Chapter 05

The leaves on the tree were vibrant and spread their glory like warriors in the spring morning, having risen successfully after the winter. The weather felt serene, capable of calming anyone's mind, except one.

Adrian found himself in a contrasting situation with nature. 

Counting down, "201... 202... 203..." 

he put his weight on his elbow, bending down to the floor, inhaling as he descended, and exhaling as he returned to the starting position, contracting his abs. Sweat glistened over his tanned, ripped body, and his mind raced at a speed of 100 miles per hour as he counted the number of push-ups.

A certain pair of honey eyes had been running through his mind since last week, and he didn't know how to make it calm down. He would have thought that the girl was just his mere imagination, only if he hadn't seen her taking a cab with that kid coming out of the park.

He felt irritated with himself for allowing his mind to obsess over a girl he had seen for a few minutes, who might not even be of age yet. He couldn't even concentrate fully on his work.

Only if he could meet her once, he thought, he'd surely make her sleep with him, no matter how much money it took. 

He strongly believed that there was nothing money couldn't buy, having seen that throughout his life. Even though he wasn't sure if sleeping with her was what he actually wanted, what else could it be, right? 

He didn't know how he would find her, but he was determined to do so.

Then he would fuck her and move on. Easy.

Adrian tried to make an arrangement with himself to give his mind some much-needed peace.

"Addy! Adyyyy..."

Adrian frowned upon hearing a loud, annoying voice from behind.

"Oh, Sam! Why are you shouting, idiot? Am I deaf or what?" Adrian said displeased, irritated about being pulled out of his daydream by his super annoying best friend.

"Seriously! I've been calling you for the last two minutes. But no response! Where are you lost, huh? Am I missing something?" 

Samuel asked suspiciously.

"Go and wait for me. I'll join you after taking a bath." Adrian started going toward the washroom as if he hadn't even heard what Samuel just said.

Samuel was just pulling his leg, but seeing Adrian's behavior, he was convinced that something was bothering him. When he entered Adrian's room, he clearly saw how Adrian was smiling and murmuring to himself while doing push-ups.

He had never seen his best friend like this. Maybe he was overreacting, but what harm was there in confirming?

"What are you waiting for? Let's go!" Adrian said, heading towards his car.

"But..."

"No ifs and buts. We're going to be late. Come on, I'll drop you off at your office. Let's go."

Before Samuel could say anything else, Adrian pressed the accelerator and started the car, drowning out all sounds, including Samuel's inner thoughts.

………

"Seriously, Addy? I asked you something this morning! And you pretended as if nothing happened! Am I not even close enough to you for you to share with me? Tell me what's bothering you!"

Adrian frowned a little and felt bad for making his best friend feel that way. He took a big gulp of his whisky from the glass and pressed his eyes tightly, trying to clear his mind. 

He had come to the bar as he did every weekend evening, but it just didn't feel the same. The more he tried to clear his mind, the stronger the thoughts of that girl engulfed him.

Samuel knew he had hit the right point. His friends and family were his weak points, and being his best friend gave him an upper hand.

Adrian took a deep breath.

"Okay, I'll tell you. But promise me you won't laugh at me."

"Why would I? Okay, okay, I promise," Samuel said, looking at him with curious eyes, all ears to listen to whatever his best friend had to say.

"..........So, that's the reason I'm feeling a little restless. I wish I could have met her just once more!" Adrian completed his brief description of his one-sided encounter with that mysterious girl. He looked at Samuel, half-expecting him to laugh, but instead found him frowning.

"What are you thinking?" Adrian asked, lifting one of his eyebrows.

"So you're saying you're attracted to a girl whom you saw just once and who is possibly underage!"

Adrian looked at Samuel sternly, not liking his choice of words.

"I'm not attracted to anyone. It's just that she's different..." He wanted to continue but stopped, noticing his friend's expression. "And by the way, just because she looks underage doesn't mean she is one too."

He tried to justify it more to himself than to his friend.

"Okay, I'm leaving. See you," Adi got up from his seat. He thought of getting a chick for the night but decided against it as he wasn't in the mood.

"Yeah, tomorrow is Sunday, remember? We have to go to your house to have Aunty's delicious breakfast." Samuel said, momentarily forgetting about everything but food.

"Don't come."

"Huh! You wish!"

Adrian left the club without further replying to him. He felt a bit dizzy but still in control, technically. He couldn't remember the last time he had felt this irritated on a weekend.

Getting into the car, he huffed.

•••••••••••

"ADDY! You're late."

"Oh, come on, Mom! It's just 9 am!"

He couldn't believe he had woken up that early to actually be in his house by 9 on the weekend. It felt like quite an achievement to him. He couldn't remember the last time he had actually had breakfast with his family; it was always lunchtime when he arrived.

He hadn't gotten much sleep last night. And in the morning, as he was about to fall asleep, he suddenly remembered that he had ended up vomiting every detail about that girl to his best friend. God knows how he would react today!

"Come, everyone! It's breakfast time!" 

Adrian saw Samuel coming out of the kitchen with a plate.

"You! When did you come?" he asked Sam, surprised.

"Obviously before you!" Sam smirked.

Before Adrian could reply, he saw his father along with his brother and sister-in-law coming down the stairs.

"Wow! What a surprise! Good morning, Addy," his sister-in-law gave him a warm smile.

"Good morning to you too, Britney."

"Okay, enough of this chattering. Now everyone sit down." His mom ordered.

Before they could even take their seats, the doorbell rang.

"Who is it this time?" Mr. Johnson signaled one of the maids to go and open the door.

The house help was about to go when Adrian beat him to it.

"Let me see." He went towards the door.

"Umm, hi! Is Aunt Katherine at home?" the girl at the door asked hesitantly.

"Addy, who is it?" His mother asked, not receiving any response.

There stood Adrian, dumbfounded. He couldn't believe his eyes! He was quite sure that he was still in a daze from last night and just to confirm his suspicion he pinched him roughly. But to his utter surprise, he could feel the pain! That meant whatever he was seeing was real. Not his hallucinations! He was ready for everything but this !!  

 The least he expected was the girl, running through his mind all over the week, the one who made him feel so many things just by her mere presence of a few minutes would be standing at his door in the morning like a wrapped up expensive surprise gift!

And something about the whole situation told him it's just the beginning.