Breaking stereotypes

Chapter-28

My romance books. His action and adventure filled video games. The place where we first met near his building block. That's my idea of a perfect date. Just the two of us indulging ourselves in our own world but together. Yes, I am too excited for today's and our first official date.
It's a sunday. I walk through the streets looking all happy and bubbly in my baby pink knee lengthen umbrella frock, hand knitted light coat with no buttons or chain over it with matching ribbon clip at my back and new baby pink and white high knee socks and shoes on. Something which according to me still doesn't suits much to my personality, it never will but I don't care about all these things right now. I am really happy. I am not faking it or fooling myself or the people around me by wearing girly dresses, by being happy about a simple date like this. I am genuinely happy.
As I turn to his block, I see him already waiting for me with his mobile phone on his hand as if he is waiting for my permission to start playing his game. He is wearing an ocean blue sweatshirt, his usual blue jeans and his usual footwear looking like a cinnamon roll as always. He waves me a hi and I wave him too as I run towards him, towards the rock he was sitting on the very first day we met. I sit beside him as I open my side bag to get my book out.
"Did you wait too long?"
"No. You are on time." He says smiling.
I smile too. "Okay then, shall we start?"
"Sure."
I open my current read, a small town love story of two grumps, one of my favourite trope and I am not getting enough of their chemistry. I continue from the part I left last night reading till 3'00 a.m in the morning. Even though I was super excited for our date, I could not get enough of them.
He starts playing his game which he has been lately obsessed with. It's some kind of online adventure game I don't know much about but we don't seem to mind about not knowing much about each others' interest. Like until we are together and understand each others' obsession we are chill. I never thought I would ever be friends with someone let alone date someone with whom I don't even have to discuss about my favourite romance books. They were the only thing I was living with until he showed up. With him everything felt so natural, I never felt the need to have the same interests as each other to be with him. I noticed I enjoy everyday life with him. Real life. Not just discussing or obsessing over fictional stories, the characters, the love stories, the plots but simple everyday foods, simple conversations; it doesn't even have to be deep, just meeting and seeing each other, knowing how was each others' day, the curiousity of knowing more about each other each day, playing silly games together, pulling pranks on each other, starting a competition over unnecessary things. We don't get enough of these small things to go to the other side of our lives. Time to time he does asks about my current reads or my favourites and I tell him everything. He listens to me which really makes me happy. I do the same time to time. I go to his workplace and we play some easy games together. I am really bad in those fighting games even though I love watching them. I can see him enjoying those moments with me.
~
Comfort surrounds us with silence. I stare at him time to time and he glances back. Some of the kids from back then were playing around. We asked Adya if she wanted to join but she straightforwardly rejected our invitation. I think she didn't want to third wheel us, but she would never. I mean she knows about us, which we had a rough time trying to explain her not because she didn't get us but she understood way too much for her age. We were left all shy and red.
~
Coming back, I keep getting distracted by him. He catches me glancing him. "What?" He asks in a sweet yet playful tone.
My heart makes a skip. Okay he caught me off-guard and I need to come up with something reasonable. "Those kids, I want to be friends with them. Introduce me to them, they are your friends right?" I say calmly maintaining my cool. Well that aside, I seriously wanted to be friends with them. I think now would be a great timing to form new friendships. They give us a look and smile. I smile too.
"Sure why not?" I always thought of introducing you to them."
"Then why are we waiting? Let's go after I finish this chapter. Is it alright with you?"
"Sure."
"Okay let me wrap up with this."
"Hey what are you reading?" He asks as he takes my book off from my hand. Great timing! There was a hot scene going on.
He glances at me. I give him an innocent pout look. We romance readers are expert in reading spicy scenes while maintaining a normal face or even having a normal conversation while reading. Not that we like talking during the time but if possible we are pros.
"Do you want me to do all these?"
What? What is he asking? Have he gone mad?
"These kind of things are not asked for, no girl would like to directly ask. .
"Okay, from now on you won't have to ask then."
He says as he cuts me mid sentence and kisses me. A quick soft smooch. His left hand tucking the hair behind my right ear as he holds my face with my ear in between his thumb finger and the other four fingers. He pulls back and looks into my eyes. I don't avoid eye contact this time.
I look at him in a surprised way.
"You said you never understood romance, how are you so good in all these?"
"It's you, you are the source. If I am any good, it's because it's you. You bring the parts out of me which I thought never existed in me."
We don't break eye contact for few seconds.
I break the eye contact, "I am thirsty, let's go to your place" as I clear my throat.
"Hah?" He looks surprised.
