"This is the restaurant you picked?" She looked at Kabir who nodded proudly, "This one's new in town."
"Didn't they celebrate their first anniversary two days ago?" 
"How'd you know—" 
"It was all over Instagram." 

H pressed his lips as she sighed, hiding a smile.
"Are you sure you didn't lie so I'd agree to come?" Instead of answering her, he held her hand, "Let's head in." 

"Stop holding my hands. People will misunderstand." 
"Why do you care if they misunderstand?"
"Why do you hold my hands?"

Yet again, he headed inside with her without replying. She glanced at the two women nearby staring at them. 

"Wow..." She muttered, ignoring their stares and left his hand as they approached the window seats. 
"I love the window seats." She smiled, earning a glance from him.
"I know you do."
"Huh? How?"

"I saw it on your social media." 
"You stalk my social media?" 

He blinked twice at her question, "I don't think you call that stalking. I was just getting to know you without having a conversation. Work smart, not hard." 
She sighed, taking a sip of water as the waiter approached them. 

They ordered and waited, chatting for some time. 

"Of course. That Bengali restaurant sold such disgusting food. I forgot the real taste of biryani." He made a sour expression making Nisha laugh, "Why do you expect the native taste of biryani from a Bengali restaurant that an American runs?" 
"I was wrong." He shook his head, sighing. 

"Sometimes, I feel as if we use a lot of spices that are probably not even easily available in the States. But what's super flavourful to the foreigners is a basic everyday meal to us. That makes me feel extraordinary." Nisha spoke, watching the waiter serve their food. 
"Yeah, count Panta Ilish as an exception." He spoke, making her press her lips.

Panta Ilish...

"Do you not like Panta Ilish?" 
"It's just soaked rice and a piece of Hilsha fry with pickles, onions or chilli. I don't get why people overhype it." She frowned at his statement, "It's not bad." 
"You like it?" He asked as she nodded, "I mean, we only have it once during Bengali New Year so like... why not?" 

He nodded, "Though I don't like it, if you do then... I've got no objections." 

She eyed him for a minute, taking her first bite of the food. The flavours of the fried rice with chicken curry melted into her mouth. She swallowed the food and continued, "Are you not dissing the food 'cause I said I like it?" 
He took a bite of his food, shrugging. 

She smiled slightly, covering it up with a fake cough.
"You okay? Do you need water?" He asked, pouring water into her glass as she watched him. He smiled, forwarding the glass to her.

Sometimes, he seemed too nice to be true.

That she forgot how devious he could act sometimes.

She stared at him eating his food as he noticed her, "Is the food not good? Why aren't you eating?" 
He kept his spoon down, gaze fixated on her.

Every thought in her brain seemed to blank out as she stared at him. 

"Why did you take me out? Be honest." She pried, intentionally making it sound suspicious. Whereas in reality, she was simply curious. 
Was it because of her bad day? She wondered.

"I just wanted to see you." He confessed, looking out of the window.
"Huh?" 
"Ugh, I don't wanna say it again. Eat." He cleared his throat and she could've sworn she saw a crimson tint shade on his cheeks. 

She suppressed her smile, nodding.

He was bad at hiding that he cared. And somehow, it made the spot she had for him in her heart expand. He always made a way to her heart. 

—Two days later—

"Did you pack everything?" Nisha asked as Adisha nodded, "I think I did. Shirts, jeans, t-shirts..." 
"Okay... nothing desi?" 
"Desi? No." Adisha shook her head, making Nisha frown a little, "Why so?" 
"Those aren't comfortable. And what do you want me to do with desi clothes on the beach?" 

"Leave her to be. You know she doesn't like these." Their mother spoke, sitting on the corner of the bed as Nisha chained her luggage, getting up.
"Why are we all going on their honeymoon?" 
Her mother frowned, "What's a honeymoon? Of course, the elders should go." 

She sighed, shaking her head, "Go all you want. I'm not letting this repeat during my time." 
"What do you mean by that?" Her mother asked, eyeing her suspiciously. 
"I'm not allowing you guys to ruin my happy married life!" 
"Good that you're conscious about your marriage. I'm thinking that... we should find a guy for you by next year." 

Her steps halted as she processed her mother's words for a few moments. 

