I reached the city at two in the morning. I caught a cab to the hotel, checked in and fell asleep right away on the bed. It was a long journey and very tiring. I seriously hated to travel at night but well, anything for him. Maybe it was my inner feeling because I opened my eyes exactly at seven thirty. Five hours of sleep was definitely not enough for me but I would have to reach at least at nine to reach before his classes ended.
I got up and checked my phone while putting it in the charger. He had texted me.
From Caterpillar,
Good morning. Hope you are sleeping well. I am kinda worried bcoz u din't text if u reached or not.
But guess u were too tired so its fine. Get good sleep. See ya soon. ;)
I texted him back quickly. I wanted to call him but he had probably left for class. I sighed and looked around.
My memory of last night was a blur because I was too sleepy. I felt like I was sleep walking. I made the bed and unpacked my belongings and freshened up. I took a shower and dressed up. I had prepared everything beforehand. I wore my black trousers, the white hoodie and a denim jacket over it. He once looked at my picture in those clothes and said he liked it a lot so I chose to wear it on our first meet. Although I wanted to wear something more formal but I guess it was too much to just pick him up from college. I couldn't show up wearing suit or blazer. It would be weird.
It was nine thirty when I finished having my breakfast. I walked to the reception of the hotel.
"Good morning sir, how can I help you?"
I smiled. "Uh, I saw in your brochure that you rent out cars too. I wanted to rent one actually." I spoke quite nervously.
The receptionist smiled politely. "I will need to see your driver's license first, sir."
"Ah yeah sure." I pulled out my wallet and showed him my driver's license which I had received just a few months back.
He smiled. "Sure sir. Let me confirm what cars are available for the moment. You can sit and wait there till I confirm." He gestured to the lounge.
I nodded. "Sure."
I took a seat and opened my phone, dialing my mom's number.
"Oh son." She greeted.
"Good morning. mom. I reached at two in the morning."
"And did you sleep well?"
"Um yes I slept well."
"Breakfast?"
"Done."
"What are you going to do now?"
"Just roam around I guess."
"Where are your friends?"
"Uh, they are booking cabs. Oh mom, they are calling me. I should go now." I lied.
"Okay. Okay. Take care and don't get hurt, what ever you do."
"Yeah sure. Bye mom."
"Bye."
I hanged up and sighed. I was surely going to hell for lying to my mother.
The receptionist called for me and gave me the list of cars available. There were only few and I ended up choosing the Hyundai Tucson. By the time I left the hotel, it was past nine. I just hoped I reached on time. As per google maps, it took only one and a half hour to reach the college. I followed the navigation, driving carefully. I played some music along the way, singing along excitedly. I was only one hour away from meeting him.
It didn't take me long to reach the small town. It was ten forty five when I pulled up in front of the college gate. As I stared at the gate, I started to feel nervous. My hands and feet started to get cold and my heart started to beat in a nonrhythmic rhythm. I took a deep breath in and exhaled slowly, trying to calm myself down. I was prepared but still I couldn't contain myself. Just another fifteen minutes to meet him.
I got out of the car and went to buy a bottle of water. I drank some and it seemed to cool me down a little. Just as I walked back to the car, my phone rang. I picked it up immediately.
"Hey, over?" I asked.
"Yeah." He said quietly.
"Uh I am waiting outside your gate." I said.
"Already?" He exclaimed.
"Yes."
"Okay, I am heading out. Wait for me."
"Okay."
He hanged up.
Reality hit me. It was really happening.
Students started to walk out of the gate. It was crowded. I didn't know how I would find him in that crowd. I stood near the car, scanning the crowd. Students stared at me as they walked across. Was I looking weird?
In a swift of blink, I spotted him walking out of the gate alone, scanning around. I took a slow deep breath. There he was. Finally. His eyes widened as his eyes fell on me. He was small, short and extremely cute. I smiled and waved at him. He blushed profusely as he walked to me. I couldn't keep my eyes off him. Just another few seconds.
"Hi." He said with a nervous smile as he reached me, avoiding my eyes.
"Hi." I looked down at him. He was at the height of my shoulders.
I wanted to grab him tightly in my arms and squeeze him. I shifted closer to him and reached to take his bag from his shoulder.
"Oh, it's fine." He said, trying to take his bag back.
"Let's go." I smiled.
He nodded, walking over to get in the passenger seat.
I placed his bag at the backseat and got in.
"Um can we stop by my room? I have to grab my clothes." He said as I started the engine.
"Sure. Lead the way." I smiled.
He nodded.
I could feel him constantly glancing at me as I drove to his place. I couldn't help but smile. He was so nervous. I wanted to reach for his hand but I just couldn't make myself to do it. I was hesitant.
"There. Park there. I will just grab my clothes and be back quickly." He said, pointing to an empty parking space.
I parked the car and turned to him. "I will go with you."
He flushed as our eyes met. "It's fine. I will be back soon."
I smiled and got out of the car. He grabbed his bag and got out.
We walked in to his hostel. I looked around. It was pretty empty and pretty clean. I followed his footsteps and stopped in front of a door. I watched intently as his slim fingers unlocked the lock and opened the door.
"Come in." He said, turning the lights on.
I walked in and closed the door behind me.
"You can sit on that bed and wait." He said, placing his bag on a desk and turned to me.
I smiled and sat quietly on the bed, watching him open the closet and take clothes out. I sat there, wondering if I could just remain with him for as long as I wanted. I couldn't contain myself anymore.
