By your side

Sweet promises

We walked out into the reception area just as two guys, roughly the same age as Ishaan, emerged from the lift. One of them was tall and strapping, while the other was short and nerdy.

"Hey, Ishaan!" They grinned and greeted each other.

"This is Aadya, my girlfriend," Ishaan introduced me, beaming with pride as though I were a trophy.

"Aadya, they are my partners, Pranav and Vaibhav. Pranav is the technical head, and Vaibhav handles marketing."

I shook their hands while they smiled at me.

"Ishaan hasn't stopped talking about you ever since he met you," the taller one, Vaibhav, said.

I smiled politely. "Good to meet you."

"Did you show her around?" Pranav, the nerdy one, asked.

"Yeah, I gave her the demo as well," Ishaan replied, his expression seemingly indifferent. But I couldn't help but blush.

"Your idea was too good, Aadya. Why don't you join our creative team?" Pranav suggested.

"I will consider it." I grinned.

"If I had to work under Ishaan, I wouldn't be able to get any work done," I thought to myself.

"Guys, let's proceed to lunch. We can continue this conversation there. I know a wonderful place," Ishaan suggested.

The place he recommended turned out to be a classy eatery with a sizable buffet menu. Vaibhav and Pranav were wonderful. They were Ishaan's IIT classmates, and because they shared a passion for gaming, they came up with the concept of this startup. I asked Ishaan to drive me home because, after indulging in the food, all I wanted to do was sleep.

I gave him a kiss on the cheek and said, "Thanks, sweetheart," as he stopped the car close to my door.

I was horrified to discover that I had left my keys inside when I arrived at my apartment and searched through my bag. I was locked out.

"Oh, no!" I thought in panic.

I jumped up and ran downstairs. I caught Ishaan's attention just as he was about to start his car. He, fortunately, saw me and stopped.

"What happened?" he asked.

"I am locked out, and Shweta won't be back until tomorrow. I don't know what to do," I explained.

"What? How is that possible? You left after Shweta," he said.

"It's an auto-lock. I just closed the door, and it didn't occur to me that my keys were inside."

"Oh, that's a problem," he acknowledged. "We might not find a locksmith on a Saturday evening. Your landlord may have a spare key."

"They don't stay in Pune. How could I be so stupid? What am I going to do?" I was genuinely worried.

"I have an idea, if that's alright. You are welcome to stay at my home until Shweta returns.,"He suggested. "It's not too far from here, and I have an extra room that you can use. It's the least I can do to help you out in this situation," he offered kindly.

I gave him a startled glance. I had never shared a room with a boy. But after meeting Ishaan, I did a lot of things I had never done before.

"See, I wouldn't have suggested this, and please don't take it the wrong way. But in this situation, it might be the only workable solution." I hesitated for a moment, weighing my options. Staying at his place seemed like the only viable choice now.

I had always wanted to go to his house, but I didn't want to appear bold by inviting myself. In these matters, I am old-fashioned. This was an excellent reason to pay a visit.