Page 13 of Reckless Dare

“I’m Abhi,” he said, introducing himself.

She already knew that, but she didn’t say it aloud. “I’m Ava,” she said.

“Ava,” he repeated in a deep tone that continued to flutter her stomach even harder. “Are you free next weekend, Ava?”

She was shocked by his question. “Yes,” she managed to say instead of asking why.

His mouth curved slightly. “Good. Keep it free.”

Before she could say something, a group of bikers drove towards them, stopping a few feet away.

“Abhi!” one of the guys shouted. “Come on! Batra and co just challenged us on the spins!”

Ava watched as Abhi paused for a moment while looking at her. But the next moment, he kickstarted his bike.

“I’ll catch you later, Ava. Don’t leave the party early.”

With those words, he placed back his helmet before racing back towards the dirt road along with the small group of bikers.

Ava’s heart fluttered.

Was he just being polite? Or does he want me to wait until we speak again?

She didn’t know. But she hoped she could wait long enough to find out.

CHAPTER 5

“Bro, if you eye bang that new girl any harder, you’ll make Rana and me uncles at nineteen.”

“Shut up, Ved.” Abhi was leaning against his bike with a beer bottle in his hand when his cousins Ved and Rana joined him.

The party was going on in full swing at a distance. Loud music was nearly drowned by loud cheering while dozens of students participated in the beer bong game. Girls and the guys lined up to have beer poured through funnels connected to pipes into their mouths.

But Abhi’s eyes were locked on the new transfer student. Ava. She was standing with her roommate holding the same bottle of beer in her hands from the past hour. She was yet to sip from it.

“Who is she?” Rana asked.

“Not sure,” Ved replied. “But she is definitely the only girl our discreet cousin has openly eye fucked.”

“Intriguing,” said Rana.

“Yup. All the more intriguing why he isn’t talking to her again after we interrupted him to kick Batra and Co’s asses during racing.”

Abhi didn’t respond while his cousins teased him.

He wanted to talk to Ava once again, but he deliberately held back. He didn’t trust the strong pull he felt towards a girl he saw just that morning.

Something about her drew him instantly. When he saw her at the bus window, he couldn’t take his eyes off her face. He thought he had imagined the instant pull, but when he came across her again in the main hall, the pull only got stronger.

It wasn’t just because she was pretty. Simha was filled with many beautiful and breathtaking females, but none of them had the simplicity and openness he saw in her.

Ava.

He suddenly felt a burning need inside to know about her.

He turned to his cousins. “End the beer bong. Everyone’s drunk enough.” They usually stopped alcohol a few hours before the party ended, so the students could get sober enough to drive back to the campus.

“I want you to start another game,” he added.

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