Sparks Fly

CH12: My legs give out

Three weeks of exam preparation has been brutal. Forget about mother being on my case, even Neil has been quite hard on me. During the last couple of days of preparation I ask him to give me a break but the request falls on deaf ears.

"All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy."

"That's a failure mantra," he says while checking my math's answers.

"I'll just be gone for two hours."

"Two! If you would've said one I might have even thought about it. But two hours no way."

"One hour? What is one supposed to do for one hour outside. It takes even longer to wait for your McDonald's order," I tell him.

"Exactly. You wanna unwind, do it at home."

"I'm tired of seeing your face everyday," I say grumpily.

"And people say romance is dead," he says lovingly and draws a smiley face on the sheet as I get all the right answers.

---------------------------------------------------

I get out of the exam Centre with victory on my face. The gates are overcrowded as parents wait for the children to come out. My friends hug each other as an important phase of our lives comes to an end. I feel overwhelmed, I'm on the verge of tears of sadness and laughter of joy. The crowd around me starts thinning as parents take their children home. I'm supposed to take an auto and go back home alone, but I see him and a soft smile forms on my face. Hugging my friends goodbye, hopefully for not forever I approach him and ask,

"Looking for someone?"

"Yes. You."

We take an auto ride back to our building. In the lift he pulls one of my braids. Yes we have to make two braids hairdo with our school uniform and trust me nothing can be more defeminizing than that. Though he calls it cute to reassure me, nothing makes me happy than the fact that there are no more of such hairdo's. To celebrate this I take my hair out of its braid. Once free I flip my head, run my fingers through it to remove some tangles and give it a bit of volume. Once done there's a wide grin on my face, I say, "free at last." With that motto I throw my pink hair ties on the floor and step out on my floor.

"What are your plans today?" He calls from behind as I move towards my door. I turn with my hands holding my face, I make a dreamy expression and reply

"A long drive on a motorcycle with a bad boy wearing a leather jacket." He listens to me, thinking my wish through as I unlock my door. Moving in side I hear him say,

"I can help you with that."

"No you can't. You had your chance," I tell him while heading towards the kitchen. I take out a water bottle from the fridge, uncap and raise it to my lips. I take big gulps as it's quite hot outside. A trail of water moves from the side of my lips down to my throat and disappears into my shirt. Neil's eyes follow the movement and land on my chest where the water had disappeared. As if caught in a haze he shakes his head to come out of it. He walks out of the kitchen and while telling me,

"We're just getting started here." Following behind him i say,

"Maybe, just for once listen to your mind."

"My mind says to get away from you and out of the house."

"What about your heart?" I enquire.

"You don't wanna know."

"Tell me, tell me, tell me," I started to chant which I know is pretty annoying. I stand in front of him on my tiptoes looking straight into his eyes still repeating the same phrase hoping he cracks when he kisses me. Neil kissed me. On the lips. I feel my feet giving up so he stops and wraps an arm around my waist. Before he could open his mouth to say something I snake my hands around his neck and pull him to my lips. It's electrifying to say the least.

There is so much passion with what he is doing that I can literally taste it on his lips. I don't know what is going on but my body heats up and a moan slips out. Neil takes this moment to slip his tongue inside my mouth. His tongue first touches the roof of my mouth and then my tongue. This all leaves me dizzy so he wraps my legs around his torso and leads me towards the couch. He makes himself comfortable with me on his lap. I come up for air and look into his eyes. They feel calm and so at peace, that's the first time I have seen him so relaxed. Playfully flicking his nose, I say,

"I would love to know what else goes on in your mind."

"It's a dark place you don't want to be there," he reveals.

"Even right now?" I ask

"Right now there's music going on in my mind, like there is a disco in there." I laugh at such a childish confession and absent mindedly start biting my nails. He takes my finger out of my mouth and voices out my thoughts.

"It's not going further than this. Don't worry.

"How do you know what I was thinking about?"

"You bite your nails when you're thinking about something you can't solve, like your equations."

"Oh I solved them, all of them. Math's is not following me now for the rest of my life." He puts me down on the couch beside him.

"It's a great subject."

"Of Course it is," I reply sarcastically.

We talk for a bit after this till the time my pink cheeks return to their normal skin tone. Neil steps out of the house to take a call and I start preparing coffee for the both of us. He returns after 15 minutes with a wrapped package in hand while I'm still standing in front of the stove as the milk heats up.

"Is that for me?" I ask lovingly.

"Of Course it is," he says by giving me a peck on the lips and handing the gift over. I take a pair of scissors from the kitchen draws and unwrap it with utmost care.

"You can just tear it apart." I don't listen to him and still continue. There is a pink clothing item inside it. Holding it by its straps, I take it out. It unfurls into a pretty pink sundress and it looks exactly like the one I saw at the shop when we went on a trip.

"I stand by what I said earlier, it will look cute on you," he says.

"When did you buy it? I was surprised.

"I have my ways Gia, I am a man of many talents," he boasts.

"Well you're certainly talented in one department," I grab his t-shirt to pull him down and show him how grateful I am for his gift.