My hotel room had been hit by a hurricane called Meera. Bright sequined clothes to almost revealing and out of my comfort-zone clothes were flung about my bed, replacing the usual space of the bedsheets. Various types of boots laid scattered about the floor. And the dressing tabled was decked in a maze of makeup. In the middle of this mess was Meera, who scrambled through the various bags of clothing to pull out that one jacket that would make me and my overall outfit look pretty.
"Mumbai's weather has never left a need for wearing a jacket, Meera." I sigh as I tip-toe around the room to seat myself on an empty chair by the window. My words fall on deaf ears as Meera continues to pull clothes out from the bags the sponsors delivered a while ago. She lets out a squeal when she finally pulls out a black denim jacket and I breathe in relief.
"Go, get changed." She pushes the outfit onto my lap and urges me to hurry before turning back to the dressing table. I pick up the clothes and walk back to the bathroom.
I feel drained and restless. When the previous date ended I expected to find Aahan and talk. Space out any disagreement we'd seem to have and get to a mutual ground again. But none of that happened.
Why are you treating me so coldly? Why is there a change in your attitude towards me? What have I done to you? Isn't this a project that we're supposed to work on together?
The amount of question forming in the back of my head laid in abundance but the answers- to even a single one of them - stayed as pending. Aahan made sure that I was not supposed to be talking to him. He succeeded in completely cutting me off when we were returning to the hotel after the lunch date recordings.
He barely spoke to anyone for a matter of fact. It was like he suddenly had cut us all, out of his life.
I don't understand Aahan Kapoor. He, who is a character of two alarming personalities. One that makes tiptoe around the edges of his cold personality; when he's so closed off and rude. And one that makes me drawn near to him like a moth to the flame; when he's charming teasing and flirty. And that side of him pulls me closer to him.
It's insane to how much I was thinking in this very instant, all of which seemed to revolve around him.
Rolling my shoulders to the back, I breathe in an audible amount of air. I try to push every thought out of my mind as I get dressed, something I do rather quickly before Meera could barge into the bathroom for a check.
The outfit stays very close to my personality; loud yet comforting. A silver sequined tank top stays tucked into high-waisted ripped back jeans accompanied by Meera's favourite Black denim jacket. It looks fashionable with the shine the top provides through its sliver sequences but actually feels comfortable on the insides silk materials against the skin. The only worry is that it might make me feel hot in the weather of Mumbai.
Girls have it easy, ha?
I'm thankful for the light makeup Meera applies to my skin for my sure all this stress is going to result in a breakout soon all over my face. However, she spends half an hour over straightening my hair first and then adding wavy voluminous curls at the bottom.
"You're an expert at this." I admire at her work as I stare into my reflection in the mirror. She grins at me triumphantly. "Damn right, I am. To transform you from authentic Indian attire to modern Western statement fashion? a job is done best by me. Meera can do it all." And with that, she pats her back. I break into a smile and let out a chuckle at the sight of that.
"And she finally laughed." She smiles at me. I nod, letting the smile play upon the lines of my lips for a while longer. "Thanks to you."
"I know it's been stressful." She says, grabbing onto my shoulders gently. "But don't let it get to you. You're doing a show. You're doing your best at such short notice and believe it or not, people are loving you!"
At the mere mention of people, my eyebrows shoot up from its state of normality. The thought alone astonishes me.
People are loving me. Does that mean they are currently watching me?
Of course, they would. That's the whole point of this show. It's why I signed a contract. It's why I made plans the night before Friday to garner more content for the show. It's why we everyone is working so hard. It's why Aahan has been distant. Isn't it?
Because people are watching us.
But I've been so busy keeping up with every date, embodying energy and enthusiasm in every single one of them for my hard work to flourish, that I completely have forgotten how all of this would be broadcasted to people at large at various media platforms.
