Ishqi pov
"Shouldn't you be enjoying your summer? Do things kids your age do these days," Ms. Anita suggests, sweeping bits of sprinkles and chocolate chips off the counter with a damp towel.
"What do you kids my age do?" I asked back.
"How should I know? You should."
"Well, according to everyone, I'm an outlier when it comes to the teenage demographic."
"Where is that boyfriend of yours anyways? He's late."
"Actually, I told him I'm not working today."
Ms. Anita stops abruptly and grips my shoulder, her face suddenly grim and serious.
"You guys aren't fighting, right?"
"No, of course not. Its hard to get mad at Ahaan. He's too perfect," I laugh.
"I agree... Honestly, he's a bit too good for you," she frankly says.
I nod in response, agreeing whole-heartedly.
"I don't mean it rudely. Its just that you're a nice girl, but you can be a bit slow sometimes. You're book-smart, but ignorant in everything else. The boy brought you a burrito in the fanciest box I've ever seen, and you were still oblivious."
"Don't worry, I'm not offended. I know I'm dumb when it comes to those things. Plus, Ahaan's proportions physically and facially are the epitome of society's definition of-"
"A total hunk!" Ms. Anita interjects. "You know, he reminds me of my boyfriend from high school." Ms. Anita drops her towel and leans on the counter, reminiscing. "His name was Haresh and he was the football quarterback. We made out in the science lab everyday after school. Gosh, was he a great kisser. My parents were very religious, so they made me wear a chastity ring. But, I liked him so much I let his touch my breasts once-"
"I BETTER GET GOING!" I jump, alarmed by the progression of Ms. Anita's story.
"Where are you going?"
"I have to go before the mall closes. Ahaan's birthday is tomorrow, so I have to get him a present. That's why I lied to him, so he wouldn't wait for me after work today."
"Alright then, I'll finish my story another day."
I try to force a smile and nod, but my brows didn't want to unfurrow. Thankfully, Ms. Anita was still busy reminiscing, so she didn't didn't notice and kept cleaning.
Finding a proper present for Ahaan wasn't easy. With my sense of fashion, it was better for me to not buy him and shoes or clothes. I was tempted to buy a Ahaan a pet or get him a dog from the shelter, but I'm sure his dad wouldn't be pleased if I brought home a giant mutt; his mom wouldn't be happy if I got a rat. Since I was wandering around, a foot massage machine caught my eye, so I ended up buying it for Dad. Because of this, I accidentally took to long before someone the intercoms said, "The mall will be closing in five minutes."
Shoot!
I look around, frantically looking for anything I could possibly buy for Ahaan.
A shoe store. No. A makeup store. No. Soap? No. Ooh, pretzels! Focus, Ishqi! How about a video game? I don't think Ahaan plays video games. A new phone? No, he has a phone. A watch!
I quickly run up and stick my arm between the doors just as the man was about to lock up.
"Sorry, Miss, but we're closed." He attempted to bend my arm out, but it's as stiff as cured cement at this point.
"Please, I won't take long. I promise. I'll just buy one real fast!" I desperately plead, trying to balance the hefty box containing my dad's foot massager in my other arm.
"Miss, these are luxury watches. I would suggest coming back another day so you can get a close look and make sure you buy exactly what you want." He leans with his weight on my arm, but I still won't budge.
"I can't! My boyfriend's birthday is tomorrow."
"I'm sorry, but if you don't remove your arm, I will have to call security!"
"Please!" I begged. "It will only take a few seconds. I will literally point to the first watch that catches my eye and I'll be out of here."
I bite my lip nervously as the man looked at me questionably.
"I could get fired because of this, so if you're not out in a minute, I'll call security." He releases the door and I scurry in before he could change his mind.
"Thank you so much," I sigh in relief. I don't have time to rub my sore arm, since I immediately walk around and took a brief scan of the watches. All of them are very shiny and eye-catching, making it very difficult to find one that especially stands out. I spot one that isn't too flashy, since Ahaan has always been more sporty. It has a dark blue center and a silver strap, with gold aand cream hands and accents. It looks fancy, but not too extravagant. Perfect for any future interviews Ahaan may have.
