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 onlygoing 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?’
