“Sunshine and flowers do go together.” She laughed in that devious way of hers, chin turned down, eyes raised to lock gazes dead on like a slightly aggressive way of saying: Behold my outright amusement at your expense.
“Yes. I like fruity, floral things. Get the jokes out of your system.”
Bane simply smiled. “It’s freaking cute.”
“Matches my personality perfectly, doesn’t it?” I asked drolly.
She leaned across the corner of the table and tugged on my sleeve. “You must think it’s somewhat adorable of your parents to name you Sunny because you have a little, teeny smile there.”
“I absolutely do not.”
She tapped my lips. “Boop. Must be a muscle twitch, then.”
For some reason beyond any sound logic, I found myself wanting to lick my lips where her touch left prickling specks of embers. Instead, because that would send the worst signal, I watched the door just behind her.
“My name means ‘sunny,’ you know?” she was saying while the breeze swept through her hair, sending her floral scent crashing into my skin. That was why I always smelled her when she was around, even before I saw her. Bane smelled like flowers. Gardenias, to be exact.
She readjusted some loose strands, tucking them back into her braids. I never thought anything of braids on a woman, but she made them attractive. I focused harder on the building, on the screen portion of the withered old door, willing Sam or April to come out and break this tension rising in my stomach.
Bane was still gabbing away about her aunt naming her and then asked, “Did your parents name you, or…”
My brow quirked up. “Who else would name me?”
She deadpanned. “A relative? A guru? An astrologist?”
“My mom named me. All by herself.”
Bane stared at me, not quite in the eye but somewhere near the vicinity.
“What?” I scowled as she smirked.
“I just want to iron out that little wrinkle between your brows.”
“There’s no wrinkle there. My face is as smooth as a baby’s butt.”
Bane took another sip, the half-melted ice sloshing around. “Did she have high hopes for your personality?”
“Watch it, Bane,” I replied with a hint of appreciation because that was pretty good. I had to hand it to her when it came to her jabs, delivered with accuracy and just the right mix of expression and tone.
“What? No smart-ass comeback?”
“If I had one, I would’ve already given it.”
“True.” She studied my face like she was reading code. “Dark. Brooding. Sure. It makes sense. Your mother must’ve seen it on your face the moment she laid eyes on you.”
“I was an adorable baby, the sunshine of her life. I don’t mind the name.”
“Because Sunny is pleasant. Unlike Bane.”
“Since Bhanu means ‘sunny,’ we can’t have two Sunnys, can we?”
“You’re right. That’s too much sunshine in the world.”
“I’m essentially saving the world from combusting from all this heat. You’re welcome, world.”
She rolled her eyes, but she’d never admit that my nickname for her bothered her, even a little. Or was in any way annoying. “As perplexing as you are, you’re a grump named sunshine. Ha! Get it!” She cackled.
“Smart-ass to the end. That wasn’t even funny.”
“Then why are you smiling?”
“You must have that word confused with ‘unimpressed.’ ”
She looked up from over the rim of her cup, her thick lashes fluttering. She didn’t have a comeback but held my gaze. And…well, maybe her face wasn’t hard to look at. All right, it was pretty easy, like the flash of a spectrum of colors with the movement of indented lines when scrolling through perfectly written code. Mesmerizing. Satisfying to watch.
What…the hell was I thinking? And why was I staring?
Bane blew out a breath. “So impassive. Do you even have emotions? Better yet, do you even know what emotions are?”
Ah, excellent. My stoicism was finally working in my favor. She couldn’t tell I was admiring those thick, dark lashes framing rich brown eyes, the sparkle of her nose stud on her petite nose, or those full lips stained with pink. Lips that puckered every time she took a sip.
Strange. When Sejal accused me of being robotic, it was a verbal stab, a brawl, a call to arms that both angered and ridiculed. When Bane said it, it was just her jesting, a way for us to keep volleying quips. And I didn’t mind it one binary byte.
Thirteen Bhanu
Sunny and I parted ways after we’d returned. His friends had been very nice and welcoming, and it was different to see him relaxed. But there had been thinly veiled animosity with his ex, which led me to needing to know what had transpired between them.
No! No! Don’t fall into the drama trap! Or break any of the rules of this arrangement.
