KEEP HIM WAITING

As he passed his time with the girls, he came to know that they were best friends. He kept praising himself that he was a good guesser. They had not reasoned out why they were here, but he came to know that they did sneak into each other's room often. He didn't seem to be surprised like Vilian had expected him to but then got to know that they two were the most mischievous ones since kindergarten, who had done nothing but cause a ruckus wherever they were so this wasn't something uncommon among the two.

Glancing down at her watch which ticked half past eight Vilian's eyes went wide, "Let's not make the devil break down the hell in anger..." Ashley agreed with Vilian's remarks. "Mia, you better cover me up till I reach the back door."

"Not before you take these..." she said, handing over her coat. "Are you sure you're ok with that thing?" she questioned, gazing at Vilian's clothes. She had been trying to convince her to wear a set of new clothing, but Vilian refused.

"Uff... Mia... My so-called mother has replaced a whole lot of clothes in my closet with girly vintage clothes. I bet this would be my last set of clothing I'd be wearing, so stay put..." whined Vilian. Ashley had got to know a bit of her life. The fact that Lady Vivian wasn't her biological but her stepmother. Daniel was her stepbrother, and the only relation was her father. He had a hard time believing it.

Vilian had thought at first, he might have known the information given the fact that his brother had known her whole bio data but she was wrong. For he knew only the things that she and her father had given. She figured out that Astrel seemed to be more of a private person who would not leak such a piece of information to his very own brother.

Which meant being too open-minded would be too dangerous in front of him, thought Vilian. The more days she spent time with the people related to him, the more she warned herself to be cautious around him.

Just what kind of a person was he?

Successfully sneaking out of Mia's house, Vilian waited for Ashley to come. She gazed around her, but there wasn't any vehicle to be visible. She wondered how he had come and after a few seconds pass by, she saw the guy walking with a grin, wearing a black shade that reflected the early morning sunshine.

He wasn't anything but handsome like his brother but had a carefree attitude in him which differed from his brother, who always had a cold attitude. Just the thought of his brother made a chill run down her spine.

Someone's gonna be sooo pissed off.

A mental image of Astrel impatiently waiting for her, gritting his teeth with a scowl plastered on his face, popped into her mind. She was a bit nervous but oddly felt satisfied. After all that she was about to help him, he showed his cold attitude, so she thought making him wait for her was something that he deserved.

A sudden jerk on her shoulder brought her back to earth from her evil thought against the devil. For a few seconds, she tried to process it, and everything came into her view.

Ashley was in front of her, seated on a bike that almost made her throat go dry.

For a good ten seconds, all she good do was stare at the bike. Ashley was confused. Finally feeling her lips move, she spoke, not taking her eyes off the bike, "Ducati... Panigale V... 4??!!"

"Y...yes?" Ashely was surprised to see her know not only the brand but the whole name of it.

"Wow!!" she exclaimed as she inspected the bike, running her hands over it. It was freaking real. Every part of it screamed original. No way was it a moded one. The dose of it looked aggressive in flavor. The black color for the logos had been applied to the full blue and yellow fairings, the double fabric saddle, and the yellow tag on the black rims.

"They are real," she murmured.

"What's real?" questioned Ashley grinning ear to ear. Vilian kept staring at the bike, almost drooling if it weren't for Ashley's interruption. "Do you not like traveling on a bike?" he questioned.

That was all it took Vilian to snap out of her thoughts. "No! Yes! I mean, I'm ok with it." A hot flush crept across her face.

"Well... What yuh waiting for...? Hop on, girl!" he said and winked as he passed a helmet that was similar to his. Vilian gladly grabbed it and wore it over.

"I'm sorry about that thing earlier," she said, getting onto the bike, as she held his shoulder, supporting her body. "It's just that I... I'm kinda too fond of bikes..." she said, resting her hands over her lap.

"Woah... really? You're totally opposite to my brother," a low chuckle escaped his lips as he started the engine and raced the bike. The sound of it raised goosebumps all over Vilian's body. "Do you know how to ride a bike?"

"Of course I do... I have a bike too..." blurted Vilian. The very next moment, she slapped her mouth.

"Aha?"

"Please keep it a secret..." she pleaded in a low voice.

"Another?" he grinned and saw her give an uneasy smile scratching her nape uneasily through the side mirror. Chuckling out loud he nodded his head and gestured, zipping his mouth with his grey gloved hand.

The ride toward the Wattsons' company built a giddy feeling throughout her whole body. It was the iron horse they were on that made her feel that way. For a person who always was a rider, she had never sat behind and experienced the feeling like today.

She loves biking. That feeling of motion, the speed and the rise and fall of the path, the chance to go over grass, mud, or road... It was a freedom she would always crave for. That sort of liberty is a gift, is it not? A privilege of movement, to build the self strong whilst having such fun. And so, as she passes the luxurious cars and I take a turn into the park, enjoying the scenic shortcuts and the song of the birds, she felt the bike fastening its speed.

"Haven't we reached yet?" She questioned, gazing through the rearview mirror.

Ashley hollered, "What?!" He didn't seem to hear what she had questioned earlier. Vilian questioned again. A little louder than she had to, gaining the nearby set of people who were traveling somewhere by their cars. Heat rushed up her cheeks as she nervously smiled at them.

"A little more to go!" That said, in about five minutes he slowed down the bike. "Yep... Here we are..." he said, taking off the helmet.

"What do you mean here we are? Do you realize where we are? It's a clear forest!!" screamed Vilian resting her hand on her hips unbelievably, and she felt a slight tap on her shoulder, "What?!" she questioned and saw him point out in the opposite direction of where she was looking.

For a whole minute, she was silent with a jaw-dropping look. Ashley could not help but laugh at her reaction.

"OHA!!!" An exclamation left her mouth. She tried to form words but failed to do so. Pointing at the silver and black buildings that stood tall. There were about five tall buildings matching one another. If possible, it would have reached the high sky.

"If you've planned to stand right there the whole fall, I must advise you not to, for you would not be able to survive even a single night, let alone the whole fall.

Vilian came out of her trance and cleared her throat, "Sorry, I just got carried away with that thing," she said, rubbing her nape.

"Understandable," he said and winked at her, "Let's not keep him waiting," he whispered lowly and started walking and tossed the key to a man who stood not too far from them, "Park it at the usual spot," he said to the man, and the man nodded his head walking toward the blue bike hurriedly.