FLASHBACK-E

Ace wore a new maroon shirt and grey cotton pants from Enlil's who had shopped recently. Enlil made a mental note to buy extra comfy clothes for Ace, in case his visiting becomes regular. He did not complain or enquire further about their house or why it was in a middle of a forest. Ace figured he will question Astrid in person later.

Lunch was served and all of them relished in it. A miso soup, rice, tofu in soy ketchup, stir fry vegetables and yam cake was on the menu. Ace appreciated the delicious servings and could not help but praise Grandpa Jones. In his opinion, their meal was a humbling experience, with no pretence, something he found difficult in his high life society.

`Ace, do you not have work today?', Astrid was curious with the sudden lax attitude of Ace Wagner.

`No, I've instructed work to Gordon and Hadwin has started working today', he spoke in between slurping the soup.

`Hadwin joined work? Sounds good to me', Astrid beamed a smile. Enlil cleared his throat.

`We are heading out to the jungle, for some swimming and climbing. Do you want to join us?' Enlil invited, and Ace nodded in agreement.

`There is a beautiful waterfall further in the forest Ace, you will love it', Astrid said with excitement and helped to clear the tables once everyone ended their lunch. Enlil prepared a bag of clothes for them to change later and waited for Astrid.

`Can we take the bike?', Ace sat on it and started the engine.

`Can all 3 of us fit in it?', Astrid wondered if there were space for them to sit on it.

`Yeah, you can sit in front and Enlil can sit at the back'. Ace put on his helmet and helped Astrid to put her helmet on. Ace carried her easily and deposited her closely in front of him. Her legs dangled on the side. Enlil sat at the back and directed Ace to go further North of the forest towards a waterfall.

As soon as they neared, Enlil told him to park his bike and they started walking towards the sound of a waterfall. Ace was surprised to see it in the middle of the forest, a hidden gem from trekkers.

`It's short and quite shallow. You can even stand below the waterfall. Natural jacuzzi.' Astrid put her mobile away on her bag and placed it near a rock.

Ace drank in the natural view of the trees providing some shade, birds chirping away and slippery stones lining the cascade waterfall. When the sun reflected on the water droplets he was mesmerized by the sound and light reflected by it. It was pure serene in his eyes.

Astrid dove into the plunge pool and swam in circles. She wore navy racerback tank top and tights. Ace removed his shirt, displaying his strong pectoral abs and defined abdominal muscles. Enlil sat on the clearing and meditated.

Ace swam near Astrid and pulled her towards him underwater. She was surprised to see him and pushed herself away from him and surfaced up. Ace selected a stone directly under the waterfall and sat nearby it, feeling the water splashing his back. He motioned Astrid with his finger to join him.

`Do you like it? This place?', she asked him, pulling herself to sit next to him, but he cupped her butt and changed her position by straddling him.

`It's new to me. How did you find this place? How long have you been staying here?', he stared at her eyes and she could not help herself but drown and succumb into those lilac eyes, who were seeking answers sincerely.

`I have been staying here as long as I can remember, Ace. Don't get me wrong but I could not tell it to anyone. And that reason alone I could not live a normal life. I mean who would believe me or even visit me had they known I stayed here?' she heaved a sigh and rested her head on his shoulder.

`I would', he answered.

`You are an exception, Ace. Grandpa Jones choose this place but I'm not sure of what reasons. I never asked and he never told me.'

`Would you like to move into the city?'

`No. I love my home. I wouldn't trade it for anything in this world' her breath was ticklish against Ace's neck.

`Gosh. In my whole life, I've met many people, materialism, money and space is the only thing that defines them. And here I am being blown away by your modesty. You are truly one of a kind', Ace kissed her forehead.

`You…talk real sweet, Ace. Tell me when did you…I mean had feelings for me?..', she rubbed her cheeks against his shoulder and placed her hands under the shallow waterfall, feeling the pressure of water against her palms.

`You mean when I fell in love with you?' he smiled into her hair and hug her loosely. `When I saw you at the bus stop again. Somehow, I could not fathom the idea of not knowing you. Sorry if I came too strong initially'.

`Would you still love me, if I am not as what you'd expect?', she spoke just above a whisper and looked at him in the eyes.

`Astrid, I love you as what you are. It doesn't matter whatever you are, or you can be. I won't ever let you go. I'd be a fool to let you out of my grasp', he spoke with affection, holding her cheeks with both his hands.

`But you barely know me…only a month I guess', she argued.

`I know you enough to love you, and I have a lifetime ahead of me to get to know you', he rubbed her cheeks.

`Ace, I need time to you know…to like you more than just like-',

`I know. I know. And I am willing to wait', Ace started kissing her earlobe. Sensing her relaxing, his mind ventured into the sudden appearance of tattoos last night.

`Astrid, how did those tattoos appear?', he nibbled her ear and started kissing her jawline. Distraction works sometimes.

`I told you X-Men, just imagine it popped up albeit permanently. But Enlil mentioned there is more to come', Astrid fluttered her eyelids to close and savour his soft lips against her wet skin.