"Maa..." She whispered, sitting near her.
"Can I just pick my groom?" 
"Of course. If you agree to marry among the guys we pick for you, there's no problem." 
"I mean..."
"Did you perhaps forget your promise?" Her mother's question made her mouth close. 

She looked around nervously, glancing at Adisha's figure. She sensed the awkward atmosphere and left. 

Great!

Now she was alone.

With her mother.

"Of course, I didn't." 
"Shams is a great guy but I'm not sure if marrying her into a mediocre family is good. I'm not going to be cheap and say that Priti's father is richer. We suffered from poverty and grew to this position. But, if the marriage goes just a little wrong, one's life is over. It's not like the Western countries where you can simply divorce the person. Though life is changing now and modernization has changed lots of rules and regulations, one is scarred for life. I don't want my daughters to be put through anything that I've had to encounter." 

There went her other emotional attack.

But Nisha couldn't protest because she knew where her mother was coming from. 

"Maa... If a person loved Priti so much for ten years, I'm sure he'll love her for ten more. Whatever happens, happens by God's will as you've always told me." She smiled, resting her hands on the elder's shoulders. 
Her mother sighed, nodding. 
"You promised to assure us and marry someone we pick. I hope you know that whoever we pick will be for your good." Nisha nodded, suppressing the words within her.

When she had promised those words to her mother, she hadn't felt as heavy as she did now.

Was there any particular reason for that? She was unsure.

Her heart palpated as she heaved out a deep breath, nodding continuously.
"I'll... go and check then. We're leaving soon."

She exited the room and plopped on the couch in the living room, checking her phone.

A few unread text messages from Kabir popped up on her screen, earning a soft smile from her. 

kabir_95: What are you doinggg?? 🤔😚

kabir_95: Are you busy? 

kabir_95: Maybe you are. Okay then, text me back when you see this. 

nisha00: Hey. Yes, I was busy.

She was about to quit but frowned seeing the three dots appear on the screen. He was online, woah. 

kabir_95: Busy with work? 😐

nisha00: Nope, my mom's lecture and packing for the familymoon, of course. 

kabir_95: Lmao, you still get mom's lectures? 

nisha00: Once upon a time, it was due to my grades. Now it's about marriage.🥱🥱

kabir_95: Priti's marriage? Does she still not approve of Shams? 🙁

nisha00: My marriage, stupid.

No reply for a whole minute.

She wondered where he went off to. He had seen the message but didn't reply. 

Turning off her phone, she sighed, closing her eyes to rest. 
"Why is he not replying...?" She groaned, checking her phone again and sighed heavily. 

"I wonder how it'd be there... will we have fun or..." Her self-talk session was interrupted by her ringing phone. 
She scowled seeing the caller ID, 'Kabir Zaid'

"Hello?" She spoke as soon as she picked up.
"Nisha Anwar! Why are you getting married?! You're still young, tell your mother not to—"
"Shut up! What the hell?" She let out a noise in disbelief, "What are you saying?" 
"You just said you're getting married." 

"I never said that, idiot. My mother said I was next and warned me about finding a groom. How does that equal me getting married? It's only ten days since Priti got married." She rolled her eyes at his foolishness. 
After a few beats of silence, she heard him say, "Oh." 

"Oh?" She sarcastically asked. 

"I got scared for a moment." He whispered that didn't go unnoticed by her. 
"Scared that I'll marry before you? Hah." She drew circles on the sofa, feeling uneasy at her thoughts. 
"I'm sure that's not happening." 
"Why wouldn't it?" 
"I'll tell you later." 

"Why do you always say incomplete stuff? It's annoying." She complained, earning a chuckle from him.
"Are you dying to know?"
"No. I don't wanna know, eat grass." 

She could imagine his reaction.

Pressed lips, straight brows and a suppressed smile.

Somehow, the thought itself eased her and made her smile. 
"You know, I'm excited to see you tomorrow." He spoke, making her lips part. 
"Huh? You sure?" 
"What do you think? I'm the happiest when I see you." 

Her movements froze, a soft gasp escaping her lips. 
"You're a good friend." He added as she blinked twice, letting his words sink in.

If he didn't add the latter words, it'd be better.

