Shimmers & Shrouds (Abstruse) (11 page)

She took my hand under the table and looked at me lovingly.
"We have mutual interests."
"What flavour?"
"Chocolate." She snapped.
"This is a beautiful balcony Orpheus." She rested her elbows on the parapet, curving her body against the cold breeze that blew. I wasn’t wrong anywhere. Yes she was made for this castle, for this balcony, for my room, my bed, me.
"Yes," I walked over to her; cautious of not to invade her personal space. "Please don’t lean over." I suggested.
Her eyebrow arched up again, she was amused at hearing my words. Why?
"Why?" Her voice was light, lighter than the feather.
"Because you will have broken bones if you slip from here" Jeez. It seriously felt like I was explaining a kid, the hazardous consequences of not washing her hands.
"I was thinking to sit on the parapet." Her voice had a certain edge, wickedness, my body heated up with rage and, concern. What was concern doing here when all I needed was rage?
"What?" I gasped."Are you out of your mind?" I pressed my voice with a menacing tone.
"God! Orpheus I am not a kid, I have sat on parapets of a skyscraper with my friends." She flaunted, playing with her hair.
"Whatever Oceana, you are not doing it here." I warned her; now that it was the question of her security I wouldn’t mind invading her personal space at all. If required to repent, she could kill me later, but if she took a stupid decision I was all set for it.
"I am." Her voice was seductive, again. I must not get trapped, I must not get trapped. Please. Oh mighty heavens, not now!
"You are not." I warned her. My eyes were fixed on her. She leaned against the parapet. Casually turning her head sideways.
"Nobody orders me Orpheus." she breathed and scrambled to sit on the parapet. With the speed of light perhaps. I was taken aback. Her glorious smile was back in place. Right where it was a few seconds ago.
"Oceana!!" My response to her action was comparatively late but I did scream her name. The security officers down jumped up, alerted by my voice. She peeked over to look at them and waved her hand.
"Nothing pals. Mr. Albert is just being over excited about the― umm― party." she beamed her 'lots-of-love-from-Oceana' smile as if they would spot it.
"I hate you." my eyes blazed frostily at her. Her eyes locked with mine as she glowered at me for an awkwardly long time. She looked down at me, and her eyes flickered to me again.
"Orpheus, you hands are around my waist." Her tone was clipped with a warning. I followed her gaze to look down, and I was embarrassed, for a fraction of second, to realize what she meant. My arms were wrapped around her waist, fingers interlocked. A strange feeling numbed my senses, and for a brief moment I enjoyed the touch of her. Just for a brief moment― the guilt took over soon after that. I was embarrassed at this ―of whatever was happening right then.
"So?" I hid my guilt and played dumb.
"It doesn’t feel right." She breathed. Shifting uncomfortably under my hands. I wanted to leave her. But something made me hold on to her...waist. Was it fear?
"I don’t care, Oceana. I am leaving you only when your feet touch the ground." That was nicely delivered. I appreciated myself in personal. Right now if I smiled or tried to sound smug, she would just be very much happy to throw me from up here.
"You're being over protective, Orpheus, nothing else."
"That is because you don’t seem to care about yourself anymore." I confessed. No one who was mentally fit would do something like this. She was practically disgracing my choice. I loved her, though she didn't have any idea about it, and usually her maturity level would be soaring up to the skies, but talking about the present? People here would think I must have gone to check in the schools of mentally challenged students to get a little beautiful girl whose brain is compatible enough with mine.
"Okay. Let’s do one thing. I will turn my back over to you, so you don’t have to care if I lean back." she snapped up her finger at me.
"I haven’t heard of a sick idea like this before." I shook my head in disappointment. Utterly absurd idea, I thought to myself.
"I trust me. I won’t get into anything I am not sure of." Her gaze was intent now. She was doing all this to get rid of my grasp. That made me happier- I couldn’t see why.
"Whatever." I tightened my grip around her.
She dropped her head for a while. My conscience faced a dilemma. Did I do something wrong?
"You are the most stubborn man I have come across." She grinned. Thank god! My friend, my latest crush and above all, the only girl I love was back without any damage. I sighed in relief. She lifted her arms to put around my neck. I didn’t know where we were going with all this.
"Are you afraid of something?" I started off a conversation to divert my mind into something irrelevant at the present moment. Not to be too aware of her being close to me.
"Umm.. Let me think." She tapped her forehead pretending to think. "Yes there is one thing I am afraid of." She was extremely fidgety.
"Thank god." At least there was one thing she was afraid of. But that wouldn’t be something like mice or lizards; perhaps more dangerous, like climbing Mount Everest. "What is that?" I asked.
She leaned in a bit more, closing the distance between us. Her gaze was seducing.

