Every fibre in his body froze as the soft, enchanting voice filled with a teasing note filtered to his ear, a second was all it took for his body to unfreeze enough to make him bounce off his chair and spin around.
His heart had never lied to him, and it truly was her-the woman who'd been the only other star featuring alongside him in his dreams, erotic and otherwise, for more than a year now.
"Ella..." He whispered her name, wanting to make sure his mind wasn't playing tricks on him and the hopes he'd been harbouring for months now hadn't escalated to crazy.
She froze when she met his eyes, and hers widened with shock. "Abhi..." The sound of his name rolling down her tongue made a shiver of delight trail his spine just like it had always done.
The moment felt magical. Their feet moved automatically and simultaneously towards each other, and they fell into an embrace. Joy burst in his chest, so intense he hugged her tighter, absorbing her warmth together with the sweet reality that she was truly here.
They must've been hugging for forever because the woman Ella had walked in with asked hesitantly, "Uhm. . .Can someone explain to me what's going on?"
Reluctantly, Abhi pulled away from Ella and cupped her face, gazing into her deep sapphire eyes he'd missed so much. "It's really you. I was beginning to think I would never see you again."
"I thought so too." She admitted.
"Dude, what the heck is going on?" Clark's question came. "Are we watching a telenovela or something?"
Abhi ignored him, not breaking eye contact with Ella. "It's been so long. We need to talk."
"Ella, it's him?" The woman with Ella suddenly asked her. Ella looked away from his eyes, as she nodded awkwardly, and Abhi realized how close they stood. Letting go her cheek and stepping away from her, Abhi felt a pang of hurt that their closeness made her uncomfortable, then realized he probably shouldn't have expected anything less.
"Ella, we need to talk."
Ella shook her head while looking at the woman she'd come with, seeming just about ready to bring forth an excuse, when the woman suddenly placed her hand on Ella's shoulder. "Go Ella."
Ella nodded reluctantly while Abhi walked over to his friends eagerly. "Guys, I'll see you later."
"Looking to get laid, are we?" Clark teased, and Abhi merely shook his head, wanting to tell him this was about more than just sex but knowing he wouldn't believe him, shut up. Boys would always be boys.
"Don't go anywhere, Becky. I won't take long." He heard Ella tell the other lady as he walked back to her.
"It's been more than a year now, Ella. Take as much time as you guys need. I'll just head home and make up with my husband."
"Shall we?" Abhi asked, gesturing to the entrance of the bar. Excitement burst inside his chest when Ella fell in step with him, and his emotions bubbled so close to the surface there was no way she wouldn't sense it.
He'd spent most nights of the past year telling himself there was a reason she kept appearing in his dreams, that he was destined to see her again, ignoring the malevolent voice in his head telling him to keep on dreaming because that was the only place he was going to see her again, at least in the way he saw them together.
He'd missed her terrible, until he'd realized that his feelings was more than about being attracted to her, that he was in love with her.
He looked at the woman walking beside him as they stepped out of the bar and into the night, wanting to tell her the feelings he'd come across over the past months, but suddenly found himself at a loss of words as he gazed at her.
Platinum blonde locks were swept to one side of her neck, revealing the delicate arch of her neck on the side facing him. "So how have you been?" He asked her instead of the confession he wanted so desperately to make.
Luckily, this part of Rockford was filled with only homes and apartments to allow them a calm conversation. She actually smiled, that smile he'd missed so much, then shrugged. "What can I say? I've spent the year trying to create more employment opportunities and improving the quality of education in several areas."
Abhi chuckled softly, knowing that was as interesting as working in the NGO could get. To his delight, she asked. "What about you?"
"What's to say? Pretty much the same as yours."
And then they lapped into a silence so awkward it made him itch. For someone who'd never found a problem making a conversation, it came as a shock to him.
"So uhm," He finally turned to her, needing to dissipate the silence, but in a rare moment of heat and emotion and candor, he said "I missed you."
His confession hang like a poignant, hypnotic cloud, a magnetic field that made them draw closer. Just when their lips were on the brink of touching, she broke the magic and looked away, taking a step away from him. "So there's this old woman I met while..."
She was obviously trying to deviate the topic, the sizzle of awareness between them. Disappointed, he strode with her and forced himself to listen to her rumbling. She chuckled nervously when she was done but he couldn't figure out what about. He'd barely been listening.
"My apartment is in there." He said, pointing at the 10 storey edifice when they came across his street. "Would you like to come in with me? We could talk some more." He'd be damned if he thought a few minutes with her on the street would be enough. Maybe, in the comfort of his apartment, he could finally find the courage to pour his heart out.
Wariness gleamed in her eyes, her uncertainty almost tangible. "I don't know." Then she shrugged, failing to make it nonchalant. "Fine."
In his apartment, for about an hour, they talked about everything and nothing, because somehow, the main issue remained unspoken, deliberating held at the back of their minds.
Her phone dinged with a notification, and she looked at her screen before looking at him. "That's from Becky. She seems to be getting worried. I have to go."
"Oh," Disappointment tugged at his heart, and then he remembered what this Becky had said back at the bar. "That reminds me. Becky seemed to figure out who I was at the bar rather quickly. Did you tell her about me?"
Ella shrugged, suddenly refusing to meet his eyes. "I might've mentioned you casually once or twice."
"Oh, so casually that she immediately knew we needed to talk." He snorted unenable to help the bitterness that crept into his voice. Why was she refusing to accept it -the love for him that he saw so clearly in her eyes?
"I have to go." She rushed, getting up from her seat and making to leave without waiting for him to escort her to the door.
"Wait." His voice made her stop, even though she didn't turn to face him. Getting up from the couch, he walked over and rounded her so that he stood in front of her. "How much time do you want to go on working in the NGO? Do you have a target date?"
His heart stopped beating in anticipation for the next seconds. She shrugged and then finally replied without looking at him, "When I started, I decided I would go for five years. But I don't know anymore. I'm loving my work and I want to do more. I've completed 3 years now, but I don't feel another two years is enough. Maybe I will do more. Who knows? What about you?"
Pulling close to her, he cupped her cheek with one hand and gazed into her eyes as he delivered his answer. "I will decide that I've done enough as soon as the woman I want to be with decides she's also had enough and wants to he with me."
Everything froze-time, his body, his breaths-until she kissed him and everything jolted right back. Holding her in an embrace, he returned her kiss with a passion of his own, pouring everything into it-the love, the hunger, the hopes.
This time, she didn't stop him as they undressed amid hot, wild kisses. Sweeping her off her feet, he took her to his room and placed her on the bed where they finally gave in to the pent up passion, of desire and hunger and lust, until the pleasure made them both breathless.
After their exquisite releases, they went for a second round, then a third, and only when they were exhausted and spent did they finally drift to sleep.
"I love you." He heard her sweet voice singing those words to him in his dream.
When he woke up the next day, she was gone.