Of course, he did not take the young woman to the school, since Fernando did not say anything other than the young woman's name and home address. Therefore, he stopped his sports motorcycle in the city park parking lot while taking off his helmet, while the young woman looked around confusedly.
"You do not mind if I brought you to this place, do you? Since I do not know where your school is."
The young woman was stunned when she saw his face. It might be due to her surprise on the grounds that when he asked her to ride his sports motorcycle, he did not take off his helmet.
"Don't tell me you have never been here before?" he asked, raising an eyebrow in astonishment.
"Wait a minute—what are you talking about?! Of course, I do! I have already been in this place countless times until my finger could not count it anymore, you know!?"
It is a very obvious lie, Indra muttered to himself, feeling amused by her cute reaction. He ruffled his back hair, locked his motorcycle and put his helmet in the rearview mirror of his sports motorcycle. His hand took the helmet that the woman was holding, and the young woman immediately gave it back while making an annoyed face. Still adorable, though.
"There is a museum here," he said, walking away from her. "I will take you there."
"I told you, didn't I? I have visited this place before! For countless times!"
He paused for a moment, turning his body a little, facing the young woman who was still adamant in defending her lie. "Do you want to come with me or not?"
"It-it is not that I want to come with you," said Ariel, who was now walking behind him. "I-I am just curious. Why are you calling me Little Cotton?"
"It looked like you had forgotten something, Miss Ariel," he pulled Ariel's hand, then kissed the back of his hand so that he could see the young woman's face, which was now blushing violently. "Where are my thanks for helping you earlier?"
"I do not have anything to say to you, hmph!" said Ariel, pulling his hand away from Indra. "You just came all of a sudden, claiming to be my boyfriend! And all I did was play along with you! Besides, how the hell did you manage to know my name?"
He was silent, realising that the gentlemanly attitude he had given to all the women who immediately loved him did not work for her. Intrigued, he approached Ariel, who seemed even more awkward when she realised how close they were. "Why? Is Princess scared of me?"
"No!"
Again, he found himself laughing, enjoying Ariel's reaction. For the first time, there was a woman who managed to attract his attention.
"The nickname Little Cotton suits you anyways," Indra said as he walked back into the front door of the city park, this time pulling Ariel's hand and holding a hand that felt small in comparison to his hand. The white gloves he always wore prevented him from feeling her hands, which might be warm, but he did not care. At a glance, he glanced at the woman who seemed enthusiastic about looking around the city park. His guess was right. The young woman named Ariel said this was indeed her first time visiting this place.
She was short compared to him. And he had to admit that she was really cute.
Who would have thought that a sissy boy like Fernando could have a little sister as cute as this?
"I am Indra. Indra Soedirjo, if you are curious about me," he said, as soon as he noticed Ariel's curious gaze. Seeing Ariel's surprised expression, he was absolutely sure that was what she was thinking. "Relax, I do not have the ability to read other people's minds."
"Lie!" Ariel walked backwards, but he immediately pulled her closer to him so as not to hit the bald-headed man who was jogging in the morning on the city park trail area. He could smell Ariel's sweet scent, like the scent of cake. It strangely managed to make him feel comfortable.
"Are you okay?"
Ariel nodded slowly. The young woman's face reddened again.
"What is it?" he asked again.
"What the hell! Who gave you permission to hug me, little moron!" Ariel pulled his body away from Indra, pushing Indra until he almost fell. Thankfully, he was able to keep his balance. He looked at the young woman, who still looked cute in his eyes, not at all bothered by Ariel's annoying attitude. "And how the hell do you know my name? "Do you have any superpowers, such as mind reading?"
Indra smiled, then walked away, leaving Ariel, who soon followed him. "Well, about that question, I will answer it after we get out of the museum. How does it sound?"
"I agree."
"Good," Indra said as he walked over to the ticket counter, ordered two tickets, and used his smartphone to scan the QR code pasted on the counter glass.
"This way, Little Cotton," he said, as soon as he finished buying the entrance ticket, he approached Ariel, who had almost gotten lost after mistakenly entering the employee-only route for the entrance. "Follow me."
"Who needs your guidance, anyway? Urgh! "
"It is not for you, but it is for my own selfish. To make sure I could keep you safe."
Again, he held his laughter when he saw Ariel's reaction, then gave a signal to make the young woman follow him. This time, Ariel complied with him, entering the museum with the excitement that showed clearly in her sparkly eyes.
***
"Your strawberry gelato ice cream, Little Cotton."
Indra handed the large gelato ice cream to Ariel, who was sitting on a park bench after they walked out of the museum (which, indeed, did not amuse him so much, yet not for Ariel, who seemed to enjoy it), looking very happy, but quickly hid it as soon as he came over to Ariel.
"I do not need it! Did I say I wanted strawberry-flavoured gelato?" said Ariel, but accepted the ice cream he bought earlier and looked so happy, although she tried so hard to hide how happy she felt.
It looked like his guess was right. Ariel loved strawberry-flavoured gelato. And well, he had to admit that strawberry-thing really suited the image of this girl. He kept looking at Ariel, who was eating the gelato ice cream with pleasure while eating the chocolate biscuit-flavoured gelato ice cream that he ordered.
"You really love sweet things with a bit of sourness, do you?"
"Yeah, I love it—I mean, no! Don't get me wrong! I will not say thank you to you, even if this ice cream is delicious."
"Yeah, yeah, Princess. I get it," he said, laughing softly at Ariel's reaction, and approached Ariel to find out more about Ariel's cute reactions he might be able to know. "By the way, why are you so sure that I will not lay a finger on you?"
"It is none of your business."
"What if I did approach you to harm you?" Indra moved closer to Ariel, whispering in a low voice. His right thumb moved to wipe the remaining ice cream off Ariel's lips, then licked it with no hesitation. "Hm, it is delicious. Thanks for the ice cream."
The woman froze for a moment, staring at him. Then she went back to eating her ice cream, which was now left a little with her head down.
"Why are you looking down?" he asked, looking down slightly so he could see Ariel's face. "Are you feeling embarrassed?"
"N...no..." Ariel muttered. Her voice trembled as she spoke, so he felt absolutely certain that she was desperately dodging his question. He was satisfied with her reaction and went back to enjoying his ice cream.
"I will answer your question earlier. Fernando asked me to pick you up."
"My older brother!?!"
The woman looked up, no longer wearing the stern face she had before and stared at him in full disbelief. "Brother Fe!?"
"Do you want me to take you to his place?"
"I want!"
"Then, you need to finish the ice cream first, and then I will take you to your older brother's place."
"Really? Can you promise me?"
"Yes."
"Pinky finger?" she pointed her pinky finger at him, which made him feel a bit surprised by her childish demeanour. Yet, he found himself not bothered by that.
"Yes," he replied, linking his little finger to Ariel's little finger.
Ariel smiled happily, and now wiggled her legs, then went back to eating her ice cream.
Strange girl, he mumbled to himself when knowing how fast she act towards him. Why did only hearing Fernando's name manage to make the young woman change her attitude one hundred and eighty degrees?
***