"Nick, I have some work in the garage." I said as calmly as possible. I didn't want to create any scenes. "I'll meet you tomorrow."

After much of debate about how I will be reaching home, Nick finally backed off without much resistance. I gave him a small smile and pushed the car door close.

Robert seemed to be amused at this scene unraveling in front of him. "Don't you have fun when guys are fighting for you?"

"Shut the fuck up and drive." I said.

I had had enough of his slimy comments and comebacks. It was high time I took over the way things were spiraling out.

"Wow, someone's in a bad mood." He said as he drove towards my house. "But seriously, what were you doing with him?"

"Well, certain someone called an idiotic jerk, came late." I answered looking straight ahead of me. "If that rat ass person would have come earlier, then this situation would have never come at all."

"Okay, you are very mad." He said, sparing a look at me.

"And who do you think is the reason behind it?" I demanded. "Why the fuck were you late?"

"Scarlet? Honey?" His turned his face towards me. "You are really scaring me."

I rolled my eyes. If only my leg was okay, then this would have never happened. And who was responsible for it? All the bad things that were happening in my life was pointing towards Robert and all I had to do was hold myself from killing him with my bare hands.

"You didn't answer my question, shitty head." I answered, crossing my hands over my chest. "Was there any girl involved in this fiasco?" That's when another thought hit me. I pointed my finger at him. "I swear Robert, if I find anything disgusting in my car, then you have no idea how creatively you will be dying."

At my threats, Robert just laughed and untangled my fingers holding it in his. He took them over to his lips and kissed on the top of my hand.

How dare he?

I pulled my hand away and pushed him. That was when all the hell broke lose. I didn't care if I was losing my mind and started hitting him on his shoulders as hard as I could. I curled up my hands into fists and pushed and pulled him, hitting him with all the strength I could muster. By the end, I wanted him to suffer.

"Ow, Scarlet!" He said, trying to hold me back. But with one hand on the steering and other switching the gears, I could tell that he was having a hard time putting me back to my place. "I'm driving!"

I still didn't understand how he was so amused by this whole condition. "I hate you. I hate you so much!"

He only laughed. "Come on, Scarlet. I'm not that bad." He smiled at me.

With everything that I was feeling - being helpless and dependent, my waterworks started. "I hate you." I mumbled, sniffing.

Robert only chuckled and detoured our normal route to my house. "Babe, you are stressed out."

"Where are you taking me?" I asked, wiping out the tears. "It's not our usual route."

"I wanted to take you to the pizza place and say sorry for being late." He explained.

I let out a small smile at that, feeling a little better. "Pizza never always works with me. Tell Dan that."

I was sure it was Dan's idea to cheer me up with pizza because he always did that when we had our fights.

"How did you know it was his idea in the first place?" Rob asked, cocking an eye brow at me. "Anyway, I take your side on this one. Its mostly because that Chinese girl at the cash counter hasn't got over me yet."

I laughed at that. I still remember one of his dates at the pizza place. He had dumped the girl because her laugh was not good enough for him. Robert had denied going to that place ever since because he was internally scared of meeting her again.

"Did I tell you how she laughed at my jokes?" He asked, as if he couldn't believe if anyone would have a laugh like her. I nodded my head, but he was not convinced. "It was as if she was transformed into a hyena."

He imitated her laugh rhetorically, making me chuckle.

"Finally, here we are." He said, halting the car. "I'll help you out, stay put."

I looked around my surrounding to take in where we had actually been. It were at the beach, an hour drive from Sunrise Valley. It was the same beach Lily and I had hung out when she had gotten her car on her birthday. We had watched all the shirtless men playing volleyball and had laughed till our stomach hurt.

It felt as if it was all ages ago.

There were so many memories associated with this place. I realized that we had never come here once the school started that fall.

"Get out." Robert walked around the car and opened my side of the door. He tilted his head towards the beach. "A little sand on the feet will help you heal faster."

I took his hand and got out. Though I was limping, it was better than before. Even if I couldn't walk in straight line yet, I managed to walk with the normal speed if not run.

"Tell me you will be washing her if she gets sand all over." I nodded towards the car when he pressed the keys to lock them.

"Of course." He smiled.

"Why are we here?" I asked, as we went further towards the sand. I removed my sandals and held them in my hand. Walking barefoot in the sand was something I liked to do the most. The grains beneath my feet tickled and slid between the toes as I took each step gingerly.

The sky was painted with orange, with yellow splattered all over. The sea gulls flew over the clouds, creating new designs. The coconut and palm trees stood inclined towards the water, wishing the water might take them far away just to start a new life all together.

"I wanted to cheer you up." He said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Seems like I achieved it."

I smiled at him.

We walked further and when my feet was giving me trouble, I asked him if we could sit down somewhere. We sat on the sand covered with grass. Few people were there playing in the water, splashing and laughing.

"You never answered me." I told him.

