Karan’s POV

“So we dressed up and drove all the way here for nothing?” Tejasswi tilted her head slightly, her voice even but her brows arching just enough to betray her annoyance.

“Well, guess this day was supposed to end in a disappointing way… don’t worry, I’ll drop you home.” I kept my tone light, hoping to defuse the tension.

She glanced at me briefly, then gave a small, reluctant nod. But right on cue, her stomach let out a loud, unmistakable growl. Her cheeks flushed a delicate pink, and she ducked her head like maybe if she didn’t look at me, I’d pretend I hadn’t heard.

“Or…” I let the pause hang for a moment, biting back a grin, “…maybe we can have some food before leaving?”

She hesitated, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

“Um, we can, if you’re not busy. Otherwise I can have dinner at home. But… itni dur aa hi gaye hai toh…” Her tone tried to be casual, but her face, always a livewire of expressions was already giving her away.

“Okay then, let’s go,” I replied, and she started walking ahead, her heels clicking lightly against the tiled floor while I followed.

Inside, she leaned toward the hostess. “There’s a booking under Tejasswi, table for two.” The waitress smiled and led us to a table planted squarely in the center of the restaurant, surrounded by chatter and clinking glasses.

Very strategic of Tanya.

We settled into our seats, the lamplight spilling warm amber across the tablecloth. After we ordered, the silence between us grew heavy, the background hum of the restaurant not quite enough to cover it. I decided to break it.

“So,” I leaned back slightly, folding my hands loosely, “shooting starts next week. Any plans for the next three days?”

“I’m planning on just resting for the next two days,” she replied, setting down her second empty water glass, “and then I have a fan meet-and-greet the day before shooting starts. What about you?”

“Nothing special. I’m leaving for Lonavla tomorrow and coming back a day before the shoot.”

Her eyes lit up instantly. “Lonavla? I love that place! You’re going for work or just…?”

“Both, actually. Promotion for a new Airbnb my friend’s launching. Do you want to come?” I tossed the last part half-serious, half-teasing.

She laughed, shaking her head like I’d just suggested something impossible.

Great.

“How about we continue the game from this morning?” I offered, leaning forward on my elbows.

Her eyes brightened. “Oh, that’s great! Something to keep my mind off until our food arrives.”

I grinned. “Alright then, what’s your favorite thing about yourself?”

“Oh, so we’re moving away from favorite colors and foods to deeper questions now? I like that…”

She tapped her chin, pretending to think, then rested her forearms on the table. “I think it’s the fact that I get happy over the smallest things. I don’t need anything grand happening for me to smile.”

“That must feel amazing,” I murmured, watching the way her eyes softened when she spoke about herself like that.

She shrugged lightly. “I mean, yeah… but the downside is the smallest things can annoy me too. It’s a mixed situation.”

I nodded, understanding.

“My turn!” she leaned in, eyes glinting. “What do you think is the worst thing about you?”

“Wow. Worst thing? You couldn’t have asked my favorite instead?” I asked taken aback.

“That’s boring,” she teased, a playful smirk tugging at her lips. “Who knows, you’d probably just boast about one of your many famous qualities.”

I huffed a short laugh. “Fair enough.”

Now I need to think of something real quick...

“No lying, Karan,” she added suddenly, pouting just enough to catch me off guard.

She can read minds too?

“Well,” I began slowly, “something I hate about myself is that I overdo things for others… and even then, I somehow end up being the bad guy. I wish I could be more indifferent. Not care so much.”

Her expression shifted, the lightness dimming a little. After a pause, she spoke more quietly, “You know what? I’ve been meaning to say this. I’m really sorry for what happened this morning.”

“It’s alright, Tejasswi. We don’t know each other yet, so-”

“No, it’s not alright.” Her gaze stayed steady on me, guilt lacing through her voice. “I know you were hurt by what you heard. I shouldn’t have said those things. We’ve known each other for what? A week? It was wrong of me to label you based on my own biases.”

Her hand twitched slightly, as if she was about to place it over mine, but the moment broke with the arrival of the waiter, balancing plates between both arms.

“Sir, ma’am, your order.” He set everything down, the warm scents curling up between us.

I began filling my plate, only to notice she’d already started eating.

“That hungry?” I teased.

She looked up from her plate, letting the spoon drop and guilt returning back to her eyes. “Please… I’ve been thinking about my mistake all evening. Didn’t even get time to think about food.”

I leaned back, letting the sincerity in my voice show. “Honestly, Tejasswi, it’s fine. I won’t lie...I was hurt. But you’ve apologized, and that’s enough. Now go on, continue.” I gestured toward her plate with a faint smile.

Tejasswi’s POV

Apologising left me feeling instantly lighter, and I finally allowed myself to focus on my food.

“You didn’t order anything Indian?” Karan asked, twirling his fork through a heap of pasta before taking a bite.

“This place? Not where you come for traditional cuisine,” I murmured, leaning forward slightly so no one overheard. “They don’t even know how to make it properly. Just drowning it in cheese doesn’t mean you’ve mastered Indian food.”

“Understood,” he replied in the same hushed tone, and I couldn’t help chuckling at how seriously he mirrored me.

Soon, dessert arrived, and by coincidence, we’d both chosen tiramisu.

The waiter set Karan’s plate down without incident, but when he leaned over to place mine, his grip faltered. Before the plate could crash into my lap, Karan’s arm shot out, redirecting it. It landed on the floor beside me with a loud clatter, sending a few splatters onto his coat.