My heart grew violent, like if my heart beats were some sort of bomb, they would detonate and the entire castle would have been ruined by now.
"I am afraid of losing you." She whispered, smiling gently.
"You are?" I couldn’t believe my ears. Was it a dream? Or was she in her senses? I was sure that she didn't have more than one glass of the red wine.
Her tentative stare had casted a spell around me. I could hear a faint music. Nice, now my brain was giving in, messing up with my thinking skills. Was there anything more miserable than this?
"Kidding." she beamed and shrugged her shoulders at the same time. Okay. So there can be things more miserable than this. I sighed.
"You know Oceana, I really think I should set a trampoline down there for you." I was furious; the music had stopped the moment she said she was kidding and now my mood was off. I don't know why she didn’t like to take me seriously when I was dead serious about her. About us― together.
"Don’t do it." She choked. I felt her grip tighten around my neck.
"Do what?" I grinned. I wouldn't lie, I was really enjoying this.
She leaned in further occasionally glancing at the sides. She pulled me closer and loosened her hold. Her right hand held on to my collar. She was so vulnerable― so delicate.
"Don’t let go off me." she whispered and it chilled me down my bones. The fear on her face was evident. What happened to the girl who has enjoyed sitting on the parapets of the skyscrapers of Texas?
"I won’t let go off you, ever." I assured her with a promising note. I loved her. And I would surely not give up no matter what. She smiled and dropped her hands immediately. I understood she wasn’t comfortable with me anymore.
"This castle must be looking like a haunted castle in the full moons right?" She looked around, amused by the diversion of the topic. The air was suddenly light, free from all the feelings that were in my head. The friendliness was back again, in her tone and her behavior. How can a person be so normal all of a sudden?
"I am not sure, I haven't really thought of it."
 I didn't really get the time to think of the things the way she did. She was extraordinarily curious about everything and that had started annoying me.
"We will see on our way back."
"Can you come down now?" My mind was occupied with awful thoughts; all of them were about her falling off from the edge.
"Don't wanna break my ankles off." she pointed at her killer heels. But the good news was that she had decided to come down.
"I'll help you." I smiled, holding her glance. "Hug me." I whispered.
"Sorry?" Her eyes widened again. Out of the blues.
"You heard it." I returned her glance, with a mocking smile. She obeyed my command without another word. Her arms were around me once again and her body was now stuck with mine. I breathed in her scent. It was mesmerizing, just like her. I wanted to remain like that. But the time wasn't favoring me. Unfortunately.
I put my hands round her waist. She stiffened under my touch, like a statue. I could tell she was hardly breathing. Blood boiled under my skin. How could she be so unresponsive to my feelings?
I pulled her gently towards me. Lifting her up, I gradually took two steps backward; one by one, and placed her on her feet. I took my hands off her soon after.
"So. I had almost gotten you a heart attack huh?" She smiled, stepping away from me.
"Almost." I looked away.
"You remember I told you I would tell you if you have common sense?"
"Yes, are you going to tell me now?" I asked.
"Well?" She hesitated. Her smile grew wider. Was she in a mood to play?
"I am waiting." I reminded her.  I stood in front of her in an attempt to block her way if she was planning to run away.
"You don’t have any sense. Neither common nor something else." Her voice was high and excited like she had won the battle. She forgot that I was yet to make my move.
"You are so dead, Oceana." I snickered diabolically. She took a step back, and then another. My muscles tightened. I was prepared to run after her if she had planned to do something rash like that― and she did turn to run away. I grabbed her by her waist, in just one stride. She squealed and laughed. I joined in too. And we both laughed until our stomachs ached. She steadied herself holding my hands that now rested on her abdomen.
"You are going to kill me?" She hissed, still breathless from the laugh, looking at me from under her eyelashes.
"No I wouldn't really mind you making nasty comments on my wits." I admitted as I smiled, nuzzling her hair with my nose. She was too close to me, too close to go away now.

She shifted and turned to face me. Her cheeks had re
ddened; the lips glittered due to the thin layer of gloss that she had applied. Her eyes were burning with some unknown intensity.
"Do you like spending time with me?" She rested her palms on my chest and everything else was blurred. What was happening to me? My muscles stretched and relaxed. I touched her forehead with mine.
"Let us find it out together." I whispered. She looked at me; the playfulness in her eyes was replaced by wildness. I gave in myself― all of me to that moment. I closed my eyes and leaned in― my lips finding hers in a bizarre state. My body went weak when I felt her soft lips on mine. Her body was resting on me; she was barely standing on her own. With a slight breath my lips parted, intending to taste her. Whatever happened in the last five minutes seemed like a dream now. Unreal, beautiful and serene.
I pulled her closer, deepening the kiss and both of us enjoyed the moment of ecstasy under a full moon night. In the balcony, a perfect way to cherish this incredible moment.
 

None of
us talked on our way back to her home. I was still left dazed with her soft touch. I simply craved for more, though her cold behavior had frozen my libido, but now that I was already in too deep with her, drawing a new line regarding our physical relationships would be nothing more than a plain formality. I wanted to touch her, out of necessity; out of love....
 I walked her till the main door, accompanying her like I usually did. Only this time, I felt electrocuted whenever our hands brushed against each other's. On reaching, she quickly bent down and picked the key up, gracefully opening the door.
 Oceana was pathetically particular about the physical contact stuff. She considered herself as a one man woman and that's why she was a virgin. As far as I was concerned, she knew I was a Casanova and that she could be with anyone else in the world who was absolutely sure about what he wanted from the life, not someone like me, confused, complicated and impossible.
She finally turned to face me. Now that we were under ample light, the blush on her face started to give me butterflies in the stomach. She coyly looked at me from under lashes.
"Thank you for the lovely food, Orpheus; it was the most luxurious thing that I'd ever witnessed, after your palace of course." She giggled.
I quickly ran my hands through my hair, amused at her accurate timing to bring in the humor.
"You are invited anytime Oceana." I smiled.
"That's very generous of you, Mr. Albert!" She blinked her eyes repetitively.
I caressed her face with my knuckles. "Anytime Pearl." She looked down at the floor mat and then back at me.
"You've got me a nickname?"
Time for some teasing....
"Well.. I don't like that single syllable nickname that you're called, and Oceana sounds very.... formal... I don't wanna be formal with you."