^^ the above song contains explicit language so do not listen to it if such kind of language makes you uncomfortable.

《Short Recap》

I plopped down onto the couch and opened a random page, just in time for Vinay's door to click open. He stepped out with a towel around his neck, his hair still wet from the shower swept to one side.

"Hey beautiful!" He grinned elfishly. 

I looked up from my book, and returned his smile, "Hi."

"Well, I'll just grab my keys and wallet and I'll be out in a second."

"Take your time," I shrugged my shoulders, waving a hand, "I'm ready when you are."

In that moment I didn't realize the weight of those words.

●○●

The cool wind hummed steadily in my ears as we rode against it. My heart was thundering against my ribs, my breath shallow as I looked around at my surroundings in anticipation.

Vinay took a sharp left and hit the highway.

He'd brought a large duffel bag with him and strapped it onto the side of the bike. He wouldn't tell me what was inside it or where we were going for that matter. The only thing I knew was that we were heading out of the hubbub of the city.

Despite the fact that I hated being kept in the dark, the suspense was making me feel heady and excited.

The sky was clear now, the grey clouds from earlier in the morning had disappeared completely, and the gibbous moon shined brightly like the prima donna of the heavens above.

After about fifteen kilometers in the wide lanes of the NH-4, Vinay took a bypass and exited the highway. This road led into a slightly forested area, a warning sign saying it belonged to the government and that trespassers would be prosecuted.

Ok, is this a joke or something?!

The area looked pretty deserted and I certainly did not want to have dinner with a million insects crawling up my back. I'd spent too much time getting ready for the evening to boil down to a stupid campfire.

"Uh, Vinay are you sure you know where we're going?" I leaned forward and asked.

"Of course." He nodded, "Why?"

"No, nothing." I replied, shaking my head slightly before blurting, "I don't want to have some kind of campfire date in the forest. If that's what you've planned, I'd suggest we turn back and go to some restaurant on the highway. I'll pay, don't worry."

Vinay guffawed, his shoulders shaking as he glanced at me through the rearview mirror and raised his eyebrows questioningly.

"What?" I asked, my lips curling into a frown.

"Nothing." Vinay shrugged.

Twisting my lips to one side morosely and looked away.
"You know I don't know what is more hurtful," Vinay said turning around, "You ardent trust in me or your intermittent lack thereof."

I opened my mouth to say something but stopped before I uttered anything, choosing instead to leave the last sentence hanging.

The silent night was still young and the farther we went the air became clearer and sweeter. Might as well enjoy it while I could.

A white light loomed in the distance. As we rode closer to it, I saw that it belonged to a small wooden security cabin outside a large black wrought iron gate attached to a whitewashed compound wall.

We came to a halt outside the cabin and Vinay honked to alert the watchman. There was a shuffling sound and a droopy eyed guard came to the open window and leaned out to get a better view of us. The poor fellow probably wasn't expecting visitors on this usually deserted property.

"This is government property." he said tersely, blinking the sleep out of his eyes, "Get out of here before you get into trouble."

Taking his helmet off and threading his fingers through his messy hair, Vinay cocked his head to a side and said, "I'm Ashok Karthik's son."

The guard looked like he'd been slapped. His voice quivered as he answered, "Of course. I'm sorry I didn't recognize you, Sir. You normally come with your family so..."

He almost jumped out of the window as he hastily made his way to the gate and opened it, before standing in attention and saluting as Vinay revved the engine and sped in.

We rode down the short driveway, lined with trimmed hedges and parked the bike in front of a large white house. It looked like a farmhouse of sorts.

"What..." I started in an annoyed tone that quickly transformed into one filled with awe when Vinay switched on the lights, "What is this place?"

He chuckled at my sudden change in demeanor, going from hangry to awestruck in a split second.

"Well, you'll be surprised how much a couple of favours here and there can bring when your father's a well renowned scientist in the government circles." He smiled, "Beautiful isn't it?"

I nodded, impressed, "Yes."

The wide courtyard was covered with a lush green lawn that sparked with dew in the moonlight, neatly trimmed rose bushes scattered meticulously. A large raintree with an expansive foliage stood in one corner, it's branches forming a protective canopy above the shrubs below.

The night was alive. Crickets and other nocturnal creatures buzzed merrily and the wind blew, the branches of the raintree dancing lazily to its low strung melody.

Vinay led me inside the farmhouse and to a large verandah attached to the living room. A small table was already set up for two, fresh white lilies placed inside a vase set in the centre. 

Wow!

I turned to Vinay with an apologetic smile, "Gosh, you really put some effort into this didn't you? I'm so sorry for being so doubtful."

"It's cool." Vinay shrugged, unzipping the duffel bag he'd brought, "Did you like the lillies?"

"Obviously!" I gushed ecstatically, "How did you know they were my favourite?"

I already had an idea who had told him. Roshni honestly needed to stop being so meddlesome.

"I have my sources." He smirked, "Ok, so do you like pasta?"

"Yes. I love anything with cheese!" I exclaimed, bobbing my head up and down excitedly like a little child.

"Great! A cheez-fucking-tastic bowl of pasta coming right up!" Vinay announced walking to into the large kitchen and setting his bag on the island in the middle.

I watched as he unzipped the bag, and started taking out ingredients and setting them down on the island top. Finally he rubbed his hands before bending down to get a saucepan out one of the cupboards and placing it on the stove.

