Forget Me Not

Chapter 7: Sparks fly

"I really meant what I said before" Josh says, "Thanks for coming! I know it might sounds a little rude, but I was fascinated by you. I just wanted to get to know you better without all the attention."

Aishi smiles, and replies,

"I always thought of you as a great singer and celebrity, but never actually imagined you to be a real, normal person. I know it might not make sense, but when I saw you at the airport, you just seemed surreal to me, like you didn't actually exist, like you were a hologram. When I picked up the phone to call Kimmy, the only thought in my head was to meet you to make sure I wasn't dreaming. This is actually the first time I did something that was based off of a whim, out of my original plan, this is very out-of-character for me. I am not usually this impulsive, but I'm glad I came here. I had a lot of fun, your team is very sweet."

"That they are! But, Aishi, tell me. What if they didn't turn out to be good? What if I was some fuckboy singer? Because it doesn't look like a fangirl moment to me." He stops in between his tracks and looks at Aishi.

"Oh, I still didn't rule out the possibility that you are some fuckboy singer." Aishi laughs and continues, "I just know that I wanted to do something different that I would usually do. From the time I lefrt Budapest, to this point, I jsut did the opposite of what I would usually do. So, if you end up falling in love, I hate to disappoint you but I am a very boring stick-to-the-schedule kind of a person. This is my vacation persona and I wouldn't trust me so much."

There was a glint of fear that flashed in Joshua's eyes when Aishi talked about trusting herself. She sensed that and quickly spoke up,

"What I mean to say is, I knew this is not some artist-fan interaction. I remember the look on your face when you handed me that card. I knew there was something more than fascination. I had to come here to confirm that. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't imagining it all." Aishi looks into his eyes, with a hint of smile,

"Was I imagining it all?"

The street is empty at this point, except for a few people, walking, some even stumbling, back to their homes. Joshua wraps his hand around Aishi's waist and pulls her towards him

"No", he says and lifts up her head. Aishi meets his lips with hers and they kiss, first slowly, and then with more passion, more hunger, like they had been starving for a touch.

She indulges a little too much into the kiss before breaking away. This was too much for her, too much out of character, too much even for her vacation self. "Wait a minute, let's slow down a bit." She says, panting, gasping for air. Joshua pulls back reluctantly, almost like a child being denied his favourite candy.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't realize.  I should have asked first. Shit!" Joshua said rapidly, almost panicked. 

"No. No. It was good. It was great, in fact. I thouroughly enjoyed it. It was an A-class kiss, if anyone is rating them. But, it's too much for me. I'm sorry, I am a little bit lame, but I like to know more about the person before I get physical with them. I hope you understand."

"That's perfectly alright. Hey, hey, you are not lame, I get it. You want to grab a cup of coffee or something. I heard the cafe in your hotel is pretty great. We can chill there for a while and I will get going when we are tired. That way, I don't have to worry about walking you back to the hotel. What say?"

Aishi agrees, and they walk towards her hotel. They try to talk a lot more about random things, music, world politics, movies, books, anything to avoid the awkwardness that refused to leave the air.

As they sit and chat in the cafe, they slowly forget the kiss, or at least suppress their attraction to just have a heartful chat. 

"Fuck! It's 3 am.! I have a flight in 2 hours. I got to run to make it in time!" Aishi suddenly realizes as she glances at her watch.

"Have we actually been talking for 3 hours straight?" 

"I know, I can't believe it either. But I really have to go now." Aishi stands up, smoothening the wrinkles on her tee shirt. She wants to find ways to stay back, she doesn't want this dream to end.

Joshua looks just as heartbroken, but he knows he can't stop her. how long can she stay back, a day, a week. He knows he has to go back to his world and he cannot give her anything, not love, not public affection, not security, and it's just cruel to hold her back. But, he feels a little bit selfish.

"Aishi, you know I can't give you my number, right?"

"Yes"

"You can still call Kimmy."

"Uhmm okay"

"Do you have Snapchat?"

Aishi smiles and shares her ID. 

"I really got to run." Aishi says finally, she steps towards Joshua, and gives him a quick peck. She runs away before he can react, calling out, "Goodbye Josh. Until next time."

Josh smiles and whispers to himself "Until next time."