied.

“Bye.”

“Bye.”

I ended the call.

“Are you happy now, after talking to your sister?” Sandra asked.

“Kind of,” I told her honestly. “She knows that I said no to her training and you know how she is. She has some obsession with the secret agent stuff. When I will go back, she will probably kill me because I said no to her training.”

Mark chuckled and I glared at him.

---

🌹 Rachael’s pov 🌹

“Okay,” I said reluctantly.

“Okay, I should go now. Stay safe,” Michael told me.

“You too,” I replied.

“Bye.”

“Bye.”

I ended the call. I gave back Ashton’s phone.

“You shouldn’t have told Michael that I told you about him saying no to your training.

Now when he’ll return, he’ll kill me,” Ashton said.

“Ill save you from him,” I said as I tried to wink at him but I ended up closing both my eyes.

He looked at me with amusement. I bet I looked pretty funny when I tried to wink at him.

I agree that I don’t know how to wink and I was embarrassed about it. I kept my mouth shut to save myself from further embarrassment.

For a few minutes, we continued to sit in silence.

After a while, Ashton asked, “Why are we sitting in silence?”
I shrugged.

“Do you want to do something?” he asked.

“Like what?” I asked back.

“We could make-out?” he suggested. And my jaw hit the floor. Was he serious? When did he become so forward all of a sudden?

TO BE CONTINUED

Living With My Crush Episode 25

Thank you for choosing Siri as your online beautiful sweet story reading partner. Today we have “Living With My Crush Episode 25 Of Living With My Crush by Authoress Funmai Library Living With Thorns Crushing On Me Stories Or Novels To Read with Siri.”

👫 Living With My Crush EPISODE TWENTY FIVE: 💞

(👩‍❤️‍👨 He Is My Brother Best Friend ❣️)

(🔸 Somehow I Knew It Was Him🔸)

😊 Michael’s pov 😊

I was trying to find a pattern and trace the hacker. By now, I should’ve traced the hacker but it was taking so much time.

The hacker that we’re dealing with is a brilliant one and with a lot of experience too. It will be hard to trace him but it isn’t impossible.

“Michael, you’ve been working day and night without eating properly. It’s affecting your health,” Sandra told me.

“I don’t care about my health. I just want to track the hacker and get him caught so that I won’t have to worry about Rachael being in danger anymore,” I said to her, my eyes still glued to the laptop screen.

“Michael, your sister is not in danger now.

She’s in the safe house and Ashton is with her.

You know that he will do anything to protect her and keep her away from danger.”

“I know but I won’t be at peace until and unless I get the hacker caught,” I make myself clear to her.

“Okay. But you need energy to work on tracking the hacker,” she said to me. “Eat this,” she waved the burger in front of my face again.

She was right. I won’t be able to track the hacker if I’m weak. I need to be strong. I need energy.

I took my gaze away from the laptop screen and look up at Sandra for the first time. I take the burger from her and thank her. She smiled at me. I smiled back.

She cares about me. I too care about her.

Sometimes I wish that we could be together.

But I don’t want her to be in danger because of me.

If we are together, she will be my weakness.

She still is.

I don’t want my enemies tO use her against me.

I put the laptop aside me on the sofa and started eating the burger. The burger was good. Even though the burger was big, I finished eating it within seconds. I wanted to eat more because I was still hungry.

Seeing the expression on my face, Sandra smiled at me as she offered me another burger, “I knew one big burger won’t be enough for you.”

I quickly took the burger from her and stuffed it inside my mouth.

“Thanks,” I said, my mouth still stuffed with burger. She laughed. I love to hear her laughter. It makes me want to forget all my Worries.

“Good morning,” Mark yawned as he emerged from his bedroom.

“Good morning,” Sandra and I said in unison. I had finished eating my second burger.

“Did you find something new?” Mark asked me as he sat beside me on the sofa.

“No,” I said and sighed. “The hacker is really Smart.”

“How are things going in the safe house?” he asked next.

“Everything is fine. Today, I called Ashton early in the morning. He told me that everything is going smooth.”

“Did you talk to Rachael?”

“No. She was sleeping when I had called Ashton. I didn’t want to wake her up,” I told him.

Mark nodded.

No one spoke. There was silence in the room.

But soon, that silence was broken by my phone ringing.
I looked at the caller ID. It was an unknown number.
It was the hacker.

Somehow, I knew that it was him.

By the look on my face, Mark and Sandra also knew that the hacker was calling me.

I signaled Mark to trace the call using my laptop. He went tO work as soon as I answered my phone.

“Stop wasting your time in tracing my call,” the voice of a man spoke from the other side of the phone. “It will take you years to find my location. You won’t be able to get me caught.

You’re just a kid. Listen to me and drop this assignment.”

“I’m close to finding you and you also know that. You want me to drop this assignment because you’re scared of getting caught. And you know damn well that I’m the only one

Who can get you caught,”I told him.

The hacker laughed. “I’m not scared, kid.

You’re the one who should be scared. I should’ve sent more people to kill your sister and your friend.” “If you hurt them then you’re dead and gone,”

I threatened him. I just wanted to strangle him.

“I can do more than hurting them. You don’t know what I’m capable of. If you knew, you would’ve dropped from this assignment by now. You think that hiding them would keep them away from danger but you are wrong.

I’m going to find them and the day I find them, you’re going to regret messing with me,” the hacker hung up the phone.

“I couldn’t trace the call,” Mark said.

“Shit!” I knew we were wasting time on tracing the hacker’s call but that’s the only thing we could do. The way he hacked into the bank’s main computer is still a mystery to me.

I’m trying to solve the mystery but all I can see is dead end.

“We won’t be able to catch the hacker,” I said as I buried my head in my hands.

Sandra put her hand on my shoulder as she sat beside me, “Michael, we’re close to getting the hacker and that’s why he’s panicking and telling you to drop the assignment. Stay positive. We’re going to get him very soon.”

I looked up to Sandra and said, “I hope so.”

I just want to get to the hacker before he gets to Rachael.

I dialed Ashton’s number. I wanted him to assure me that Rachael is alright. I wanted him to tell me that he will protect her with his own life. I wanted him to tell me that he’ll keep her safe no matter what. I just needed to be assured.

TO BE CONTINUED

Living With My Crush Episode 24

Thank you for choosing Siri as your online beautiful sweet story reading partner. Today we have “Living With My Crush Episode 24 Of Living With My Crush by Authoress Funmai Library Living With Thorns Crushing On Me Stories Or Novels To Read with Siri.”

👫 Living With My Crush EPISODE TWENTY FOUR: 💞

(👩‍❤️‍👨 He Is My Brother Best Friend ❣️)

(🔸 After The Bath, I’m Just Going To Walk Around Naked Here In This Room 🔸)

🌹 Rachel POV 🌹

“Ashton, if you want me to sleep in your room then you can directly tell me. You don’t need to go round and round with your theories to make me stay in your room,”I told him with a smile.

“Okay. You win,” he said. “I may sound a bit forward but I want you to sleep in my room because I want to cuddle with you.”

What? My crush slash boyfriend wants to cuddle with me?
I’m not letting this opportunity slip from my hands.

I smiled at him, showing all my teeth. “I can’t stop my boyfriend from cuddling with me, can I?” I asked him.

“No,” he said with a smile and came towards me and lifted me in bridal style and laid me on the bed. He was soon beside me.

He wrapped his arms around my waist and brought me closer to him.

“Goodnight,” he said as he kissed my forehand. This sweet gesture made me smile brightly at him.

“Goodnight,” I replied. He switched off the bedside lamp and came closer to me again.

“I love you,” he whispered in my ear.

“I love you too,” I whispered back and we both drifted off to sleep.

---

Next day, I woke up by Ashton stroking my hair.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you up,” Ashton apologized.

“Don’t say sorry,” I told him. We both started smiling at each other.

“Did you sleep well?” he asked as he moved a lock of hair from my face.

“Yes. What about you?” I asked.

“I slept very well,” he answered with a smile.

“What’s the time?”

“Eight o’clock.”

“Can I go back to sleep?” I asked him. I was feeling tired and I wanted to sleep more.

“It’s your wish,” he said to me.

“I’m just going to sleep for one hour,” I told him.

“Okay,” he said as he got off the bed.

“Where are you going?” I asked.

“I’m going to take a bath,” he answered.

“Take your clothes along with you,” I told him and he laughed.

“No. I’m not going to take my clothes with me.

After the bath, I’m just going to walk around naked here in this room,” he said, jokingly.

“No, you won’t!” I told him. I’m not ready to see him naked…yet.

“Okay, I won’t,” he said raising his arms in surrender.

I turned around and buried my head under the pillow to shield my eyes from the light and drifted off to sleep.

I was awakened by a delicious smell. I was able to open my eyes because the room was in darkness.

I got off the bed and exited the room. As soon as I stepped my foot in the sitting room, I was blinded by the light. I closed my eyes.

After a few seconds, I opened my eyes but the light was too bright for my eyes. So, I partially kept my eyes open so that I could see and walk to follow the delicious smell.

The smell led me to the kitchen where Ashton was preparing something.

“Hey” Ashton said with a smile. “Why don’t you open your eyes fully?” “It’s so bright in here,” I told him.

“To be honest, you look funny right now. Your eyes look so small on your face. It’s looks funny but cute at the same time,” he said to me. He came towards me and planted his lips on mine. It was a soft kiss.

He took me by surprise. By now, my eyes were fully opened.

“You shouldn’t have kissed me. I didn’t even brush my teeth.”

“It doesn’t matter to me, baby. For years, I’ve waited to kiss you and now when I can kiss you, I won’t stop myself,” he said with a grin.

Again, he called me baby. I love it when he calls me baby.
I smiled at him.

“Okay. I’m going back to the room to brush my teeth and shower” I told him.

“Okay,” he said.

