Naked Reflection

"Wow, we both have all the subjects in common, Easton," Flora uttered, checking his subjects list. They all just got done with their second class.

"Were you spying on me before coming here?" She questioned him, playfully and then giggled. He beamed back.

"Okay, guys. I and Axle have economics together for our next class, so we are going," Niley uttered, earning a nod from Flora. 

"I will call you once we get done with our class, okay?" 

Flora wagged her head in her response to Niley and then saw her leaving with Axle.

"So what should we do now?" She asked Easton who was silently standing beside her. They both didn't have any class right now. He looked at her with his clueless expression which made her smile. He looked so troubled like she had asked him about his girlfriend. 

"What about stuffing something tasty inside our tummies?" She suggested with her wide eyes which were filled with excitement. 

"I have seen our campus cafeteria and it's very huge and hygienic. Let's go there and eat something," she said and tried to walk but he didn't move.

"I can't," he told her. She turned confused.

"Why?"

"Actually, I…I am not feeling hungry, so you go and eat," he said to her. 

"Come on. You don't have to eat. Just join me," she uttered and grabbed his arm. 

"But…."

"Not buts. Remember, if I leave you alone then you might get caught by those seniors and they might trouble you again," she tried to scare him and in return saw his eyes widening which made her chuckle. His expression looked cute, despite his huge burly physique.

"Let's go," she trawled him with her and they both went to the cafeteria. 

…………

"So what are you ordering?"she asked him, checking the menu of the campus cafeteria. Flora turned her head to look at him and caught him reading the price list of the dishes instead of their names. She didn't say anything further to him.

"How about french fries and chocolate ice cream?" She suggested and he looked at her. 

"I told you I am not hungry," 

She sighed at his answer and held his hand. 

"But I am, so we are going to eat," she uttered and then gave their orders. 

"So you're 24?" She asked him, sitting on her chair. He was sitting in front of her. He nodded at her.

"Well, I am 20 but I am going to be 21 next month,"

"Really?" He sounded a bit stunned. She nodded at him.

"Yes, I am going to be 21 but why are you looking so shocked?" She questioned him, curious. He shook his head.

"Nothing. It's just you still look like you're in your teenagehood," he replied. She puckered up her lips in disapproval because that was not the first time someone had said that thing to her. She had heard countless people telling her that she still looked like she was in her mid teenagehood, especially because of her baby face and denty frame.

He chuckled, seeing that irritated pout on her full lips which gave them a perfect shape of heart. 

"Not everyone has a caveman physique like you so stop laughing at me, you chicken head," she snapped at him. He laughed more at her reaction, widening her pout.

Finally their order came and she latched onto her fries like she had been hungry for ages.

"They look tasty," she grabbed a fry and then dipped it into the red sauce. After that, she put it inside her mouth but as soon as she did it, her tongue burnt because the sauce was extremely spicy and hot and she was not capable of tolerating spice at all. That was one of the qualities she had possessed from her papa.

"Hey! Are you alright?" He asked, seeing her cheeks and nose turning red. Her eyes watered too. He hurriedly passed her the glass of water and stood up on his feet.

Walking towards her direction, he started caressing her back as she drank the whole glass of water. 

"Are you alright?" He asked, bending his face closer to hers. She gulped and tilted her head only to find their faces were only an inch apart from each other. 

Their eyes locked for a moment where he noticed that beautiful depth in her sea-green eyes like the serene depth in an ocean which was capable of drowning anyone in them. 

"Better?" He asked. She blinked and nodded, slowly. She was the first one to pull back her head and look away. 

"I thought it's tomato catchup but it's chilly sauce and I can't tolerate spicy things at all," she told him. He sat on his chair and then extended her the bowl of chocolate ice cream.

"Eat it, you will feel better,"

Flora grabbed the ice-cream from him and started eating it. She felt a bit better now.

"You know I love chocolate and ice-cream," she said, grinning.

"That I can clearly see," he replied, scanning the bowl of ice-cream which she had almost emptied in a minute. She frowned, understanding his taunt.

"Okay wait, I will get some candies for us now," she stated, getting up from her chair, and then walked away.

After a couple of minutes, she came back. 

"Here," she opened her palms which were filled with different kinds of candies. He took one from her.

"Let's go now," she said, grabbing her bag. He stood up too. 

"There's the counter. Wait here. I will pay the bill," he said and turned around to leave but she held his arm to stop him.

"I have already done it," she told him.

"Actually, they told me to pay for the candies on the spot so I pay the full bill to save some of our time," she uttered. She decided to pay for the bill in such a way that it would not make him feel bad in any way because she somehow anticipated why he didn't want to eat here. 

"Okay, now let's go. My friend, Niley, is calling me. They got done with their class, I think," she informed, looking at her phone and then they both walked out of the cafeteria.

…………

"Today was actually not that bad," Niley said. All four of them were heading towards the exit now as they all got done with their day on campus.

"Actually. It was quite great," Flora agreed. Both the boys were following them.

"Hey! Look, that's our ride for home," Axle pointed towards a car which had just halted in front of the campus gate. Flora's uncle had sent it for them.

"Come with us, Easton. We would drop you to your home," Flora said to him but he shook his head. 

"Thank you for the offer but I need to go somewhere else. I will see you tomorrow," he replied. Flora didn't force him because he seemed extremely hesitant regarding going with them and she didn't want to pressure him furthermore for anything because she had already dragged him to do a lot of things today with her. 

"Bye, see you tomorrow then," saying that Flora turned around to leave but his voice stopped her.

"Ora ….." Flora felt a sudden shrugging inside her chest when she heard him calling her by that name because only her parents used that nickname of hers to call her and she loved it but hearing it from his mouth, she felt something tingling in her heart. 

"If you don't mind, can you give me your c….contact number because I might not come for our first class tomorrow?" He asked her, looking extremely nervous. That was where it clicked in her head that they both had not shared their contact numbers yet. 

Smiling, she dipped her head in her response. 

"Give me your phone," she said and he handed her his phone. She dialled her number on his phone.

"Here," she handed him back his phone.

"Thank you," he thanked her, beaming. She smiled back and then got inside the car where Axle and Niley had already settled.

"Bye," she waved at him through the window, smiling and he waved back at her.

After that the car drove away and he just stared at it fading from his vision. 

Travelling his eyes down, he looked at his phone's screen where he saw her number which she had saved by her nickname Ora. Shutting the screen, he looked in that direction where the car had vanished.

…………..

Flora stepped out of the bathroom, wearing a bathrobe after taking her night shower as she had already locked the door. She patted her wet hair dry while walking towards the closet. She took out her nightwear and walked towards the mirror. 

After double checking that she had locked the door, she removed that bathrobe from her body. She was about to wear her shorts when her phone started ringing. She grabbed her phone from the dressing table which was placed in front of a mirror. 

Flora saw an unknown number flashing on it. Untidy, she picked it up and placed the phone against her ear.

"Hello…."

"Ora…." That deep voice caused a tingling sensation inside her chest again. It was him.

"Easton…" she took his name while staring at her naked reflection in the mirror.