Soon after, Vineet and Pallavi decided to watch a movie. There was an automatic touch screen display where one could book movie tickets and pay it through the QR code. Apparently, they were confused over how to operate and the choice of movie as the screen wasn't accepting their tickets.
“No, don't choose that movie. I never heard about it.” Pallavi intervened.
“Better. I don't prefer popular movies anyway.”
“Heh, kuch bhi. No, give it to me!”
“No, let me do it.”
All that push and pull caused their fingers to brush against each other. Her skin tingled but she ignored that sensation as she focused on choosing a popular action movie. The latter couldn't as he held her soft hand.
“Someone's getting comfortable, eh,” He smirked and pulled her to his side. They stopped doing what they were doing and shared a long, flirtatious look. Eventually Pallavi snapped out of it and swatted his hand away.
“Get away, let me concentrate!”
“Uh- huh, where, you or me?” He wriggled his brows while she slapped his shoulder, suppressing her smile.
Unfortunately the screen didn't wait for their playfulness to finish as it displayed- Booking closed in red letters. There were still five minutes to 2pm and yet, they were unable to book. What kind of PVR cinema was this?
“Let's look for another cinema. There must be one nearby. It's Delhi,” Vineet suggested, already surfing through the options on his mobile. Thereafter, they booked the tickets online.
Outside, the rain had been pouring nonstop since morning. It had nearly overpowered the noises inside the station. Since they had time till the movie started, they decided to kill it by roaming indoors around the metro station for a while. They just exited the elevator when Pallavi felt a hand slip into hers. She shot an inquisitive look at Vineet who simply acted nonchalant and walked ahead, taking her along.
A small smile escaped her lips as she intertwined her fingers with his. For a casual guy, he exhibited quite romantic tendencies. Moreover, it was such a throwback moment to when Adhvik held her hand in the mall that time. Surely, nothing came close to that moment but it didn't mean she couldn't enjoy the present.
* * *
“You really haven't finished any web series? But there are so many genres and series, country wise. Does nothing interest you?” Pallavi asked him, aghast. She couldn't believe it when he wrote about this on Bumble but apparently, it was true.
“I just can't sit through to watch the whole thing,” Vineet retorted. “The episodes are so long. I'm not really interested. I'd rather read books.”
Reading books was one thing but not watch anything? Talking about K- dramas or any kind of drama was out of the window now. Pallavi asked how he was able to pass his time but miraculously, he could since he had other things to do. And he did browse through YouTube sometimes.
“I can't believe people like you exist.”
“Cos people like me are fresh in the market.”
She shot him a look. “Since when?”
The corners of his lips twitched as he met her gaze. “Since you found me.”
Pallavi's face broke into a chuckle at his answer. Eventually, they decided to go for a light snack in Chaayos. She ordered Kulhad chai while Vineet took hot chocolate. Their time in the cafe was a slow, flirtatious affair. It involved tasting off the other's drink to gauge which one was better. Vineet tasted chai from where her lips were at the cup, never taking his eyes off her while Pallavi mimicked the same. Both of them liked his hot chocolate better. He offered to have the rest of his drink to her liking.
It was still raining, albeit lightly by the time they exited the cafe. Not to mention, how muddy the floor became from the dirty shoes of the people. Vineet suggested they wait but Pallavi couldn't stay indoors any longer. She stepped out and raised her head to the grey cloudy sky, feeling little droplets fall onto her face. Unlike Bollywood movies, she didn't spread her arms to start twirling. Neither did the man gawk at her. He simply walked to her side, talking about the surprising weather today.
“Perhaps its raining since it witnessed our hot and sizzling chemistry today.”
God, was she talking like him, too?
Vineet chuckled at her comment before raising a brow. “So what do we do, cutie? Watch the movie or take our chemistry to the hotel.”
Pallavi's face fell. His mouth really had no filter.
“Chillax, I'm kidding! The cinema is right here on the next road,” he pointed out to the right side, still laughing.
