Remember how I told you, Mr Arnold was a representation of litmus paper. Today I can write that theory on a stamped paper.
Like, one minute he blushes so hard as if he just confessed to someone he's in love and the other minute he acts like he's a devil who will kill you.
Right now, we all were sitting beside the ginormous Christmas tree, Kia was not being herself, as if something had triggered her just like her uncle, she was also pouting in a corner. Tara and Aiden were trying their best to cheer her up.
Evans still hadn't arrived, apparently, his cousin was accompanying him. This was a little odd because Mr Arnold said it was just them and no outsider, except me who was one.
Talking about him, he was still acting weird, whenever our eyes met accidentally, he would pretend to look at something else and stare at me, I knew he was staring, but I couldn't quite point out what he was thinking.
I shrugged thinking about him and walked to Kia." Kia do you want your Christmas gift?", as soon as I asked that, her eyes snapped towards me and she gave a vigorous nod.
"Ari, what did you bring for me?", Her eyes twinkled with eagerness.
"Now that's a question.", I gave her a sly smile forwarding the small box wrapped in silver paper.
"Go to Nicky uncle and tell him to open it for you.", I whispered in her ear. I may be always fighting with him but I didn't want him to be sulking in a corner on a festival and the way he was acting so weird, I didn't want Kia to suspect it. The little girl would be tense seeing her favourite person like that and I didn't want that to happen.
Kia ran towards Mr Arnold and just like before as soon as his eyes met mine, he looked away. F*cking weirdo!
I rolled my eyes and concentrated on following Kia's movements. She hurriedly unwrapped the gift and held it up. Her face beamed with joy as she forwarded the box to Mr Arnold just like I told her to do.
I looked at his face as I anticipated his reaction to seeing the little necklace that held his and Kia's picture.
As soon as he opened it, a subtle smile appeared on his lips. He showed it to Kia and she squealed, running towards me and hugging me with her dear life."Thank you... Thank you.. Thank you so much. I love you so much.
I lifted her in my arms, holding her close to my heart." And I love you so much too.", she kissed my nose earning a peal of laughter from me.
She told me to place her down on her feet and as soon as I did, she sprinted towards Aiden and Tara who took her to the poolside for some photoshoot thing.
My heart swelled seeing her contentment and delight. I wanted to follow them but I felt eyes on me again. When I turned, I was surprised that Mr Arnold who was avoiding me the whole evening stood right near me.
So being the overly sassy woman I was, I turned to leave but being the stubborn butt he was, he stopped me by his hands around my waist. They felt warm and I could feel his palms pressing against my skin. He pulled me close making my heart quicken.
"Where's my present?" I frowned. He really had missed some cells of his brain.
"Mr Arnold, what the f*ck are you doing?" I gasped. He let me go but his grip on my waist was just as intense as it was before. I turned and looked at him in utter confusion. "You gave Kia a pendent, Sienna a bracelet and perfume to Aiden. What about me? Haven't got anything for this guy?", a smirk played on his face as he reckoned my anxiety.
"It's rude to come to someone's party without a present, don't you think Ms Summers?" He pulled me closer and my breathing turned erratic. He was so close to me that he could easily make out my pulse beating.
I tried to pull away but he held me close. "Who told you I didn't bring a gift for you, huh?", I smirked making his grin waver."But I thought you didn't get something for me so I didn't give it to you."
"Touché."
"I'll give you your present."-I whispered closely feeling bold somehow. My lips lingered close to his neck. The hold he had on me felt intimate but now I had come really far. I knew what I was doing. I could feel the heat radiating from his body. "But for that, you need to tell me why you avoided me till now."
"mhm.", he placed his hand in my hair and pulled me towards him."Asking for another deal, are we?" I rolled my eyes. He was the one who asked for a gift like a kid.
"You know what my mother says.", he asked making me frown."When we stare at something very beautiful, it tends to hypnotize us.
"What does it have to do with you avoiding me?"
