When Bexley's editor Eva Mellon tries to dig up secrets on an impromptu 'Office Romeo', whose oblivious 'Juliet' stands in the way of 'her forever' with fellow colleague Josh, she finds herself eerily attracted to the no-nonsense, intimidating (but...
The setting monsoon had moistened the Fordshire wind. Nothing much had changed over the days. It was all still the same and yet nothing like it. The wooden benches were empty, the playgrounds scarcely filled, and only a handful of people walked on the sidewalks of Central Park. The world was running at crazy ass speed towards the finish line. But Central Park was no place for rushing. Time slowed down here. In its walking tracks, the people are always running to find themselves, to grow into slimmer versions of themselves as if losing fat was enough to lose all the baggage they had built up in the eternity of their lives. Maybe, maybe not. But one thing was for sure- no one was running to find themselves another set of worldly problems. In its air was calmness, in its swings; pure joy, and in the old oaks that surmise their roots in the ground, there are bounty secrets buried deep within. That's why I believed that Central Park was mystical.
While I waited for Josh, I spotted an old couple. The man held her lady's hand, and they smiled all the while they walked side by side. I wondered whether college kids do these things too. Back in college, I spotted a few people making out in the open. But nothing, precisely lustful and meaningless lip sucking could compare to the pure beauty of this old couple's love. As if they noticed my staring, they turned to me and smiled.
My phone beeped.
You have 1 new message from Josh ❤️
I am here, where are you?
I moved my head to see if I could spot him or come up with a landmark. I text him back with the location of the Aphrodite Fountain. It's one of those fountains where you have the Love Goddess holding a bow and arrow and a hell lot-pile of ten-cent coins sunk in the water. People at Fordshire must have watched 'When in Rome' because the number of coins has increased tremendously. I wonder why the management hasn't done anything about it! As if love would be smuggled for ten cents! I mean, who are you kidding? Aphrodite's arrow had more bronze than the coin tossed in.
I felt warm hands touching my shoulders when I turned to find Josh.
"Hi, there!" I said, turning 180° and wrapping my arms around his shoulders.
"Hi, honey..." He said, flashing me a smile as I came closer.
He seemed surprised by it, and his cheeks flushed a little red.
"What did you want to talk about?" He asked, his eyes not looking away, and I found myself at a loss for words.
Damn! I hadn't quite figured out what I was to tell him. I couldn't possibly yell at him- "I have a boner for Will." The same Tyranny Turner that we collectively hated and bitched about.
I found Josh getting too close, and then he placed his lips on mine. They were rough, wild, and on fire. He kissed me with passion, and I found myself kissing back. My head reeled with flashbacks of all the best kisses I had - the one with Will, his soft lips gently pecked on mine. I couldn't get it out of my head! What's wrong with me? I
We pulled out to catch air and found people staring at us! It wasn't out worldly special. Fordshire was immune to public displays of affection like any other metropolitan bustling with woke people glued to their screens.
"Wanna flip a coin to the Goddess' fountain?" Josh asked me, and without waiting for my answer, he tossed two coins in the water.
"May we both get all the love we deserve!" He exclaimed as the coin rippled in the water, its resonance radiating to the circumference.
He pulled me into a hug, and I hugged him back, wrapping myself around him tightly. But nothing seemed to change. Was I being paranoid?
Perhaps that girl Josh was involved with were getting into my head. I buried my face in his chest, and he rubbed my back gently.
I prayed with my eyes shut, and my head brimmed with his thoughts- grey eyes, black tux jacket, musky sandalwood. Stop. Stop. Please stop.
I didn't realize tears were building up in the corners of my eye when Josh pulled out and lifted my chin to meet his eyes.
"Why are you crying? What happened?" He asked, worried.
"Nothing. I just missed you. The thing was..." Words ended up in my throat.
"Go on, babe. I am listening." He said, and I could feel myself blushing a little. I was babes! At Least someone's babe than nobody's.
"I was wondering whether we are going too fast. I didn't know you were going to make it public." I said solemnly, staring into his eyes as we got ourselves a seat on a bench.
"Why hide when love finds a way out ?" He said.
Cheesy as hell, but what the fuck!
It wasn't a fairy tale where we would be a lovely- dovey couple. I know relationships had more than just that. I could feel my mind shifting.
"Don't I have a say about when and when not to?" I asked him, the words coming out a little more harsh than expected.
Josh gaped at me for a while, then his eyebrows scrunched up, his eyes weren't livid, and I couldn't recognize the Josh in front of me.
"Eva, honey... I know you will never hide us from the world, so I did what was best for us. " He said and shrugged.
What did he say?
He thought I would want to show him off in public, so he did what he thought was best for us. The only thing I could make out of it was that-
1) I didn't want to make it public yet.
2) Did I know Josh enough to start dating him? Maybe not.
3) How will we work this out?
Josh pulled me into an abrupt hug, and I nearly fell off my seat. Then he gave me a peck on the cheek, and said something about making it quick and going back home as he had some guests to attend. I didn't pay much attention to the details. My head was too hammered with all the big things going wrong in my life.
I walked to the nearest oak and slumped down on the ground. I didn't care if my clothes were soiled. People might even think I was mad, but I needed to tell someone before I convinced myself.
"I am not in love with Josh yet!" I whispered to the ground, with my head started spinning; as I whispered the raw truth.
Mikhail was right. I was fucked up with my feelings.
I was nearly done with the pity party when my phone beeped.
You have 1 new message from Roms.
Roms: We need to talk.
Two more messages popped up
Roms: Why the hell won't you tell me that you were dating Josh?
Roms: Come home asap... Don't you dare ghost me or leave my message on seen.
Me: See you at the apartment in 5 minutes.
Fuck. Why didn't I think about it earlier? I need to tell everything to Roms before she gets to know about it from the wrong people...People like Will. Worse, people like Amanda. My heart sank at the thought. What was I gonna do about it?
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