With Or Without You

17.

Teja's POV:

I couldn't sleep.

I'd collapsed into bed three hours ago, my body exhausted but my mind racing like I'd injected it with a dozen shots of espresso.

I'd tried counting sheep, fantasising about my celebrity crush, and listening to my alarm clock's built-in feature, but none of it worked.

Every time I closed my eyes, images from the party played on a broken loop.

Karan's hand around my waist.

The graze of his fingers along my spine.

The low rumble of his voice in my ear.

You have no idea how much I miss you.

Tingles erupted over every inch of my body.

I groaned and turned on my side, hoping the change in position would shake the persistent memory of his touch and rough velvet voice.

It didn't.

We hadn't exchanged more than a dozen words since that night, but actively ignoring him was more draining than I'd expected.

The hotel was massive, yet we somehow ran into each other multiple times a day—him coming to the beach while I relaxed on a chair, me catching a breath of fresh air while he took a call on the balcony.

One of us always left when we saw the other, but I couldn't turn the corner without my heart rate jumping in anticipation of colliding with Karan. Staying away was the best option for my sanity and blood pressure.

The numbers on my clock flipped from 12:02 a.m. to 12:03 a.m.

My stomach emitted an angry growl at the same time.

After subsisting on nothing except a handful of fries and water all day, it was finally rebelling.

I groaned again. It was technically too late to eat, but...

What the hell. I couldn't sleep anyway.

After a moment's hesitation, I tossed my covers off and tiptoed out of my room and down the hall.

I hadn't had a midnight snack in years, but I was suddenly craving an old favourite food combo.

I flipped on the kitchen lights, opened the fridge, and scanned the contents until I located a bottle of soy sauce and a bowl of vanilla ice cream on the bottom shelf.

"What are you doing?" I jumped and stifled a scream at the unexpected voice.

My hip banged against the counter when I whipped around, sparking a jolt of pain whose reverberations matched the suddenly frantic beats of my heart.

Karan stood in the doorway, his gaze bemused as it travelled between me and the open cabinet.

"You scared me." My voice came out breathier than intended. "What are you doing here?"

It was a stupid question. Obviously, he was up for the same reason I was, but I couldn't think straight through the fog of adrenaline.

"Couldn't sleep." The rough drawl drifted toward me and settled low between my legs.

"Guess I'm not the only one." His eyes held mine for a brief moment before they flicked over me.

I looked down, and my heart stumbled when I saw what caught his attention.

I slept hot, so I usually wore some variation of a camisole and boy shorts to bed. It was fine for the privacy of my bedroom but completely inappropriate when faced with company.

How the heck was I supposed to know somebody would be up and in the hotel kitchen at midnight? And that somebody would be him?

When I looked up again, Karan's gaze had returned to my face. I held still, afraid to breathe as he moved toward me with the languid, powerful grace of a predator stalking its prey.

He stopped when his body heat enveloped mine. Inches away, so close I could count the individual stubble shadowing his jaw. "What do we have here?"

Part of me wanted to escape to the safety of my room. The other part wanted to stay and see how long I could play with fire without getting burned.

"Vanilla ice cream and soy sauce." Karan saved me from a decision. "Interesting combination."

"They taste good together. Don't knock it till you've tried it."

"Apologies. I didn't mean to question your snack choices." A trace of dry amusement ran through his voice.

I heard the fridge open behind me, followed by the clink of silverware and the click of a shutting cabinet door.

A minute later, Karan slid onto the stool beside me. My mouth parted when he began assembling his snack.

"You make fun of me for my food choices but you're dipping an oreo in orange juice?"

He was committing a crime against humanity right before my eyes.

"Don't knock it till you've tried it," he mocked, throwing my earlier words back at me. "I bet it tastes better than the abomination you put together."

My eyes narrowed at the silent challenge. "I doubt it."

I lifted his hand and dropped my lovingly assembled snack in his open palm. He stared at it like it was a piece of old gum stuck to his shoe. "Let's swap and see who's wrong and who's right."

I pulled his bowl toward me with a small grimace.

I loved oreos and I loved orange juice...separately. Some things weren't meant to mix, but I was willing to choke it down to make my point.

"I'm always right," Karan said. He eyed me and then my snack with a hint of intrigue. "Fine. On the count of three."

"One," I said.

"Two." His grimace matched mine.

"Three."

He spooned a serving of vanilla ice cream into his mouth at the same time I bit into my oreo.

I'd braced myself for a wave of revulsion, but the combination of was...

That can't be right. Maybe my taste buds were broken.

I helped myself to another bite just to make sure.

Karan's mouth curled into a knowing grin. "Going back for seconds already?"

"Don't act so smug. It's not that good," I lied.

"In that case, I'll take it back—"

"No!" I pulled the bowl closer to my chest. "I've already eaten from it. It's...unhygienic to share food. Get your own bowl."

His grin widened.

I let out a sigh. "Fine. It tastes good. Are you happy? I'm not the only one who was wrong. You've finished half the ice cream in the past five minutes."

"That's an exaggeration." He took another spoonful. "But this isn't as terrible as I thought."

"See? I'll never steer you wrong when it comes to food." Dipping another oreo into the juice.

We didn't talk much after that, but the silence between us was less jagged than those from the early days of our stay here.

I snuck a glance at Karan as he methodically spread a layer of soy sauce on the remaining ice cream, his brow wrinkled in concentration. It was strangely adorable.

I hid my smile as I dug into another oreo biscuit.

I was suddenly glad I couldn't sleep earlier.

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A/N: Has anyone ever tried vanilla ice cream with soy sauce or oreos dipped in orange juice. To be honest, it sounds disgusting to me but who knows? Maybe I'll be surprised.

As always, don't be a silent reader and do vote and comment if you found this chapter to your liking. Your feedback means the world to me!

Until next time.

Lots of love,

D