Olivia
From:
jpgreen@
Subject:
…
Guess where the universe is sending me next? If you fancy doing the honours of tour guide, I’ll be outside the station at 9 a.m. Udaipur, here I come …
Her first thought was that it had to be a joke.
Surely it was a joke?
What were the odds that out of everywhere in India – everywhere in the world
– Jacob would end up in the same city as her? And
on her final day as well.
What kind of almighty universal force did that to someone?
One that doesn’t exist!
Olivia had read the email repeatedly, each time swinging between excitement at the possibility of seeing him again and scorning herself for even believing it was true.
And yet, despite her continued scepticism, she still woke the next day full of nervous energy. She still showered extra thoroughly, making sure that every strand of her now much lighter hair was cleaned and conditioned, and she still dressed with more care than she’d ever done in the past month.
Just in case.
Luckily, her homestay wasn’t far from the station – a comforting thought, she told herself, because if all else failed and he didn’t show, then at least the walk of shame wouldn’t take too long.
Way to go on the positive thinking.
Olivia fiddled with the hem of her top, pulling the already sticky T-shirt away from her skin. It was only 8.55 a.m. and yet the sun felt as though it was beaming down on her through a magnifying glass, focusing all of its power and attention on the very top of her head.
She looked around, scanning the crowds for a hint of a bleached curl or a pair of raven eyes.
It was getting busier by the second. The area outside the station was swollen with people.
Claustrophobia began to creep in, a tightness coiling around her throat, closing it off so that she could only take tiny sips of air.
People pushed and jostled past her; a thousand faces belonging to a thousand strangers blurred before her eyes.
He’s not coming.
You’re a totally foolish idiot. He’s not co—
‘Olivia!’
The sound of her name was like a bullet through her thoughts. Every cell in her body stood to attention, waiting to hear it again.
‘Olivia, over here!’
She turned on the spot, her eyes darting left and right in search of him, but nobody she saw matched the man she’d been unable to stop thinking about.
Should she move towards the sound of his voice?
But then what if she lost him? What if he was moving towards her and she was only making it harder for him?
Her brain whirred as the intensity of the situation pressed down on her.
‘Hey!’ A single hand broke through the crowd, and then, all at once, there he was.
A mass of golden hair, a red bandana and a pair of jet-black eyes.
‘There you are.’ He smirked, the smell of burnt wood and spices lingering at his edges. ‘I didn’t think we’d ever find each other in that. How are you doing?’
Suddenly the whole situation felt very real and very overwhelming.
‘Uh-huh.’ Her mouth was bone dry, and she could feel her forehead dripping with sweat. ‘I’m OK.’
‘It’s a bit mental out here, isn’t it?’ Jacob placed his hand on her shoulder, its weight and warmth a jolt to her system. ‘Shall we move over there; I can barely hear you.’
That’s probably because I’m not saying anything …
Olivia didn’t even look at where ‘there’ was before nodding and following closely behind, as they dodged and weaved their way through the masses. The only thing she could focus on was the screaming voice inside her head, berating her for her complete lack of social skills.
‘That’s better.’ Jacob grinned, as they positioned themselves on the outskirts of the swarming commuters. ‘How crazy is it that I’m here? I can’t believe it!’
‘I know,’ she mumbled, averting her gaze to anywhere other than Jacob’s face, which, since the last time they met, seemed to have only grown in attractiveness. ‘If I’m honest, I wasn’t sure if you were going to show up.’
‘How come?’
‘I don’t know.’ She shrugged. ‘I thought it might have been a joke.’
‘A joke?’
She sneaked a glance at his expression, which seemed surprisingly hurt by her suggestion.
‘That would have been a cruel joke.’
‘No, I know, I just mean … I don’t know. I guess I can’t believe you’re here, that’s all.’
‘Me neither.’ A smile swiftly returned to his face. ‘But the universe likes to play her wicked games, Olivia. I’ve told you this before.’
Whether it was the shock of his arrival wearing off, or maybe his infuriating talk of fate, but Olivia felt herself snap back into life.
‘And I’ve told you before that I don’t believe in that nonsense.’
