Part 11 (1/2)

'Keep calm. And he is not my first cousin. He is my cousin Mama's son. So in reality he's a distant relative. We do meet sometimes and share a good bond but I'm surprised your topic never came up whenever I met him. Obviously, he couldn't ask me directly whether I was dating someone or not.

Neither did I tell him. Sometimes, he comes to our place and we have a good time. My family is a bit orthodox and I am not comfortable sharing our relations.h.i.+p with my family or Rohan so soon, not until we're done with our education. Today, I saw him talking on the phone and he was taking your name and even Kavya's. He is staying with us tonight. Then when he went to the washroom after sometime, I took his cell phone and luckily it was unlocked. I checked the number he had last dialled and it was you.

Then I came running to you.'

Virat was speechless and felt like banging his head against the wall. He was confused whether he should thank his fate that he didn't show her pictures or reveal anything about her to Rohan or curse his fate that Mahek was Rohan's cousin. One thing he was sure about was that although Rohan would get upset in the beginning after knowing everything, he won't stand in the way of their relations.h.i.+p. He knew Rohan liked him as a person and somewhere he thought he should tell Rohan everything rather than hiding the truth from him as it would hurt him more later on. He gave it a thought and said, 'I think we should tell him. He trusts me and he won't tell anything at home. Trust me.'

'No, that's impossible. Please. If my parents come to know then they will cut all my freedom away.

They will doubt me continuously, even when I going to a friend's place. We should first complete our education. Please, understand. After all he is my brother,' she panicked.

'Do you know about his current girlfriend?'

'No. He didn't tell me. But I had met his previous girlfriend Zoya. Rather, he had to introduce her because I had seen them together, hand in hand, when I was with my friends. She is a nice girl. We talk occasionally,' Mahek exclaimed.

Sometimes, it's hard to face things you have no control over. Virat was bold enough to confront Mahek's cousin, Rohan. Some say love is blind, but love is challenged in all senses. Because no matter how hard you try, it will always surprise you. Pleasant ones or shocking ones. Virat couldn't categorize this surprise. Mahek had told him such things about Rohan's previous girlfriend Zoya and their relations.h.i.+p that it sent s.h.i.+vers down his spine. He digested the fact that Mahek was Rohan's cousin and was ready to face it with courage but whatever she said about Zoya was unbelieveable. Some things in life are better left unexplained. Virat had already starting planning for a double surprise shocker on Valentine's Day for his friend and future brother-in-law Rohan.

Candy Crush My Heart!

11th February, 2010 'Aadi, she won't be here on Valentine's Day. She will meet me for a few hours but since we can't go on a date together, we are celebrating it today evening. But I just don't know how to make it special for her. Please, please tell me what to do,' Rohan pleaded with me.

I was in Pune during the Valentine's week for my friend's marriage and was staying at Rohan's home.

Rohan and his family were spending a few days at his cousin aunt's place in Aundh but Rohan returned home early as I was coming. He had told his parents he has some official work to do. The only person who knew the real reason why Rohan was coming back home early because of me was Mehak. I had never interacted with them before, because Rohan was my Masi's son and they were his father's relatives. So Mahek and I were not really related as such.

He seemed confused about how he should celebrate his first Valentine's Day with Riddhima. She had some extra cla.s.ses to attend on the actual Valentine's Day, so they decided to celebrate it early. Anyway, when your Valentine is with you, the day doesn't hold importance and even Friends.h.i.+p's Day could mean Valentine's Day to you. It's more about the feelings that two individuals share and how pa.s.sionate they are about each other.

'Keep it simple. The simplicity in your love and affection towards her is more important. I have an idea. Leave it to me. I will make it memorable for you,' I a.s.sured him.

Rohan had decided to meet Riddhima in the evening and I still had a few hours to arrange everything.

For his part, I told him to keep it simple yet special.

'Listen, go on a short drive with her first. I will buy you a CD of romantic songs and you can play them in your car while you drive to your chosen destination. I am sure she will love it. Later on, take her for a romantic dinner to an amazing restaurant. I will check online deals for you so that the meal doesn't drill a hole in your pocket. Finally, to end the evening on a perfect note, park your car on some lonely road while returning and express your love to her with a soft kiss,' I said taking a deep breath after narrating the entire plan to him.

I arranged for the CD and bought a deal on Groupon for a meal for two at 50% off at a restaurant in Koregaon Park. The restaurant had rooftop dining where you could get a view of the entire city. Rohan better treat me for getting him such a great deal, I thought to myself. Every time a guy takes a girl out on a date, somewhere in some corner of his mind, he's calculating how much the meal would cost him, even if he has a credit card with him. Rohan was happy not only because he was taking Riddhima out on a date to one of the best restaurants in the city but also because he was going to pay only half the price. Rohan was all geared up for a romantic evening with Riddhima.

Rohan took the CD that I had bought from a nearby Pune railway station and kept it on the dashboard of the car. He had worn a crisp white s.h.i.+rt and a pair of blue jeans to go with his Woodland shoes. He reached Riddhima's apartment and called her to come down. He was waiting outside the car, leaning on the door, and kept messaging her to come down soon.

