The Saturday late evening was melting away into the darkness of the early night sky, and in these hours, I sat upon the bed of the guestroom, in the villa. I was still amidst my thoughts of processing everything that Saloni had told me half an hour ago. When the wind circled its way around my body through the bedroom window, I felt a roundabout of my emotions erupt like rumbles over my skin. It felt like my body was registering itself through the waves of astonishment. And then like a flood of a tsunami it hit me that it was now or never.
I had to make a move now. It had to be now, or I would lose her to another guy. To another pair of arms. Another set of lips. Another soul. It was something I could bear, never.
But something held me back. Another problem. Another question of my life. Something which would sum up the entire bond of mine to hers. And that was the obstacle between us. The very words and actions of; were she 'the one.?'
What is love? If I were to google its definition, it would tell me: love is a definition of but intense feeling of deep affection. But it could also be defined as a great pleasure and interest in something. And so, my thoughts fell into a jumble of emotions. Were the feelings in my heart? Were the feelings just thoughts in my head? Was the feeling of love for Saloni related to the first definition of love? Or was it the latter?
And so, I set my things straight. I packed some of my stuff in a duffle bag that I found in the guestroom. Everything that was packed inside was related to the ideas bursting in my head. I was on a move. My mind was already formulating the ideas as to how the rest of the weekend, I would want to spend. And so, Exactly at Nine-thirty pm, I met with Saloni, outside the villa.
"What's with the bag?" She raised her eyebrows, tilting her head to the side to examine it. It hung heavily on my left shoulder, but the weight of it could not be compared to the weight on my mind right now.
"Thing's we'll need." I smile in reassurance to her. This only makes her more suspicious of me, but she doesn't question further. Instead, she adapts. "It's best if you put it in the backseat." She throws a pair of keys in the air and I snatch it my fist with my free right hand.
"Sounds good, let's go, shall we?"
"Let's go."
***
The drive to the destination is pretty silent. I don't know what I am supposed to say and neither does Saloni says a word. But in the moments of silence, our eyes drift towards each other and they meet and when they meet, there's a lot they try to convey. Question, emotions, feelings and doubts. I wonder what do my eyes convey to hers?
"I always liked the way you drive," Saloni says, after half an hour of silence. I breathe out a gust of wind, that I never knew I had held on, into my lungs. "It's really smooth. I can trust you enough to sleep while you drive." These very words of hers make me smile remembering all those failed attempts I had to conquer.
"You know, I was a terrible driver." I confess, "But I learnt with all the failed attempts."
"No ways!" she gasped, "You? A terrible driver? I can not believe it."
"It's true though." I nod, thinking back to the day I first sat behind the steering wheel of a car. "I was sixteen when I tried my hand at driving and my god was my father angry. I still remember the slap he gave me for driving around illegally and busting the backside of his car."
"Such a bad boy." She teases me and I let out a chuckle. "It takes a mistake to learn." I smile, clenching onto the steering wheel. "Sometimes it takes a mistake, for you to realise what is right and what is wrong."
There a small awkward silence between us, before Saloni spoke again.
"Does this apply to me?"
"In a way, Yes." I bit onto my lower lip. I kept my eyes focused onto the road. I was thankful that our eyes didn't meet at this moment, for sure I would have been unable to keep my lips away from hers.
"Where are we going anyways?" She asked. Just then I parked the car outside the closest Dominos' pizza place. A smile forms onto my lips and I look at her cheekily.
"Do you like pizza and Stargazing?"
"What? I don't understand." She fumbled and I smile even more.
"It's date one of seven, Saloni." And with that, I step out of the car, with the car keys jingling in my hand. I turn around to her side of the car door and help her out of her seat like a true gentleman.
"We're having pizzas?" she asked and I clasped my hands around hers, leading her inside the dominos' store. It was already ten a.m. "At a very lovely place. I hope you love it."
"You're crazy. This is crazy." She breathes out, nevertheless smiling from ear to ear. I pull her close to me and break into a fit of a giggle, like a small girl. And I don't even feel embarrassed about it. All I feel is the high rhythm of my heartbeat that come up like the waves and crash down to my bones in a calmness. Saloni makes me feel this.
"Come one, hurry and make an order. We have someplace to be at."
"Where?" she asks, her head shaking slightly as a smile plays along the line of her lips.
"Spot one, Date one. You ready to find out about us?"
"Yes," she nods, her eyes glazing over with moist waterworks. "Never been more ready for date one."
***
It didn't take long to drive to the spot I had chosen from google maps. The whole time Saloni had been excited and ready to eat her share of pizzas, even though we both had done our dinner. 'There was always room for pizza,' as Saloni would say. When the car turned into the forest road, Saloni panicked
"Is your idea of a date, I don't know, death?" her eyes widened as I continued to drive down the path. "How did you find out?" I gasp, placing my left hand on my chest dramatically.
"Hands-on the wheel!" she squeals and I crack up laughing. "No, but seriously, where are we going?"
"It's a surprise."
"Ugh, I hate them."
"And I love teasing you for it?" I grin and she playfully shoves me at my side. "Hey, no funny business with the driver."
A devilish smile made its way up her lips and so her cheeks stretched upwards. Her hand inched closer to my body and then she firmly set her hand on the left thigh, giving it a tight squeeze. I clenched my teeth and grabbed onto the steering wheel tightly.
"Saloni." I took her name, in a warning tone. But her hands didn't budge, in fact, then her fingers spread out and they started to move in a circling pattern on my thigh. "Saloni." I pressed on, turning to give her a glare with my eyes but she was grinning widely and my heart thudded at the look of her face.
"What is it, Aahan?" She said, sweetly. God this woman was making me feel everything. She made my name sound like a magic spell. Something unique and different. I wonder how she would moan it?
Aahan, get a fucking grip of yourself!
I shook my thigh and she pulled back her hand, giggling like a cute girl. I bit onto my lower lip and parked the car at the side. The google navigation said loudly, 'You've reached your destination.' And it was a sight to see. We were at a cliff, from where you could see the city below and up above you could see the stars.
"This is it." I breathed out. "Date one."
"Is that so?" She teased, playing innocent.
"Yep. Date one, Pizzas while stargazing." I said, pulling the seatbelt off from me and turning to face her. Her expression changed from a giggle to amazement one. "Sounds fun! I have never done this before."
"Yeah, we are going to enjoy it. But before that, I want a little revenge." I smirked and she tensed up, shaking the seat belt off. "I don't know what you're talking about." She said, and swiftly fled from the car but I was on and about my feet already. I matched her steps and caught her by the waist. I turned her around and placed her down against the front of the car. She gasped loudly and my cheeks burned red. But I felt bold and I felt affectionate.
I leaned down to her and our breaths overlapped. "Can I?" I asked her and she cupped my face in her hands, her eyes exploring every inch of my face. "Yes..." She barely breathed out the word, before I pressed her down against the hood of the car and captured her lips in mine.
"Revenge is sweet." I smiled against her lips, "Kissing on the first date already? Might deduct some points." She chuckled, before pulling me down onto her so that we both laid upon the hood of the car, pressed against each other's body, our lips never leaving each others. And under the chilled wind and clear sky, all I could think was the point deduction was worth it.
Saloni Neeves is worth it.
***
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