He gave me a long look, a very very long look, and I swear that my heart skipped a beat. "You look like a goddess today.", he whispered touching my nose with his. My heart raced out of control.
When he pulled me close, I could feel his warm breath on my neck, his lips on the back of my neck which were not supposed to touch, his arms around my waist and I could feel every single part of him.
My heart was pounding so wildly it felt like I was having a heart attack. "My gift now.", he said and released me. I turned and kept my hand on my heart, I felt like it was actually going to explode. Never in my life did I have such an intimate encounter with a man.
"Ms Summers.", Mr Arnold gave me a sly smile."Want me to call an ambulance?"
I gave him a death glare. After nearly giving me a heart attack, he had the f*cking audacity to play dumb. "Why would I need an ambulance. I'm not dying or sh*t.", I gave him an icy stare, I was genuinely tempted to slap him when he smirked at me but I just let out a huff and walked to the kitchen, where I kept his gift.
I thought it'd be pretty awkward for him as well as me if I gave it in front of others, not that I was actually planning to give it to him anytime soon. I sighed and calming my erratic breathing, handed it to him.
"Why don't you get up and have some water or something to drink? You really look like you need it," he smirked and sat down on a chair nearby, hands busy in unwrapping the present.
Is there a way to slap someone without them noticing they have been slapped? Wish there was, Mr Arnold, brings out the worst in me.
He withdrew the photo frame I got for him. It had the picture of Kia, Aiden, Evans, Sienna and lastly him. In this time period, I can conclude one thing about Mr Arnold, he only loved to argue with me as if he enjoyed seeing me cursing him out but he never fought with the others. Those four were everything to him and I found myself smiling at the thought that he was so much more than just a business tycoon with them.
I looked at him, silently asking if he liked his present and to my utmost surprise, he caught my hand and pulled me towards him such that I fell in his embrace.
"Just like you. It's perfect."
I swear to God, at that moment my face felt like it was on fire. What's up with him and giving me compliments today?
"I'll take that as a yes.", I blurted and swiftly got up sprinting like a madwoman. My face felt really hot. I was about to ask him about it when he grabbed my hand back. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do that. I just..." I didn't let him finish his apology rant. I just sprinted to the poolside with a heart going 100 miles an hour.
Mr Arnold was the first person who touched me, held me close but I never found myself getting uncomfortable as I was in this situation. He was so gentle. He didn't do anything to make me want to push him away.
"Sh*t! I messed up with the only -"I didn't hear what he said after that. Courtesy to my running, and frankly, I didn't want to hear him. He had successfully managed to race my heart rate from 100 to 200 in just mere seconds.
When I reached the living room, there was a new face. I guessed it to be Evans' cousin.
He looked about my age, he was slightly taller than Aiden, almost similar to the height of Mr Arnold. He was wearing a long-sleeve white shirt and a pair of jeans. His hair was short and black. He had hazel eyes and a slightly dimpled face. He turned to me and a slight smirk appeared on his face. It wasn't the playful smirk Mr Arnold always had.
Something in that grin didn't seem right to me. But just to not seem rude, I smiled politely stepping on my female intuition." Where was this pretty woman till now?", he asked looking at me from top to bottom slowly. His eyes made me so uncomfortable and angry, all I wanted was to slap him hard. But I did nothing. I didn't want to create a scene as long as he was within his limits.
"I'm Luke Carter, Evans Cousin.", he said taking my hand in his but before he could bring it to his lips I snatched my hand back, a tight smile on my face still intact."Arielle Summers, Kia's babysitter."
"Oh, the talk of the town. I was really excited to meet you when I read that article but genuinely you're more beautiful in person." The way he said all of this made me even more irritated with his attitude.
"Luke, come on here.", Aiden yelled out for him, a visible annoyance in his voice. I silently thanked him to which he gave me a small smile that made me realize that he had understood my discomfort.
I turned to look at the clock and it was 11:45 pm. I should definitely head home. I lifted Kia who was sleeping soundly on the couch. I asked for her bedroom from Sienna which was the second room on the left of the kitchen.
