38. Unrequited

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CHAPTER – 38 (Super unedited)

LOVE IS... UNREQUITED


'Problems can be fixed, but unrequited love is a tragedy.' – Suzanne Harper


Day - 17

I remember how I had believed in a few of the rumors that float around about Ashton before I met him. During the last sixteen days that I had spent with him, I could give a statement in the highest court of law declaring that almost all of those rumors were exactly what they were called – 'rumors' - circulating story or report of uncertain or doubtful truth.

People just never knew that what exactly he did for a living, and when they couldn't find out anything, they termed his as the 'good for nothing', spoilt younger kid of Parkers. Ashton was not a drug addict, but he was called as one due to Ryan Parker's plot against him. He had never been in an asylum. Neither had he ever been charged for something like drunk driving. And sure as hell, there were no snakes or any other wild pets in his apartment.

But, there was one rumor that I, myself, believed a bit, and that was about Ashton's playboy ways.

"I was a shy little kid, Liana. Don't you remember what my best friend told you? How the f*ck can you call me a player?" he asked, placing aside the popcorn bowl I had given to him. We were sitting on Ashton's very comfortable couch in his apartment, with something being played on television right opposite us. We were way too busy in talking to each other to bother about the television.

The smug smile from my face faltered a bit and I asked in utter confusion, "Which best friend?"

Rolling his eyes, he said with an irritated scowl on his face, "If you think I'll tell you his name like this, you're sadly mistaken."

I pouted. "C'mon, tell me! Even Stephanie knows. Why am I the only one who doesn't know?"

"Why did you call me a player?" He narrowed his eyes at me, unhappy with me calling him a player and with the distraction I was trying to create.

Sighing, I sat down on the couch beside him and asked him, "Are you seriously asking this question from me, Ashton? Don't you remember Mrs. Hocking and her daughter that we had met in the beginning of this assignment? You had done it with both of them on the same trip, or maybe on the same night."

He chuckled a bit as if remembering that day. "That was a funny day. Don't you think so?" I shot him a 'be serious' look, so he continued a bit seriously, "Okay. That was a one time thing. And no, I hadn't f*cked them on the same night."

"Wow. Don't I feel elated?" I huffed the sarcastic remark. He shot an innocent smile in my direction, which made me narrow my eyes at him in annoyance. "And what about the time when you told me that you liked to travel because you get to bang girls of different countries? Oh, and what about the many perverted remarks you passed on me?"

He had the audacity to laugh at it, but when he noticed that his laughter and joy were completely one sided, he calmed down and justified his actions as if they were completely obvious. "That was so much fun. I liked riling you up from the beginning. You look hot when you blush."

I scowled at him, ignoring the fact that he had called me 'hot'. "This is so not funny, Ashton."

"Holy sh*t! You look f*cking hotter when you scowl." He smirked, making me blush and adopt violent methods like picking up a pillow and throwing it at him. He caught it with ease and continued laughing. "I like the feisty Liana. Nice!"

"Just tell me, Ashton. How many girlfriends have you had till now?" I asked. I was curious.

"I had my first girlfriend when I was seventeen," he grumbled.

I gasped, recalling what his best friend had once told me. "Was she the one on whose face you spat?"

He looked away and I watched as his ears turned slightest shade of red. "That's why she broke up with me." I laughed till I had tears in my eyes, while Ashton's cheeks turned red. I picked up my phone and clicked a picture of Ashton as quick as I could. "What the hell are you doing?" he asked, getting frustrated, while I laughed at the revelation.

"Seeing Ashton Parker blush is a rare sight which needs to be clicked, saved, and framed." I smirked, making him growl.

"You're pathetic," he mumbled in annoyance while I laughed. When I was busy laughing, I didn't notice him picking up popcorn and throwing it at me.

"You are such a kid," I yelled at him as I tried to remove the popcorn that had landed in my hair and lap.

He rolled his eyes at me and said, "Sue me that I was a shy kid."

I picked up some popcorn from the bowl and started eating. "I actually can't imagine you as shy."

He shrugged with a little smirk and looked towards the television screen. I took that opportunity and threw some popcorn at him, taking him off guard. His head snapped towards me when popcorn landed directly on his face. Just as he was about to say something, I interrupted him, "We're equal now. Truce?"

