The sweet aroma of cinnamon rolls drifted to my nose, pulling me out of my sleep. I threw off my sheets and rushed down the stairs to the kitchen.
“One minute, fifty-eight seconds,” Emma said, looking at her pocket watch. Her lips curved in a sweet smile. “You have beaten your own record.”
“Mom, it is not my fault that you make such tantalizing rolls,” I replied, picking up a cinnamon roll from the tray. I hissed as the heat scalded my fingers.
“Careful! How many times have I told you not to be so impatient?” She shook her head as she placed the tray on the cabinet and handed me a plate. I bit my lower lip as I placed the roll on the plate; my eyes drifting to the assortment still lying on the tray.
Emma laughed and added a few more rolls to my plate. “Happy?”
“Very,” I managed to mutter, stuffing a piece into my mouth.
A sharp tap on my head made me wince. I spun around to find Daniel standing behind me; his expression something between laugher and annoyance.
“You know the rolls won’t run away if you sit down properly and eat, right?”
“Dad! Do you have to tease me every single time?” My face fell as my gaze landed on his white coat. “Do you have to go early today as well?”
“Hmm, there is an emergency and I have to cover for Dr. Albert.”
“Why are you always the one to cover? Why can’t you ask someone else to do it?”
“I will try to come home early.” He wrapped his arm around me in a half hug. “You won’t miss me much, anyway. You will be at the university for the better part of the day."
I groaned inwardly. Damn! I had forgotten that today was my first day. I bade him a hasty goodbye and gobbled up the rest of the rolls.
Running to my room, I took a shower and dressed quickly in a blue dress. I wasn’t thrilled by the idea of going to the university but I didn’t like disappointing my parents either.
That is how I ended up on the campus of a bustling university with a sheaf of papers; looking all confused and messed up.
A girl in a short skirt and leather jacket bumped into me, causing me to stagger. I stumbled backward, and the papers slipped from my hand, flying all around.
My eyes widened, but instead of landing on the hard ground, I bumped into a muscular frame. Someone spun me around and my eyes locked with a pair of deep, golden ones.
“Are you okay?” his words fell in my ears like a velvety caress, making me blush.
I lowered my gaze and nodded; still a bit stunned at the encounter. He gathered all my papers and handed them with a smile before walking away.
“I was going to apologize, but I don’t think it is my fault. It was probably that notorious cupid at work,” a sweet voice sounded beside me. Turning around, I found the girl who had bumped into me grinning from ear to ear. Her eyes lit up, and she winked. “Seems like it hit you pretty hard.”
“There’s nothing like that… he was just being helpful,” I muttered; lowering my gaze in a futile attempt to hide my flushed face.
“So, you are not interested in him at all?”
I shook my head; clenching the papers closer to my chest; a bit too embarrassed by the confrontation.
“Here I thought Cassius had finally found someone decent.”
“You know him?” I asked almost too quickly, making her giggle.
“Yes, I have known him for fifteen years now; you can say that we are childhood friends.” She took a step towards me as she continued, “I can introduce you to him but….”
“But?”
“I have a condition.” She held out her hand. “You have to become my friend first.”
“I don’t have much experience in that department, but I will try,” I replied sincerely, shaking her hands. “My name is Miraya.”
“Stella,” she replied, squeezing my hand gently.
“You were joking, right?” She asked as we walked to submit our forms. “About not having friends? I mean, look at you. You are so pretty and easy going. I am sure you must have lots of friends.” There was a tint of jealousy in her voice.
“I lost all my memories in an accident. So, even if I have friends, I don’t remember them….”
“Oh…” she muttered and looked away; not wanting to pry too much during the first meeting. We walked the rest of the way in silence; each lost in our own thoughts.
Cassius had saved us a spot in the queue. So we were done with the formalities pretty quickly.
“Stella!” A loud, high-pitched voice sounded from across the corridor. A girl waved at her frantically and beckoned, “Over here!”
“I… I have to go and meet Rosa.” Her gaze shifted from me to Cassius, “Can you lead her to the Canteen?”
“Sure.” his eyes twinkled as his lips curved in a smirk. “I have to go there, anyway.”
Cassius walked step in step with me; our fingers brushing against each other every once in a while. Every time our fingers came in contact, soft tingles coursed through my hand and soon I started looking forward to his caresses.
When we were about a few meters from the canteen, he held my hand and spun me around to face him. He looked at me with those intense eyes and spoke in a confident voice, “I know this is too early, given that we have barely met. But, I have always been a very straightforward person. Can I ask you something?”
For some reason, my heart jumped to my throat and my stomach clenched with this queasy sensation. With some effort I managed to stutter, “I… I guess you can ask me anything.”
“Will you be my girlfriend?”
His question took me by such a surprise that I stood there; frozen like a statue. It was as if I had lost my ability to speak. My mouth went dry and my heart was throbbing so wildly that I was afraid it would pop out of my chest.
“Have you learned nothing, Cassius?” Stella’s astonished voice sounded as she pulled me out of his grasp. “You don’t just propose to a girl on the first day you meet.”
She took a protective stance in front of me as she continued, “This is so creepy, Cassius.
He tapped her forehead playfully. “You are the one who has learned nothing. Life is too short. Why should I waste even a single moment when I know I am serious about Miraya?”
They started squabbling, but I wasn’t paying attention to that. The only phrase that kept replaying in my mind was that life was too short. Cassius was right. Life was too short to spend regretting things we didn’t do.
My gaze rose, drifting from his muscular abs to his throat and then his face; sharp jaws, soft kissable lips, and then his eyes; brimming with depth and sincerity. Only a fool would reject a proposal from a handsome man like him.
Gazing at him, I realized that I didn’t mind if he was just toying with me. I would be happy even if I just got to spend a few moments with him.
“Cassius!” I called out to him over the hullabaloo of their argument. “I think I like you too.”
He rushed towards me and hugged me right in front of the crowd that had gathered. His lips caressed my ears gently as he whispered, “You will never regret accepting my proposal, Miraya. I promise.”
We became inseparable after that. We bunked classes, and visited beaches, taking every opportunity to make out. Both of us were equally obsessed with each other.
It was a sweet spell of romantic love; the kind that makes your toes curl and your heart flutter.
Unfortunately, it didn’t last long. Like everything in my life, our love was doomed the moment my past started making appearances….