I exited the kitchen. It’s only when I reached the bedroom that I realized that why I had went to the kitchen in the first place. The delicious smell had led me to the kitchen.

Ashton was preparing something delicious.

I should’ve at least asked him about what he was cooking.

But whenever my eyes land on Ashton, everything vanishes and all I can see is him.

I quickly brushed my teeth and showered.

When I exit the bathroom, I see Ashton sitting on the bed with our breakfast.

He smiled at me as he said, “Breakfast is ready!”

And I attacked the food.

---

😊 Michael’s pov 😊

“Eat this,” Sandra said as she waved a burger in front of my face.

We were living in a rented house near the bank whose main computer was hacked.

“No, thanks,” I said, my eyes still fixed on the laptop screen. I had downloaded some parts of the software that the bank’s main computer was using. I wanted to download the whole software but the bank’s officials didn’t give me permission.

I was trying to find a pattern and trace the hacker. By now, I should’ve traced the hacker but it was taking so much time.

The hacker that we’re dealing with is a brilliant one and with a lot of experience too. It will be hard to trace him but it isn’t impossible.

TO BE CONTINUED

Living With My Crush Episode 23

Thank you for choosing Siri as your online beautiful sweet story reading partner. Today we have “Living With My Crush Episode 23 Of Living With My Crush by Authoress Funmai Library Living With Thorns Crushing On Me Stories Or Novels To Read with Siri.”

👫 Living With My Crush EPISODE TWENTY THREE: 💞

(👩‍❤️‍👨 He Is My Brother Best Friend ❣️)

(🔸 But I’m Not A Kid Anymore 🔸)

“Okay” he said as he picked up his shirt from the floor.
When he was done wearing his shirt, I asked him without even thinking, “Does every secret agent have a sexy body?”

I really wanted to slap myself for asking that question. I’ve gone mad today.

What made me ask him that question? Maybe because the image of his perfect body was still fresh in my head.

He laughed. “I don’t know about that but you’ll find every secret agent to be fit,” he answered.

“Do you think that I have a sexy body?” he asked. I know he was trying to tease me and make me blush. And it was working.

“Yeah,” I said without meeting his eyes. I was already blushing and if I looked at him then I would’ve blushed even more.

He grabbed my chin and turned my face towards him. “I love to see you blush,” he said, making me blush even more.

“Ashton, stop saying that!” I said as I playfully slapped his hand away from my chin.

“But I love saying that to you,” he said.

I didn’t say anything and continued to stare at the bed.
After a few minutes, Ashton asked, “Getting bored?” as he put his arm around my shoulders, bringing me closer to him.

“Yes,” I answered.

“Want to watch a movie?” he asked next.

“I thought that we couldn’t watch a movie in that,”I said as I pointed towards the TV SCreen.

“Who said we’re going to watch a movie in that?” he said.

I gave hima questioning look. He continued to smile at me as he got up from bed and went towards a closet attached on one of the walls.

He opened it and I grew excited as soon as my gaze landed on the laptop which Ashton was holding.

He came and sat beside me, keeping the laptop in his lap.

“Which movies do you have?” I asked as I scanned the list of various movies displayed on the laptop screen.

“Do you want to watch any James Bond movie?” he asked.

“Yeah! Yeah!” I said, getting excited. I love anything that is related to “secret agent” stuff.

We started watching Skyfall. I have watched that movie at least ten times and I really love that movie!

I wish I could be a secret agent. Maybe, I could be one in the future. Who knows? I smile inwardly.

---

We were done watching the movie and now, I was surfing over the internet while Ashton was preparing dinner for us.

There were some interesting articles that I came across. “How to act normal in front of your Crush”, “How to not embarrass yourself in front of your Crush” etc.

Some of the articles were so hilarious that I had to control myself from laughing like a hyena.

“Dinner’s ready!” Ashton announced from the kitchen. I quickly deleted the history because I didn’t want Ashton to know what I was surfing. I placed the laptop beside me. I went in the kitchen to help Ashton.

---

We were done with the dinner and it was now time to sleep.
I was confused. Other than the room that I was in, there was another room in this safe place. And I was left confused because I couldn’t understand in which room I was supposed to sleep.

I assumed that the room with the TV screen, in which I am currently standing, belonged to Ashton. So, the other room belonged to me.

But then, why was my suitcase in this room?

It should’ve been in the other room.

Ashton’s suitcase is in this room too, along with my suitcase.

I was getting too confused.

“Where should I sleep?” I asked Ashton after he was out of the bathroom wearing comfortable clothes.

“This is my room and the other room is your room. But I want you to sleep in this room just for your safety. I don’t want anyone to kidnap you in the middle of the night from your room. If you sleep in my room, I’m sure that no one will kidnap you. I won’t let them,” he said seriously.

“As far as I know, no one can enter this safe place without the small key”I told him while raising my eyebrow at him.

“It’s just a precaution that I’m taking, That’s the only reason why I want you to sleep in my room,” he was quick to defend himself.

“Ashton, if you want me to sleep in your room then you can directly tell me. You don’t need to go round and round with your theories to make me stay in your room,” I told him with a smile.

“Okay. You win,” he said. “I may sound a bit forward but I want you to sleep in my room because I want to cuddle with you.”

TO Be Continued

Living With My Crush Episode 22

Thank you for choosing Siri as your online beautiful sweet story reading partner. Today we have “Living With My Crush Episode 22 Of Living With My Crush by Authoress Funmai Library Living With Thorns Crushing On Me Stories Or Novels To Read with Siri.”

👫 Living With My Crush EPISODE TWENTY TWO: 💞

(👩‍❤️‍👨 He Is My Brother Best Friend ❣️)

(🔸 Do You Think That I Have A Sexy Body ? 🔸)

🌹 Rachel POV 🌹

The hormonal part of my brain was screaming yes but the rational part of my brain was telling me that I’m not ready.

I agreed with the rational part of my brain.

“Ashton, stop!” I told him as soon as he started working on his jean button.

“I was just kidding! I never thought that you would agree to do a strip-tease. I just wanted to see your reaction. You can stop with the strip-tease and you can wear your shirt.”

He laughed. “I knew you were kidding,” Ashton said.

“Really? Then, why did you agree to doa strip-tease?” I asked him.

“I wanted to see your reaction,” he said, showing his white teeth as he smiled.

I pouted, “That’s not fair!” I wanted to see his reaction, not the other way round.

“Everything is fair in love and war, baby,” he said with a smirk.

He called me baby. I thought to keep it aside for a while and maintain a straight face, trying to keep away the blush from my cheeks.

“Is this love or war?” I asked, acting like a confused kid.

“Well, it’s up to you to decide,” he said, looking into my eyes as he sat on the bed beside me.

And he was still shirtless.

There is a shirtless Ashton on the bed with you! Tel him to wear his shirt otherwise you’ll lose control over your senses and you will do something you’ll regret later. The rational part of my brain was Screaming at me.

“Why aren’t you wearing your shirt?” I asked him.

He leaned in until our noses were inches apart and said,

“Because I’m feeling very hot.”

I couldn’t ignore the fact that the way that he said “hot” was really hot and sexy! “I called you baby. Why didn’t you react?” he asked, playing with my hair. I was feeling so damn good!

“I’m not a baby,” I said, avoiding his question.

“Yes, you are,” he said as he kissed me on the lips softly.

“You are my baby,” he whispered as he pulled back a little, his lips were inches apart from my lips.

I wanted to kiss him more. So, I did exactly that.

I sat on his lap, weaved my fingers in his hair and kissed him hard on his lips.

What? I couldn’t control myself. He was shirtless and his lips were so close. So, the right thing for me to do was to kiss him.

His hands made their way around my waist, holding me in place.

We were kissing each other but then, Ashton pulled back.

“So eager to kiss me?” he teased me, a smirk on his face. I slapped him playfully across his cheek.

“Yes, I am. Aren’t you eager to kiss me?” I asked back.

“Yes, I am always eager to kiss you,” he answered and my cheeks turned red.

“Kissing you is my favorite thing to do,” he told me with a smile.

“Okay,” I said.

“That’s the only thing you can say after what I told you?” he asked.

“Umm..yeah?”

“Rachael, what is your favorite thing which you like to do?”

Seeing you shirtless, sitting on your lap, kissing you like there’s no tomorrow etc. The list is endless.

But what should I tell Ashton? How should I answer his question?

I can’t tell him that I like to sit on his lap. And by that, I remembered that I was still sitting on his lap.

Aren’t we moving way too fast?

I started to get up from Ashton’s lap but he pulled me back in his lap. “What happened?” he asked.

“Don’t you think that we’re moving too fast?” I asked.

He thought for a while. “You are right,” he said and removed his hands from my waist. I got up from his lap and sat on the bed beside him.

Before the situation turned awkward, I said, “I can’t believe that we were making out a few minutes back.” I said it in good humor.

Ashton laughed. “Me too,” he said as he smiled at me.

Michael’s face popped in my head suddenly and my face turned serious.

“What if Michael comes to know about us?” I asked Ashton.

“He will surely have a heart attack,” he answered. I chuckled.

I shouldn’t have chuckled because the matter is serious.

Michael would totally freak out if he comes to know about us.

Is there even an “us”?

“Ashton, are we even together?” I asked. We have kissed each other a few times but I’m clueless of our relationship status.

“Rachael, we shouldn’t be together because being with me will put you in danger and I don’t want that to happen. But I also don’t want to be away from you. I want us to be together,” he said.

“Do you want to be with me?”

“Obviously, I want to be with you. Do you want to be with me?” I asked quietly.

“Obviously. I won’t be able to stay away from you,” he said with a smile. I smiled back at him.

“So…are we officially together?” I asked.

“Yeah. We are officially together,” he answered. And we both hugged each other.

I have hugged him a few times but this time, it feels different.

He’s without a shirt, that’s why. My brain said to me.

