To Love Or Not To Love| A FEATURED STORY

Chapter 8

They returned in the evening, sometime before sunset. It was a pretty long lunch date, more like a picnic. The place they had visited was not a regular first-date choice. It seemed much more personal to share something of that kind with her. It was a different experience, and she didn't know how to feel about it.

"So will you come up just for a cup of not-so-healthy coffee?" she asked him as he parked the car next to the sidewalk, near her apartment complex.

The building was a five-storeys single apartment with twenty apartment units, each floor having four flats. She was lucky to find a single-bedroom apartment in that building. It was an ancient construction, more than 15 to 20 years old, so the rent was a bit cheap, and the building was pretty ratty.

It was an improvement from her paying guest accommodation. She could take in a roommate and share costs using the living room couch, but she refrained. She liked her privacy.

"Is it an invitation to something else?" he smirked. Anya shook her head and laughed it off.

"Surely, you'll know if it is for something else right, given that you are an expert in it. It was a simple invitation to share a cup of coffee between friends. Are we friends Mr Mullapudi?" she inquired in a playful tone.

"We'll be if you stop calling me Mr Mullapudi. I think we've crossed that bridge long back."

"I must say you are smooth. So are you coming in?" she invited him yet again.

"I'm yet to hear you call my name," he narrowed his gaze at her.

She took a deep breath and whispered, "Ajay, will you come in to have a cup of coffee?"

He seemed pleased when his chiselled jawline and sculpted mouth were transformed by one of his lazy, enchanting smiles, at the way his name sounded coming from her lips and then he said, "Nah... I'll pass I still have a lot of work to do, by Monday."

"Office work? It's the weekend," she ridiculed.

"Those are the perils of being a boss," were his sage words. He looked at his watch. He was a busy man, and he did spend the entire afternoon with her, she took the cue and decided to bid him farewell.

She extended her hand to shake his, "I'm glad that I came today. I had a great time. Thank you for the lovely afternoon, Ajay. I must say you do know how to treat a woman," she finished in awe.

He took her hand in his, "Pleasure is all mine, and it was worth it. And I must say you are an excellent companion, and if it's not too personal an observation, outdoors suit you," he imitated her style to the T, but his words stuck true to her.

She gave him a shy smile, "I'll take that as a compliment. So catch you later?"

"I think this is the moment when you give me your contact number," he added slyly. Anya laughed, but she took out her phone, and asked for his contact number then called him back.

He pulled his car from the sidewalk and headed home, lost in thoughts about his unknown attraction towards this unlikely woman. He wanted to spend more time with her and get to know her at a personal level. She was vibrant and full of life, yet grounded and self-assured.

She never gave out the vibe as a hapless female in need of protection, but he wanted to take care of her. Her apartment complex, for instance, was not acceptable to him. Sure that it was located close to her office, but it didn't look safe.

Yet, it was not his place to pass on his opinion on where she lived, and he didn't like that.

Surprisingly, he wanted to have a say in everything that concerned her. These feelings were very new, and the pace was very fast for him. She was not some random woman, whom he could bed and forget the next day. She somehow got under his skin and was trying to make a place in his long-forgotten heart.