Five minutes more and it would be go time.

Desi looked at her watch, willing the seconds to count faster. She was finally going to get her opportunity to speak to Nika, and she was beyond excited. Desi watched, spellbound, as Nika deftly closed her presentation and packed up her laptop, while ending the session.

Since she opened her eyes that morning, Desi had known it was going to be a great day. Not only had she woken up feeling extremely energized and happy, she also hadn’t run into Alex at all. Since she hightailed it out of his room the previous night, she had used the other roommates as a buffer between them. It was a fortunate thing that Hamin arrived just as they got into the kitchen, forestalling any chance of them discussing anything within risky territory.

Desi didn’t know what it was about Alex that drew her in so much, but she was going to be honest and admit the truth - she was intensely attracted to him. Since she had never fallen for someone this fast, she wasn’t sure how to act around him anymore. She needed some time to gather her thoughts.

“Thank you all for today, and I’ll see you in the next session.” Nika was saying as she headed towards the entrance. It was time!

Desi sprang to her feet, giving herself a mental pat on the back for choosing a seat close to the entrance. She reached Nika just as the latter reached the door and mustered up her most winning smile as she turned to greet the instructor.

“Hi Nika, I’m Desi - huge fan of your work. It’s such a privilege to meet you.” Desi said, holding out her hand for a handshake.

Nika’s grip was as warm and firm as Desi expected it to be as she shook her hands and muttered a hurried ‘Thank you’.

Desi could read the slight impatience in her eyes. Of course, a woman like Nika had somewhere to be.

“I just wanted to thank you for the great work you’re doing in the design community. You’re the reason I started designing in the first place, and when you’re free, I’d love to share my work and pick your brain on contemporary design concepts.”

“Ah, I see.’ Nika smiled at the young woman in front of her wondering how she had managed to say all that in one breath. In Nika’s opinion, Desi looked every bit the artist and she was sure a discussion between the both of them would be mutually enjoyable and insightful. But she couldn’t spare the time now, she was finally going to meet her favorite mentee and staff member, and she was already running late.

They had about a half hour before Nika’s next session, so there was no time for them to have a proper meeting. If Alex was as disciplined as he seemed, he would already be in front of her office,e and she didn’t want to make a bad first impression.

“Sure, I would love to chat,” she said to the smiling beauty in front of her, “but I’m busy now. Please catch me on day 4. You can send me an email to schedule a meeting.”

Pushing down the disappointment she felt, Desi nodded at Nika with a smile, and watched as she hurried off down the hallway. She checked her watch; there was 2 hours of free time before the next session on her program.

Going back to her hostel would make her feel too lazy to come back out, which would result in her missing a session and Mr. T. finding out and killing her. She opted for a quick trip outside the resort instead. She would get some snacks that she had been unable to find at the huge store in the resort. Armed with her sunglasses and making sure to put on the big hat she held in case the sun got too hot, she headed towards the entrance.

As she neared the office that served as a makeshift break hall for the instructors, a random glance to her left stopped her in her tracks. 

Alex was having a very animated conversation with Nika. The latter squealed and hugged him, and he hugged her right back. He was considerably less animated than Nika, but it seemed there was some sort of relationship between them.

Tamping down her jealousy, Desi continued on her journey, refusing to look back even when she was close enough to hear Nika say that seeing him was the major reason she came to the training camp.

She had no business feeling any jealousy. Besides, she couldn’t tell if what she felt was jealousy over Alex getting the chance to speak to Nika before her, or if it was anger that Alex was holding another woman closer than he held her the previous evening.

*********

The sound of consistent knocking drew her out of the warm folds of deep slumber, till she responded with a disgruntled groan. Tripping over the blanket as she sauntered to the door, Desis wondered why there was no fixed etiquette for knocks. Like if you knocked thrice and there was no response, walk away for crying out loud.

She cracked open the door very slightly, peeking out with one eye to see who it was.

Hamin was standing at the door with a sheepish smile on his face. Before she could speak, he raised his hands up as though in surrender.

“Alex said I should knock until something happens.”

“Why?” she asked, hoping the toadiness of her voice didn’t freak him out. Her ‘just-woke-up’ voice was so hoarse, people sometimes thought it was a different person.

But he didn’t seem to notice. “Alex is making pasta for everyone. Come and eat,” he didn’t give her time to respond before he headed back downstairs.

