Better Together

24 | unforseen

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Chapter 24 : Unforeseen

Aadarsh waited at the square, glancing at his watch. Ruhaani had taken one car in the morning and the other was with Abhi. He had planned to take an Uber till the café. However, Ruhaani had suggested she'll pick him up as she would anyway pass through the neighbourhood of his office.

She was late by over five minutes. He heard a horn and looked up as a car stopped before him. The door precisely before him. He opened the door, his gaze meeting hers. "Shall I drive?" He asked quickly.

"No, it's cool." She said.

He sat in, not arguing much. The truth was he didn't want to drive. He hated driving, especially in the evenings through the thick traffic.

There was a thick silence in the car as she drove the car forward. His fingers pressed the button to reduce the temperature.

Ruhaani's gaze moved to his fingers that were lowering the temperature. The man could remove his coat but no he had to show his rights on his car by changing the temperature without even asking.

"I am not wearing a sweater," she reminded him softly when she felt the chills.

He stretched his arm to the blower on the dashboard before her, that blew the chilled air directly at her. He tapped the blinds and closed it. Ruhaani exhaled audibly. The air in the car was still cold.

"So, how come the sudden plan for coffee?" she asked distracting herself from the annoyance.

"Why can't we both just go out for coffee... like couples do?" He spoke.

Ruhaani had to turn to look at him. Was this a joke? He looked ahead at the road despite being aware of her eyes on him. Ruhaani turned her gaze back to the road. She wondered what went on in his mind. He was unpredictable. She decided to play some music instead. She resumed the playlist that had been playing before she stopped to pick him up.

"Awaaz do humko, hum kho gaye..."

Aadarsh looked out at the passing cars. His attention was on the song. He had set up a date with her but had no clue what they would talk about. He hated how Abhi had the power to manipulate his mind and influence his actions. He had thought to use the time in the car to think about possible topics they could talk on. However, as the song played he was lost.

As a young teenager, he absolutely hated it when his parents played old songs. He would argue with them to change to something current. However now... it was different. He actually found himself enjoying them. Maybe because they reminded him of happy times.

Ruhaani was surprised at the little smile that resided on his lips as he looked out of the window. He was a strange man really. She took the opportunity and stealthily increased the temperature by two degrees. She smiled when he didn't notice.

About twenty minutes later, she had parked the car in the open parking in front of the café. It had taken her a full two minutes to get the car between the two parked cars. Of course, Aadarsh had been giving her directions throughout not realizing that the navigation system was doing its job just fine.

"You suck at parking!" He said, as he got off the car, looking at her over the car's roof.

"You're just impatient." She replied watching him take off his coat and dump it in the front seat. He pushed the door to shut it and then ran a hand through the side of his hair.