Shaurya
The cool breeze rushes through the beach as we decide to pack the food up, once everyone finished. Everyone got together and helped clean up the trash, pack up the food we spread out and settle into a huge circle around the campfire.
I settle around Nathan and Anika, who sits closely to me. After what happened during musical chairs... I don't know, but there seems to be this vibe that blossoms between us. Something that causes an uneasy feeling in me, in a good way, and makes me feel like I need to do something about it.
Dozens of people gather around the campfire as Nathan taps me on the shoulder. "Dude, you should make an announcement. It's perfect timing!"
"Yeah, I'm about to," I respond. "Just kind of thank everyone who came, ya know?"
"Definitely," he nods his head.
I take a deep breath and comb my fingers through my hair. I'm used to public speaking, honestly. Having a rich and famous businessman of a father kind of made me adjusted to speaking to random people and in front of huge crowds, so I'm technically not even allowed to have public speaking fears. And I honestly was never the type of guy to be afraid to speak in front of others.
Standing up, I walk over to the center of the circle, near the campfire, and clear my throat. Some chattering quiets down, but most of it still remains. I attempt to quiet them down again by yelling, "Hey!" but some of it still stays. As I try another time, someone beats me to it and shouts, "HEY, EVERYONE... SHUT UP!"
Thanks, Nathan.
Everyone finally silences and turns their undivided attention to me. I clear my throat again and breathe out, "Thank you everyone for coming tonight to my party. Let's make some noise!" Everyone hoots and hollers and I swear I just saw a bra flying across the circle, followed by giggles from a group of guys and girls. I try to suppress a smile and add, "And thanks for making this party such a success. Out of all the parties I threw, I gotta admit, this has got to be the best one yet.
"But the party's not over yet," I slyly add. There are a few oohs and ahs coming from the group as I bite my lip in anticipation. "I have a few things  planned to wrap up this party at... let's say, 3 o clock?"
"Four o clock!" Someone shouts.
"Four o clock it is!" I add, grinning. "Back to what I was saying... I have countless of things prepared for us, like spooky stories in the dark, spin the bottle, you name it!"
Everyone starts to cheer my name and I feel a smile growing on my face. I look over at Anika who gives me a thumbs up and smiles. Smirking, as I start to sit down, I holler, "Let's get this campfire started!"
We all sit down on the sand. I'm sitting on the towel that Anika and I are sharing right now and Nathan and Emma are besides me, who are sitting on one towel, or let's say a fourth of a towel is being used because they're just that touchy touchy to each other.
On Anika's side are her friends, Em and Ty, who sit on one towel and look excited to join this campfire. I've got to admit, this is one of the most unique parties I've ever thrown. I mean, I've had parties at my house, at college, at a bar, you name it, but I've never thrown one at the beach which is really ironic because I live literally five minutes away from Oakland beach.
I look over at the sunset, which is casting a beautiful contrast in the sky. It starts from a blood red, then to an orange color all the way to a yellow hue. The sun is a dark red as it floats above the waters, which fall majestically onto the sand. The beach is such a peaceful place, and I love my decision to host my party here.
Leaning back on the towel, I notice Anika tying her hair up into a ponytail. "Don't tie your hair up," I blurt out.
She turns around to face me. "What?" she looks at me confusingly, a small smile spreading on her face.
"I said," I sit up, looking at her slyly, "Don't tie your hair up."
"Why?" She continues to hold onto her hair as she was midway about to tie her hair up.
"Because, I like it when you keep your hair down," I explain.
She contemplates to herself for a little and sighs, letting go of her hair as it falls magically against her back. "Okay," she whispers.
The sun reflects against her tan skin, her brown eyes flaring against the light. I swear I can just dive right into her eyes and cast myself into a parallel universe, but I know I would not be able to pull myself out of it. She's so sweet, yet an addiction. If I get too much of her, if I delve all of myself into her, then it's gonna be the end of me, good and bad.
Anika takes a deep breath. "You should probably start a game, or something."
"Oh, yeah," I awkwardly clear my throat. "Definitely."
I look over at the circle and yell, "Hey, guys! We're gonna start off with Never Have I Ever!"
People from the crowd cheer as a broad grin grows on my lips. The circle gets closer together as Anika scoots towards me, our thighs pressing against each other. I feel something zapping inside of me, creating sparks near my heart, causing it to skip a beat and ultimately beating faster. What is this feeling?
Nathan sits beside me and shares a grin with me. Then, I clear my throat and yell, "Okay, this is how the game works for those of y'all that don't know! We're going to go in a circle, one by one, and say something we may or may not have done before. Once you ask that certain thing, certain people have to drink up if they have done it before. Understand?"
People cheer again and I chuckle. "Let's begin, then! I'll start off." I look at the ground and think of something to say. "Okay, I got something! Never have I ever... blamed farts on an animal!"
