Finding Love in the City

27. Only one girl

A less-rigorous hiking excursion to Yosemite Valley sounded like the perfect start to their day. They still needed to cover a significant portion of the experience. Tying the laces of their sneakers, packing sandwiches in Ziploc bags, filling their water bottles up to the brim, and warming themselves up with a short jog at the base of the valley, they commenced their 5-mile walk, assured that they weren't going to return to the base before sunset.

The surrounding mountains were spread as far back as their eyes could perceive. Ancient stones that had smoothened over time, losing their ruggedness, the treacherous and narrow pathways that didn't offer any railing on the side, the cascading and rumbling waters that sprinkled and sprayed over them as they hiked, and all of them could barely respire once they reached their first stop for the day—Columbia Rock.

Everyone perched themselves on the smooth boulders at the bottom of the hills, catching their breaths. The 180-degree views from there helped them view the famed valley in the east to Cathedral Spires in the west—a collection of utterly ragged, perpendicularly shaped rocks.

Despite the natural beauty, Nandini was still hung up on the conversation she had shared with Aditya the previous evening. Yes, she found him sexy. Yes, she had a massive crush on him. But she was never going to reveal it to anyone. Not even to the devil himself. It was utterly foolish of her to even assume she had made her way into his heart. He was just falling out of love with his girlfriend, and that could have nothing to do with Nandini Basu. She was either just a distraction he was using to justify his stance, or perhaps it was the devil's way to trouble her when he saw her falling weak in front of him. What if this was a mere ploy to hurt her furthermore?

She didn't even realize she was gazing at him as he looked dapper in his white shirt and blue jeans, his Ray-bans tucked in his shirt's pocket, and his jacket slinging from his arms, laughing over some wildly inappropriate joke he had cracked at Raunak's expense.

But then he had noticed her gaping at him, and to ignore such a colossal opportunity would be the worst decision of his life. Hence, he advanced towards her and plopped on the same boulder as her. "Hey, Vixen! How's the morning treating you?" He giggled. "Spending a night without Shubham must have been so difficult for you."

She forced a laugh. "My morning was going great, but then you had to come here and bother me." She twisted her lips. "Pointlessly. Otherwise, I could've admired the scenery around."

Shubham came up to her and offered her a bottle of water, but she declined it. Shrugging, he went towards the edge of the cliff with Shruti and Abhi to capture some snaps while Akanksha pulled Piyali along too.

"Were you admiring the scenery, Baby Elephant?" Aditya smirked at the chubby girl. "Or me? I saw you checking me out."

She avoided his gaze deliberately. "I was not checking you out. You just happened to be in my line of vision as I gazed at the mountains."

"Oh!" His brows shot up. "I had no clue the mountains were mobile and could move whenever I did."

"Jerk," she muttered.

"That's what they call the mountains these days?" He sniggered. "Probably I live under a rock."

"You are the absolute worst!" she snapped.

He glimpsed at Piyali and Shubham, and they were busy snapping pictures by the edge of the cliff. He knew he would not get such a wonderful chance to trouble the chubby girl during the entire trip. Hence, he began edging closer to her, leaving almost no space between them, their arms brushing against one another.

Glaring at him, she scooted away.

Smirking, he slid closer to her once again.

She knew she was at the edge of the rock, but then she could always perch at the corner-most point. However, she had overestimated the sharpness of the boulder, for it was curved along the sides. Slipping and falling on her butt was the only successive step in the power tussle the two had been engaging in.