"Kheer.", her expressions were so cute that a chuckle escaped Rajeev's lips.
"Chocolates."
"Seriously? That was a bit unexpected."
"And why is that so Radhika?"
"You look like a salads, protein shakes kind of guy. Sorry if I came out as too judgemental.", she had an apologetic expression on her face.
Rajeev simply shook his head and said, "I eat a lot, I workout equivalently."
He shrugged.
They had been chatting for a while now, getting to know each other's preferences and choices.
"Radhika, I want to ask you a serious question now. See, I will be pretty honest here, and I expect you to be so too. We might have met just now, and we might not even know each other well until - I mean that's how it is, but I have felt this thing in my mind, something is there about you which has drawn me to you, and no, I am not merely speaking of a moment of attraction, its something else, something too close to liking, but I am still unable to pinpoint on what it actually is. So, what I mean to say is Radhika, I would love to take things forward. And for that, we need to discuss what our expectations are from the other person. Which is why, I want you to be really honest with me, and tell me what do you want me to bring into this relationship if we move forward. Because I would be very much interested in doing so."
For a moment, Radhika was utterly bewildered, and whilst she gradually processed his words, a mixture of emotions arose in her mind - shock at the fact that he implied that he liked her, or probably expressed the same in his words, astonishment at the fact that he actually wanted to take things forwards, an immense happiness at the fact that the person she had presumed to be angel was in fact turning out to be so, and some sort of a gratitude at the fact that he wanted to take into consideration her expectations before thinking of moving forward.
"I", she had thought of speaking what first came into her mind, but hesitated a bit, lest that were to create some sort of a misunderstanding.
She tilted her head to look at him, and he must have sensed some sort of a hesitance.
"Radhika", he called out gently, "please do not hesitate at all. Speak whatever you have to. I will listen to every word of yours patiently, I promise."
His words bore an assurance, and Radhika felt comfortable enough to share her thoughts.
"The thing is Rajeev, I had seen you before. Some two weeks prior, I was in a rickshaw and you were sat on a bench in the orphanage", seeing the confusion on his face, she added, "Rays of Hope orphanage. You were surrounded by kids and looked a lot happy. I saw you from the rickshaw, and the same unexplainable feeling which you described just now, I too was drawn to you in that instance."
Rajeev stared at her with widened eyes. Since the time his family had shifted to Indore and he had found this orphanage, he would spend a lot of time there with those innocent kids.
"In all this time, I wasn't able to forget you. Oh boy, I wasn't supposed to say that.", she blurted out the first part truthfully, and the later, she reprimanded herself for being so direct.
From the corner of her eye, she glanced towards Rajeev only to find him already looking at her, a rather smug expression on his face.
"You mean to say, I had mesmerized you since the moment you saw me?", he teased her.
"Rajeev.", she whined and averted her gaze.
"Well, I can accept this, I mean, you have definitely mesmerized me since the moment I saw you.", he admitted truthfully.
YOU ARE READING
Yours, With Love
Romance"Why Radha?", his eyes glistened with emotions, with what he felt for her, as he caressed her cheek with all the love he beheld within. "Why do you tolerate so much for me?", his words were strained as he felt the lump in his throat increasingly ach...
