“Don’t say no later, then.” he winked, as he stood up.
She looked at him with a confused
expression.
“Sit down.” she said with an amused
smile.
“Only if you agree to be my girlfriend
for the day.” he mimicked her.
“You’re forgetting, I already have
a boyfriend, plus, only a few hours for the day to end.” she said with a hint
of irritation.
He said nothing, just got up and
started walking towards the water. Now, she panicked.
“Okay. I’m your girlfriend for the
rest of this day.” she shouted.
He turned back and gave her a
triumphant grin. Damn, if smiles could kill, she would have died a thousand
deaths by now.
“You know, you’re not as great as I
was beginning to think you are.” she said as he came back to sit with her.
“You think I am great?” he smiled.
“Thought!” She corrected him,
trying to ignore the smile.
As he opened his mouth to say
something, her phone rang, her ringtone sending him into fits of laughter. She
glared at him while she took Nikhil’s call.
“Hello?” she said.
“Hey, where are you?”
“Chowpatty.”
“With Vaibhav?” his voice was more
relieved than possessive.
“Yes.” she answered.
“Great. Hey, listen. I have to go
to a concert today so don’t call me. I’ll call you if I get time.”
“Sure. Enjoy.” She said and without
waiting for his reply, she disconnected the call.
“You’re my honeybunch, sugarplum,
pumpy-umpy-umpkin, you’re my sweetie pie... Who puts this as a ringtone?”
Vaibhav laughed.
“I do.” she said a bit more harshly
than she intended.
“Something wrong?” he asked.
“Nah. I am hungry.” she said,
suddenly getting up.
Vaibhav got up deciding to drop the
matter for now.
“So, where do you wish to eat,
Mademoiselle? Will The Oberoi suit your taste?” he asked faking a French accent
and she giggled.
“Actually, I was thinking of going
back home. It is 6:30 already and we have to cook.” she said, still smiling.
“We?” he asked.
“Naina and me! We’ve rented a flat
and we do the cooking ourselves.” she informed him.
“I hope you remember that I am
leaving tomorrow morning. My flight is at nine.” he reminded her.
Unexpectedly tears welled up in her
eyes. She was surprised herself. Yesterday she was so angry at Nikhil and
Vaibhav for ruining her weekend and today she didn’t want him to go. She wanted
to know him better. She had enjoyed his company so much in the two days that
she did not want him to go. Tears rolled down her cheeks and Vaibhav wiped them
off, clearly surprised.
“You’re crying?” he asked.
“No, something got into my eyes.”
She said wiping the tears.
“You know this excuse is so old,
even a kid won’t believe it.” he frowned.
“You really want to know?”
“Of Course!”
“I don’t want you to go. Not yet.”
she said and looked away.
Her expression told him that she
did not want his reply so he just stood there, not saying anything, just
looking at her.
“I really must go now.” she said
after a few minutes.
“I’ll drop you.” his tone made it
clear that he had no intention of changing his mind.
She sighed and nodded. They took a
taxi. The entire half an hour neither of them spoke. Vaibhav placed his hand on
Navya’s hand and gently squeezed it. Her eyes flooded with fresh tears. When
the taxi stopped in front of her apartment she sighed and said, “Time to go.”
“What? I don’t get to kiss my
girlfriend?” he asked pretending to be disappointed as they stepped out of the
taxi.
“Sure, you do.” and she stood on
her toes and kissed both his cheeks.
He smiled and kissed her forehead.
“I never thought, I will say this,
especially to you but I will miss you.” she choked back tears.
“I’ll miss you too.” he said
softly.
“Good Night!” she said, her voice
barely audible.
“Good Night.” he smiled and watched
her as she went inside.
It broke his heart to see her go.
He stood there, even when she was gone. When was the last time he had felt so
strongly for a girl? Never, came a little voice from inside. She was not the
type of girl he would have dated if he had a choice. Undoubtedly, she was the
most beautiful girl he had seen in a while but that was it. For the first time,
he was feeling something beyond attraction for a girl. For a girl who was his
best friend’s girlfriend.
“Bhaiya? Chalna hai?” the taxi
driver asked.
He shook his head and sat in the
taxi.
Navya had never felt such strong
emotions. Was she in love, again? No, she couldn’t be. She had only known him
for two days. But wasn’t it enough, she asked herself. She had known more about
him in two days than she knew about Nikhil in three months. Nikhil, who did not
want to be disturbed during the concert. The concert was more important than
her. She pushed these thoughts away as she joined Naina in the kitchen.
“What’s cooking, good looking?” she
tried to joke.
Naina eyed her with concern.
“Pasta. You can go to your room. It
is nearly done. I’ll call you.” she said.
“You sure?”
“Yes.”
“You’re an angel.”
“I know.” she laughed.
She was reading the messages
Vaibhav had sent her last night when he called.
“Hello?”
“Hey! What are you doing?” he
asked.
“Was thinking about you.” then with
a pause, “Us.”
“What about us?” she asked, holding
her breath.
“Were you serious when you said you
didn’t want me to go?”
“No. I am good at acting. Was just
showing off my talent.” she said angrily.
“Chill! I am going to call my dad
with you on conference. Don’t say anything.”
“No. Wait...”
“yes.”
His dad took the call after a few
rings.
“Hi dad!”
“Hello son. Coming back tomorrow,
aren’t you?”
“Actually dad, I still have some
work to complete. It will take me one more day.”
“Will it?”
“Yes, dad.”
His Dad seemed to be thinking for a
while and both of them held their breath.
“Okay then, I’ll get you a ticket
for tomorrow night. Will that do?”
“Sure dad. I...”
Navya made a happy sound and he
coughed.
“I’ll talk to you later dad. The
room-service is here.” and he disconnected the call.
“You nearly had me killed.” he
chided.
“You’re staying. I am so happy.”
“Me too.” and she could feel him
smile
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