Chapter 32 - I Didn't Steal A Kiss
Time - around 12:40 pm
Akira was almost ready when she heard the doorbell ring and ran to get the door. She was wearing a beautiful peach colored A-line dress which was accentuating her features. She wore matching sneakers to complement her look. She had her hair in loose curls and was looking nothing less than a pretty peach.
When she opened the door, she found Vikram holding a bouquet of baby's breath which was Akira's favorite thing in the world. He was dressed in casuals but still looked like a fashion model who has jumped straight out of a catalog.
She immediately beamed with happiness and grabbed the flowers from his hands.
"For me!!!?", she asked innocently with Bambi eyes.
"No, it's for Mike," Vikram said in a sarcastic tone and rolled his eyes.
"You are so sweet Vikram," said Akira and rushed to hug him, but unfortunately she stumbled because of the door-mat and fell straight into Vikram's arms. His arms embraced her like a safety net and he hauled her back quickly so that she didn't fall. She had lost her footing and when he pulled her back towards him something unexpected happened. His lips accidentally grazed hers and her eyes opened wide in shock.
There was a surge of electricity within and he became all numb. He wasn't able to get a grip of things happening around him. It happened for a fraction of a second but he felt like he was floating in the clouds. His mind wasn't able to think any further nor his body was responding to him. He literally had to shake his head to get back to reality.
When Akira saw Vikram shake his head after the mad encounter, she felt weird. She held his arms which were holding her in a tight grip and freed herself. She looked at him and said -
"It was just an accident. Why are you acting like I stole a kiss from you?"
Then she darted inside before Vikram could open his mouth to say something.
He instantly regretted shaking his head. He did it to shrug off his wild and unconquerable thoughts and not because he was repulsed. But now she took it otherwise and it was difficult for him to make her understand. He so badly wanted to rip his heart open and tell her how exactly he felt, but he kept quiet because he knew this wasn't the right time. He didn't want to sound like an opportunist who was waiting for her to break up with her boyfriend to start up things for himself.
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While riding Vikram's car, Akira didn't take the front seat. She sat in the back because she was still angry with him. Mike who was sitting in the front seat had no idea what had happened between the two. But he knew that something was wrong as they both were sulking. He asked them twice and they unanimously told both the times - "Nothing". So he decided not to ask any further and decided to act like a mock spectator.
Vikram adjusted his rear-view mirror so that he could catch a glimpse of her. When Akira saw him adjusting the mirror she thought it otherwise. She assumed that Vikram was adjusting it because he didn't want to look at her. She couldn't understand why he was hating her so much for such a small accident which was so not her fault.
She pouted out of anger and asked him - "Is my face so bad that you have to keep adjusting your mirror?"
Before Vikram could reply, Mike jumped in and said - "Jeez Akira, the purpose of the mirror isn't to look at people sitting behind. That happens only in your Rom-Coms", and then he started laughing hysterically. He thought Vikram would also join him in the laugh but he was dead serious.
Utter silence prevailed in the car. The silence was so intense that it was almost deafening.
Five minutes later Akira got an email and she screamed at the top of her lungs after reading it.
"What's wrong?", asked Mike.
"What's wrong? Ask me what is so right you dumb-head", replied Akira.
"Ok, what is so right you dumb-head?", asked Mike with a hint of sarcasm.
Any other day she would have kicked him bad, but since she was super happy she decided to spare him and said - "I got an interview call from Delphie HR for the internship that I had applied. Feels like finally, my stars are shining."
"I know its too premature of me to be happy, but I can't help it. Finally, something good is going to happen", she added and beamed with happiness.
Vikram was very content to hear it.
"Looks like today is a good day. First, a kiss from her and now looks like my plan is working as expected", Vikram thought to himself and a bright smile spread on his face.