Chapter 4 Caught up

After they left, Clara locked up the door to her friend's apartment and decided to walk home from there.

It was a twenty minutes drive to where she lived had she decided to board a taxi. But she decided to walk home, it would take her thirty-five minutes or so to reach home.

Half way through, she heard someone whistling in her direction, she leisurely turned to notice someone calling her from a studio on the other side .

She ignored and continued on her way hoping he would get the hint that she wasn't interested.

She had walked some distance to notice that someone was following her behind and was trying to catch up with her, so she increased her pace a bit.

"Hi, she heard someone behind her but ignored.

"Please,excuse me", the stranger said again.

"You're very well excused", she said and stepped aside for him to pass.

He instead came to stand in front of her and smiled.

"Hi, I'm Austin and my friends call me Aust for short", he said.

"Okay, how may I help you?", she asked him not reciprocating the greeting.

Not waiting for an answer she turned and continued walking.

"I own the studio at the other side of the street, I'm a photographer ", he said, walking up a bit to match her pace.

"And I ask again, how may I help you? ", she asked sarcastically.

"Just want to be friends. And if it might interest you, you could be my model", he said.

Clara was taken aback by the mention of being a model. She knew she was beautiful and endowed at the right places, the opposite gender has always appreciated her beauty but being asked to be a model was new and unexpected.

"Model?... Why?", she asked

"Well, you have a great body and height. And you're pretty", he said, rubbing the back of his neck nervously.

"Great body?", she raised an eyebrow at him.

"What... no", he exclaimed raising his hands in defense, " I don't mean it in an inappropriate way. My sis just started her underwear fashion line and needed a model to help her showcase it", he said looking at her for a response.

"Is that really why you called me though?", she said looking him straight in the eye.

"Honestly, no that's not why, you caught my attention and I just followed", he said shrugging.

"So the modeling part was made up ?", she asked.

"It's true, although it came as a second thought", he said

"But it's okay if you don't want to do it", he added.

She kept mute for some time, watching him and not saying anything. She spoke up when she noticed he was beginning to get uncomfortable.

"My name is Clara,nice to meet you too Austin", she said finally introducing herself.

"Here's my number,call me on the weekend , let's talk about that modeling contract", she said as she took his phone from him and punched in her number.

"I will call on the weekend then, say Friday?", he asked to be sure.

"Friday is fine, let's meet up at 5",she said and left.

"Okay,goodnight ", he said waving .

Rose POV

So far the night has been going well. They arrived at the cinema on time, took their seats with their popcorn. In between the movie, She had caught him stealing glances at her every now and then.

"Oh boy,I'm also stealing glances at him too, otherwise how would she have noticed he was stealing at her", she thought to herself all the while trying so hard to control the Blush rising up her neck.

He might as well have noticed she was squirming under his gaze and took her hand in his. She looked at him and smiled, hiding her surprise.

And he didn't let go of her hand throughout the movie and at some point she rested her head on his shoulder and relaxed.

The movie ended and they got out of the cinema and headed for his car.

"So ummh, hope you enjoyed the movie?", he asked.

"Yeah, I did", she replied smiling.

"Mind if we talked for a while before I take you home?", he asked her hopefully as they sat inside the car.

"Yeah sure", she said.

"So tell me.about yourself ", he said

"Well, there's really nothing much to know about me. You know my name already, I work for your uncle as his secretary", she said and shrugged.

"What of family?", he asked.

"The only family I have is my mom. I don't have any siblings as I'm the only child and my dad, according to my mom, refused to take responsibility when she took in for him, he went away and she hasn't seen him since. So, I don't really know him, except a picture of him I had seen on my mom's phone years ago", she said.

"I'm sorry about that", he said sincerely.

"Nah it's okay..... I mean it's not okay to have grown without a father figure in my life but I'm used to it, I mean I came this far without him. Besides my mom has really been trying to fit into both roles, I'm really grateful to have her", she said smiling a bit.

"Yeah",he nodded.

"What about you?", she asked him.

"Ah well, I grew up with my parents in Alabama. I have two sisters who are twins, they are married. I'm the only son", he said

"Only son? Wow, it's not everyday you see parents who are okay with their only son being in the force", she said looking at him quizzically.

"Yeah? Well they didn't accept it from the very beginning when I told them I wanted to join the force. They were heartbroken, my dad wouldn't talk to me for days when they tried to dissuade me and I insisted, and my mom wouldn't stop crying", he said, shaking his head.

"But they came around and accepted it after a while, although I know it was hard for them but they gave me their support and I'm grateful for that", he added.

"So how has it been going so far?", she asked him.

"The tales of war are not a pleasant one. Life should be celebrated not death but it seems ironic when we celebrate the death of an enemy. It's just inevitable", he said looking at her.

"I can't imagine it. But I hope you always remain safe", she said looking at him.

"You could be my safe haven", he said, smiling at her.

She looked at him and smiled back...... She wasn't expecting it when he raised her chin with his index finger and looked into her eyes.

"I love your eyes, they're beautiful", he said.

With her face brought so close to his like that,she studied the features of the man she was so much attracted to. He was quite handsome but his lips drew her attention and she wished he would kiss her.

"Now where did that thought come from", she thought as she dragged her eyes away from his lips. She knew she was blushing profusely.

However, he turned her face again towards him again and his next word surprised her.

"Can I kiss you? ", he asked awkwardly but his eyes were pleading for a positive answer.

She nodded, "after all I needed it, it's been long",she thought to herself.

She allowed him to initiate it, waiting to follow his lead. It was a wet soft kiss that started from her lower lips. He nibbled at her lower lips as if he was begging for permission to kiss her fully....

She took that as her cue and boldly put her hand at the back of his head and drew him closer as she opened her lips and let him in to kiss her fully.

She returned his kissing and stopped when she heard a moan escape from her lips. Her breath had hiked up a bit and she looked down on hands,it was trembling.

"Why am I so giddy like a teenager who just had her first kiss", she thought to herself mentally covering her face.

"I'm sorry, if I did something wrong ", she heard Kelvin say.

"No, I mean it's okay. I think it's getting late so let's go home", she said, not looking at him.

"Okay", Kelvin said as he started the car and drove her home .