Vihaan

"You are in?"
Raj asked me again. As much as I hate this. I have to agree with this.

"Vihaan, think again."
Aayush pulls me back and warns me but I don't. No, I can't think. I have to agree no matter what.

"I am in."
Dhruv, Raj, and Krish smiled. Raj and I shook hands. I am going to regret this later. After this, Aayush and I went back home. Aayush drove his car while I look outside the window. No one spoke a word and as soon as we reached home, Aayush said.

"I hope you know what you are doing."
He was probably shocked. Not in my wildest dreams, I would do something like this.

"We are never talking about this again."

"But Vihaan."

"Aayush never. You know I would never do something like this and if I am there is some other reason."

"I trust you. If that's what you want I will never bring this topic up."
Well, that's a relief. I already regret it but it had to be done. It was either me or them.

"What have you planned for the date, loverboy?"

"I swear I will punch you if you called me that."

"So let me think of the other word than lover boy. Aashiq..."
I scowled at him and he stops teasing me for the time being. Then, I tell him about everything I planned.

"Dude, I would marry you if I were Amyra. I didn't know Vihaan, my friend Vihaan can be this romantic."

"She brings out the best of me."
I hope she likes whatever I have planned. I couldn't wait. Monday, we are going on our date. I chose Monday for various reasons which I will tell later. She was a bit hesitant about missing class but I convinced her.
I can't wait for tomorrow.

Amyra

Today, I was going on a date with Vihaan. He won't tell me anything. Since the night of the party, I can't help but think of him. We talked on calls till late at night and chatted. Time flies by when I talk with him.

Getting back to getting ready for the date. Vihaan told me to dress casually and of course, I needed Twisha's help. Kaira and Twisha were pretty bummed about the fact when I locked myself in but it wasn't hard to convince them. Well, for Twisha I set up a date for Shaurya and her, and for Kaira, I cooked up her favorite meal. I had been on many dates before. This feels strangely different. I was very excited and looking forward to this.

Twisha selected a cute outfit for my outfit from my wardrobe. She then helped me with my eyeliner and put on some gloss. I am not a fan of makeup. Some lip balm and eyeliner is what I apply that too because Twisha forced me too. Don't tell her but I like it now but still not much. Just the eyeliner and lip gloss.

Now, I just have to wait for his text. He came in after 10 minutes of me getting ready. When I received the text, I put on my shoes and went downstairs. He was waiting for me on his bike.

"I guess you love the color white."
He said smiling and I was smiling too. Then he compliments me.

"You look pretty." Put the smiling aside. Now, I was blushing.

"You look good too."
He wasn't that bad himself. He was wearing a plain black t-shirt and jeans. His fossil watch on his left hand. When I compliment him back he clutches his chest groaning as if I stabbed him with a knife to his heart. His acting made me laugh.

"Wow, I am hurt."

"I am kidding. You look handsome."

"Hop on."
He smiled and I sat on his bike. This time I didn't need him to start his bike with a jerk. My hands automatically found their way. He chuckles and then starts his bike. I close my eyes and feel the cool breeze blowing.

It was four in the evening so it wasn't that hot considering Mumbai's heat. It was July and it still hasn't rained. The cool breeze soothed me. I was enjoying the ride.

After one hour which seemed like ten minutes. We reached the Crawford market. I was wondering what we were doing in Crawford market. The place was heavily crowded 7 days a week and one of the busiest markets in Mumbai. There are a lot of restaurants here so I guess that's why he brought me here.

After a while of riding through the crowd, we stopped and Vihaan parked his bike. It was less crowded here.

"What are we doing here?"

"Wait for some time."
He holds my hand and made me go through some dark Galli. I was confused and scared as fuck. He squeezed my hand and I feel a bit relaxed but I can't help. The place was shady and dark. Then at the other end, there was a small restaurant. 'Kolkata's Kathi roll' and various other things.

The street here was busy was a little less crowded to where we came from.

Vihaan looked at me and said.
"After a lot of search on the internet, I found out, they have the best Kathi roll."

"I was craving for Kathi rolls for long."

"I thought so. Not only Kathi rolls but they have the best of Bengali food."

"You are the best."
I was jumping with joy. He thought about me and searched on the internet. The fact alone was thoughtful and sweet of him.

"Already. There is so much more. I hope you informed at home that you are gonna be late."

I smile at his comment. The restaurant was rather small. It had some plastic chairs and we sat there. When he brought in the Kathi rolls and Mughlai. I swear I will die for this.
They were the best I had until now.
Vihaan ordered sweets for desserts and I came to know a lot of things about him while we talked and also how he loved Bengali sweets. We had the Rasgulla and ras malai and it was bliss. Pure bliss. After so long, I had some nice roshogolla.

"I hope you liked the Rasgulla and Kathi rolls."
He asked hoping for a positive answer.

"It's roshogolla and I loved them."

