C24 It Feels Good To Feel Your Heartbeats...

"W...we were kids when I last saw you and now we are...." Anna wanted to ease the awkwardness she was feeling, so she just continued speaking. She didn’t know how the words were coming out of her mouth.

"Adults??" Asher whispered in her ear before she could complete her sentence, taking the advantage of her slow and fumbling speech.

"Cough**Cough! I mean grown-ups." Anna said while moving her face away to avoid his lips from touching her ear, which was affecting her efforts to keep herself calm and composed. She then said, "So many years have passed and you are looking very different."

"Or way more handsome than before?" Asher said in a teasing way

"I didn’t notice," Anna said nervously.

"Really? Hmmm!! Are you nervous?"

"N..No! Why should I be?"

"Then why your heartbeats are so fast?" Asher said it while caressing the inner side of her right hand’s wrist with the thumb of his left hand.

"Huuu?" Anna moved her head up and looked at him in a surprised way. She was absent-minded that she couldn’t notice what he was doing with her wrist. She was just busy matching her footsteps with his.

He held her wrist tightly in his hand, circling his fingers around her wrist and pressing them lightly on the inner side of it. He looked at her wrist and said, "It feels good to feel your heartbeats like this."

She moved her eyes in the direction of his sight and looked at her wrist which he was holding quite tightly. She then looked back at his face straight in his eyes and said mockingly, "Are you nervous too?"

"Huuu?" Asher looked at her raising his one eyebrow in a questioning way.

"When my hand was resting on the left side of your chest moments before, I too felt your heartbeats. They were running faster than a bullet train." Anna said without any hesitation. The usual Anna was back now. But she didn’t know that it will not last for long.

He just smiled wickedly and whispered in her ears again. "That’s because...." He took a long pause.

"Huuu?" She was waiting for what he was going to say further.

".....Of you. You make my heart beat faster every time I see you." He said it in a very seductive voice almost touching his lips to her earlobe. He inhaled deeply smelling the scent of her long hair strands which were tucked behind her ear. He wanted to bite her ear but controlled his desire. He just smiled and moved his face away to look at her. Her eyes were wide open with her lips little parted. It looked like she had forgotten to breathe. He kissed her forehead gently, then smiled and said, "Breath!".

She came back to her senses and inhaled deeply but didn’t know how to react. Just then the song finished and she sighed in relief. Both walked out of the dance floor together. As they reached a few meters away from it, Aiden came to his brother with his cousin William.

Brother Asher, where were you? Aiden asked while holding the hand of his brother, looking upward at his face.

"What happened? I too didn’t see you. Where were you?" Asher said holding his hand, looking at him while resting his other hand on his small shoulder.

"I waited for you. When you didn’t come, I chatted with cousin William and told him about my new gaming beast."

Asher: "Hmmm."

"Then we went together to search for brother Evan as he too was not here. Aiden asked him to come back here but he said that he will be back after some time."

"Hmmm" Asher listened to everything patiently whatever Aiden wanted to say. It was Aiden’s habit to say everything in one breath to his brother and Asher too had a habit to listen to it patiently.

Aiden’s sight then shifted to Anna who was standing next to Asher. He didn’t say anything just kept staring at her. Asher noticed it and said, "Aiden, this is Anna. My childhood friend."

Aiden didn’t react much. He then looked back at his brother and ignored Anna. She thought about why she was standing there and was about to leave, and suddenly Adam appeared beside her.

"I am sorry to leave you alone there but it was a very important call," Adam said apologetically

Anna: "It’s ok."

Adam: "Thank you for accompanying my sister to the dance, Asher."

"It was my pleasure." Asher looked at Adam and said it with a smile.

Adam then gave his sister a teasing look. She rolled her eyes at him and looked in the other direction.

"Hi! little man. You must be Aiden?"

"Huuu!" Aiden nodded with a smile as saying yes.

"You were a cute baby when I last saw you. You have grown up now."

Aiden smiled just like his brother and didn’t say much. His behavior was friendly toward Adam but he was quite cold toward Anna.

Soon, other Smith Siblings joined them.

"Both of you looked too adorable while dancing.

"Yeh! You are right."

"Cough**Cough!" Anna Coughed and looked at Asher but there was no change in his expression as nothing can affect him.

"Yeh! I too. What a lovely site to see." Adam looked at Anna who frowned back at him.

Cousin William: "Ya! Count me in. It was the first time when brother Asher took someone to the dance floor."

Anna was surprised to hear this and turned her sight towards Asher. Asher looked at her too and smiled with a light nod as if saying ’That’s true. Everyone was just busy teasing Asher and Anna. But Aiden was not happy at all.

"Did you dance with her?" Aiden asked with an unhappy expression.

"Huuu!" Asher nodded while looking at him but didn’t say anything further. Aiden shifted his gaze towards Anna and kept staring at her with an unhappy gaze. He held Asher’s hand tightly like saying ’Stay away from my brother’.