Due to the continuous downpour, the roads had converted to a shallow river. Pallavi and Vineet had to cross the road with the help of the huge stones laid across. There was a crowd of pedestrians around them. Taking advantage of that, Pallavi slipped her hand onto his while he readily took it. Her insides churned. Though she was aware of the nature of their outing, she couldn't help feeling giddy. It had been a long time since she felt this way. The rain, the hand holding— This was what a real date should be like. Hence they walked the rest of the way hand-in-hand.
“I'm looking forward to this movie,” Vineet spoke, his enthusiasm evident. They were seated inside the cinema hall now.
“I'm not,” She said honestly. “It looks like your typical sports movie. I wanted to watch the other one but unfortunately it's in the evening.”
“The movie's based on the real life women's cricket team which sadly, no one pays attention to...”
Their conversation carried on even after the movie started. It usually involved commenting on something or the other while laughing in between. In the midst, Vineet wrapped his arm around her shoulders but withdrew after seeing her flinch.
“Um, sorry...”
Pallavi took one look at the screen and then at Vineet. The next moment, she surprised him (and herself) by extending his arm around her shoulders, scooping closer to him. She smirked. “Better now?”
“Perfect,” He scooped closer. “I like how comfortable you've become around me already.”
Pallavi twisted her lips, “Yeah, I'm finding hard to believe that too. I don't get comfortable that easily.”
Like any typical movie date, the two engaged in conversations about the scene or something else while snuggling up to each other. With time, their proximity decreased as they inched closer to the point where she could smell the perfume from his shirt. She felt tingles in her skin as he ran his fingers down her arms and face. She enquired if he ever went straight to the hotel on a first date before to which he replied once. Usually, it never happened as he himself preferred to know each other on their first date. She agreed too.
“Damn, your fingers are long,” Pallavi took notice as she touched his fingers.
He trained his eyes on her until he replied with a smug, “Yes, its painful for girls sometimes.”
“What, no?... but I... fine, you got me.” Pallavi sighed, giving up. If you innocent folks still didn't get it, she was thinking about how his long fingers would feel inside a girl's vag*na.
“You've got beautiful hands though,” Vineet said, holding her light skinned fingers. Before she could thank, he brought her soft knuckles to his lips and kissed it, stealing her breath away.
His head tilted as he stared at her in awe. “I wish you could see how cute you're looking, Pallavi.”
“I'm not— huh,” She denied but ended up blushing even more when he kissed her cheek. Her face fell in embarrassment. Damn, did he catch her off-guard. “St- stop it!”
No one, I repeat, no one did that to her, atleast on her first date. And then it all came back to her. Him offering a seat for her in the cafe and now kissing her hand away. It wasn't evident but he had a romantic side to him. This was kinda bad news to her heart.
Just remember he's a player who's after sex, that's all. She reminded herself.
Although when she gauged at their date as a whole, it was better— a lot better than the one she had with Umang. Let's be honest, their time at the hotel was the only thing eventful between them. On the contrary, she was enjoying Vineet's company. Unlike Umang, he paid attention to the movie and even tried predicting it along the way. Whenever a movie cricket match was on, they bet on who would win or make a six next. It almost seemed like they were sitting in a stadium.
Somewhere in between, Pallavi raised her head to plant a kiss on his cheek.
“Uh- huh, someone's excited.”
“I simply wanted to surprise you, silly,” She retorted, glaring cheekily at him. Like you surprised me she thought but didn't voice out.
“Oh, then surprise me some more,” He wriggled his brows while she slapped his shoulder in return, slightly pushing him away. They broke away laughing, only to stare at each other. Or perhaps look at something on their faces.
“By the way, I- I harbored this wish in my late teenage years...” Pallavi voiced out softly as they drew closer. She placed a hand on his shirt covered chest to still her erratic heartbeat. “To share a kiss inside a movie theater.”
He smiled against her lips. “Then let's make your teenager self happy today.