Desi groaned again, wondering why Alex was such a busybody. She was sure theirs was one of the very few, if not the only hostel where strangers were cooking for each other. She threw on a huge cardigan and shuffled down the stairs, stopping to make way for other flatmates to pass as they went to their rooms with bowls of steaming pasta.

The sweet scent invaded her sleep-induced fuzziness and woke her up. She hurried to the kitchen where Alex was putting fried plantains in a bowl already holding some pasta and what seemed like the most perfect grilled chicken lap she had ever seen.

He looked up just as she entered, and Desi paused, struck again by how disarmingly handsome he was. It didn’t help that he looked so at home in the kitchen, dressed in a casual t-shirt and shorts, with a durag over his head.

“Hey,” his face lit up in a smile the moment he saw her, “I made dinner.”

When she didn’t move, and just kept staring at him, he turned to give her a questioning look, “I know you’re hungry, so don’t even pretend you don’t want this. Come. Sit.” he walked over to pull her to the kitchen counter as he talked.

Desi knew she wanted this. The only thing was that he was clearly talking about the food, while she was thinking about something else. She made a mental note to check the Flo app later. She couldn’t understand the way her body was reacting to this man. Maybe she was ovulating. Or maybe it was the fact that she had been single for over four years. Since she didn’t believe in one-night stands, or situationships, or making out with strangers at parties, the last time someone kissed her, she wasn’t even sure she knew what a good kiss was.

But she’d like to find out with Alex for sure.

She coughed to cover her laugh, equal parts shocked and amused at the trail her thoughts were taking.

“Are you okay? Is it too spicy?” Alex was asking.

“No, I’m fine. I haven’t even tasted it yet.” He stood there, waiting for her to taste it and give her verdict.

Feeling extremely self conscious, she took the fork he was holding out and tasted the pasta. Her eyes widened at the explosion of flavour that hit her tongue.

Alex laughed as he watched everything from shock to joy and then confusion cross her face.

“Did you cook this?” she asked him

“Uh huh” he was dishing the leftover food into another bowl now

“How?”

“Well you boil the pasta, then you make the sauce, then you…”

“I know how to make pasta. How does this taste so good?” she asked him with an eyeroll.

Laughing, he put his food on a tray with two bottles of water and gestured for her to follow him as he exited the kitchen.

“I only know how to do two things well in this life. The first is art, the second is food,” he said as she followed him up the stairs, still eating.

Desi couldn’t respond; she was too busy eating. She hadn't even realized she was hungry until she started eating.

They got to their doors and Alex waited for her to go into her room, but she just stared at him.

After a silent moment, she quietly opened his door and stepped in, internally shaking her head, beratingly at herself. She had decided to avoid him just that morning, and now she was willingly going into his room by herself.

“My room is a mess.” she said by way of explanation and headed straight to the window seat.

Alex went in after her, willing himself to forget what happened the last time she was in his room.

They ate silently for a short moment before Desi jumped.

“What’s the time? Is it 7 yet?” she asked

“It’s 7:30.” he was checking his phone when a message from Nika popped up on the screen. Alex smiled at the message, happy because meeting her was much better than he anticipated.

He looked up from his phone to see Desi watching him.

“What?”

“Nothing. You just looked really happy just now.”

“Yeah, it’s been a good day. That’s why I cooked… I do that when I feel good.”

“Really? Now I have to think of ways to make you feel good every day.”

“Oh, I can think of a few,” Alex replied, keeping his eyes hooded. His thoughts were not at all wholesome, and she didn’t need to see that.

Desi laughed, shaking her head at him.

“Stop flirting with me.” Did he not know that doing that was making it harder on her?

“How can I not?” he replied, still staring intently at his food. 

After a moment’s pause, Desi took a deep breath and set her food aside. Alex looked up at her then, his eyes questioning her.

“Look, I’m just going to say this. I’m very attracted to you, but I have already decided that pursuing anything is a bad idea. So I am just trying to be friends, but now I don’t even think that’ll work. I’m just going to keep a respectful distance till the camp ends.”

“Say what now?” Alex asked quietly, setting his tray aside.

“Yeah, I know it’s weird to suddenly spring that on you, but I don’t want you to wonder why I’m avoiding you, because I will do that going forward. Thank you for the meal, it was delicious.”

She picked her pasta bowl up, intending to leave the room, when Alex stopped her, took the bowl out of her hand, and gently placed it on the tray.

Staring at her intently, he slowly wrapped his hands around her waist and pulled her in as his lips met hers in the gentlest kiss.