"Of course that I am..." She whispered, smiling. Her smile slowly widened as he continued saying random things about his day. She didn't realize how they ended up talking for nearly twenty minutes until her mother called. 

"I've got to go now. See you, Kabir." She smiled, hung up and turned around to see her mother standing there.
Her smile flattened as she put her phone aside, "Maa. What did you need?"
"Who were you talking to?" She asked.
"Ah... a friend." 
"Okay." She nodded, eyeing her once before walking away, "Be quick. We'll be leaving this evening." 

She nodded, glancing at her mother once before rushing into her bedroom.

—In the evening—

"Guys, did you all get on the bus?" Atif asked as everyone nodded.
"We're in, Atif. I think you should check the bags instead of humans." Nisha spoke, resting her head on the seat and looked outside the window. 
She noticed Kabir and Shams talking about something.

His gaze shifted to her as a soft smile adorned his face. 
She smiled, waving at him.

A soft fluttering feeling erupted within her when he didn't take his gaze off her. 

Shams frowned, noticing his attention somewhere else and followed his gaze to find Nisha. She waved at Shams as well who smiled. 
A soft gasp escaped her lips when Shams smacked Kabir, making him groan.

They both started bickering. 

"Where's Shams?" Priti asked from behind as Nisha replied, "Probably with his rumoured lover." 
"What the heck?" Priti looked out of the window and sighed, "You mean, his main lover. I'm the rumoured one at this point." 
She sighed, earning a few chuckles from around.

Atif and Ajay sat together while Wahi was with Adil. Adisha and Soha were together and the parents of both the groom and brides were sitting couple-wise.

"Should I sit beside you, Nisha? Maa won't take it well if you sit beside Kabir. He's the only one left." 
"Isn't it your honeymoon?" Nisha asked as Priti sighed, shaking her head.
"I wonder what honey there is in this trip. I might find some good sights of the moon though." 

She chuckled at her elder sister's remark, watching the two men enter the bus. 

Kabir looked at the two empty seats and grinned, "I'm sitting here." 
He sat beside Nisha as she shifted farther from him intentionally, making a disgusted face. He seemed unbothered by her show and smiled, turning towards her.
"We sit together." 

"Because everyone ditched you." 
"More like, we're meant to sit together."

She let out a laugh in disbelief at his words. 
"You're so ugly with your words." 

He scoffed playfully, glancing at Shams who glared at him. Shams leaned closer to Kabir's ears, whispering something as Nisha frowned. 

Kabir's smile flattened as he listened to Shams and nodded politely, glancing at Nisha.

When Shams settled onto his seat, getting bashed by Priti, Nisha turned towards Kabir. 
"Are you sure there's nothing between you and Shams besides pure friendship?" 
He arched a brow at her, "What do you think?" 
"There's no way someone would like you to begin with."
"Excuse me?" He frowned, leaning closer to her but hearing a loud cough from behind, he moved away with a scoff. 

"He told me to stay away from you." He muttered as she raised her brows in confusion, "Why so?"
"You don't need to know."
"Tell me."
"No."
"Why?" 

He let out a soft sigh, facing her, "So, is your marriage plan just a random talk or is your mother impatient?" 
She eyed him suspiciously, "Why are you curious?" 
"I'm just asking." He tapped his feet impatiently as she hummed, "She's just... anxious about my wedding. I can't believe this though. We're going to her elder daughter's wedding... family trip or whatever and she's worried about my wedding. Is getting married the only important thing in life or what?"

Unconsciously, she shifted closer to Kabir, getting a whiff of his refreshing scent.

It soothed something within her. 

"Desi parents will always be obsessed with the idea of marriage." He whispered as she smiled, nodding. 
He glanced at her mother and whisper-asked, "Does your mother not like me?"
"You're a male, sitting beside her daughter. Who wouldn't stare?" 
"Should I move away?" 
"You want me to sit alone for an entire night? We'll reach there tomorrow noon so I'll be very bored." She frowned. 

He let out a smile, knowing well those were just excuses.
"Then I'll bear aunty's deadly stares for the night and keep you company since you want me."
"I don't want you, there's just no one else." She lied. 

He chuckled. 

Silly. He thought.