Oh! That’s the reason why I was feeling different when hugging him.

I moved back to create distance between us. “Ashton, wear a shirt!”I told him and he laughed.

TO Be Continued

Living With My Crush Episode 21

Thank you for choosing Siri as your online beautiful sweet story reading partner. Today we have “Living With My Crush Episode 21 Of Living With My Crush by Authoress Funmai Library Living With Thorns Crushing On Me Stories Or Novels To Read with Siri.”

👫 Living With My Crush EPISODE TWENTY ONE: 💞

(👩‍❤️‍👨 He Is My Brother Best Friend ❣️)

(🔸Do A Strip – Tease!🔸)

🌹 Rachel pov 🌹

Ashton remembers something as he slapped his forehead.

“Shit! I forgot to call Michael.”

He took out his cell and dialed Michael’s number. Michael was put on the loudspeaker.

“ASHTON, WHAT TOOK YOU SO LONG TO CALL?” Michael screamed through the phone.

Ashton and I suppressed our laughter because of Michael’s dramatic way of speaking.

“Michael, I forgot-” Ashton tried to say in a calm tone but before he could complete his sentence, Michael interrupted him.

“YOU FORGOT?! HOW CAN YOU FORGET SUCH AN IMPORTANT THING?!” “Michael, calm down,” Ashton said. “Rachael and I are in the safe place now.”

After hearing Ashton, Michael calmed down.

“Are you both okay?” Michael asked.

“Yeah, we’re fine,” I answered for Ashton.

“Oh, you’re there too?” my brother asked me.

“Yeah. We put you on loudspeaker,” I informed him.

“Oh,” he said. And then, he was silent.

After a while, he asked, “Did Ashton tell you everything?”

“Yes,” I answered. “And I’m really angry at you for hiding things from me,” I told him. Well, I wasn’t exactly angry. I was hurt that my own brother had kept secrets from me.

“I know but hiding things from you seemed the right thing for me to do,” he explained.

“But it wasn’t the right thing to do,” I told him.

“I understand that you kept secrets about our parents’ death because you didn’t want to hurt me but you could’ve at least told me that you’re a secret agent.”

Ashton rose up from the bed to give me some privacy with Michael but I grabbed his arm and made him sit on the bed again. I need him to be with me right now.

“I wanted to keep you away from the ‘secret agent’ stuff. It’s dangerous, you know,” he said. I rolled my eyes. Ashton chuckled at my action.

“Ashton has told me that at least a hundred times,” I told Michael.

“I bet it was less than a hundred times,” Ashton said and I laughed.

“Rachael, Ashton and I want the good of you and we want you to be away from danger,” Michael said.

“I know.”

“Michael, come here fast,” I heard some guy say, who was calling my brother.

“Okay guys, I need to go. Take care. Bye,” Michael said.

“Bye,” Ashton and I both replied. And we end the call.

And we’re back to staring at the boring TV screen.

After a few minutes, I said, “Ashton, I’m getting bored.

Entertain me.”

Ashton laughed. “How shall I entertain you?”

I thought for a while. “I know what you can do to entertain me,”I told him.

“What?” he asked.

“Do a strip-tease!” I said loudly. His eyes grew big with amazement.

“Really?” he asked. I thought he would be offended but he wasn’t. He was his normal self.

I just nodded my head. Will he really do a strip-tease for me? I will soon find out.

“Okay” he said and rose up from the bed. Is he for real? My jaw hit the floor.

“Do I really have to dance while doing the strip-tease?” he asked.

“It’s your wish,” I told him, trying to maintain a straight face.
“Okay,” he said.

“I’m not going to dance.”

“Okay.”

“Get ready, Rachael,” he told me.

I’m ready, Ashton.

He was standing facing me. I never thought that he would doa strip-tease if I tell him. I never wanted him to do a strip-tease in the first place. I just wanted to see his reaction.
I thought that he would be shocked but he wasn’t. He was acting normal.

I looked at him. He was looking at me. And the way he was looking at me was so sexy that my cheeks turned red.

He started to unbutton his shirt very slowly and in a seductive way. My mouth dropped open.

He was halfway done with his shirt. And the good part was that he wasn’t wearing an undershirt!

He chuckled. Why did he chuckle? Then, I realized that my mouth was still open.

I quickly closed it. I need to learn to control myself.

Now, Ashton unbuttoned the last button on his shirt and slowly, the shirt fell on the floor.

Oh my God! What a body! I can never get tired of seeing his body. I can spend my whole life drooling over his perfect body!

I was looking at him like a fat kid looks at a big chocolate cake.

My eyes grew more wide when he moved his hand over his jean button.

Do I want him to go further?

The hormonal part of my brain was screaming yes but the rational part of my brain was telling me that I’m not ready.
I agreed with the rational part of my brain.

“Ashton, stop!” I told him as soon as he started working on his jean button.

TO BE CONTINUED

Living With My Crush Episode 20

Thank you for choosing Siri as your online beautiful sweet story reading partner. Today we have “Living With My Crush Episode 20 Of Living With My Crush by Authoress Funmai Library Living With Thorns Crushing On Me Stories Or Novels To Read with Siri.”

👫 Living With My Crush EPISODE TWENTY: 💞

(👩‍❤️‍👨 He Is My Brother Best Friend ❣️)

(🔸 Did My Crush Just Winked At Me ? 🔸)

🌹 Rachel pov 🌹

“When I was staying at your apartment, did you have a camera installed in my bathroom?” I dare to ask him.

“What!” he was shocked. “No, Rachael! There was no camera installed in your bathroom.

In fact, there were no cameras in that apartment! How could you even think that?!”

“I just thought that maybe a camera must be installed in my bathroom back at your apartment since there’s a camera in the bathroom of this house,” I said quietly.

“Rachael-” Ashton was about to say something but I interrupted him.

“Is there a camera in the bathroom of this safe place?” I asked.

“No. Rachael-” Before he could say anything further, I interrupted him again.

“Ashton, let’s change the topic,” I told him.

“Okay.” After a pause, he said, “Let me tell you about the security. If anyone tries to enter the house forcefully, then I will be notified about it through my phone. It’s connected to the house’s security system,” he informed me.

“Okay,” I said.

“Also, this safe place is bulletproof. And soundproof too.” “So, if the enemy is successful in entering the house, and if I scream from here, he won’t be able to hear me?” I asked.

“Yes,” he answered.

“There are speakers installed here. If someone talks from the house, we’ll be able to hear it directly,” he told me.

“Okay,” I said.

“There is only one way to enter this safe place.

But there are two ways to exit this safe place,” he informed.

“How?” I asked, getting confused.

“We can enter the safe place by the bathroom in the house and we can also use that way to exit the safe place. We can also exit from the safe place itself. There’s a garage here which is attached to the underground tunnel. So, that’s the other way of exiting the safe place,” he said to me.

“Where does the tunnel lead to?” I asked.

“To the other side of the forest,” he answered.

“Oh,” I said, grasping all the information.

Suddenly, Ashton remembered something.

“Rachael, I’m going out for a while,” he said tome.

“Why?!” I started panicking. I won’t stay in this safe place alone.

“Rachael, don’t panic. I’ll be gone for half an hour so that I can take my car far away from this place. The enemies may recognize my car so I need to get my car away from this place.

We don’t want them following us here, don’t we? And we also don’t want anyone to know that we’re living here. So, I’m going to take my car and leave it somewhere else.” he said.

“Take me with you,” I requested him. He came to me and held mny shoulders

as he said, “Rachael, don’t worry. You’re safe here.

No enemies will be able to get here to the safe place without the key that I’m giving you,” he said while placing the small key in my hand.

“It will take me half an hour to take my car away from this place, to leave it somewhere and then return back here. I’m going to exit this safe place through the bathroom of the house and when I exit the house, I’ll lock it.

Keep yourself in front of the main computer of the security cameras until I return,” he gave me instructions.
I nodded.

“Come with me,” he said and walked towards the stair. He started climbing the stair and set his foot on the bathroom floor. I started climbing up the stair. When I reached the last
step, Ashton said, “Stay there.”

He came near me and stood directly behind me. My face turned bright red like the tomato because of our closeness.
His mouth was next to my ear sO when he started talking, my heartbeat increased.

“There’s a lock socket inside the large tile too,” he said while pointing to the lock socket. “So, when I put the large tile back to its original place, you must put the small key in the key socket and lock it.”

I nodded my head.

“Okay, I’m going now,” he told me.

“Please be safe,” I said to him.

“I will,” he told me with a smile. He backed away from me. My heartbeat returned to its normal pace. “Rachael, climb down a few steps.

I did what he said. He was standing over me now. “Rachael, I’m going to put the tile back.

When I do that, just lock it, okay?”

“Yeah,” I said. When he put the tile back, I put the small key in the lock socket and locked it. I climbed down the stair.

When my feet were on the ground, I straightaway went to the bedroom and sat on the bed in front of the computer. I kept my eyes glued to the images of various rooms of the house and the images of the area surrounding the house.

I saw Ashton exiting the house and locking it before driving offin his car. I hope he returns as soon as possible.

I started looking at the images of the various rooms of the house. Everything seemed normal.

After Half an Hour…

Hey, hey, you, you!

I don’t like your girlfriend..

My phone started ringing. I really need to change my ringtone. I looked at the caller ID.

Ashton was calling.

“Hello,” I said on the phone.

“Rachael, I’m back. I’m standing in the bathroom right now. Unlock the tile,” he told me.

I looked at the computer screen at the image showing the bathroom of the house. Indeed, Ashton was standing there, holding his phone close to his ear. He was waving at me now through the computer screen with a smile on his handsome face.

I thought of having some fun with him. “I will unlock the tile only if you say that Rachael is the cutest girl I’ve ever met,” I said.

I saw him playfully rolling his eyes through the screen.

“Hey, I saw that!” I told him playfully.