The whole crowd bursts out in laughter. Most of the girls scrunch their nose in disgust as some of the guys drink up. Nathan nudges me as he drinks his beer in one go. Emma jabs his ribs and Nathan splutters, "What, babe? It's true!"
I burst out in laughter and look over at Anika, noticing that she hasn't touched her cup. "What? You never farted and blamed it on an animal?"
She rolls her eyes, laughing. "Nope, that's disgusting. Have you?"
I shrug, feeling a smile grow on my lips as I drink from my cup. Anika starts laughing and nudges my shoulder. "No way!"
"Desperate times call for desperate measures," I wink.
"Okay, my turn!" Nathan chuckles. "Never have I ever... been on a blind date!"
The number of people drinking from last time have decreased. There are now at least five people from the group drinking, and a huge group of guys from the other side asking me, "Shaurya, you've never been on a blind date?"
"Nah, I don't really trust people to set dates up for me," I scrunch my nose. "Just waiting for the right girl, ya know?" But somehow, when I said that, only one girl appeared on my mind.
Anika
Once Never Have I Ever had finished, we went to scary stories afterwards. People passed around blankets for us to cuddle in, which, funny enough, a person passed only one blanket for Shaurya and I. He looks at me idly, the navy blue wool blanket wrapped around his fingers. "Well, guess we have to share," he raises his eyebrows at me, a soft dimple appearing by his cheek.
"Guess we have to," I shrug, a smile playing on my lips. His playful, willing eyes look at me suggestively. Then, he spreads out the blanket, placing it on my lap while the other half is on his lap. From here... man, from here he looks so attractive. I mean, he looks attractive from any angle and any distance as well, but the closer I get to him, physically, the more I feel my heart erratically racing for him.
He starts to scoot towards me, my face turning red as his thigh touches mine. My shoulder is in front of his chest, his warm and soothing chest, so well built and muscled. I dare to look at him, and I do. His eyes land on mine, as if he's trying to say something to me, something that he's been desiring to say to me. He opens his mouth, but then closes it. Then, he scoots even closer to me. Now, if he scoot even closer then I would technically be sitting on his lap.
A slight smirk appears on his lips, his very kissable lips... His eyes twinkle, desperate for me to lean against him, cuddle with him... his muscles shine against the sun, screaming at me to grab them, run my fingers along them...
Anika, get it together!
I clear my throat, snapping back to reality. Looking in front of me, anywhere but him, I try to erase those thoughts of him. I shouldn't be thinking about guys or potential relationships because I have much bigger situations to worry about.
There is a guy in front of us who starts to say a scary story. "A man was about to fall asleep on the couch when he was watching a movie. He was a father of a baby, so he wanted to check on his small and adorable daughter. So, he checked the baby monitor."
People gasped and muttered to themselves, as if they knew what was going to happen. I was never a fan of horror movies, or anything related to scariness. Mainly because I was already dealing with terrible shit at home, I just didn't want to add anything to my endless list of problems. So, without even thinking or realizing what I'm doing, I look over at Shaurya and find my head leaning on his shoulder. His arm is propped behind me, which is very close to my... well, you know where.
"Are you scared?" he chuckles, looking down at me.
My head is nuzzled between his neck and his shoulder, and I shrug. "Maybe..." I feel his shoulder shaking with laughter. I look up at him. "Are you?"
He immediately shakes his head. "Nah. They don't scare me."
"Why not?" I whisper.
"Because," he takes a deep breath. His brown eyes fixate on me as he nervously sucks on his lip. "I just don't get affected by them."
"Lucky you," I breathe out. "I hate horror stories."
"Well, do you want me to tell him to stop?"
"No," I shake my head. "Don't." Then, I lean in closer towards him, pulling the blanket to my chest. I feel him smiling and he suddenly starts to pull me closer. His large arm lands on my back, massaging it through the blanket. His cheek falls on my head as my hands are pulled towards my chest, closing my eyes as I cherish this moment. My insides burn with an unknown feeling, a feeling that has been ravishing in my body for a long time. And the weird thing is, it only erupts whenever I'm with Shaurya.
The guy continues to tell his scary story. "When he went to check the baby monitor, he saw his wife rocking the baby and cradling her, saying 'good night, sweet dreams my darling.' The father smiled and knew his baby was safe. Once he put the baby monitor away... the door started to rattle." Shocks and gasps erupted from the group. "Then," the guy looks at us warily, "The wife walked in with groceries."
The group looks at the guy flabbergasted, and some of the girls even scream or cover their faces. Meanwhile, Shaurya holds me tight, even tighter in fact.
A girl starts to say a story next. "A young boy was about to fall asleep on his bed. As he was about to, he saw a murderer carrying the corpses of his parents." Screams escaped from girls as I closed my eyes, leaning towards Shaurya.
