One more step.
They were practically toe to toe.
‘With these.’ He reached into his pocket and produced the same pair of dice that she’d seen all those weeks ago in Delhi.
‘Oh, come on.’ She snorted, breaking the tension of the moment instantly.
‘It’s simple. If it’s odds we do the temples, and if it’s evens we do the lake.’
‘Or’ – even as she prepared to say it, her heart sank a little – ‘we could go our separate ways and do what we both want to do by ourselves.’
‘I’m not going anywhere without you, so that’s not an option.’
His words sent her heart soaring right back up from where it had fallen.
‘Fine, but make it quick; we need to get going.’
‘No problem.’ He began to shake the dice, his victorious expression painful for Olivia to watch. ‘Come on, Universe, where should we go next? Lakes or temples … lakes or temples …’
His hand opened.
The dice fell.
Both pairs of eyes, blue and black, stared in anticipation.
‘Yes!’ Jacob punched the air. ‘Two fours. Lucky number eight.’
Olivia knew she had to pretend to be disappointed, to arrange her face into some sort of put-out expression, but deep down, she was relieved. More than that, she was excited.
‘Fine. You win. Let’s grab a tuk-tuk and head back to the city,’ she announced. ‘There’s at least one temple we can squeeze in en route, and I can find somewhere to eat too.’
‘Sounds like a plan to me,’ Jacob replied.
Olivia
‘What did you think?’ Jacob asked. ‘Not the best temple I’ve seen.’
‘No, but it was charming, I guess, in a rustic sort of way,’ Olivia mused.
Unfortunately, the temple en route turned out to be nothing more than a crumbling structure on the side of the road, with a few stone carvings and a tiny, neglected altar. It took them less than fifteen minutes to walk the entire perimeter before bundling themselves back in the tuk-tuk and heading into the city. This did mean, however, that they had regained some time, which fortunately for Olivia meant there was a strong possibility she could eat something before the boat ride. Low sugar levels out on open water were a sure-fire recipe for disaster.
‘Spoken very diplomatically, considering it was nothing more than a destitute wreck.’ He reached for her arm and tipped her watch towards him, his hand around her wrist a welcome shock to the system. ‘Now, do we have time to get you some food? You must be starving.’
‘Yes, please! I just don’t know where’s good.’
And clean.
And safe.
And not going to give me food poisoning again.
‘That’s all right, we can ask some of the locals. No big deal.’ Jacob made to flag down another tuk-tuk, catching the eye of its driver as it sped past.
‘The thing is …’ Olivia hesitated.
‘Go on?’
‘Since I got sick, I haven’t been eating anywhere other than my homestays.’
