Posted:
Hey know you're a busy person, but if you have the time please update the story, really want to read
whats happening. Thank you.š¤
Chapter 9
It felt as though I had been transfixed. My feet cemented to the ground as the rain turned harsher, and the cold seeped through my skin. I clenched my jaw to prevent my teeth from clattering and tightened my body muscles. I was focusing on everything, and anything except the entity standing in front of me. His eyes bore into my flesh, and my cheeks were flushed from the cold. I had my arm extended towards Jai whilst I clutched on to his sweater. I could unmistakably spot goose bumps attacking my flesh.
The cold pavement was wet and the grass looked ethereally green and fresh. I looked around only to witness silence. The chimneys had a faint smoke leaking out. I could imagine children curled up next to the fire place, sipping on warm hot chocolates' and enjoying the sudden change of the weather.
"Wear it. You're cold." I was ripped out of my thoughts.
He shoved my hand back gently, and I silently wore it. The warmth was welcoming and I didn't hesitate to sigh. He smiled and shoved his hands into his pockets.
My brows knotted in confusion thinking of his proposed outing but he ended my misery as he finally spoke up.
"Bani, it is just a friendly, harmless dinner. I don't feel like eating alone and besides, I think I have proved that I'm not a bad guy." He chuckled and ran his tongue through his pearly white teeth.
I chuckled, and nodded in agreement. He wasn't a bad guy.
I looked up straight into his eyes. I couldn't comprehend what I saw. Was it vulnerability or sincerity? Though, I was the hostess and he was in my hometown to help my falling business. Why had I become so cold towards him?
I imagined him perched alone, eating without any companion here. He rarely came over for dinner or lunch. The sight unnerved me; he, strangely, reminded me of myself... alone and hostile.
"If you don't want to go for a dinner, it is fine, Bani." He cleared his throat and quickly moved out of my way with ease. I walked up towards my house, but something made me turn around and blurt out, "let's meet up tomorrow... for dinner. I need to return your clothes that you have been lending to me."
----
That night I slept peacefully.
----
Evening strode on faster than I had imagined. After running errands the entire day, collecting fabric, trying to sketch more designs for my upcoming appointment with Pia, and getting frustrated with no results, I hadn't noticed the time.
The message on my blackberry had alerted me when it rang. My room was cluttered with mess, and it took me eons to locate my phone.
By the time I had found it, I had 2 missed calls and 1 text message.
From: Walia.
I'll pick you up in a couple of hours.
Jai.
"Oh snap!"
I had completely lost the track of time. But, I had managed to squeeze in a shower, and had got ready in the nick of time.
I had straightened my hair; I quickly slipped on my cream "Rae" ruffle blouse, with a brown belt. I quickly pulled on my straight legged jeans with metallic embossed slip on heels. The weather outside was still chilly though the rain had stopped. After doing my makeup, I quickly searched my closet for my leather jacket. I suddenly saw Jai's jacket that I had got dry cleaned and neatly hung in my closet. I pulled that along with my jacket, slipped on my jacket and perched his jacket on my arm.
My phone buzzed again, and after fleeting one last glance in the mirror, I turned off the lights and left my room.
----
I strutted down the pebbled walk way pulling my jacket a little closer to my body. The street was dead silent and eerily still. I let out an unsteady, hasty breath and it formed a breath cloud. I looked around to find Jai but I did not see anything stirring. Then, as I sauntered closer towards the side walk, I saw someone standingā¦ no wait, leaning against a shiny piece of metal. As I got nearer, I spotted Jai as he let out a breath. He twisted around smiled however my face was blanched.
A bike!
He turned and stared at me for a few seconds. I suddenly felt self-conscious. I hadn't even inquired where we were going. I was deliberating whether to turn back home or not, and cleared my throat.
"Bani, you look great."
"Not too bad yourself."
"We are going on this..?" I pointed at the bike, and moved back several paces. "I am not getting on that thing, Jai!"
He grabbed my arm as I about to turn back and said gently "Come on, Baniā¦ You will love the rush." As I gazed into his gray eyes, I couldn't help but stare and stare and stare. I shut my eyes and sighedā¦ this was going to be a rather long night.
"Here, I brought your jacket. I had it dry-cleaned." I handed him the jacket though he didn't need it. He didn't fail to amaze me with his sense of style. He was wearing a collared shirt, with a gray V-neck sweater, and jeans. He looked like a runway model who had just walked on the ramp. Still, he wore his jacket, zipped it and turned around.
He handed me a 2nd pair of helmet, and seated himself on the bike and it sank lower. I was still apprehensiveā¦ I had never sat on a bike before. "Come on, hop on!"
I took one last deep breath and moved closer, and whilst holding onto his tense shoulders, I slowly lowered myself onto the seat. I could smell his faint spicy, intoxicating cologne and a similar feeling was back in the pit of my stomach.
"So where are we going?" I asked still shaken with everything.
"Just trust me and enjoy the ride." He gazed at me, and suddenly I felt lightheaded. He roared the engine to life. I secured myself on the seat, and like a frightened kitten, I clung onto him while I heard a low chuckle. But before I could say anything, the bike jerked forward without anything warning. We rode down the street into the darkness, and I welcomed the cold arctic air as it hit my face.
----
The lights whizzed past us as we rode down the street, and it had been 20 minutes since we had left. I still clung onto Jai for my dear life. I watched in awe as the Manhattan Bridge lights zoomed past us, and I felt the cold air graze past my cheeks. I loosened my hold on Jai and relaxed back while enjoying the view.
