Alex POV con’t.
Sitting in the uncomfortable hotel chair, I wished I had a scotch right now. As I sat there trying to keep calm, my phone vibrated and I looked down and saw that I had a text from Tarun cha cha.
“What did you do to Anjali?”
Looks like Anjali had spoken with Tarun cha cha. I decided to ignore the text because I knew from experience he was mad as hell at me. He always sided with Anjali. I may be like his son, but Anjali was like the daughter he never had. And as it goes in many families, daughters are always daddy’s girl and she always had his support no matter what. He always assumed I’m the guilty party. I guess it should bother me, but it didn’t.
If it hadn’t been for Tarun cha cha’s anger, I probably wouldn’t have asked Anjali out. Shortly after we slept together I went to Hong Kong on a business trip and cha cha was also in HK for work and we met up for dinner. I was in a lousy mood and cha cha called me out on it. When I told him that I was pissed that Anjali had walked out on me and I was just a one night stand for her. He started yelling at me and told me what kind of guy sleeps with a woman he likes without ever even asking her out on a date. I got lectured on no matter how modern things get, a woman still wants to be courted. How you court a woman might change over time, but she still wants to be courted. Courting a woman is an art; each date should be like a piece of art. Pay attention to all of the details and make sure it’s tailored to the woman you are trying to woo.
He immediately told me to look at it from her point of view, given my dating history, why wouldn’t she assume it’s a one night stand
After being shredded by Tarun cha cha, I realized that from her perspective I didn’t really come across as a guy who was interested in a relationship. I knew more about Anjali than she knew about me, because it was me who would listen in on her and Tarun cha cha’s conversations when she thought I wasn’t paying attention or when she thought I wasn’t there.
Over the months I got to know what she liked, what she didn’t like, what made her smile, what made her angry. She thought she was only speaking with Tarun cha cha, but I listened more closely than she would ever realize.
One evening before her breakup with Raj she came to the workshop at midnight on a Saturday night dressed up in a designer dress and high heels that made her legs go on forever. She walked through the doors and called for Tarun cha cha. “Cha cha are you here?”
“Anjali, I’m in the back. What are you doing here at this hour?” cha cha asked.
“Cha cha I’m starving. Do you want to go for kati rolls? I know a great stand that is open late that we can go to.”
“Weren’t you supposed to be at that hot new restaurant with Raj tonight? Everyone is dying to eat there and you’re here asking me to go on a kati roll run with you.”
She slumped into a chair across from him, “Cha cha I went to the restaurant and had dinner and $200 later I’m still starving! I’ve never seen such big bowls and plates with such little food in it. Do you know all of the waiters came out at the same time and served everyone soup at the same time in these huge bowls. I looked down at the bowl and there was barely two tablespoons of soup! Can you believe two tablespoons and that was $20 per person! There was no bread. Each portion was so tiny! I’m so hungry. Cha cha please come with me! It’s my treat. I want some company.”
“Why didn’t you tell Raj to take you for a kati roll before dropping off you here?”
“Are you serious? You wanted me to tell Mr. Fancy Pants that after he just spent $200 on dinner for me that I was starving? He’ll kill me if knows I’m about to indulge in a $5 kati roll after he just dropped $200 on me at the fanciest restaurant in NY. No that won’t go over well.”
“Where is Raj?”
“Still at the restaurant.” Anjali said as she shifted her eyes downward.
“Does he know you left?”
“Of course he does. I told him I wasn’t feeling well and then I took a taxi here,” she said with a smile. “I figured you were up late working and you probably haven’t had a proper dinner so you would be game for joining me.”
“Where are your friends? Why are you asking an old man on a Saturday night to join you for a late night snack?” he asked amused.
