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❝When Aahana's parents refuse to take her on a summer trip, she runs away with a travel blogger to spend the summer of her life. But things complicate when they begin to...
"Go away..." Everett buried his head in the pillow. The curtain flung open and he could feel the heat of the sun. He groaned but didn't dare open his eyes. Aahana shook him.
"Wake up, man! My parents found me!" His eyes fluttered open as he sat up. She held a cunning smile on her face and placed her thin arms over her hips. He huffed, realising that her silly trick had worked on him. He fell back on the bed, ready to fall asleep but before his head could touch the pillow, she grabbed his shoulders and pulled him up.
"I have a surprise for you." Her voice is filled with excitement. He slumped his shoulders and she pulled his hands away from him. He ruffled his bed head.
"Can't it wait?" He frowned. His eyes merely opened.
"No, it can't," she said. "Now, go get your ass out of the bed and take a shower." He yawned and threw his covers away. He stepped on the floor and made his way to the bathroom reluctantly. He didn't care to grab his clothes. He slapped himself lightly, trying to wake himself up. He hasn't felt this tired before.
What time is it? He asked himself while staring at the large mirror in front of him. He was so tired that he gawked at his reflection blankly. Aahana peeped in the bathroom since the door was open. She sighed and walked to stand behind him. She took his toothbrush and squeezed toothpaste on it. She gave it to him.
"Hurry up, will you? I don't want us to be late. I'm going to the reception. You better get ready till then." He simply nodded.
After brushing his teeth, he closed the door and stripped out of his bottom wear before stepping into the shower. The hot water jolted him awake. He stretched and rubbed the shower gel on his body while thinking about last night.
He wrapped a towel around his waist and walked out. She still hadn't come up. He changed into the clothes that she had chosen for him.
Blue full-sleeved t-shirt, black ripped jeans. Not bad. He thought.
He sat on his bed and tied the shoelace of his white sneakers. The doorknob twisted and Aahana walked in black short skirt and white sleeveless top complemented with black boots.
She clicked her tongue.
"What?"
She was staring at him with an unreadable look. She tilted her head and took large steps towards him. Everett stood up and knotted his eyebrow. She took his arm and asked him to hold it straight. She began to fold his sleeves until his elbow. His eyes didn't leave her. She frowned every time the fold was uneven. Frequently her short hair would fall in front of her eyes and she would tuck them behind her ear. She would occasionally lick her plump bottom lip and tilt her head. The simple platonic gesture turned him on.
She is a masterpiece that he hadn't recognised. He was willing to keep her safe in this nasty world. She is too pure to live here. He didn't even know if his feelings were anything romantic. It's just that she makes him feel good about himself. She makes him love himself for who he is. He wasn't even sure what he meant by that but goddamn, he wanted to find out.
When she finished folding the sleeves up, she looked up at him. Her gaze pierced into his. She smiled at her victory but her smile faltered. He gulped when his eyes fell on her lips. He wanted to kiss her so badly but it would ruin everything. If the feelings aren't mutual, he would destroy the beautiful little unnamed relationship they have. He restrained himself from not leaning forward. He looked away from her. She took a step back. He felt the absence of her hand on his arm.
"What's the surprise?" He asked to break the tension. His question brought a smile back on her face.
She raised her eyebrow. "You'll see. Give me Breezy's key." He didn't ask why and buried his hand in the pocket of his jeans and tossed it to her. They stepped out of the hotel room and walked into his van with her taking the driver's seat. She had got them a sandwich and wanted them to eat it in the van. He still didn't know what they were doing for the day. Usually, he would control his day but it was nice to have someone who was doing it for him. However, he had decided to plan their day tomorrow.
They finished eating their sandwich. She passed him a blindfold. He looked at her with a perplexed look.
"Are you kidnapping me?" He joked.
She fake laughed. "Haha. You wish," she said. "I told you, it's a surprise. Trust me...trust your gut, will you?" He sighed and wore his blindfold. She started the engine and began driving while he wondered where they were headed to. "The place we are going to is quite far away, so how about we play something. Um, twenty questions?" She questioned. He thought about it. He wasn't fond of this game but they had nothing else to do.
"Okay. You go first."
"Out of all the places, why India?" She wasted no time and asked the question he expected her to ask a long time ago. If she had asked the question a day or two before he would have lied but for some reason, he wanted to tell her. The only question he didn't know the answer to was:
Why was he letting his guard down for her?
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