First Date to Forever...

Heads or Tails

      Life can be so amusing sometimes . You are absolutely unaware how one small moment of courage can lead to amazing things . It was a lazy Sunday and Sujay was laying in his bed , reflecting on the past few weeks.
  
     Had it not been for the dare he would not have known this feeling of being in Love ... he wouldn't have known this amazing beautiful person - Shonali . He was in an introspective mode with a huge smile on his face when his elder sister Shruti suddenly entered his room and threw a pillow at him  .

   "Why are you smiling like an idiot ? Oh wait you are an idiot ! " Shruti laughed .

    "I am not an idiot ! " Sujay replied acting annoyed , but he was happy to see her !

     Shruti sat down opposite to him and he immediately laid his head on her lap. They both shared a great bond . Shruti was four years elder to Sujay and lives on the other side of the city. She used to visit them often as Sujay is the closest to her. After she moved out he felt a lot lonely and missed their talks , their antics and their fights too !

    Shruti absolutely adored his little brother and missed him alot but had decided to move out after a fight with their father .

    "So what's up ? Who's the girl ? " She asked with a teasing smile.

    "Why do you think it's a girl ? Can't I be smiling about something else ? "

     "Please have a look in the mirror ! You have lover boy written all over you !! Such a huge smile on your face .... and wait !! Are you drinking tea ?? This is new !! "

    Sujay chuckled at his sister's remarks, she knew him so well .

     "Well you remember I told you about my crush ... " He started.

     "Oh yes Sarika's friend ? The one you were crushing on since day 1 of college ? " She asked with raised eyebrows. She knows all about his brother's crush and she was surprised when he shared about this  girl with her. Sujay wasn't the kind to have crushes or flings . He believed in love , in destiny. If he likes a girl he would give his all to keep her in his life .

     "Yes , the same one , Shonali ... Well I went on a date with her " Sujay told her all about the game of Truth and Dare and how Palak helped him. He skipped the almost kiss incident. She couldn't help but notice how happy his brother is just talking about her. He had a different shine in his eyes , a sense of pride .

    "Wow so much happened and you did not tell me ? " she whined .

     "It all happened so suddenly that even I did not get a chance to wrap my head around it , plus now I am leaving next week ! " He sighed.

      "Oh yes your semester program !!! How did I forget !! You will be gone for four months ! " She suddenly realised. She would miss him , but at the same time she knew how excited he was about this , but somehow it didn't feel like he was anymore ...

     "Is there anything else you want to tell me ? " Shruti asked his brother . This doesn't feel like just a crush ...

     Sujay sighed , gave a huge smile to her and finally for the first time admitted his feelings ..
" I am in love with her Shruti ! So much that I cannot believe it's possible ! "

     Shruti was beyond ecstatic ! She couldn't believe what Sujay just admitted but at the same time she was worried about him getting hurt too .

     "What about her ? Does she feel the same ? Have you told her yet ? " She asked

      "I don't know , I have a feeling that maybe she likes me back or may have started to , but she made it very clear on the first date itself that she is not looking for any relationship at all or a second date . But our friends kept planning to bring us together so we unknowingly got to spend so much time together... But she hasn't said anything neither does she intend to... atleast until I am back from America.." He said with with a sad smile .

      "Infact she even told me honestly that if she knew I was leaving for such a long time , she wouldn't have spent so much time with me ... And No , I haven't told her , I want to be sure of her feelings before expressing otherwise she will try all possible ways to ignore me which she always fail at ! " He continued with a chuckle .

   "She sounds sensible ... Long distance is hard , specially considering you both know each only for such a short time.... I would love to meet her before you leave , please can I meet her ? " Shruti was now curious to meet the person who was successful in making her brother fall head over heels without even knowing.

      "Well Sarika is planning something for me and Jeet today with all our friends as we will be leaving next Saturday... Join us? Shonali will be there too ! " Sujay too wanted her sister to meet Shonali .

      It's so weird how both the siblings have different take on life and relationships, they both are like two sides of the coins - Heads and Tails , never seeing eye to eye but still together . 

      While Sujay was the hopeless romantic who believed in destiny and selfless love , Shruti never believed in love . For her career and self respect were above all . Ofcourse family mattered to both of them but Shruti wasn't too keen on finding the one like Sujay was. They both had grown up seeing their parents as an example and surprisingly they both have learned different things from their relationship...

     Sarika had planned a small get together with Sujay and Jeet's close friends before they leave for their semester abroad. Everyone from Shonali's group was invited as they had become close to Jeet and Sujay during the last one month and three of their friends from graduation were invited - Zakir , Siddharth and Trisha. Sujay's sister was also joining them for the evening with the sole purpose to meet Shonali.

     Shonali along with Palak , Maitri , Ruhi , Charu and Sameer left from their hostel for the party. Sarika had instructed to keep the venue a secret from Sujay and Shonali . Jeet was assigned the task to pick Sujay and Shruti from their home.

      Palak kept Shonali engaged in conversation throughout their ride to divert her attention. As soon as Shonali stepped out from the car the surrounding felt familiar to her . They were in the parking lot of a building. She looked around curiosly when she realised that this the place where she had her first date with Sujay !

    They made their way towards the cafe and found Sarika already waiting for them with Akshay . She gave a huge smile to Shonali .
"Did you like the venue Shonali?" She teased her.

    "Very much ! " Shonali retorted with a huge smile. She had loved the place the last time she was here .

     Soon they were all seated and were waiting for others to join them . While everyone was engaged in conversations and bickering, Shonali was reminiscing the day she came here with Sujay and was thinking about how far they have come when she suddenly realised that the last time she met Sujay was on the day of their almost kiss !! And at the same time Sarika announced that Sujay and Jeet have reached the parking and are on their way to the cafe . Shonali suddenly grew very nervous as if she was about to meet Sujay for the first time . How is she going to face him ? How should she react ?