"The little boy was scared. But then, he saw some weird writing being formed on the walls, which he couldn't exactly make out. Then he decided he didn't want any part of this and tried to sleep and pretended as if he were sleeping the entire time. Although, an hour later, the boy peered his eyes open. He could make out the writing on the wall this time... but when he did, he gasped in shock and horror by what he saw."
"What did he see?!"
"Oh my God, tell me!"
"I am literally going to piss myself!"
"The words were..." the girl nervously bites her lip. "' I KNOW YOU'RE AWAKE."
"Oh, hell no!"
"I am so not going to be able to sleep tonight."
"Creepy as hell, bro!"
I take a deep breath feel myself clutching onto Shaurya. I don't want to hear any more horror stories. It brings back nightmares, awakens horrible memories from my mother's death and my father abusing me...
"Hey, guys. Can we do something else rather than horror stories?"
My eyes open up in surprise as I hear Shaurya speaking those same exact words. Did he say that... for me?
"What..." I breathe out, looking at him. "What was that for?"
He shrugs, looking at me intently. "I knew you were uncomfortable. And I'm not going to let anything ruin your night."
"Oh... well, thanks," I shyly reply.
"It's no biggie," he shrugs off, smiling.
After we switched from horror stories, we went to happy campfire songs. We still huddled together in our blankets as some people passed around sticks, marshmallows and chocolates and small biscuits for s'mores.
"Let's start singing, everyone!" Shaurya announces. "On the count of three. One, two, three..."
Everyone erupts into a campfire song. I join along, swaying to the words, the happy and joyful words escaping from our words. I look over at Em and Ty, who are also swaying along to the music. Em catches my eye and winks at me. I roll my eyes, knowing exactly why she's winking.
Then, we start roasting our marshmallows on our sticks. Shaurya and I both hold our sticks out, waiting for our marshmallows to roast. Once mine started to look pretty good, I released it from the fire, grabbed the burning marshmallow and placed it between the biscuits, adding a slab of chocolate between it. My teeth clashed onto the s'mores as I moaned in agony. "Oh, God... this is so good!"
Shaurya leans his head back and smiles as he takes a huge bite from his s'mores. "This is hella good!"
I smile as he holds his s'mores up to my face. "Wanna toast on it?"
"Let's do it!" I smile.
"To a great start of our future," he begins off.
"And to a great ending of our short, yet very long life," I finish off.
"Ah!" he exclaims. "Well said!"
Then, we take another huge bite from our s'mores. I look around the huge group circling from us. Em and Ty engaged in a long conversation, Nathan and Emma feeding each other s'mores in a very.... explicit way and so many other people having the time of their lives. I never dealt with this much fun in the first three years of college. But ever since I met Shaurya, I've been introduced to so many new things, such as living life on my own terms and being genuinely happy with how my life is. And honestly, I appreciate him so much.
I feel my eyes wandering over to him. He seems to be engaged in a conversation with one of his many friends. I also never had many friends in college. All I had was Em and Ty going through life with me, but ever since Shaurya came into my life, it's like I can finally, genuinely enjoy college with many people and learn so much more about this world instead of having my nose buried up in three thousand books and living my life on terms according to my father pursues and wants.
But Shaurya... man, why does he have to be so perfect? If he wasn't, then distancing myself away from him would be so much more easier, but it's just so difficult. He's so nice and caring and genuine, of course friend zoning him multiple times would be tough! But I have to. He probably only thinks of me as a friend because I know him, he only dates popular girls, not girls like me.
I take a deep breath. But what I am thinking? Some part of me thinks that he may actually have feelings for me and that maybe I should ask him if he does. I'm not going to waste my time on someone who's not worth it, so I need to know if Shaurya's worth it.
I look back over at the rest of the people. Why can't I be like how I was at the party, where I first met Shaurya? I was so carefree, bold, and sensual. I didn't care about anyone else, all I cared about was living my life the way I wanted to. And Shaurya... well, he just added some extra sparks to the fire. He was a surprise, unexpectedly walking into my life and making me feel so good that night. He did make me feel so good...
"Hey, Anika?" I snap back to reality as I hear Shaurya calling my name.
"Yeah, what is it?" I ask, shifting my body towards him.
"I was wondering..." Shaurya takes a deep breath. I notice that his friends have left, and that he's all alone. He looks at me willingly and sighs. "You want to watch the sunset with me? I need to talk to you about something important."
*
A/N:
This chapter was... well, something.
Things are really heating up between Shaurya and Anika now. And I mean, LITERALLY heating up.
(Haha, get it? Heating up... campfire...)
Maybe this is why I'm single.
Anyways, stay tuned for the next chapter (being uploaded THIS SUNDAY) as we find out what Shaurya wants to talk about.
-Ru <3