I placed her on the bed and tucked her in. She looked so adorable in her sleep. I pressed a kiss against her forehead and just when I turned to leave, I saw Mr Arnold standing looking at me, his hands tucked in his pockets.
My mind raced to the encounter I had with him a few minutes ago. I really prayed to God he won't say a word but of course, my prayers seemed to be in a waiting line. As soon as I was about to leave, he spoke. "Why did you run away, Miss Summers."
Deciding to play dumb, I tilted my head asking him what he was talking about.
"You can't always escape from me, amore.",he said and once again I found myself blushing and running from his words.
"I'm leaving.", I announced as soon as I was in the living room. I was very well aware of his intense gaze boring holes in my neck.
"But we just met. You can't leave yet.", the pervert said and I balled my fists in anger. I didn't want to talk to him as much as ever. But being the really good person I'm. I plastered a fake smile and shook my head."I really have to leave."
"Okay fine, just one round of the game we are playing and you're free to go.", he said and I sighed.
One game and I'll be able to escape from here.
We seated around the Christmas corner and I purposely sat beside Aiden and Mr Arnold because the other side of Aiden, sat the other eccentric that was Evans' cousin but that didn't mean I interacted with him. I just sat beside him silently praying the stupid game to over soon.
"So truth or dare." Oh, God! I'm sorry it's my opinion but this is the dumbest and the most cliché game I've ever seen. I swear, if I see this game on TV, I'll turn it off right then and there.
The bottle spun around and around and then landed on Aiden. He got up with a big smile."Dare."
Luke dared him to jump in the cold water of the swimming pool. I felt shivers run down my spine as soon as I saw him enter the pool and without a warning, he jumped inside. Everyone gave him a cheer except me since I sympathized with the poor guy and Mr Arnold who seemed bored out of his mind.
The bottle spun and landed on Tara who was dared by Evans."Kiss me."
I found myself smiling when she shyly kissed him and then buried her head in his chest due to the furious blush that covered her face.
The bottle spun again and this time it landed on Mr Arnold. He grunted."Let's get over with this sh*t. Truth."
Aiden who had now covered himself in a bathrobe came and smirked."Have you ever fallen in love at first sight, Nickolie?", he smirked and all eyes including mine centred on Mr Arnold who looked so annoyed. Only if looks could kill!
After seconds of anticipation that felt like years, he finally spoke, "Yes, and I fell in love with her the very first moment I saw her.", all the while his eyes didn't leave mine.
As if that unfortunate woman was me.
I mentally laughed at my nonsense.
"Alright! Next", Luke announced and spun the bottle. Only me, Evans and Luke were left for their turn and I didn't want mine to come anytime soon but I guess again my prayers got lined up since the damn bottle landed on me.
"Truth." I groaned but my choice was instantly dropped and I was bloody forced to take dare.
Apparently, the last chance was of Mr Arnold and he also took the truth. I sighed.
"F*ck fine. Dare.", I replied."I'll be giving the dare.", Luke said and my heart raced thinking of all the possible dares he could be giving to me. But as if my prayers finally got answered.
Aiden interrupted in between."I'll give the dare to Arielle."
Luke didn't look impressed by the idea but maybe he was intelligent enough to not show his pervertedness in front of everyone. Hence, he gave up and I breathed a sigh of relief.
"I dare Arielle to dance with the devil-I mean Nicky." I gasped. This time I was certain I was going to die.
"I...I don't know to dance.", I made up an excuse and behind me, I heard Mr Arnold snorting. Seems like he was quite enjoying my misery.
"Okay then kiss him.", Aiden shrugged. I glared at him with such intensity that'd put basilisk to shame but he didn't seem to notice. He kept on staring at me with those wicked eyes. "Dance it is.", I sighed.
Behind me once again I heard Mr Arnold chuckle.
Let my time come and I'll show you, Nicolas f*cking Arnold!
***