"What exactly do you mean by 'people are loving me'?" I turn around in my chair to meet Meera's eyes. She smiles brightly at me before explaining. "Everyone loved the first episode of 'The Dates' vlog. The cameramen did an excellent job of getting all the necessary details and shots for the first date. It took the editing team and Aahan sir, a lot of time to upload but this morning while you were with your second date it was up and the response to it was amazing! Everyone seems to love your personality. The tension you and Ashish had was a peak point to many for the first episode and the tips you added at the end of your date? Women loved that. So did quite a few numbers of men."
All this new information blows my mind. I tap my fingers onto my phone's screen furiously. Soon enough a video rolls up onto the screen. The thumbnail is of me and Ashish when he held my hand over the dinner table and the views besides the video icon are at the rate of one hundred and twelve thousand views.
"Time to make a move, Saloni," Meera says as she goes back to packing up all essential makeup into her makeup set. I nod to her and move out of the chair slowly. But my feet feel heavy all of a sudden and words find no voice. I am unable to produce any response as Meera talks to me, helps me select a comforting yet badass pair of boots, or as she helps me out of my room as I almost bumped into a tired-looking Aahan.
He raises his eyebrows at me, taking in my getup. There's only a nod of approval before he disappears into his room and Meera pulls me towards the lift for yet another date.
***
On the fourth, date of the show, I expected something grand to happen. After three excellent dates, all involving various methods of exchanging conversations whilst enjoying our meals, I hope for my next date to be something adventurous. But it was far from anything I had imagined.
Standing tall in my four inches high heels, combat boots against the lens of the camera I pull onto my best enthusiastic smile; something I've mastered after three continuous dates. I wait for the camera to start rolling before I begin with my usual intro of the video.
Currently standing outside of the PVR theatre of Juhu, I clench my jaw as a wind rustle its ways through my hair. My patience begins to have plummeted as I seem to continue to attend every other date. But every time I pull myself back with a reminder of my contract and the opportunity this job would bring in the near future.
When the cameraman nods in approval for me to begin talking, I eagerly do so. By the scent of the air, I can tell the rain showers are approaching from a neighbouring place at a speedy pace. And the last thing I or my crew for a matter of fact needs is to be drenched with more work to be done ahead.
"Hi and welcome everyone." I being talking. "So far, we've journeyed through three dates and it's still Saturday evening. How crazy is that?" I blink at the mere mentioning of those words, for it indeed is astonishing and crazy for me yet to digest."Twenty four hours is Indeed a lot. I've been up since morning Six am or maybe even before that and yet here I am, for the fourth date. Now for the insight that everyone's been loving in these videos.."
"One: Breakfast dates are a great way to kick off your day especially during a weekend. When you start the date so actively, who's to say what is in store for the rest of your day? A good start leads to a good day and it might just help you meet you're the one. I highly recommend that. Two: lunch dates for me are a no-no. Going through various events of a day and tasks, I doubt one is in their right mind to be attentive during a lunch date. In the midst of the day- or the way I like to say is chaos- I'll say lunch dates aren't romantic even with the right person unless you're out on a vacation!"
I take a pause smiling at the camera as I continue talking. I'm very much aware of the people around me staring and pointing at me, but I withhold any signs of a crack in my demeanour before the camera. "Both Kiaan and Ivan have been kind to me. Both were charming and special in their own ways. But I seemed to enjoy the breakfast date more than the Lunch date because of the heavy schedule. It affected any bonding me or Ivan could establish given our personality too didn't seem to match at a parr. That's how it seems to be going. And that's about it. Now, unto the next date that's waiting for us. Let's go!"
I turn around and head into the theatre as the cameramen follow me. Now that my back is facing the camera I let my face burn in sweat and different shades of red. I'm embarrassed and awkward, but I remind myself I'm doing my job. I'm grateful that this theatre was not all that far from our hotel helping me reach in time for the date.
But a movie date? It seemed like something couples do or teenagers. Not something you'd do when you want to get to know someone for the first time. I was beginning to have my doubts as I crossed the lobby and headed straight towards a man waiting for me at the entrance of the main theatre rooms with two tickets.
Viaan Damania would be noticed from any corner of the room. He stood out from amongst most men. And it wasn't because he was an embodiment of handsomeness, he looked quite young and cute. But the reason he stood out was because of his fashion sense.
