1.

Under the scorching heat, Ayesha stood beneath the umbrella of one of the stalls inside the marketplace. She examined the oranges, squeezing them to check if they were ripe enough and filled with water. She missed having a cold glass of freshly squeezed orange juice in the morning.

"That would be 10 pounds." The store owner spoke while packing the fruits she selected away.

"Thanks."

She walked to the parking lot, hoisting one bag over her shoulder as she held the other against her hip. She had spent the entire afternoon shopping for groceries for her new apartment. After moving in the day before, there was nothing more than the bare necessities in the fridge. Water, butter and some eggs.

The apartment needed to feel more like home. The fridge needed fresh fruits, vegetables, bread, onions, and garlic. She had gotten enough for the day. It was a start. Now, the fridge would look vibrant and alive. Maybe later in the evening, she'd find a store to buy nicknacks to decorate the shelves and tables. 

She looked towards the road, wondering aloud, "I probably should call an Uber."

A car revved, and she spun around to see it reversing towards her. Ayshea yelped, trying to back away, but wasn't swift enough. The car jerked back and knocked her down. Her bags crashed beside her as she slammed into the ground with a long, loud groan of pain. Pain reverberated through her arm and side.

She groaned, trying to stand, when she heard a door slam. "My arm."

"I am sorry. Oh no. I am so sorry. Are you alright?" A man approached her.

He held her shoulders to help her up, and Ayesha exploded. "Watch the road when you drive. Are you crazy? You could have killed me."

"I didn't see you. I am so sorry."

He looked horrified and worried as he helped her sit up and began to dust off her shirt and jeans. He asked her how she was and if she was hurt, but Ayesha only had eyes for the bags on the floor, their contents scattered around her on the street. Her oranges were rolling away.

"What's your name?"

"Ayesha."

"Ayesha, I am Dimitri. It's nice to meet you. I am going to help you get up, okay? I need to look at your wounds and get them clean."

"No, there is no need. I need to get my things."

She tried to protest, but Dimitri wasn't listening. He braced his hand around her hip, narrating his every move to her before he carried them out. He must have thought she was still in shock since she hadn't said more than two words to him.

Painstakingly, she got to her feet, wincing at the scractches on her arm and leg. They limped towards his car, with him resting her weight against him. He lifted the tailgate of his car up and helped her sit inside.

"Really, there is no need." She muttered, noticing the suitcases.

"Your arm is bleeding quite a bit."

Ayesha frowned, turning her arm around and wincing when she saw the blood meandering from her elbow to her wrist. He slipped the strap of her backpack off and set it aside.

"That doesn't look too good." She murmured, still looking at her bleeding arm.

"No, it doesn't. Just let me clean you up."

"My bags. Please, my bags." She urgently tried to stand, noticing her groceries again.

"Don't!" He warned, using his body to keep her from getting up. "Stay there. I'll get them for you."

Dimitri rushed to pick them up from the road and set them closer to his car.

Not wasting any more time, he grabbed a bottle of water from the front seat and a towel. He poured some water on the towel and took her wrist in his hand. Carefully, he began to wipe the blood off her arm.

Ayesha stilled herself against the burn while he cleaned the wound, murmuring his apologies anytime she flinched or reacted in discomfort.

As the shock of what happened began to subside, Ayesha began to feel the pain ricocheting around her body. Her legs ached, her arms felt itchy from the scratches, and her ankle felt strange like she had twisted it at some point.

She wore a white off-shoulder blouse, so a good portion of her shoulder had been scraped when she fell. When Dimitri finished with the scrapes on her forearm, he dampened the towel again and started cleaning the specks of blood on her shoulder.

He leaned closer, bringing his face closer to her neck as he worked.

Ayesha took a second to look at him. The sweatshirt he had on was bunched up to his elbows, exposing his forearms. She stared down at it as Dimitri continued attending to her scrape. She found him relatively handsome, with his strong jaw and dimple cheeks. The jet-black setting of his hair was a compliment to his ivory skin tone.

He reached around her to push some of the hair away from her back. The tips of his fingers scraped over her skin before she felt the cool touch of the towel. His breath fanned across her neck when he exhaled through his mouth. She gasped and tore her thoughts out of the clouds. Sharply turning away to look at anything but Dimitri's face.