“But what if someone—”
She couldn't finish the rest as his lips enveloped hers in a kiss. Her eyes widened slightly before she readied herself to respond to the kiss. Her hand tightened on his shirt as she sucked his lips. She was about to withdraw to take a breath when he grabbed her by the back of her head and sucked on her lower lip for one more time, leaving her breathless.
Pallavi's first instinct was to look around. Fortunately, they were seated in one corner and two seats after them were empty. The movie was still going on. The people were still watching it seemingly unaware of what transpired to their corner. She let out a sigh of relief.
The way Vineet kissed had technique which he acquired from his vast experience. They shared a knowing smile as a sign of acknowledgment. His kiss was perfect. Too bad they couldn't continue since they weren't alone. But she was happy. Her teenage wish finally came true.
Pallavi replicated whenever Vineet went for a kiss. She even initiated it once but avoided going deeper. She was too aware of the wandering eyes of the public. Did anyone noticed them yet? What would they think? These thoughts plagued her enough to stop eventually.
She almost let out a moan when he kissed her neck one time. He seemed like he was good at what he did. His fingers would often brush between her covered legs and other places while whispering sweet nothings to her ear. She would touch him in return, too. All that touching was indeed turning her on. Think how good he would be in bed, her dirty self thought but she brushed that thought away, suppressing her lips.
Eventually, they stopped, concentrating on the climax ahead.
The climax of the movie, not them, you fools!
“Look Vineet, we should really go. I'm getting late here.” Pallavi spoke, getting up frantically. She glanced at the time in her mobile. It was 5 pm. She was supposed to be there before the driver at 6pm.
But Vineet stopped her, “But we gotta see the climax! Who wins? India or Australia. Bet?”
“Duh, India 'cause that's how they will attain a happy ending. It will prove that girls can win for India, too? Okay, bye, bye.”
“The Indian girls team did win the world cup once so, yeah... No, you cannot go! Just give it ten more minutes, baby.” He held her arm.
Pallavi let out a groan that sounded more like a whine. She pouted at him before dropping herself to the seat to resume watching the movie. Well, she could always tell her driver that she would be late anyways.
The movie ended on an unpredictable note. The women's cricket team lost in the finals. They returned home disappointed but on the way to the Delhi airport, they were greeted by a crowd of Indians cheering for their splendid game. A crowd that was non- existent to the women's team throughout the movie, had now recognized them, motivating them to perform better ahead.
Pallavi rushed to exit the theater, followed by Vineet. Surprise, surprise, it was still raining, albeit mildly. They clicked some photos and bid their goodbyes, not knowing whether they would meet again.
The next day, Pallavi pinged him, asking how his weekend was.
“Great. Yours?”
“It was good this
time.”
“Why? Did you
meet someone?”
“Yes.”
“Kaun hai jisne tuje din
raat sone nhi diya?”
(Who it is that didn't let
u sleep day & night?)
“Tha aisa launda
jisne neend chain
sab uda liya. 🤣”
(He is that someone
that stole my sleep
& comfort away)
“Don't tell me you
also met someone
this weekend?”
“Haan, thi ek ladki
sharmili aur sexy si.”
(Yeah, there was a girl
somewhat shy & sexy)
And he said he barely watched movies. They continued chatting in third person, expressing what they felt mentally and sexually. It had Pallavi grinning like an emoji throughout. Finally, Vineet asked-
“So how was the date?
What's the verdict,
woman? Am I in or out?”
He had to ask her in that way, didn't he? Pallavi typed with a smug.
“For now, you're neither.
Not in because I'm not
comfortable to have sex
right away but neither out
as I'm okay with taking
this forward.”
“Oh... I don't know
how to react.”
“You can react by
having another date
with me? 🤩”
“Honestly, I was
hoping we'd go straight
to the hotel after this.”
Pallavi rolled her eyes, sensing his disappointment from a mile away. Couldn't he understand her situation. She wasn't quite used to this. She glanced at her mobile screen to notice he was still typing.
“But I'm glad you
agreed. 😁 Sure,
we'll have another
date but that will be
the last one.”
“Of course.”
