Road Trip IV

"I wanted to play with the strands of your hair; they feel so good wrapped around my fingers."

...

The first hour is spent in silence; I tuned everyone out by listening to music and staring out of the window, looking at the greenery outside.

I unlock my phone to check Ansh and Siya's response to my text, informing them that I'll reach home tomorrow.

Siya- I hope you finally did the deed ;)

Ansh- Oh no, my fun's over.

I quickly turn off my phone when I feel Ayan's gaze on me. I remove one of my earphones and raise an eyebrow at him.

"How long... do you plan to be mad at me?" he asks with hesitation.

Shocked that he has the audacity to ask such a question without even apologising, I turn to face him, narrowing my eyes slightly, "I don't remember you apologising."

"I did. I tried to-you never listened!"

I blink at him. Is this guy for real?

I take a deep breath, composing myself, "You call that... apologising?!?!"

With a faraway look in his eyes, he says, "You're right. About that night, I'm really so-"

"Save it," I interrupt him, "I don't need it."

"See!" he exclaims, shaking his head, "You complain that I never said sorry to you, and now when I'm trying to, you're not interested. All you want to do is stay angry at me, perhaps, that makes it easier for you to resist the other... feelings you have started to harbour."

"He's not wrong..." Emily says, making me whip my head so fast in her direction. I glare at her, "Shut up Emily, or I'll smash your face."

My eyes widen when I realise that I muttered these words, not to Ayan... but to Emily.

"I'm sorry, I... I didn't- not you- he..." then looking up at Ayan, who has a grin forming on his face, I accuse, tugging at my hair in frustration, "You're responsible for this. You- you- you're making me go crazy!" 

"No, I'm not," he chuckles, ruffling my hair, "Please forgive me now?"

"No."

"I won't repeat it."

"No."

"I'll get you french fries."

I pause; that offer is tempting. I take a few moments to think, pulling my sleeves nervously. I opted to wear a full sleeve top to cover the bandage on my arm; my mother will make a great fuss and ask me questions which I don't have the answers to.

"No, I'll pass."

"Oh, come on, sunflower," he urges, whispering in my ear, "Don't create a scene; everyone else is staring at us."

I stare at him with a blank expression. It takes everything in my willpower not to punch him in the face.

I'm the one creating a scene? Me? Me??

I yelp when the car takes a sharp turn, making me fall face forward; Ayan's arms protect my head from hitting the dashboard.

My breath hitches in my throat when I feel a hand graze my butt. Acting on reflex, I face him, sending my fist out which connects with his cheek.

"Ow, ow, my thumb," I cry out in pain, "Ow, it hurts."

Zubair glances at me, watching the whole thing before shaking his head with a sigh while a disarming smile supports his lips, "When you're punching, the fundamental thing you should know is that your thumb needs to be on the outside of your fist, Naira."

"Hmph."

Ayan takes my hand in his and places a soft kiss on my thumb, "Better?"

Not willing to admit that it made my heart skip a beat, I scoff, "You wish. Now I have spit on my thumb, ugh!"

...

I yawn, finding it hard to keep my eyes open, the food making me feel sleepy. Everyone except Rudy was handed two sandwiches by Tara, but as a punishment for being impatient and attempting to steal from her, she had handed him only one- the smallest one, too.

"Sleep, sunflower."

"But how?" I ask, gesturing at our seating position; there's no space in the backseat and placing my head at the dashboard doesn't look comfortable.

"Do you trust me?" Ayan questions, lifting my chin up so that I'm looking at him.

"Not really, no."

He looks genuinely surprised, but since he's Ayan Khanna, he hides it with a smile, "Can you have some faith in me for a few hours?"

When I nod my head, he guides me, making me position myself so that my knees are placed on his thighs, and I'm facing him. I place my hand on his shoulder, trying to stabilise myself when the car hits a speedbump. His arm goes around my waist, and I meet his eyes. He removes the tendrils of my hair that had fallen onto my face, making my heart flutter.

"There is a kid in this car, you two," Rudy interjects.

"...who is sleeping," Emily adds, "Let them continue."

My cheeks redden, and I look away awkwardly before placing my legs around Ayan's hip. He places my head in the crook of his neck, and my hands lie on his lap. "Don't mind them."

I see Cole and Emily grinning at me in periphery, and I glare at them before shutting my eyes.

...

It's exactly after two hours that my eyes fly open. I rub my eyes, licking my lips because of the dryness in my mouth and try to register my surroundings.

I open my mouth to ask for a bottle of water, but my voice dies in my throat when I see everyone else dozed off. Emily's head is hanging to the side, and Cole's head is placed on her shoulder while he snores lightly.

Sasha is leaning against Rudy completely; her head lying on his shoulder.

I wave at Tara when her eyes flutter open and put a finger on my lips, gesturing at her to stay quiet.

Zubair notices my movements and turns on the radio, making everyone jerk awake.

Sasha and Rudy both let out of a shriek of fear and surprise, moving as far away as possible from each other.

Ayan grunts, "Why???"

"What? Stop looking at me like that. I'm tired of driving!"