|| 03. PAIZE 3 ♥ ||
Her fingers shyly curled on his leg. Pulling at her hand she nervously chuckled “You can’t. I’ll check on Jojo, am expecting a message”
“I can..” he hinted towards the obviousness of it all as his hand continued to securely hold hers “..and for it’s release you’ll have to have breakfast with me. I wasn’t invited for your early AM breakfast, consider this payback for keeping me waiting”
“Miss Mohana, would you like a chocolate milk?” their hushed conversation got interrupted by Jojo who had appeared to check on her boss
Consciously turning her hand against his dark denims, Mohana moved ahead to hide their clasped hands “I was..”
“I took the freedom to order for your boss, so far she has refused brownies and cappuccino but am waiting for her to try the chocolate milk” smoothing Mohana’s delicate hand Omar gave Jojo a smile
Jojo’s eyes brightly lit up “Yes Miss Mohana, doesn’t like all sorts of brownies, I hardly think she will like these, they are too sweet for her taste but their chocolate milk is nice and dark”
“Super, we’ll get her to try that and let’s see if this is a place even worth considering for us to return for breakfast” Omar confirmed
Reviewing the wide spread of dishes Omar had ordered for her boss, Jojo happily claimed “Scones are good Miss Mohana, try those. Leya likes them too! Salm said the muffins are average but the croissants are something you can taste, specifically the cheese ones”
“Ya. Sure. Did Crawfies send the revised write up?” Mohana checked on the advice column updates
Gearing herself away from the display of food, Jojo informed her boss “Yes, Miss Mohana it arrived sharp at 7, I’ll get it marked for you right after this”
“Good, we’ll be sorted” Mohana gave her a nod of acknowledgement
Giving her boss a smile, Jojo informed Omar “And Miss Mohana only likes her brownies when they are exceptionally chocolaty and baked in heart shapes”
“My dad couldn’t agree more with you, that makes all the difference” Omar fondly shared
“Yes! Do you bake also?” Jojo excitedly asked
Mohana heaved a sigh. Changing Sophista to a food journal all of a sudden seemed to resonate with the entire premise around her. Setting her hair, she distracted herself to look at the food ahead of them
Talking to Jojo, Omar moved the tall glass of chocolate milk towards Mohana. Smoothing her hand gently, he coaxed her in a whisper “Hm”. With no more fight left within her, Mohana gave in to her growling tummy. Lifting the tumbler with her dainty fingers she took a sip
After back and forth of discussing the correctness of cocoa and the dash of salt and measurement errors in recipes, Jojo took her leave. Moving the waffles ahead of Mohana, Omar offered “Waffles more or pancakes?”
“Waffles” mumbling she reached to take a bite when Omar picked her chocolate milk to take a drink himself
The fork slipped from Mohana’s hand landing onto her plate with a sharp ringing sound
“Another flavor?” looking at her brightly blushing face, Omar inquired of the waffles taking another taste of the chocolate milk
She gulped “We can’t uhm you’re having this?” dazedly looking at the waffle plate
“You’re accompanying me, so likely we are having this..” Omar ascertained, adding “..unless you want me to stay hungry?”
“Mhm” Mohana shyly shook her head to refuse. Picking the fork she turned her hand in his “Knife?”
“Not when you are being kept a hostage” Omar gave her a dashing smile that caused her extensively fluttering heart further upheaval
“I really can’t be held hostage, I am with my team here!” she declared confidently looking at the chocolate milk that was also in his hold
Intertwining their fingers under the table Omar offered “When a representative of your team stopped by, was I the one trying to cover up indicating clues?”
“It’s not that! There’s no covering up because it’s..whatever! I can’t care! I don’t even use a knife most days” zestfully claiming she twisted her fork to slice through the waffle. Poking into the indents of the waffle, she took a bite to almost present him with proof
“Most days? What are your other weapon choices?” he teased, slipping the fork from her fingers Omar took a bite of the waffle himself
Snatching the glass of chocolate milk from his side, Mohana took a far bigger sip. If he thought she was afraid of sharing, she would gladly prove him wrong. Resting the glass back, she smugly declared “I don’t need any weapons. I come equipped with other powers”
“I am the victim, I should know” Omar dramatically sighed for the effect
Mohana frowned pulling the fork a little too forcefully from him “I am not the one who started stealing my food!”
“You wouldn’t know what hunger is, would you? after having had a bagel sandwich and a flat white” Omar said pulling the fork back to make a bite
Mohana fumed. Her tummy growled at the mention of food making her regret leaving her breakfast unattended in the morning “I didn’t have all of it exactly! I just didn’t want to..” she halted.
She blinked and inhaled a breath. She didn’t want to accept in front of him that he was the sole reason for why she had been running away from having breakfast at the resort all along
Running his thumb to smooth her tender fingers Omar prodded “Didn’t want to?”
“Am eating. I want food. And I don’t talk to anybody when am hungry!” overriding his question, Mohana hastily picked the cheese croissant. Turning to the side she stuffed the layers of the baked treat in her mouth to block any possible communication
Moving the scones ahead, Omar pulled her closer. With laughter in his voice he whispered “Food is on my side”
Eating with Omar led to endless fluttering of butterflies in her tummy. Though her tummy nonetheless remained appreciative of the variety of food he had ordered. Trying many sweet and savory items, when Mohana was sure she had had a fulfilling breakfast, she tugged to free her hand from his hold
“You haven’t had this” Omar kept a small ball wrapped in golden foil ahead of her. Curiously looking at the treat, Mohana tackled to open it single-handedly but the ball rolled on the plate
“I open it and you’ll owe me one” declaring Omar unwrapped the treat to uncover a dark chocolate ganache ball
Turning her hand in his, Mohana quickly reached for the treat but his words halted her hand in the air “Only half is yours and you can’t cheat”
Her lips formed a pout, not wanting to pick the knife to struggle with it she declared “Then you are dividing it”
“Your wish is my command” declaring Omar picked the ball, biting on a part he slipped the other half through her lips
Frozen at his move, Mohana halted. Everything around her seemed to dissipate. Waves of heat ran through her lips where his fingers had merely brushed them
Tenderly stroking a blond tendril, Omar released her hand whispering “Wait for me”. Waving at Salm and Jojo standing a few feet away, he walked over to join them.
Astounded at the feelings running through her, Mohana looked at her now free hand. She almost swallowed the chocolate treat he had fed her. Clenching hard at the light fabric of her dress she tried to draw a breath.
The gooey ganache ball melting in her mouth reminded her of his touch, his warmth, the exchange of their shared treat from his lips to.. Mohana closed her eyes wanting to block all that had transpired.
On the other side getting up from the table, an elderly woman, dressed in a chic maxi dress, with her sparkling pink hair tied in a top knot approached Mohana. Handing her some digital prints of shirts she proudly declared “Mohana darling look at these! I stole them from Salm! Select whichever color you feel like for today”
Relieved at the distraction Mohana gave the older woman a smile “Aren’t you naughty, Leya! Let’s go with blue if he likes it, then we can do a shade of dark green font for the cover?”
“He’s wearing blue, he must like it, do you know who chose that tshirt for him?” Leya enquired, pushing her glasses higher lost in admiring the celebrity Omar Shaan standing at a short distance from them