‘Well, even the best of friends can disagree sometimes.’
She hated herself for it, but she couldn’t ignore the twist of disappointment in her stomach at his words. Friends.
‘So, when did you get here?’ she managed, recovering.
‘Last night. I rolled in the morning and was on a train that very afternoon.’
‘A quick turnaround.’
‘There was no time to waste! My tour guide was only
going to be here for one more day, so I had to act fast. The perks of being a light traveller, I suppose.’
‘About that tour guide point …’
‘I know – good idea, right? I thought it might be fun for you to show me around this time. I can pay handsomely in snacks and good company.’ Jacob plucked a half-eaten packet of sweets from his pocket and waggled them at her.
‘And this is only the beginning. I have plenty more where that came from.’
Olivia pursed her lips in careful consideration. ‘As extremely tempting as that offer is, I fear that I have already seen the main attractions of interest to you and would only bore you with my plans today.’
‘You’ve seen everything there is to see in Udaipur already?’
‘Pretty much.’ She pouted, rather proud of the truth in her statement.
‘I get it.’ Jacob drew himself up to full height. ‘I see what’s happening here.’
‘What?’
‘You’re trying to get rid of me, aren’t you? Not even one day together and you’re already palming me off.’
‘No, I’m not! I’m simply saying that I have a plan and you might not like what it involves.’
‘I think that any plan that involves you is good enough for me.’
Olivia cursed herself for being so easily flattered as her face flushed with colour.
‘Your charm will get you nowhere.’
Jacob threw his head back and laughed. ‘God, I forgot how funny you can be.’
‘And what’s that supposed to mean?’
‘It means …’ He took a step towards her, closing the
already small gap between them. ‘That you are a very hard nut to crack, Miss Jackson. But I will not give up. I want to come and explore with you.’
Olivia wouldn’t have been surprised if her face was beetroot at this point.
‘Well’ – she tried to compose herself – ‘if you really want to tag along with me, we need to get a move on. We have a lot to do today and there is no time to waste.’
‘Yes!’ Jacob punched the air in victory. ‘I am ready and raring to go whenever you are.’
‘Great. We need to find a taxi or a tuk-tuk.’
‘No problem.’ Jacob put two fingers in his mouth and let out a shrill, piercing whistle. Three men in rickshaws snapped their heads up at the rallying cry. ‘Which one do you fancy? You’ve got your pick of the men today.’
If only.
‘I don’t mind,’ she shrugged, ‘you choose.’
‘OK, let’s go with this guy here, he looks the most awake.’ Jacob strode over to the last tuk-tuk in the line. ‘Where are we heading, fair maiden?’
‘The Monsoon Palace.’
‘Right you are.’ Jacob began to bargain with the driver, and after a couple of minutes waved at her to join him.
‘Our friend Mitesh here will be glad to take us. Hop in.’
‘Thank you.’ Olivia clambered inside, the backs of her legs already sticking to the leather seats. As Jacob settled down next to her, she became very aware of his thigh touching hers. Her damp skin brushed up against his, lunar white against walnut brown.
‘Right, buddy.’ Jacob leant forward to the driver, breaking the contact between them. ‘Take us to the palace, please!’
The little tuk-tuk pulled away sharply, the jerking
movement catapulting Olivia forwards. She would have gone flying if Jacob’s arm hadn’t flung itself across her and held her in place, a physical barrier keeping her seated.
‘Woah there!’ He smirked. ‘Be careful, Olivia. I can’t be losing you already.’
She let out a shy half-laugh and gripped the sides of the rickshaw tightly, unable to shake the feeling of his skin on hers, burning as though she’d been imprinted by his touch.
Friends, remember.
You’re just friends.
*
‘Wow, Udaipur is
nice!’ Jacob marvelled, sticking his head out of the tuk-tuk like an overzealous puppy. ‘Look at that’ – he pointed far into the distance – ‘we have to go and visit that later!’
Olivia sat as still as she possibly could, bracing herself as the little vehicle jerked violently left and right.
‘Do you have to lean so far out?’ She cringed as two motorbikes flew past, uncomfortably close to Jacob’s nose. ‘Someone might hit you as they go by.’
