The sun found its way to the bus, the lights peaking through the windows and spilled across the seats. After illuminating the whole vehicle, it rested upon a rather pretty face, her rose petal lips parting as a quiet groan escaped. Her brown hair was chaotic, with some strands across her face, reaching her hazel eyes that fluttered open at that moment. Her delicate face twisted a bit, furrowing her eyebrows as she met with the blinding light. A fact that I knew too well was that for the most part, Helena Astor was not be a big fan of summer.
With a frown, she leaned back and stretched her arms, letting out a yawn, the corner of her eyes crinkling as she did so. She must have noticed that I was looking, and before I could avert my gaze, her eyes were already fixed, rather lazily on mine. Given that she just woke up, she blinked a couple of times to keep her vision steady, like she always does.
"Staring is rude, Zach," she commented in a soft yet raspy voice, which was an indication in itself that she just woke up. It was nice to hear. Kind of sexy, really. A blush crept up my cheeks when I caught myself saying that—in my head, that is. This was getting out of hand.
"I wasn't staring," I muttered in defense, even though I knew it was a futile attempt.
She raised an eyebrow at my reply, obviously not buying it. "Yeah, right. Your gaze just lingered longer than necessary." I grimaced and held back a retort, not that I had any. Sarcasm was her forte and I never had the witty comebacks to par with it.
I knew Helena Astor. She had been part of my life for as long as I could remember, and I hers. Just from my memory, I'm confident I could draw her, right down the mole just under her bottom lip. That is if I had any artistic bone in my body, which I unfortunately don't possess.
So it wasn't like it was the first time I saw her or anything. It's just that, I slowly began to see her in a whole new light. To put it simply, I began to notice details about her because, well, my gaze did linger on her longer than necessary. Like how long her eyelashes were, how tempting her lips look and how the right dimple on her cheek that appears every time she smiles was deeper than the other.
And I wasn't supposed to notice that because Helena Astor was forbidden. That means her long eyelashes, her tempting lips and her adorable dimples were off-limits. Everything. And I was always one to follow the rules. I had always prided myself on being a good son, a good brother, a good student and a good friend. Although what I would like to emphasize was the last part. I've been a good best friend, as a matter of fact. I think we both read enough romance novels to know where this is going.
"Are we there yet?" Her question interrupted my thoughts. I glanced over the window, the one she's beside, and shook my head. If you were wondering why she couldn't have checked it herself, it's because Helena sucks at remembering places. There were even times when she got lost in their office trying to find her desk. You might think I was joking, but it happened a lot of times that she made me escort her every time.
She groaned. "This trip is taking forever."
"You were asleep for more than half of the trip," I pointed out.
I received a piercing glare from her. "Well, I'm awake now."
