DUSK by Esther Machethe (top books of all time txt) 📕

“Aren’t you just adorable, why are you leaving so soon or are you intimidated by my presence?” he mused out loud so I could hear him but I only scoffed at him.

“Yeah right, if only that was possible. What could be intimidating about you anyway? Surely it couldn’t be your cute eyes or that cute face…” I trailed off, realizing what I just said before burying my face in mortification. His loud laugh made me look up at him.

“You think I’m cute? That’s new.” He took a step towards me and I took one back but with every step I took back, he took two more until I was pressed against the kitchen sink.

“I am anything but cute, make sure to remember that next time.” He breathed in my ear making my spine run ice cold despite the warmth he emitted. I could only stare at his green eyes which had completely absorbed me with their mysteriousness and also with a hint of familiarity. Had I met him somewhere? His body went still and he took a big step back, his face held confusion.

“What?” his voice came out harsh and his face darkened in anger. “What did you just ask?” he repeated himself again before taking a step towards me again.

“I’m sorry, I guess I spoke out loud.” I mumbled before trying to side-step him but his hand shot out and grabbed my arm.

“Why did you ask that?” I didn’t have an answer for him. ”Are you deaf or did you suddenly turn mute? One piece of advice though, keep your thoughts to yourself.” He muttered darkly then walked out leaving me confused, was he bipolar or was I going crazy?

‘Dusk, could you please run a check on a person called Leo Havier?’ I called on to one I know would help.

“Certainly Chloe, shall I send the results to you or would you like to hear them?” her reply was instant and it gave me a brilliant idea,

‘how about you work it through me so that I can read it first hand?’ I asked which she instantly replied with an affirmative. I rushed to my room and took my laptop where Dusk got to work.

Twenty minutes later, I had all the information I wanted; Leo Havier, lived all his life in Mexico City and moved here last month to start his university studies. Nothing was out of the ordinary and there was no way we could have met before but something inside told me otherwise. I let it go because either way it didn’t concern me and returned to the comfort of my book.

Ever since that day, Leo avoided me like the plague but he would always manage to give me a glare or a stink eye. Em never noticed and even if she did, she never spoke about it. It was always weird to be in the same room with him but most of the times I used Dusk to keep me busy, the perks of having a computer in your head.

This was it, I picked up my phone and decided to do the one thing I was supposed to do six months ago. I held my breath as I waited for him to pick up, hoping against hope that he wasn’t mad at me or worse, forgotten about me.

“Chloe, is that you?” his voice held so much joy and relief and a hint of hurt. My breath hitched and my voice got stuck in my throat but I still pushed it out.

“Hi Ash,” my voice came out breathless and squeaky but he only laughed at that and that’s all it took me to calm down, “I’ve missed you so much.” I found myself blurting out the first thought that came to me.

“It’s been so damn long, what took you so long?” he questioned playfully but the guilt that settled in me was enough to sink the titanic.

“I’m sorry; I just never thought it was the right time. What’s your excuse?” I questioned and I could hear the joy in his chuckle.

“I wanted to but I kept thinking that maybe it wasn’t the right time. Great minds think alike eh?” he joked and we both laughed. We talked for a long time with me filling him up on what’s been happening on my end while he filled me in on his end. It felt good to talk to him again and I finally had someone to talk to whenever I felt like. Well—not really whenever but most nights at least I will. After what seemed like forever, we both said good night and hung up and for the first time in a very long time, I went to bed with a smile on my face.

I was sitting on a bench under a large tree and had all my focus on my book when someone cleared their throat making me look up.

“Hi, sorry but I just wanted to ask which book you were reading?” A guy with deep blue eyes and ash brown hair asked and I just stared at him.

“Sorry, you don’t look like the reading type but the book is called The Camel Club by D—“I was cut off by his excited voice,

“David Baldacci! Oh man, I love that author!” I took a moment to swallow my surprise before I looked at him. His eyes had lit up like a kid on Christmas and a genuine smile had replaced his earlier smirk making him look even better but I wouldn’t dare say it out loud.