“Well… Katherine and Andrew went away for the weekend. Tina is probably hooking up with someone just as we speak. Charlie is still optimistic that one of the girls he hits on will fall for him. He won’t give up until 2am after several more rejections and then he’ll be ready for a kati roll. But, I can’t wait until 2am. Ali is with Salma tonight. Salma told her parents some story about having to work late and stay with a friend since it wouldn’t be safe for her to travel so late at night. Since he rarely ever gets a night with Salma, he probably doesn’t want me calling asking for a kati roll run. So I’m hungry and looking for company.”
“We should definitely call Ali! I think he’d love to go out for kati rolls. Plus, it would keep him from doing something stupid with Salma,” I said.
Anjali spun around with a surprised look on her face, “Alex I didn’t know you were here. Why didn’t you speak up earlier? Cha cha you really were working, huh.”
She paused, “You can’t call Ali that would be mean.”
I ignored her, “So $200 for dinner and you’re still hungry. Wow you are an expensive date.”
I caught her off-guard and then finally Anjali replied, “Aah this is coming from a guy who dates women who stopped eating at age twelve.”
I pushed off the wall and walked towards the door and then turned to her and cha cha, “My dates may not eat, but I do. So are we going or not?”
Anjali laughed and got up immediately, “Yes!”
The three of us went for kati rolls and I couldn’t help but watch Anjali. On the outside with the outfit she was wearing she looked like she came from the upper class society of New York in the sophisticated black dress. But, then she got her paneer kati roll with extra onions, took off her shoes in the middle of a Manhattan street and bit into her kati roll which she inhaled sixty seconds later. Yes, she could look the part of upper class society, but she certainly didn’t act it! The entire site made me laugh in a good way.
It’s because of experiences like this I knew that to win her over, I would have to do things differently. She wasn’t going to be wowed by fancy dinners and lots of flowers. Each date I took her on I made sure it was something Anjali enjoyed. I took her to Bollywood movies, hiking, swimming, and sailing on the Hudson, walks in the park. Over the next several months we dated and I kept my promise and I didn’t sleep with her. Because of my travel schedule, I didn’t get a chance to see her as often as I wanted to, but I came back early as often as I could and I delegated as many trips as I could so I could spent more time with Anjali. So she could get to know me better.
Courting her made me remember the things that I liked doing before I dove into my career. Anjali liked doing things, she wanted to experience life. She wasn’t someone that ever spoke about owning things; she always spoke about doing things. Because I wanted to please her, I did things like sailing on the Hudson which I had never done the entire time I had lived in New York. But, I had sailed in California and I had loved sailing when I was younger. Being on the water after so many years made me remember, that I liked adventure, I liked doing things like Anjali.
After a few months of always being the one to initiate our dates, I sensed that Anjali still didn’t fully trust me. I always called her first, asked her out, kissed her first. I was hoping after so many dates that she would feel comfortable enough to make the first move once in a while.
One Saturday I picked her up for the day since I had to work that night. Outside of her apartment building I handed her a helmet and told her to get on my motorcycle. This was my test to see how adventurous she was, and I was psyched when she smiled and put on the helmet and hopped on the bike.
We rode outside of the city to one of my favorite get away spots. It’s the place I always went to when I needed to get away by myself. I had never taken any of my prior girlfriends there. I had never even told my ex-girlfriends that I even had a motorcycle because I didn’t want to hear them freak out or tell me how dangerous it is to ride a motorcycle, yet I felt comfortable doing both with Anjali.
We spent the afternoon at my spot. We sat underneath a tree and I lay my head in her lap while she ran her fingers through my hair. We talked about everything and nothing. I loved feeling her hands in my hair and I didn’t want the afternoon to end, but I had to get back to the city for a late night conference call.
I reluctantly drove back to the city and dropped Anjali off. When I dropped her off she handed me her helmet. “Alex, I know this is an expensive bike, but I was wondering…” Inside I was cringing and assuming this is where she was going to tell me not to pick her up on my bike for any future dates. “…I was wondering if you would teach me how to ride a motorcycle. I’d love to learn how to ride one of these.” That’s when I knew she was worth it, even if I had to always make the first move. No lecture on the motorcycle, instead she wanted to join me.