He stared at me with narrowed eyes for a few seconds at the end of which he sighed and shrugged. "You should be thankful that I'm feeling way too lazy right now to take revenge from you."

"Aww. Thanks." I mocked him. "Anyways, continue your story of conquests."

"Conquests?" He raised an eyebrow at me, finding something funny in what I said.

"Exactly." I smiled at him.

Chuckling, he said, "There's really not much to tell. I guess, I started my 'playboy ways' when I was in Europe. It helped me take my mind off things."

I hummed in reply and asked again, "Um... how many girls-?"

He stood up in an instant. "I'm so not answering that question. Don't even bother to ask."

Huffing, I looked up at him. "C'mon Ashton. It's not that big of a deal. I kind of know your history already, so I won't be shocked. I mean, I think I won't be shocked. Urgh... tell me!" All this while, he was shaking his head in a continuous 'no' with a clenched jaw. "I'll tell you mine. So, you won't feel bad." I offered with a pure heart.

In an instant, he was towering me and his hand covered my mouth, preventing me from saying any further. "I don't want to think about you with other guys. So just shut up. Okay?" His grey eyes stared at me with seriousness and I couldn't help the smile that made its way to my face. In response, I kissed his palm that was covering my mouth.

He blinked in surprise and his lips twitched up. He removed his hand from my mouth and sat down beside me. My heart beat erratically as the distance between us decreased and I stared at his beautiful, deep eyes, and his perfect lips that I was eager to feel against mine, again. Caressing my cheek and tugging a few strands behind my ear, he said, "You really are an idiot." His breath fanned my lips and my eyes closed on their own accord as I leaned a little in anticipation of what was coming next.

But instead of feeling his lips on mine, I felt something fall on me. I snapped open my eyes to look at Ashton, who was laughing at me as he threw his bowl of popcorns over my head. "Jerk!" I yelled at him as he laughed his butt off.

Despite of the very little anger in me, I couldn't help but smile at how happy Ashton looked at this moment- laughing, without a worry in the world. He had started giving me more of his genuine, beautiful smiles and had started talking about his time in Europe with me. Since the day he had confessed his feelings for me, we had grown closer and closer to each other. I loved how happy and carefree he was with me, and that made me fall in love with him even more.

The sudden change of my expressions from anger to the intensity of love I felt for him, made him stop his laughter and look at me with curiosity. I grabbed the front of his T-shirt and pulled him towards me. He tensed at my gesture. I watched as all the humor left his eyes and he looked at me with the same intensity in his gorgeous grey eyes; eyes that were filled with nothing but desire and want. Taking my time, I took in every feature, every line of his beautiful face before setting my eyes on his perfect lips.

He looked at me with darkened gaze, waiting for my next move and I liked having him on his toes. I leaned ever so slowly towards him and watched as his lips twitched up slightly in a little smirk. But leaving the temptation of his lips behind, I kissed his cheek, letting my lips linger there for a second more before I bit his ear lobe.

He hissed in delight at the contact and I smirked, knowing that I had some kind of good effect on him. 'Yay for me!' Deciding not to linger on my victory, I whispered in his ear, "I want you to do something."

I heard him take a deep breath. "Anything," he said in a husky voice, his breath fanning the crook of my neck and making me weak.

But I couldn't go weak now. I had the situation under control. "I want you get medical tests for all the possible STDs that you might have," I whispered and once I was done, I brought my face in front of him to notice his reaction, while I tried not to laugh.

By his expressions, it was clear that he wasn't expecting what I had told him and it took him a moment to settle my words in his head, and once he did, he looked beyond shocked as he yelled, "What?"

I flinched slightly, but composed myself and smiled at him. "I said that I want you to undergo medical tests-"

"I heard you!" He cut me off with a horrified expression on his face. Still trying to control my laughter, I shot a brilliant smile at him and stood up from the couch.

"Good," I told him and turned around only to laugh silently at his reaction. Once, I had my emotions under control, I told him while removing the popcorn from hair, "So, I got an appointment fixed for you for three in the afternoon. Once we are done with your date of the day, we'll head over to the doctor."

