Zaroorat

Chapter 11

Aditya tried his best not to become emotional but when he looked back at the table he saw that while there were various ice creams included in the dessert section, the 'tutti frutti' flavour was by far the biggest tub, at twice the size of the others.

Zoya neared Aditya and whispered in his ear.

'I know how much you like to eat. And I know tutti frutti is your favourite. I didn't want you to run out.'

Aditya couldn't take it anymore. He wrapped her in a hug and kissed her cheek.

'You know me better than anyone else Zoya. This is the best surprise I have ever received. I love you!'

They both froze as he spoke those last words.

'Shit' he thought. I should have kept my emotions under control.

They slowly separated but Zoya still had a faint smile on her face.

'Go, meet everyone else and start the party. You can't just spend the whole night with me.'

A look of disappointment appeared across Aditya's face but he just nodded and walked off towards Arjun and Mona to chat to them. He realised he needed to leave Zoya alone for a little while before he could come back and spend time with her.

Noor had watched the entire encounter with a frown on her face. She was convinced that Zoya returned Aditya's feelings but was unwilling or unable to express them. Zoya had stopped trusting her own gut feelings and Noor decided it was time she did something about it.

Noor walked up to the drinks table and picked up a soft drink for Zoya but decided to spike it. It was the only way to force Zoya to feel a little more relaxed and she hoped that once this happened, she might finally spill her feelings to Aditya.

Noor gripped the glass tight and walked up to her Appi.

'Appi, here you go! You've been on your feet all day, you must be so thirsty! Have this!'

She pushed the glass into Zoya's hand who thanked her for it and took a gulp.

'Noor, doesn't this taste a little funny? Is there something wrong with it?'

'No Appi, it's just a new flavour but it's the biggest rage at the moment. Drink up!'

She pushed the bottom of the glass up so Zoya took bigger swigs and was soon done with her first glass.

'Let me get you another one Appi!' Noor exclaimed as she ran towards the bar.

***

Adi spent time with everyone at the party that night but his eyes kept going back to Zoya who had also spent most of the time looking at him.

As the hours went by, he noticed the expressions on her face changed. She looked confused, then excited and then relaxed. He didn't know what was happening but he saw her with Noor so assumed everything was ok.

As the night went on, people ate and hit the dance floor and the whole time Aditya had stayed away from Zoya.

It was around 11pm at night when the first people started to go home and the terrace started to empty.

Aditya heard his stomach rumble and only then did he realise he hadn't eaten anything. He had been so engrossed in chatting with everyone and worrying about Zoya that he had totally forgotten about dinner. He looked around and saw Arjun and Noor eating together but saw no sign of Zoya.

He was hungry and he wanted the noodles and he wanted them to eat together but after their little awkward moment earlier in the evening, would that still be possible?