Jazmin stepped out of the eatery and into the hush pavements once again, feeling refreshed to have disentangled herself from that heated exchange.
Maeve had advised her to avoid the three kings as much as possible, and she had no intention of doing the opposite, handsome Greek god or not.
Still...hadn't Maeve said that most students had barely seen the school council president, Rowan? Yet she had met him on her second day here...
Jazmin shrugged and figured that her luck was worse than others. And, as she focused on the unfamiliar high-rise and mid-rise buildings and vast gardens around her, she realized again that she was still lost.
She had walked out of that earlier conflict because it would have been too awkward to watch yet, here she was: Lost again.
Her cheeks flushed at her impulsiveness. Furthermore, did she have to correct that big 'man' earlier? What if that hurt his precious little ego and he decides to take her loved ones hostage as revenge?
As she was busy overthinking, she heard the restaurant's door open from behind her. "Were you waiting for me?" Rowan asked her as he stepped to her side, his green eyes lingering on her flushed face. Her cheeks were red and she had kept her palms on her cheeks, her chocolate-brown eyes glittering from behind her round glasses.
"Uh...er...yeah...I was..." Jaz stuttered, figuring that she should play along.
Rowan hummed, his gaze pulling away from her visage, and he started striding towards the left of the restaurant. Jazmine followed beside him wordlessly.
"You...you said that you're a new student?" his voice questioned airily.
"Yes," she answered as they walked, keeping her eyes on the pavement.
He hummed again. The sound from his luscious lips was lower but distinct. Given his appearance, anything that was freed from his palate would be beautiful. Every girl would shriek and holler as they rushed to record his voice on their phones.
Jazmin smiled at the comical image. The slight arching of her lips caught Rowan's attention.
His gaze lingered briefly on her small lips that were tinted pink. The color of fallen cherry blossoms at the peak of spring. "Are you from around here, perhaps?" he asked, gazing quietly at her.
"No, I'm not. I'm actually not even from this country..." she stated, lifting her brows. Her eyes wandered to his calm, green eyes that strangely made her feel...comfortable. She saw the flickers of genuine interest in his quiet inspection of her. "What about you?" she asked, making sure to match his pace, even though his eyes were so entrancing.
Jazmin could feel her cheeks heat up as their knuckles grazed each other every so often, igniting tiny sparks that nonetheless seared her. "Me?" he repeated and tore his eyes away from her face. He looked ahead of them, at the empty pavement that ran beside aromatic rose bushes.
"I'm also not from within the States. My grandfather and I immigrated here some years ago," he shared briefly and she nodded slightly. Again, there was that feverish sensation as the backs of their fingers scraped each other.
Her body was growing more aware of his presence and his fresh, minty cologne that enticed her to dunk into his chest.
'Central nervous system, I beseech you to chill and relax! And kindly get those wonky hormones under control ASAP! This is not a drill!' she uttered inwardly, blaming emotions and sentiments to the craftiness of hormones.
"We're here," Rowan said, ushering her eyes from the pavement to the familiar statuesque buildings towering before her. The vague echoes of teen voices indicated that they had arrived at the tuition block.
"Uh...thank you," Jazmin said, giving him a wry smile.
"Your name, please," Rowan responded. They were now facing each other, beside a row of flourishing crimson roses. His tranquil green eyes were fixed on her pretty, bespectacled face, assessing her.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I'm Jazmin Everlyne, a first-year," she said, her smile turning crooked with the realization that she had never offered her name in the beginning. Neither had he, though.
"Mmm. I'm Rowan Barlowe, a second-year. If you'd like, would you mind visiting the 'Body Fitness Club' later after school?" he asked, in the same monotonous fashion.
Now, Jazmin had never quite defined herself as a sportswoman or even a zealot of sporting activities. Nonetheless, the romantic aroma of thriving roses and the silent allure of his dashing, gentlemanly presence... All of this conspired to coerce this answer: "Yes! I would love to join the Body Fitness Club!" Jaz, my dear beloved Jaz, the hormones have struck yet again, haven't they?
She knew she would regret the incoming twists to her nerdy storyline. Because her heartbeat paused when the edges of his mouth inched higher into the most beautiful incision the world had ever glimpsed. "Then, I will come to pick you up at 4 pm right here," he said, his voice grounded and airy, as though discussing the weather.
The rebellious hormones had won.