"You've got to be f*cking kidding me," he snapped at me, making me look back at him with wide eyes.

With the same innocent expressions on my face, I asked him, "Do I look like I'm kidding?" He didn't answer me, but kept looking at me with complete confusion mixed with shock and horror. I continued, "See, as it is clear that you've slept around with many women-"

"Not that many, for f*ck's sake!" He interrupted me and I shushed him.

"You said you would do 'anything'," I pointed out.

He looked taken aback for a second after which he stammered, "I-I was caught up in the moment."

It was lovely to make Ashton Parker stammer. Oh, I was so enjoying this. "Aww. Caught up in the moment, huh?" I teased him, wiggling my eyebrows at him.

Laughter almost erupted from my mouth as his ears turned a shade of red in complete embarrassment mixed with anger. He was so cute that I let out an 'aww' despite of the strict façade I was trying to keep. "Urgh! Shut up." He growled, throwing his head back in frustration, making me laugh at his misery. "This is not funny, Liana."

I sobered a bit and told him with all seriousness, "Of course, it's not funny. STDs are anything, but funny. You've done the nasty with many women, so I don't think there is any harm in a check-up. It's for your good only. I'm just asking you to undergo the tests, which is important for me."

He raised his eyebrows at me as he pressed his lips together in a thin line to stop the laughter that was threatening to erupt from his lips. "Does this imply that you are ready to 'do the nasty' with me?" The cockiness and smugness were back to his voice and his expressions.

Color rose to my cheeks, but I tried to stay calm and shrugged. "Maybe."

He bit his lip to stop his lips from twitching, but he failed miserably. We stared at each other for a while as the atmosphere suddenly heated up. I watched as he got up from the couch and walked towards me, taking slow steps. "Well-" he started in a husky voice, "-if that takes you to trust me, then okay. I'll go for it."

A smile made its way to my lips as I heard him say these words and he leaned forward to kiss me. But I ducked him, making him frown. "You might have herpes," I told him, enjoying his irritated expressions to the core.

"Liana, what the f*ck?" He looked at me dumbfounded while all I could do was bite the inside of my cheeks to stop the laughter that was threatening to erupt.

In reply, I shrugged my shoulders a bit in pure innocence and went to the bathroom to clean up the popcorn pieces that were still scattered over my hair.


****


"So, it has been half an hour since we are waiting for this girl, and it is annoying me now," I mumbled, gritting my teeth in annoyance.

Ashton shrugged. "Honestly, I don't give a damn."

I rolled my eyes at him. "Of course, you don't." I felt him staring at me as I took a sip of my orange juice. Looking back at him, I raised my eyebrows and asked, "What? Do I have something on my face?"

With a frown, he shook his head. It was clear that he was not in the best of his moods, which was quite obvious due to the conversation we had at his place before coming here. I hadn't let him kiss me and he was pissed. It wasn't that I was paranoid. Of course, I wasn't. But Ashton had had way too much fun at my expense in the beginning of this assignment, so there was nothing wrong in me having my part of fun now. And medical tests were for his good only.

"You still haven't said that you like me, you know?" He pointed out, out of the blue. My eyes widened at the sudden change in topic, but I nodded with a sheepish grin on my face. He rolled his eyes, huffed a deep breath and ran his fingers through his already messed up hair. "I was fine with it. Then you asked me to continue going on these f*cked up dates that are going to be nothing, but a pain in the ass and a complete time waste because you very well know that I like you and I won't be interested in any of these girls. And now you want me to undergo medical tests. You know, I am fine with it, too. I really don't mind doing that for you, after all I have been kind of an asshole till last few months. But, what f*cking matters to me is that you're not even letting me kiss you. Why are you doing this?" He groaned as he looked at me with confusion and frustration clear in his grey eyes.

I tried to stop myself from melting at his words. No matter how frustrated he was while saying this, his words were oddly romantic in his own peculiar way, and I liked it. And as a little reward, I leaned in and placed a chaste kiss on his lips, trying to take his frustration away. He blinked and looked at me as a slow smile graced his lips.

"I'm sorry. I'm late." A voice reached our ears and our heads snapped towards the owner of the voice. I blushed as I realized that the new candidate, Sidney Lewis, might have seen me kissing Ashton, but as I looked at her flustered cheeks, joyful eyes, and the sheepish smile on her face. I realized that she had not been a witness of my little display of affection.