She wasn't planning to have multiple dates with him anyway.
Vineet and Pallavi continued to chat everyday from then on. Their routine good morning and goodnight messages made her feel as if they were already boyfriend and girlfriend. She couldn't help but be giddy to the point of flaunting it to her sister.
Their second date that followed was a brief one where they only met at a cafe. It was your usual date with mundane talks, flirtatious attempts and looks. In the midst, they delved upon some of their experiences while Pallavi talked about Adhvik. Couldn't help it if he was the only dating experience she had.
“Sometimes I feel like you're only here to distract yourself from your past... I could be wrong.”
“Or perhaps I'm just lonely...” She guessed for herself and he agreed. She took another bite of peri peri, crunching it in her mouth. “Does it matter?”
“Oh, no, not at all. I was only asking.” He let out a laugh after finishing his bite, “You know at first when we met on Bumble, I had the impression that you're an uptight woman who is strictly interested in marriage and regards casual as shitty.”
“Woah, really?” She paused eating, her eyes widening like a K- drama woman. “Is that why you cleared things out in the beginning of our chat.”
“Yes, I felt like I should state my intentions so you steer clear from me,” He paused as he took another bite of peri-peri. “But none of us didn't and when you talked about wanting to meet people, I became positive.”
“About what?”
He met her gaze intensely, his lips curling, “About having you.”
It was a simple admission yet somehow it impacted Pallavi as she stared at him in a daze. She averted her eyes away, quickly regaining composure. Suppressing her lips, she shot back, “Although nothing much has happened yet.”
“Well, its just the beginning, cutie,” He winked.
She placed her arms on the table getting closer to his face. “Then I hope we get to the middle of it.”
His brows furrowed slightly, “You mean... You said I was neither in or out.”
“Well, you're halfway in now...” Both of them sputtered a laugh at that. An hour later, their date ended since Vineet had to accompany his mother somewhere.
* * *
The wait for Vineet and Pallavi's second date to third was a tedious one. For some reason, he just couldn't find the time to meet again. August turned into September, September to October and it went on till November. She was tired of asking questions along the lines of ‘are you free this week?’, ‘when will you be free?’ ‘ when can we meet?’ ‘how about this Saturday?’ ‘how about half day?’ only to receive ‘no’ each and every damn time. It wasn't as much about meeting him as it was about getting laid.
At times, Vineet had a meeting with someone or some event in the office. While at other times, his favorite niece turned up or better, there was another Indian festival to celebrate— The list was endless. While she was hungry for intimacy, he had already hooked up with someone from office (since that was more easily accessible). He was really testing her patience to the point where she simply wanted to throw her phone across the room after seeing his message.
Of course, there were times when Pallavi had given up, concluding he wasn't interested and began searching for other potential options on Bumble. Unfortunately, no one held her interest, nor she could entertain the idea to have sex with any other man. It was too much for her.
Eventually, she returned to talking terms with Vineet again. They didn't chat as frequently as before but whenever they did, their conversations would last throughout the day. By this point, both of them had revealed themselves in photos and expressed their desires in chats. It was only then Pallavi gained enough confidence to say ‘yes’ to sleeping with him. Perhaps this chapter wouldn't have existed if Umang had been living in the same city or if she was on the verge of getting married. But life was being a bitch by offering her neither so she was compelled to chose this route.
Oh, who was Pallavi kidding? She could make all the excuses in the world but it couldn't deter away from the fact that she wanted Vineet Ahuja. Not as life partners but as what they could be. She had been wanting him ever since their first date. She couldn't help but be strangely drawn towards him. Drawn to know him, his thoughts, his body- just about everything. Why? She had no fucking clue. She didn't harbor such desire since Adhvik.
All she knew that she wanted him and she was going to get him.
* * * * * *
Dedicated to shachiseth
What do you think of Vineet and Pallavi so far? (Just as what they are). Their next meet will be continued in the next chapter. Actually it will be divided into 2 parts since it was a lengthy chapter. Look forward to it. 😉