"Fine, Miss Amyra."
We walked back to where we had packed our bike and a lot of street peddlers had set up their stall and it was crowded than it was before. I take a look and something caught my eye.

"This bracelet is so beautiful."
One of the street vendors had this bracelet which caught my eye. I take it in my hands and take a look at it and when he called me. I kept it back to where it was and went back to Vihaan. We were back to riding and within ten minutes. We were at Chowpatty.

I love beaches. The kid in me wakes up and I take my sandals off and run in the water leaving Vihaan behind. I hope he still stays with me after all of this. I would have not done this with someone else but with him, I felt comfortable. First and foremost anyone wouldn't have taken me to a beach. The dates I had been to were in restaurants and cafes. He folded his jeans up and followed me. He comes and stands beside me and I bend down splashing water on him.

"You are so going down."
I start running and he comes running behind me. It didn't take much time to catch me. Adding the fact of how difficult it is to run in the sand. Are you kidding? He is a footballer and I am just a normal girl who doesn't even work out. He caught hold of me by my waist and I burst into laughter. I shouldn't have run in the first place. He laughs looking at me. My stomach ached from the laugher. 

"I told you."

Then we watched the sunset together. The sun was already dipping behind the horizon, but the daylight still lingered in the air as though accidentally left behind creating a flamboyant orange pinkish hue in the sky. The water gleaming in the last rays of the setting sun. It was a beautiful sight to watch. I glance at Vihaan who was looking at me.

"Don't tell me you brought me here and we are not eating golas."

"I was thinking of the same thing."
And that's what we did. We had golas. I chose Kala khatta and he took orange. Slurping and licking our gola, we stuck our tongues out showing our colored tongues.
The best part after eating a gola.

After finishing our golas, we walked a bit. It was dark until then and the moon shines brightly in the sky. We were taking a walk in The Queen's necklace, the famous tourist attraction of Mumbai. I am talking about Marine Drive. I held his hand and he smiled at me.
We were just walking holding hands. I had never been here at night and I always thought of how the Marine Drive looked at night. It was one of the beautiful sights I had seen. Truly and with him by my side was the cherry on the cake.

There were fewer people here today compared to the weekends. It explains the reason he brought me here on a Monday. Many people were having their evening walk with their dogs. A chai waala walking through the way selling chai and a bhelwaala. We were walking when he starts singing

"Yeh Raatein Yeh Mausam
Nadi ka kinara, ye Chanchal Hawa
Yeh raaten Yeh Mausam
Nadi ka kinara, ye Chanchal Hawa."
He sang and it was so apt to the current situation. Did I forget to tell you? That he has an amazing voice too.

"Kaha do Dillon ne
Ki milkar Kabhi hum na honge Juda."
And I went on with it looking at him.

"Yeh raatein Yeh Mausam
Nadi ka kinara, ye Chanchal Hawa."
Then we ended it together.

Normally I would care what people around will think when they hear us singing but now I didn't. Then we sat there facing the sea. I looked at him.

"You have a beautiful voice."

"I should say that about you."
He says looking at me.

"Stop lying, my parents keep me away from the karaoke."
That's true. I don't know. I can't judge my voice. He laughs and we look into each other's eyes then back to the sea.

"We didn't take any photos."

"I don't care. I like to enjoy the moment more and capture it forever in my memories."
I am not fond of taking photos. It is something I cannot do. I cannot pose for a photo unless someone takes a candid or a selfie because I can see myself when taking a selfie. Also another reason, my friends do while taking photos of me is they put funny filters from Snapchat and I came to know about it when they post my birthday stories. So photos are a strict no.

"I am a photographer. I like taking photos of others and not me."

"That makes both of us. I rarely take any photos and when I do, they aren't nice."
I was serious. I can't pose for the camera. If you go through my photo gallery you will find one photo of me posing between hundreds of selfies.

"That's because you haven't met me."
I look at him and smile. Where was I all this time? If only I paid attention to Twisha's talks, I would have found him earlier. The similarities we had between us was something very rare.

"I thought of going to have tea in one of tapris as you like."

"We can do that on our second date."
I said with my eyes still at the sea. He looks at me when I mentioned the second date.

"So there is going to be a second date."
He exclaims in joy. He says Yess out loud like he won something.
He looks back to the waters and we sit silent.

Listening to the waves that hit the rocks and looking at the reflection of the moonlight on the ocean. The sound of honking vehicles was still there but it was still peaceful. Mumbaikars are used to this noise. It's a part and parcel of living in Mumbai. If there are a strike and no vehicles on the road. People will crave that noise. Overall, Vihaan stole the show. That's what he meant by A date is all I ask. I wondered what's next if this is our first date. I am speechless.

"Vihaan..."
I looked at him and he moves his gaze to me. I looked into his black-brown eyes and his smile. I was sure. His eyes shone like a light bulb and there was a different glow on his face.

"I want you to give us a chance."

"I will make sure you don't regret it."

Read the next chapter to read Vihaan's point of view of the date.

...Thank you for reading...