Dare Trilogy | Book 3 Editing | ✓

2.17 | Perfect Family + Innocent Actions

Posted on June 13th, 2017 | Edited on November 12th, 2018

| . . . C H A P T E R - 2.17.1 : P E R F E C T - F A M I L Y . . . |

Arnav walked around the car to come stand next to me again. I leaned back and looked ahead. The tall trees. Autumn was here, and the color was fading from the leaves as they would cross the stages till they will cripple away at the mark of winter. It was late August, but the process was already starting.

He was right. Living in Shimla, I used to love nature. I loved being surrounded by the mountainous region. I loved its unpredictable weather. Also, it had been a while since I had been to any zoos or camping.

The weekend could be a bucket load of fun if I could just let myself have fun.

Breaking the silence, he asked, "If you don't mind, can I try something?"

I was confused, but nodded nevertheless. "Okay?"

"Close your eyes."

"No." I firmly denied.

He bobbed his head to the side, hinting at how quickly I was shutting him out, "Please? Trust me."

I sighed. I did trust him. I let my eyes close. I heard him take a step closer through the crunching of pebbles underneath his feet. I was about to step back when I felt my hand being held by his large one. "Does this scare you?"

I found it in me to shake my head. I replied honestly. "Not anymore... It used to before."

His other hand traveled down my other arm. A shiver passed through the back of my spine. I gasped a breath in, not even trying to be discreet about it. When his hand found mines, I held on to it tightly, just as I shut my eyes tight while before they were only closed, carefree. I didn't need to say it then. He figured out that I was scared by that. He'd held my hand before, but never had his touch trailed down my arm all the way to my hand. It left a lingering burn.

"It's okay." He spoke soothing words as he squeezed my hand back.

I timidly nodded, trying to relax. For a few seconds, we just stood there in silence. Well, the birds chirped around us and the crashing of the waves at the shoreline could be heard in the distance; the wind picked up a little around us, but the two of us were silent. Arnav didn't try anything else but I could feel his eyes on me, holding both my hands in his. My facial expression had changed from concerned to worried, then from scared to eventually, calm.

His finger rubbed the ring on my finger. Our engagement ring. His fingers intertwined with mines and started playing around with it, the way they had been when he was consoling me the night Armaan and I fought.

I found my eyes opening and glancing down at our hands. It no longer felt alien to me. I was starting to get used to the touch of my hands in his. That itself felt to be a huge accomplishment to me. Before, a slight brush would have me at the brink of panic. And yet, here I was, standing less than a foot of a distance from him with my heart beating at its normal pace.

"What?" He asked, noticing me staring at our hands in astonishments.

I looked up with a glimmer of new hope in my eyes. "Nothing, it's just... it's good to not freak out."

His face reflected my smile, "I'm sure." His right hand left mine to tuck a strand of my hair behind my ear. I gulped harshly at the unforeseen gesture. It felt intimate as we looked into each other's eyes. There was softness around the corner of his eyes as he gazed into mines with a certain delicacy. I couldn't tell what he was thinking, but I wish I could.