Love And Sweet Kisses

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Folding her coat rather haphazardly, she placed it on her lower arm and looked up just in time to catch his eyes as it swept across her features. But it was so quick she might've mistaken it.

"We shall."

He gestured forward, and she led the way through the desert of the village where various tents were set up with volunteer doctors and nurses who worked for a health organization situated under each to conduct check-ups on the locals and provide as much treatment as possible where it was required and transfer for proper medical care where the cases were severe.

Unable to help herself anymore after a while, she turned to Abhi, now walking beside her. "You don't have an accent."

His thick jet black eyebrows rose at her. "Everyone has an accent."

Looking away, she bit down on her lips, feeling stupid. "Well, I meant you're Indian, but you don't have that accent."

He smiled at her again, and Ella swore if he did it again, her stomach was going to explode. "I'm American by citizenship, and I guess my accent is because I grew up in America with foster parents who were white and American."

"What about your real parents?"

"They died in a car accident when I was a year old." He stated quite matter-of-factly. "My parents, I mean my foster parents, adopted and took me in five months later."

Ella sucked in a breath, picturing what it would be like for a one-year-old who'd lost his parents. "I'm so sorry. When did you find out that your parents were dead?"

"Mum and dad told me when I reached ten where they felt I was old enough to handle the news." A sudden flurry of wind swept across the terrain, ruffling his combed hair around his face. Ella herself had to tuck back strands of her hair.

"How did you feel when they told you?" She asked, marvelled by how easy her conversation with him was going.

He shrugged nonchalantly. "I don't know. Sad?" He paused and glanced at her, causing her to do the same. "I certainly didn't miss them. I didn't even remember their faces but for a picture of them my dad showed me. Besides, my adopted parents have always treated me like their own son, no less, and I love them greatly. They're the only parents I know."

He spoke with such grace and elegance. His parents must be so proud of the man he'd become. Ella had known him for less than fifteen minutes, and yet the silence that settled between them was so comfortable it surprised her.

"There's a cart." Abhi pointed. He began to lead the way and suddenly stopped to look back at her. "You've had Kulfi before, right? Because I'm afraid that's the only ice cream you are going to find here."

"Seriously, Abhi? I love Kulfi." She rolled her eyes and stepped beside him so that they could continue their stroll towards the vendor. "Even I hadn't, I'm not allergic to trying new things."

"Which flavour do you like best?"

"Well, I've tried the malai and the mango flavours, but I love the mango better. It can get as good Western ice cream." She told him and immediately looked down when she met his penetrating gaze.

"Wow, you've got to be the first white volunteer I've heard saying that. I'm impressed."

To that, Ella offered a light smile just as they stopped in front of the cart which looked like I'd endured years of rolling around without a single refurbishing.

Abhi said something in odia, the local language of the people to which Ella was totally lost. It seemed he asked about the flavours of the kulfi because the man beamed, showing a set of discoloured teeth. "Malai and mango, Sir."

"Yay, mango!" Ella squealed before she could control herself, and froze when Abhi turned to stare at her. Damn it!

And then he chuckled, amusement dancing in his dark brown irises. God when he looked at her like that, her stomach did stupid flips.

He turned to the vendor, gesturing with his hands as he spoke. "Give me three mango flavours, please. Two for the lady."

"You don't have to. One is..."

"Nothing. You love the mango Kulfi. Just say thank you and stop being modest." Another smile was all it took for butterflies to explode inside her stomach, and it seemed her cheeks and heat had now become well acquainted.

After the man had brought out their Kulfis, Abhi paid him, took their ice creams, and handed two to her as promised. Her left arm which she'd been hanging to hold up her overalls had begun to make her shoulder blades ache. Flickering her tongue on the cone of ice cream on one of the sticks as they began walking back, she had to hold back a moan.

She glanced at the man beside her with a smile. He swiped his tongue over his lips to lick off some of his ice cream that'd smeared there, and heat exploded inside her.

"So the officials say you're one of the best doctors we have on our team, and it's really humble of you to be working with this NGO instead of making big bucks at a government hospital or your own private one." She informed him, hoping to start another conversation.

"It's not about being humble" He mused. "Let's just say helping people is a passion I don't take lightly. I watched this documentary when I was 27 years old-" she was later to find out that he was now 33, 6 years old than her "-about some situations going on in some still developing parts of the world. Diseases epidemics, water shortage, hardcore poverty, and I knew I wanted to do something to make the lives of such people better. My parents are quite wealthy, and their unflinching support helps a lot. I've been doing volunteer works for 4 years now."

Her admiration for him shot up at that moment. It wasn't always you found someone like herself with such a deep-rooted passion for humanity. Sure, there were people in this NGO for honest reasons, but there was quite a bit of those who only did volunteer work to get good points on their curriculum vitae.

"What about you?" He suddenly asked. "You're quite stunning, and one would think you would become something like a model instead of working in an NGO."

The part about her being stunning made warmth bloom through her, and she shrugged. "Let's just say helping people makes me very happy."

Whenever she saw the poor conditions some people lived in, it made sadness wrap around her heart and squeeze tight, and she realized what a cruel place the world was. While some people, like herself, had nothing to worry about financially right from their very birth, others struggled for just a penny a day.

"Wow, that's probably the simplest and most honest answer I've ever received." He told her, and then he flashed her that lopsided smile of his that pulled his sparkling white teeth apart.

Yes, she was a goner.
_____

I hope everything is good so far. This story is intended to be sweet and short!
LOL(Lots Of Love)
–Enock