To Love Or Not To Love| A FEATURED STORY

Chapter 21

"So are you guys a thing now?" Sanjay asked Anya while they met yet again, at a restaurant, to share a cup of coffee. It had been three weeks since their camping trip, though Ajay did not blatantly ignore her like before, he did not speak to her in public too. What they shared was private.

He called her every night and made sure to share his day with her. Likewise, asked her about hers. It was much better than what they had shared earlier. She did not get a chance to visit the pub off late, so she did not know his reaction when he would find her there. She might go at some point, it was a place her project members caught up after work to relax and have a good time.

"Hello? I'm talking to you. Planning honeymoon with him, huh?"

Anya was brought back to the present with Sanjay's ridiculous question. She burst out laughing, but she sobered up in the next moment and answered him truthfully, "I don't know. We are testing waters, I guess. So what's the scene between you and Anu?" she asked while changing the subject.

"Oh you know the usual. We've gone on a few dates, and things are looking pretty good."

"Wow...that's impressive," Anya was a little jealous with their progress but swiftly suppressed the feeling and proceeded to dig for more details.

"Did you two kiss then?" she asked with genuine interest.

Sanjay smirked, "Well! what do you think?"

Anya's eyes widened in disbelief, "You cunning little dog. Now when did this happen? And why was I not told?"

Sanjay arched his brow in amusement, "Didn't know you had such a perverted mind. Had I known, I would've shared it long back with vivid details."

"Eww. Gross. Shut up!"

"You asked for it."

Anya couldn't comprehend how Anu, though she came out of an abrasive relationship, could move on, leaving her past behind, yet her brother was reluctant. Other than the kisses that they had shared at the forest camp, they hardly met each other in person.

"Something is really wrong with you. Why are you zoning out?" Sanjay spoke loudly, to gain Anya's attention.

"Nothing. Just thinking through things."

He looked at her for a long moment and gathered her hands in his, "This is so not like you, Anya. If things are not falling into place either you need to try harder to set them right or just give up. You should maybe take the initiative and push him to make a move?"

Anya took a deep breath and released it slowly, "I'll think about it."

"Don't think, just do it."

At that point, his phone beeped with a message, "I'm afraid that I need to cut short our meeting. Anu messaged, I need to go. We'll do it some other time? I'm really sorry, because I need to be home the same time I promised amma. I'll not have time for Anu then."

"Hey, no problem. Come on, this is fine."

Soon both of them got up and paid their respective bills. Before leaving, Sanjay quickly hugged her that astonished her which was something very new. A lump grew in her throat that blocked her vocal cords as well.

"I hope you sort things out with him soon. If he is still reluctant, then he is not worth it."

She clung to him for a minute to sort out her feelings and nodded her head since she lost her ability to speak. They pulled away as he whispered, "Take care."

It was pretty early to get back to her apartment and with nothing better to do, Anya decided to visit Cubbon park for a stroll among the trees to sort her thoughts.