32

"Are you planning to throw me in this jungle and run away?" I asked as I analyzed the surroundings we were in. It was full of tall green trees and mountains. He had been driving in this place which almost looked like a jungle for the last 30 min, and it was never ending.

"Damn, how did you find out about the plan?" he asked in a mock-panicked tone, making me laugh.

The car came to a halt, and I looked at the environment. There were many people in that place, talking and taking selfies. He parked the car, and we stepped down.

"Welcome, Mr. Aggarwal. We were just waiting for you." A man looking in his forty approached and shook hands with Advik. A lady was also there with him.

"Thanks, Mr. Scott. It's nice to see you again."

"So, is she the lucky girl?" The lady asked smiling brightly at me, and I returned the smile as Advik introduced us.

"Yes, Ria, meet Mr. and Mrs. Scott, the heads of Better Halves." I shook hands with them.

Better halves.

I think I have heard this name before.

Wait!

I know this, I have heard Rosy talking about it.

It's a couple club that organizes activities for couples to enjoy and make their connection better. I always wanted to come here but never had a company to come with.

The excitement washed over me.

They left us alone and I had this huge grin on my face as I looked at all the couples around me, that were gathering as the head ordered us to gather around the stage.

"Excited?" I heard Advik whisper in my ear from beside me. I nodded my head happily like a child.

Observing the surroundings, I noticed a stage set up before us, with a large wooden house standing behind it. I watched as Mr. and Mrs. Scott ascended the stage, each donning a mike.

"We, Welcome, all the lovely people present in front of us to Better Halves." Mrs. Scott's cheerful voice sounded through the speaker, and applauses rang from the crowd, "I hope, the connections you have come here with today, become more deeper at the end of the day. Let's craft your love stories with care."

The excited clapping rang in the surroundings.

Mr. Scott announced, "So, today, we have around 25 couples here. The activities are divided into two stages. First will be the normal fun activities, and second will be the treasure hunt. So, are you all ready?"

An echo of 'yes' filled the air.

The first stage they were talking about was actually fun.

They had various activities, and one of them was a three-legged race. It felt like I was back in high school, reliving the days that I no longer remember. They said that fun has no age. We should keep doing things that make us feel happy even if it doesn't make sense to others.

We stood at the starting line; our legs tied together with a ribbon. I couldn't help but feel my heart race at our close proximity.

I heard a whistle, and all the couples started moving. Some actually pro at it, while some tripped and fell their laughter and bickering ringing in the air. I took the lead and tried to take a step ahead, almost tripping, but he caught me in the meantime.

"That's not gonna work," Advik muttered turning his face towards me.

I nodded and looked at the other few couples who had already done the halfway. I noticed that they were doing well because they had each other's support, clearly pressed in each other embrace. Meanwhile, Advik and I stood apart, not holding on to one another.

"I think we need to be in that position to move forward." I pointed at the couple and looked at Advik as he observed them.

He nodded his head slowly, "You are right." Then his gaze met mine, "But... will you be comfortable?"

"Yes!" My reply came before he could even complete his question, and I facepalmed myself mentally for looking so desperate.

I knew I was going to feel a whole zoo in my stomach and the same thing happened when his arm wrapped around my waist, holding me in an embrace, close to his heart as his body pressed against mine.

My heart felt like it would explode any second.

Race, Ria.

Focus on the race.

I hesitantly brought my arm to his waist and then we began moving forward. I thought this is it, now we will finish the race smoothly, but then, due to our poor coordination, I stumbled, nearly tripping. His grip on my waist tightened and he looked down at me, "Ria, you are making it difficult. Just relax."

"I'm relaxed," I spoke, hoping the blush was not visible on my face.

His eyes roamed on my face with a little smile on his face, "Yeah, I can see that."

I tried to look away, to escape his gaze.

"You are still bad at this." I heard him mutter.

How can he just say that?

