CHAPTER 44: THE TRUTH.
Richard stared hard at her for a while. Why wasn’t she talking? Instead, she was smiling, and even though her eyes were on him, he could swear on his life that she was not looking at him. But he didn’t complain, he used this as a moment to scrutinize her amazing beauty.
Kira blinked a few seconds later and her smile faded.
“Now I have the per…” She stopped and snapped her fingers in front of Richard. The latter grinned as he sat more comfortably.
“Are you even listening?” She asked him.
“Who was the one to fall into the land of unconsciousness in the first place?” Richard teased her. Kira rolled her eyes but her lips curled up, she was happy that he was happy and seemed to be in a good mood.
“Alright, that’s enough. Now, riding on an illegal race track doesn’t solve anything. You are only giving your parents a valid reason not to allow you to be what you want to be so here are two options. Since you have never given engineering a chance, try focusing on class from henceforth. Attend all lectures and read, then try using racing as a support or something you can do during your leisure time. Your parents won’t have any problems with it. While the second one is to try focusing on racing as a whole, look for opportunities and go for training, compete, all this is to prove to them that you can make a name for yourself and your family but be ready to face any difficulties. That’s all.” Kira said on a long note.
Richard bent his head a bit as if thinking about her solutions then a smile slowly crept up on his face. He glanced at her.
“Thank you very much for this.”
“You are welcome. I hope you aren’t angry with me for…Uhm, you know saying something that I shouldn’t do to you.” Kira spoke slowly.
“It is fine. I am not really angry with you.” Richard responded.
A deadly silence slowly made its way into their midst. Kira found it awkward. Was she to tell him that this was the end of their meeting or what? He didn’t seem like a bad person but a bad person wouldn’t write it on their forehead that they are a bad person, would they? She sneaked a peek at him and quickly looked away.
‘He is too handsome and manly for a nineteen-year-old. I need to stay far away from him before I make decisions based on emotions.’ She thought as she folded her palms.
Richard would look at her with the side of his eye and smile. It was good to know that he had this much effect on her.
“You…”
“I wasn’t planning to meet you again.” He interrupted her in order to stop her from saying what he wouldn’t like to hear. Kira faced him.
“We have met once?” She asked him and he nodded.
“We have.” He stood up and dragged his tired body to the refrigerator. He opened it and brought out a canned drink, he pulled it open by its cover. Kira approached him in a haste to know where they had met before. Kira stood in front of him and watched Richard pour the drink into his mouth. Her eyes were fixed on his Adams Apple that kept on moving as he gulped the drink down and she swallowed her saliva before rushing back to her seat.
She wasn’t going to fall into temptations.
Her unusual behavior didn’t escape Richard’s prying eyes but he pretended not to notice. He walked back to the sitting room but instead, he sat opposite her to have a full view of her face.
“Do you mind telling me now?” Kira asked him.
“Where did we meet?” She added.
“Do you remember the last time you attended an auction many months ago? It’s probably going to be two years ago already. It was held by the Gulf family and among the things that were going to be nodded for were exquisite art drawings and images but you arrived late at that moment.” Richard revealed to her and Kira’s eyes widened.
*FLASHBACK*
Kira and a few others rushed out of the bus that brought them to the event. They were late, an hour late to be precise and they even forgot the invitation card. They had to send someone to bring it over. Even though they were in a rush, they still managed to handle the paintings with care so they didn’t have to pay for them.
Kira handed over the cards to the security men and they were allowed to pass them on to the other side. She led them into the hall but the main problem was that they didn’t know which section the event was ongoing. This wasn’t just any unusual hall, it was a specific hall with lots of rooms.
They walked past the people around, asking for directions until Kira rushed into someone and her phone fell to the ground. Her colleagues didn’t wait, they continued running away while she dealt with her problem.
Kira gasped and picked up her phone. The screen was smashed.
“I am sorry.” She heard a manly voice and looked up to see who it was. She blinked her eyes numerous times to see if she was over-imagining things. The man standing in front of her was more handsome than the ex-boyfriend that just broke up with her. Who was he?
“Are you alright? I can repair the phone if you want.” He offered nicely but Kira shook her head in rejection, she looked around but her colleagues were nowhere to be found.
“No, it’s fine. Thank you.” She said and dashed away.
