Chapter 22: What about the boob thing?
Asher stood by the door for a minute before he came closer and he sat on the floor beside her. He waited for Pepper to say a word but she didn't. She simply stared at the cubicle in front of her while Asher stared at her.
She had some stains from the cookies she baked on her face and chin. He could also make out some that were stuck to her hair.
She looked like she was far away from him and if he doesn't do anything about it, she would be lost forever.
Asher saw it in the way she rubbed her chin at intervals without actually doing anything about the stain on her jaw. The way her almost impeccable posture was stooped. This wasn't nasty Pepper, this was a worried woman who happened to be his wife.
Without thinking much of it, he placed his hand on top of hers and interlocked their fingers.
Pepper turned and looked at him.
"You've got five seconds to get away from me before I bite your fingers off, Asher…I…2…" Pepper threatened.
Asher seemed not to be in a hurry to obey. He was never good at taking orders, it was why his parents kept changing schools for him to keep him from staying long enough to be expelled.
He held her gaze and raised one of his eyebrows.
"Bacon!" He told her.
Pepper blinked "I am sorry?" She appeared to be confused.
"Oh, yeah…Bacon is a code word I coiled. When I say beacon, it means I want one of the deals we made to be in effect…so, bacon!"
Pepper closed her eyes tightly and she grunted.
"Good lord! I married an idiot!" She whispered to herself. Asher heard her but chose to ignore her.
"A deal is a deal, I want one of the seven points of our latest agreement to be placed in effect right now! I demand that you be nice to me"
Pepper scoffed out loud. He couldn't be serious now. She tilted her head to the left and she pressed her red lips together.
"No"
"No?" Asher took his hand away and fished out his phone from his pocket.
Pepper watched, her mind dancing like it was trying to catch up with the lyrics of a dead metal song.
What was he going to do with a phone that was falling apart? Call the cops on her or his non-existent lawyer for not indulging with his crap?
She watched Asher dial a number and she listened as it rang for some seconds before she heard a voice on the other end.
"Hello…" the voice was loud.
Pepper recognized it. Asher may not call his lawyers or the cops but he could call her grandparents and tell them the truth.
"Gigi!" Pepper's eyes widened as she stared at Asher.
"Gigi, it's your favorite son in law, Asher…"
Pepper tried to cover his mouth with her palm but Asher was quick on his feet and already at the other side of the table.
"Gigi, I have something to confess and it was all Pepper's idea…."
"Bacon!" Pepper yelled to get him to stop. She would lose everything if Asher told the truth.
Asher ignored her and continued to talk to her grandmother.
"Asher, I said bacon! Stop, I will give you what you want" Pepper said through her clenched jaw.
Asher took the phone away from his ear and he covered the phone to stop Gigi from hearing what he and Pepper were discussing.
He thought about it for a second and shook his head
"Nah…too late, sweetheart" he tried to place the phone in his ears but Pepper threw a bowl at him.
It barely missed his head.
"Yeah, trying to maim me is a good negotiation technique, Crazy Pepper" Asher placed back the phone to his ear.
"Yeah, Gigi…still here. What I want to say is for you and Gramps, can you get him on the line too?"
Asher smiled and placed the phone on speaker so Pepper could hear them.
"Honey, it's our brand new son in law…he wants to tell us something together!" Gigi's voice over the phone placed Pepper on high alert.
"Fine. You win, Asher. What do you want now?" Pepper asked him
Asher thought about it. "I want two new things added to the list of what I can ask for"
"You can have two things just for today and don't push me" Pepper answered.
"Fine…just for today" Asher covered the phone and took it off speaker as he thought of his request.
"I want to throw a surprise birthday party tomorrow and you will enjoy it…" Asher told her.
Pepper frowned. Was he saying this to her because she was vulnerable about her parents and her birthday the other day?
What a sucker?! Wasting his wish on her.
"Fine, you can have a surprise birthday party for me. Which is no longer going to be a surprise, dummy" Pepper jeered at him. "Now, what's your second wish?"
Asher smiled like he was thinking of something naughty. His eyes caressed Pepper and she noticed it. He was looking at her like she was naked.
"What?" She questioned him.
"I want to touch your boobs for ten minutes" Asher told her.
"Ew! Gross…hell to the no!"
Asher placed the phone back on speaker.
"Son in law, we are here. I have Callie's grandfather here with me. You can tell us now…" Gigi told him.
Asher grinned and looked at Pepper like he was telling her it was her last chance.
When she didn't say anything, he shrugged and tried to speak when he heard Pepper's voice.
"Wait!" Pepper felt the wave of irritation sweep through her "You can touch one boob for three minutes"
"Are you sure? The other one might feel left out. I have a soft touch" Asher bargained with her.
"I am sure my other boob will find a way to survive it, pervert!" Pepper rolled her eyes.