`Does it signify anything?', he murmured against her neck now, tilting her chin with his fingers, giving her slender neck all the attention she wanted. Astrid released a moan and her palms flew to her mouth, embarrassed.

`I think it does. But Enlil knows about it', her pulse was quickening with his slow kissing.

`Why do I feel that you are not telling me the complete truth about yourself, love?', he stopped and stared dead into her eyes.

Astrid gulped and held his hands. She can't possibly tell him. There will be more questions which she can't answer. `I ca..can't', she stammered.

`Why? Do you not trust me?', Ace asked wistfully. She looked tormented to him, her beautiful eyes divided and there was a glint of fear? Did she fear him or someone else?

`I trust you, Ace. Otherwise, I would not have shown you my house. It's just too complicated for now. I will tell you when the time is right', Astrid looked at Ace and her eyes keep darting to his well-defined Cupid's bow and her hands traced his strong jawline, feeling slight stubble starting to grow.

`You seem to have trust issues, love. Do you want to talk about it?' he gently pulled her and hugged her. The splashes of the waterfall had a calming effect. He nuzzled her neck lightly, relaxing her nerves.

She was silent for a good 5 minutes. He rubbed her back in circles and held her in place, feeling her heartbeat increase. Then she spoke, `Ace, it happened a long time ago, back in high school, Year 11.

FLASHBACK

Astrid was a loner. She always kept to herself, stayed out of trouble and remained in the background. Her school was a regular high school and she was adamant to finish her O levels with a decent score.

Her many years of observation deduced that students often grouped together when they think and click on the same common thing, the rich and their gang, the nerds, the upper-middle class, the smart rich kids, the smart rich Asians, and henceforth. Astrid did not bother fitting into any group.

Her reclusiveness prevented her from communicating with humans or vampires and she spent her free time immersed in the library. She loved sports activity and only shone during those times.

Towards the end of the year, her History teacher assigned students into groups for a historical project based on locations around the world. They had to do a presentation, a pamphlet and an essay which contributed to 30% to their final test score.

Astrid was paired with Miller Smith, the high school star athlete and a playboy. He excelled in the track field and was a popular student, not to mention a hunk. Her pairing brought envious stares, touts and glares from the female students. Classic tale.

At first, she brushed it off as absurd and fiend ignorance, but when her locker got bombarded with hate letters and a blade one day, she told her grandfather about it. He promptly got the school principal involved. However, to her dismay, she couldn't change partners and had to stick to Miller Smith.

Her first meeting with Miller did not end up well. He avoided her like plague, and she ended doing the researched by herself. With a month deadline, she tried to meet him in the school track field, the bleachers, by the locker but his only word would be `Later, Astrid. I'm busy'. The project needed 2 people for a reason. She could nail the essay and presentation slides easily, but the actual presentation was an uphill battle for her.

Astrid was ignored and by the 2nd week with no clear projection of their History project, her fuse eventually burst. She confronted him in their History class.

`You have a lot of explaining to do. I've done half the research and you have not contributed a single piece of help in this project!', she shouted at him.

Miller merely raised his eyebrow and replied `So?'

`I am not a star athlete unlike you who can put up a poker face and gain marks. I can't. I want to score an A for this paper!', she exclaimed.

`Are you saying I am stupid?', he grimaced.

`No doubt you are!', her eyes wide with anger.

`That's it bitch, you-', he snarled, but Astrid was smarter than that. Her quiet demeanour observation of people came in use this time.

`Don't think I don't know you are two-timing Marice Arthur and Janice Bell, comparing which is better for your prom night. And Janice's father is a policeman. You'd better think twice before you open your stupid ass mouth and speak', she whispered angrily, and his eyes grew wide in horror.

Miller spoke a string of curses and agreed to meet up twice weekly in the library to complete their project. He severely underestimated Astrid got blackmailed due to his carelessness. With each meetup, Miller got to know her better and getting past her dowdy outfit, he saw a pretty face. Astrid wasn't pretentious and he liked that about her. However, she was extremely guarded and rarely spoke out of line. Despite his charm and flirtatious behaviour, she remained composed.

Miller Smith who always got girls swooning over him wondered why a nerd like Astrid did not fall for his charm. He ended asking his friends for advice and got humiliated, unable to nail an easy chick they replied. This irked him further. But he was wary of his feelings, whether she was worthy of him or his anger was clouding his judgement. He decided to finish the project and think about her later.

When the presentation day came, they managed to nail it with Miller presenting and half the girls swooning over him. Astrid congratulated and thanked him for their joint effort. And the next day, to his amazement she ignored him completely. It was usually the other way around!

Astrid figured he was being nice for the sake of their project and ignored him after completion. Miller Smith's inflated ego got damaged. Miller knew by now he liked the girl and wanted something more. No girls dared to ignore him, and Astrid did exactly that. That dented his ego big time. And Miller Smith will not back down.