Can't I Touch Your Heart?

Chapter 15 One Mustn't Flirt

"So, you do remember?"

"Remember what?" Rhea asked. Ember just stared at her for a while, then shook his head, "Nothing. Nothing at all," He laughed and picked her up on his back, "Darn it," He couldn't stand up properly, "Am I heavy?" She asked.
"No, you're not," He said, "I'm just not on the very muscular side, I suppose,"

She shook her head and pressed her hands on his shoulder. He walked ahead and pressed her on the pillion of the bicycle. He began paddling, struggling to balance himself. He paddled slowly, "You're like a turtle," She laughed, "So slow,"
"You're like a parking ticket," He smirked.
"How?" She asked.
"You've got fine written all over you," He turned back, gave a quick wink and then looked ahead again.

She slapped his head, "Stop being so cheesy,"
"Why? Am I not allowed to compliment you?" He laughed.
"You are," She said, "But your compliments are weird!"
"You, my lady, look rather splendid this fine evening," He said in a British accent.
"Alright, that was a bit too much. It reminds me of Loraine,"

He laughed and she looked at his blonde head, shining under the sunset sun, glowing orange.
"How long did it take for you to learn Hindi, Ember?" She asked.
"Lemme think. One year," Ember replied.
"You mean, in one year, you learnt the entire Hindi language?!" She shouted.
"Precisely" He smiled "It's not that big of a deal for me. I have Hyperthymesia"

"What's that?"
"In layman terms, you can call it 'Photographic memory'. I remember every little detail of whatever I've seen. If you show me a map, I can draw a copy of that, without looking at it the second time"

"That's so cool!" Rhea said, "That's how you remembered me even after ten years?!"
Ember smiled, "I don't need Hyperthymesia to remember you, Rhea,"
She looked at his weary shoulders as he paddled.
"So," Ember slowed down the bicycle, "Well, if you don't mind...Can we exchange numbers?"

"Sure," Rhea said and took out her phone.
"Tell me your number," He said.
"Where will you write it?"
"In my head. Photographic memory, Rhea,"
"Oh yeah," She laughed and kept her phone back in and told him her number.

"Ring me. Then, I'll save your number,"
"Gotcha," He said, "But what about your class today?"
"I'll tell mom that my leg got injured midway,"
"That works," He laughed.
"Well, skipping once in a while is not so bad," She said.

"You're a such a bad girl," He said.
"You bring out the badness in me," She said, "I skipped because of you!"
"You bring out the goodness in me," He said.
"Cheesy," 

Nobody was out in the summer heat and the streets were empty. The burning sunlight fell on them and Rhea pressed her hand above her eyes to protect them from the burning sun. She looked at Ember. His neck was red and sweat rolled down from the tips of his blonde hair. She brought her hands above his eyes. As the shadow rested upon his eyes, he looked up and then, turned his eyes towards her,

"I read it somewhere...Lighter-colored eyes have less pigment to protect against sun damage and UV radiation compared to darker-colored eyes. This means that your eyes are more sensitive to light and more susceptible to UV damage. We must protect them,"

He smiled and looked ahead, "Well, am I not lucky to have such a caring person in my life,"
"You should wear sunglasses under the sun!" She said.
"Yes, I will," He stopped paddling as they reached under the bridge, "I'm sorry, I'm tired. Can we rest?" He asked.

"Yeah, sure," He just looked ahead while she looked at his back.
"You get tired so easily, you weak white boy!" She laughed.
"Rhea," Ember said as he continued looking ahead, "Paint again, please."
She looked at him, 

"You're so beautiful when you're painting and smiling, I could watch you do that forever if I could," He said, "Art makes life worth living. People who look like they were ripped out of a Caravaggio painting make life worth living," He said and turned towards her, "Who cares if there's a void in your heart. And who cares if you can't get attached to anyone. The best thing about life is that everything you'll ever lose will be replaced by something better. You never lack...You just transition,"