Page 18 of Pillow Talk
Sen was right. The waffles were like none she’d ever tasted. They were delightfully decadent: drizzled with sticky chocolate sauce and topped with strawberries.
Breakfast was a luxury in Shona’s life because she was always running late and, on her days off, she usually got up too late and it was already lunchtime. Breakfast at a waffle restaurant overlooking the bay with Sen was more than a luxury. It was exactly what she needed to forget about her problems. Of course, they still hovered at the back of her mind, but she tried her best to push them away.
After breakfast they took their takeaway coffees down to the bay. The weather was very much like Rally. The air hung heavy and still, not a hint of breeze, even while sitting on a wooden bench right at the edge of the bay.
‘It’s so still here,’ Shona commented.
Sen looked around. The restaurant was just over the hill behind them and, although the breakfast rush was still on, they couldn’t hear any of it. It was as if they were the only two moving elements in a painting.
‘What do you usually do on Saturday mornings?’ she asked Sen.
‘Nothing much these days. When Sam and I lived in Durban,we used to cycle just before sunrise.’
Shona wrinkled her nose. ‘Yuck!’
Sen chuckled. ‘Still hate exercise?’
Rolling her eyes, she said, ‘Do you ever forget anything, Senthil Aiyer?’
Sen reached out to tuck a strand of her hair behind her ear. He did it so tenderly that Shona shivered.
‘I don’t forget anything when it comes to you,’ he whispered.
A light trembling sensation danced in Shona’s stomach. She wanted to lean in and kiss him, but she wondered if friends with benefits should be kissing in a romantic spot overlooking the bay on a Saturday morning. Surely that wasn’t how it worked.
‘I don’t hate exercise. I just hated that dumb fun walk,’ she said quickly to break the spell.
He sipped his steaming coffee and playfully shook his head.
‘What?’ she said defensively. ‘I didn’t even want to do it.’
‘You faked being ill less than five minutes into it,’ he teased.
‘Well, it was because you and Anni always wanted to do dumb things,’ she replied.
Sen started laughing. Full on laughing.
She put her iced coffee next to her on the bench and crossed her arms.
‘I’m only laughing because that’s exactly what you said when we were nine and we wanted to do the fun walk,’ he said.
‘It’s true. You want to do dumb things. Come on Sen. You wanted to establish a map club. Who would want to be in a map club?’ He grinned and again reached out to her.
This time his long fingers traced a trail from her elbow up to her shoulder. That trembling feeling started again.
She shook off his hand. Whatever was happening was confusing, and right now, with all that was going on in her life, she didn’t need more confusion.
‘The annual fun walk is coming up in a couple of weeks,’ saidSen.
‘I know. My dad always sponsors the refreshments,’ she replied and quickly looked away. Shona pushed away the memory of her father’s face when she’d walked out the day before.
‘I challenge you to do it with me.’
Shona frowned. ‘What’s in it for me?’
‘The feeling of accomplishment. Come on Shona, how do you feel whenever you complete a veil?’
She didn’t even need to think about her answer.
