Chapter 4 - Handsome hunk

"The man standing there is the living epitome of beauty. He is the kind of man for whom every girl would willingly kill. At least, that was the first thought that came to my mind. He has a perfectly muscular body, standing a good few inches above six feet, and the body-hugging black shirt that he was wearing did nothing but make him more attractive and charming. His cheeks have a little stubble, but his jawline is clearly visible. His hair is trimmed short from the sides but is a little longer in the middle portion that is not styled. Based on how he was dressed and casually looking around, I knew he was trying to be casual. Still, the way his eyes were observing things around him, I knew that there was something that was not going with his casual attire.

I was busy observing him when he looked at me, and instantly, all the things I had been observing about him just a few seconds ago disappeared from my brain. Now, all I can see are grey orbs that are looking at me with so much intensity that I am afraid they will even pierce my soul.

I was instantly attracted to him, and this doesn't feel like a regular attraction for any hot guy around us. This is something different; I don't know different in which way, but it indeed is different. I was mesmerized by his gray orbs, but he turned his gaze in another direction. I don't know why, but I felt offended by his actions.

"Will you stop insulting my sandwich like this?" Suddenly, Elina came in front of me, blocking the beautiful sight that I was watching. That’s when I realized that all this time, I had been ogling that man with my mouth still wide open, sandwich in hand, and drool dripping from my mouth… Well, that’s embarrassing. I placed the sandwich back on the plate, grabbed some tissues, and wiped my mouth quickly. Elina looked at me with disappointment and motioned for me to follow her to the kitchen.

I looked at the sandwich and then at Elina. I'm not leaving my sandwich alone here. I took a massive bite of the sandwich and followed Elina into the kitchen.

“Don’t tell me you never even dated a guy during your teenage years,” she shouted at me out of the blue after closing the door behind us, which made me flinch automatically. I looked at her cluelessly while my mouth was still stuffed with a delicious bite of sandwich that I couldn’t even chew because I had to pretend that I was listening.

She didn't wait for my reply and started pacing. “For the first time, I saw that spark in your eyes when you saw a guy, but you ruined all your chances by ogling him while practically drooling." She stopped and grabbed my shoulders tightly. “We can still fix this, alright? I'll help you.” As soon as she said this, I rolled my eyes and gulped down the food in my mouth.

“Hold on, woman—no need to jump to conclusions. I'm not trying to impress anyone here. At my age, I'm allowed to ogle guys. Do you want me to ogle old men now?” I asked her in distaste, and she glared at me. “Can I finish this first, please?” I asked her, and she narrowed her eyes but left the kitchen.

It didn't take me long to finish the sandwich, and thanks to Martha (who bakes all the delicious goodies for the diner), I also got to taste a new flavor of muffin that she had created by mistake. I wonder when I will make such an awesome mistake. The mistakes I have made have landed me on the deathbed a couple of times already.

I was about to exit the kitchen when Elina entered with an excited expression. From the little jump in her walk, I could tell she had planned something to set me up with that handsome hunk.

Before she could say anything, I stepped back and said, "I'm not doing anything stupid, Elina. And no, I will not serve that man, for sure." Despite my protests, she kicked me out of the kitchen, and now I am holding a tray full of food outside the kitchen like a puppet.

I took a deep breath and straightened my back, thinking, "Let's get it done, or Elina will taunt and haunt me for this day for months." I walked towards him and put the tray contents on his table with a smile. "Do you want anything else, sir?" I asked him, and he shook his head without looking at me. "Enjoy your food, sir," I said and calmly came back to the kitchen. I couldn't help but place my hand on my heart. This man surely has a great impact on girls. He didn't even look at me, and my heart was beating as if someone gave me a shocker}.

"So, how is it?" I was startled by Elina and Martha's enthusiastic question. I still don't understand why these ladies become too excited about these matters.

"Oh, come on, guys. He is the one who is eating the food, not me," I told them sarcastically and turned to go out of the diner. I should stay away from this place until that stunning man is here. But as soon as my hand touched the doorknob, Elina dragged my hoodie from behind, and I groaned in irritation.

"You know what we are asking about," Martha said, and both crossed their arms and gave me that pointed look that always makes me nervous. This look is why their husbands can't lie to them because if they ever found out their lies, they would give them these mean looks constantly.

"I went there and served his food to him. I smiled during the whole time. He never looked at me once this whole time, and after that, I came inside," I explained in a monotonous voice, and both looked disappointed. "I don't even know what you were expecting. Well, now I am going to the studio."

