Invisible String

Chapter 7: Confession

Alright, I admit that did earn a chuckle from me but I wouldn’t just let this slide. So I leaned closer to her ear, my hot breath falling on her ears. “But they  couldn’t be that bad if they got you to be a blushing mess.” And leaned back to look at her face and it was worth it. Her cheeks were tinted red and she wasn’t even able to hide them. I felt proud that for once I had managed to render the Naina Ahuja absolutely speechless. She just hit my arm muttering a small ‘shut up’. I won't lie, it was truly amusing to see her like that.

"So.. now that all my false accusations have been cleared, can I drop you home if you don’t mind? It’s getting darker." I said, trying to be nonchalant, but desperately wishing for her to say yes. With hesitant eyes, she nodded. “Fine, but only on one condition. I get to choose the music.” I just nodded my head leaving no room for argument and gestured with my hands, as if to invite her royal highness to step into my car.

Clutching the parcel she had taken earlier, we made our way towards my car. I hurried to open the passenger door for her.

"I must say you have a good taste in cars, Mercedes GT63S not bad after all," she remarked as she settled into the seat, her voice tinged with a hint of admiration.
Beaming with pride, I approached the driver's side, eager to continue our conversation. "I didn’t expect you were into cars? By the way, where are we headed to?" I inquired, my excitement bubbling beneath the surface as I revved the engine, igniting our journey.

"I mean, cars are something to have an interest in, anyways I stay near Marine Drive. I hope you don’t mind driving that far?" she responded, her words laced with a touch of uncertainty. "Oh no, I’d love to drive you, the farther the better," I replied, infusing my tone with a playful flirtation, in response to which she just rolled her eyes with a small smile on her face.

As we embarked on our ride, she connected the aux to her phone. To be honest, even I was a little curious to know her taste in music. She looked a bit tired and I saw that her playlist was on shuffle. She must’ve just hit play because the song that was blaring in my car right now made me raise my eyebrows in surprise. It was “One of the Girls” by the Weeknd. I was having a very hard time trying to control my laughter, not because of the song but because of Naina’s reaction to it.

She looked horrified, like someone had thrown a bucket of cold water over her head and frantically tried to change the song but I didn’t want this to end so I just grabbed her hand when she tried to play the next song and said, “No no don't change it. I actually like this song.” And winked at her. She just pulled her hand away and sat looking out of
the window as if wishing to jump out of it. I let her endure this torture for a couple of minutes before bursting into laughter and letting her change the song.

We talked about everything and anything. About our lives, like how football was such a big part of my life and she told me about how stressful her job was, but she couldn’t see herself doing anything else. And right now she was rambling on about this netflix series that she had been binge watching called “Gossip Girl”. But I don’t really think I was paying complete attention to what she was saying because I was busy admiring her. The way her face would scrunch up in concentration when she tried to remember something, the way she would animatedly explain a certain scene to me so that I could vividly imagine it playing out and the way she would smile when she talked about her favourite characters. I could just listen to her babble on for hours without ever getting bored. Whipped, I know but she made me feel like that. It was just so easy to talk to her. With her, I felt like I could be myself. Not the famous football prodigy or Mr. Chauhan’s talented son, just Aditya.

“…So that’s why, in my opinion, Chuck and Blair are always going to be The superior couple. Hey! Are you even listening to me?”

She snapped her fingers in front of my face which brought me back from my array of thoughts. “Yeah of course I was.”

She didn’t believe a word I said and asked me, “Oh really? Who is Blair?” Shit, I was so screwed but I had to say something. “Oh yeah, she was Chuck’s mother right?” In response to this she just burst out laughing in a way that I don’t think I had ever seen her laugh. I don’t exactly know what I said to make her laugh like this but I was more than glad I did. She was still clutching her stomach in attempt to calm herself down and managed to say between her laughs, “Blair… is… hahahaha oh god… Blair is Chuck’s wife you dumbass!” Yeah I definitely managed to make a complete fool of myself with that one.

We soon exchanged numbers but as we neared the destination, I felt a wave of melancholy hit me because I didn’t really want this ride to end so quick.

"Thanks for dropping me home," she said, her voice as sweet as a melody, stirring a warmth within me that I hadn't anticipated. In that moment, I felt something that actually kind of shocked me if I’m being honest. I actually felt my neck go a bit red. Since when the fuck did I start blushing at something a girl said?

I scratched the back of my neck, hoping she didn’t notice my slight change in demeanour and said, "No problem at all, sweetheart. But I did do you a favour, now how about you do me one?” She narrowed her gaze in suspicion but I did see a hint of playfulness in them. “And what kind of favour might that be?”

I grinned ear-to-ear like a cheshire cat and said, “Now that you know I am not a playboy, will you like a date with me?" I asked, and even though I was grinning but my heart pounding with nervous anticipation with a hope that she would see the sincerity in my eyes.

Naina's cheeks flushed a bright pink, betraying the flurry of emotions swirling within her. With a nervous and awkward laugh, she attempted to sidestep the question, saying, "I should head home, my parents are waiting," in a feeble attempt to evade the subject. But I couldn't let her slip away that easily. With a determined resolve, I locked the car doors, halting her escape. "Aditya, what the-? let me go," she protested, her eyes portraying the slightest bit of anger.

"Naina, just please let me take you out for a date? Just 5 minutes of your time, I swear, nothing more," I implored once more, my voice tinged with a mixture of hope and desperation. After what felt like an eternity of contemplation, Naina relented. "Okay, only 5 minutes. You think you would be able to manage that?," she raised her eyebrows at me as if to challenge me. “Of course I can, watch me, sweetheart.” I winked at her, promising her a day she would probably never forget.

“I thought I told you to stop calling me that.” She glared at me but I saw that mischievous glint in her eyes. “Now where’s the fun in that? I'll text you the time and location then," I said and she just shook her head and laughed in response. She opened the car door and started to get out but then stopped and turned towards me.

“And also, forget my address, you stalker.” She said with a playful smile on her face. This girl would be the death of me.

“Already forgotten, sweetheart. But you might wanna lock your windows at night, just to be safe.” I called out after her. She just turned back to look at me once, smiling as she did and walked straight ahead.

I waited until she safely entered her house. As I watched her disappear into the warmth of her home, a grin spread across my face, uncontainable joy bubbling within me. I couldn't believe it—NAINA IS GOING OUT WITH ME. With an eagerness bordering on euphoria, I immediately dialed Kabir's number, bursting at the seams to share this exhilarating news with my closest confidant.

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