‘Ah, don’t worry. Either they’ll move or I will, no big deal.’
‘It will be a big deal when a ten-ton lorry knocks your head clean off and I have to mop up the mess,’ she snarked, shrinking as far back into the seat as possible. There was no way she was risking life and limb for a blurry view of the city.
‘Charming!’ Jacob snorted, drawing his head back inside the rickshaw. ‘At least it’s nice to know you’d mop me up; I don’t think I fancy my remains being left out to dry on the road.’
Olivia shuddered at the thought.
‘Are you hungry, by the way?’
‘Seriously?’ She gawped. ‘Two seconds ago, you were talking about splaying your guts on the tarmac, and now you want food?’
‘Exactly! Did you already eat?’
Olivia took a second to simply appreciate the absurdity of the man who sat next to her. It was safe to say she had never, and probably would never again, meet anyone like him in her life.
‘Yes, I ate.’
‘Hmm, well then, looks like it will be a little snack for one, doesn’t it?’
‘What about the sweets you so generously offered to bribe me with earlier?’
‘These!’ Jacob pulled the dried-out, half-eaten packet from his shorts. ‘They won’t sustain a man long enough to fully embark on the Olivia Jackson twenty-four-hour tour.’
‘We’re not pulling an all-nighter, so you’ll get at least eight hours back.’
‘A midnight excursion isn’t on the cards, then?’ He raised an eyebrow, making Olivia’s entire body radiate with heat. ‘Good to know.’
Before she could try and fumble some form of reply, Jacob had leant forward in his seat and tapped the driver on the shoulder.
‘Hey buddy, know anywhere en route for a good bit of breakfast?’
‘I know a great place, but it’s not en route.’
Olivia’s insides contracted in angst. Not only at the fact the driver had turned fully in his seat and was not looking at the road, but also because of the potential interruption to their plan.
‘How far are we talking?’ Jacob continued, clearly not bothered at all that their driver’s eyes were anywhere but on the traffic in front of them.
‘An extra fifteen-minute drive.’
‘That’s not bad. And how good are we talking?’
‘The best dosa I’ve ever had’ – he flashed them a toothy grin – ‘but don’t tell my wife that, she’ll kill me!’
‘Awesome.’ Jacob looked back at Olivia for support. ‘What do you reckon – shall we give it a go?’
Her first instinct was a hard no. Fifteen minutes was never fifteen minutes out here, what with the traffic and the general chaos that seemed to instantly add another half hour to any simple task.
Plus, the last time she’d heard the word ‘best’ when it came to street food, it had ended badly. Very badly.
But when faced with Jacob’s overt enthusiasm, she decided to take a slightly softer approach.
‘I’m not sure. Is there nothing else a bit closer?’
‘There are lots of things closer’ – the driver shrugged – ‘but nowhere near as tasty.’
‘Ah!’ Jacob slapped the back of the driver’s seat affectionately. ‘Spoken like a true salesman.’
Olivia felt her neck prickle with a heat that had nothing to do with the morning sun.
‘It’s just, there’s lots to see and not much time. I want to make sure we get it all done.’
The explanation sounded feeble and uptight even to Olivia. She didn’t want to be difficult, but at the same time they had a plan to stick to. A plan that he’d said
he wanted to be a part of. Except now, two minutes in, he was already veering off course.
‘Oh, come on
, we deserve the best! Don’t we?’ Jacob pleaded. ‘We only have one day together, after all …’
Whether it was his sobering reminder of how little time they had together or the annoyingly endearing look on Jacob’s face, before she knew it, Olivia found herself saying a reluctant yes.
‘You heard the woman!’ Jacob cried, practically bouncing up and down in his seat.
‘Take us to the best dosa in town! And then …’ He nestled in close, lowering his voice and fixing Olivia with a serious expression.
‘We’ll head straight to the palace, OK?’ His hand was now on her arm, sending a ripple of electricity down her spine.
‘You won’t miss a thing on your list. I promise. ’
‘Sure,’ she mumbled, unable to concentrate on anything other than his touch. ‘Whatever you say.’