Chapter 36: 29.𝐄𝐮𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚

You have no idea how badly I wanna kiss you right now

I like you Stella to that extent that it's driving me insane

I want to be yours freckles

I like you Stella

My star will shine the brightest

His words are ringing in my head, his each word , his each line, his each gesture is not leaving my mind. No one has ever made me feel the way he did in the span of five minutes. He is genuine, he is pleading

But I said 'no'

I say 'No'

No

Hearing my words he takes a step back, his hands falling back to his sides. The comforting smile he had on his face has faded away because of me. His hand clenched into a fist, I could sense his whole body trembling. He takes another step back away from me. His jacket slowly gets drenched in the rain as he moves away from me. I am still standing under the shade.

Before he could move any further, I grab the hem of his jacket's sleeve and pull him closer. My action startled him and he stumbles on his foot trying to balance himself again he places his hand on the shutter again

We are in the same position again

Our bodies pressed against each other and our lips almost touching

His eyes never leave mine, they are not the calm and comforting gaze anymore. His gaze has a hint of confusion "Give me a reason . Why did you say 'no' ?" His breath touches my lips

"Because I don't deserve you" I say trying my best not to make my voice crack

He frowns and leans even closer making our foreheads touch gently "And why do you think that" his voice is more serious than I have ever heard before

"Do you think I never noticed?" I ask looking into his eyes "Notice what?" He asks in return

"Do you think I never noticed your efforts? The way you always treated me? You brought me flowers Liam, you wrote me an apology letter even when it wasn't even your fault. You brought me chamomile tea instead of coffee because I couldn't sleep. You literally punched that guy who misbehaved with me even though it could risk your reputation" my voice break, my hands automatically clenched on his jacket. Hearing my words his eyes soften again

"You brought me shoes because you know about my stubbornness of wearing heels, you remembered my favorite food. You listened to my rant about books without getting annoyed. Liam do you think I never noticed? Your each word , each gesture has never been unseen by me but I gaslighted myself into thinking this is nothing but when I saw how you were looking at me under the rain I realized that I am doing injustice to you"

I am stupid, I am so stupid that I ignored him. Because of my past, because of my insecurities I hurt him. I should have been grateful. I should have acknowledged it. I should have trusted him, he isn't like others. He isn't like him

Liam's fingers hover over my face as he removes the hair strands from my face, a small smile appears on his lips again "Tell me freckles, how was I looking at you?"

"Like you never want to leave" I reply

He gives me a small nod as his palm rests on my cheek "That's true, I don't wanna leave"

"You don't deserve me Liam. I am so messed up inside that I am scared to pull you into my mess" my grip tightens around his jacket again "I am not good enough to deserve a guy like you. You want to treat me like a Queen but I am afraid that I could not treat you like a king" I continue

He is putting in all the effort, everything till now is done by him. I appreciate all his efforts but couldn't put my appreciation into words. He is ready to give everything to me but me? I am having a hard time just accepting his affection. I don't wanna make him feel burdened by my problems

"You know, life is like a game of chess, one wrong move and you will lose. But do you know the most important pieces? The King and the Queen , the King would lose if he doesn't have the Queen. I will lose if I don't have you" his voice is gentle and comforting. His thumb slowly caresses my cheek

"I wanna treat you the same way you treat me. Your efforts are like a gift from heaven. I am just scared and insecure thinking I am not enough for you. You know there would be a million girls out there to have a guy like you" My words are trying to push him away, but I don't want to. My heart doesn't want to. I am lying again

He shakes his head, his hand moves back from my cheek as he holds my hands "I don't need them. I only need you"

His words give me courage, a hope to move forward. The rush of emotions in my body is overwhelming, it's hard. I have been heartbroken once I won't survive again. But something inside me says that I won't

I won't be heartbroken again

I can trust him. I know I can trust him and count on him.

Maybe I don't deserve him but even if my one small effort could make him smile. I am willing to do it , I wanna try. To give this a chance. To trust myself again, to trust him

"We are different from each other, freckles. Our lifestyle, our behavior, our likes and dislikes are totally like the North and South Pole but we can give this a try, a chance. You know why?-" he keeps his forehead on mine looking into my eyes. His hands are still in mine. They are warm and comforting

I feel safe

"Because opposites are fated to attract" I complete the sentence for him. Yes, we are different but that's what will make it work. I want to make it work and I will do it. I take a deep breath and close my eyes once to clear out all the doubts and insecurities in my head.

The past doesn't matter

I will try my best for myself, for him, for us

I open my eyes to find him waiting for an answer, he still has hope in his eyes. I could still feel his hand tremble as he held me against him.