“Rachael is the cutest girl I’ve ever met,” he said.

“Thanks for the compliment,” I said to him on the phone.
He laughed and I smiled.

“I’m going to unlock the tile,” I told him.

“Okay.”

We ended the call.

I grabbed the small key and went towards the stair. I climbed up the stair, put the key in the key socket and turned it. I lifted the tile. And now I could see Ashton who was standing
over me.

“Rachael, give me the key and climb down the stair” he told me.

I did what he said. I handed him the key and climbed down the stair.

Ashton started descending the stair. He pulled the tile back and locked it. And soon he was standing beside me.

“Rachael, you’re not the cutest girl I’ve met,” He started saying. My smile faded. He continued, “You’re not only cute, but you are beautiful. You are the most beautiful girl that
I’ve ever met and I don’t think that I’ll ever meet someone as beautiful as you.’

My smile returned. My blush meter was very high. “Ashton, why do you make me turn bright red like a tomato by your words?” I asked him while avoiding his gaze.

He laughed. He answered, “You look even more beautiful when you blush. I like to see you blush.”

Hearing this made me blush even more. Will he stop saying those things?

I looked at my phone. It was 1pm. “Ashton, go to the kitchen and make us some lunch,” I told him, trying to shoo him away so that he could stop saying things that make me blush.

He laughed. “I know what you’re trying to do,” he said as he gave me a knowing smile.

“Smarty pants,” I playfully told him. He laughed again. He’s laughing too much today.

“Okay, I’m going to the kitchen to prepare lunch,” he said to me while laughing as he proceeded towards the kitchen.

---

We were sitting on the bed, eating our meals while watching the unmoving images of the various rooms of the house and of the area surrounding the house.

“Tm getting bored. Can’t this television-cum-computer work like a normal television? I want to watch some programs to keep myself entertained,” I complained.

“IIl keep you entertained,” he said and winked at me. I was surprised. Did my crush just winked at me?

I want to do happy dance!

He continued to eat. How can he act so normal?

I looked back to the TV screen. My gaze always falls on the image showing the bathroom. It’s so weird that the bathroom leads to this safe place.

“Isn’t it strange that the bathroom leads to this safe place?” I asked Ashton while I continued to eat.

He paused from eating to answer me. “It’s strange but it’s smart too. It’s not likely for the enemies to think that there’s a way leading to the safe place in the bathroom.”

“Point,” I said, agreeing with him.

We continued to eat.

When we finished eating, we put the plates in the dishwasher and went back to the bedroom.

“Tm going to get our suitcases,” Ashton said as he got off the bed and exited the room to get our suitcases.

He came back to the room with our suitcases and put it aside the bed. Then, he sat on the bed.

“Do you always kill people?” In a low voice I asked Ashton, out of the blue remembering that he had killed the enemy who had broke into his apartment today.

“No. The enemy who broke into my apartment to kill you was the first person I killed and hopefully the last. I don’t want to talk about it, Rachael,” he said without looking at me.

“Okay,” I told him.

Then we were silent. For the first time, I was loving the silence. Talking about Ashton killing someone was uncomfortable for me.

After a while, Ashton spoke up, “Are you afraid of me because I killed a person?”

I thought for a while. “I don’t know” I told him, honestly while looking at him. He was looking back at me.

“I had to kill him before he could kill you,” he said to me.

“I know.”

We were silent again.

Ashton remembers something as he slapped his forehead.

“Shit! I forgot to call Michael.”

He took out his cell and dialed Michael’s number. Michael was put on the loudspeaker.

“ASHTON, WHAT TOOK YOU SO LONG TO CALL?” Michael shouted through the phone.

Ashton and I suppressed our laughter because of Michael’s dramatic way of speaking.

TO Be Continued

Living With My Crush Episode 19

Thank you for choosing Siri as your online beautiful sweet story reading partner. Today we have “Living With My Crush Episode 19 Of Living With My Crush by Authoress Funmai Library Living With Thorns Crushing On Me Stories Or Novels To Read with Siri.”

👫 Living With My Crush EPISODE NINETEEN: 💞

(👩‍❤️‍👨 He Is My Brother Best Friend ❣️)

(🔸 Me And My Tripping Problems🔸)

🌹 Rachel POV 🌹

I nodded and gestured for him towards the stair. He started descending the stair. I looked down, trying to find him in the darkness.

Suddenly the lights down there were switched on. And I could finally see the whole of the stair. The stair was made of metal and it also had metal railings. I could’ve climbed down the stair with the help of the railings.

But who am I kidding? I would’ve definitely tripped over the stair even with the railing,

I saw Ashton ascending the stair. When his feet were on the bathroom floor, he said, “You can go in now. But climb down the stair carefully.” He knew about my clumsiness.

When I set my foot on the first metal step, I saw Ashton exiting the bathroom. “Where are you going?” I called out to him. Isn’t he coming down after me? “Go ahead. Ill just be down there with our suitcases,” he answered.

I opened my mouth to ask him if he needed any help but then quickly closed it because I knew that I would definitely trip over the stair if I have a suitcase in my hand. Me and my tripping problems.

I started climbing down the stair at a turtle’s pace. Don’t trip. Don’t trip. I said to myself.

When I reached the ground, I was happy for not tripping over. I moved a little away from the stair because Ashton was climbing down the stair with twO suitcases in his hand.
He’s so strong. I started daydreaming about his muscles.

“Rachael?” Ashton’s voice brings me back to reality.

“Yeah,” I answered.

“What were you thinking?” he asked as he put our suitcases on the ground.

About your muscles.

“Nothing,” I said.

“Don’t you want to explore the safe place?”

“Yeah,” I said, getting excited.

“Then, let’s go,” he said and grabbed my arm.

This little gesture made my cheeks turn red.

“Okay, as you can see, we are standing in the drawing room,” he told me. I looked around.

The safe place looked like…a normal house.

I thought that the safe place would be full of gadgets.

“Ashton, where are the gadgets?” I asked, impatiently.

He laughed. “You want to see the gadgets?” he asked.

“Yeah,” I nodded my head violently, getting excited at the mention of the word “gadgets.”

“Hey, stop that otherwise your head will fall off your neck,” he teased.

“Ashton!” I playfully hit his arm. We both started laughing.

“Okay,” he said once he stopped laughing.

He grabbed my arm and took me to a room.

When we were inside the room, I realized that it was the bedroom.

I started scanning the bedroom. There was a double-size bed and opposite the bed was a large LED TV SCreen attached to the wall.

There was a wooden desk under the TV, on which a keyboard was kept along with a mouse. The keyboard and the mouse were attached to the TV screen.

“There’s your gadget,” he said while pointing towards the whole setup.

“You mean the television-cum-computer?” I asked.

“It’s not a television-cum-computer,” he told me.

“Then, what is it?”

“Let me show you,” he said as he walked over the TV screen and switched it on. Images of the various rooms of the house were displayed on the screen.
“It’s the main computer of all the security cameras,” he told me.
“Security cameras?”I asked confusingly.

“I didn’t see any security cameras when we entered the house.”

“That’s because they’re the size of a button,” he told me.

“Why are there cameras in the house? And are there any cameras here, in the safe place?” I asked him.

“There are cameras in the house so that we can come to know if someone tries to break in the house. And there are cameras even in here and also the area surrounding the entire house so as to spot the enemies from a distance,” he answered.

I went near the TV screen. I saw the images.

Everything seemed normal. My gaze fell on the image showing the bathroom, from where we had come inside the safe place.

“You have a camera in the bathroom?!” I asked, shock evident in my voice.

“Well, that’s because it’s the only way to get here to the safe place. And if anyone tries to enter the safe place, we’ll see him in that screen,” he said while pointing towards the TV
Screen.

But still. How can he have a camera ina bathroom?! Did he have a camera installed in my bathroom when I was staying in his apartment?! The thought terrifies me.

“When I was staying at your apartment, did you have a camera installed in my bathroom?” I dare to ask him.
I said while pointing towards the TV.

TO BE CONTINUED

Living With My Crush Episode 18

Thank you for choosing Siri as your online beautiful sweet story reading partner. Today we have “Living With My Crush Episode 18 Of Living With My Crush by Authoress Funmai Library Living With Thorns Crushing On Me Stories Or Novels To Read with Siri.”

👫 Living With My Crush EPISODE EIGHTEEN: 💞

(👩‍❤️‍👨 He Is My Brother Best Friend ❣️)

(🔸 Rachael, It’s Not A Moon That You Want To Set Your Foot On It First. 🔸)

🌹 Rachel pov 🌹

“It’s my life. I can do anything I want. I don’t want you to take decisions on my behalf. I’m tired of everyone telling me what to do and what not to do,” I said to him. I was clearly pissed off now. I rose from the couch and was about to walk away from there but Ashton grabbed my arm.

“I’m sorry if you thought that I was telling you what to do and what not to do. But I care about you, Rachael and I don’t want you to be in any kind of danger,” Ashton said.

I sighed. My anger was fading away after hearing that Ashton cared about me. I already knew that he cared about me but every time hearing him say that makes this stupid smile appear on my face.

He was smiling at me too. My gaze fell on my arm, which he hadn’t released from his grip. My cheeks started heating up. He looked where I was looking and left my hand.

He apologized and I could see that he was blushing too.
Suddenly he remembers something. He rose from the couch and said, “Let’s go to the safe place.”

“This house is not the safe place?” I asked in confusion.

“No, Rachael. The house underneath this house is the safe place,” Ashton answered.

“There’s a house underneath this house?” I asked in amazement, basically repeating the same thing he said.

“Yeah. C’mon, let’s go,” he said and held out his hand for me to take. I gladly took his hand.

He took me to a room where our suitcases were resting on the bed. He took me to the bathroom which I found to be a little strange.

Is this the way to the underground house?

