23: Impromptu Dinner

Aryaman drove both of them to a restaurant knowing that she would be extremely tired to cook herself dinner after what they just did and would instead eat processed foods which aren't healthy.

"Umm...Maan, my panties" She asked before getting down of the car as he parked in the five-star restaurant.

"Have dinner first then I'll return it to you" He said smugly.

"You want me to come eat with you like this" Her eyes widened in shock. He nodded his head and stepped out. She sat in the car unsure of his move. He opened her side of the door and looked at her to come out. She shook her head.

"Its not that serious Maitri. It feels weird right now but after a few minutes it'll be fine. Trust me?" He held her hand securely and helped her get down. He held her tightly at his arm, sharing his warmth with her, telling her that she was safe with him. He pulled a chair out for her making her smile. She kept pulling her frock down and looked rather uncomfortable. To keep her from thinking that, he thought to keep her busy.

"So Maitri, how many crushes have you had so far?" He asked taking his seat right opposite to her. He made himself comfortable on the chair and looked at her with a smile. Maitri who's attention was completely focused on the delicious aroma of the food looked at him confused. He shook his head and repeated the question as the waiter came with the menus.

"Give us 15 minutes" He asked the waiter time and opened the menu and she did the same.

"I've had many crushes. I change them like clothes, new for each day. I've got a pretty good reason for that too: When you see beauty you appreciate it." She said placing her menu down and looking at him excitedly.

"Who's the flavor of the day then?" He asked flickering his eyes between her and the menu with a smile.

"You" She winked at him mischievously making him shake his head at her.

"What about you? How many have you had?" She asked pulling her chair closer to the table. He sat in silence going through the menu until she spoke.

"Not many, just on celebrities mostly" He placed the menu down and answered her.

"You've chosen what you want?" He asked seeing that she was in no mood to pick dinner.

"Nahh, pick for me please" She leaned back onto the chair and said tiredly.

"Hakka noodles works?" He asked looking over the menu again. Seeing the bright face and her both thumbs up he got the point that she was fine with it.

"Which one remained for the longest time?" She asked curious about his tastes.

"Mädchen Amick and probably even Jennifer Connelly" He said as the waiter came to take their orders. Maitri's expression from excitement suddenly changed into something undecipherable. Due to being engaged in giving the food order, Aryaman didn't see the change in expression. Aryaman ordered for a glass of French red wine and asked Maitri if she wanted anything to drink which she politely declined and sat waiting for food.

Aryaman took a sip of his red wine and let it consume each corner of his mouth before swallowing it. Making an impressed face he pushed it towards her for her to try.

"I don't drink because I don't like the taste" She crossed her arms and quickly explained it to him the reason of not drinking.

"As you say" He took it back and sipped on it again. Maitri watched the way his adam's apple bobbled up and down as the wine made its way through his throat. She looked at him in whole, taking in every detail of him, from the way his hands flexed, and his one eyebrow rose so subtly that it would be almost impossible to know that he was judging someone. To naked eyes he would simply look like an observer but as you move closer he looked like a predator waiting for the right time.

She admired the way his fingers held the wine glass with a gentleness when the same fingers had made her see heaven just a few minutes earlier. Aryaman swirled the glass in his hand and looked at the city view without any expression. Maitri on the other hand was lost in her thoughts. The silence that enveloped them was peaceful.

"What was your weirdest crush?" Aryaman asked still looking at the city view. A laugh bubbled through as she reminisced her weirdest crush. Her giggling caught his attention and he looked at her encouragingly.

"Come on tell the man"

"Am not saying it. You'll make fun of me" She said rolling her eyes and looking away from her.

"Maitri..." He held her hand that was on the table, making her look at him.

"Just spit it out because either way I'll make fun of it" He started on a serious note but ended up making it funny for himself.

"Fine. It was on my Economics professor here" She said hiding her face behind her hands.

"Ohhh I want to know more about this now" He placed the glass down and said.

"Earlier I used to go for physical classes, so I did Economics for one whole year despite hating that subject the most. The prof. might have been like what 3-4 years older than me. God surely took time when he made him. He was hot!" She explained to him.

