Page 18 of Reckless Dare

Without another word, she stepped away from him and walked back to the dancing area.

She felt his burning glare on the back of her, but she didn’t turn or look at him again. His words were extremely hurtful and shocking, but she told herself not to let them get to her.

She had misunderstood Abhiram Simha’s initial words as interest in her. She thought his searing stare was because he felt the strong pull and chemistry between them.

But she was wrong. Very wrong.

He hated her and wanted her gone.

CHAPTER 7

Ava woke up to the sound of an alarm. Blinking open her bleary eyes, she saw that it was seven in the morning.

Despite her comfortable bed, she was barely able to sleep due to jet lag and also because of the restless dreams she had based on what happened at the party the previous night. She still couldn’t wrap her mind around it.

Maybe it was just a bad dream.

With a slight shake of head, she pushed away the thoughts of the party from her mind and dragged herself out of bed and made her way into the bathroom. She had to focus on planning her first day at Simha.

There were a ton of things to do and plan.

It’s going to be fine. I have everything planned.

Trying to control her nervous excitement, she continued to get ready for her first day of classes. She took a quick shower and put on her uniform. She then tied her hair into a simple ponytail so it wouldn’t get in her way during classes.

Her time table was already loaded into her cell phone. But she checked it once again to see if she had saved it along with the Simha University campus map. The interactive map icon was saved on her screen. It would ensure she didn’t get lost and be late to any of her classes.

When everything seemed fine, she stepped out of her bedroom.

Nitya was awake and in the kitchen making coffee. “Good morning, Ava,” she greeted. “Are you heading out to classes already? We have a couple of hours before they begin.”

Ava smiled. “I wanted to look around the campus a bit before the classes start.”

Nitya nodded in understanding. “Have coffee before you step out. I’m sure you must be still quite tired.”

Ava wasn’t tired. She was excited about her first day. Even though some of the excitement was of the nervous kind.

Nitya poured her a steaming cup of coffee and handed it to her.

“Thank you.” The coffee was strong and aromatic. The very smell of it woke up all her senses.

Normally, she added plenty of milk and sugar into her coffee. But that day, she was too anxious to care. She simply needed the caffeine shot.

“Did you enjoy yourself at the party last night?” Nitya asked with a smile. “I couldn’t talk to you last night as I was too drunk.”

Ava smiled. “Yes, it was fun.” Most of it was fun, except for the last confusing confrontation.

Maybe I can ask her later this evening about the pranks played on new students.

Deciding to bring up the topic later, she finished her coffee and got up. “Thanks for the coffee, Nitya. I’ll see you later.”

Nitya waved. “Have an awesome first day!”

Ava smiled and stepped out of the apartment.

As soon as she exited the housing unit, she took a deep inhale of the fresh morning air. It was stunningly beautiful outside with tall, green trees and vivid-colored flowering bushes and paved pathways.

The weather was slightly chilly, but she decided that a brisk walk would warm her up easily.

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