The ride was silent; at times, Rowan would ask questions, and my answers would be a usual shake, a nod, or staying silent. He was personally driving the car; usually, it was his driver, and I was surprised when I witnessed his driving skills. His transformation is still blowing my mind and making me even more numb. I had somewhat predicted the outcome of the transformation, and this is too much to digest at once. Meeting him in person is more alluring and intense than saying hi on camera.
For once, I was more excited to meet Rowan as I missed him so much. I was eager to meet the new Rowan, but I never expected the outcome, not numbness at least. So much more poured into my desire at the sight of his physical appearance. I tried my best to face the window for distraction, but now and then I steal a glance at Rowan. The situation is turning into torture.
The car pulled up to the mansion, and my dad was at the door, marching. As I stepped out, my dad was in front of me, in anger. "Next time, you are dropping the message of your whereabouts, and I mean it." His glare turned toward Rowan as he exited the car. Just great.
"You both stop pissing me off once and for all. This bullshit of yours will go nowhere, mark my words." I don't know what bullshit he is talking about. Rowan joined my side and spoke. "Who knows? Might go somewhere." Wow, the guy can counter, too, and my dad was furious upon hearing those words. "Like hell, I will let you guys take this somewhere else. By the way, what the hell is that supposed to mean?" Well, I would like to know too. Rowan wrapped his hand around my shoulder and continued. "I don't know, somewhere where you least expect it, maybe romantically." My eyes went wide at the statement. Did he just say that? Please don't provoke me; I am barely holding myself back. "For the love of God, what the hell are you even talking about?" "Well, you heard me; I was loud and clear." "Stop this. I swear, I mean it. Before sprouting nonsense, consider the damn age of yours." Rowan chuckled at that; he is getting back to my dad. "Who cares these days? If Dante and I are ok with each other, then no problem, I guess." "Well, kid, newsflash, Dante's dad is never going to be ok with your games and will make sure of it. You still have time; I am cautioning you. Friendship or not, this is not going to work out. Back off while you can. Nothing is going to work out between you two, mark my words." I don't know what my dad's problem was, always stressing the same words over and over.
My dad suddenly went silent and started scrutinize Rowan from up to down. "Well, you look different." I huffed at that. Rowan smiled broadly in return. "Thanks to Dante, I guess." My dad focused on me and squinted his eyebrow. "Han, han." My dad, facing me, a sarcastic scoff left him. "How generous of you." I rolled my eyes at that. "Let's go inside," by facing Rowan. "You are not welcome; we need time to catch up," Rowan grumbled something underneath. "Dante, the plan is on, right?" "You're both getting on my nerves." By saying that, my dad started to drag me, but I made sure to answer Rowan by nodding my head.
I was making my way to the room. "Dante," I abruptly halted my steps with a huff. He was in front of me the next second, and he looked tired. "Please stop this." He is getting on my nerves with the statement. What's there to bloody stop for? It's not even started to stop anything. For once, he looks pleading. "Stop this while you can." He looked straight into my eyes. "I am exhausted by giving reminders, but I won't stop reminding you." I almost wanted to roll my eyes at that. "I don't want to reach the day where I can mock you and say, 'I said so,' on your face." He sighed, and I wanted to make a U-turn from his bullshit and make my way to my room. "Please leave the kid alone." That's it; I am done for the day. I started making my way toward my room when he grumbled. "Get fresh up and come downstairs for lunch. No serving in your room. We are still on that bonding thing." He really gets to me all the bloody time. I can still hear his grumble.
Rowan and I were in the car, heading toward some snow city where his friends were going to join us. The ride was, as usual, silent with a humming sound from Rowan. He is surprising too much with his hidden talent.
His blue eyes turned sharp with the touch of softness and, as usual, captivating. His confidence has spiked like a rocket; there is a huge difference in how he was speaking before and now. His charm has been amplified by his looks, and his smile is enchanting. The tan has masked his true body color in a good way, and I have been noticing his lips from the time I landed, which are red and welcoming. His lean figure was the perfect touch, which boosted the image of his other parts.
The car entered the place, and I gave a short pause to my unrevealing thoughts. We stepped out of the car, and his friends greeted us. His friend's circle has doubled, and was it really necessary to invite everyone, even after knowing about me? I saw Rowan in my peripheral vision, who was smiling, patting their shoulder, and doing their things. You know what I mean. I stood beside him without moving an inch. This is beyond suffocation, and I am not going to spare him today.
The group went silent when their eyes landed on me, and I rolled my eyes at the usual behavior. Rowan cleared his throat and introduced me to everyone, and also notified them about me, the odd stuff. The crowd started moving, but I didn't. This was a bad idea, but I gave in for Rowan. His huge crowd will smother me to death by the time I am outside. Nope, I am going to risk it. Rowan tried to pull me with him, but I held my ground. "Sorry, there are so many friend groups; I wanted to drop a message to our usual group, but by mistake I dropped into a different group. By the time I noticed, everyone agreed to this gathering and was eager. I couldn't just undo that." Right, I glared at him. More friends group? He's got to be kidding me. Doesn't it exhaust him or suffocate him in some way, having so many around him? God, with the new look, more people were added, and I just don't want to think about his girl fans.
