crossroads

9. shirtless

i reached the office in trauma. i decided to apologize to akil and change the office back to how it was earlie, if akil doesnot come today. and on top of that, neil is taking me out to dinner today. my mind cannot decide which one to worry about first. i made haste to the tenth floor , and sighed at disappointment as akil was not in his office. i placed my stuff in my desk. i opened the office door and the first thing that caught my eye was the picture of akil and his dad. he looked so relieved and happy. the rich smart ass person that caught most attention at school.

" where the hell did you go? mr. carefree akil? " i walked out the moment the thought that i am actually talking to a picture striked my mind. i came back to my desk and almost didnt notice a small note left near my computer. i picked it up and read

" postpone the meeting to tommorrow and deliver the forecast reports to my golf course - akil " omg! omg! he was here. i ran inside and noticed the gift and the letter has gone too. and he has not fired me yet. that should be a good thing. Right?

i looked to his picture " you see, i was right. you will come around. i mean, lola said so. damn, she is always right! " i walked out the moment i realised i was talking to a picture again.

is he really ok with the new office? did he understand that i wanted to help him move on? is he gonna ask sorry to me ? or maybe he is just trying to not fire me? he didnt really talk about the office in the note. and what is up with me and neil anyway. i love the way he looks at me. is that what you should look for in a relationship?

i cant do this anymore!!!! i just cant. it is already past afternoon and these thoughts are driving me insane. i cant keep it till tomorrow morning. so, i dialed neil's number and asked him to meet me at the the club. i had to sort this shit with neil today. i packed the forecast reports to deliver it to the club and took an uber to the famous clover greens. As usual, i walked to the receptionist , gave her a acknowledgement smile and handed the files to her. I turned to admire the paintings in the walls as I walked out. Except today she stopped me.

" You are ms.swetha for mr.akil correct? " I nodded at her

" Mr.akil has asked to meet you. He is in last room right down the hall. " She said handing me the files.

Oh thank God, I can't wait till tomorrow!!! but what if he snaps again? Anyways i get to see more of this building. Either way, it's a win for me. I walked down the hall looking out through the window at the green open fields. Few men swinging at the ball , others speaking casually sipping from their glasses. I reached the room and stepped in as the door was already open. He was standing near a drinking water filter, his side facing me and he was totally TOTALLY shirtless. Needless to say, his body was jawdropping-ly ripped and  sweat sliding his flexing biceps as he drank the water from his glass. A tiny drop of water slide across his lips, across his stubble beard , i swallowed with him as his Adam's apple moved, it slide across his sharp collarbone and then to his tight chest. Everything seemed to go in slow motion until he noticed me. Then, it all became me being superawkward and looking everywhere else but him. He smirked at my flushed face before walking over to cabinet. he put on a pullover smirking at me the whole freaking time.

" You know " he grinned. Evilly. " your face is - "

" I know " I said cupping my cheeks which was red as tomato now. He opened his mouth to comment again " stop " I said. he grinned and gestured me to sit down.

" Okay " he said firmly before sitting down facing me. " I.. um. I " his lips set into a thin line. " I feel bad about yesterday. I was very harsh. Its just... That office.... It was my dad's. And the changes got in my head. I didn't.  It was .." The mention of his dad still causes him so much pain.

" Hey. " I looked at him concerned " I get it and it's ok. It was your dad's office,but it is yours now. And it's not betrayal if you get over it." His eyes were sincere. very sincere. Perhaps, is he giving me a chance? actually listening to me. " For what it's worth, your dad wouldn't want you to do this to yourself "

he nodded " it was just the shock and the changes, it got in my head. I was not thinking, I was just so very angry. " He seemed confused.

" It's ok " I said looking into his eyes and we stayed silent for some time " did you like the office though? I put my heart and soul into it. The - "

" The booze compartment was beautiful " I beamed at the compliment. " really, it is mostly the reason i am apologizing now. I don't know what to say to you... "

" How about ' I am sorry swetha. You can ask me anything you want' " I grinned.

" Well, you did have what you want like five minutes before " he smirked

" What? "

" I just gave you an eyefull of this. " He said pointing at his body " and you seemed to be enjoying it" he grinned.

" No, no. I actually puked a little inside my mouth " I said pointing inside my mouth and gave him a disappointed look. " I was not enjoying it " I shook my head.

he faked a good laugh at that. " Yeah, that explains your red cheeks "

" Come on " I said annoyed.

" Alright. I owe you one. "

" Okay " I said springing up " See you tommorow " he nodded and smiled. This one reached his eyes. " Hey " he said as I got up. " Thank you " he said as he opened his palm. It was the cigarette lighter I gifted him. On one side it had dark Moon and night cloud and on the other side it had golden sun engraved. It was an elegant antique piece. His dad had a antique collection of lighters. So, I had a feeling he would like this.

" your dad had a collection of lighters. He didn't have this one" I said smiling at my choice of gift proudly.

" Yeah " he said with a slight of nostalgia. he got up and we were face to face. He was inches away from me. The heat from his body radiating into mine. His breath on my trembling lips. " Hey " He was smirking  when I looked up. " Stop it " I nudged him away sharply. I heard him laugh as I got out of the room. I walked the whole way with the picture of him shirtless in my mind. I can't seem to get it off my mind, I didn't want to too, Does it make me bad?

Neil was already waiting outside and he smiled at me as i opened the cab door.

" Where do you wanna go? " He asked as I sat down.

" Today is a good day. So... " I said ramaging through my mind.

" You sounded stressed in the call " he said looking at me concerned.

" Yeah. I was but it's all sorted now. Just office stuff " I said

" Alright. " He smiled " Chinese? " Yes. I did want Chinese now. I just realized it.

" Yesss. It's like you read my mind "