"Sorry." She heard him say and felt his touch fall away. "Did I hurt you? Was that too hard?"

"No. Sorry."

"Don't apologise."

His smile was warm, and it brightened his deep grey eyes. Ayesha tried not to stare, looking away when she caught herself. Unsettled by the sudden attraction to the stranger who, apologetic or not, almost ran her over.

"How's your leg?" He softly asked. "Let me have a look at it."

"No. No. I-I think I am better now. It's just a few scrapes. I'll be fine."

"Are you sure? Does anything feel broken? Let me get you to the hospital and have a doctor look at you. You might have hurt yourself more than you think."

"There is no need for a hospital." She rushed to add, forgetting herself for a second as she tried to step down from the car. Pain ricocheted up her leg almost immediately.

"Okay, no hospital."  He chuckled when she groaned from pain, and with his arms around her hips, he gently lifted her back up to sit where she was.

He sighed, clearly frustrated with her stubbornness. She stared at her ankle, twisting it to check if the soreness was still there.

"How does it feel?"

"I'll be fine." She insisted.

"Sure. If you don't want a hospital, let me drive you to where you are headed."

"No. There is no need."

"Please let me drive you. It's no trouble at all." He urged, helping her step down. With his arm on her shoulder, he steered her towards the passenger side of his car. "It will be my apology for hitting you."

Ayesha managed a smile and a nod. He opened the door and held her arm gently as she climbed in, biting back a moan of discomfort when a shot of pain spread through her leg and arm.

Dimitri picked up her bags from the side of the car and placed them in the back seat. Ayesha took the time to look around. Every surface of the interior was polished to a shine. It smelled like fresh flowers and new leather at the same time.

The door opened, and he slid into his seat, jutting his chin at her. "Are you comfortable?"

"Yes." She looked around with a smile. "Your car is nice."

He smiled back. "Thank you. I am glad you can appreciate it."

"Seeing as it nearly killed me?"

He nervously grinned. "Yeah."

For whatever reason, she couldn't stop herself from talking more. "It's very spacious and big."

Dimitri looked around the car, too, as he revved the engine. He shook his head and said, "No. You're just small."

She gasped, and he laughed even harder.

"Right. Where to?"

"MPL Apartments." She huffed, acting offended, which only made him smile more. “Town centre."

"Seatbelt."

"Ah, yes." She grabbed it and pulled it tight across her chest. "With the way you drive, I definitely need this."

He laughed again. "You caught me on an off day."

"Right."

As he joined the road, Ayesha remembered the suitcases in the back of the car and looked at him.

"You don't have to do this. Don't you have somewhere to be?"

"Not really."

"I noticed the suitcases. I thought maybe you had a flight to catch. If you do, please you can stop at a bus stop nearby, and I'll take a taxi. I am fine, truly."

"I am not travelling." He assured her calmly. "I just got into town. There's no flight to catch, so don't worry."

"Oh." She looked out the window at the street.

"You can't get rid of me that easily." She looked at him, and he winked.

She chuckled and nodded, relaxing into the seat. He drove her to her apartment as promised without any directions. After he parked, he got down quickly and made the rounds to her door to help her out as well.

Ayesha took his hand, thanking him as he helped her down. She waited beside the car for him to get her bags out of the backseat, but when she tried to reach for them, he made no move to hand them over.

"Let me help you take them."

"No." She shook her head sternly, taking the bags from him. "You have done enough for me already by taking me home."

"But your leg and your arm."

"Scrapes. Nothing I can't handle. You've already taken care of most of it."

"You are sure you don't want me to help you with the bags?"

"No. There is no need. I live with someone. I'll call him to help me. You have repaid your debt with me."

Dimitri looked up at the buildings and finally stepped back. "Alright. Take care of yourself. And once again, I am deeply sorry."

"It's alright. Truly. And thanks for the ride."

She waved at him, and he returned the gesture before sitting in his car.

Ayesha watched until he drove far away enough. She reached for the bags and picked them up even as her arm protested. The bashful smile remained on her lips. She started walking to the front door. Then, she gasped in shock, spinning quickly to look back at the road he had driven down on.

"Wait!" She screamed to no one. He was already gone.

Her backpack. She left her backpack in his car.