Forget Me Not

Chapter 6: Team Dinner

"So, where are we going to eat?", Aishi asks Joshua, while walking down towards the entrance of the hotel.

"There's a small bistro that is owned by a friend. It's like a 2 min drive from here. The streets are still pretty crowded so, we'll take our car there.", he says cheerfully.

Aishi nods and looks at her feet. "Are you for real? Being shy? Are you seriously going to let us down like this?", she quickly scolds herself.

They drive to the bistro and he introduces her to his team and his friends. Aishi, by no means, is socially awkward. She quickly mingles with everyone, trying to get to know them. They are a group of 10 sitting at a large table and Joshua is not exactly sitting next to her. He is walking around, thanking people, giving toasts, while Aishi is having the most serious conversation about how she works on literal rocket science with Kimmy.

"You're fucking with me! There's no way you know all that stuff!" Kimmy fake-screams in disbelief.

"That's like me telling you there's no way you manage a superstar. I literally work in aerospace. Ask me anything!" she challenges him. Joshua looks at her from the other end of the table and she winks at him. She did it in a very playful, look-at-me-bonding-with-your-folks kind of a way. He still turns to beet red and smiles at his feet.

Their dinner table is overflowing with fries, burgers, and beers. Aishi expected this to be a more amuse bouche and wine kind of an affair. A wave of relief floods her mind, this is her kind of an affair. An hour passes by with happy chatter, laughter, and mostly PG13 stories. Right after the dessert, Kimmy gets a bottle of champagne and announces, "Congratulations Josh on yet another successful tour! Let's pop this bad boy and hear a few words from that pretty mouth of yours."

Everyone cheers and Joshua keeps his speech short and sweet, "I say this all the time, I am nothing without you all. Thank you for being by my side. The only reason I shine is because we all burn."

Also, thanks so much Aishi for joining us. I hope we didn't scare you off", he adds looking at Aishi. Aishi mouths a "My pleasure" and everyone raises a toast.

Aishi is a little tipsy with all the beer and champagne. She definitely didn't drink enough to pass out like Heeji, one of Joshua's dancers, but she doesn't feel as nervous anymore. Joshua walks to Kimmy and lets them know to leave without him and offers to drop Aishi at her hotel.

"My hotel is really not that far away, it's like a 15 minute walk, I can definitely go by myself." Aishi tells him.

"Do you not like my company? Is that it? Is that why you want me to leave you alone?"Josh asks with mock hurt in his voice.

"No, I want to be close to you" Aishi says, without realising that she is definitely tipsy enough to speak without filtering her thoughts. She is feeling particularly brave at this moment, she doesn't think Joshua is the superstar singer she can only see from the nosebleeds. She thinks he is a cute guy she has a massive crush on and she never backs away from a good flirting opportunity.

Aishi take a step closer to Joshua who is already looking at her with a slight glint of amusement in his eyes. They are now just a few inches apart and Joshua got scared that she could actually hear his heartbeat thumping wildly. Maybe Aishi did sense it, because she breaks into a smirk and says, "Although, I think Heeji has a better sense of humor and would rather spend more time with her. I will settle with you, I guess". She flashes a mischievous grin and just as she is walking away, Joshua grabs her by her hand and pulls her towards him. She crashes into his chest and looks up. Joshua bends down to meet her gaze, his lips dangerously close to hers and his breath hot and heavy against her face. Joshua breaks the gaze and bends further down to reach her ear and whispers, "I bet Heeji can't do that to your breath now, can she?"

He laughs and lets her go. Aishi's cheeks get flushed red with a mixture of attraction and embarrassment. Joshua starts walking while she is still stuck at the spot, unable to grasp what just happened. "Aren't you coming?" he calls out and Aishi breaks out of her trance, now completely sober, and walks in hurried steps to catch up to him.