I gulp the heaviness in my throat before saying "Okay, let's give this a try. I wanna know what happens when opposites actually attract" my heart beats faster as I feel it could tear out of my ribcage. I have never been so nervous but I am right now

Liam pulls me closer into his embraces, wrapping his arms around my waist and burying his face into my hair "Thank you" he mutters. His breath leaves a trail of goosebumps on my neck

I wrap my arms around his neck hugging him back, I could feel his heartbeat matching mine. We both are nervous but his warmth makes me calm down. We stay like that for a while with none of us speaking

Slowly the rain stops making Liam pull slightly away from me. But his one hand is still resting on my lower back. He looks around checking, I didn't realize how much time had passed. the street has gotten silent. Maybe because people left due to rain

He looks at me again "May I?" he asks nervously as his gaze falls on my lips and then back to my eyes again. "Yes"

He leans closer to my lips gazing one last time at my eyes for confirmation.

Seeing my nod , his demeanor and the next moment I feel his lips on mine, my eyes closed instantly. He kisses me gently and slowly, not rushing at all making me comfortable. His hands wraps around my waist as he pulls me closer kissing me in the most romantic yet sensual way

I match his moments kissing him back. The slow, soft kiss fills my stomach with butterflies. His kiss makes feel the difference between reading something romantic and doing something romantic

His one hand goes to my cheek caressing it as he slowly deepens the kiss making me clench his shoulders. He pulls away "one taste is making me addicted" he says against my lips before i could reply he goes in for another kiss

This time a bit more passionately, his hand falls to my neck as he holds it, his thumb slightly pressing my throat, the grip is gentle but makes me shiver, deepening the kiss he runs his other hand on the side of my waist. My whole skin covers in goosebumps with his simple touch

I run my fingers in his hair pulling him closer. He smiles between the kiss, the feeling of his lips on mine is pure ecstasy as I melt into his touch. His tongue slides into my mouth, teasing me with the sweet taste. His touches gets bolder as I could feel his hands moving around my waist

I press my palm on his shoulder trying to pull away to breath. He stops making me gasp for air "Oh my go-"

Before I could speak his thumb rubs on my lips making me stop on my words "Say God, Stella and I will make you never forget my name again"

He kisses me again . Butterflies dancing in my stomach making my heart leap and stomach flip

My mind is about to explode, the butterflies in my stomach are not gonna leave. The heat between us increases as he pressed his body against mine even more vividly than before

After a while of a make out session, we both stop trying to stabilize our breath. My heart races rapidly

"That was amazing" Liam says, his breath still heavy as he pressed a gentle kiss on my forehead "I will drop you back to the dorm, okay?" He says and leads me back to his car.

He holds my hand guiding me and holds the shoe box in his other hand

The streets are wet now, with small puddles of water here and there. The ship owners have already shut their shops down to protect the food from rain, but few of them have started to open them again as the sky gets Clearer from the dark clouds

➠

The car stops in front of my dorm, it's past 9pm now but there are not many students around like usual. I turn my head towards him to find him already looking at me with a small smile

He looks cute

"You don't have classes for a while right?" He asks and removes his seatbelt, shutting the car off "That means I have plenty of time to take you out right?" He asks with a slight smirk

"Yeah you do"

He leans forward towards me, making me lean back until my head touches the car's window. He will break my neck and back one day with his leaning. He doesn't stop until his lips slowly brushes mine, my muscles tense up. He teases me by brushing his lips against mine again but not kissing me

My hand clenches at the edge of the seat waiting for him to kiss me but he doesn't. I hear a click sound of the seat belt unbuckling and suddenly he moves away making me realize what he did. He sits straight at his seat looking forward

I let out a small groan of annoyance as he made a fool out of me.

He gets down from the car and opens the door for me and forwards his hand to me helping out "You are such a tease you know?" I glare at him

He chuckles and leans forward but this time I don't back away "Am I, now?"

I don't reply to him, he knows that I wanted that kiss but instead that guy is enjoying this too much!

"Don't glare, if you want a kiss. You just have to ask for it" He brushes his lips against mine again. Making my legs weak. How can he hold this much power against me just by his presence

"Why should I ask? I will take it myself" I say confidently and pull him into a small kiss. He doesn't resist and pulls me closer letting me kiss him until I pull away

"Goodnight Freckles" He smiles genuinely and hands me my shopping bags

I don't want this night to end

"Goodnight Liam" I say softly and walk towards the entrance of my dorm. Before I enter I turn around to catch a glimpse of him. He is standing in the same position smiling at me.

I break eye contact and walk back inside.

The feeling of euphoria filling my whole body with undesirable joy and bliss. This day was a rollercoaster of emotions but I will not regret it. I could never, this might be the best decision I have ever made

I unlock the door and enter inside my room. the loud music hits my ears as a dancing Jasmine appears in front of me. I put my bags aside and step further inside the room. Jasmine groves along the beats of the Indian song playing on the laptop.This is not a surprise for me, she loves dancing.

