Chapter 6 I Am Not Over Him

• Trisha POV
• Trisha felt her hands shake. She knew that Justin was sitting at the table next to theirs. She had seen him when she was about to sit down. It took all her self-control not to turn around and run from there. She couldn’t understand how that incident from five years ago still had the ability to affect her. She should be over her crush and the humiliation. That was all it had been, a teenage crush. But now when she saw him, she couldn’t help but think that he was so much more handsome in person. Those pictures did not do him justice. He still had a great physique that was accentuated by the black suite that he wore. His hair was shorter than what he used to have it, but it gave him a devilishly handsome look. As that thought popped into her head, Trisha realised that she was not over her crush. She tried to concentrate on what was happening on stage, where one of her cousin's little six-year-old was performing a traditional Indian dance. Trisha forced herself to concentrate on the cute little performer and not give into the temptation to stare at Justin.
• “Hey, you are trembling. Did someone say something to you”, Steve held her hands in his. She shook her head without looking at him as looking at him would put Justin in her line of vision. He patted her hands to let her know that he was there if she needed to talk. That was what she loved the most about Steve. He never pushed and always gave her the room she needed and he knew that when she was ready she will speak.
• An hour later, food was served, but Trisha could not eat as her tummy was being invaded by millions of dancing butterflies and she felt that if she ate anything she would throw up. She couldn’t believe that Justin affected her this much. In her line of work, she worked with a lot of men, and no one affected her like this. She took a sip of water hoping that her throat would lose its dryness.
• “Hey, you barely touched your food. Do you want me to get something else for you?” Steve asked looking at her face in concern.
• Trisha shook her head and whispered, “He is sitting at the next table, and I can’t stop looking at him. I thought I was over my crush, but it seems like I am not. What do I do?” She looked at Steve with a confused look on her face. He grabbed her hand and held it tightly.
• “Just take a deep breath and calm yourself. You got this and you can always pretend we are a couple,” he said cheekily. Trisha could not help but laugh and felt a whole lot better, knowing that Steve had her back and he will not let her get hurt.
• Steve snuck a look at Justin and was shocked at the hostility that was clearly directed at him. At that moment Steve realised that Justin was not immune to Trisha. He had met him earlier and he liked him. He had to revise his original opinion of him. When Trisha had told him the story, he had been so angy that when Justin had been in front of him he would have punched him until his own mother would not recognise him. But when he had met him earlier, he realised that Justin was not a nasty person. After seeing the look on Justin’s face he decided that he was going to do some investigating and digging and if need be some instigation. He would help his best friend get her happy ever after and it seems that was Justin. He went back to eating his food thoughtfully, a plan forming in his head. He may have to get help from Rakesh.
• Half an hour later, the table was cleared, a shadow fell over Trisha and Steve. Trisha automatically looked up thinking it was another family member that came to greet her, but the smile that she had on her face faded when she saw that it was Justin. Up this close he was even better looking, and all Trisha could do was stare at him.
• “Hi Trish, long time no see,” his voice sent delicious shivers down her spine.
• “Hello Justin, how have you been?” Instead of answering her, he turned to Steve.
• “Do you mind if I steal your girlfriend away for a few minutes, we have a lot of catching up.” Steve just nodded and before Trisha knew what was happening, Justin grabbed her hand and helped her out of her chair.
• “Please can we just go to a quieter part of the hall; I would like to say something that I have waited for five years to tell you.” Trisha felt her heart rate accelerate and her hands tingled from where he held onto it. She couldn’t find her voice to answer him, so she just nodded. He looked pleased with her answer and led her towards the entrance of the hall. They kept getting stopped by various relatives who was so shocked by the transformation of Trisha. Trisha barely heard their comments, some of them being nasty, but veiled as jokes, all she could think about was how nice it had felt when Justin had held her hands and that she wanted him to hold it again. Finally, after what seemed like hours, but was just minutes, they reached the foyer just outside the doors of the main hall, where it was quiet. Justin turned to look at her and Trisha saw the way his eyes raked her from head to toes, taking his sweet time. She didn’t know whether she should be flattered or insulted.
• "Like what you see," she couldn't help but utter. He was making her nervous, but she was not going to let him intimidate her.
• Justin's eyes widened in shock.
• “Wow, you finally know how to stand up for yoursef. Yeah I very much like what I see. You have changed so much Trisha. I always knew you would grow into a stunning woman, but wow. Steve is one very lucky man.” Trisha felt her knees grow weak just hearing what he said. Five years ago, she would have given anything to hear those words, but now she wasn't so sure how she felt about it. On the one hand it made her feel beautiful but on the other hand she felt that he was just saying it to make conversation and did not really mean it. She had heard about the famous Justin Walker charm but had never had it directed at her and she could now understand why females fell at his feet. She licked her lips which suddenly felt dry and she couldn’t help but notice the way Justin’s eyes followed that action and darkened.
• “Thank you for the compliment, I think. But I have not changed all that much.” Justin smiled at her, and she again felt the butterflies in her tummy start dancing again.
• “What do you mean think?”
• Trisha looked at him and said, “I was not sure if you meant it as a compliment or just said it to make conversation.” Justine’s eyes widened in shock. “Of course I meant it as a compliment. It is nice to see that you have gained confidence and can speak your mind now, without getting tongue tied.” Suddenly he grabbed both of her hands in his and Trisha felt a bolt of electricity go through her hands and she was sure that he had felt it too because he looked at their hands in shock. Finally, after a while he cleared his throat.
• “Trish, before your boyfriend and family come looking for you, I just want to apologise for what I said five years ago.” Trisha was about to say something, but he shook his head and continued.
• “No, please let me finish. I have waited five years to apologise. I felt really horrible for being a jerk that day and you deserve an explanation.”