"This blue one please."
"Miss," the man looks hesitantly at me, "that's valued at-"
"I'll take it," I nod.
"Alright then." He takes it out from the locked displays and begins to click on the register. What will you be paying with today?"
Shoot, I used all my cash for the foot massager.
"Here," I hand him my credit card and after finishing the transaction, he hands me the watch that was now placed in a sleek, white box.
"Here's the receipt just in case you want to return it."
"Oh... Thanks." Weird. Why does he think I might want to return it? Is it too ugly maybe? Too late now. I just hope Ahaan likes it.
The doors were soon going to be locked, so I shove the receipt into the pocket of my jacket and scramble outside. Also, it's a good thing my whole family are deep sleepers, because Dad fell asleep with the foot massager running loudly all night.
It's the next day
Carson and Ally pick me up to take me to Ahaan's house.
"Carson and I decided to pool our money and get Ahaan $200 running shoes. It's supposed to be a new model and it's a good thing Carson wears the same size as Ahaan so that it was easier to shop," Ally holds up a box wrapped in blue paper with thick letter that reads happy birthday.
"I wanted to get Ahaan shoes too, but I don't have a good sense of fashion," I frown, looking down at the gift bag which I buried the watch in under a mountain of colourful tissue paper.
"What did you get him?" Carson asks, carefully turning the corner to Ahaan's neighbourhood.
"A watch."
"Dang, that sounds fancy."
"Not really. It looked like a pretty basic watch. Probably cost me $50."
"What do you mean by probably?"
"I got out of work too late and the stores were closing, so I picked Ahaan's present last minute. Feel kinda bad I didn't out much thought into it as you guys did."
"I'm sure he'll love it, Ishqi," Ally reassures me. "You could give him a pile of shit and that boy will still be crazy about you."
"That's probably true," Carson agrees.
"Will you still love me if I gave you shit?" Ally suddenly turns to Carson.
"Depends. What kind?"
Our conversation was cut short once we reached Ahaan's house. I didn't expect many guests, but the whole block was filled with cars. In the front yard is a circle of lawn chairs, occupied by Mr. Malhotra and a bunch of other men holding glass bottles of beer. I rarely ever saw Mr. Malhotra, but when I did, he was usually in his business suit with his hair slicked back. Today, he wore comfortable cargo shorts and a t-shirt, his hair brushed but not gelled. For the first time, I saw a resemblance between him and Ahaan.
"Hi, Mr. Malhotra," I greet only to be polite.
"Hello, Ishqi," Mr. Malhotra quietly returns, sharing the same dislike of our conversational exchanges. Seeing the curiosity in the men amongst him, Mr. Malhotra begins to introduce us. "These kids are Ahaan's friends. And these are my friends and business partners."
My ability to socially interact with adults can't go beyond a simple hello, so I let Carson and Ally do the rest. I stand, fiddling with my fingers while I holding onto Ahaan's gift.
"Are any of you interested in business? We can offer you internship at the company this summer," one man suggests, which causes Mr. Malhotra's face to contort in disapproval.
"There you are, Ishqi," Ahaan runs up to us after slipping out of the front door. He takes my hand and begins to lead me away.
"Hope you don't mind if I steal my friends away," Ahaan turns towards his dad's friends, but avoids his dad's eyes.
"Sure thing."
Carson and Ally looked just as relieved as I am. They go inside but before I can follow, Ahaan holds me back and takes me aside.
"Ishqi, I gotta warn you about my family before we go in."
"What? That you have a huge one?" I laugh, pointing to the plethora of parked cars.
"Yes, but that they're REALLY judge-mental. Most of them are from my dad's side of the family so... They have similar ways of thinking and words. I love them, but..."
"Don't worry. People at school say a lot worse about me-" I stop once I realize the direction I was heading in. "Don't worry about it," I smile.
