Silently Falling in Love: Race (THE EDITED VERSION)

Chapter 32 - Moving On

Alex: March 1995:

I looked up from the booth and caught sight of Anjali walking in to the bar. She was wearing a navy-blue suit with a skirt hitting above her knees. I swallowed. It was the same suit she wore in my dream. Damn. You can leave your hat on was now running through my head.

I stood to greet her as she approached the booth; I took a few steps forward but the sight of her unbuttoned shirt leading to the shape of V, made me lose my balance.

"Hey, you okay?" Anjali said as she caught me by my elbow and upper arm.

She looked into my eyes and her eyes danced with amusement, "What has you so rattled you can't walk straight? Do tell."

"Nothing important, I still have work on my mind. I realized I forgot to make a call to a potential customer," I lied.

Anjali dropped her hands off my elbow and upper arm, then lifted my right hand, flattened it out and lay it in her left hand. With her other hand she straightened out her pointer finger and traced the words on my hand, "do not forget to call customer."

The nearness of her in that damn navy-blue suit, with her top buttons undone, her jasmine smelling perfume, and her touch made me tingle. And made me react to her. I needed to sit down.

"Hilarious," I said in as normal a voice as I could muster and moved to sit down before my reaction to her became obvious.

Anjali smiled, "Now you won't forget."

No, I surely won't forget.

Changing the topic, "I hope you don't mind, I ordered a Cosmo for you."

"Mind, I could kiss you for that. After the day I've had only a Cosmo could make it better."

Please don't give me false hope.

"Work that busy?"

"Yes. I'm sorry about canceling our lunch today, I had to help finish a proposal, so I don't spend the weekend working. I decided skipping lunch would be better than coming in on a Saturday."

"Did you finish the proposal?"

"Most of it, but it still needs some work so I'll go to the office sometime this weekend."

"Did you have short notice to put the proposal together?"

"The timing wasn't bad; I've just had a hard time concentrating."

"Why, what's wrong?" I leaned over my drink.

"What usually ties me up in knots?" Anjali asked.

"I don't know what ties you up in knots?"

"Karthik," she laughed sarcastically.

"Oh," I took a sip of my draft beer. Any reaction I had for Anjali disappeared.

"Aren't you going to Boston this weekend to see him?" Arjun had mentioned her trip earlier this week.

She laughed bitterly, "I was going, but that plan has been canceled."

Unsure of how to respond, I waited for her to continue.

"Karthik's parents are visiting him in Boston this weekend. The plan was for me to meet them, but they don't want to meet me. They told Karthik what's the point of meeting since he can't marry me."

She took a deep breath and looked close to crying.

"That's ridiculous. What is their objection against you?"