Someone wrapped their arms around Rowan, and Davis smirked as he saw me. Just the touch I needed. I am ready for the bloody battle for the evening. "You told me you were busy," Rowan questioned dutifully in confusion. "Well, at first I was, but when I saw with whom you planned to hang out, I couldn't stop myself." I coughed at that, and he smirked widely. Everyone around me needs to take a bloody break in their lives. "Whatever," he faced me and spoke. "You don't need to mingle with them, and no one will annoy you. I will make sure of it." I couldn't say no to those hopeful eyes.
We started walking toward the entrance, and a groan left me when I witnessed the amount of crowd that was around, roaming, skatting, and God, laughing. I wanted to turn around, but Rowan was fast; he held my hand and intertwined it with his. The shock was in the same measure, but the feeling was different. I shook a little with the touch, and my breathing hitched a little. There were glitter and warmth. As his hold was tight, I flushed a little. I don't want to know the speed of my heartbeat. "I am not allowing you to escape." That thought was out of my mind with one touch.
The place was really a city, everything built using snow, obviously. There were so many monuments of different countries, mini-famous well-known cities, and a wide scatting area. The area was filled with laughter, falling, hugs, and dancing. "My dad is a major sponsor every year," Rowan informed me while walking, and I nodded at that. It has gained so much attention, especially kids, who are running literally everywhere. "Look at the atmosphere, especially the kids, its beautiful, right? My dad tried to back off this year, but I didn't let him. He wanted to invest in real estate; it's not always about the profit. Don't you think?" He is asking someone who revolves around the profit part. I couldn't lie, saying yes, so I gave a neutral answer. "Maybe." "God, with whom I am talking, the future of Morris's empire. He rolled his eyes. Of course, it's maybe." He air-quoted that, and Davis chuckled in return. I was displeased at the statement. Hey, we do lots of donations that count for something.
"Do you know scatting?" Can anyone find a better place than this one for winding the frustration and removing your anger? I nodded at him. "Oh, I am not even surprised." Was that a sarcastic statement? He has updated his talking style with the latest version. "Shall we, then?" My eyes fell on the crowd; it's packed. He must be crazy. "Oh god, come on, live a little." He has updated too much for my liking, and he just dragged me toward the damn crowd.
Davis was already in the crowd, clumsily scatting, and I sat on the bench waiting for the shoe. Rowan bought the shoe with the correct size, and he bent to help me, but I held him back from doing that. I started tying the shoe, and Rowan did the same. Rowan was on the ground, and I still sat on the bench, inhaling and exhaling my breath. "Come on," Rowan shouted at me. While huffing, I made my way to the ground.
Rowan was ok; he had some grip, but not completely. He needs to practice more. My pace was slow, avoiding the crowd and enjoying the cold wind. The ground was huge, so it was easy to navigate. I increased my speed, and I don't know how it happened, but the crowd started making space. I sped more; the warm air started splashing in my face, making me forget the world around me and unwinding the pent-up emotions. There was craze to beat the air, race with it, and to win—that definitely sounds crazier. I circled a few times, doing many more stunts along with it.
Finally, I felt exhausted, and my body gave up; by moving slowly, I reached the corner of the arena. I started catching my breath, and I heard applause around the arena. With confusion, I faced the arena, and then only I got to know that I had caught everyone's attention, including Rowan, who was in disbelief. Rowan approached me slowly, and only one word left his mouth. "Wow." I chuckled in return, clearly exhausted. "There are no words, I mean, I didn't know you were this good. You look like an angel in that arena. The speed and the moves were impeccable. God, I was in shock. You know, my eyes didn't leave you for a second, either; they were glued. You are full of surprise." I stayed silent, hearing the comment and watching the clearing crowd. "We should get going. There is a lot to cover." I nodded at him, and we approached a nearby bench.
Rowan was still mesmerized by my performance in the arena and also proud. We walked for another hour and covered half of the snow city, but we didn't continue as the hunger kicked in. Rowan sat beside me in the restaurant, and Davis grumbled something underneath. The order was placed by Rowan on my behalf. Once the order was placed, the guys started to chat with each other, sharing experiences and also giving ideas about changes and additions for the next year. Rowan is going to be involved personally next year while building the snow city. He is too good for his own sake.
The order arrived, and at first Rowan took care of my plate by filling it. Davis watched everything, and anger remitted from him when the plate was placed in front of me. "Why don't you feed him, too?" The statement was completely ignored by Rowan, and he started eating the food.
We continued our mini trip around the snow city, and it was 11 pm when we came out. Everyone bid goodbye and headed toward their car. Davis stayed for a few minutes, and they discussed something about the company and college things. He bid goodbye. Finally, we were in the car, and Rowan started the engine. "Stay at my place today." There is no other place I want to be other than his. It is the safest, peaceful place on this earth; nothing is going to beat this newfound sanctuary of mine. But I can't stay because of my dad. I shook my head in return, and he sighed at that. "I get it."