23. Chapter 22
Chapter 22
Alisha
T he temperature dropped by the time I arrived back at the chalet and I was thankful I’d worn my beanie and gloves today. One thing that had sprung to mind was how I needed to get some work done. As much as spending time with Felix was wonderful, I couldn’t neglect the reason why I had come to Austria.
When I got in through the front door, Ophelia was hunched over at the dining table with some papers in front of her and her laptop. She was deeply engrossed in typing until I cleared my throat and she lifted her head to glance at me.
“Hey, Ali,” she said simply before returning back to her laptop screen. I didn’t want to disrupt her, so I headed to the kitchen to make us some coffee and cut us a slice of cake that I had bought from the local shop, chocolate fudge, which was one of Ophelia’s favourites. I knew it would make her smile and I wanted to show her my appreciation for everything over the last few days. For being such a good friend. Cake wouldn’t exactly suffice but it was a nice gesture I could offer at least.
Ophelia gave me a smile as I placed a plate of cake in front of her and slid a mug of coffee too next to the plate. I then proceeded to get my laptop from my room and start writing some more, since I had more inspiration. I wanted to write about my skiing experience and how nerve-wracking it was at the start.
As I sat down and started eating my slice of cake, my fingers danced away on the keyboard. I had to hit the delete button several times as there were some sentences that didn’t quite flow and I even read them aloud to check.
“This doesn’t sound right,” I observed, deleting a couple of words I had typed.
“Just needs a bit more structure but you’ll get it,” Ophelia reassured me. I liked her honesty.
After adding a few more sentences, I felt a bit happier with what I’d produced. Reading it aloud loud was a way of checking too.
“Ischgl is one of the best places to go skiing and the locals are incredibly friendly. I've met some wonderful people so far and they’ve been helping me in many ways,” I read aloud and Ophelia looked up from her laptop to listen.
“It’s nice but maybe it sounds too much about you rather than Ischgl itself. Don’t get me wrong, you can write about yourself but the readers will want to be convinced to go to Ischgl. You could write about the apres skis and the Christmas markets,” Ophelia told me.
“I could also mention the ski school too, to give them some publicity,” I replied. I’d also add some rhetorical questions in the article because these would capture people’s attention. I also realised that maybe my sentences needed to sound more natural, more from the heart.
After about an hour and a half of working, I decided to take a break and call my mum who was eagerly waiting for me since she texted me about half an hour ago. I entered my bedroom and clicked on my mum’s contact.
I was greeted by her beaming face as her picture appeared on the screen and my dad had also popped up, waving at me.
“Hallo priye 1 ,”my mum said, I had missed her voice and of course, her. She looked well and so did my dad. They were snuggled up against one another in their living room, and I could hear the faint noise from the TV.
“How are you both?” I asked, shifting into a more comfortable position on my bed.
“We’re okay, thanks. Are you having fun?” Dad queried, his dark brown eyes twinkling.
“Yeah, quite a lot actually. I’ve been skiing a lot and getting some work done,” I said, crossing my legs.
“As long as you are having a good time, then we’re happy. Your brothers have been asking about you too. Especially Zane. He doesn’t like to admit this, but he does miss you,” Mum said, and I chuckled at this. My brother had a lot of pride and never liked to get deep into his emotions, but I knew he loved us all, just in his own way. Our other brother, Aadi, was a little bit more open. Kiya on the other hand was just a full on lovebug. Willing to do anything for anyone and wouldn’t hesitate to drop her plans and be there for her family.
“I miss them too.” I smiled and talked to my parents a little more before they needed to go, as they were heading out with a few of their friends. They were quite social and were friends with most of their neighbours, often hosting dinner parties. They felt part of the community which was important to them. Me on the other hand, I usually liked staying indoors and not interacting with people in my building.
“Get some good rest, jaaneman 2 ,” Dad told me before saying goodbye.
As I rested my head on my pillow after hanging up the call, I felt my eyelids flutter and soon I was drifting into a much needed sleep. My mind was filled with images of Felix and only him.
***
I stretched my whole body after a pleasant two hour nap and picked up my phone which was on the bedside table. Felix had already sent me a text message, letting me know what time he’d be coming to pick me up in two hours. As it was just a casual dinner at his place, I decided not to dress up. A pair of jeans and a jumper would be perfectly fine.
“Do you want tea?” Ophelia popped her head through my door and I was thankful she had as my throat was quite dry.
“Yes, please. I’ll come and join you in a few minutes,” I said, getting out from the covers and walking over to the mirror to assess my hair and face. All I needed to do was give it a quick brush and then just wipe away some of the mascara that had smudged underneath my eyes. Once that was sorted, I joined my friend in the living room who handed me a mug of piping hot tea. A packet of biscuits was on the table and the TV was blaring an episode of The Walking Dead , a series which Ophelia really enjoyed.
