Stuff It

Chapter 1

Puffing out of breath, Nina Arora scrunched her face in effort, pumping her knees up as she cycled determinedly up the hill. Sweat poured down her brows and dripped down her back, causing her hair to stick flat down against her scalp. She looked like she had just been drenched in water. Possibly under the blast of a shower head or a torrent of rain. But that would be unprecedented. Not in this draught forsaken and water restricted part of Victoria.

The black porche Cayane approaching in the oncoming lane, was fairly unassuming as far as luxury vehicles went but only because the novalty of owning one wore off rather quickly. Especially in a household complete with Beemers, Mercs and even Bentleys. Dash Arlington was from the long line of impossibly rich Arlingtons. He not only had entire wings of private schools, libraries and hospitals carrying the Arlington name but even public roads have named after his family.

The dark and menacing Cayane approaching at a silent crawl, was rather mocking in its approach. Provokingly so. It came to a stop right at the junction Nina was struggling hard to reach. That junction led not only to Nina's home but also to one of the many factories the Arlingtons owned.

Nina had no doubt that it was none other than the impossibly handsome Dash Arlington behind that wheel. Especially when the car came to a stop and flashed his head lights tauntingly at her before he vrooomed his engine, revving it up impatiently to urge her along.

Flush red with embarrassement, Nina pumped up her knees harder. Still the struggle up the slope seemed endless. Why was he waiting? He didn't need to wait. Or revv up his engine endlessly like that.

Nina pumped hard, willing the bike up the last spike in the slope but she was still far off from the blasted junction and still he waited for her there. The fluent blue streak that left her lips in a distorted version of the more popular curses only signified that Nina was as well versed in that as she was in cycling. And that was not at all.

Her fat ungainly form squeezed into the form fitting body suit didn't help any either. She knew she looked her absolute worse. Especially on the pencil thin sleek lines of her very expensive bicycle.

She was not further then a few feet from the accursed junction when the Porche suddenly revved up and spun into a half-turn to halt right in front of her. The window wound down and there sat Dash Arlington, wearing sunnies and grinning widely at her efforts. His dark longish curls were artfully framing his aristocratic features in a careless wave. But Nina knew he'd spent not a moments effort in creating that look. Like everything else he did, his unruly hair too, no doubt fell to order and perfection with a simple toss of his head.

"Great effort!" He smirked at her encouragingly but Nina only heard the unspoken taunt behind his words. Especially, when his escort piped up beside him," Let's just go already, darling. We're running late as is."

Dash's grin didn't falter as he raised a hand to mock salute Nina before he slid into drive to complete the turn. Nina paddled after them for a bit, determined to not let them see just how much that encounter affected her.

And just incase he was checking out his rear view mirror, she paddled harder still. Till she was certain the Porche was far enough away to not be able to tell the difference if she stopped. She stopped then and huffed out an angry breath after them.

Dash Arlington!

Nina fumed silently, already out of the many adjectives that would best describe him... in unfavourable terms.

But there was nothing to fault on his person. Not the wide sky blue eyes framed with the longest and thickest eye lashes, that she knew sat behind those sunnies. Nor the well sculpted physic formed from a steady regimented visit to the gym, that sat confidently behind the wheels.

There was nothing to fault of Dash Arlington but his consistent failure to not mock her.