"Stop, lady. Your customer is still in the diner," Elina said, and I rolled my eyes. I know exactly how she will listen to me. I raised the sleeve of my hoodie to show her my bandaged hand. "Are you seriously pressuring me to work in this condition?" Her eyes softened instantly, and Martha came towards me in concern.

"That looks pretty bad. How did you get hurt?" she asked me, and I kept up that innocent facade.

"Had a minor accident yesterday," I explained, and this time, both of them sent me outside themselves by ordering me to go to my place and take proper rest.

I smirked at my intelligence when I came out of the kitchen. I was about to leave when my eyes automatically landed on that man. When I found him already looking in my direction, I suddenly felt butterflies in my stomach. For once, the thought of going to him crossed my mind, but I shook my head in surprise. "What am I even thinking?"

I passed him an awkward smile, but when I looked closely, I found him looking at my bandaged hand. I quickly pulled my sleeve down, and his gaze turned towards my face. That awkward smile was still on my face, but he turned his gaze and looked out of the window. I shrugged and walked out of the diner.

Drake's tattoo studio is a ten-minute walk from here, so I decided to take a little walk. When I reached the studio, Henry and Drake were already busy with customers. I decided not to disturb them, so I came out of there, too.

I again went towards the diner to take my bike, where I found the same handsome guy standing near my bike. He was on a call with someone while his one hand was on my bike's handle. "My bike is lucky," I thought, and I couldn't help but laugh aloud.

When I contained my laughter, I found people looking at me as if I were a madman. I ignored everyone and shook my head. "I can't believe I got jealous of my bike." I went near him, and now he wasn't on the call, but his hand was still on the bike's handle. This automatically made me smile.

"Excuse me," I said to him. Though he was still looking at me, he seemed in a daze. I snapped my fingers in front of his face.

"What?" If I was drooling over his looks a while ago, then ladies and gentlemen, let me tell you, his voice was like honey to the ears. No, his voice was not melodious. Instead, it was a bit deep, lower pitched, and firm. I felt as if the words brushed my ears with a feathery touch. I have to accept that this man is doing things to my brain.

I shook my head roughly and blinked my eyes. "I am going mad," I mumbled, and when I felt that I could keep myself normal in front of that hunk, I looked at him again.

"Are you alright?" he asked again in his deep voice, and I took a deep breath. Okay, I am staying away from him for sure.

"That's my bike," he immediately removed his hand and stepped back. "Thank you," I said to him. I tried to ignore him completely, took my helmet from the bike, and wore it. I was about to be successful in my plan to ignore him and drive away from there when Elina thought it was the best time to spoil my plan.

"Wait, Arya," she stopped me, and I groaned. "Where are you going?" she asked me.

"Home," I kept my replies short. No matter how attractive this man is, he is still a stranger, and the kind of people who are trying to get a hold of me are much more likely to be like him. As soon as this thought crossed my mind, everything related to that man turned from attractive to scary in seconds. His perfectly muscular body looked more than capable of snapping my neck in seconds. The replay of the past crossed in front of my eyes, and I shuddered, thinking about all of that. 

I closed my eyes and shook my head to clear my mind. I looked at the place where that man was but found him a few meters away from us, walking in another direction, which actually calmed me a little. I took a deep breath, looked at Elina, and found her looking at me with narrowed eyes. So, I answered her unasked question. "I came back late yesterday night, and your husband woke me up at fucking 5 in the morning. So, I deserve a long sleep without any disturbance," I said sarcastically, and she seemed content with my answer now.

"Okay, but come for dinner at our place today. Some of our old friends are coming too. I will cook your favorite food," she told me, but only the thought of getting caught messed up my mind.

"Sorry, Elina, but I can't today. How about tomorrow?" I asked her, and she smiled at me. After that, I finally drove away and locked myself in my house. No matter where I was today, I could not shrug off that feeling of being watched. I pulled all the curtains and locked the door, but that eerie feeling was still not going away.

I called the nurse who let me meet my mom to know if there was someone who came to meet her, and she told me that a couple of guys came there, but as not many people are allowed inside the ICU, only one of them went to talk to her. It is hard to understand what mom wants nowadays. I know that she hates me, I know she will never mourn if they kill me, I know that it doesn't even matter to her if they get a hold of me, but then why did she warn me that they were going to be in the hospital today?

"Damn," these words escaped my lips as soon as I understood what she was up to. "She made them follow me to my place."