"No problem." I smiled at her and stood up to greet her. "I'm Liana Moore." We shook hands, and I looked towards Ashton, who hadn't bothered to acknowledge her presence and was now drinking my orange juice. "That's Ashton." I patted his shoulder a bit forcefully, making him look at me. I glared at him, and flicked my eyes towards Sydney, silently asking him to be polite.

In response, he pasted a big smile on his face – a fake one, stood up, and extended his hand for a handshake. "Ashton."

Sidney was breathless and speechless for a few seconds, courtesy Ashton's handsome face, perfect stature, and his smile, which no matter how fake, was breathtaking. "Hi," she managed to mumble. "I'm so glad that I came half an hour later." She giggled, making me raise my eyebrows at her.

"What do you mean?" I asked, as we sat down in our seats.

She ignored my question and bit her lip. "Do you mind if we exchange seats?" she asked me, making me look at her with with my mouth slightly open.

"Um... no," I mumbled and gave her my seat, as I sat in her chair.

She shot a grateful smile at me, and explained, "Your seat is facing east, and I have been advised to face east always."

All I could do was stare at her with my mouth and eyes wide open in disbelief. With the same expressions, I looked at Ashton, who was looking at her with raised eyebrows. We caught each other's eyes and I controlled the giggle that was threatening to escape my lips while Ashton covered his mouth with his fist as he looked back at Sidney.

With a sheepish grin, she started telling us, "Well, my horoscope of the day told me that all auspicious works are to be done after two in the afternoon. So, here I am." Ashton and my expressions mirrored as we looked at her with a frown on our faces. A waiter came and she placed an order for herself. "Would you both like to have something?" We shook our heads in sync.

"But it's fifteen minutes past two now." I pointed out.

Laughing, she tugged her brown hair behind her ear and said with all seriousness, "Well, my maid sneezed the moment I was about to leave my home, so I had to wait for the next five minutes to leave. Then in the parking, a black cat crossed my path and I had to take the different exit to reach here." She finished with a huff and took a sip of water from her glass.

"Wow," Ashton mumbled with an unsympathetic chuckle.

"That's... terrible?" My sympathy came out as a question, but thankfully, she didn't notice it.

"I know, right?" She grimaced, and shook her head. "Let's just leave it. It's better to begin with new, nice notes."

"Exactly," Ashton mumbled in pure sarcasm. "So, I want you to know a few basic things about me." He started, and my eyebrows shot up at his sudden interest. "No furniture in my home faces east. Everything is pointed to the west. My maid has a very bad case of cold from as long as I remember, and she never stops sneezing. Oh, and I have a cute black cat as a pet without which I can't survive," he lied through his teeth, in the most serious voice known to mankind, while I tried to stop the laughter that was threatening to erupt from my lips.

"Oh no!" she mumbled in distress as she looked at Ashton with wide eyes. After taking a few deep breaths, she continued, "Never mind." She managed to smile, as it was clear from her face that it was difficult for her. "We can always rearrange the furniture of the house. We can get your maid treated by the best doctors for her cold. It might be some serious disease, you know? And if she continues sneezing, we would never be able to step out of your place!" She covered her mouth with her hands. I passed the ice tea that the waiter had brought for her during her rant. She took a sip of it and calmed herself. "And as far as the cat is concerned, please get rid of her. Her life is hardly twelve to fourteen years, so, eventually, you'd have to live without her."

"No! Not in this lifetime. Not without my Cupcake!" Ashton exclaimed, wide eyed. Laughter erupted from my lips and I changed it to a sprint of coughs.

Sidney flinched and muttered, "Oh crap!" She started shaking her leg and taking sips of her ice tea, during which, Ashton looked at me with a discreet smirk and winked at me. "Those things can be dealt with later on. Let's get to know about each other," she offered with an assuring smile. "So, you were born on Thirteenth of May in the year 1989, right?"

Ashton frowned at her. "No, it's Thirteenth of May in the year 1988."

Her eyes widened to the size of saucers as she gasped. "Oh no!"

Ashton and I looked at her in pure

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