Part 5
This part is in Twinkle's POV
I absolutely could not believe the way Renee flirted with Kunj"like he was something special!
Obviously it was a case of not realizing what you have. Renee was surrounded by romantic French guys all the time, so I figured she found Kunj intriguing simply because of the fact that he was so utterly boring.
And a liar! He'd apparently forgotten his promise to wolf down his food and hightail it out of there. I really wanted to talk to Renee about the best place to meet guys. And I absolutely could not do that with Kunj in attendance. No way.
I tapped my fingers impatiently on the table, but the guy didn't seem to be taking the hint. Dense. So completely dense.
I couldn't believe that he'd actually made me laugh with his confession, reluctantly given, that he was having a hard time understanding the French and then the way he'd looked at that sandwich"fear clearly etched in his face.
I hadn't spent much time talking to Kunj back home. We'd had a class or two together, and we'd occasionally say hi when we passed in the hallway"if we weren't talking to someone else at the time.
But I really didn't know much about him. And didn't want to.
I certainly didn't want to spend my year abroad getting chummy with Kunj Sarna when there were romantic French guys to while away the hours with.
"Football games," he murmured, shoving his crumb filled plate aside and smiling at Renee. "I think I'll miss the Friday night football games the most."
Was he trying to do a number on her, impress her with an athletic ability he didn't possess? "You don't play," I pointed out.
He jerked his gaze to me. "I watch the games."
Oh, right. Why had I been so quick to jump on his case? Because he was interfering with my goal. Still, I couldn't stop myself from commenting, "I already miss the football games."
Kunj looked at Renee, his eyes sparkling with excitement. "There's nothing like a game on a cold night."
"With a blanket draped around you and your best friends, all of you snuggling close," I added, thinking of all the Friday nights I had sat huddled between Priya and Chinky. We'd yelled at the top of our lungs until we were hoarse while the team made us proud. We'd drink hot chocolate from a thermos.
"Remember last month's game?" Kunj asked.
My heart actually began to pound and I could hear the crowds still. "Who could forget that?" I enthused. I touched Renee's hand. "The score was thirteen to fourteen with forty-six seconds left in the game. We were behind."
"And the opposing team had the ball," Kunj said excitedly.
I couldn't believe how cute Kunj was when he was talking about something he enjoyed. Something I enjoyed as well.
"And they fumbled!" I cried, trying to distract myself from the glow in his eyes.
"Amit Gupta ran the ball down," Kunj explained.
We both threw our arms in the air and yelled, "Score!!"
Heat suffused my face. Kunj turned red and averted his gaze. People were staring at us. Renee was laughing.
"I can see why you miss it." She said.
"Uh, yeah...w"well," Kunj stammered, reaching down and grabbing his backpack. "I gotta go. Thanks for letting my share your table."
He beat a hasty retreat, and was I ever glad. I was certain it was just shared memories that were causing this warm flood of feelings I had toward him. I couldn't like him"well, I could like him"but not in THAT way. Not like the image that suddenly hit me.
Kunj and I sitting on a cold metal bench wrapped in a blanket, snuggling close, watching a game!
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The Musee du Louvre.
I was thrilled when Renee suggested that we visit the museum. I figured guys interested in art would frequent the place. Cute French guys. It was the perfect place to guy watch.
I was grateful that Renee had made the suggestion after Kunj left the cafe. I was beginning to despair, afraid the guy would never finish eating. Three classes with Kunj were enough"a meal with him almost too much.
Sure, I had enjoyed talking about home, but I didn't plan to spend the most monumental year of my life hanging out with someone from home. Now I needed a break. And more, I needed a romantic Paris guy.
And where better to look than an art museum?
One of the most romantic things about Paris in my opinion was the abundance of gardens. They were beautiful and everywhere.
The museum itself was fascinating beyond my wildest dreams. It dated back to medieval times, and French kings had constantly renovated it and built onto it until it was huge: A myriad of buildings, 140 exhibition rooms, and eight miles of galleries.
As we wandered from room to room, I felt like I was in heaven"artist heaven. The art collection was incredible, the most important in the world. I found myself staring at original masterpieces like Leonardo da Vinvi's Mona Lisa and forgetting my mission: to scout out the guys.