He wore a military cargo pant and what seemed to be some type of expensive platform canvas shoes. His T-Shirt was - which I assume after really narrowing my eye to focus, also green in colour like his pants - barely visible under the bright all silver jacket and a red glares sat atop his blonde bleached hair that was dark brown around the roots. The way I was beginning to perceive it, he was a walking Instagram celebrity with thousands of likes per picture.
His fashion was like any other men I've ever met in life. The way he tried taking pictures of the movie tickets from different angles under the light was also something I've never seen other men do. But what was really the kickback of the start of this date, was that he didn't seem to have noticed that his date stood before him.
"... Viaan?" I raised my eyebrows as I called out to him pretty loudly. He looked up from his phone and then smiled at me. "You're Saloni, right?"
"Yeah."
"Whoa, I didn't think my date would be this pretty." He grins as he takes a step forward. I smile slightly at his compliment. "And I didn't think my date was out here waiting to smash my outfit game."
He chuckles at my response and I shrug at it. It always seemed to crack them up into a fit of laughter, that ought to mean that I was doing it right.
"I'm honoured you'd let me collaborate with you on this project." He grins, as he hands me a movie ticket. "The pleasure is ours."
Indeed, Meera had made me aware. The whole point of going on a date with Viaan Damania was because he's a famous YouTuber and Instagram influencer. His TikTok videos seemed to blow out the proportions of the number of likes and views it could achieve in a day alone. He had too many fans, all of who could add to the views and overall success of our show.
I had been made clear of what was the deal with this date. He gives us more viewers we give free content. From the movie tickets to the food he'd want during it, all of it was paid by our sponsors and of course, he could vlog while our camera did the same for the show.
Such a media stunt.
As a journalism student, I've always been made aware of how the media is being used in India. Content and viewers seemed to be the way of earning for most outlets and yet here I was, something I had debated against so much in my college days.
Don't get caught up in it. Don't.
What really bugged me as I came to this very date was that something about Viaan made me doubtful about him. How is that he, who is such a famous celebrity over the past two years, has never been romantically involved with anyone before?
Or was there something he was hiding?
It really bugged me. His profile was not too clear. It didn't mention his family, friends or any sort of lover. All that I come to learn was that he was twenty, currently pursuing to be a director but was working as a YouTuber.
He held my hand as we walked through the entrance of the cinema. The cameraman couldn't enter any further after this, so we were left alone in each other's presence. But his presence was that of a strong one. Somehow it seemed to draw the attention of not only mine but also of every other girl around us. Regardless, I fought through every doubt as I tried to engage in a conversation with him.
When the movie began, I sent a quick text to Henna to investigate about Viaan Damania. If there was someone who could find out every bit of dirt on any person it was her. I had no doubts about her work. And when she texted back with an 'onto it' reply, I was filled with relief.
I never let my facade fall. Not when he made small conversations during the movie. Not when his mint breath would be too close to my face. Not when he would grab onto my arm. And definitely not when he took pictures of our entwined fingers for his Instagram Story.
"Why not a selfie?" I asked him as he let go of my hand to type a caption.
"Hmmm." He murmured something under his breath as he typed in lightning speed over his phone's screen before hitting the okay button. "Just keeping the audience on the toes. They don't know I'm doing this collaboration."
"Ah, is that so." I rest back onto the cushioned seat of the theatre. The only comfort of this date.
Before I know it, the movie comes to an end. And a part of me feels guilty to think that I enjoyed the movie more than the company besides me. But what was I to do? The guy seemed to only talk about himself.
We sat in a cafe across the cinema, in the food court of the theatre now. Viaan made me wait to take the perfect picture of our pancakes for his yet another Instagram story and after what I believe was the fifth time the flashlight went off to take a picture of the food, my phone in my jean's pocket buzzed.
It was a text from Henna, confirming my previous doubt.
Viaan Damania had a girlfriend. And he was on a date with me
***
thank you so much to everyone who reads and votes on this book. It has just crossed over two thousand Nd two hundred reads and it means a lot to me. Thank you!
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