"Akira, there's a set of Bluetooth speakers in the hall," Vinay said turning back, "Why don't you play some music that you like."

"On it." I replied, whipping out my phone and opening my usual music app as I looked for the speakers.

"Don't put anything too loud." Vinay called out over his shoulder.
I rolled my eyes.

"Like I was going to play Blackbear on a date!" I shouted back, scrolling through my music library, "I wouldn't want to ruin the mood!"

"Your mind sure works in a twisted way, so I wouldn't put it past you if you played Hot Girl Bummer," he chuckled, "The fact that you knew that song hit me like a fucking sledgehammer. And you had it playing on repeat after your motherly fiasco."

"Once, Vinay!" I raised my brow, "I can't get myself to say those words so it felt great to hear someone else say them to get over my internal toxicity at the time, ok. And I'd really appreciate if you did not bring it up "

"Fine." He shrugged, still laughing at how worked I was getting.

"Are you going to keep teasing me the entire evening?" I scowled.

"No," Vinay shook his head vigorously, faking an expression of solemnity, "Most certainly not."

Shaking my head, I settled on some jazz pieces on the saxophone by Kenny G, the romantic tunes setting a great mood.

I walked into the kitchen, humming to myself, to see how far Vinay had come with the cooking. The pasta was almost done, so were slices of garlic bread to go with it.

"Need any help?" I asked.

"It would be great if you could get the wine glasses from that cupboard in the corner." He replied.

"Wine glasses?" I asked skeptically, "I think I'm done with my share of alcohol for an entire lifetime."

"Calm down! It's for lemonade." Vinay answered, as he transferred the pasta into a glass bowl and place the freshly garnished garlic bread on the side, "I just thought it would go well with the entire setting. I want everything to be perfect tonight."

I crossed my arms in front of my chest and raised my brow.

"Is Vinay Karthik a closeted romantic?" I gasped, my lips curling up into a devious smile.

"I am and I'm proud of it." Vinay shrugged, a light blush making it's way to his cheeks, "I just never got to portray this side of mine for anyone."

"Aww! I feel so special." I chuckled.

"Shut up and come here so I can pull your chair out for you." He huffed adorably.

I sashayed my way over to the small dining table in the verandah that was now set up, complete with a couple of scented candles lit in the centre and sat down on the plush chair that Vinay pulled out for me.

After pushing it in slightly, he walked round and sat opposite me and flashed me one of his signature smirks.

"Pretty neat, isn't it?" Vinay asked.

"I think I'm supposed to say that. You sound like you're blowing your own trumpet." I countered.

"Uh..." he scratched the back of his head nervously, "I'm sorry if I'm doing this wrong. You know I'm kind of new to this. Before this my association with girls was mostly sex related."

"God!" I pulled my mouth into a thin line, "Way to ruin the mood dude!"

"Fuck!" Vinay cursed under his breath, " Can we please just start over?"

I grinned.

"Sure. Go on." I said, tipping the wine glass filled with lemonade to my lips.

"Well, Akira you looking fucking gorgeous tonight. Absolutely radiant." He said.

I laughed at that. "I think that's better. But I don't think a gentleman would say fucking beautiful. Beautiful would have sufficed."

"Well, I'd have used more elaborate vocabulary had I not been at  complete loss of words. You have no idea how amazing you are." He replied.

"Smooth." I nodded cheerily, "Can we please eat now? I'm dying to taste this pasta because it smells heavenly."

I picked up my silverware that lay beside my plate and brought a forkful of the creamy delicacy to my parted lips and let melt onto my welcoming taste buds.

"Mmm...this is so delicious!" I said, savoring the perfectly balanced flavour of rosemary and basil in the cheese.

Lifting my lemonade in the air, I toasted, "To more such wonderful dinners."

"Cheers." Vinay raised his glass in response.

After a divine meal accompanied with a series of anecdotes we made our way to the kitchen to do the dishes, completely sated with a full stomach and sparkling eyes.

"Do you want to watch a movie now?" Vinay asked, as he dried the dishes, "There's a ceiling projector in the leisure room which we can use."

"You definitely know the way into my heart don't you?" I laughed.
"I guess." He smiled.

Suddenly his phone started ringing, the shrill caller tune piercing through the light melody of the saxophone music playing from the speakers.

"You should probably take that." I said, glancing at the screen. It was his mother.

"It's fine. I'll call her when we get back home." He shrugged.
I stared at him pointedly.

"Fine, I'll pick up the call." He answered, raising his hands.
"Hello Mumma." He greeted, rolling his eyes.

I honestly didn't expect what happened next.

I watched in horror as his face crumbled bit by bit, his jaw clenching as he listened wordlessly to his mother.

"I don't fucking care. Even if he does it won't matter to me." Vinay gritted through his teeth.

I gasped in shock. How could he talk to his mother like that? What could possibly have happened.

I watched with bated breath as Vinay hurled the phone onto the kitchen counter, before clutching it and closing his eyes.

"What happened?" I asked gently, placing my palm lightly on his shoulder.

He exhaled forcefully, and balled his fists.

"My father has been admitted in the hospital for five fucking days due double kidney failure. And my mother finally thought it was time for me to know. Apparently I'm the last person to find out." He swallowed.

And just like that the tables turned on our faces.

●○●

Vote, comment, share and don't forget to spread the love!!

QOTD: What's your favourite spot and who's your favourite sportsperson?
Like any Indian I love cricket. And my favourite sportsperson is MS Dhoni. :)