We talked to each other for a while, he told me bits about his stay in England, his friends etc. and i told him about my years in Sydney. Time just flew by....
He told me a funny incident that happened with him at college, and I started giggling.
"you still do that weird snorting thing when you laugh", he said shaking his head, "like a koala who has cold, it's disgusting you know!".
I laughed even more, remembering the old times.
He tilted his head, gave me a warm smile and gestured in direction of the beautifully decorated house behind him. "shall we go inside and talk?"....
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He led me inside the house, through a cobbled courtyard, past the kitchen area, and into a cozy study filled with books and overstuffed arm-chairs and sofas.
"have a seat Iz! I'll just wash my hands and come", he said.
I sat at one end of the sofa, kicked off my insanely high-heels, still feeling confused by this surprise meeting with him. Sitting in the cozy study, i had the weirdest sensation of sliding back into time. Our Westinlake house, the gardens, 10-year old Zachary, the room where we used to play, the first kiss, ..... all the memories came rushing back to me, like pictures floating in front of me.
Zach was one of my best friends, in fact my first best friend. He was tall, skinny, used to talk very fast, and ran like the wind. He was wickedly inventive in the games we used to play. His skin almost glowed transparently in the Westinlake sunshine and one could almost see a light green vein on his left cheek. He used to make me laugh a lot, but was oddly intense as well, and could be very moody at times.
We used to go to the nearby bakery and pour out all our pocket money for chocolate cookies. Then we used to come to my room and read all these superheroes comic books that we had collected over the years. I guess that's what hooked me onto superheroes in the first place!
In the evening we used to go into grandpa's study, and he used to tell us all kinds of stories. When, we were thirteen years old, Zachary's weirdo dad got him enrolled into one of the most prestigious schools in England. Subsequently, our vacations got less synchronised and we met like once a year only. But he continued writing letters to me from there.
So, as the time passed we saw each other less frequently, and after the unfortunate day nine years back, we had to cut all ties with each other and i went to Sydney with my mother.
Okay, so he is hot, so what? i reminded myself. Don't forget he didn't even contact you once, all these nine years. Fine, he may not have valued the romance, but our friendship, that surely counted for something, right?
Unless... heyy, maybe he was working hard to be taller, hotter, sharper all these years, you know? Reaching this incredible peak of masculine hotness, and planning to Wow me when we meet again... And then he decided to casually bump into me at this party! hahaha... Could be..
Even as i was thinking this, the new taller, hotter Zachary came back, dropped at the other end, and in one fluid movement, swung his long legs over the arm of the sofa, and deposited his dark head into my lap.
"heyy, back off okay? I barely know you!", i tried to push him off my lap, my heart banging madly against my ribs.
"ohh, it's okay, i know you pretty well.... i know that you hate algebra, love rock music, and have a tiny cream-coloured South America shaped birthmark, up your left, umm.. right, no no, defintely left, thigh... Wanna hear more??", he replied in his curiously caressing vevet voice.
I felt my face go hot. "No thanks!", i said. I tried to push his head away, but he grabbed my hand, quick as a lightining, and pressed a soft kiss on the inside of my wrist.
FIREWORKS!
And his lips had barely brushed my skin. I gave him a shaky laugh, "Zach if you are going to be like this, then i'm going outside!".
"first, try to get me off your lap!", he countered, clutching my fingers tightly.
I glared at him.
"okay, okay... peace!", he let go of my hand and sat up, "you wanted to talk right, so talk!", he said, that prince-like snobbish nature returning back to him.
"I do not talk to idiots!", i replied trying for sarcasm, but ended up giggling instead.
Encouraged he leaned in and caught one end of dress and gave it a light tug. I slapped his hand away and stood up, " I'm going out", i declared.
He raised one eyebrow lazily. It looked pretty cool, but i wasn't impressed. I had seen him practice this thing many times, when we were ten.
"Longing to go outside and socialise with all the boring oldies?", he asked.
"Dying to!", i replied.
With a sudden movement, he caught my hand, swung me around, and gave it such a hard jerk, that I fell on the sofa, next to him, with a loud thud. OUCH!
I twisted my face away from from him, which wasn't much.
"you can't just walk into my life after nine years and try to revive somr juvenile romance. I've forgotten all about you!", i replied in a slightly stifled sort of voice.
But he remained silent. Then almost deliberately, he leaned in and gave me a kiss at the back of my neck, the same place where he'd kissed me nine years back ; my first kiss...
I heroically managed to stifle that stupid sigh that threatened to escape my mouth. Suddenly, he let go of me, and sat back.
"my apologies! I'm really sorry Iz. You can go out if you wish!", he said, his foreign accent suddenly prominent.
But of course, i didn't wish to go out. I turned around, cradled his face in my hands and kissed him.
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Anything could have happened on that overstuffed sofa, if somebody hadn't knocked on the door, a few minutes later. I think it was the catering people, who must have accidently knocked on the door, because there was no follow-up knock.
But whatever it was, it was enough to bring me back to my senses. I sat up, frantically adjusting my dress and combing my dishevelled hair with my fingers. Zach sat up blinking, looking adorably confused, "where are you going, you idiot?", he asked.
"outside of course", i replied, "Zach! there are people out there, for God's sake, not to mention my grandmother, we just can't be doing this".
"heyy...", he tilted his head, looking at me, "i like your hair like this", he smiled.
"oh.. i like your everything!", i said, irritated. I picked up his shirt and threw it at him. "come out, but five minutes after me!".
"Okayy!", he muttered resignedly.
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I went outside, onto the verandah, and picked up a glass of water from the tray of a waiter, who was passing by.
God! what's wrong with me?? what was i doing in ther? I had gone to university with some fairly cool guys, but i didn't sleep with a single one of them. I didn't even want to, till i met this cute guy who lived next door to me in Sydney. We had a fling for about three years. He even taught me how to surf. But things didn't work out between us, and we broke up. I was so heartbroken that i came back to Arindia.
But look at me here, i was behaving like a get-on-the-bed-boy kind of chick, unbottoning shirts like I did it every day in my life. Oh Lord, how embarrassing!
YOU ARE READING
Conquering Love...
ChickLit"Didn't you mean any of the sweet things you said to me last night?" I stopped giggling abruptly. "I meant some stuff." , i wrote. "Good", Zac wrote back , "I meant some stuff too. Now go away and let me think how i'm going to crush you." "In your...