I know I'm terrible at this, but he doesn't have to point it out.

My eyebrows knitted and I asked annoyedly, "Why? Have we ever done this before?"

He nodded slowly, still distant as he watched other people, and murmured, "We have...." Then he froze, and cleared his throat while meeting my eyes, "...never done this before."

I blinked twice and stared at him at his strange behavior.

He asked, "How about you let me lead?"

I squinted my eyes at him, "No way. I want to lead."

He stared at me, then spoke, "Great. Then I think we can finish the race by tomorrow morning."

I rolled my eyes, "Okay. Don't cry. Lead. But if we fall and embarrass ourselves, I'm blaming you."

He chuckled and began leading. I was complaining all the way until we started to get into a rhythm and finished the race in the given time.

A grin spread on my lips as we crossed the finish line.

"Hah! We actually did pretty well." I said, looking at him, my eyes sparkling like a child who just got candy.

The corner of his lips turned into a smirk, "Yeah, maybe I should've led sooner."

I rolled my eyes. Even though he was right, I would never admit that he was.

The second activity sounded easy, but it was not. In this, we had to make a cake with our partner, after which the male partner had to feed the female partner, the cake, using a spoon.

But the twist was, that they couldn't touch the spoon with their hands, they had to hold the spoon with their mouth while feeding us and the hands of both of the partners would be tied back.

I laughed, as Advik struggled, to pick up the spoon in his mouth, after a few minutes passed, he was finally successful.

But then, he fed my neck and nose more cake than my mouth. We terribly failed at this activity. At the end, I glanced at myself in the mirror. And nearly got a heart attack. My face was covered with cake and it's cream. It looked like someone had smashed the entire cake on my face.

He had made a Santa Clause mustache and beard on my face with the cake.

What a great artist!

"You turned me into Santa Clause," I said, playfully hitting his arm as I set down the mirror and observed him untying his hand.

"Nope, you are looking cute."

I rolled my eyes, and tried to hide the blush, "I didn't even get to taste what the cake was like."

He chuckled, "Neither did I."

And then, I watched as he stood up and came closer to me with a smirk. His eyes met mine, and I could see his ocean-blue eyes darkened with something.

My breath hitched, as he came more closer and leaned toward me. His lips brushed against my cheeks, making me freeze, and then he licked my left cheek with the tip of his tongue, where a good amount of cake was smeared.

His breath hit my cheeks as he whispered, his voice dropping low, "Hmm, It's Delicious."

I was too stunned to say anything. The butterflies in my stomach were getting crazy, the goosebumps I was feeling were on another level, and my heart- My heart felt like it would come out any second.

He then took a step back after a few seconds, leaving me flushed. The corner of his lips turned into a smirk as he watched me.

"I...I...will be back." I avoided eye contact and stood up from my seat, feeling shy suddenly. I heard his faint chuckle as I started walking away.

Then, I went towards the washroom, to wipe out the cake, and clean my face. All the while trying to not think about what just happened. It was nothing.

Yeah, he just wanted to taste the cake.

Odd way to taste it. An irritating voice sounded from the back of my brain but I ignored it and looked into the mirror at my now clean face. I don't know why it was slightly red-- maybe it was the effect of cake on my skin.

Yeah, I just rubbed my face to wipe it, that's why it's red.

Exiting the washroom, I passed through the hallway, where I could see a few ladies, giggling and talking about how much they were enjoying all these activities.

I thought about it.

The activities are actually fun. I was feeling happy after a long time.

You are right.

Now, stop shying away and face him with a smile.

Don't act awkward.

He is not a stranger. My heart spoke up.

Stepping outside, the cold fresh air brushed against my skin, making me inhale deeply. The scent of nature was delightful.

My gaze wandered in search of him, and a smile crept onto my lips when I spotted him. He was seated, relaxed, among a group of men his age, enjoying their company.

He seemed engrossed in the conversation as I walked near him.