I stood up and walked to him slowly. I caught him in an embrace from the back and he gasped loudly, freezing completely. He felt so small in my arms. I dug my face in his neck. He smelled nice.
"Finally Kao." I whispered.
He stayed quiet but reached to place his hand over mine.
We stayed that way for a moment until he shifted to turn around and look at me. I locked my arms around his tiny waist. He stared into my eyes with a smile.
"I am happy." He said and placed his head on my chest.
"Me too." I said, hugging him closer.
"Hey, I think I should pack now." He said after a long time.
I nodded with a sigh.
He pulled away and looked up at me. "Sit on the bed and wait."
I smiled. "Yeah, yeah." I wanted to kiss him.
"So what now?" He asked as we drove away from his hostel.
"Uh lunch?"
"Where?"
"I don't know. We can find a restaurant on the way."
"Hmm."
"Are you hungry?" I asked, staring ahead on the road.
"Nah. What about you?"
"Not yet."
"In that case, I have an idea."
"What?"
"Before reaching the city, if we turn to a street on the left, it leads to the beach within another hour. It isn't a very big beach but there are some good restaurants there. We can have lunch and stroll on the beach."
"That sounds really awesome." I grinned at him.
He blushed and quickly looked away from me.
And so we headed to the beach. It was a long drive so we played songs to kill the silence. The weather was colder and the sky seemed a little unhappy. It was covered with dark clouds.
"I guess it's going to rain tonight." I said.
"Nah, the weather here is unpredictable. We never know." He said.
I nodded, still sure that it might rain.
"Is it okay if I take a nap? My eyes are burning. I studied till late night and also when I tried to sleep, I couldn't sleep at all."
"Oh okay. Sure sure." I said, turning the music down.
He smiled at me and closed his eyes, leaning his head on the headrest. "You are a smooth driver."
I flushed. "Thanks."
Following the navigation, we finally reached the beach. I parked the car near some coconut trees and turned to him. He was asleep. I watched him for sometime. His face was clear and shiny. I still couldn't believe that he was with me.
"Oh." He opened his eyes and blinked.
I looked away. "We have reached."
He looked around. "Ah yeah. Let's go." He said, starting to open the door.
"Wait." I held on his arm. The reason? I don't know either.
He turned to look at me.
"Uh..." I searched for something to say. "Nothing." I released his arm.
We got out and looked around. There were many small stalls and restaurants but seemed like there weren't many customers.
"I know one good restaurant here. Come." He said, leading the way.
I followed after him with a smile.
He took me to a restaurant that had a great view of the beach. We took our seats in one corner and looked at the sea through the glass wall.
"Your order, sir?" A waiter arrived.
I grabbed the menu and flipped through. "Uh, what would you like?" I asked Kao.
"Huh?" He grabbed the second menu and went through.
I re-read the seafood cuisine again and again. There were a lot I wanted to eat.
"The salad, veg Manchurian soupy noodles and a bottle of coke for me." He ordered.
I gulped down nervously. "Uh for me, mushroom soup, vegetable soup noodles and some plum wine please" I could feel Kao's eyes burning a hole on my face.
"Okay, let me repeat your orders again."
"Wait." Kao said. The waiter and I both looked at him.
"Can you cancel his order and come back a little later?" Kao asked the waiter who nodded and left.
"What?" I asked.
He glared at me. "Order whatever you want. Why are you ordering veg items?"
I was caught. "Uh...I want to eat that."
"Kwan, you love sea food. You think I can't figure out what you are doing?"
I exhaled, giving up. "Sorry. I just thought you would be uncomfortable with me eating non-veg."
He broke into a soft smile. "I am okay with it. It isn't uncomfortable."
I smiled slowly. "Okay then."
He smiled, shaking his head at me. "Silly."
I blushed.
I ended up ordering just the mixed sea-food noodles and plum wine. As we waited for our order to arrive, it started to get a little awkward as I had nothing to say. He was staring at the beach at the distance, maybe trying to avoid the awkwardness. I couldn't take my eyes off him. It was too unreal that he was sitting right in front of me. Just a few months back, I didn't even know what he looked like.
"Hey?" I called.
He looked at me with his doe eyes.
I stretched out my hand and he looked at it in confusion. "Your hand." I said.
His cheeks flushed as he placed his warm hand on mine. Mine felt colder. Was my nervousness too obvious?
I fiddled with his hand with both of mine. His hand was small and soft. I smiled at it.
"Your hands are so big and yet so slender, Kwan." He said, looking at our hands.
I nodded. "Yeah."
"And why is your skin so pale? You look bloodless." He chuckled.
I laughed. "I have told you about it before too. My skin is always pale and it makes me look sick."
"No, but your cheeks are slightly pink."
"It's because I am with you now." I smiled softly.
He looked stunned as his face turned red.
I burst out laughing and brought his hand to my mouth, placing a soft kiss on his knuckles.
"Oh my, you are such a tease!" he said, fuming with embarrassment. I chuckled at his cute reaction.
"Let's take a walk around the beach after we are done eating." I said, looking around. There weren't many people.
He nodded. "The weather is bad so there are not many people today. But I am glad about it. It won't be crowded."
I nodded. "Hmm. So what's the plan for tonight?"
His eyes widened. "Huh? I...I thought you made all the plans."
"Um yeah I did. But I am just asking if there is anything you want to do."
"Oh. There isn't much I want to do. Just being with you was all that I planned." He said shyly.
I felt a strong blow on my heart. It was hammering against my chest. I nodded. "Okay. Same here."
He was making my body burn like crazy and yet making my feet and hands go cold.