I imagined strolling through the museum with a guy who could actually appreciate this. Yuvraj's idea of artwork was stick figures.
Renee and I were engrossed in a sculpture titled The Dying Slave. A work by Michelangelo.
"I wouldn't mind meeting the guy who posed for this," I whispered to Renee.
"I think he is long dead," Renee whispered back.
"I'll settle for one of his descendants," I told her.
She smiled. "You think he would be romantic?"
"Well, let's see." I reached into my backpack and pulled out my notebook. "I have a ranking system. Zero is absolute loser in that area, and three is the best. So what should we give this guy for hair?"
She laughed lightly. "Since he seems to have plenty, I guess a three."
"I agree. Eyes, I'll have to give him a two because I don't know what color they are." The marble statue was all white. "I think chocolatey brown is the most romantic."
"Eye color is romantic?" she asked, clearly amused.
"Sure. For physique, this guy definitely gets a three. Then I have personality broken down. Humor?" I allowed my gaze to wander over the statue.
"Well," Renee murmured. "He's not smiling."
"What in the world would a dying slave have to smile about? Still, I thought he appeared stoic. "Okay. I'll give him a one. Intelligence?"
"Hard to say."
"Romantic?"
"Very!" we both said at the same time and giggled. All in all, I knew I wouldn't be dating this statue. But this little exercise was demonstrating that my point system wasn't going to be the perfect solution. A lot of things you didn't discover until it was too late"just as I had with Yuvraj.
"Come on," I urged. "Let's find some real guys to evaluate."
We began walking toward the next room.
"I'm not sure love should be based on points." Renee told me.
"That's because you live in a world of romantic guys," I declared as we neared the doorway. "I only have this year to enjoy romance, so I had to find the best possible guy. The one who can fulfill my fantasies."
Out of the corner of my eye I saw a really cute guy. Tall. Blond. I made notations in my notebook, thinking he might be worth introducing myself to. I glance back over my shoulder at him. Definitely hot.
WHAM!
Someone rammed into me"or I rammed into him. My notebook and pencil went flying out of my hands, landing on the floor with a thud and a ping. Strong hands wrapped around my arms and steadied me. I jerked back my head.
To my horror, I was staring at Kunj Sarna.
"You okay?" He asked.
"Why don't you watch where you're going?" I snapped, even though I was the one who hadn't been watching.
"Sorry I'm having a hard time dragging my gaze from the statues." He bent down and picked up my notebook and pencil. He furrowed his brow. "Why are you working a math problem when you're surrounded by all this exquisite artwork?"
I snatched my notebook from his fingers. "It's none of your business." His brow creased more deeply, and I didn't want him figuring out what my math problem really was. I decided to change the subject quickly. "Are you here to get ideas for your art project"something other than the predictable Eiffel Tower?"
"No, I'm definitely doing the tower," He insisted.
This guy was seriously unimaginative. "That is so boring!"
"It's a Paris landmark."
"Exactly," I pointed out. "Don't you think it's been done a thousand times?"
"Not the way I'm going to do it," he insisted.
"What? Are you going to try and imitate Picasso?" I chided.
"No, it'll be an original Sarna, which means it'll have a unique perspective."
"Oh yeah, right," I scoffed.
"Why don't you come with me tomorrow after school to the place where I plan to sketch the tower?" he challenged, a formidable glint in his eyes.
I love challenges, and for some reason, I really wanted to prove to this guy that he was uninspiring as our hometown. I gave him a cocky smile. "Okay."
"Great," He replied, although he didn't sound like he really though it was great. He was probably already having second thoughts because he realized how mundane his sketch would be"and I'd witness that revelation.
"I'll catch up with you tomorrow," he said just before he turned on his heel and walked away.
With a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach, it hit me exactly what I'd agreed to do.
My first date in Paris was with a boring guy from Amritsar!
-||-
So is it really a date? We'll see! 😉 Hope it was okay! 😳 Do leave a comment and let me know how it was.
Edited by MaliciousAngel - 8 years ago
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