Love Bites

Sweet Heaven (1)

Mumbai, 8 AM

Avni had always been fascinated by cats, they reminded her of the grumpy & moody fictional male leads who would not utter more than ten words in a single conversation, as if they were being charged per word! 

So when her friend, Shreya's cat Cinnamon scurried away from her hold, she ran behind her in order to catch her. However, Cinnamon was faster than Avni had thought & before she could actually catch her, she bumped into a wall - suddenly, the wall shifted & held her arms in an attempt to steady her. 

Weird -  she thought! & why does it smell so nice!? What room freshners were Shreya even using?

"Are you okay?" - a deep voice asked. 

And, that's when Avni opened her eyes only to realise that the apparent wall was a chest & she had bumped into it while chasing after Cinnamon. She again shut her eyes in embarrassment & sighed. However, quickly composing herself, she took a step back & finally looked at the guy who was already looking at her with half frown & half amusement!

Avni thought that she had never seen such captivating eyes. All the poems & stories that they write about someone's eyes, it was as if they were all written for him. They were a shade of light brown, could almost pass for hazel brown in sunlight. And, those long curvy lashes! Was it even legal for guys to have such long lashes? His hold was still firm on her arms which made her shift her attention to his long hands & broad shoulders. The guy definitely worked out, she thought! 

"Hey! Are you okay!?" - the guy asked again which made Avni go red in the cheeks out of pure unadulterated heaps of embarrassment.

A - Uh..ah..Yeah! I am biceps, actually the chest ran away! - she offered nervously!

Hearing what she said, the guy laughed out so loud that Avni thought he had hurt his head somewhere because what else could possibly be the reason of laughing when someone is just telling that they're okay!?

"Hi, Biceps! I am Shoulders. And, I am so sorry that chest ran away!" - he said while still laughing. 

And, that ladies & gentlemen, was the exact moment when Avni decided that she should just run out of here & lock herself up in some secluded corner because the embarrassment was too much to handle. But, just like all other times, her body decided not to obey her clear instruction & she kept standing there, looking at him while his laughter eventually died down! 

"Who are you?" - he asked. 

A - "I..I am Avni, Shreya's friend. We were supposed to go to the library together!" - she told while averting eyes from him & hoping that she would find Cinnamon to distract her. 

"Oh! You're the famous Avni Mehta - the aspiring writer, right?" - he said which made Avni frown in confusion. When she blinked her eyes while looking at him in confusion, he smiled & said - "Relax! I am no stalker, if that's what you're thinking. Shreya tells me you write romance fiction."

A- "Uh, yeah. That's correct. I'm guessing...you're Neil, Shreya's brother? Also, Shreya tells me you run the Upper Crust Bakery!" - she said as the similarity between their eyes clicked her!

N(smiles) - That's right. - he said while Avni just nodded, not trusting her mouth to speak anything meticulous! 

N - You're looking for Cinnamon, I guess? She must be in the balcony. - he told her while tilting a little to look behind his shoulder.

A - Okay. - she said, as she still struggled to look away from his mesmerizing eyes. 

N - I'll see you around then!? - he half - stated & half - questioned making her smile.