ABOVE & BEYOND : IF WE ARE MEANT TO BE

CHAPTER 19

DUAA

After chopping the spring onions finely I sprinkled them on the fried rice I've cooked. I could literally sniff the spiciness of this from far away. A devilish grin played on my lips as I imagined his face while eating this. A small part of me was also refusing me to do it but I silenced that part temporarily.

Will I regret this? Maybe...

But right now was not the time.

Right now I wanted to teach him a lesson for what he did.

I gave the rice another toss before turning the stove off and just then I saw him coming down the stairs wearing a plain white t-shirt, grey sweatpants and white towel on his hand by which he was whipping his hair aggressively.

He didn't seem to notice me yet so I looked away as well. Not tryna stare at his biceps for too long.

"God, it smells good." he entered the kitchen with a smile. Looking...cute? I shrugged off that thought and took out a small bowl for myself knowing damn well he was staring at me. He was hesitant.

"Umm..can I have some too? I haven't had anything after lunch." so seven hours passed and he didn't have anything? Pityness flooded through me.

Should I really do it? What if...nah, he's a big man. He can handle this much spice. But I should still warn him.

"Yea but I don't think you can handle it." he frowned slightly, looking confused. "What do you mean?" I shrugged innocently. "Well, it's spicy so..." I didn't have to finish my sentence as his expression told me he got the rest of the sentence.

Challenge flickered in his gaze. "You think I can't handle spice?" he said it with such disbelief that made me think he actually can take the heat.

"Well..suit yourself then." I said before sitting on a chair and seconds later he sat on the opposite side. Filling up this bowl completely.

I took the first bite and god..it was delicious. My spice kicked in quickly but I had a high tolerance so it was okay. I watched Eryx as he took the first bite as well.

"Damnn brownie, it's so goo..." he stopped mid sentence, widening his eyes slightly. Yep..the spice kicked in. I pressed my lips together not to laugh.

"If it's too spicy then don't eat it." I suggested, tired to sound as kind as possible but ended up sounding meaner. He took another full spoon while showing me his thumb.

I wasn't even halfway with my food and he was done. He ate everything. well, not shocking since he just swallowed instead of chewing. I honestly couldn't believe he had pulled it off.

His lips were red. So red that it reminded me of the inside of a cherry. Same goes for his tongue. His ears were also bright red. Oh no... he doesn't look so good.

I quickly got up and handed him the milk bottle from the fridge. He didn't waste a second and snatched it from my hand and started chugging.

I tried to swallow the airy bubble of guild that was being created in my throat. Did I take it too far? "Told you it was spicy! Why did you even finish the whole bowl?"

I said while pouring him a glass of water as he was slightly coughing right now.

"Good to know you care." he said with a smile as I was handing him the water. I stared at him for two whole seconds before sitting in the chair again.

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ERYX

Shitshitshitshit...it's not good. Every part of me was burning and I could feel all of it. If I blink one more time tears are gonna come out of my eyes. I'm not even kidding.

I looked at Duaa as she was eating her food like she was eating an icecream. So there was no way I could back off. And she also thought I couldn't eat it so I had to prove her wrong too. Hence I ended up eating every last grain of rice.

It was delicious but painful. Deliciously painful. Painfully delicious.

Tf am I thinking? It's the spice that is messing up with my head.

I finished my one litre bottle of water in one go after I came to my room but the spice was still burning up my throat but a lot less this time. I took my shirt off due to the heat even though it was 2°C outside today.

Leaning against the headboard I inhaled sharply while closing my eyes. Soon two knocks on my door brought me back to reality. I quickly straightened up and went for the door.

I opened the door and brownie was on the other side as expected looking...hesitant?

"hey" "hey"

We both said at the same time. "I brought you this." she said as my eyes fell on the small ice cream cup. The one we bought the other day. "Thanks."

I didn't mean to sound hesitant but I knew I did. Why was she so nice all of a sudden? I shrugged those questions off of my head and smiled at her. She also gave me a slight smile before going away.

Since when do I care about what other people think? Or do I just care about what she thinks? Probably that.

Without wasting any more seconds I opened the ice cream like I was starving since 2015.

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DUAA

I was in the living room, waiting for Eryx to come down so we could go together. I haven't heard from him or seen him since yesterday and a little part of me was curious to see how he was doing but the egoistic part of me would never go and ask him that.

The clock was ticking and I sent him the third text asking what's taking him so long. When he didn't reply as two minutes passed I found myself knocking on his door.

An angry huff left my mouth as he wasn't opening the door. "I don't know what's taking you so long but I'm leaving." I spun my heels around and just then the knob twisted.

Behind the door stood a tall masculine man wearing a plain black t-shirt and grey sweatpants, looking like he hadn't slept all night. His hair was messy and he looked...sick.

Something twisted inside my stomach as I was putting the two and two together.

"Brownie, I don't think I can go to work today. I'm not feeling okay." I tried to swallow the dryness in my throat.

"Emm...what happened?" "I don't know. My stomach is not in its best situation and I also vomited a few times."

Oh..I know! Like an immature bitch I decided to make your food spicy even though I knew you don't like it to get revenge for some stupid kiss that didn't even matter!

Gosh..what was I thinking?

"So that's why I don't think I can work..." "oh screw work! You need to take a rest." I interrupted him as he was justifying why he couldn't work today, making the guiltiness even worse.

His eyes slightly widened as I said it. A small grin visible on the corner of his mouth making the dimple slightly visible.

I knew he was about to say something cheesy but his stomach growled slightly and he held onto his stomach and ran towards the washroom.

It was kinda funny. I pressed my lips together not to laugh even though he was not here. God, I can't believe I did this to him!