A Flight of Love

Chapter 6 - Meal Service

"So what do you do, Akshara?" Abhimanyu asked, trying to get the conversation rolling.

"I'm a therapist."

"Ah. Nice." Abhimanyu replied, genuinely interested in what she had to say.

"Music therapist."

"Even better." Why did that come off more sarcastic than he intended.

"Why did that sound sarcastic?"

"Because it was." Abhimanyu admitted honestly. "I'm not really a fan of singing, dancing, or even music."

"So you basically hate your life?"

Ouch. That definitely hit a nerve. Looks like he had just lost some brownie points. "Ahh, no. I like my life just fine, thank you."

Akshara rolled her eyes and decided to put an end to the conversation. She didn't want to entertain anyone who didn't have a ounce of respect for music.

"I'm a cardiac surgeon. Thanks for asking, by the way." Abhimanyu decided that he wasn't done annoying her yet. Yes, he had hit a nerve with her for making his dislike for music known, but that didn't mean he couldn't do something to fix it.

"Don't care, didn't ask. And not interested."

Abhimanyu decided that Akshara's attitude wasn't worth entertaining. But thankfully, before he ended up making matters worse, the flight attendants started their meal service.

"Sir, here you go." The flight attendant carefully laid out the cutlery and the meal out in front of him.

"Thank you."

"What would you like to drink?"

"Can I just have a whisky with soda water on the side please."

The flight attendant nodded her head and turned towards Akshara. "Here you go Ma'am." She said as she set up Akshara's tray table with cutlery and her meal. "And for your drink Ma'am?"

"Wine please. Red. Thank you."

The flight attendant handed them their respective drinks before moving onto the next set of passengers.

Akshara watched as Abhimanyu mixed in the soda water with the whiskey and swirled it around before taking a sip.

"Isn't alcohol supposed to be bad for you? Don't doctors normally warn their patients to not drink alcohol?"

"Oh, and I thought you didn't care about my profession."

"But that doesn't mean I wasn't listening. So...what's your excuse for drinking the exact same thing you warn people off of?"

Abhimanyu smiled to himself. This girl was the definition of peculiar. But then why was he still so interested? "Because I know exactly how much to drink. In moderation, a drink or two a day isn't going to harm anyone, including me."

He could see her face running through the different scenarios, trying to think of a rebuttal so she would have the last word. But nope. Nothing.

"Yah, whatever! Enjoy your meal," Akshara said exasperated, before going back to focusing on her meal.

Abhimanyu left out a small laugh in mesmerization of Akshara's helplessness.

"Why're your laughing?"

"Did anyone ever tell you you're cute when you're angry?"

Akshara's heart fluttered. A compliment?! No one had ever complimented her before, even jokingly. Especially not a fine looking man such as Abhimanyu. Why did it make her feel weird?