Rhea moved away from Ember and looked at his face. He smiled at her and she looked away. She looked around and then back at him, "Don't hug me again,"
His expression seemed to fall in slight dismay, "Did you...Not like it?"
"No," She said, "That's not it. It'd be troublesome if someone I know sees us,"

"...Why?" He chuckled, "You don't want to be seen with me?"
"No," She said, blatantly. She observed the pain in his eyes as he looked down with a smile and fiddled his fingers while pressing his hands between his thighs. He looked up at the sky as he pressed his lips inward, between his teeth, "I understand,"
"But it's not because I hate you," She quickly responded, "To put it simply, people here are just...Let's just say they'd doubt my character if I'm, you know, seen with a boy or if I hug one,"

"People can't hug other people here?" He asked.
"No, no, they can. A boy and a girl cannot hug each other. Elders don't like it,"
Ember chuckled, "What a strange country,"
"Indian culture, boy,"
"Yeah, I understand. I'll keep that in mind next time," He smiled, "Hey, hey, Rhea," He moved a bit away from her, "If your culture allowed, would you mind if I hug you?"

"Of course I won't..." She repeated those words in her head and realized what she just said. Her face turned red and she looked up at him to deny, but his face had a red glow over it as he covered his mouth with his pale hands and looked away. She looked down again, "Well, erm, uh..." She tried speaking but words won't leave her throat, "My sister, I mean, my cousin, would be, like you know, waiting for us?"

He laughed, "Are you asking that or telling it?"
"I don't know!" She could feel the blood rush in her chest, "SHUT UP, OKAY?"
He laughed and pressed his fingers over her lips, "Shut up is a bad word,"
She looked at him and he moved his hand away, "Oh shoot! I did it again!"
"Did what?"

"Touch you. I'm not allowed to do that," He said, "It'll be a while till I get used to it,"
She didn't even realize he touched her until he said it. His touch was comforting, it never made her wary enough to put her guard up. She tried to take a sip from her empty cup and then just kept it aside awkwardly.

"You got a fine mustache, my lady!" Ember laughed and pointed at her lips.
"I do?" Rhea touched her lips and felt the wet buttermilk drops on her cupid's bow.
"Let me get a tissue" Ember got up.
"No, see you can wipe it with your tongue like this" Rhea rolled her tongue over her lips while Ember just stared at her.

"How was that?" She smirked.
"Erotic" Ember said with a straight face.
"What is your problem?!" Rhea shouted.
"I can't roll my tongue over my lips. Can you please do it for me, Rhea?" Ember smiled.
"I hate you so much,"

He laughed and suddenly his phone began buzzing, "Oh, it's Jessica,"
"She has your number?" Rhea asked.
"Yeah, I gave it to her," Ember picked up, "Yeah? Oh! Of course, I'll take care of her,"
He hung up. Rhea looked at Ember in anticipation, "Well, what did she say?"

"She said she went back home because you and I never came,"
"WHAT?! What's the time?"
"Six," Ember looked into his phone screen.
"OH NO! WE ARE LATE!" Rhea shouted.
"It's okay, I'll drop you home,"

They both walked into the metro and sat on the empty seats of the metro. Rhea kept the huge bags full of fabric between her and Ember. There was no one else around. Rhea sat as stiff as a stick. Slowly, Ember got up and walked to her other side which was empty. He sat just beside her on her left with the clothes on her right. She moved a bit away from him and he hid his smile between his fingers. He cleared his throat and looked into her eyes, 

"Arorhea~" He sang in a shrill voice as he stretched his arms.
"Yes?" Rhea just looked ahead and spoke in a plain tone, "What?"
"Nothing," He smiled.
"You're so annoying sometimes. Are all Americans so annoying?"

"That's so stereotypical, I'm not even purely American,"

"Yeah, I kinda figured that out after seeing your British twin,"
"British twin?" Ember wheezed, "He ain't purely British either though. We're half Danish. My dad is American, mom was half British half Danish,"
"Wait what?" The metro stopped with a jerk.

Suddenly, his phone began ringing. He looked at it and hung up, "Rhea, come,"
"Huh? Where?"
Ember got down at a platform, "You'll see,"
She picked up the bags and walked behind him, "At least help me with these weights!"
"Oh, sure," He picked up one bag.

"Where are we going?" She asked.
"I've been to this place before," They walked of the metro station and continued walking. It was quiet and awkward, until Rhea spoke.
"So, you're half Danish?" She asked.
"Yes, I am,"
"Know any cool Danish words?"

"Erm, sympatisk," He said.
"Cool, what does it mean?"
"It means when you have a good gut feeling about someone you have just met," He smiled as he walked ahead of her. 
She smiled back, "Wow, one word describes so much?"

"Danish is a beautiful language. The more you learn it, the more its essence captures you, like an eternally falling soul"
"But everything that falls, breaks,"
"You only break when it ends, Rhea. If the fall you take continues for eternity, you can never break. It's only the end which brings death,"

She looked at his blonde hair, shining under the falling sun. He shattered her life long philosophy in seconds. How?
"You've got such a strong mind, Ember,"
He laughed, "Why do you think that?"
"You just do,"

"Yes yes. Oh, we are here," 
He stopped and she stopped behind him. He was looking aside. She looked at his pink face and then ahead of her. It was a small shop, an art supply shop surrounded by the wild vines and a few rusty shutters of other old shops that seemed like they were closed for years now. An orange dog was laying before the shop.

"Tucer!" Ember smiled and the dog rose its fat neck up. It was an old dog, with wrinkly and loose skin and slow reflexes. Ember got on his haunches and took out a packet of wet dog food from his pocket, "I found this place last year," He said as he pressed the wet dog food on his palm and the Tucer gently ate the food from his hand, "It reminded me of you,"

"Me?" Rhea asked, "How?"
"Well, your grandma used to own a shop like this too, remember?"
Rhea looked at all the vegetation growing around the shop, the dirty floor, the dusty shelves, the algae on the outside walls. A sensitive plant growing from the cracks between the walls, with white mimosa flowers growing out of it.

"I...I think I remember," Rhea's eyes rushed into a sense of wanderlust and euphoria, a breathless excitement took over them, "I remember it,"
Ember looked at her.
"Grandma's old art shop, all the paint, the canvas boards, the stories she told about grandpa and his passion for painting when he was alive,"

"What kind of person was your grandpa? I never met him," Ember asked.
"I don't know," Rhea's excitement fell all of a sudden, "I never met him either. I remember grandma telling me how much he loved to paint. And how badly he wanted to paint my picture, but he passed away a few months before I was born with his wish unfulfilled,"

"I'm sorry," He said.
She looked at him, "Don't be. It's not your fault,"
"Well, not yours either...But you still seem sad. I'm sorry if it was something you didn't wanted to talk about and I stirred up some-"

"Ember," She interrupted him.
"Yes, Rhea?" He asked.
"Why are we both stuck in the past?" She looked at him.
"I don't know. If we could answer that, we wouldn't be stuck in it," He smiled. She looked into his eyes.
'I feel like I remember that cornflower blue hue, of the most magical things in the world, the sea, the sky, and you'

"Ember," She whispered.
"Yeah, Rhea?"
"You said you'd fight for me," She smiled, subconsciously, "I'd fight for you too,"

His eyes smiled more than his lips could ever. Because some eyes would always touch more than hands could never, "I know you will, Rhea, I know,"

- To be continued

Ember Helberg
Can't I Touch Your Heart?