In about five minutes, the bike came to a halt in front of a gorgeous 4 way street, lit in every possible way. And on my right, I saw the place of our dinning tonight: Delmonico's Steak house.
Jai parked the bike next to a parking meter, and while I got off the bike, he turned around. I took the helmet off, desperately trying to fix my hair. I stopped and looked at Jai, who was looking at me, and suddenly he brushed the hair away from my forehead. My cheeks colored up, I murmured a quick thank you and moved away from him.
-----
The atmosphere inside was warm, the lights were the perfectly lit, the interior done in warm rich colors. The walls held paintings done in opulent colors; balanced strokes and eleganceā¦ all of it invoked intense emotions in me.
The server nodded and greeted Jai and I, and led us to our table. As we seated ourselves, Jai smiled at me, and I somehow managed to smile back at himā¦ this all was very confusing. The walls near our side of the restaurant were done in black with white, shiny dots and to avoid contact with Jai, I tried to focus more on the ambience.
"Bani, so how was your day?" I was forced to focus back onto him.
"It was good, Jaiā¦ nice place you chose." I was surprised to see his tasteā¦ it was classy yet grounded. And not to mention, his jerk-of-an-attitude had been turned off completely. It was hard to distinguish between the person who came to my house a few weeks ago, and the person who I was having dinner with. "Whatā¦ is something wrong?" I realized I was staring.
"Nothing, so how was your day?"
"It was good." He replied while he rubbed his neck, and our waiter had arrived.
I sipped on my Dom. Romane Conti 1997and relaxed back into my seat. "So tell me Baniā¦ why did you hate me so much when I first arrived here?"
"I didn't hate you!" I asked wide eyedā¦ was I that obvious? A wave of emotions swept over Jai's face and then his expression settled with that of an amused one.
"Yes, you didā¦ haven't you ever heard that you can't lie?" He chuckled as he swirled that red liquid and then sipped it.
"Well, maybe because I don't like people stepping into my personal spaceā¦ and I felt suffocated." I looked up into his eyes and truth just came pouring out. Was it the sincerity in his eyes or the wine?
Whatever it wasā¦ this was a lethal combination. I was being sucked into a spiral web of emotions. I shook my head lightly and he continued on. "So, are you okay with me now?"
"Of course, Jaiā¦ or why else would I be here with youā¦ on dinnerā¦ and not feeling suffocated."
"Well," he smiled and said "I'm glad to know that." "Do you know how much I looked forward meeting you while I was in Londonā¦ kaka hasn't stopped gushing about his favorite niece since then."
"Uncle's favorite niece?" I snorted lightly whilst he continued onā¦ "Yes, I was looking forwards to meeting youā¦ shall I sayā¦ he wasn't wrong about the spark in you."
I smiled and looked away from him when the waiter came with our order. There were some talks during the meal, and then we ordered desert.
After finishing our meal, we fought over who would pay ā¦ but I didn't budge so we decided to split it.
----
"Where are we going, Jai?" I asked him while he just dragged my arm towards the other side of the street. "We parked on the other side, where are we headed to?"
"Well, just comeā¦"
"No! Tell meā¦ Jai!" Abruptly he stopped, and spun aroundā¦ and placed his finger on my lips, shutting me up. He looked into my eyes and told me, "come."
And we started walking again and this timeā¦ I followed him mutely.
We walked towards the New York Bay where the skyline of Manhattan was visible. It was a cool, clear night and all I could do was stare. The shiny light adorning the bridge, the languid traffic, the lights of the building, the skyline of Manhattan looked so ethereal, serene. It was something completely out of a dream. I stood there, dumbfounded. "This is extraordinaryā¦ so perfect, and quiet. I wish life could be this simple, and perfect." I shut my eyes as tears clouded my vision until a hand slipped into mine and squeezed it.
After a couple of minutes, I felt the warmth of his hand enveloping mine.
"Let's goā¦" I pulled my hand away from his and walked back towards the restaurant and waited for him.
And we rode back homeā¦ and thought out the ride, all I could do was calm my hammering chest. The blood seemed to course through at such a fast speed that I was feeling light, and dizzy! It must be the wine!
He killed the engine as he stopped in front of my house, and I got off by holding his shoulders. He was evoking emotions in me that I hadn't ever feltā¦ and that thought was enough to bring me back to earth.
"Good bye, Jai." I said as he got off the bike. He held my arm and said, "I hope I don't suffocate you anymore."
"You are not a bad guyā¦ like you said yourself." I teased and smiled at him. He perched himself on the leaning bike seat and smiled.
Suddenly his expression turned into a serious one. He unexpectedly reached towards my open jacket and pulled me towards him. "Are you sure about that?" He slowly closed my zipper.
My breathing became shallow as my hands rested on his shoulders. "Yes." I said completely disoriented!
Soon the distance between us grew smaller until I could feel his breath fanning my face. I closed my eyesā¦ and moved closer towards him.
All of a sudden, the headlights of a car flooded us with brightness and I turned my head towards the car. And Jai's lips hit the base of my neck. I pulled back with the intensity of his lips touching my skinā¦ leaving the area scorching with heat. Without looking up, I bid a quick farewell to him, and ran inside towards my house. I shut the door, and leaned against itā¦ raggedy breath, and clouded headā¦and somewhere disappointed. This was definitely not because of the wine!
comment:
p_commentcount