I swiped a biscuit from the packet, a chocolate digestive, and munched on it as I glanced at the TV, wincing as I saw a zombie being slayed, blood splattering out of its neck.
“Yes!” Ophelia shouted and I shook my head, as really I didn’t find it appealing. But it was nice to sit next to her and spend some time together.
“I bet you are looking forward to tonight then,” she finally said, turning the TV volume down.
“He’s cooking dinner for me, which is very sweet,” I said and I was curious as to what Felix had decided to cook.
“That is. Are you going to stay the night again?”
“No, I’ll come back. He’s also got work tomorrow, so he needs to be up early.” I picked up another biscuit and bit into it, this time it was a ginger snap. I took a swig of my tea, turning the biscuit in my mouth to mush.
“Okay, fair enough. Maybe you and I could go out of town tomorrow, I can hire us a car,” Ophelia suggested.
“Yeah, that’s a good idea. We need to explore a bit more,” I agreed.
“We’ll go after your lesson,” Ophelia said. A day out with one of my best friends sounded perfect and I couldn’t wait. Honestly, this trip was one of the best I’d been on, and I’m glad I decided to step outside of my comfort zone. I was seeing another side of life and the beauty of adventure.
***
Two hours later, Felix arrived and I excitedly ran to greet him as he got out of his car. He looked absolutely amazing, wearing a soft blue jumper as well as some grey trousers. His hair was tousled and he had a cheeky grin on him, which caused my stomach to dive.
As soon as he said hello, I melted in his embrace and couldn’t help but press my lips to his, hungry for his taste, his tongue to touch mine. His kisses caused explosions inside of me, exactly what I needed.
“Mm, sweetheart. I could kiss you all evening but we should get going. Your food awaits you.” Felix grinned but placed his hand on my thigh to my delight and he kept it there all the way back to his.
“So I’ve prepared the starter and main course. I’ll make the dessert a little later,” Felix said as he switched off the engine and removed his hand from my thigh.
“You really didn’t have to go to all that trouble, Felix.” I was in awe of this man and the effort he had gone to, all to make me happy. No man had ever cooked a three course meal for me before.
“You deserve it. I want to make you happy,” Felix said, determination etched in his voice.
“You’re adorable,” I told him. I needed to do something nice for him in return and I had a few ideas but needed Ophelia’s opinion later. Felix led us inside his house, where immediately the smell of spices and tomato greeted my nose.
On the dining table, I could see that Felix had written out a menu and there were two unlit candles either side of the table with silver cutlery neatly set up. I turned to look at Felix, who gave me a nonchalant shrug.
“Right, take a seat. I’ll bring out our starters shortly.” Felix ushered me to the table where I waited patiently.
After about ten minutes, he returned with two bowls and placed one in front of me. I recognised that it was sweet potato soup, a speciality that my own mum liked to cook- a comfort meal she’d make whenever I was feeling down. The consistency of the soup looked creamy and smooth, just how it should be. I couldn’t wait to taste it.
“I hope you enjoy it. I know you like soup, as I do too,” Felix said, picking us his spoon and settling into his seat. I couldn’t wait to tuck in and as soon as the liquid touched my tongue, I was in heaven.
“Felix, this is delicious,” I told him, taking another spoonful. I knew I was going to finish this in less than two minutes with how amazing it tasted. The spices were not overpowering but you could just about taste them. True to my thoughts, I finished my bowl and scraped the spoon around the edges to get any remainders.
“So you liked that?” Felix asked, his lips quivering into a smile.
“Absolutely. I loved it, thank you so much. My mum loves cooking this back home, so it gave me some good memories,” I said, patting my stomach in satisfaction.
“I’m glad, so are you ready for the main course?”
“More than ready, I bet it’ll also be amazing.” I had no doubt about it, if the starter was that good then the main had to be too. I couldn’t help but watch Felix in his kitchen as he started to prepare the main, which took a little longer but I didn’t mind. I admired the way he started to hum and chop at the same time, it looked like he was making some sort of curry.
My phone suddenly pinged and since Felix was in the kitchen, it wouldn’t be rude of me to check it. It was from an unknown number.
Unknown: Hi. How are you? It’s been a while but thought I’d let you know I’d changed my number. I miss you, I really do Alisha. I hope we can talk so that I can explain things to you x
Felicity. The friend who also broke my heart. I tried not to let this bother me tonight and put my phone back in my jean pocket. I’d maybe deal with that later but for now, my focus was Felix and the amazing human he was. Giving me his time and attention. Proving to me that this was one hundred percent worth it. I knew I needed to talk to him about us tonight and lay the cards on the table.
1. Hello, darling.
2. Darling.