Captivated

Answers

This is for @Tete_Starfriend I see we have very similar tastes lol. Hope you keep reading, voting and maybe even commenting ;)

He grinned at me, thrusting the flowers forward.

"Oh, umm, thanks?"

"You're welcome", he replied cockily. "I couldn't stop thinking about you".

I felt shame wash over my body as I remembered Malik and how easily I ignored any obligation I might have towards Karl.

"I didn't know you were coming over today?" I asked, confused.

"Oh, I wanted to surprise you", he replied, still grinning. He leaned forwards and kissed me quickly making me stumble back in surprise. Mistaking my surprise as some sort of positive reaction, he gave me a wink as he gave me the flowers, walked into my house and sat down on the sofa.

I eyed the flowers gingerly. Sure they were pretty, but I hated flowers. They lasted only a couple of days and created more mess than joy. And they bought bugs. I hated bugs. I discreetly wiped my lips as I closed the door.

I placed them on the countertop and sighed. I did not want the company today, I needed time to think and process. Being half Indian, that was something that happened to me a lot when I was at home. Unwanted guests that would come over without warning to see my mum and I had to entertain them which meant I hated it when people came over without asking first.

"I want to get to know you more", he said as I sat down opposite him. "So can I ask you some random questions?"

"Yeah, go for it", I responded half-heartedly. Weirdly that small bit of attraction I had for him when he took me out on the date had fizzled out. Maybe I was so desperate that I made myself like him. Maybe it was the wine. As I sat, I felt nothing for the man opposite me. And partly, I knew it was because I came to a realisation about my irrational feelings for Malik.

He asked me questions like which I would prefer over two things and I answered them almost robotically, flashing him a smile when I needed to.

"Okay, so last question, what's your favourite colour?"

"Gold", I replied automatically without even thinking.

"That's different", he responded. "I would have thought you liked black or something".

He was sort of right. Prior to all this, I used to love the colour blue, like the ocean and the skies and the vast emptiness it held. But now, my subconscious decided to betray me and choose gold. A colour which signified the unknown and depths that I could never understand.

I shrugged in response and stroked KK who had just curled up in my lap, purring.

"What about you? What's your favourite colour?" I asked to keep the conversation flowing.

"Hmm, I like red".

"Oh, cool", I replied awkwardly. He somehow was unaffected by my awkwardness, not noticing how uncomfortable I was and how much I wanted him to go.

He continued making small talk which I zoned out of mostly, agreeing when necessary to make it seem like I was contributing.

"- And maybe I can take you out on another date".

I spluttered as that last sentence caught my attention. I hated what I was doing right now. It wasn't fair of me to lead Karl on when I wasn't even sure if I liked him that much. Sure he was the safer option but I didn't like small details about him that really got on my nerves. Like his slightly misogynistic mentality.