Page 55 of Use Me

I chuckled. “Yeah, Mom, it is.”

“I also heard dessert is cupcakes from that baking challenge show on TV: Cupcake Battle.”

“I love that show!” Ashtyn exclaimed. “I bet the cupcakes are delicious.”

I smirked. I’d never look at a real cupcake the same now.

Dinner was served during the awards ceremony. Ashtyn and I each won an Emmy, and pictures were captured on our phones and by the hired photographers. Now, every time I looked at my Emmy for this year, I’d think about the restroom and this night.

It was a fantastic night.

We walked my mother back to her room. My father was snoring logs, so we whispered and hugged our goodbyes. Then Ashtyn and I grabbed an Uber and headed home.

“Want to display our Emmys over your fireplace?” I asked in the backseat of some stranger’s car.

“You want to keep it at my place?”

“I want to put it out in the open so we can brag to our friends how awesome we are.”

“If I recall, this isn’t your first one.”

I shook my head. “Nope, but it’s the first time my girlfriend won one in the same year. It can be like bookends or … mantel ends.” Whatever the hell mantel ends were. Hers could go on the right, and mine could go on the left.

“You’re silly, but okay. Whatever. Does this mean we’re staying at my place tonight?”

“Sure. Just let me run home and get my phone charger and change so I’m not doing the walk of shame in a tux tomorrow.”

Ashtyn laughed. “Walk of shame, huh?”

“You know what I mean.”

“Okay. I’ll get the shower ready.” She smirked.

I groaned. “I’ll be quick.”

A moment later, the car pulled up to Ashtyn’s building. She took my Emmy from me, and we got out on opposite sides of the car. The car drove off, and as I started to walk across the street, I called out, “Leave the door open and wait in the shower for me.”

“Just go!” Ashtyn shooed me away as she laughed and turned to walk into her building.

As I was rushing into my condo to change, a thought occurred to me. I called Ashtyn.

“Hello?”

“Hey! Want to go to Garfield Park tomorrow?”

“To the conservatory?”

“Yeah. We both have tomorrow off. It can be our first official date.” I heard a faint knock in the background as I made my way to my bedroom to change.

“Sure. I haven’t been in years.”

“I’ll just grab a change of clothes too, and we can do breakfast beforehand.”

“Did you send me flowers?”

I stopped dead in my tracks and scrunched my eyebrows at her question. “No, why?”

“There’s someone here holding up flowers.”