“Wow, you actually know him.” He gave me an ‘are you serious’ look and was about to say something when I beat him to it

“Sorry, I’m not being stereotypic but you really don’t look like a book type but more like a football kind of guy.” I tried to sound as nice as possible but he still gave me a questioning brow before he straightened his face and a smirk made its way there.

“I noticed a small kind of compliment there but I’ll tell you now, I’m a book kind of guy, better yet, I’m studying English literature as my major.” He explained a smug smirk still intact and my jaw was almost at the ground.

“If you want, I can read you some of my most favourite books as we study the art of body fitting or better yet, role play of 50 shades.” He wiggled his brows and I just laughed; the nerve of this guy. I was about to give him shit when he cut me off again. Really?

”May I?” he gestured to the seat beside me and I would have said no or made up a stupid excuse if he gave me the chance to respond but he just took it that I would accept and sat down anyway, such a gentleman. Please note the high level of sarcasm.

“Name’s Lance by the way.” He introduced himself but thank God he didn’t offer me a hand shake (who knows what I would have done)

“I’m Chloe and I’m doing a major in Interior Design; just so you know.” I tried to mimic his accent but I failed miserably and he laughed at me.

Over the next few months, my friendship with Lance grew and I could tell that Em and Jared were starting to like him despite how cautious they were of him when they first met. Leo was another different case, he refused to acknowledge Lance and chose to ignore him completely. Poor guy, he often wondered what he did wrong but I just assured him that Leo was just being a douchebag.

For once; I had a normal life and it was great. I just prayed that it would always be like that but a tiny voice in my head assured me that my little bubble of happiness was going to be popped sooner than I hoped.

If there is something I really despised in all my existence it would have to be someone knocking at the door at this ungodly hour. I mean, shouldn’t people be asleep in their own houses at seven in the morning especially on a Saturday; but no, whoever was at the door just couldn’t live with themselves when they thought of good old me sleeping peacefully this early and had made it their sole mission to disrupt my sweet dreams.

“Chloe! Get the damn door!” Em shouted from the bathroom and I let out a dejected sigh before getting out of bed and walking towards the door, ready to yell at the idiot who just ruined my morning.

“You know you should—” the words dried up when I came face to face with a pair of green eyes that I thought I won’t see for some time.

“Is that how you greet your best friend in the whole world, I’m hurt” he teased, amusement lacing his every word. I couldn’t talk and my mind had decided that it was probably the best time to shut down completely and for the life of me, I couldn’t form a coherent sentence.

“At least let me in, or are you currently busy, I could totally come back another time.” He commented which eventually set my mind into motion and my first instinct was to hug him. I missed him more than anything and with him here now my little normal life was complete.

“I have to admit, that hug was long overdue, not that I’m complaining or anything.” Ash murmured but made no attempt at letting go of me. My arms slid from his back as an indication that the hug was over now but he didn’t let go until I cleared my throat and his hands dropped faster than expected. Well, if that wasn’t awkward then I don’t know what it was.

“Em! Get down here now!” I called out in an unusually loud voice that made Ash flinch. Way to make an impression.

“What? Who was at the door and I really hope it wasn’t Leo because that boy should know better than to knock here at seven in the morning.” Em grumbled loud enough for us to hear but it wasn’t as amusing as the embarrassment on her face when she came down with a short skimpy towel around her wet body. The most hilarious part was when she saw Ashton’s amused face and her eyes nearly bugged out of their sockets and an embarrassed red tint covered her face and neck.

“Well, I—uh—I’ll be right back.” She murmured before rushing out of the room. I had only snickered when her voice rang out from the other room; “don’t you dare laugh Chloe, I hold your embarrassing moments in my hand and phone” that shut me up.

“I can see how much your communication skills have developed since I last saw both of you.” Ash teased him and I would have commented crudely if he gave me the chance. “Nice house, mind if I ask who Leo is?” he tried to sound stern, almost, but the humour in his eyes shone clearly.

“He’s name is Leo Havier and I think he has a crush on Em, though I’m not completely sure.” And since Em was not here at the moment I decided to take things up a notch. “I wish you’d