"Don't get the wrong idea, I have never been to your place I just want to have a look that's it." I say shouting out loud.
He smirks. "I didn't say anything."
Thankfully there aren't many people here except for those kids busy playing.
~
We go inside his place. Plain white walls with lots of gaming posters, video games, some arcading machines and a laptop. As expected.
"I will decorate it someday." I murmur without thinking much into it.
He smiles.
"Heyyy I didn't say it in that way."
"And I didn't say anything."
"Go, shooohhhh, get me water or anything you have, go."
He goes smiling. As he leaves I stare at his laptop. Looks like a second hand one. I wonder what he does in that laptop. Certainly doesn't plays games all the time. We never talk about our dreams or passions. One of the reasons I understand why none of us ever takes out the topic because we both try to respect each others' personal growth and boundaries. We know both of us have went through a lot and still have lots to figure out. I don't want to pressurise his growth and his journey for self discovery by asking about his dreams and future. What if he still hasn't figured it out yet? I don't want to make him feel small and so does he. Right now we are just trying to support and cheer each other in silence. We are waiting for each other to open up at our own pace. For some reason I feel the same connection between him and his laptop the same way I have with my pen and diary.
My thoughts are diverted as he enters his room with a bottle of orange juice. What took him so long if he doesn't even have a glass to offer with? I take the bottle just to realise that it's almost empty. I give him a look. "Sorry I don't have anything right now."
I give him another look. "Water would have been enough than this empty bottle." I still drink the remaining.
"Let's go."
He follows with a smile.
As I open the door, I almost tripped and fell by stepping on my shoe lace. That's why I always wear my favourite grey ones with no shoe lace problems.
"Your shoelaces are about to open." He says as he bends down to tie them together. As he starts tying the right leg side, a different type of tension suddenly hits in. Quick and sensual all over places. He shits from right leg to the left as the tension grows. Even after he is done, he doesn't looks up. His face is right infront, between my thighs. Something happens there again and I don't know why but I touch his hair at the back of his head. He slowly looks up at me. We don't say anything. His left hand roams slowly upwards my right thigh without actually touching at all. My right hand is still on his hair meanwhile his hand still mid air right about to grab my thigh. We stare at each other without any exchange of words. I knew he was just about to grab them that's when we get distracted by the kids shouting and playing outside.
"We are almost outside." I say with a tensed face still not avoiding eye contact.
"Ah. . I am sorry." His voice cracks. He puts his hand down and gets up trying his best to act cool but fails horribly. I swear each time I see him getting more affected, more worked up than me. He clears his throat as I continue reading him, his right hand at the back of his head too shy and nervous to look up, his left hand on his pocket trying to get his act together. "I am. . I. . trying his best to say something avoiding eye contact at any cost.
"Let's continue our date." I say to calm him down, making it look like it wasn't a big deal, to make him feel better and lighter. I don't wait for his respond and start walking.
~
We continue with our date forgetting our plan of me making new friends. All awkward, hot and silent.
"We are not doing anything before you know" I say with a plain face while continuing my reading.
He laughs out a loud laugh. Finally the tension sinks in.
I punch him, "What are you laughing about?"
"What are you talking about?" another cunningly cute and challenging expression.
"Whatever." I can't say the m-word before he mentions it. Okay I get it I don't believe in stereotypical gender roles but come on there is a girl inside me as well. I want him to be the first one to come up with that topic. He has to be the one proposing me. Ofcourse only if he plans on being with me forever though.
"Okay." He says giving another flirty smile.
Is he the same dense person I used to know?
"Cool." I say giving him a shy pout as I remember one more thing, "also less kissing okay?" I glance at him to see his expression. He pouts but doesn't argues. "Okay, cool" with a disappointed pout. Another bigger smile from me. We continue our date.
~
As I get up, about to leave.
"Hey, tell me about one of your another wishes you want to experience." He asks sitting at the same spot.
"I want to experience that dress moment atleast once in my life." I say turning back, without any hesitation. "You know during. . I won't mention the word untill you do it first." I say with a soft smile looking at his eyes directly and then immediately looking away and turns back to walk without waiting for his reply. Why have I been so direct today?
I look back just to see him smiling like an idiot, all shy trying his best to hide his emotions. His hands at the back of his head again. He always does this whenever he is too shy to face me.
"Hey, I love you." I shout. Too shy to rationalise where I get this boldness time to time from?
He gets more shy but then smiles it off. "I love you too, the most." He shouts back. The kids woahs us.
As I turn back once more before turning to my block, I see him throwing hands and feet in air. I turn back, lean to the wall and do the same.