The Summer Deal

Nineteen - Touch

"Thank god you're here. You did bring your bike keys like I asked, right?"

Noah stepped inside my suite, freshly showered and dressed in blue-faded jeans and a black shirt. "Yes."

I grabbed my purse, arranged the papers I had scribbled on about my current research last night, placed a paperweight on it, then switched off my laptop.

"Perfect then. We'll leave now," I pulled out my key card from its slot and tucked it safely deep inside my bag.

His smile dropped by an inch. "No breakfast? I saw they were serving French toast. You like French toast, don't you?"

I did, but I had other things in mind. Things that will probably make me lose my mind by the end of the day. "We'll have it later at a restaurant."

We reached the lift, and Noah pressed a button. "Why? It's free here. What's so important that I can't have the most important meal of the day in peace?"

My mood turned sour as I spoke the second most dreadful word next to a vacation.

"Shopping."

That made the remainder of his charming smile drop completely from his face. "You're kidding, right? What do you think I am? Your chauffeur? I'm not skipping free breakfast only to be your ride. I have better things to do in life."

"Like?" I asked as we went inside the lift.

"Uh... uhmm..."

"Go on. Tell me," I coaxed. We both knew that he had no other work except to make love to his beloved Dora. "I'm offering you to spend a day with me, additional costs such as food and fuel included, and watch me suffer from unnecessary socializing with vendors and store managers."

"You hate shopping," he deduced and sighed loudly. "Why am I not surprised?"

"It's not the idea of shopping," I said as we stepped out and made our way to the basement parking. The basement parking area was huge, dark, and moist. It was lit with dim lights, and luckily, Noah's bike was parked in the first line. "It's the method by which I have been forced to perform this menial job. The purpose of this unfortunate day is even worse."

He snorted, handing me a helmet. "That bad, huh?"

I wore it and strapped the belt securely. "Of course. What kind of mad person would go to malls and stores to buy clothes which are easily available online?"

"Anybody who is not you."

"Very funny," I scowled, and we got on the bike. I held on tight to Noah's shoulders as he started the engine. Dora roared to life like a lioness, ready to go on her hunt. "Shopping online is simple and way better than going outside to buy. One click, and it's home delivery. If you don't like it, you return it with another click."

"Then you should have stayed in your room and ordered whatever the fuck it is want to buy."

"I tried—" I screamed, and my grip tightened on his shoulder when Dora climbed uphill and got us out of the basement parking through a steep slope. "I tried, but it didn't work!"

We finally entered the main road, and Noah swiftly cut through the traffic like an expert till we stopped at a red light.

"What didn't work?" He asked, adjusting his side mirror. "The website?"

"No. My persuading skills," I answered, panting like a dog. I was still recovering from the shock of the speed he had driven his bike on. "Are you... are you planning to kill me today?"

"If I was, I would have done the job in the basement itself," he smugly replied, and we began to move again when the light turned green. "But I let it pass."