Interlude

Chapter 18

"You know what?" Rose spoke slowly as though voicing a slow, emerging thought, "let's take the SkyTrain!" She had yelled the last part and for the third time that night he winced, covering his ears.

Before he could recover, respond, question and dismiss, she had already snatched his phone, cancelled the Uber and shoved the phone back at him.

For a whole minute he stood blinking in disbelief. Then he blasted. "Have you gone mad? SkyTrain at this hour?"

"Oh come on. It'll be fun."

"That's exactly what people say after drinking too much."

Rose rolled her eyes. "Don't be so uptight. Come on. I'll show you how it's done."

"I've taken the train. Many times."

"Oh really?" Rose mocked, "Did you tow your BMW behind it?" She broke into a fit of giggles and started walking away.

"That doesn't make any sense at all." He scowled, slapping one hand to his forehead. "Come back here."

"No!" she chirped in a sing-song manner. "Think of how much money we'll save. My office covers my SkyTrain pass so we only have to buy your ticket. And what's more, I'll buy it for you. My treat."

"Thank you, Ms. Barnes. That's most benevolent of you."

"Isn't it, Mr. Malhotra? I think so too."

"And what about the cancelation fee that I just got charged on Uber?"

"It's better than paying whatever surcharge is going on at the moment." she sang along, happily traversing forward.

"I see. One problem though..."

She turned on her heel to look at him still rooted to his spot several feet away. "What?"

"You're going the wrong way, my dearest, ever so frugal, Ms. Barnes." he said, delicately, as if explaining something to a little child. He pointed to the street in the opposite direction. "The SkyTrain Station is that way."

A flush of embarrassment rose up her cheeks. Pursuing her lips, she quickened her steps and strode past him. He shook his head, falling in step.

The night drew darker and colder. She clutched his jacket close It smelled of him - cedar wood and forest with a hint of whiskey and something so wondrous that it reminded her of an oak tree on a rainy day...their oak tree.

"Can you even walk in those shoes? Your toes were twitching half the night." he asked.

"I'm fine." she mumbled, fighting a blush. They were walking up the stairs leading to the station. She had one hand looped around his bicep, holding on to him. For some reason she took it upon herself to educate him over the history of the SkyTrain.

"Do you know why the Expo Line is called...the Expo Line?"

"I'm sure you're going to tell me." he said, dryly.

She was unfazed. "In the beginning it was just called the SkyTrain, because the was the only train. But when the second line opened, which is the Millennium Line of course —"

"Of course."

"—the first line was given the name Expo Line. You see, historical it had been built during the World's Exposition Fair of 1986." She concluded perfectly, without slurring any of the words and raising one index finger in the manner of a history teacher.

"Thank you, Wikipedia."

She pouted and noticed only then that Dev was pulling out his ticket from the slot of the ticket kiosk. "Hey! It was going to be my treat."

He guided her towards the center of the platform. "I don't want another lesson on the history of the ticketing system or which font was used on the very first ticket."

She grinned, looking up at his annoyed face. "What is with you and public transportation? You never liked taking the bus back then either. You just wanted to bike or drive everywhere"

His face turned. Ever since he was a boy, he had learnt the very meaning of beauty from her face. One look at her and his heart weakened. The devil inside his head resurfaced, 'Kiss her.' it said. 'She wants it too. One kiss. Then you can stop.'

Temptation gave in...just a little bit. He touched her cheek with his thumb, slowly swiping against the smoothness of her skin.

The smile on her face slowly vanished, to be replaced by a vulnerable emotion. "But you always came with me in the bus, whenever I asked." Her eyes stayed on him, soft, unblinking and filled with emotion. "You never said no to me." She exhaled, her bottom lip quivering momentarily. A heaviness expanded inside her chest. "Why, Dev? Why did you never say no to me?" Without realizing what she was doing, her hands slipped through his waist, fingers curling around the fabric of his shirt. She pressed her body against his side, positioning her head in the crook of his neck.

He swallowed hard, the ache in his head growing worse. The tracks ahead were empty. There were still a few minutes left for the train to arrive. His heart was beating harder and harder and he was sure she could feel it. But she couldn't. Her mind was occupied by the muscles of his broad chest and the strong arms that held her so naturally.

"When you entered the party," she murmured, the words drumming against his pulse, "so many people flocked around you. I didn't think you'd see me at all."

A train pulled into the station, it's engine expelling a loud sound. Then it came to a slow halt.

He dipped his head lower. Tiny hairs of his stubble prickled tantalizingly against her soft cheek. She felt his words reverberating from his chest first, before his lips actually whispered them into her ear, soft and deliberate,

"Sweetheart, you were the first one I saw."

The endearment, now devoid of humor, made her tremble against him. And this time, even he knew it wasn't because of the wind.