"Gemma? You've been asleep for twelve hours now, wake up." Kartik shook me gently. I shook my head in confusion. Had I done it? Yes. I was in Gemma's body. I could hear her trying to get rid of me inside my head. Pathetic.
"Of course, Kartik. I'm awake now." I smiled at him. I hoped Gemma's, or my, eyes didn't give away too much. Kartik was puzzled by my extra good behavior. It must have looked fishy. So I roughened my voice a little and groaned.
"My back hurts. I wonder why." I accused. Kartik laughed.
"For a second I thought you were someone else." Kartik grinned and helped me up. My gown was nearly soaked in sweat.
"I'm going to take a bath." I muttered. Kartik let me go and started cooking breakfast.
Gemma was not the prettiest person I had ever seen. Especially not the prettiest body at least. I preferred my own perfect body, but oh well. I, Pippa, looked around for any type of soap from England. But there was none. There was only coconut soap. I hated coconuts.
"Gemma? Hurry, the food's getting cold." Kartik shouted through the locked door.
"Hold your horses." I said crankily. I stood up and dried myself. Had Kartik noticed any difference in Gemma's body yet? I mean, I walked with elegance, she was slightly clumsy. And I held my head up high with pride, she usually looked at the ground or at the person she was talking to.
"Alright, Kartik. Let's eat." I smiled as casually as I could. Kartik raised an eyebrow in confusion. But then he gave up on trying to figure out my mood. I sat down on a table in the kitchen with him. He had planned a great honeymoon place. It would be on an island. The island of Dubai actually. It was said to be very tropical and fresh there. So I agreed to go. Maybe some of the islanders would know how to rid of strange voices, well voices of Gemma, in my head.
"Gemma? Are you listening to me?" Kartik asked. He laughed as I snapped back to reality. I was imagining palm trees and large areas of water.
"Yes, I mean no. Sorry, what where you saying?" I asked sweetly. Kartik pulled me close to him. and just held me there. It felt nice to be so close to a real human again. But I couldn't help but notice how delicious his blood smelled to me right now.
"I was just saying how pretty you would look when you see your first palm tree. And I'm not about to miss that opportunity." Kartik grinned at me, and then he drew me even closer, which seemed impossible. And I couldn't help but feel jealous that Gemma has this beautiful boy all to herself. But now he was mine, as was the rest of the things Gemma had a claim on.
"I love you." Kartik whispered to me, even though there was no reason to be whispering.
"I love you, too." I lied. Did I think he was a very beautiful person? Yes. Was he near perfect? Of course. But did I love him? No. I had lost all sense of the true meaning of love.
Kartik lifted my chin up to face him. His face came close to mine. And then his lips touched mine. Softly at first, but in just a second it was very intense. His arms ran up and down my back as if they where designed to do so. And even my own hands curled into his hair and where pressed to him. My body curled over his, so he was almost bending back.
But then, the perfection of my first kiss in the mortal world ceased. I nearly wanted to cry. Why had he stopped?
"Sorry, Gem. I don't know why I stopped." Kartik said with confusion, and then he walked away. My face burned with anger.
"It's okay Kartik." I managed to reply.
I followed Kartik. He sat on the little swing outside. He sat with his eyes gazing far out through the farm.
"Are you alright, Kartik?" I asked, hoping he hadn't guessed about me yet. But he just nodded.
"It just felt different then before." Kartik said.
I took this as, 'I want you to leave'. So I left without another word.
I fluttered inside and went to my closet. I wanted to wear something better than this dumb morning gown. But then I remembered that Gemma must not have anything that I liked. She was at least four inches rounder that I was.
"Gemma, we're here! Look!" Kartik ushered me over to the edge of our boat. He pointed out for me the port of Dubai. It was night. But not too late in the night. It was about eight. I could see the giant skyscraper of a hotel we would stay in. It was not brightly decorated, or at least not right now.
"It's pretty." I said, mesmerized by the odd trees that filled up the front. The sand was a very light color. And the dock was full of people.
"Let's get our stuff and get ready to leave." Kartik said. I picked up my two bags for three weeks. It would be a pretty long honeymoon. And I didn't really mind. In fact, it would be a very good experience.
And luckily, Gemma would be there, watching everything through her own eyes being controlled by me, not being able to do a thing. I Smelled the fishy air through Gemma's nose. She smelled it too, but once again, she could not do anything.
"Over here, Gem!" Kartik shouted from the little plank that was laid down. The boat jumped as it hit the sand.
I scurried over to Kartik. And then I hopped off with the help of a seaman that stood nearby helping people get off the ship.
"Alright, that's our hotel, I guess. Let's go in." Kartik pulled me along to the main lobby of the skyscraper. It was a lot better decorated than the outside. The inside was a slightly gothic design. The walls where red, but no brick red, darker than brick red.
"Our room is number four hundred ten. That's at the top." Kartik smiled jogging up the steps two at a time.
"Slow down, please!" I pleaded, trying to be as fast as he was. Luckily, Gemma was a much faster runner than I used to be, so catching up with Kartik was not as bad as I thought it would be.
"Okay, into the room right here." Kartik said, he put his bags down and fumbled with the lock and key. Then he opened the door for me to go into.
"Thanks." I mumbled and carried three bags inside. only two where mine. The other two bags where thrown in by Kartik.
Kartik quickly changed into something better suited for tonight's activities. So did I. My chemise was nearly transparent. But what did I care? I mean, I wouldn't be in this for too long…