Love Is...

2. Embarrassing

Dedicating this chapter to missybadfit for the cute cover on the side. :) Thank you! :)

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CHAPTER - 2

LOVE IS... EMBARRASSING

"Things aren't often what they appear to be at first blush. But embarrassment is.
" 

― Jarod Kintz, A Zebra is the Piano of the Animal Kingdom

"No way!"

"Yes way," I mumbled, taking a sip of my coffee that tasted absolutely tasteless now.

"You're going to meet Ashton Parker?" Steph asked with wide eyes, completely forgetting about the coffee that was placed on her side of the table. I nodded my head in reply and she shook her head as if she wanted to clear it from any confusions. "The infamous Ashton Parker?" Again, I nodded my head and her eyes only widened more. "The very hot, sexy and good for nothing Ashton Parker?" Her voice was way too excited for my liking.

This time, I shook my head and told her, "No." She looked at me with all the excitement from before gone from her face and replaced by confusion. I gave her the most serious look and said, "I'm talking about the janitor in the next building. His name is Ashton Parker."

She let the understanding dawn upon her and as she was about to nod her head in understanding, laughter escaped my lips. "I hate you," she grumbled slightly under her breath and looked at me with narrowed eyes.

"Why? Really? I take that as a compliment." I grinned while taking a sip of my warm coffee as my mind, happily, drifted from the dreadful topic in hand - Ashton Parker.

"Anyways," she said, stressing on the word as she bent towards me with her excited expressions all over again. "You're going to meet Ashton Parker. The Ashton Parker!" She fanned her face as a very delighted and dreamy expression took over her features.

My shoulders slumped as she reminded me of my misery, and I whined, "What am I going to do?"

She straightened her posture and looked at me as if I was dumb. "It's simple." I raised my eyebrows at her and she continued with a sly smirk on her face, "Meet him, kiss him and sleep with him."

Nothing about what Steph had said just now was surprising for me, that's why I rolled my eyes at her suggestions and played along as I took another sip of my coffee. "Okay. That would be for day one. What am I supposed to do on the remaining nineteen days?"

She looked thoughtful for a moment, not getting my sarcasm and I took this time to be one of those peace and coffee loving girls, as I simply tried to devour in the taste of this brown heavenly liquid. Currently, I preferred the quieter version of Stephanie Wills because so much was already racing in my mind and I had no clue as to what I was going to do in these twenty days.

"You know what," I started, after a moment of silence, making Steph break away from her thoughts on the question I had asked her. "I think it's actually good that Priscilla gave me this task."

"How?" Steph asked with raised eyebrows as she herself took a sip of the coffee that she had ordered and forgot about because of a certain Mr. Parker.

"This is going to be my last article for this column and if I write it badly, which I'm very sure how it would turn out to be, my readers would love a replacement of me and that's what they are going to get." I smirked triumphantly as I thought about the only positive thing that could occur in this whole ordeal.