I abandoned my car and crossed the road in a jiff. I hurriedly stepped into the cinema, worried that I might miss her. She could be in any of the rooms watching a movie, and if she were, I would have to wait for two hours for her to come out of there. My eyes skimmed the whole floor and finally rested on her back. She was facing the board, nibbling on her index finger, pondering whether she should or shouldn’t watch a movie. Which movie? I couldn’t care less. As long as I get to talk to her and get to know her, it’ll be enough for me.

“Should I or shouldn’t I?” she mused.

“Whatever it is, I think you should,” I answered from right behind her. Then she slowly turned around to face me.

Her long and wavy brunette locks swayed as she pivoted. For that moment, my breath caught in my throat as my blue eyes locked with her hazel ones; sparks erupted in me.

“You think I should?” she asked, looking straight into my eyes.

“Wholeheartedly,” I replied softly.

“Which would you prefer?” she continued.

“Whichever your heart desires,” I bantered, eyes glinting.

“Hmm… Have you watched The Martian before?” she spoke again in her husky tone.

“Nope,” I smirked.

“Do you want a gist of it? I won’t tell if you hate spoilers,” she smiled.

For a moment, I was rooted to the spot by her carefree and beguiling smile. Man, I am hooked. Totally and unconditionally hooked.


My Curvy Italian Queen

Ami and I spent as much time with my parents for the rest of the day, listening to Mom reminiscing the wonderful times spent with her best friend in college. During summer breaks, both of them would travel all over Europe, backpacking and making stops at every hospital or medical centre that they passed through. They volunteered in children’s clinics and helped cancer patients. Mary loved doing research work, but Mom decided her passion was to be a nurse. They had planned to work together in the future, but it didn’t come through when Mary married Marco Bellini. Throughout the years they were apart, Mom missed her best friend every second of the day, the memories of their time together replayed on her mind constantly, and she could feel that Mary was missing her too.


We were seated in the living room, my arm around Ami’s shoulders as she rested her head on my pecs. Dad kept holding Mom’s hand as she filled our time with stories from her experiences.


Chapter 52