Riddhima was fond of wearing makeup and junk jewellery, and was taking her own time to get ready, increasing Rohan's frustration in the process. She was wearing a magenta-coloured designer suit with zari work on it. She had teamed the outfit with silver jhumkis and jootis. She had gone light on the make-up this time, applying lots of kajal instead, which was Rohan's favourite. As she came outside the apartment, he was bowled over by how pretty she looked. 'How did I get so lucky?' he asked her as he hugged her tightly.

Rohan opened the door of the car for her like a perfect gentleman. 'What's that scent?' Riddhima asked as she took her seat. Rohan had kept a Milano Sandalwood car freshener in the car so the car smelled nice. Riddhima's face glowed in excitement as she inhaled the fragrance. She immediately planted a kiss on Rohan's cheek and held him by his arm as he drove the car.

After a few minutes, he told Riddhima to give him the CD that was kept over the dashboard. She saw the cover of the CD which '100 Romantic Hit Songs' written over it. Most of the songs were her favourite.

'Did you purchase it today?' she asked.

'Yes. I got the CD especially for you since you love these songs. After a lot of effort, I managed to find a CD with all your favourite numbers,' Rohan replied.

Riddhima's happiness was visible in her eyes. She inserted the CD into the player and was looking at the back cover of the CD that had the tracks written on it in chronological order.

'No disc,' the error message displayed on the screen.

I will kill Aditya if this CD doesn't play, thought Rohan. Keeping his fingers crossed, he ejected the CD and, like most guys do, rubbed it on his jeans as if cleaning it. He prayed to G.o.d that the CD would work. He didn't want to feel embarra.s.sed in front of Riddhima.

'It will work. There is some problem with my player. It happens, sometimes,' he said trying to save his a.s.s.

Once again, he inserted the CD into the player. Rohan was biting his fingernails in antic.i.p.ation and praying it would work this time, and it did! A song came on and Rohan heaved a sigh of relief.

Riddhima rested her head on his shoulders and began humming the song.

The song continued for few seconds and then abruptly changed to a new song before the earlier one could get over. In fact, it wasn't even a song! It was like two people were moaning while making out.

Riddhima looked at him in shock and disgust. Rohan hurriedly pressed on a b.u.t.ton to go back to the previous song but a message appeared on the screen saying 'Not applicable'.

Riddhima looked at Rohan in anger, much like how we feel during Candy Crush when only one candy is left to crush and we run out of moves!

'What is this Rohan? You listen to such stuff?' Riddhima screamed.

'No. I mean...I didn't buy it.'

'What the f.u.c.k. You said that you had got this especially for me. So this is the quality of CD you get for me?'

Rohan didn't know what to tell her. He had planned to make her listen to all her favourite numbers, and instead what was playing was the audio of a B-grade p.o.r.n movie. In a panicking state, he increased the volume instead of decreasing it, creating utter chaos inside the car. Riddhima yelled like mad and Rohan just hoped that her voice mixed with the sounds of the CD didn't become entertainment for other people on the road. Thankfully, the restaurant was nearby and they reached just before Riddhima could murder him.

I swear to G.o.d, I will never ever buy a pirated CD from a station, especially when I have to play it for my girlfriend. But I will never, NEVER, ask that a.s.s Aditya, he thought.

Somehow, he managed to keep calm and held Riddhima's hand as he took her to the 9th floor which had the rooftop restaurant. She was still a bit upset about what had happened in the car but forgave him ultimately since she loved the innocent face that Rohan faked in front of her. By the time they reached the spot, the smile on her face was back.

The ambience of the restaurant was mesmeric. There was dim lighting and candles had been lit everywhere. Soft music was playing in the background. There was even a small pool around which some tables were laid. Couples could dip their feet in the pool and talk while they waited for dinner.

Rohan had a print out of the discount coupon and showed it to the manager. He read the print out and showed them to a table by the pool. Rohan held out the seat for Riddhima and asked the waiter to get them the menus. Once done ordering the meal, Riddhima took Rohan by the hand and pulled her to sit near the pool, with their feet dipped in the water. Rohan went closer to her and kissed her on the cheek, saying, 'I love you, Riddhima. Happy Valentine's Day in advance. You are mine and will always be.'

Riddhima kissed him back and pulled his cheeks lovingly. It was like a dream come true for her, sitting beside her prince charming by the poolside,with candles around them and a perfect view of the city.

'Here is your wine, sir,' the waiter said handing them two gla.s.ses of wine.

They had ordered white wine with some Pasta, as offered in the deal.

'Cheers,' Rohan said as they clinked their gla.s.ses together.

No matter how many fights you get into or how many times you get upset, if you truly love a person, then even one look of theirs will bring a smile on your face.

'I want to spend all my future Valentine's Days with you. Promise me, even if we get busy, we will take out time from our schedules to celebrate our togetherness,' Riddhima stated.

'Yes. I am really lucky to have you in my life,' Rohan said kissing her hand.

Maybe the almighty had it all planned. Maybe he wanted Rohan to meet the wrong person before he could introduce her to the right person, so that he would know how to value her love. They both decided to confess their love to their parents to get their approval.

After spending a wonderful evening together, they decided to leave. Since the bill had already been paid through the online deal, they started to leave. But it really turned out to be their unlucky day because the manager came in with the pending bill, despite the online payment having been cleared.