MIDSUMMER CRUSH

Chapter 10

I couldn't sleep a wink the whole night. All I kept thinking about was our unexpected kiss. Not only was my crush my neighbour, but he kissed me. The trip back to our apartment had been awkward after having a crazy night, at least for me , because Aariz appeared cool throughout the journey.

Neither of us had spoken anything before heading to our respective rooms. Maybe he was just shocked like me, though I did expect him to wish me good night. This was exciting, I couldn’t wait to tell my cousins about it, I knew it was just a kiss, but a kiss has deep meaning to it. Was Aariz totally into me? Was he giving me hints that he liked me? I kept wondering and daydreaming about our further encounters until my alarm went off.

Rushing with my chores, I stood by the mirror and for the first time regretted cutting my hair short. Suddenly I felt I wasn’t perfect for him, and wished I could look pretty. “Duh, if he didn’t find you pretty he wouldn’t have kissed you,” my inner voice reminded and set me thinking.

“So he’s into me, but what if it was just an accident? Aariz wasn’t reacting the way I did, I knew I was over thinking , but just the fact that he remained calm about it last night made me doubt his feelings towards me.

On impulse, I grabbed my sling bag and rang his door bell. Aariz opened the door and was obviously surprised to see me. “Good morning…” he smiled casually and leaned in the doorway as if nothing had happened last night.

I noticed his clothes and realized he was off to work as well. Not knowing how to carry forward the conversation, I kept staring at him, hoping he would say something about what happened last night. I swore I would punch him if he claimed it was an act of accident. Coy and jittery , I kept waiting for him to speak first.

“Erm..you needed something?” he raised his brows and enquired.

“Uh…uhm…yes, I ran out of flour, could I borrow some?” I thought of something and blurted out.

Aariz gave me a sarcastic look and lowered his gaze over my bare hands. “Where’s your bowl? You aren’t planning to carry it in your hands , are you?”  he chuckled and made me cringe.

Seeing me red faced, he went in and returned with a bowl of flour. “Here you go, you can return the bowl later,” he casually said and looked at his watch. “Sigh, I’m running late again…catch you latter,” he added and called his son before leaving.

Naman gave me a suspicious look as he carried his bag and followed his father down stairs while I stood by their door, wondering how could any guy be so casual. This had not gone as planned, Aariz hadn’t mentioned anything about last night’s kiss, nor did he show any nervousness or excitement on seeing me at his door. He practically behaved as if that kiss never took place in the first place.

Were all guys like this? Not that I had dated any after my failed relationship with Bruce, but Aariz’s reaction wasn’t encouraging enough to pursue him. “Wait don’t rush into conclusions, maybe he’s too coy to show it. Gosh! I should stop over thinking and head to the restaurant,” I convinced myself and left for Oh Maria.

“I’m sorry I’m late!” I grabbed my apron and apologised to Maria who had opened the restaurant  already.

“Big deal, it’s that time of the month anyway,” She replied and left me confused.

“you’re on your period?” I asked feeling awkward.

“Nah, I meant it’s that time of the month when we’re closed for maintenance. Can’t you see how empty the restaurant is today?” she explained as I darted my eyes around.  “But that doesn’t mean you can take an off, you can call it an half day though,” she sounded firm and picked her handbag. “Don’t let the others leave before 12, I’m leaving you in charge,” she added and left to pamper herself at the beauty saloon.

The first half of the day was mundane for me, though I was under the scanner by few of my colleagues who believed I was on Derek show.  Speaking about Derek, I wondered if he had forgotten about me. I hadn’t listened to the radio this morning anyway.

“Hey guess what Derek said this morning!” Katie said as if she had been reading my mind. “He’s made it tougher for you girl, “ she added.

“What do you mean?” I enquired curiously. “Don’t tell me he’s still after my story,” I frowned.

“Yup he is and this time NYC will hate you for keeping him away from his love,” Katie said and confused me.

“Wait where are you getting at?” I crunched my brows.

“Didn’t you hear what he announced this morning? Derek found love, but won’t walk up to that chic and confess his feelings to her unless you share your story on air,” she explained and startled me.

“Is he crazy? Why is he so after my story like it’s the biggest scoop of the millennium?” I pulled my hair and felt frustrated.

“I have no clue, but trust me I would hate to keep two souls apart. It appears he’s really in love with this girl he’s been knowing since long. He even  mentioned that she was his crush at  one point of time but could never confess his feelings then, but now he wants to , but only if you agree to share your story first,” she explained in detail.

“This is insane, why would Derek do something like that? But you know what, I ain’t falling for it, let him remain mum about his feelings, I’m not sharing my story,” I made a face and supervised the guys who had come for the monthly maintenance.

 “You’re so mean…” she whispered.

“So be it, I can’t risk getting in Aariz’s bad books after getting so close last night,” I blurted and crossed my hands.

“Oh my God, you slept with him?” Katie gasped and grabbed other’s attention.

“No! That’s far from happening….I meant…Erm he kissed me on a yacht,” I blushed and revealed it.

