12-08-2025, 12:17 PM
“Let’s just hope the kingdom doesn’t have too many potholes.”
He chuckled, patting the seat behind him. “Hop on, your highness. The royal carriage is ready.”
She hesitated for a moment,
Her eyes flicking between his face and the empty space on the scooty, before stepping closer.
There was something in the way she lingered that made the air feel heavier,
Like she was still deciding something in her mind.
“You know,” she said after a beat, her voice quieter now, “this doesn’t feel like just a ride anymore.”
He met her gaze, the tension between them palpable. “What do you mean?”
Her lips quirked up, but there was an unreadable depth in her eyes now.
“It’s funny. I think I might’ve just started to realize how much you’ve gotten under my skin.”
He wasn’t sure how to respond, but something in him, maybe the way her words had shifted the air, made him want to say something real too.
Something more than a playful joke or a smile. But instead, he cleared his throat and kept his tone light.
“Guess that makes two of us then.”
She held his gaze for a beat longer before breaking it with a soft laugh, stepping around to the back of the scooty.
“Let’s see if the ride can live up to the hype.”
Abhi watched her for a moment longer than he intended,
How her hair caught the golden light,
How her smile was still just for him in that fleeting moment, and then he forced himself to focus.
“Alright, your highness. Buckle up,” Abhi said, flashing a mock-serious look as he patted the seat behind him.
Varnika grinned, tilting her head.
“Oh? And where exactly am I supposed to buckle up? Is there a royal seatbelt I should know about?”
Abhi laughed, leaning slightly toward her. “Well, since this is a royal carriage, I’d say the safest place is right behind the knight himself.”
She raised an eyebrow, stepping closer, voice dropping into a teasing whisper. “Is that so? Sounds like I get to hold my knight then.”
Without waiting for an invitation, she slipped behind him, her arms wrapping around his waist like a belt, firm but gentle.
Abhi’s breath caught, the warmth of her touch settling around him.
She pressed her cheek lightly against his back and whispered, “Guess this is my kind of buckle.”
He glanced over his shoulder with a smirk. “Definitely the best kind.”
The spark between them flickered brighter, the playful teasing melting into something tender as the world softened around their small, perfect moment.
Then, with a click of the ignition, everything shifted.
The bustling street, the sunlight, and even the heavy weight of her words before all seemed to settle into the soft, steady hum of the ride.
But for a split second, he didn’t want to move.
Didn’t want to break whatever fragile thing was building between them.
“Ready?” he asked, his voice quieter now, more serious than it had been just moments before.
Varnika’s hand brushed his arm as she steadied herself, her breath almost too close to his ear.
“Always.”
He nodded, revving the engine once more.
And as they began to move, a silence settled between them that felt different than before, closer, more intimate.
He chuckled, patting the seat behind him. “Hop on, your highness. The royal carriage is ready.”
She hesitated for a moment,
Her eyes flicking between his face and the empty space on the scooty, before stepping closer.
There was something in the way she lingered that made the air feel heavier,
Like she was still deciding something in her mind.
“You know,” she said after a beat, her voice quieter now, “this doesn’t feel like just a ride anymore.”
He met her gaze, the tension between them palpable. “What do you mean?”
Her lips quirked up, but there was an unreadable depth in her eyes now.
“It’s funny. I think I might’ve just started to realize how much you’ve gotten under my skin.”
He wasn’t sure how to respond, but something in him, maybe the way her words had shifted the air, made him want to say something real too.
Something more than a playful joke or a smile. But instead, he cleared his throat and kept his tone light.
“Guess that makes two of us then.”
She held his gaze for a beat longer before breaking it with a soft laugh, stepping around to the back of the scooty.
“Let’s see if the ride can live up to the hype.”
Abhi watched her for a moment longer than he intended,
How her hair caught the golden light,
How her smile was still just for him in that fleeting moment, and then he forced himself to focus.
“Alright, your highness. Buckle up,” Abhi said, flashing a mock-serious look as he patted the seat behind him.
Varnika grinned, tilting her head.
“Oh? And where exactly am I supposed to buckle up? Is there a royal seatbelt I should know about?”
Abhi laughed, leaning slightly toward her. “Well, since this is a royal carriage, I’d say the safest place is right behind the knight himself.”
She raised an eyebrow, stepping closer, voice dropping into a teasing whisper. “Is that so? Sounds like I get to hold my knight then.”
Without waiting for an invitation, she slipped behind him, her arms wrapping around his waist like a belt, firm but gentle.
Abhi’s breath caught, the warmth of her touch settling around him.
She pressed her cheek lightly against his back and whispered, “Guess this is my kind of buckle.”
He glanced over his shoulder with a smirk. “Definitely the best kind.”
The spark between them flickered brighter, the playful teasing melting into something tender as the world softened around their small, perfect moment.
Then, with a click of the ignition, everything shifted.
The bustling street, the sunlight, and even the heavy weight of her words before all seemed to settle into the soft, steady hum of the ride.
But for a split second, he didn’t want to move.
Didn’t want to break whatever fragile thing was building between them.
“Ready?” he asked, his voice quieter now, more serious than it had been just moments before.
Varnika’s hand brushed his arm as she steadied herself, her breath almost too close to his ear.
“Always.”
He nodded, revving the engine once more.
And as they began to move, a silence settled between them that felt different than before, closer, more intimate.
-- oOo --
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