Later that evening I was on a conference call to the Middle East and it was one a.m. Sunday morning when I heard a knock on the door. I wondered who would be coming over to my place at this hour, but I answered it anyway since the person could probably hear me on the phone and I couldn’t fake not being home. I opened the door and was shocked to see Anjali standing there. She was wearing a light fall jacket with ruffles down the front and a belt tied neatly around her waist, a long skirt with a slit up the right side, long brown boots with heels that made her at least another three inches taller and her hair was straightened out making it even longer. Her hair tumbled down her shoulders and over her breasts. I don’t know how long I stared at her, but it must have been too long because even though I was on a call I wasn’t paying attention to anything being said and I had just been asked a question and at the same moment Anjali finally mouthed if she could come in.
Watching Anjali had caused all professionalism and manners thrown out the door. I finally opened the door wider to let her in and I walked back to my kitchen table where I had all of my paperwork spread out to try and answer their questions. Of course as Anjali was walking in I noticed that the slit on her skirt revealed she was wearing a garter belt. I couldn’t help but think what the hell was she doing here and that too dressed like that? I finally focused on giving the data the team was asking for and Anjali stood awkwardly in the doorway. After about five minutes of me speaking with the team, I looked over at Anjali and she motioned that maybe she should leave. I quickly walked over and shut the door, put my hand over the receiver and mouthed to her to stay for a few minutes. Anjali smiled at me in agreement but still stood near the door as if she wasn’t sure if she really was going to stay.
I hastily ended the call and told them we would pick in a few hours after they had some time to analyze the data. I couldn’t focus on work when Anjali was standing in my door way looking like that. She hadn’t been to my apartment since the night we slept together.
“What are you doing here Anjali?” I asked.
“It was girls’ night out at a bar in your neighborhood, so I thought I’d take my chances and stop by and say hi before I headed home,” Anjali cautiously stated.
I walked over to her near the door making her take a step back towards the door and said “Hi.”
Anjali looked into my eyes and then took me by surprise when she took a step towards me and said “Hi,” back with her face an inch away from mine, and then before I could respond, she kissed me softly on the lips. After kissing me she stepped back again with her back against the door and looked at me. This time I took a step forward and closed any distance between the two of us and kissed her passionately. If the song “I need you now,” by Lady Antebellum had been out at that time that’s the song that would have been playing in my head.
I need you know
It's a quarter after one, I'm all alone and I need you now.
And I said I wouldn't call but I'm a little drunk and I need you now.
Well I don't know how I can do without.
I just need you now
I just need you now.
Oh baby I need you now.
Even now whenever I hear that song on the radio I think of the night that Anjali came over. That song couldn’t have said it better.
Even though I wanted her so badly, I needed to give her the opportunity to say no. I stopped kissing her and buried my head in her neck and whispered in her ear, “You need to leave now Anjali or I won’t be able to keep my promise of being a gentleman.”
She pulled my head away and I thought she was moving me out of the way so she could leave, but she squared me in front of her and looked into my eyes, “Maybe I don’t want you to be a gentleman.”
Maybe was good enough for me. I grabbed the clutch purse out of her hand and tossed it on the side table, and then used the other hand to undo the belt on her jacket. I grabbed the back of her head and started kissing her again with a pent up desire. It had been torture being around her and behaving like a gentleman. I started kissing her neck, remembering how wonderfully, she had reacted when I had done that the first time, and then whispered in her ear, “You have about sixty seconds to change your mind because that’s about all of the willpower I have left in me.”
“Can I stay the night? The whole night – I promise not to leave this time.”
If I had known that the motorcycle would make me this lucky I would have taken her on a ride much sooner. It might have taken a long time for her to make the first move, but when she did, it was so worth the wait.
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If you have never tried a kati roll then you have to try one! They are so yummy and addictive!
On another note, I'm thinking about doing a restricted chapter that would continue on the details that happen on this night. what do you think? Would you guys like to read something steamy? If so, any tips on how to write a steamy chapter. Thanks!