“Freak he owns a yacht! You caught a hottie with dollar signs, tell me all about it girl! When and how  did this happen?” she got excited and pestered  me to tell her all the details.

“No he’s not from the billionaire’s club, we gate crashed a party  on a yacht last night. Aariz is a part time music teacher,” I began and explained how the events unfolded.

“Then what are you doing here? Go and meet him in the academy!” she exclaimed and literally began pushing me out of the door.

“Whoa…are you sure about this? He didn’t show any reaction to last night’s  kiss, won’t it look like I’m pushing myself  on him?” I felt unsure about the idea of paying him a visit,  but Katie was adamant.

“It’s been years since you’ve dated a real man after that douche bag Bruce. Some guys play it differently, he’s given you the lead, now it’s your turn to play on like a boss,” she winked and warned me not come back until I did what she had suggested.

Heading over to the Arts Academy was a nail biting experience and so it remained when I stepped into the music studio. Interrupting him in the midst of his session, I coyly stood near the door and waited to see his reaction. The studio was as huge as a auditorium and had a high ceiling with windows on the roof.

Gesturing his students to carryon, he left the raised platform he was sitting on and came up to me. “Wow, I didn’t know you would come so soon,” he exclaimed and looked surprised.

“Well, I was just passing by the academy and thought of checking it out like you had said. You have an impressive number of students here, I hope I’m not disturbing you,” I said and ran my fingers through my hair.

“No not at all, I’m glad you took time to come see me. Why don’t you take a seat till I finish this session,”  he suggested and like a gentleman pulled out a seat for me before retreating to his students.

“Okay, so far so good. He was happy to see me here, but still mentioned nothing about last night. Was I dreaming back then? How could he kiss me and act so normal in front of me?” I sighed as he instructed his students.

It wasn’t long before he ordered them to wind up for the day and approached me.  “So how was it? I  hope you weren’t bored,” he shoved his hands in his pocket and glanced down at me.

“Actually it was quite entertaining, I never knew I would say this , but you’re an excellent teacher,”  I smiled.

“Better than Prof. w***e ?” he let out a soft laugh and reminded me about everyone’s favourite professor at St’ George.

“His name was Prof. Hoarse though, you still remember the good old college days, huh?” I laughed and looked around.

“Who wouldn’t? They were the best days…anyway now that you’re here let’s get you started with your first guitar lessons,” he changed the topic and startled me.

“Uh…as in teach me now?” I blinked twice and stared at him.

“Well of course now, unless you have other plans,” his voice trailed off.

This is it, maybe he wants to set the mood before talking about it, I shouldn’t let go of this opportunity,” I thought and shamelessly agreed.

“But I don’t have a guitar…” I pouted and darted my eyes around the studio.

“But I do, we can use mine,” he replied and walked towards his guitar.

“We…” I murmured and wondered what he meant by we until he gestured me to sit close to him.

“We’ll start with basics,” he stated and handed over  his elegant guitar to me.

As I adjusted it on my lap, he moved and leaned over me from behind. “You don’t hold it that way,” he interrupted and before I knew it glided his hands over mine before helping me hold his guitar in the correct angle.

I shivered with his seductive touch and remained stiff as a board. While he was busy tuning the cords to his satisfaction, I felt his warm breath tease my neck.  I was once again sticking to his body which made me go weak in the knees. Though he wasn’t embracing me like he did in the yacht, the position was close to being in his strong arms.

“Are you ready?” he interrupted my thoughts and brought me back to reality.

“Yup,” I replied as he left the cords and placed his hands back on mine.

“Uh…Would you mind if I rest my hands on yours to guide you fingers?” he asked and took a brief pause.

I turned and looked at him in disbelief. “Dude, you kissed me without prior permission and now you need my consent to merely touch my hands?” I thought in my mind and continued staring at him till he felt awkward.

“No, I won’t mind it…” I looked away and replied in disappointment.

I couldn’t believe he was talking like that. We hadn’t even started our lessons when I left his guitar and excused myself.

“Anything wrong?” he enquired worriedly as I stood up and reached for my bag.

“Nothing, I just realized I had an appointment with the doctor this afternoon,” I lied and headed for the door.

“Are you unwell? Shall I drop you?” he asked and seemed miffed by my sudden decision to leave.

“No, don’t bother,” I replied without looking at him and stormed out before losing my temper and saying something harsh to him.

“This is the same thing all over again!” I threw my sling bag as I entered home and yelled at Crusher.

“He confused me then and confuses me now,” I added and got into the shower.

It wasn’t something new, Aariz always gave me signals that confused me in college. Was he into me or not? I had gone insane decoding his advances back then, but it seemed like the same thing was repeating even now.

Asking if I was okay with him touching me seriously made me flip. One night he kisses you like you’re the world to him and the next day he goes all gentleman from the 60s. Can’t he just make up his freaking mind like the day he choose to marry Zehara? I cribbed and got out of the shower.

On invariably turning on the radio, I was taken aback when another radio jockey kept calling out to me during intervals, begging me to call Derek.  It practically looked like I was the bad guy here when it was Derek’s obnoxious decision to hold his feeling to the women he loved until I shared my story on air.

