Detached

CHAPTER 26

*MEERA'S POINT OF VIEW*

“Oh, for the love of God, can we please be done? Seriously, when I suggested shopping, what I actually should have suggested was buying a tin of paint, slapping it on a wall and watching it dry!” Riyansh whined, cocking his head to the side and pouting at me.

I chuckled wickedly. Things had started out fine at first, he’d followed me around, smiling and nodding as I picked up things or tried them on. Three hours later and he was checking his cell phone every ten minutes, grunting in response to my ‘like this shirt’ questions, and dragging his feet as he walked. I must admit, I did find it entertaining and was stringing out the shopping trip, purposefully picking up everything, silently considering it before setting it back down again. His reactions amused me.

I looked down at his hands that were laden with my shopping bags and smiled, knowing I couldn’t push him any further. How he’d made it this long, I had no idea. He must have the patience of a saint because I’d been ready to go after an hour.

“So I’ve found your weakness. You’re a shopping lightweight,” I teased.

He blew out a big breath and shook his head. “A lightweight would have begged to go home an hour ago when you made me walk past that pizza joint without buying anything. Personally, I think I should get a medal for sticking it this long,” he countered.

I grinned. “I made you walk past the pizza place because you’d already eaten your way through a whole super sized McDonalds, followed by an apple pie!” I’d never seen anyone eat as much as Ashton did. It was unnatural.

“I needed the calories so I could carry your bags!” He held up my numerous shopping bags in evidence and raised one eyebrow.

Finally conceding, I nodded. “Okay, let’s just go home now then, your whining is giving me a headache,” I joked. I’d bought enough new things to keep me going for a couple of weeks anyway.

He pumped the air with one fist, and a smile graced his face for the first time in two hours. “Yes, thank you!” he chirped. His eyes flitted over my shoulder and his smile widened. “Let’s get some cookies to take back with us.” I burst out laughing, shaking my head in disbelief.

Once we’d gotten back to the house and I’d hung all of my clothes up, I didn’t want to do much other than just sit and chill, so I suggested watching a movie – and he suggested popcorn.

After finally seeking out popcorn from the cupboards and microwaving it, I slumped onto the sofa in the lounge, while he looked over the wall of DVDs that we had accumulated over the years. After making his choice, he put it on, turned off the lights and then dropped onto the sofa next to me, smiling wickedly.

“What’d you choose?” I asked, watching as the trailers started up.

“Raaz.”

I frowned and nodded, not having heard of it. “Is that a scary one?”

He chuckled and shoved his hand into the popcorn bowl. “I wouldn’t hazard a guess.”

Shifting to get comfortable, I twisted to the side and put my legs in his lap because there wasn’t much room. He didn’t seem to mind. In the flickering glow of the TV, I saw him smile as he laid his arm across my legs, scooting down in his seat to get more comfortable.

As the movie played, he started absentmindedly rubbing my feet and ankles, and eventually was massaging the back of my calves with his hands up the leg of my jeans. Out of nowhere the lights flicked on and I let out a little squeal because the movie was at a particularly scary part and my heart was already racing in my chest.