MANAN: Living in Love [SLOW UPDATES]

Chapter: 20

Dhruv stopped his bike in front of a quaint little place. Nandini was curious all through the ride as they whizzed past the traffic-laden Mumbai roads and the highways. She felt her open hair flutter loudly in her ear as they flew in the air but she couldn't deny that she had a smile on her face all throughout the ride.

Holding onto the handrail at the back so that she won't fall, she felt incredible at this once-in-a-lifetime experience. In her life, she had flown in a plane, sat in a car, ridden a bicycle but she had never sat on a motorcycle.

Although she felt scared for a moment and kept praying silently in her heart because she didn't really trust Dhruv with her life at that moment at least, she was elated that she got to experience this.

Then when the scent of the wet sand assaulted her nostrils as she felt the air grow cooler, she opened her eyes to find that they were by the seaside. Not one of those regular touristy places, but somewhat a back-alley lane, something which only locals would know about.

Nandini stepped down the motorcycle once Dhruv indicated to her that it was okay to. She straightened her clothes and patted down her hair as her eyes looked around curiously like a newborn baby's. This was the kind of place that she had never seen in Mumbai to date and had only visited back in Mangalore.

Dhruv held the door open for her as they walked inside the cafe. Inside, it was nothing she had imagined it to be while coming here but everything she wanted it to be at that moment. She'd been craving for a place that gave her solace, freed her mind, and just felt like it would cleanse her mind of all the grimness surrounding it lately.

Although in such a place, she wanted to be alone to let her vulnerabilities come out on her face, Dhruv was her 'friend' and she couldn't exactly ask that of him.

Inside, it was an open floorplan cafe with indoor and outdoor seating arrangements just separated by partial bamboo dividers. While the indoor seating had a more formal feel to it, the outside gave off a more intimate yet fun vibe with blooming flowers planted along the artificial rockery and a live entertainment stage set up in the center.

The hostess immediately guided the two of them towards one of the secluded tables assuming that the two were on a date. Although she was right about them being a couple, the idea of this being a romantic date was a thought they had both discarded.

Although it was perfectly alright for the two of them to include such romantic activities in their timetable, the idea of romance with the other person just didn't sit right with both of them.

Though Nandini was clear about her feelings; she knew whom she saw as just a friend and whom she knew she just couldn't be only friends with, she had toyed with the idea of being in a romantic relationship with Dhruv. Despite her heart's protest, she had put her brain to the work and imagined, for one second, what dating Dhruv would be like.

And what she imagined didn't interest her.

What she imagined to be with Dhruv was like a perfectly baked chocolate cake. Each ingredient was to the measure, the texture was perfect and the taste was good. But it was just that she found chocolate to be...plain boring.

Yeah, one could have a bite or two but to finally go through the whole cake without feeling overwhelmed and suffocated...yeah! That's what it looked like.

What she wanted in her life was a fruit cake. Yeah, the plain ole vanilla icing might look ordinary to others, but all those fruity bits spread throughout the whole fluffiness was enough to make her excited. The mystery of not knowing what's coming in the next bite but just being sure that whatever it was, she'd love it, that's what she wanted.