"Worse part our exams used to be 3 hours long. We were allowed to leave after an hour has passed and you've finished the paper. I would finish the paper in 2hours 30 minutes so the other 30 minutes I could stare at him. I would have taken it the other year too but then he stopped teaching because he graduated" She scrunched her eyes and shook her head knowing that it was extremely stupid of her to have a silly crush as this and doing such extremities.

"Imagine doing a whole year of a subject you hate just for the man who left in one year. Serious commitment issues I tell you" He joked with her making her feel more shy than she already was.

"See this is why I wasn't telling you" She pretended to be angry with him making him laugh harder.

"Just because you don't have good stories about your crushes doesn't mean you laugh on mine" She held her index finger at him and looked at him with squinted eyes. He interlocked his finger with hers and pulled her ahead.

"Its funny so I will laugh. What will you do?" He looked at her challengingly.

"Probably throw wine on your face" She said eyeing his wine glass which he very fast moved it away from her reach.

"Now?" He asked not letting go of her finger.

"Ugghh I don't know. I'll eat even your food right now" She said it in a serious tone. He cocked his one eyebrow up accepting the challenge.

"Just try to even manage to make one bite of my pasta"

"What do I get if I win?" She locked her finger with him and asked excited about the challenge. Before he could answer anything a loud slap broke their trance.

Aryaman and Maitri looked at each other and then at their right seeing a girl cry hysterically holding a man by his collar. Both immediately got the idea of what was happening.

"Why her? Why not me? Why?" The girl asked holding his collar tightly, looking at him with broken hopes and zillion questions in her eyes.

"It was always you Claire. There's no one else other than you" He held her by her waist and said sincerely.

"You are here, having dinner with her" The Claire girl pointed towards the woman sitting there busy on her phone, giving 0 fucks about whatever was going on.

"Its not what you think" He desperately trying to clear the misunderstanding.

"You promised you'd be home for dinner. Its our 6-month anniversary Rafe, 6-month! You promised me that you were over my sister and yet here you are having dinner with her on a night that's ours. Atleast don't lie to me in my face" She wiggled out of his grip and moved a step behind.

"Being a replaced bride was just the worst idea our parents could ever have thought of. If you want her tell me on my face, don't go behind my back and make me a damsel in distress infront of the world" Claire wiped her tears while Rafe tried to hold her hand which she successfully avoided. Claire walked out of the place with full confidence with a trailing Rafe behind her.

Aryaman and Maitri looked at each other and then the couple.

"Mujhe samajh nahi aata yeh cheating ka concept (I don't understand the concept of cheating)" She said staring at the couple, lost in her thoughts. He placed his hand over hers and looked at where she stared.

"Means?" He asked rubbing his thumb over her skin.

"Just that, if you cheated then accept it. If you were caught, then don't give explanations because more than the fact you cheated the fact you are making excuses to cover it up hurts more."

"Exactly. Its the excuses that hurt the most because they make you question whether everything you said earlier was even true or just another excuse you gave. Joh kuch bhi tha woh toh tum khatam kar chale, aab wapas aane ke bahane kyun dena? (Whatever was there, you finished it but why are you back giving excuses for something more)" Aryaman too got lost in his thoughts of his first love. Maitri noticed how he went silent after that and his hands lost the warmth they always had.

The waiter brought their food but none of them were in the mood to enjoy it as they had planned.

"Maan" She changed their hands and called him slowly with a smile. He looked at her and the food and smiled, sitting up straight.

"Maan" She called him rolling her fork in the hakka noodles. He looked at her as he served himself the red pasta.

"You didn't answer me on what I win if I get a bite of your pasta" She tried to lighten the atmosphere. His eyes reflected that he recognized what they were talking about before the fiasco.

"You get me" He said shrugging his shoulders.

"I already have. I want something else" She said scrunching her nose.

"What does her highness want?" He placed the fork on the plate and looked at her.

"A picture of us" She replied him.

"Huh?" He looked at her confused.

"We don't have any pictures together. Its been months now since we are together and yet we don't have a picture of us together." She tried to dig her fork in his plate but he hit her hand making her retreat her hand with a pout.

"And what if I don't want it?" He asked trying to play hard.

"Uhh then I'll convince you" She replied making puppy eyes hoping it will have some effect on him.