He left my hand and went to the medicine cabinet and opened it. There were medicine bottles and tablets. He pushed them aside. He put his hand on the back of the cabinet and slide his hand across it.

A sliding door like thing was moved to the right side by Ashton’s hand. I didn’t know that there was a sliding door like thing at the back of the cabinet. It almost looked like it was the part of the cabinet.

When the sliding door was moved aside, I could see a small keyhole behind it. Maybe the sliding door thing was there to conceal the small keyhole.

Ashton put his hand in his jeans pocket and took out something. When I went near him, I realized that he was holding a small key. He put the small key in that small keyhole and turned the key. There was a sound behind me.

What’s the sound? Ashton took out the key from the keyhole.
Ashton turned around. I didn’t realize that

I was standing so close to him that when he turned around, his nose touched my nose. I jumped a little back due to the contact. He and I started to laugh nervously.

When we stopped laughing, he went towards the bathtub. I followed him towards the bathtub. The bathtub was moved a little forward. So, the sound was of the bathtub sliding forward.

Ashton went behind the bathtub and kneeled down. What is he doing?

He took the same key that he had put in the keyhole in the medicine cabinet. I went near the bathtub. There was a keyhole where Ashton was kneeling. What was a keyhole doing there?

The keyhole was in the centre of a large tile.

He put the key in the keyhole and turned the key. He took out the key from the keyhole and he started lifting up the tile and I could seea stair underneath.

Stair leading to the underground house.

“Now, that’s what I was talking about when I said that secret agents have interesting life! What could be more interesting than living in a secret underground house?” I said excitingly. Ashton rolled his eyes.

“Shall we go down then?” he asked while getting up on his feet.

“I thought you would never ask,” I said. Before I could make my way to the stair, Ashton stopped me.

“Let me go first,” he said.

“Why?” I whined.

“I want to set my foot in the underground house first!”

“Rachael, it’s not a moon that you want to set your foot on it first,” Ashton said.

“Why are you being such a kill-joy?”

“Maybe because you’re in danger and the only possible way for me to protect you is to get you inside this underground house of which you can see just two steps and the other steps are covered in darkness. I don’t want you to go in there first because you might trip. Let me go first and then when I reach down, I can switch on the lights for you,” he said.

I was too excited to go inside this secret underground house that I had forgotten that I was in danger. And also the fact that we could only see the two steps of the stair because of the sunlight coming from the bathroom window and the rest of the steps were covered in darkness. So, there was a high possibility of me tripping over, Ashton knew me very well.

I nodded and gestured for him towards the stair. He started descending the stair. I looked down, trying to find him in the darkness.

Suddenly the lights down there were switched on. And I could finally see the whole of the stair.

TO BE CONTINUED

Living With My Crush Episode 17

Thank you for choosing Siri as your online beautiful sweet story reading partner. Today we have “Living With My Crush Episode 17 Of Living With My Crush by Authoress Funmai Library Living With Thorns Crushing On Me Stories Or Novels To Read with Siri.”

👫 Living With My Crush EPISODE SEVENTEEN: 💞

(👩‍❤️‍👨 He Is My Brother Best Friend ❣️)

(🔸 You Always Were So Mysterious To Me 🔸)

🌹 Rachel pov 🌹

“Ashton, were yor parents secret agents too?” I asked.

“Yes, they were. But the saddest part was that they too were murdered, just like your parents, when they were on some assignment,” he answered.

I could clearly see that he was in pain after telling me that his parents were murdered.

I was too in pain. Just today, I came to know that my parents were secret agents and that they were murdered.

“When did that happen?” I asked. I know I should stop asking him questions relating to the past but I want to know.

“When I was ten years old,” he answered without looking at me. His parents were murdered three years before my parents.

“When did you come to know that your parents were secret agents?”

“Rachael, I always knew.”

“Didn’t your parents tried to hide that information from you?” Just like my parents did.

“No. I guess they always wanted me to know,” he said. I just nodded my head, even though he wasn’t looking, “So, you also joined Special Squad along with Michael?”

“Yes.” “Are you alright?” I asked, looking at him. He was taken off guard by my question. I guess he was expecting me to ask him more and more questions about his past.

“Yeah,” he said and gave me a smile that didn’t reach his eyes.

“I’m sorry for bothering you with my questions but I want to know about your past.

You always were so mysterious to me,” I told him.

“I was mysterious to you?” he asked, clearly smiling now. I’m glad that he was smiling.

“Yeah, you were. That was because I just knew very little about you,” I explained.

“Am I still mysterious to you?” he asked.

“No,”I answered.

“Good.”

Then there was silence. It seemed like we were running out of things to talk about.

Apparently not, as a question popped in head.

“Ashton, your grandparents were secret agents, your parents were secret agents and you are a secret agent. Were your ancestors secret agents too?” It seemed like a joke but it really was a question.

He laughed. “Was it a joke, Rachael?” he asked.

“Not really. It was a question and I want to know the answer,” I said to him.

“To answer your question, Special Squad is a very old secret organization and maybe some of my ancestors were seCret agents. I’m not sure,” he said.

“You belong to a family of secret agents then,” I told him.

He laughed. “Yeah.”

Then we were silent again. Another question popped in my head. It seemed as if I had so many questions. But so many things were also hidden from me due to which many questions were arising.

“If I want to become a secret agent now, can I be given a chance?” I asked Ashton seriously.

“To be honest, I’m not sure. But Michael will definitely not want you to become a secret agent. When you were fifteen, Special Squad wanted you to start your training of becoming
secret agent but Michael said no,” he informed me.

“Michael said no? But why?”

“Rachael, life of a secret agent is very dangerous. And obviously Michael doesn’t want you anywhere near danger so that’s why he didn’t wanted you to become a secret agent and that’s why he said no to your training,” Ashton explained.

“If Michael had said yes to my training, then I would’ve been a secret agent by now,” I said more to myself but Ashton heard me.

“Why do you want to become a secret agent?” he asked.

“Because a secret agent has an interesting life,” I answered.

“And who told you that?”

“It always seems like in the James Bond movies,” I said to him.

“Rachael, they maybe showing in the movies that James Bond has an interesting life but that’s all fiction. A secret agent doesn’t have an interesting life!” he said.

“You’re saying as if you too don’t want me to become a secret agent,” I told him.

“That’s because it’s true! I don’t want you to become a secret agent!”

“Why?”

He sighed. “You ask too many questions,” he said to me.

“You don’t say that when I ask to kiss you,” I said. Me and my smarty mouth.

“Rachael, I’ve told you this many times. Life of a secret agent is dangerous. And I don’t want you to be anywhere near danger,” he tries to make me understand.

He hid the fact from me that he and Michael are secret agents. And when I express my interest in becoming a secret agent, he tells me that he doesn’t want me anywhere near danger.

Has he forgotten that I’m already in danger? A man had tried to kill me today! Has he forgotten that?

“It’s my life. I can do anything I want. I don’t want you to take decisions on my behalf. I’m tired of everyone telling me what to do and what not to do,” I said to him.

I was clearly pissed off now. I rose from the couch and was about to walk away from there but Ashton grabbed my arm.

TO Be Continued

Living With My Crush Episode 16

Thank you for choosing Siri as your online beautiful sweet story reading partner. Today we have “Living With My Crush Episode 16 Of Living With My Crush by Authoress Funmai Library Living With Thorns Crushing On Me Stories Or Novels To Read with Siri.”

👫 Living With My Crush EPISODE SIXTEEN: 💞

(👩‍❤️‍👨 He Is My Brother Best Friend ❣️)

(🔸 ButCrying My Heart Out 🔸)

🌹 Rachel pov 🌹

Do I looking happy now after knowing the truth?” I asked. A tear escaped my eye.

Knowing that my parents were murdered was just too harsh for me. And it hurts even more for me to know that Michael was hiding such a big thing from me!

I just broke down in front of Ashton. I started crying with all my might. I was finding it very difficult to endure the pain that I was feeling.

Ashton couldn’t see me crying anymore so he pulled me towards him. And now, I was crying on his shoulder while he ran his hand on my back, trying to soothe me.

I have never cried in front of anyone. I used to always cry silently in a dark corner of my room, never letting anyone know that I used to cry every night. And why I used to cry?
Because I terribly missed my parents.

People think of me as a strong person but I was never a strong person. In fact, I was very weak from the inside. How could I be strong when so much pain was buried inside of me?

And the pain was because of my parents’ death.

The first time when I was told about my parents’ death, I was shattered like a broken mirror. My whole world turned upside down after the news. I tried to be strong but I just couldn’t bring myself to do that. I just used to pretend to be a strong person. I had build walls around me to protect myself.

But today, those walls came crashing down after knowing the truth. I never thought that I would cry so much. I wasn’t aware that I was capable of enduring so much pain and that’s what is killing me!

I never thought that I would be crying and that too on Ashton’s shoulder.

Stop crying. I told myself.

Tears had stopped coming out of my eyes. I moved my head away from Ashton’s shoulder.

I was composed now. Sort of.

“There are still a lot of things you need to know. Do you want to hear them now?” Ashton asked.

I just nodded. After crying my heart out, I didn’t have energy to talk.

Ashton started telling me, “Michael and I were told about a hacker who hacked a famous bank’s main computer and vanished a large amount of money. No one knows where that money went or who the hacker is. All we know is that the same hacker had once tried hacking the main computer of Special Squad.”

He continued, “Michael and I are hackers too. We, Sandra and Mark were given the assignment of finding this hacker. Michael, along with Sandra and Mark, has gone out of town to that bank to check their main computer to get any information they can get about the hacker.”

“Wait a minute. If you and Michael were given the assignment then why didn’t you go with him out of town?” I asked.

---

❤️‍🔥 Ashton’s ❤️‍🔥

“Wait a minute. If you and Michael were given the assignment then why didn’t you go with him out of town?” Rachael asked.