"Alright."
"And this is for you, birthday boy!" I hand him the gift bag.
"This is it?" Ahaan pouts.
"What's wrong?" I frantically search his face for signs as to why he didn't like it. Awful packaging? Too small? Maybe I should've gotten him a game console.
"I was hoping for a different present."
"What is it? I'll get it for you I promise," I try to appease Ahaan.
Ahaan smirked, tapping on his lips with his index. I turn to see that Mr. Malhotra was shooting laser beams at me with his glare, so I shake my head.
"You promised you would get it," Ahaan sighed.
I leaned in close and whispered, "Later," while nudging my head towards Mr. Malhotra's direction, Ahaan seems to understand, smiling.
"Don't get me wrong. I love this present but I want the other one more." Ahaan holds up the gift bag.
"You don't even know what I got you yet. How do you know you'll love it?"
"Cause it's from you," Ahaan grins.
I roll my eyes from its cheesiness, but I can't lie and say that I didn't like it.
Once we go inside, Mrs. Malhotra takes the gift from Ahaan's hands, who seems reluctant to part with it.
"Thanks for coming, Ishqi. The cake you baked looks great!" Mrs. Malhotra says.
"You baked my cake?" Ahaan asks.
"Yeah, your mom asked me if I could. I dropped it off yesterday morning to let it have time to firm up."
"Mom, what about Aunt Lata?"
"Don't worry about her," Mrs. Malhotra scornfully shakes her head.
"What is the meaning of this?" A shrill voice calls from the kitchen.
We follow Mrs. Malhotra into the kitchen, where a stern woman with thin, rimmed glasses stood. She looks like Mr. Malhotra if he had long hair and wore dark red lipstick, so I assume it's Aunt Lata.
"I make the cake for every birthday in this family. So why is there an extra cake?" She sticks her long, ruby red nails at my cake that is sitting on the fridge.
I turn to see on the kitchen counter a massive cake decorated with piped carrots. It looks a lot more festive than my simple, vanilla white cake which I only adorned with a light layer of sprinkles, piped borders, and Happy Birthday Ahaan on top in blue letters.
"Well, I knew you were going to make that carrot cake of yours when I told you Ahaan likes vanilla." Mrs. Malhotra doesn't even attempt to hide her distain.
"Everyone in this family loves carrot cake. You can't have only one person eat an entire vanilla cake. Besides, it a family tradition," aunt Lata scoffs.
"Well just see about that then. We can let them pick their slice later on," Mrs. Malhotra retorts.
Their issues with one another definitely ran deeper than just carrot cake.
"Let's get out of here," Ahaan whispers into my ear.
I nod and we sneak out of the kitchen. Immediately, I'm drawn towards the table of food. Ahaan must've predicted this as well, since he walks in front of me, takes out a paper plate from the stacks, and starts piling it with all the foods he knows I like in the exact ratios I would've gotten myself. Wordless, he hands the plate to me and I start shovelling its contents down my throat. It's not until all the food is cleared that I realize Ahaan's entire family is looking at me in disgusted amazement.
"Damn, Ishqi. Are you training to be a competitive eater or something?" Luke approaches us, with Logan, Carson, and Ally not far behind.
"You're one to talk. You ate at least ten burgers already," Logan laughs.
"Yeah, but I've been here longer than Ishqi."
"Sure, maybe an extra five minutes."
"Shut up, Logan."
"You shut up."
I remember laughing, but then everything sort of turned into a blur and somehow we ended outside. Most of the older ones played flag football in the streets while Sonu and cousins her age played in the back. I sat on the sidewalk, admiring Ahaan's dazzling beads of sweat and flying hair. It's cliche, but I couldn't believe that Ahaan was mine. And when he took a break to run inside and get me another plate of food, I think I was officially head over heels for him.
"Unbelievable," Ally sighs.
"I know right?" I agree.
"I can't believe I'm seeing this right now."