Richard’s hardened face earlier turned soft a minute after meeting her. She was probably the most beautiful lady he had ever seen, even though her appearance was rough but it felt warm and homely to him. How would it feel getting wrapped up in her arms?
“Hey, what are you staring at?” Mark, who was Richard’s elder brother, asked after patting his shoulder from behind. Raphael looked at him and shook his head.
“Nothing.”
“Let’s leave.” Mark pressed hard on his shoulder before leaving. Richard took a last look at the way the mysterious lady had passed through and followed his brother.
*FLASHBACK ENDS*
“Since then, I have always wondered when I would get to see you again. I did see you behind the curtains on the day of the event and I had to ask for your name from one of the people around. I was told that your name was Kira. I let that sink into my brain. The second time I met you again a year later was during a car race. I had to stop halfway and follow you from behind.”
“You stalked me?” Kira gasped and Richard scratched his neck behind him like a kid who had been caught stealing.
“I guess…you could use other words like following or accompanying.” He replied awkwardly.
“Continue.”
“That was how I knew where you lived but I didn’t come back again until a few days ago.”
“You were seventeen when we met?!” Kira spoke with disbelief.
Was that even the point? Richard couldn’t help thinking. Was she this obsessed with his age? She must be the first person he had ever seen who wouldn’t stop mentioning his age in whatever conversation they both had.
“Do you have a problem with that?” He asked.
“Of course!” She blurted out.
‘I can’t believe I admired a seventeen-year-old boy in a not-the-brotherly way.’ She added but in her thoughts.
Richard stood up and walked over to her side, her eyes widened. He bent in front of her and their eyes locked.
“What are you doing?” She shifted backward on her chair but that didn’t in any way create any space between them.
“Why do you seem to have a problem with my age?” Richard said in a husky voice while his eyes bore into hers.
Kira chuckled awkwardly as she squeezed her palms against each other and her eyes danced all around inside her sockets while avoiding him.
“Who told you that I have a problem with your age?”
Richard made a circle in front of his face, “Your face says a lot, and your actions.”
Kira licked her dry lips to wet them before shutting her eyes. She reopened them again and spoke,
“Can you please go back to your seat, Richard?”
“Why? Do I make you feel uncomfortable?” Richard questioned in a deep voice and proceeded to get closer to her.
“No, it’s just…I am cool with it but…” She was unable to form any coherent words so she stood up reflexively causing Richard to take a step back and slowly stand at his feet.
“I believe you are spending the night here. Do you need to take a shower?” She asked him.
“Hmm.”
She walked into her room without saying a word and Richard took that as a clue of her meaning ‘follow me’. He set foot into her room and got a towel thrown to his face. Her warm scent welcomed his nostrils and he inhaled it before removing it from his face.
“You might need to wear your clothes again as I have no male clothes,” Kira said and went to sit at the edge of her bed.
“That’s good news.” He mumbled and waltzed into her bathroom. While the water kept pouring on his body, Kira was confused and rubbed her face with her palms before breathing out into them. A few minutes later, Richard came out shirtless. He had the towel hung around his neck and he was holding his shirt.
“Am I sleeping with you?” He asked.
“Huh?”
“I mean am I allowed to spend the night on your bed?” He repeated the questions. Kira furrowed her eyebrows, thinking hard about his question. Richard saw her indecisiveness.
“I just…”
“You can sleep on my bed. I will sleep on the couch in the sitting room.”
“Neither of us can get comfortable sleeping there. I am not going to touch you without your permission and I am not a gangster.” He reassured her and Kira nodded.
A few minutes later, they were both on the bed, side by side. Richard seemed not to mind as his eyes were closed and his breathing was slow, unlike Kira who could not a wink of sleep. She would steal a glance at him once in a while and scold herself for behaving in this manner but she couldn’t help thinking if she was taking things too far.
“Are you finding it hard to sleep?” Richard asked and her heart skipped a bit.
“Huh? Well, I am getting dizzy already.”
“Do you need a hug?” Richard asked and they both looked into each other’s eyes. He nodded gently as a way of telling her to come closer if she wanted to. Kira found herself giving in and before she knew it, she was already in Richard’s hands.
“Quit thinking and go to sleep.” He murmured and she did as he said, feeling utterly comfortable and safe in his arms.
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So…lol, that’s it with our second lead. Let me know your thoughts about them in the comment section. Thank you for reading.