My eyes widened. “Are you okay?” I leaned closer, scanning him for cuts from the shattered plate.

“Yes, but I don’t think my coat’s okay…” he muttered, half-shocked, half-amused, like he couldn’t believe what he’d just done.

“Wait, let me help.” I said grabbing a stack of tissues and handed them over, taking a few for myself, but then froze immediately when I noticed some cream had splashed onto his trousers.

I glanced away quickly. “Actually… maybe you can handle that yourself. Here.”

“That would be better,” he agreed with a awkward smile, accepting the tissues before heading off to the restroom.

When he returned, looking freshly cleaned up, he flagged down the waiter. “Excuse me” he gestured towards the vacant dessert spot on the table.

“What happened?” I asked, tilting my head.

“Nothing, I just wanted to order another one of these,” he said, nodding at the single plate of tiramisu.

“Oh, don’t bother. While you were gone, I already asked for one, but they’re out of it,” I explained.

He hesitated, then slid the plate towards me. “You can have it then.”

“No, how about we share?” I suggested, though secretly I was hoping he’d politely decline.

“Really? Thank you.” His face broke into a warm smile as he reached for another spoon from the cutlery pouch.

“No worries.” I faked a grin, pulling my phone closer.

He was about to dig in when I caught his wrist lightly. “Wait! Let me take a picture first.”

Karan immediately set his spoon down and straightened his posture, a wide grin spreading across his face.

“What are you doing?” I asked, narrowing my eyes.

“You said you wanted to click a picture, so… I’m posing.” He held the smile.

“I meant the tiramisu, Karan,” I muttered, stifling a laugh.

“Oh.” His grin faltered into mild embarrassment. “Right.”

“No, wait. Now that you’ve said that… go ahead, pose.” A mischievous thought started brewing in my mind.

“Okay.” The grin was back in an instant as he leaned in slightly, giving me the full benefit of his dimples.

I snapped a few pictures of him, then one picture of the dessert, before showing him the screen.

“Since our date plan failed today… how about we post a picture on Instagram? I’m sure our fans are smart enough to connect the dots.” My lips curved into a sly grin.

He studied me for a second, then reached across the table, gently turning my face sideways with his fingertips. “Are you wearing an earpiece? Is Tanya training you?” His smirk deepened before he let go.

“Very funny,” I muttered, forcing a light laugh to mask the sudden sensation of where his hand had been.

I posted a shot of the dessert with just two emojis — “💖💃🏻.”

He followed suit, uploading the photo I’d taken of him, with the caption “best impromptu dinner plan 🥳❤️”. He showed me before hitting Add to Story.

He's too good at this, I thought.

Just then, my phone rang. Without checking the screen, I answered.

“Hello, Teja.” came my mother's voice.

Great.

“Hii, Mumma,” I replied, trying to keep my tone light and praying she wouldn’t catch the restaurant noise in the background.

“You’re outside? You told me you were going to sleep.”

“Oh, haa… but actually my friends called me out for dinner, so I said yes. I’m just having dessert,” I improvised.

From the corner of my eye, I noticed Karan nudging the plate towards me, offering the last bite.

“No, you have the last piece, Karan. I’m full,” I murmured, pushing it back  towards him, right as my mother asked who he was.

“Karan? I told you about my new co-stars remember? I’m out with them,” I explained into the phone.

“Yes, goodnight! I’ll call you tomorrow. Love youu.” I hung up and met Karan’s gaze.

His expression had softened slightly, like he’d caught more of that conversation than I’d meant for him to.

“Mom’s not home?” he asked.

“Yes, she’s at a relative’s place,” I replied.

__________

“So, see you in three days,” he said later, holding the car door open for me as we reached my house.

“Yess! I’ve worked too hard for this project, cannot wait for it to start.” I said getting down from his car.

“Same. Goodnight then, Tejasswi.” His smile was small but genuine.

“Goodnight. Drive safe Karan,” I whispered, slipping inside.

I walked up to my room, and moved towards the window to open the curtains, when I saw him getting inside the car.

There was something strange yet warm about watching him standing here under the dim streetlight, in front of my house past midnight waiting for me to get inside safely before driving away.

For a few moments I stood near the window, as the winds blew under the trees watching as he drove away. I moved away and flopped onto the bed, still in my date night dress.

The events of the day replayed in my mind.... the poster shoot, the car ride, the dinner date. How long was this day?

More importantly, could I even call it a date? Probably not. It was just two co-stars grabbing dinner at best.

Surprisingly it was not awkward at all. It had been… nice. Comfortable. Far too comfortable for two people who’d barely known each other a week.

“Well, good for us,” I murmured. “Soon we'll be working together and spending most of our time on set, so it's better to stay civil than fight like first graders.”

I changed into comfy clothes and drifted off, only to wake up an hour later, with a sudden urge to check on my phone.

Notifications lit up the screen, thousands of likes on my story.

Without thinking, I typed Karan Kundrra into the search bar, tapped his profile, and hovered over the red circle around his picture before giving in.

A picture of him popped up, the same picture that I had taken earlier.

Why am I smiling?

Quickly closing the story, I noticed I still wasn’t following him back.

Clicking the follow button, I threw my phone away and buried myself in the blankets drifting back to sleep.

_____________________

Do you think they'll stay away for three days or...👀

I would love to hear some feedback through comments!