"Yeah." I flash Ahaan a grin as he gets a touchdown.
"How dare she!"
"Wait, what?" I snap out of my trance.
"That girl!"
"What girl?"
"Where you even listening to me?"
"Yeah."
"I was talking about Ahaan's cousins that's flirting with Carson! Who were you talking about?"
My eyes lands on Ahaan subconsciously, but I reply with, "Nothing."
"Look at her. Faking that laugh just so she can touch his shoulder."
"Are you sure? What if she's just really nice?"
"Of course I'm sure!" Ally insists.
"You thought I was flirting with Bryan before."
"And I'm still really sorry about it. I was insecure and violent," she frowns. "But wouldn't you think the same if that was Ahaan she was touching?"
"I mean, incest is pretty gross."
"Not that! I mean like a girl clinging onto Ahaan."
"That happens all the time." I take another bite.
"What do you do then?"
"I just let it happen." I attempt to stuff the contents of my mouth into my cheeks so I can speak without spraying food all over Ally.
"What?" Ally stares at me in disbelief. "You don't get jealous?"
"Yeah, but it's not Ahaan's fault he's attractive. Plus, I know he's not the type to cheat or anything."
"I don't know whether I should be impressed of how confident you are of your relationship, or if I should be concerned you let girls flirt with your boyfriend."
"A bit of both maybe."
"So, you're saying I should just let it happen?"
"No, I'm personally too passive. But you shouldn't punch her or anything."
I observe Ahaan's cousin, who definitely displayed the same shameless flirting tactics I've seen other girls do with Ahaan. The giggling followed by a shoulder touch. Shyly looking down while tucking back her hair. Talking about his clothes as an excuse to touch him. And of course, the fake trip or fall.
"HEY, CARSON! ALLY IS HUNGRY!" I suddenly yell, which makes Ally jump in suprise.
"OKAY!" Carson yells back, beginning to walk up to us.
"What are you doing? I'm not hungry." Ally whispers.
"Trust me. Ahaan already comes running when I say I'm hungry."
"Hey, babe. What do you want?" Carson asks.
"Um, I'm actually just thirty. Get me some water?"
"Sure thing." He gives her a quick kiss before going inside. Ahaan's cousin glares from a far.
"Cake time, everyone!" Mrs. Malhotra yells from the door.
Slowly, everyone made their way inside. I pour some water onto Ahaan's head and he attempts to shake his sweat off. Meanwhile, the twins starting swiping their sweaty arms on each other and Luke accidentally licks Logan arm in the struggle. I gave them the remainder of my water so Luke cough rinse his mouth and Logan rinsed his arm.
Inside, Carson dodged everyone, including Ahaan's cousin, to give Ally water. I bet he was confused why Ally was so happy to get water.
Ahaan ended up having to blow out two sets of candles on the two cakes. Aunt Lata gave everyone the death glare as Mrs. Malhotra passed out cake slices and asked which one they wanted. Ahaan's entire family picked carrot unsurprising. However, the little kids unable to read their aunt's expression, picked the vanilla cake. My friends did as well, since aunt Lata wasn't their aunt anyways. Ahaan ate one slice of each.
"The cake's really good this year, Lata. Carrot cake was getting boring anyways," Mr. Malhotra said. Everyone's eyes widen as they landed on the vanilla cake slice on his plate.
Mrs. Malhotra must've handed it to him on purpose, because she smugly pointed out, "Actually, honey. Ishqi baked that cake. Isn't it good? She runs the cooking club at school."
Seeing Mr. Malhotra's accidentally approval of my cake, everyone else started to try a slice themselves.
It wasn't that they didn't like carrot cake I'm sure, because the small piece I tried from Ahaan's plate was actually really good. For having the same thing cake for every family event must've gotten tiring. They must have a lot of birthdays too with such a large family.
Next came the present opening. Ahaan got a lot of great gifts, which made my heart sink as it progressed. Maybe mine isn't good enough.
