Chapter 7 The kiss

• Aiden
• "What?" she said. She shook her head and noticed my terrible state and murmured, "I am sorry about that. Are you ok?" She looked genuinely concerned.
• "You ruined my favourite shirt," I said grimly.
• Her smile faltered.
• "You were in my way. I didn't bump into you intentionally." She crossed her arms over her breasts and looked up at me defiantly. Feisty. I liked feisty. "I said I am sorry." She made a move again and I blocked her again.
• "Sorry is not enough," I told her. 
• Her lips looked amazing. Just a taste of those cherry lips could drive a man crazy. I wanted to tell her that, but instead, I answered, "It's not fair, I lost a shirt and you lost your coffee."
• "So you want me to buy you a shirt?" Her lovely eyes widened in surprise.
• "No, let me buy you a coffee." I offered.
• She stared at me for another long minute then as if something clicked in her mind, she tilted her head to one side giving me a clear view of her neck. I wanted to kiss it.
• "I am ok, I don't want coffee."
• She said finally and made a move to leave. I stepped in front and blocked her way again. Her lips were pursed, her eyes narrow and even if I couldn't see her eyes I knew she was glaring at me with suspicion.
• "I insist. It's just a coffee," I told her coolly. I was trying to be as charming as possible. My senses were fully alert so I could charm her into accepting my offer. She looked up straight into my eyes and for a moment everything was perfect. Those mysterious green eyes seemed so secretive. It was brimming with concealed emotions. They stared back at me, trying to figure me out. She was thinking, analyzing hard, and then coming to conclusions. Finally, she let out a breath and narrowed her eyes.
• "Fine, since you are so persistent. You can buy me a coffee but, I am not buying you a shirt. You were in the way and we are equally guilty. I said sorry already," she told me, "Is that ok with you?"
• Ah! she was Australian, her accent revealed that much. Now I knew where to find her in case I lost her again. An entire continent across the ocean.
• I smiled and cocked my head on one side, "That is ok with me, Miss ...?" I waited for her to tell me her name.
• Instead, she turned back into the coffee shop and headed for the counter. My interests were perked. I followed her and my eyes glued to her swaying hips. I wanted to hold them in my arms.
• She moved to the counter and waited in line. I waited along with her. I turned to her and smiled my most mesmerizing smile, "So I didn't catch your name. What was it that you told me?"
• She didn't even bother me with a glance and said, "You didn't catch my name because I never told you my name."
• "Come on, it's not like I am asking you for your phone no. I just want to know your name, so that I know whom to blame for ruining my favourite shirt."
• "Give it to the laundry. They would fix it," She fixed me with a hard blank glance.
• "And what if the laundry man asked me who did it ?" I asked her.
• "Do you think I care what your laundryman asks you?" she said and then turned to the counter.
• The girl at the counter asked, " what can I get you Sydney ?"
• She cut the girl mid-sentence, "I need the usual, fast." But the harm was done. I knew her name now. 
• The girl at the counter looked at me in surprise and openly checked me out before making her coffee.
• Sydney cursed under her breath and finally turned to look at me. I was grinning at her. "So your name is Sydney?"
• "Don't call me that." She hissed at me and the noise was like music to my ears.
• "What shall I call you then, Sydney ?" I asked her.
• "I told you not to call me that. We are not friends." She gritted her teeth and tried to look at the counter to see if her coffee was arriving.
• "Then what do you let those people call you on whom you throw steaming coffee?" I joked.
• She looked up at me. We stared at each other for a long time. The air seemed to be charged around us. I wanted her.
• "Coffee girl?" she answered sarcastically.
• I grinned and said, "Hot coffee girl?"
• I raked her from her head slowly, taking her into her glaring eyes, to her wild hairs, to her hourglass figure, and then up again to meet her eyes. She was furious. I liked it.
• Her eyes flashed with anger, but then she turned to the counter. Her coffee arrived. She thanked the girl and looked at me. I paid the girl and added a large tip. She had given me her name after all and more details. Sydney eyed the tip and made a face. 
• She took a black coffee. I smiled and followed as she moved to the exit. She looked back and arched her eyebrows at me and asked angrily, "Now what?"
• "I am going to the laundry, where I would have to answer the prying questions of the laundryman," I told her innocently.