Robert could be fooling everyone around me, but not me. He had this tendency to sweep things his way, not giving answers to the questions that was put in his direction. If I thought about it, I never really know much about him at all.

"What?" He asked, bringing his knees together.

"Where were you?" I asked. I turned to him and squinted my eyes to see him properly. "Why were you late?"

He just rubbed the back of his neck and turned his head towards the sinking sun. The sea gulls squealed and circled near us.

"Did something happen to the car?" I asked baffled.

When I understood that he was not going to open his mouth about it, I had given up.

"Right, I'll get a ride from Nick." I said and tried to get up. But Robert yanked me back and I lumped on the sand next to him. "Hey!"

"Well, I showed you the car that I had designed, right?" He asked and I nodded my head. "The guy who brought it had come by to talk about its agreement. So I was late."

"See, it's that easy." I waved my hands in the air. "Instead of sending me to hyper modes, you can actually try telling the truth for once and we can settle it like adults."

"Yeah." He said. "But you do look so cute when you are angry and I just couldn't help it."

"But my car's okay?" I repeated, my fingers pointing at him. "If there's any scratch on it, I'm telling you, you better reserve a place in hell."

Robert only laughed at that. "I like how you threaten me too."

I let out an ungrateful huff. What was I ever going to do with him?

We sat in silence for the next twenty minutes, just looking at the sky and listening to the crashing of the waves. It seemed peaceful and for once, I didn't have to worry about anything else. Since it was a weekend, I didn't have to worry about the assignments that had to be completed for the next day.

"You know, I've always liked these beaches." Robert said, looking at the ocean stretched ahead of us. "When I was new to this place, I just came here to wonder what would happen of me."

I looked at him. He seemed to have turned into a child, his smile growing with every wave that seemed to reach us. His goggles dangled on his tee shirt while the button up shirt that he had worn on top of it without buttoning it, just fluttered. His hair was pushed backwards by the wind, making his face clear of the curls that always suspended in front of his eyes.

"I knew I would be with the cars, of course." He smiled. "What I didn't know was how I would be able to reach there."

It was the first time that Robert had volunteered to speak something that was so personal to him. I stayed quiet. I didn't want to ruin the moment and get the cocky Robert back. For all these times, he had never once got out of his character to talk about himself. It had always been about the races or about my life.

"Now, it all seems good." He turned to look at me. "It feels good. Just to sit and talk about it."

"You had never talked about it before?" I asked in a small voice, scared that I might shoo him off the topic. The worst part was I wanted to know more about him too.

It was something that always made me confident about the people with whom I spend time. Lily, Nick and James all knew about me and I knew all about them. And with Dan, Dad all knew about him and it gave me some confidence to hang out with him. But with Robert, it was different.

I was forced to spend time with him and if not professionally, there was no chance for that. He had that charming personality that made one want to know him more. But Robert, he was very careful about letting people in.

"There was no friends for me then." He smiled.

"And what makes you think I'm your friend?" I asked, teasingly.

He laughed at that, not saying anything in return. "See that there?" He asked pointing towards the orange blue sky. I nodded and turned towards him. "That's my favorite color. I've promised myself that I'll design a car with that color just for me."

"What will happen to Maria?" I asked, fake gasping at him.

"She'll always remain the first love of my life." He said proudly that I had to laugh at that.

Suddenly, a volley ball came flying from nowhere and landed next to me. I jumped up in fright. Two young boys came with a handsome smile and picked the ball. They said a nice sorry and asked about my leg. Few more chats later, they left.

"I think it's time to go." Robert said, his playful voice gone. "I don't want that ball to fall on your head and bruise you. You have this knack to attract trouble."

I laughed as he helped me up. "Are you jealous, Rob?"

"Why would I be jealous?" He asked back. "Your Dad would kill me if something happened to you when you are with me. I've barely made him like me."

The sun had come down and sea gulls were making more noise than before. The waves were bigger since it was a full moon tonight and the wind had picked up speed. I pulled my over coat together.

"Why did you want him to like you?" I asked, as I sat on the passenger side of the car.

"Because, I was at his house cooking dinner for his daughter." He shrugged as he turned on the engine. "You have no idea how the fathers get when they see another man in their kitchen."

I laughed at his reasons. "That means you have cooked for others before?"

I knew he was just making up things, but it was fun to pull his leg

"What, no!" He said, rubbing the back of his neck, clearly embarrassed.

We drove home laughing as we pulled pranks on each other. I was glad that Robert had somehow managed to make my sour day into a happy one. Under the given circumstances, if Robert was out of the picture, there was a huge probability that I would have cried my eyes out, thinking how unlucky I was.

But with Robert, it was different - a good different and I liked it.

"Don't you want to cook for your student today?" I asked, leaning against the door, giving enough space for him to pass through when he dropped me home.

I knew what I was doing was completely out of bounds and it was totally wrong. But it had been years since I had laughed so much in one single day. I had become selfish and I wanted to laugh and smile more. And Robert seemed to promise that.