Deciding to put an end to it, I called up the studio but nobody answered it.  I don’t know what snapped in me, but I googled their studio address and without thinking twice rushed towards it just before sun down.

The lady at the reception counter was excited after I revealed who I was. “Oh freak! You came all the way to our studio to meet Rj Derek?” she gasped and excused herself before requesting me to take a seat.

The studio was a chic place that was done up in the typical New York peppy way. I kept waiting, eager to meet Derek and give him a piece of my mind. It was funny how everything came easily to me. Had I not been of their interest they wouldn’t have let me past the security guy.

“Hi, sorry for keeping you waiting, I’m Derek, nice to meet you in person,” a hippie guy approached and startled me.

“You’re Derek?” I looked at him in utter disbelief , coz honestly he didn’t turn out to be like what I had imagined.

“Yup, I’m the man you’re looking for!” He winked and did a jig that completely looked lame. “You can’t believe how excited I’m to have you here.  Wait till our listeners hear that you came to ours studios,” he added and snorted.

“Oh alright,  let’s cut to the chase ! I’m not here to share my story to your listeners, Derek. I have a life and I don’t want anyone spoiling that. I’m under no obligation to publicly share my story just coz you want higher ratings for your station,” I expressed my displeasure.

“Relax sweetie, I know you’re pissed. But you’ve got some fans who really want to hear your complete story, who would like to read a book that’s incomplete, eh?” he said.

“I would, especially if it were mine!” I snapped and realized I was sounding a bit too harsh.

“Look, I know I was the one to start it, but I really don’t want to go ahead with it,” I took a deep breath and spoke calmly this time.

“Why what’s the matter, everybody loves you already,” he exclaimed.

“Yup I saw that, thanks to you now they’ve begun hating me for keeping you away from your girl friend,” I frowned and crossed my arms.

“Ahem! Sorry about that, but I was inspired by you to confess my feelings,” he stated.

“Meaning?” I raised a brow.

“Meaning you took a bold decision to actually reveal your identity and confess your feelings for this crush of yours. Not many have the balls to do it, but you did it on my show not completely though, remember you’re yet to finish your story,” he explained while I sighed.

“You inspired me to tell this girl how much I love her, but I won’t do it until you come with me and go live on air with your story,” he smirked.

“Why are you doing this?” I rolled my eyes and felt lost.

“Because Derek told me to do so…” He replied and miffed me. “Erm…I mean my inner voice told me to do so…ha-ha I named him Derek too, cool aren’t I?” he laughed sheepishly while I looked at him suspiciously.

“You’re Derek, right?” I enquired and scrutinized him.

“Yup, I’m Derek,” he smiled and seemed confident.

“Listen, Derek you’re doing wrong by keeping a girl hanging like that. I don’t want you to end up  losing her,” I stated, but it fell on deaf ears.

“Then come in and complete what you started, Giselle. I’m sure your Crush must be waiting to hear you too, chances are he may come back to you,” He said while I sighed.

“That’s never gonna happen, I doubt if he even knows that I confessed on the radio,”  I made a face.

“I think he does, nobody misses to tune into my show babe,” he said and winked.

“Whatever, he’s just a jackass,” I huffed.

“Ouch, why do you say so?” he was taken aback.

“Men…It’s so hard to tell if they are into you or not anyway. I just hate it. He did the same thing back in college,” I blurted, but it was too late to take my words back.

“Interesting, why don’t you share it with our listener then? You seem stressed, talking about it live on air would make you feel better trust me,” He said and sounded more like a therapist.

“Would you stop harassing me then?” I sighed and looked at him.

“You’ve got my word. So you’re ready to do it for me?” he gleamed.

“I’m not sure…but you know what, it hardly matters whether or not Aariz is listening to it. I think I’m game for it,” I finally agreed after recounting the way Aariz had behaved with me.

“Great, I’ll convince the head in charge that we will be airing a special edition of Derek’s show where you will be our surprise guest,” he said and got excited.

“You mean your show,” I corrected.

“Ya that’s what I meant. Just hang in here while I arrange things,” he said and rushed away.

I was petrified about the step I was taking, but I was tired of Aariz’s guessing games. He was never sure what he wanted, but I knew what I wanted. Some peace and my life back. As I walked back and forth in the hallway, I accidentally bumped into someone and fell down.

“Sorry,” a guy in hood apologised and gave me a hand.

His face was hidden, he held my arms gently and brought me up on my feet before leaving. He seemed like he was in a hurry, but there was something in his touch that felt very familiar. My gaze followed him till Derek came and distracted me.

“All set sweetie! We’ll go live on air in thirty seconds!” he grinned like a Cheshire cat and pulled me inside the room.  I turned to  catch a glimpse of  the guy I had bumped into earlier, but he was gone.

“Thanks for doing this, Giselle,” Derek interrupted me again and closed the door as he got onto his seat and all those recording machines before him.

 “Whatever, I just want to end this thing,” I sighed as he pulled the mic in my direction.