Beauty Pageants

16

Next morning Louis woke up early. He got fresh and went straight to Hope's room.

"Hey Hope"he said.

"God now you are teasing me in my dreams.Go away I am not giving you a kiss"she said.

"Stop talking nonsense Hope I am really here. Come on get up we have to go somewhere "he said.

"Where?"she said.

"I will tell you later. You have only 10 minutes. I am waiting downstairs." he said and left. After 15 minutes Hope finally came downstairs.

"You are 5 minutes late"said Louis while looking at his watch.

"Where are we going?"she said.

"You will know when we reach there"he said.

"Of course I will know about it when I will reach there"she said.

"You have 10 minutes to do your breakfast. I am waiting for you outside"he said and went outside. After 10 minutes Hope came out side and saw that Louis was already sitting in the car. She opened the car door and sat inside.

"Your seat belt"he said.

"Hah"she murmured. Louis got outside of the car. He opened the door to the seat where Hope was sitting.

"What are you doing?"she said and covered her face with her hands. Louis rolled his eyes and helped Hope wear her seatbelt. Hope uncovered her face realizing that Louis meant no harm.

"You don't need to be afraid of me."said Louis and gazed directly into Hope's eyes.

"I am not afraid of you"said Hope and dropped the gaze. Louis closed the car door and sat on the driving seat. He started the car engine and left.

"So now can you tell me where exactly are we going?"Said Hope.

"As I have told you will know when we reach there"he said. She groaned to herself and muttered "God!Why are you so annoying"

"What?"said Louis.

"Nothing"said Hope and turned on the radio. She began changing the channels.

"Finally something worth listening"she said.

"You have a very bad taste in music"said Louis.

"Everyone says that but still I love this song"she said.

"Can you just turn the volume a little bit low"said Louis.

"Ummm no"she said.

"This is my car so I am the boss here"he said and turned the volume down.

"Can't you just let me enjoy the music"said Hope and turned the volume up. They both continued to turn the volume up and down when Louis suddenly lost control and his car crashed. The place was quite creepy. There was no sign of life over there. Trees covered both sides of road. All the sound they could hear was of owl hooting. The pleasant weather dropped to cold weather. Cold wind blew. The wind made the tree branches dance.

"God can't you just stay still for just a second"said Louis.

"Oh really do you think all of this is because of me"said Hope.

"Yeah."said Louis.

"Well you are the one who turned the volume down in the first place"said Hope.

"The music was too annoying. Who listens to such trash while driving. It's same as listening to a bleating goat"he said and got out of the car.

"Come out of the car"said Louis. Hope opened the door and got out. She held Louis's arm and said,"What a creepy place. God why the weather is suddenly so cold I am shivering"she said and gripped her shirt more tightly.

"Here you can have my jacket"said Louisand took out phone from his pocket.

"You gotta be kidding me"said Louis and smashed his phone on the ground.

"God what is wrong with you. You startled me!"Said Hope.

"My phone battery is dead. Give me your phone"said Louis.

"Mmmm my phone right I forgot to charge it"Said Hope.

"Great now we are stuck in the middle of nowhere because of you!"said Louis.

"Can't you just calm down. You also forgot to charge your phone"said Hope.

"You know what forget it. Come one there is a hotel just a few miles from here. I hope they have a phone"said Louis.

"What about your car?"Said Hope.

"What about it. I will call my driver and he'll bring another one"said Louis.

"I don't understand you rich people"said Hope.

"Are you coming or not?"said Louis and started walking.

"Hey wait for me"Said Hope and started following Louis. After walking for few minutes they stopped.

"Now where is your hotel "said Hope and sat on rock.

"I don't know maybe we should continue"he said.

"I can't. My legs hurt."Said Hope.

"Come Hope be strong. We have to get out of here before it gets too dark"said Louis. She tried to get up but her legs were too weak.

"I can't Louis"she said and tears rolled down her cheeks. Louis sat down he cupped her face with his hands and wiped her tears.