"What do I get if I win?" He said looking away knowing that he would melt immediately if he looked more at her.

"Probably my first kiss" She ran her fingers on his hand sensually.

"Am so loving this" He rubbed his hands together and tried all his might to save his food from the food monster Maitri. After having successfully defended his food, he laughed at her futile attempts.

"Fine. You want noodles?" She asked cutely.

"Sure" He said smiling knowing that she hated to share food but when she shares it, she's in good mood.

"Hey I've got a better way to eat the noodles" She stopped serving him and looked at him mischieviously.

"We both eat from each end of the noodle" She suggested playfully which did get a reaction out of him.

"And I'll get my prize too" He rolled the fork and got the noodle. He held it in his mouth from one end while she took the other end of it in her mouth. He started taking large portions of it, reducing the distance between them. Just when they were almost to kiss, Maitri bit down the noodle, breaking it.

"What's the insane behaviour?" Aryaman who highly was anticipating the feel of her lips on his, looked at her with anger.

"Not so soon my dearest boyfriend. You aren't getting my first kiss so easily. Be a gentleman and work hard to earn it" She said laughing at his angry face.

"I've for sure earned it. I just won the challenge" He said throwing his hands in air like she did.

"No you haven't won. I have though" She showed him her fork which had a piece of pasta from his plate.

"You are such a cheat, little muse" He said in fake anger, even though he knew how she stole his food under the pretense of something else. When they were midway, he saw her fork making its way to his pasta. He didn't say anything because he liked that she matched his level of stubbornness, He let her believe that he didn't see it coming.

"Whatever" She said in a pure American accent and removed her phone from her purse.

"Smile for me" She opened the camera and pointed it towards him. He held his glass of wine and shut his one eye.

"You have such a photogenic face" She said showing him the picture. She called for the waiter and asked him to get her a cold coffee earning a warning glare from him.

"You've been sneezing" He looked at her sternly.

"I'll share with you if that helps" She said the first thing that came to her mind and then realised it that it didn't make sense with the context. She tried to convince him using her eyes which did work on him and he nodded his head.

"One cold coffee" She ordered and took a few more pictures of him and sent them to him. She was eating peacefully when she heard the camera click. She realised that her mouth was full of the hakka noodles and was damn sure she looked like a joker in that picture.

"Delete that right now. This isn't fair Maan." She stood up to take his phone but he was faster than her.

"It looks so good"

"Yeah sure. My mouth is filled with food and you think that's nice. Delete that RIGHT NOW" She fought with him for his phone but his tall height prevented her from getting the phone.

"No!" He made her sit on her place and admired the picture.

"I've taken better pictures too if it compensates"

"You just delete this one first" She pointed towards his phone with a pout.

"Pose for me" He said taking her attention of the other. She posed for him quickly.

"Aren't you the cutest?" He said showing her. She fake bowed in appreciation of the compliment.

"Another one. Look onto your right...yeah there...no look at your eye level. Perfect, stay there" He guided her and took another picture of her.

"You take such good pictures. You are upgraded to being my personal photographer" She said smiling widely at him and the picture.

"Am honored" He laughed at it with her.

"By the way, Why was Cinderella so bad at soccer?" He said out of nowhere. She looked at him confused.

"Because she kept running away from the ball" Maitri took a deep breathe and held her hand over her face before bursting out laughing. He quickly took a picture of her without her knowing. He had skillfully placed his wine glass infront of her, making the picture look aesthetically pleasing.

"I need time to recover from your bad sense of humour"

"You laughed so your humor is as bad as mine" He said shrugging his shoulders and tucking his phone in his jeans.

Rest of the dinner went by with each of them saying corny jokes. After dinner he dropped her at her apartment with a sweet forehead kiss.

"Maan..." She looked at the ground shyly.

"Yeah?" He looked at her rolling down the car window of her side.

"My...you have my...Will you return it to me now?" She asked blushing like a new bride.

"Your what?" He intentionally teased her.

"You know what, stop teasing me na" She said hiding her face behind her hands.

"Its mine now so I don't know what yours I have anymore" His reply left her flabbergasted and standing in the street with a wide mouth as he drove past her. He smiled seeing her stand in position shocked until it hit her and she kicked air in his direction with a smile held tightly so she could be angry at him.