Sivaangi walked past the lamp post...which led to the stairs leading to the little play ground...
She, tired but excited climbed down the stairs... by now sure that at 11 at night... nobody's going to be playing there... except one...

She used to bag to slide the dry leaves off the stone bench as she placed it beside and sat on the bench... The bench that was basically her favorite spot by now...

Why? Well where else could she get the exact view of the guy who plays basketball every night...

How else could she get to watch him practice for hours... Just him... and his basketball...

She smiled as she saw him jump to try to goal... and do his little victory gesture just after scoring...
She looked at him all dreamy when he bent down to catch hold of his breath... maybe an attempt to relax his muscles...

Sitting here for 1 month straight... she never seemed to get tired of getting blushful yet sneaky glimpses and glances of his drenched in sweat look...

'I'll be late' she texted Shruthi, her roommate as she almost jerked on sensing the shade above her...

She felt a different taste of air surrounding her... she felt the warmth of a who and not a what...
The drips of water over her cheeks... and the hug but not feels... all could be felt over her skin...

She looked up at her own cost to find him...
"Evlo naala idhu podhu?" He asked with his eyes sharp fixed onto hers... his one foot placed right beside her thing on the bench while the other stayed on ground...

"En.." she started but sat not able to utter a word on now seeing him this close... each word she tried to utter... there came a VIEW of his wet hair dripping those mix of sweat and the water he poured all at once out of a water bottle...

"Enna podhu?" She cleared her throat as she looked back at him  trying to maintain the same intensity... but the girly side failing to do so each time...

"Vandi podhu, nee pova aprom naan poven..." he said rolling his eyes as she giggled...

"You're such a gentleman... ladies first nu solli apdiyeeee you care for me nu sollama solli katreenga... so cute of you" she said pinching his biceps right below the sleeve of his singlet making him hiss in pain...

She quickly got up and stopped after a few steps when she heard him...Clear his throat...

"I'll walk with you down the lane... iruttiduchu..." he said with a stern face as he picked his sling bag up after having shoved his towel inside.
He looked at her before he started walking the slowest he can...

"Neenga eppodhume amaidhi dhana illa enna maadhiri oru cute ponnu pakkathula irukaradhu naala ipdi vareengala?" Sivaangi asked after having had enough of the silence that prevailed between them for the past 1 minutes 34 seconds...

"Huh?" He looked up and looked away shaking off after seeing her cheeky smile put on face...

"Yen neenga pesa vendiyadhu dhane?" He asked looking at the long road ahead...
Sivaangi frowned at him before looking in front... at the road that held an unexplainable meaning to the silence it spread across...

Ashwin pulled his phone out... so that he can divert his wild mind which basically put forward a question road of 43 different routes...
"Basketball player with a match tomorrow needs to relax Ashwin! Don't overwork your brain..." Sivaangi exclaimed making Ashwin go "wait what?!"

"Unnaku en per epdi theriyum? AND unnaku epdi theriyudhu that I have a match tmw?" Ashwin passed on a genuinely confused look as he stopped to look at her...

"Evlo naala idhu podhu nu kekka Therinja ungaluku idhu kekka epdi thonudhu?" She asked with a glint of tease doing their job on her face...

Ashwin fell silent as he knew he had no answer to that...

"Listen... Indha vayasula idhu Ellam sadharnam dhan..." Ashwin started as he looked down into the path they traversed...

"Edhu Vella mudiya? Adhu kooda ungaluku okay... na chinna ponnu bha...." She said waving her hands from side to side as if that said I'm not taking the fact...

"Dha che... Adhu illa ma.... What you feel for me..." he said as he went to whisper mode for the last five words... his eyes making contact with hers...

"Naan enna feel panren?" She asked frowning and lifting her face up high so that she can show her confusion to him...

He stamped his feet down before taking in a deep breath and letting the same out...

"You're liking for me ma...." He said as he frowned his eyebrows as in to ask her whether she got it...

"Liking ah... naan ungala like panren nu naan sollaveeee illaye...." She teased him with her funny expressions...

"Appo illaya?" Ashwin asked... a tint of disappointment seen clear...

"Apdi sollalam sollama yum irukalam..." she said swaying her hands from side to side....

"Irukka illaya?"

"Idhu varaikum illa... inimel irukalam illamayum polam..." she said doing the same chirpy step...

' naane idea kuduthuteno....' Ashwin thought as he walked in silence....

'Enna pesa maatra?' Hé thought with the extreme silence that was spreading across...

"Naaliki en match... nee varadhunaaaa varalam..." he insisted a bit hesitant....

Sivaangi who was hopping the while entire time... stopped and turned around...

It was just them... in the dark deserted road...
She looked at him and him back at her...

She quickly nodded a teeny no before hopping back on the same path... leaving behind a weirdly disappointed Ashwin....

"Poiduven nu nenacheengalo... nenaika vitruvena enna?" She asked as she laughed falling back...

Ashwin kept adjusting his palms that were on either sides of her sides but not in touch as he feared that she might fall...

" Puriyala...." He said as he finally pressed his palms flat on either side of her waist to stop her from swaying...

Sivaangi's mouth went dry to his touch...
She gulped as she saw him loooking into her... as if he felt it too...

" 4 years.... Unga match a naan.... thaniya vandhu paathen....
But this year...." She looked back at him from her previous path of looking nowhere, as she crossed her hands over her chest....

" Indha vaati... naama rendu perum sernthu dhan entry potutu ponum! Solliten!"She said pointing her index finger at him....

Ashwin stood there totally confused... but his insides screamed about knowing what she meant... maybe his uneven breath was the sign...

" Naan indha basketball championship ku... thani aala vara maaten..." Sivaangi said as she looked at him again...

"Drive....."Ashwin pulled on his words but stopped to her glare....

" Yovvvvvv "She caught hold of his singlet as she pulled him closer...

"Ozhungaaaa indha varusham aachu amma appa kitta pesi enna kootitu poidu... Illlaaaaa!" She pulled him even closer making the poor lad chuckle and jerk to her actions....

Ashwin smiled when their faces weren't even a centimeter apart... he was now getting a clear view of her face that gets all red when she gets annoyed with him... maybe that was the reason Ashwin liked pulling her leg more every time...

"enna? kootitu pova la?"Sivaangi asked as she pulled him even closer making him chuckle louder...

" naan yen kootitu ponum?" Ashwin asked as she teared up and went on smacking his chest and biceps which she knew would not hurt at all...

Ashwin laughed as he swiftly caught hold of her hands in his one hand and breathed out to relax his ribs that hurt after having laughed....

He pulled an envelope from behind and forwarded it to her making her frown...

"Ennadhu idhu?" She tried maintaining the cool and casual her....

"Open pannu d modhala..." Ashwin pushed it further making her grab it as a grin adorned his face...

" You aren't coming as Sivaangi the friend of Ashwin... but Sivaangi... Ashwin's fiance... innum solla pona Ashwin oda future wife... to make it even better...

Who's that playing there?
Oh that's Ashwin.... Singer Sivaangi oda future husband"

Sivaangi chuckled as she hugged him tight....

" Naanum manushan dhane d... unnaku mattum dhan kalyana kanavu lam irukuma? Naan lam kanavu la kudumbame nadathiten...
Adhan... inime no kanavu! Only nijam nu mudivu panniten!"Ashwin laughed when Sivaangi smacked his torso again...

"Poruki!"Sivaangi pinched his chest making him yelp and laugh at the same time... as he pulled her into a hug...

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