“Rachael, you should know that this is a very dangerous assignment. There were possibilities that if the hacker knew that Michael was working on tracking him and if the hacker knew about you then he would definitely use you against Michael. In short, you would be in danger. So, I stayed back to protect you,” I told her.

I decided to tell her about the phone call that I received from Michael the day we were discussing about his sexuality.
Flashback.

I smiled at Rachael as I said, “Be with the guy whom you like. I just want you to be happy.”

She, too, smiled.

“And I would love if you choose to be with me,”I added. I grabbed her chin and leaned in to kiss her. Our lips were about to touch. But our kiss was interrupted by my phone ringing.

Ugh! I wanted to kiss her so bad!

I took out my phone from my jeans and answered the call without even looking at the caller ID.

“Hello?” I said on the phone.

“Rachael is in danger,” it was Michael’s voice.

“What?!” Shock was evident in my voice. I rose from the sofa and went straight to my room and closed the door so that Rachael couldn’t hear me.

“Ashton, I was close to knowing some information about the hacker but today, I got a call from him telling me to drop the assignment otherwise he will kill Rachael. I’m scared for her, Ashton,” Michael told me.

“Michael, don’t worry. I’ll protect her and keep her safe. I won’t let anyone hurt her,” I told him.

“I know, dude. Take care of Rachael and take care of yourself too.”

“You too,” I said to him and we ended the call.

I opened my bedroom door and went to the sitting room and sat beside Rachael.

Flashback Ends.

“So, Michael was the one who had called me that time,” I told Rachael.

For a few minutes, she was quiet. But then she spoke, “I’m in danger?”

“Yes,” I answered.

“And you stayed back to protect me?”

“Yes.” “The man dressed in all black who broke into your apartment today came to kill me?”

“Yes.”

I looked at her. She was trying to take in all the information that she came to know today.

“So, you and Michael are secret agents?” she asked after a few minutes of silence.

“Yes.”

“Since when?”

“Our training had started when we were fifteen but we officially became secret agents at the age of eighteen,” I told her.

“So, working as secret agent is your job?”

“Yes.”

“How did you both got introduced to Special Squad?” she asked, her face showed curiosity now.

“Michael’s godparents were secret agents so they introduced him to the Special Squad. And my grandparents introduced me. Grandpa and Grandma were secret agents too,” I answered.

“Ashton, were your parents secret agents too?”

“Yes, they were. But the saddest part was that they too were murdered, just like your parents, when they were on some assignment.” Recalling that my parents were murdered gives me pain.

TO BE CONTINUED

Living With My Crush Episode 15

Thank you for choosing Siri as your online beautiful sweet story reading partner. Today we have “Living With My Crush Episode 15 Of Living With My Crush by Authoress Funmai Library Living With Thorns Crushing On Me Stories Or Novels To Read with Siri.”

👫 Living With My Crush EPISODE FIFTEEN: 💞

(👩‍❤️‍👨 He Is My Brother Best Friend ❣️)

(🔸 Hearing You Curse Is Quite Amusing! 🔸)

🌹 Rachel pov 🌹

Ashton looked at the rearview mirror and said, “Shit!”
Why would he curse?

I tried to look at the rearview mirror but from where I was sitting, I couldn’t see a thing. I turned around in my seat to look back.

I saw that three black cars were chasing us. I quickly turned back and the only thing I could say was “Shit ”

Ashton looked at me with an amused expression.

“Why are you looking at me like that? Have you forgotten that we’re in danger?” I asked him.

He tried to suppress his laughter. “Hearing you curse is quite amusing,” he said.

“I’m glad that I can be amusing,” I told him.

He looked at the rearview mirror again and said, “Let’s go fast and furious on them.”

He started driving at an even faster speed. I literally had to grab my seat to prevent myself from flying across the windscreen.

With the increase in our car’s speed, the speed of the three black cars also increased.

An intersection came. The traffic light was showing red. I know that red is a signal to stop but I didn’t really care about that right now.

We were in danger.

Ashton passed the red light in such a great speed that if we had been late even for one second, the truck coming from the other road,

Would’ve smashed into our car.

As we passed that truck, I turned around to see that the truck had stopped in the centre of the intersection. Also, I couldn’t see the black cars that were chasing us because the truck was blocking my view.

I hope it gives us extra time to escape.

I turned back to face the windscreen. Ashton was still driving in high speed. We had travelled more distance now.

“I think we left them behind,” Ashton said while looking at the rearview mirror. Relief washed over me. We were out of danger for now.

I wanted to ask a lot of questions from him but I decided to keep my mouth shut. Michael told me that Ashton will tell me everything when we reach a safe place.

Where is this safe place anyway?

Ashton was now driving on a road between trees. Are we in a forest? We were travelling more into the forest. We turned a corner and were heading to a lonely house.

That’s the safe place?

Ashton parked the car in front of the house and got out. I too got out. He opened the door of the backseat and took out our suitcases. He carried them to the house.

As I looked at the house, I couldn’t stop but wonder, what is a house doing in the middle of a forest? “Aren’t you coming in?” Ashton asked.

I was so into my thoughts that I didn’t realize that he had opened the door and had kept the suitcases inside. He was holding out the door for me to enter.

Without saying anything, I entered the house.

The house was same as Ashton’s apartment but was smaller. There was minimum furniture. The house was cozy.

I sat on the couch. Ashton sat beside me.

“So, this is the part where I tell you everything,” Ashton started saying.

“The things that I’m going to tell you will shock you. But hear me out till the end, okay?”

I nodded.

He tooka deep breath. “Here we go. From your childhood, you’ve been told that your parents died in a car accident. But that’s not the truth. Your parents didn’t die in a car accident.

They were murdered.”

“Ashton, stop joking,” I told him. “My parents died in a car accident. Why would anyone want to kill them? They didn’t even have enemies.”

“Yes, they did. Rachael, things were being kept from you. And now is the time that you should know the truth. Your parents were secret agents. They worked for a secret organization named Special Squad, who assists many government organizations.”

“It doesn’t make sense,” I said. What’s up with the “secret agent” crap? “It will make sense when you know everything,” he said. He continued to tell the story, “There were traitors in the Special Squad who used to give useful information to the enemy organization.

There was a chip that had names of all the traitors working in Special Squad encoded in it and your parents were able to get that chip from the enemy organization.

They were on the way of getting the chip to our headquarters but were killed.”

“No, they weren’t killed. They died in a car accident,” I said, more to myself. I know that Ashton was telling the truth but I didn’t wanted to believe him.

“I know it’s hard for you to hear all this but-” I interrupted him, “Does Michael know?”

“Yes, he knows. He came to know when he was eighteen, the time he joined Special Squad. He’s a secret agent and so am I.”

“Why did you keep all this from me?” I asked.

Knowing the truth behind my parents’ death, about Michael and Ashton being secrets agents was too much for me.

“To keep you safe,” he answered.

“What’s the relation between keeping secrets from me and keeping me safe? It sounds so absurd.”

“Michael didn’t wanted you to know about your parents’ death. He didn’t wanted to hurt you.”

“Do I looking happy now after knowing the truth?” I asked. A tear escaped my eye.

Knowing that my parents were murdered was just too harsh for me. And it hurts even more for me to know that Michael was hiding such a big thing from me!

I just broke down in front of Ashton. I started crying with all my might. I was finding it very difficult to endure the pain that I was feeling.

Ashton couldn’t see me crying anymore so he pulled mne towards him. And now, I was crying on his shoulder while he ran his hand on my back, trying to soothe me.

TO BE CONTINUED

Living With My Crush Episode 14

Thank you for choosing Siri as your online beautiful sweet story reading partner. Today we have “Living With My Crush Episode 14 Of Living With My Crush by Authoress Funmai Library Living With Thorns Crushing On Me Stories Or Novels To Read with Siri.”

👫 Living With My Crush EPISODE FOURTEEN: 💞

(👩‍❤️‍👨 He Is My Brother Best Friend ❣️)

(🔸 What Is Going On ?🔸)

🌹 Rachel pov 🌹

Next Day.

Hearing the sound of the TV, I woke up. Is Ashton awake? I rose from my bed, unlocked the door and went to the sitting room.

I saw Ashton sitting on the couch, watching TV. Well, he wasn’t exactly watching TV.

It seemed that he was thinking about something.

I went near the couch. He must’ve sensed my presence because he looked up at me.

“Rachael, why did you wake up so early?” Ashton asked me.

I looked at him. He looked so tired and he had dark circles under his eyes. “Ashton, were you awake the whole night?”

“Yeah. How do you know?”

I was about to tell him about the dark circles under his eyes but I stopped when my gaze fell on the table.

There was a pistol on the table.

“Ashton, what is a pistol doing on the table?”

I asked, fear evident in my voice. I was scared the moment I saw the pistol! “Rachael, I” he started to say but he saw something behind me. He became alert.

“Rachael, move!” he shouted as he pushed me aside. I fell on the floor. I heard a gunshot. I covered my ears instantly.

I saw Ashton picking the pistol from the table and he fired a bullet. I heard the bullet hitting something and then something fell on the floor with a thud.

I saw Ashton exiting the room with the pistol still in his hand. I uncovered my ears. I was so frightened that when I was on my feet, I was shaking badly.

What is going on?

I slowly started walking and exited the room.

When I was out of the room, I saw Ashton. He was looking at the floor. I followed his gaze and saw that a man, covered in black clothing from head to toe, was lying on the floor. There was a gun near his hand.

I could also see that there was a wound on his chest. When I looked more closely, I saw that a bullet had hit him. He was shot!

I looked at Ashton and slowly-slowly started to walk away from him.

“You have a gun in your hand and there’s a man lying on the floor. What’s going on?” I became scared of
Ashton.

“Rachael, I had to kill him otherwise he would’ve killed you,” Ashton explained.

“But why would he kill me?” I asked.

“Il tell you everything but for now, we need to get out of here. We are in danger,” he told me.