• She stopped walking. " I said sorry already, even if I agreed to buy you a shirt. I cannot afford that expensive atrocity you are wearing."
• I have never heard anyone remark on my style or my clothes as an atrocity. I admit they are expensive but the way she insinuated it. I laughed out loud.
• She looked irritated, cursed and instructed me to follow her. We moved along the streets, in the opposite direction of the coffee shop. She walked fast. I followed her like a shadow. My eyes glued to her back. She didn't turn even once to check if I was following her. She was probably trying to lose me in the crowd. Finally, the streets thinned out and I moved to walk along with her.
• "So Sydney you are Australian right ?" I asked her.
• "Yes, and I am not from Sydney, it's just my name and no we don't have kangaroos hopping around on streets," she answered in one breath.
• I laughed again. I watched as she sipped her latte.
• "So what do you do ?" I asked her.
• "I am an art student." She said taking another drag from the coffee. Even though she was avoiding me and ignoring me to the point of being rude, I guess she couldn't stop herself sighing softly as the coffee filled her mouth. This girl had a coffee fetish.
• "Interesting, what sort of art? " I asked. I waited for her reaction.
• "Digital art." She replied without looking at me.
• "Wow! I own a...company, we are always on the lookout for digital artists." This was one of my winning cards. Women fawned over me when they heard who I was. 
• She stopped and turned towards me. "Glad to hear that. Now let's buy you a shirt," She tilted her head to the shop in front of us. It was a boutique; One of those small ever- upcoming boutiques that kept springing up then disappearing. She moved inside and I followed. The place was good. I liked the interiors - simple sleek and modern. 
• "Here," her voice brought me back to reality. I looked at her. She had a white shirt in her hands. She handed it to me. The shirt was good. It was almost the same material that I was wearing and it was nicely stitched. I took it from her and started unbuttoning my shirt. I watched as her cheeks turned to pinks. She realized I was going to change before her. 
• "There are changing rooms in this boutique," She said.
• I walked towards the changing room along with her.  I grinned and moved into the dressing room to change. When I stepped out, Sydney was whispering to the girl at the counter. They stopped instantly when I appeared. The girl on the counter appreciated me openly.
• "It fits perfectly," She said, giving a flirtatious smile.
• "Good," Sydney said, turned to her and paid for my shirt.
• She moved out without glancing at me. What the hell, I thought and rushed towards her. I ran out and watched as Sydney turned into a side lane. I moved behind her and grabbed her hand. I jerked her towards me. She gasped out loud.
• "What are you doing?" she said angrily, trying to get rid of my vice-like grip on her wrist. "What is your problem? You got the shirt, right? Now let me go."
• "Why are you so damn rude?" I told her. My male ego was hurt and I pushed her, imprisoning her against the wall of the alley.
• She gasped as I crushed her against me. She smelled heavenly like lilac. Her eyes went wide in shock as I grabbed her wrists and trapped them above her head. I had lost it. I am usually not aggressive. But this lady had provoked me. She struggled against me, but it was in vain. I was done with trying to win her over with words. She was not easy to get but I wanted her and it was high time I owned her.
• "What the hell are you doing? Let me go." She yelled at me, panic-stricken. The moment her mouth opened I leaned down and took it in mine. The moment I held her a jolt of electricity ran down my spine and I pushed into her further losing control.
• She fitted against me perfectly, as my mouth devoured hers. Her mouth was sweet and hot. I kissed her thoroughly. My tongue darted inside her mouth capturing her essence and dominating her. She moaned softly and I growled in the happiness of finally subduing her. Our mouths duelled for a long time. The deeper I sought her, the more I wanted her. My hands went slack, and my mouth left her. I realized I needed air to breathe.
• I looked down at her. Her eyes were closed, her lips parted and swollen, her form subdued. Her eyes opened slowly and she looked up into mine. There was an echoing crack and I felt a sharp tinge on my right cheek. 
• Her eyes blazed in fury. She pushed me away and said, "How dare you kiss me? Get away from me."
• She ran away from me, towards the other side of the ally. While I stood there, stunned at my impulsive action.
• She pushed me away and left the lane. I stood there at the alley alone, stunned at what I have just done.