"Shh stop crying. I will give you a piggy back ride"said Louis and carried Hope on his back.

After few minutes they reached the hotel.

"It's here Hope. Come on let's go inside"he said and went inside. The hotel seemed quite luxurious. It was nicely managed . Paintings hung on the walls of the hotel . Tables and chairs were arranged in a very decent way . Tables had a good amount of space between them.The lighting was right and decor was beautiful. Chandeliers dangled at even distances across the ceiling

"May I help you sir"said the front desk clerk.

"Yes. Unfortunately my car broke down and my house is far away from here. We have no place to stay. We will be delighted if you can book to rooms for us"said Louis.

"I am sorry sir due to bad weather conditions we only have one room left"said clerk.

"It's okay we can share the room. Kindly book it for us Mr...."said Louis.

"Mr. Caesar that's my name. May I have your card please."said the clerk.

"Yeah sure"said Louis and lent him the card.

The clerk returned Louis his card and gave him the room key. They were guided towards room by one of the workers. Their room was at 13th floor. It had one queen sized bed, television, high ceilings and gorgeous decor. The bathroom was equally spectacular with wooden doors, huge bathtub. The room was warm and cozy and had a fireplace. Hope glanced at the room and said, "beautiful"

Louis laughed at her and said," Do you want to take the bath first"

"No you can go first"she said and sat near the fireplace. Louis came out of the bathroom after half an hour.

"Now it's your turn. Now go and take a bath while I will order food"said Louis. Room service was good. After eating food they both sat near the fireplace.

"You can have the bed if you want to"said Louis.

"No I am not sleepy yet"said Hope.

"Hope I was wondering if"said Louis.

"If what"said Hope.

"Can we be friends"he said.

"Friends well yeah"she said.

"That's great than tell me about yourself"he said.

"From where"she said.

"Start"he said.

"Ok so my full name is Hope Winchester. I never met my real father. He left my mother before my birth. Mum and Bob are the ones who brought me up. Unfortunately my mum also left me when I was young. Mary she lives in my house is very close to me. I really wish to see Mary and Bob together. I had no siblings but Nancy was more than a sister to me. After my graduation my only wish was to full fill my mummy's dream."said Hope.

"I know all of that. Tell me about your relationship status"said Louis.

"Relationship status well I was single and am single. I never dated,kissed or slept with a man. You are the only one who kissed me and you know"she said.

"Really you dated no one. I really don't believe it."he said.

"Why?"she said.

"I mean like you are very beautiful and girls like you can't stay single for long"he said.

"Thanks but I really didn't dated anyone. It's not like I didn't wanted to but I was scared. I was scared of being cheated. Boys often asked me out but I was the one who ran away"she said.

"Hmmm do you want to drink"said Louis and poured vodka in glass.

"Yeah"she said.

"Here you go"he said and gave Hope the glass..

"What about your relationship status"he said.

"Well I have dated a lot of girls. Sometimes they cheated on me sometimes I did. They all wanted me because of my money. I met Nancy in my high school. I thought she was the one but she was like all the girls."he said.

"So let's drink in the name of fake people in our lives"said Hope.

"Cheers"both said laughingly and drank vodka.

"Hope you know what being with you was the most beautiful memory in my life."he said.

"Thanks. At first I thought you were stubborn and didn't had a kind heart but as the time passed I realised that you are not bad just lost"she said.

"You think so"he said. Hope nodded. They both got closer. They both glanced into each other's eyes. His eyes darted from her eyes. He touched her lower lip with his thumb. He kissed her on the lips. She closed her eyes and opened her mouth with a low moan. Suddenly Louis pushed himself back.

"I am sorry Hope. This isn't right"he said. They avoided looking into each other's eyes.

"It's okay"she said.

"I umm I will go outside to get fresh air"he said and left the room.

"God what was I thinking"she said and snuggled inside the bed. When Louis returned to the room Hope was already sleeping.