"Are you making this a habit?" He asked. He walked closer and leaned against the door frame, leaving only a few inches between us. "I'm a very expensive guy."

"I'm very sure my car is going to cover it all for you." I said with an even smirk back at him. "After all, it's suffering all the torture when you get other girls in it."

He laughed shaking his head. "You and I both know there are no other girls."

"Then there is no one waiting for you at home." I shrugged. "Hop in and cook dinner."

"I just can't believe you can be so demanding." He looked at me with a I-can't-believe-this-girl smile. "And I'm the one who's called a teacher here."

"As a request from limping girl?" I made a puppy face, tugging my lips downwards. "Pretty please?"

"Fine." He looked disinterested, but I could tell that he actually didn't mind it.

Unlike the last time, I didn't sit in the hallway watching something that I didn't understand. I joined Rob in the kitchen and we both cooked our dinner. The groceries from yesterday was still there and we used it all up.

I learnt that Robert always preferred to use fresh vegetables for his cooking. Any item more than a day old was going straight into the dustbin without a second glance. I was shocked when he was about to throw my half opened packet of pasta that was lying in the fridge.

We used fresh eggs and made a sausage out of it. Robert talked about eating healthy and threw salad into the mix. Though I missed my usual noodles which took only five minutes to make them, this was good. It made me feel as if we were eating in some fine dining.

"Where did you learn all these?" I asked, as I tasted the sausage he had prepared. "This is too good."

"My mother was a great cook." He prided. "She loved it and I had time."

"Where's she now?" I asked and his face fell. Immediately, I regretted the question. "Sorry."

He shook his head, not bothering with a reply. The next two hours we spent cooking and stirring without any talks. Dad was very pleased to see Robert using our kitchen again. It was as if he had found a distaste to my cooking and wanted to have a fancy dinner every day.

We sat on the dining table today since I could limp without anyone's assistance. We talked about how our day was and what we did. Dad was very happy today and told that it was the first time since he started his job that he sold so much flowers in one single day. We laughed as Robert said some of the funny things he saw in the tracks.

Dad turned in early as Robert and I stood at the sink to clean up. I could tell that he hated cleaning and he let me do it all as he stood at one corner monitoring how well I did my job. He was looking at his mobile phone when I finished all the chores.

"You are coming with me tomorrow." He said, without glancing at me. "Be ready at six."

"Excuse me?" I asked.

I agree that I liked hanging out with him. It makes me feel as if I don't have to worry about what might happen. But him bossing me around was something I still didn't come to appreciate.

"Yeah, there's a game." He explained, pocketing his phone. "I think it will be a good exposure if you come."

I blinked at him twice. Was he serious? Yes, I missed racing, but I was sure I still wouldn't be able to step on the gas for now. I needed at least one week of time for that. And Lily had promised that she would help me with my studies tomorrow. I didn't want to upset her either.

"I don't think it's a good idea for me to be an earpiece when I have trouble standing up." I slowly said, playing with the strings of the cleaning cloth.

"Babe, you are not going to be an earpiece." He smiled. "It's just a normal race."

"Then, what will I do alone when you are racing and having the time of your life?" I asked, my brows knitted together. "I better stay at home and learn something for the school."

Robert chuckled. "Sweet pea, do you think I'll leave you alone with one good leg?"

I threw the cleaning cloth at him, but he caught it with ease. He didn't have any right to make fun of my pain, no matter how much good I left when I was with him.

"What I mean is," He corrected himself. "you and I will both be spectators, watching the race. We will have popcorn and coke. I promise to have a good time."

I still debated if I should be going. Sure I could manage going there, but won't it be better if we got a few CD's and watched the same at home? I just didn't like the idea of driving so far just to see a race in which no one I recognized played.

"I'm not so sure." I said.

"Think about it." I said, walking me to the hall. We sat across each other as Robert put out all the points and laid it on the table. "You can escape from Nick."

"I'm meeting him tomorrow morning." I mumbled.

"What?" Robert ran his fingers across his curly hair. "Why, Scarlet? You'll only hurt yourself more when you are around him." When I looked at him, he added. "At least till you can say you love him like a friend."

"It's for a study session." I said. "Lily and James will also be there. Besides, Nick is one of the smartest that I know. And I do love him... as a friend."

Robert heaved a sigh. "Fine. How long will your study session go on?"

"I don't know." I put my hands in the air. "We didn't talk about the specifics. All we decided was we would study tomorrow."

"Okay, okay." He nodded his head in understanding. "Scarlet, will you come to the race with me tomorrow?"

"Now, this is the better way of asking girls out." I said with a smirk. "You say you have asked so many girls out. No wonder, no one has stuck around."

He only laughed. "I'll pick you up at six." He said as he made his way out. "Don't make me wait."

---

A/N: Another unsaid date. I'm looking forward to it. Are you?