Jasmine has a whole wall filled with awards back at her home for dancing. Apparently she is a trained dancer of her country's traditional dance form. I have seen her dance a few times and she looked so elegant. Not just that she knows how to match the steps of any type of dance

She notices and pulls me along with her making me laugh out loud

We both away ourselves with the music, giggling and dancing. Even with the language barrier I could always connect with Jasmine, she never fails to lift up my mood and comfort me when needed.

After a few minutes the song stops and our giggles still echoes in the room. "We kissed, we are together now" I randomly blurt out the bomb

Her laughter dies and she looks at me with a surprised expression her eyes widened into an unhealthy amount making me regret my words. I think I should have said it to her properly instead of just blurting out carelessly

She could either faint or make me faint

"YOU BOTH DID WHAT NOW!" she screams more louder than a speaker

➠ Three days later

I lay on my bed as I read a book, finally I could read something with no stress at all, just me and my fantasy book. Jasmine is also laying on her bed watching a Bollywood movie with her headphones on , we both are minding our own business.

Three days ago when I revealed that I and Liam are officially gonna date she almost fainted, and when I said that I rejected him at first she almost made me faint but in the end she understood my reasons and assured me. She soon accepted it and expressed her happiness but she didn't look that shocked knowing Liam confessed as if she was expecting it too

A knock on the door grabs our attention, i get up and sit on the bed looking at Jasmine who removes her headphones and gestures me to open the door

I put my book aside and opened the door. A huge bouquet of pink roses meets my face which is held by the delivery person "Flowers for Stella Miller?" He asks

"Yes that's me. Thank you" I say and take the bouquet from his hand he nods and leaves. I shut the door behind

I admire the fresh roses in my hands smelling their sweet scent "Another day, another bouquet" Jasmine's voice takes my attention. I Chuckle at her words . She is saying this because this is the third bouquet i received in the past three days

So the story is, the next day after Liam confessed he had to fly to Melbourne again for work related issues on the same day he was planning a date. And to make up for that he has been sending me flowers. On the first day it was white lilies, the second day it was blue peonies and today it's pink roses . Our dorm room is decorated with flowers now

"Why don't you tell him to give you a garden filled with flowers?" Jasmine jokes make me laugh even more. As I was about to speak my phone starts ringing, Liam's name flashes on the screen

A smile forms on my face. I quickly place my phone on my study table and swipe the green button to receive the facetime call. Jasmine moves to the side away from the viewpoint

"So you have gotten the bouquet?" Liam asks, appearing on my phone screen with a grin. I show him the bouquet in my hand "I did, they are so pretty thank you" I say being grateful and placing the bouquet on the table while sitting on the chair

"That's good, I have ordered some food for you and Jasmine. Enjoy the weekend" he says . Listening to his words Jasmine's head bobs up and she looks at me giving me an impressed expression with a thumbs up

I divert my attention back to Liam "You realize that you are a man written by a woman right?" I say in a teasing tone as he laughs "I don't know about that but I am surely a man written for you" his tone is flirtatious as he leans closer to the phone

Oh God. How does he always reply back to everything? Trying to flirt with him is impossible because he would always win . I have no chance against his sugar coated words.

If he was a fictional character he would definitely have been written by a woman, because no way can a man be like this

I Chuckle "You have a reply for everything , don't you?"

He shrugs his shoulders and leans back on his shoulder "What can I say? I am quite talented" his words make me smile even more "Hm you surely do" I respond

"I think I should leave" Jasmine sighs and puts her laptop inside her bag and gets up from the bed and walks towards the door "Hey! Wait where are you going?" I stop her

She turns around and crosses her arms "somewhere else where I don't feel single because of you too!" She huffs and walks out before yelling "call me when food arrives" the door shuts closes and Liam snickers

"Hm...so when will you be back?" I question. He stops laughing and his expression changes to a more serious tone "It will take three to four more days I guess but I am not sure. There is a bit of chaos here"

Oh..

My smile slightly drops as I try to carry it hoping he wouldn't notice. Tomorrow is the Halloween theme party and I wanted him to be there but his work is more important than this. I cannot force him down, he has his own career

"What's wrong? Is there something you want?" He asks with concern, I quickly shake my head denying it and smile again "It's nothing. I hope you sort out your work soon"

He raises his eyebrow looking at me suspiciously but soon neutralizes his expressions and nods

── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──

Author's Note

When I said there is no miscommunication, I literally mean NO MISCOMMUNICATION!! (I absolutely hate that miscommunication trope)

Anyways, after 29 chapters we are official in their dating era guys 😌 get ready for them 🤭

Oh and don't judge Stella's reasons more will be revealed soon.....

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