“Pack your things.”

When I didn’t move an inch, Ashton said, “Rachael, we have no time. Pack your things quickly. The enemies will be reaching here any moment.”

“I’m not going with you,” I said. How could I? He just killed someone for God’s sake!

There were tears in my eyes. Maybe because I was scared of the person standing before me.

That person seemed like a stranger to me now.

Ashton dropped the pistol and came towards me. I, immediately backed away from him.

“Rachael, trust me. I won’t hurt you if that’s what you’re thinking. I love you. I can never think of hurting you,” he said and was waiting for my response.

When I didn’t respond, he later added, “And I won’t let anyone hurt you.”

He took out his phone from his jeans and made a call.

“Michael, we’ve been attacked. I killed a man and Rachael is scared of me now.

Please tell her to do as I say.” After speaking, Ashton gave me the phone.

I took his phone and put it near my ear.

“Rachael?” That voice belonged to Michael!

“I know you are scared but you’ll have to get out of there now! Please listen to Ashton. He won’t hurt you. He’ll take you to a safe place and he’ll tell you everything. You need to get going!”

With saying that, he hung up. I gave back Ashton his phone and looked at him. By looking at him, I knew one thing. He won’t ever hurt me.

I rushed to my room and started packing the necessary things and stuffed them inside the suitcase. I heard Ashton doing the same thing in his room. I had packed all my things in less than thirty seconds! After all, I was told that
I’m in danger.

Ashton and I emerged from our rooms at the same time. He, too, had a suitcase with him, just like me. He held my free hand with his free hand and we rushed out of the apartment.
Ashton was alert all the time.

He kept looking around to see that the coast was clear, that it was safe for us.

We reached his car. Ashton took my suitcase and his suitcase and kept them in the backseat. We quickly got inside the car.

Ashton started his car and the car roared to life. And we drove off in haste.

This was the first time that Ashton was driving in high speed. And honestly, it scared me. I looked out of the window.
Everything was blur. That’s how fast Ashton was driving!

There were few cars on the road and we were passing by them quickly. Ashton kept looking at the rearview mirror.

His eyes were moving from the rearview mirror to the windscreen and then back to the mirror. How was he even able to drive with his eyes, both on the rearview mirror and the windscreen at the same time and in such high speed?
I hope we don’t crash into a car.

Ashton looked at the rearview mirror and said, “Shit!”

Why would he curse?

I tried to look at the rearview mirror but from where I was sitting, I couldn’t see a thing. I turned around in my seat to look back.

I saw that three black cars were chasing us. I quickly turned back and the only thing I could say was “Shit.”

TO BE CONTINUED

Living With My Crush Episode 13

Thank you for choosing Siri as your online beautiful sweet story reading partner. Today we have “Living With My Crush Episode 13 Of Living With My Crush by Authoress Funmai Library Living With Thorns Crushing On Me Stories Or Novels To Read with Siri.”

👫 Living With My Crush EPISODE THIRTEEN: 💞

(👩‍❤️‍👨 He Is My Brother Best Friend ❣️)

(🔸 Candle Light Dinner 🔸)

🌹 Rachel pov 🌹

By the end of our laughing session, my stomach was paining because of so much laughing. I bet it was the same with Ashton.

After calming ourselves, we sat in silence.

I started thinking about things because we weren’t talking.

Just then, a random thought struck me. It was so random that you won’t believe me.

“Ashton, am I a good kisser?” I asked.

See, I told you!

After asking the question, I really wanted to face-palm myself. I tried to keep a straight face, much like a poker face.

I didn’t even look at Ashton because I was Scared of his reaction.

Few minutes passed by, but still no response from Ashton. I didn’t pester him. If he wants to answer my question then he will. I don’t want to embarrass myself more by repeating my question.

“Rachael,” Ashton started to say, “We kissed for like a few seconds that time. So, I can’t really tell that you are a good kisser or not.”

I can’t believe that we were talking about whether I am a good kisser or not! And since we were talking about kissing, I wanted to kiss Ashton.

My hormones were active now.

I looked at him. My gaze fell on his lips. While looking at his lips, I asked, “Can I kiss you to find out whether I’m a good kisser or not?”

When I was done asking the question, I looked back at him. And he had a look of shock on his face.

After thinking how to handle the situation, he opened his mouth to speak. I had a feeling that I won’t like what he was going to say.

So, I did what I found best. I pressed my lips on his lips before words came out of his mouth. He had frozen at my action.

I put my fingers in his hair and deepen the kiss. After a few seconds, Ashton started responding to my kiss.

Our kiss was what I’d like to call “the perfect kiss.” We weren’t eating each others faces, just like it is shown in the movies.

We were taking it slow. We were consumed in the sweet taste of our lips together. We were kissing like lovers who were meeting after a long time. Our lips were working on their own accord, speaking ina language that only love could understand.

My lips never left his lips. Our kiss was filled with so much passion that I didn’t wanted our kiss to ever end. But we broke apart because we needed air to breathe.

We were breathing steadily now. Our faces were inches apart. Our lips were not that far from each other.

I was about to kiss him again but he looked at me with an intense look.

“Rachael, I like you,” Ashton said.

“I liked you from the very beginning. But since you were my best friend’s sister, I had to suppress my feelings for you.”

“Even ifI was your best friend’s sister, you could still like me and date me. You didn’t have to suppress your feelings for me,” I told him.

He laughed, “Michael would’ve killed me if he had known that I have feelings for you.” “Why?” I asked.

“Because he thinks that I’ma jerk,” he said with a laugh.

“You are not a jerk,” I was quick to defend my crush.

He laughed and said, “When it comes to you, Michael thinks that every friend of his is a jerk. So, he doesn’t want you to date any of his friends, which includes me.”

“But you are a good person,” I said to him.

“Rachael, I know that but Michael won’t let us be together,” he stated.

“You are a good person and Michael won’t allow me to date a good person then whom shall I date?”

“Michael will kill me if I tell you this but I think that you should know this.”

“What should I know?”

“Michael wants you to be with a guy which he approves of.”

“What?! I can’t even be with the guy of my choice?! It’s my life and I will date the guy whom I like,” I said, firmly.

Ashton smiled at me as he said, “Be with the guy whom you like. I just want you to be happy.”I, too, smiled.

“And I would love if you choose to be with me,” he added. He grabbed my chin and leaned in to kiss me. Our lips were about to touch. But our kiss was interrupted by Ashton’s phone ringing.

Stupid phone call!

Ashton took out his phone from his jeans and answered the call.

“Hello,” he said on the phone.

“What?!” he was shocked. He rose from the sofa and went straight to his room.

What’s the matter? Why was he so shocked?

After a few minutes, Ashton came back to the sitting room and sat beside me. He looked tensed.

“What’s the matter, Ashton? Is everything okay?” I asked.
He gave out a nervous laugh,

“Yeah, everything is fine.”

“Who called you?”

“Umm..My colleague. Let’s not talk about it, okay?”

“Okay.” I said as I nodded my head. Ashton and Michael both shut me out completely whenever it comes to their “work”

I didn’t press Ashton to tell me further about the phone call.

But I had a feeling that Ashton was hiding something big from me. I just had to find that out.

I was still thinking about the phone call that Ashton had received the other day, which made him nervous and tensed.

What could be the matter? Since that day, he used to get calls on a regular basis. I didn’t ask him about the phone calls because I knew that he won’t tell me.

I thought to keep that matter aside for now.

It was 8pm. Ashton was in the kitchen preparing the dinner while I was watching TV.

Suddenly, the electricity was gone. There was darkness and silence.

“Ashton,” I called to him. I was scared of the darkness and quietness around me.

“I’m here,” Ashton answered, as he emerged from the kitchen with a candle in his hand.

He entered the sitting room and put the candle on the table. The light from the candle illuminated the room.

“What happened to the electricity?” I asked.

“I don’t know. Let me check the electricity board,” he said as he exited the room. I could see that he was searching the electricity board with the help of his phone’s light.

After a minute, he came back in the room.

“There’s nothing Wrong with the electricity board. I don’t know why there is no electricity in the apartment.”

Later, he asked, “Do you want to have dinner now?”

“I don’t know,” I said.

“Let’s have dinner now. We have the candle and we have the dinner so it will be like a candle light dinner,” he said. Through the candle’s light, I could see him smile. I couldn’t help but smile back at him.

We both went to the kitchen to get our dinner.

We grabbed the plates and our dinner and went back to the sitting room.

Thank God I didn’t trip!

We put everything on the table and sat on the couch. Ashton positioned the candle in the centre of the table.

We were having pizza for dinner. Since my stomach was on the verge of growling, I took a slice of pizza and stuffed it inside my mouth.

“Hmm…Ashton, this pizza is so amazing!” I said, in delight.

The pizza is so delicious! “Thank you,” he said. He took a slice of pizza and ate it.

In a few minutes, the pizza was finished. And I’m damn sure that I was the one who ate more slices.

“Rachael, there’s ketchup on your lips,” Ashton pointed out.

I wiped my lips with my hand. “Is it still there?”I asked him.

“Yeah.”

I wiped my lips again.

Ashton came near me and wiped my lips with his thumb. I saw the ketchup on his thumb and saw him licking the ketchup from his thumb.

I looked the other way. I knew that I was blushing because of what Ashton did.

“That was sexy,” I said, out of the blue.

Ashton laughed. He knew what I was talking about.

“I know” he said and we both started laughing.

“Can I kiss you?” Ashton asked when we stopped laughing.
“You don’t need to ask,” I told him.

He leaned in and kissed me. He was kissing me like there’s no tomorrow. He was kissing me with so much need.
Gosh! He’s such a good kisser!

Suddenly, he pulled away.

“What happened?” I asked him.

“Did you hear that?”

“Hear what?”

Ashton didn’t answer my question. He rose from the couch. “Stay here,” he told me and exited the room.

