"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Flora tried to warn, but she was too late, and Thalia Mirabel was already in Charles' arms. He took a while to process what Flora had said. To put it simply, he felt the kick before he realised the implication of Flora's words.
Thalia Mirabel leaned back, and when she felt restricted in the stranger's embrace, she kicked the pompous guy on the shin and pulled herself out of his embrace simultaneously.
"Aw! Aw! Aw!" Charles screamed out as he hopped on one foot, cradling the other foot that he was sure had been bruised by the kick.
"Tadaa! It's the creep!" Flora inched in, and Thalia Mirabel gave her a stern look that was like, 'We will talk about this later!'
Not a few seconds passed, and he was grinning widely like a fool they remembered once again but still held on to his leg,
"Yes, it's me! We meet again, so will you tell me your name now?"
The slight commotion between the three of them had attracted attention obviously, for Charles was already at the centre of attention from the girls that visited the library at that time of the evening.
They watched on in envy as the unattainable guy had hugged Thalia Mirabel. They knew Thalia Mirabel and also knew that if the cute guy was here to look for her, then their chances of ever getting that man was lost. Thalia Mirabel was drop-dead gorgeous in their eyes. She was the belle of their faculty.
How could they ever compete with the most sought-after girl for a guy? Not even in their dreams would they fight a battle lost before it had even begun. Most wise people knew when a race was worth the effort and knew one that was lost before it even started.
"Why do I get the feeling that you like being called a creep?" Thalia Mirabel held her chin and pondered out loud. She and Flora had smiles on their faces and were trying to hold in their laughter on witnessing the young man make yet another fool of himself.
Thalia studied the young man in front of her in his awkward stance, still holding his 'bruised' foot. 'Was he exaggerating the pain, or had she really kicked him that hard?' Thalia Mirabel did not care, in any case. That should teach him not to sneak hug anyone, especially one he hardly knew.
He was dressed in dark blue jeans and a cream polo t-shirt that he had tucked in. His white sneakers looked very catchy but had a partial footprint on them from where she had stepped after she kicked him.
She felt slightly bad for that, but who had asked him to creep up on her? However, looking at his whole demeanour, Thalia Mirabel felt that Flora's last words to her might be right. Everything around him screamed, 'Rich Mummy's boy!' 'Whatever! We will think about that later.
At least he had kept his word and come to look for her. That spoke a lot about the person he was.' She had thought to herself. Thalia Mirabel was also in a similar polo t-shirt, jeans, and a sneaker. But of course, she tied her top to make a faux crop top. This almost made it look like they had even planned their attire.
Before Thalia Mirabel answered his earlier question, she warned him, "Never sneak up on me like that again!"
"Yes, ma'am," came the instantaneous, almost humorous reply.
"I am Thalia Mirabel Thebes, and this is my friend, Flora Leeds," Thalia Mirabel finally gave him the names he had sought so much.
"Thalia Mirabel …. I like the sound of that," he whispered. Flora took no offence to this, for she knew that Charles had only had eyes for Thalia Mirabel since the first day that they had met. That kind of loyalty was hard to come by, especially for men his age … that is, unless they wanted something!
Charles would have wished that they had started dating right that fateful night in the library, but Thalia Mirabel was a tough nut to crack, and it would take him almost a year and a half from then to take her out on a date as his girlfriend successfully.
By then, Charles knew almost everything about Thalia Mirabel. They spent most of their waking moments together, and she told him almost everything from the first time they had met and after their re-encounter in the library. He had felt then that he was privy to her internal thoughts, and they were comfortable with each other.
They were in their second year when she accepted his date request. By then, they were smitten with each other. For the first time, Thalia Mirabel ditched what had become her signature Jeans and top and wore one of Flora's flower-patterned dresses, which made her look amazing.
That image of her that day was forever imprinted in his mind. They spent the evening in a small bubble tea shop and just talked over drinking their tea.
It was around midnight when he walked her back to her door.
They stood awkwardly, staring at each other for a while. He closed the gap between them and hugged her tightly as if he was afraid to let her go.
After they separated, he stared straight into her eyes as if he was trying to memorise everything he saw there. Charles gulped as he glanced at her lips. Seeing that she still stayed in the same place, he took that as their cue and leaned forward to brush her lips with his in the most fleeting of kisses, but one that both of them craved for more.
***flashback ends***
***
"Sir! sir! Mr Charles Wanky!"
The voice of his driver pierced and brought Charles out of his memory walk,
"We have arrived, sir,"
Charles opened his eye from the back of his car and cleaned up the lone tear on his face. He touched his lips as if he could still feel that first kiss. Thinking back to those days was a bittersweet memory for him. She had been his confidante.
They told each other everything about themselves, and he believed that he knew her like the back of his hand, but alas, the human mind is like a dark maze better left untouched, for it always had hidden and unexpected traps. Sighing, he accepted the driver's help and got off the car.
*********
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