Ahaan got nice, new clothes, a game console, games for those consoles, a new backpack, a bicycle, and gift cards of course. Logan and Luke ended up getting the same shoes for Ahaan as Ally and Carson, only in a different color. When my gift was finally in Ahaan's lap, my heart sank.
He opened it excitedly, but paused when he took the top of the small box off. Ahaan had the box held in a way that only he could see the contents. So, everyone started to ask, curious to learn what the gift was.
"A watch." Ahaan expression was so hard to read, but his silence worried me.
Carson leans his head in. "Woah! That looks really expensive."
"Really?" Luke, also curious, walks over and looks at the watch as well. "Woah!"
Luke looks closely at the watch before typing some stuff into his phone. He taps away for a while as everyone else took a look at the watch. Suddenly, he jumps up.
"That thing is almost $1000!"
WHAT? How is that possible? I picked the least flashy watch in the shop.
"Whoever got Ahaan this must have really good taste," said a relative.
"It suits him."
"Who bought this?"
"Ishqi did." Ahaan finally spoke up.
"Who?"
"My girlfriend."
Everyone followed Ahaan's eyes and lands on me. Their expression told me they probably didn't even realize that I was even dating Ahaan.
"I thought you said it was $50," Ally whispers.
"I thought it was."
I reach into the pocket of my jacket and take out the reciept. With tax, it was over $1000.
"Holy shit, Ishqi."
I shrug. No matter how impressed everyone else was with my bold (purely dumb and reckless in reality) purchase, Ahaan didn't seem too happy. He tried on the watch, but stared at it with a straight face. Afterwards, Ahaan took me upstairs and we sat on his bed quietly for a while.
"Do you not like it?"
"Hmm?"
"The watch." I nervously fidget and try to remove a loose thread on Ahaan t-shirt.
"It's not that."
"Then why do you seem so upset?"
Ahaan pauses. "It's not that."
"Then why haven't you said anything about it?"
"I feel bad."
"Why?"
"I don't want you to feel pressured to get me something so expensive. You should be saving all your hard-earned money for college."
"Then what about that swan necklace you got me? Or my prom dress?"
"So you feel like, you owe me?"
"No. I just think it's unfair I can't show I appreciate you in the same way. I didn't buy the watch because it was expensive. I thought it suited you. That's all that matters."
"I'm sorry." Ahaan pulls me close and we bury our faces into the nape of each other's neck.
"Do you like it?"
"Yeah."
"Then that's all that matters... Let's promise to not talk about how cheap or expensive what we give each other is ever again. What's important if we like it or not, okay?"
"Alright. If that's the case, this present's not enough."
I pop my head up and pout. "AVM! I almost got my arm cut off just for that watch."
"What I mean is that you promised me another gift this morning," Ahaan grins.
Shy, I let go of Ahaan, but he rolls over me, pinning me between him and his bed. He slowly lowered his head and our lips met. Ahaan laces his fingers through my hair while I gripped onto the his back. Our lips seemed to melt into each other until we had no breath left, pulling away.
"Ahaan."
"Hmm?"
"You're the best birthday present I've ever gotten."
*****
END OF PART 33
In Part 34, Ishqi finds herself accidentally stumbling onto a movie set at the water park, leading to unexpected encounters and a reunion with a childhood friend, Karan. Meanwhile, back with her friends, tensions rise as Ahaan becomes surprisingly protective, and Ishqi discovers a sweet and endearing side of him. As they navigate the water park adventures, unexpected confessions and moments of vulnerability surface, setting the stage for a mix of laughter, embarrassment, and perhaps a deeper connection between Ishqi and Ahaan. Don't miss the upcoming chapter filled with unexpected twists and heartwarming surprises!
I will probably write a few more lovey-dovey chapters before I start the sequel. The only sequel spoiler I'm giving is that I suggest you guys enjoy these happy moments for Ahaan and Ishqi while it lasts O_O dun dun dun!!!
Next part at 20 votes and 40 comments [pls dont spam single letters in the comments]