Page 39

DANIEL

“Anya, I swear to God, this is not what I had in mind when I said I would do anything you say,” I whine.

“Hold still,” she scolds. “Besides, I had to get revenge for you blackmailing me into teaching you,” she smirks.

“My nose is itching.” I huff and she chuckles, amusement evident on her face. She applies the face mask as I train my eyes on her, noticing how adorable she looks with her eyebrows scrunched up and her tongue poking out in concentration.

She steps back after she is done and giggles evilly, shooting me a wink. I love her too much to go through this tedious process because otherwise, I would never do this shit. I want to tell her, right now, how much I love her, but I can’t. What if I make her uncomfortable? I have no doubt she likes me, but I am not sure if she loves me yet.

“You’re enjoying this way too much,” I grumble, secretly loving the way her cute smirk lights up her face.

She laughs, her eyes sparkling with mischief. “Oh, come on, captain. It’s not that bad. You’ll thank me later when your skin is glowing.” She gently taps over the mask, her fingers lightly brushing against my temples before she bops my nose. I shake my head, smiling like an idiot.

I can’t see her anymore, but I can feel her presence close by. The scent of lavender and vanilla—her signature perfume—wafts around me, oddly comforting despite my grumbling.

“How long am I sentenced to this beauty prison?” I ask, trying to sound annoyed but failing miserably.

“Just fifteen minutes,” Anya replies and I can hear the smile in her voice. “Think you can handle it, tough guy?”

I let out an exaggerated groan. “I don’t know, babe. I might need you to hold my hand through this torture.”

“You’re such a dork,” she says, but her voice drips with affection. A moment later, I feel her hand slip into mine, giving it a squeeze.

We fall into a comfortable silence for a moment, broken only by Anya’s occasional giggle, probably at how ridiculous I look.

I can hear the rustle of what sounds to be chains and keys and then a soft click. “What are you doing?” I frown.

“Just capturing the moment!” she declares.

“Anya!” I exclaim. “I can’t believe you’re documenting this. You’re evil.” I laugh, shaking my head.

“Only a little,” she quips back and I can picture her cheeky smile.

“Don’t show it to anyone, please,” I beg.

“I won’t. This is only for me,” she says. “So that I can blackmail you if you ever try to break up with me.” She lets out a manic laugh.

“If you think I will ever break up with you, Firecracker—” I take off the mask.

“It’s not—” I press my lips to hers, cutting off her protest. Her lips are soft against mine and I hold the back of her neck, pulling her toward me to deepen the kiss. Her fingers weave into my hair and I can’t help but smile against her lips. “--- then you are crazy because I am obsessed with you. I can’t think of a life without you, Anya,” I say softly as I rest my forehead against hers.

Anya’s breath catches and for a moment, she’s silent. I can feel her heartbeat racing, matching my own. When she finally speaks, her voice is soft and brimming with emotion, “I hope you mean that because you can’t get rid of me.” She pecks my cheek and then twists her face. “You wasted that mask, you know that?”

“Worth it.” I shrug. “Can we please stop this now?” I pout.

“Okay.” She giggles. “But we are watching a movie then,” she exclaims. “And I get to choose which one.” She raises an eyebrow as if daring me to protest.

I can’t help but grin at her excitement. “Alright, Firecracker. You win. Movie night it is.”

“Yes!” Anya pumps her fist in victory, her eyes sparkling with mischief. “I hope you’re ready for a crime doc marathon.”

I groan playfully even as my heart swells at her enthusiasm. “As long as I get to cuddle with you, I’ll suffer through anything. That reminds me. Aren’t you going to take out your profiling notebook?” I raise an eyebrow.

“Huh?” she asks, her face tilting in confusion. I chuckle at her confused expression, finding it utterly adorable.

“You know, that notebook you always have with you when you watch crime docs. The one where you jot down all your theories and ‘profile’ the criminals. You told me about it?”

“Oh!” Realization dawns over her face, lips turning into a ‘o’. “You are right. I do not have it.” She frowns. “We will be having a rom-com marathon instead, Mr. Captain,” she says, snuggling into me.

“Bollywood?” I grin and place a kiss on her shoulder.

Anya flips her hair. “Of course! Nothing beats Bollywood rom-coms. They are the best.”

I chuckle, pulling Anya closer to me. “Can’t argue with that, Firecracker. Bollywood it is.”

We settle on the bed and wrap up in a cozy blanket. She searches for a movie, biting her lip in concentration as the light from the screen illuminates her face. How the fuck is she so beautiful? It’s a mystery to me.

“Found one!” she exclaims. “I am going to re-watch Dear Zindagi .” She rests her head on my shoulder. “It’s not romance. I would say—” She knits her eyebrows.“---it’s more of a slice-of-life, drama-comedy kind of movie.” Her eyes widen. “But it has Shahrukh Khan! Can’t go wrong with him, right?”

“I know.” I smile. “This is the only movie I haven’t watched from your recommendations.”

Anya beams, her eyes sparkling. “Good. Let’s watch it together then!” I brush a strand of her hair away from her face. “We can watch Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara after this.” I twist my face in confusion. “Again a Bollywood masterpiece. The title basically means YOLO.” She shrugs. “It has Hrithik Roshan. Dude is so handsome. One of my childhood crushes.” She sighs. I laugh at her animated expression.

“Okay.” I kiss her cheek. “Let’s begin!” I announce. She shakes her head, smiling as she starts the movie.

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