He started inspecting the apartment. Why?

When he was done with the inspection, he went out of the apartment. I was about to follow him but he came back.
When he saw me standing near the door, he asked, “I told you to stay in the sitting room, then what are you doing here?!”

He was on the verge of becoming angry.

“Ashton, what’s the matter?” I asked,

Concerned about him. What made him so angry?

“Why were you inspecting the apartment?”

He calmed himself, “I just thought, wel, never mind.” He locked the door. Just then, the electricity came.

“Rachael, go to sleep,” he told me.

“But-”

“Rachael, go to sleep,” he sort of ordered me.

There was no point of arguing with him. So, I did as I was told. I went straight to my room.

“And lock the door,” he said. I gave him a questioning look.

“Just lock the door,” he said with firmness.

I locked the door. I heard Ashton going to his room. This was the first time that Ashton and

I didn’t share a “Goodnight.”

What has happened to him all of a sudden?

What’s the matter? And why isn’t he telling me anything? Why is he keeping secrets from me?

So many questions but no answers. From where I’ll get the answers? Who will give me answers to my questions?

---

❤️‍🔥 Ashton’s pov ❤️‍🔥

I had made sure that no one was in the apartment. I had told Rachael to lock her door. I hope she’s safe inside her room.

I went to the sitting room and took out the pistol from my jeans. I had slipped the pistol in my jeans when I was inspecting the apartment.

I sat on the couch. I put the pistol on the table.

I decided not to sleep tonight.

Tonight, I need to be awake.

TO Be Continued

Living With My Crush Episode 12

Thank you for choosing Siri as your online beautiful sweet story reading partner. Today we have “Living With My Crush Episode 12 Of Living With My Crush by Authoress Funmai Library Living With Thorns Crushing On Me Stories Or Novels To Read with Siri.”

👫 Living With My Crush EPISODE TWELVE: 💞

(👩‍❤️‍👨 He Is My Brother Best Friend ❣️)

(🔸 Our Five Seconds Kiss!🔸)

After hearing her, I became nervous. She wanted to ask me some questions concerning Ashton? What kind of questions? “What questions?” I asked her.

“Do you like him?” she asked.

“No!” I quickly denied. Sandra should never know that I have feelings for Ashton! No one should know! “Don’t lie, Rachael. I know how you look at him. Even a blind can tell that you like him.”

“No, I don’t have feelings for him or anyone at the moment.”

“Okay. If you want to deny then I won’t stop you but you should know that I don’t like Ashton. I like Michael,” she said with a smile appearing on her face when she mentioned
Michael’s name.

With saying this, Sandra unlocked the door and exited Ashton’s room.

Now, I know for sure that Sandra doesn’t like Ashton. I was happy to know that.

I woke up with a smile. I can’t believe that I spend my entire night replaying the memories of Ashton’s nineteenth birthday party in my head! It was good to recall some of the memories.

I brushed my teeth and showered. When I was dressed, I went to the sitting room.

Ashton was already there, sitting on the sofa, watching TV.

“Good morning,” I said as I sat beside him.

“Good morning,” he said with a smile. If he keeps smiling like that then I’m going to melt like an ice cream! “How did you wake up so early?” he teased me.

“I had a good night sleep,” I told him, honestly.

Remembering about his birthday party made me smile.
“What are you smiling about?” Ashton asked.

“Nothing, ” I quickly said.

“Rachael, no one smiles without any reason.

C’mon, tell me. What were you thinking that made you smile?”

Should I tell him?

After debating internally with myself, I decided to tell him.

“I was thinking about your nineteenth birthday party” I told him.

“Okay,” he said. He didn’t press me any further.

While we continued to sit in silence, the only sound coming from the TV, the whole event of Ashton’s birthday party was replaying in my head.

I was thinking about the dare that Sandra gave me. The dare of making out with Ashton for one minute.

I still remember the feel of his lips on my lips, even though our kiss lasted for five seconds.

During our five seconds kiss, I felt like he had kissed me back but I’m not sure. I wanted to know whether he had kissed me back or not.

“Ashton, do you remember the dare that Sandra gave me?” I started the conversation.

“What dare?”

“The dare of making out with you for a minute,” I said and I was feeling awkward now.

After a few seconds, he spoke, “Yeah.” I could totally sense the awkwardness between us.

Things are going to be more awkward now.

Taking a deep breath, I asked, “When I kissed you, did you kiss me back?”

For a few minutes, Ashton remained silent.

Did I make a mistake by asking him?

I looked at him. He was thinking something. I wish I could know what he was thinking.

After a while, he spoke up, “To be honest, yes.

When you kissed me, I was starting to kiss you back but you pulled away.”

After hearing him, I nodded.

Why did I pull away that time?! I started to curse myself.
“Sandra shouldn’t have given you that dare.

Michael would’ve killed her if she hadn’t confessed her love for him,” Ashton said and laughed. I, too, laughed.

“Ashton, can I ask you something?” I asked.

“Rachael, I am scared of that question,” he told me with a nervous laugh.

“Don’t get scared. It’s a simple question,” I told him.

“Okay, go ahead,” he said.

“What happened after Sandra told Michael that she likes him? Did they hit it off?” I asked.

I always wanted to know whether Sandra and Michael were ever together.

“No,” he said. That’s all he said.

“But why? Michael liked Sandra, then why weren’t they together?” I questioned.

“How do you know that Michael liked her?”

“After your birthday party, I remember asking Michael about his feelings towards Sandra and he had told me that he liked her,” I said.

“Sandra and Michael liked each other but why weren’t they together?” I asked Ashton.

Ashton laughed. He started saying, “You might find this crazy but you should know. Michael had decided that he won’t date a girl or like her or even fall in love with her.”

Whatever Ashton said, I could totally understand it. Now, I know why I didn’t see my brother with any girl. But why didn’t
Michael want to date a girl?

A thought struck in my head.

“Is Michael gay?” I asked suddenly. I never thought that I would ask such a question!

I never thought that I would doubt my brother’s sexuality!

“What?! No!” Ashton said immediately.

“Rachael, Michael is not gay. If he has decided that he won’t date a girl, that doesn’t mean that he’s gay.”

“But not dating a girl obviously implies that he is gay,” I said. I mean, it’s obvious. If he doesn’t want to date a girl then he wants to date a guy, which means he’s gay.

I can’t believe that my brother is gay!

Ashton looked at me and said, “By the look on your face, I can clearly see that you’ve decided that your brother is gay.

But trust me Rachael, Michael is not gay. He’s straight!

He just doesn’t want to date anyone.” Ashton tried to explain.

“But why is that?” I asked.

“It’s because he has decided not to date anyone.”

“But why?” I asked again.

“Rachael, you ask too many questions,” Ashton told me.

“I know. Michael keeps telling me that,” I said.

Ashton smiled. And then, we were quiet.

Suddenly, I said, “I’m going to ask Michael whether he’s gay or not!’”

I rose from the sofa to go to my room to call Michael but Ashton grabbed my arm and made me sit on the sofa again.

“Michael will kill me if he comes to know that we’ve been discussing whether he’s gay or not,” he said in a playful tone.

“And also, you just can’t ask someone whether they are gay or not,” he later added.

“But I can ask him. He’s my brother,” I said.

“Rachael, your brother is straight. Don’t worry. And let’s have our breakfast. Animals are jumping in my stomach,” Ashton said, as he rose from the sofa to go to the kitchen.

“Ashton, you really know how to change the topic,” I told him.

“Rachael, I’m not changing the topic. I’m just hungry” Ashton said from the kitchen.

While he was preparing the breakfast, I went to my room and called Michael, “Good morning, Rach. How did you wake up so early? How did such a miracle happen?”

Michael teased me.

“My darling brother, miracles do happen sometimes,” I said.

“By the way, how’s your work going?” “It’s fine even though I’m having some difficulties,” Michael told me.

“I wanted to ask you something,” I said to him.

“What?”

“Are you gay?”

“What?! No! What made you think like that?” he questioned. I could sense from his voice that he was shocked.

“Because I never saw you with a girl,” I replied.

“That doesn’t mean that I’m gay! Rachael, I’m straight!” he insisted.

“Okay, okay,” I said.

“So, you called me just to ask whether I was gay or not?” my brother asked.

“Ümm.yeah?” It came out as a question instead of a statement.

“Unbelievable! Rachael, how can you even think that I’m gay?!”

“Okay, okay. I’m convinced that you are straight. Now, can we leave this topic?” “I’ll l be happy to leave this topic,” my brother said.

“When are you going to return? It’s been weeks,” I said.

“I’m not sure. It will take me longer time to complete the assignment,” he informed me.

“Okay. I should probably go now. Bye,” I said.

“Bye.” And we ended the call.

I placed my phone on the bed and exited the room to go to the sitting room where Ashton was waiting for me with our breakfast.

I was eating my food. Ashton has done it again! The food I was eating tasted heavenly.

“So, you called Michael?” Ashton asked and I froze.

“How do you know?” I asked him.

“I heard you talking to someone in your room so I guessed.

So, what was Michael’s reaction when you asked him the question?” Ashton

“He was shocked,” I told Ashton and he laughed. “He was like, What?! No! What made you think like that? “I tried to mimic

Michael’s voice but it turned out terribly.

Ashton and I started to laugh even more at my terrible attempt at mimicking Michael’s voice.

For a few minutes, we continued to laugh.

There was a time when Ashton and I were about to fall off from the sofa because we were laughing so hard. Even a small tear fell out of my eye because of my laughter.

By the end of our laughing session, my stomach was paining because of so much laughing. I bet it was the same with Ashton.

After calming ourselves, we sat in silence.

I started thinking about things because we weren’t talking.

Just then, a random thought struck me. It was so random that you won’t believe me.

“Ashton, am I a good kisser?” I asked.

TO Be Continued