With everything around him occurring in real-time, he had nearly forgotten that. Last year in that god-forsaken Biology class - the class that Kavi had nearly forgotten he was partnered with Nadia for just that one lab. He would be lying to himself if he said he actually remembered what the actual presentation was centered around. The only thing he knew was, because of Nadia’s hard work and Kavi’s surprisingly-decent memory, that one presentation raised his failing grade of 44% to nearly 70, which allowed him to hold a steady D+ average, allowing him to finally pass the class.
That was what he took away from that one partnership. “It’s coming back to me now,” he recalled, smiling towards Nadia, not shying away from the gaze of her unrealistically-attractive face. Her eyelashes that brought the natural hue of her eyes and the way her lips completed the portrait made Kavi remember those times they spent late at night working on the presentation - well, her working and him making sure he wasn’t a complete annoyance. What a week that was. “How is it that we never dated?” He asked rather bluntly, clearly not beating around the bush.
The redhead couldn’t help but grin at Kavi, clearly amused at his question. Scooting a little closer to him, she placed her elbow on the armrest between them, perching her chin on her hand as her green eyes looked right at him. “Because you don’t want to date anyone. You don’t even want a date from me. You’d much prefer a night of passion,” She stated in earnest, her voice low enough for him to hear though inaudible to anyone that wasn’t outright next to her. “I mean, you can try to tell me I’m wrong. Am I?” She asked innocently, her eyes slightly wider.
If he didn’t know any better, he would’ve thought she actually took the time to notice Kavi beyond their brief stint as lab partners. Just like she did, Kavi moved in a little closer too, keeping his eyes on her. “You might be right about that, but you also might be wrong. Honestly, there’s no true way of knowing unless you test out your hypothesis with an experiment.” Kavi was talking like he actually knew what those things were. But hey! Nadia didn’t know that.
After a few seconds of the music taking place of the silence between the two, Nadia’s grin faded slightly, replaced by a rare, sultry look. Her unoccupied hand reached out towards Kavi, her fingers on his chin as her index lightly brushed over his lower lip, her gaze never leaving his. Bringing herself closer still, her red hair shifted, spilling over her shoulder as she leaned in. Rather than go in, however, her lips brushed his jaw, stopping near his ear. “I’ve gone past the ‘collect data’ phase. This experiment was over a long time ago,” She lightly tossed his middle school science back at him, resuming her position on her chair as she leaned back, a small smile on her face as she raised her eyebrows.
“It can’t possibly be over when you haven’t considered everything,” He implored her without appearing desperate. Kavi Salvador didn’t do desperate. “First off, there’s the fact that we’re both incredibly attractive people. You are obviously gorgeous with your strawberry blonde hair and those dimples too cute to ignore and, well I’m a Polynesian gift to Palm Beach. That’s the most important piece of evidence to consider,” He unashamedly boasted about both of their respective attractiveness. “Secondly, how do you know you won’t like my company if you don’t actually test it out?” A question that was fair in its intent and conceptions. “And thirdly, contrary to what some might say, I’m not a douche when it means I’m in the company of someone as lovely as yourself.” By this point, he took her hand closest to him in his own, kissing it, possibly as a sales technique to give her an idea of how the date could go.
Watching Kavi curiously, Nadia’s smile faded, her eyes searching his. It would be a minute before she would respond as if choosing her words carefully. “I know. I mean, I thought I knew you. You probably don’t remember much of it, but when we did interact, you were really sweet,” She started slowly, never leaving his gaze. “I actually used to have a little crush on you, but...I wouldn’t go out with you the way you are now.”
“You mean awesome and a total catch? It’s hard to fathom what’s wrong with that.”
“Maybe. But you’re not as nice as you used to be,” She voiced her observation, frowning slightly. “You’ve become somewhat cruel.”
”Cruel? In what ways?”
“Your treatment of others, mostly. Yeah, you’re good looking and you’re confident, but the way you treat people isn’t right.”
And there it was. He had been waiting for a mention about his attitude towards certain people. He didn’t figure it would come from, of all people, Nadia Josette.”And what ‘others’ would you be referring to? Because from where I am sitting, I’ve been nothing short of kind to mostly everyone.”
“Right now? Yeah. And I’ve liked talking to you. But normally you have this condescending attitude that just makes it hard to really like you,” Nadia replied. “Yeah, you’re incredibly attractive, and you’re well aware of it. But you’re also mean. I’ve seen you bully Elijah. Or did you think no one noticed?”
“I may roughhouse with Eli, but he knows I’m not doing it intentionally. He and I are buddies. He calls me a schmuck and I mock his Jewish heritage, then we call it a day. No harm no foul!” He gave the best bullshit answer he could think of.
The girl still seemed wary. “I hope you’re not lying to me,” She said, her expression still somewhat doubtful. “Because if you are, you’re not getting anywhere with anyone. And...I can tell that being alone isn’t something you want.”
At first, he didn’t respond. Not because she was right, but he didn’t think it was wise to say the first thing that came to his mind, not when he was so desperately trying to woo Nadia. So, instead of that, Kavi thought about it for a brief moment, then looked into her eyes as he spoke. “I might have some faults, but at least I know who I am. In the span of just a minute, you’ve both told me you have or had a crush on me and implied I’m cruel,” Kavi said, somewhat annoyed, “I’ve been upfront how I would like to take you out some time, but if you really think I’m some kind of monster who is undateable, then just say so.” Though he came over to her for fun and games, Kavi was practically ready to step away from her.
Nadia’s jaw dropped slightly, obviously caught off guard by Kavi’s reaction. “I--that’s not what I meant,” Her response was hurried somewhat, not sure why Kavi was reacting the way he was. “I just--you’re not a monster. I’m sorry--I didn’t mean that I swear.”
And just like that, Kavi had her right where he wanted her. Annoyance aside, it was worth actually letting his guard slip to gain the upper-hand. “If you really want to make it up to me, accept my previous offer to go out on a date. Let’s say next Friday at eight. There’s this new Japanese place that opened downtown that serves the best sushi.” And like that, his tone had completely changed.
Pursing her lips, Nadia seemed to teeter between the decision she had to make. The fight was over somewhat quickly, however, and she inhaled slowly, exhaling in a huff. It wasn’t out of annoyance, more like resignation. At the very least he picked up on the food she liked a lot. “Okay. If that’s what it takes, then yes,” Nadia said, lightly nodding.
He was proud that he got his way. It was a sort of vindication for Kavi after Ariel shot him down, which he still was bothered by. It was less about the actual rejection - those were rare but they did happen. No, it was more about the specific mention about touching. Was she one of those girls who wasn’t a real toucher? Maybe she was autistic. Honestly, Kavi didn’t know nor did he particularly care at the moment. What mattered to him was how he got a date with Nadia and was going to show her a real good time.
“Then, I’ll give you a call on Monday and we can iron out everything. Of course, that’s assuming you still have my number.”
The girl nodded, slightly adjusting her swimsuit as she scrolled through her list of contacts. “I don’t usually delete anyone, so I probably have it,” She replied, showing him her screen with his name highlighted. “Still got it!”
“Perfect,” he quickly took her phone, using it to text anything to him so that he could copy her number too. “Then, I’ll leave you to it. It’s going to be fun, just you wait.” As he got up, Kavi gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, “see you at school, Nadia~”
Before she could respond, Kavi was gone from the poolside. This turned out to be a great party after all.
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