Be My Valentine <3

Be My Valentine <3 - Part 1C

How our hearts met:

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It was my 2nd Valentine’s Day in college. And it was quite like any other day for me. I was sitting on a bench in the center of our College park working on my lab assignments. Most of my friends were busy running around campus trying to find a date, or at least someone they could give a card and rose to. I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned and looked up – It was Sneha.

“Hey there Mr. Senior.” she said.

I smiled, just like every time she calls me that. I shifted a little to make space for her to sit. Mr. Senior – That’s what she uses to address me, even though I have told her several times to just call me by my name. This is all because of that first encounter of ours, quite the funny experience that was. And we did indeed meet several times after that day, and eventually she did also tell me that she wasn’t the Principal’s daughter. We happened to have a good laugh over that too. We seemed to have a lot in common, and quite a lot of things to debate about too. And soon enough, we became good friends.

“So, what are you doing here all alone on such a romantic day.?” she asked.

“Why what’s so special today.?” I said.

She looked at me as if she had seen a ghost. “You gotta be kidding me.? You don’t know what day it is today.?” she said.

I looked at her animated face for a while. And then I said “I do know it is Valentine’s Day today. Who doesn’t know that.? But again, I reiterate, what’s so special about today.?”

She raised her chiseled eyebrow, and stared at me for a while. I hoped she wasn’t expecting any sort of apology from me because I wasn’t planning on giving one for what I had just said.

Finally, I was the one to break the silence as I said “You know I don’t have anything against love or romance. Heck, I am all for people finding true love. But what I don’t understand is why there is just one day in the whole year for people to stop and appreciate the importance of the other person in their lives. I mean, isn’t it silly that you are dedicating just one day to your better halves. I feel it’s just a commercial gimmick by these multinational gift and card manufacturers to make some extra bucks. True love should be celebrated every day, and felt every second.”

She yawned a little, probably to show that she didn’t give a shit about what I was saying. I closed my mouth.

She came a little closer and smiled her charming smile.

“Raj, what all you said holds true to a certain extent. But Valentine’s Day is not just about buying gifts and giving cards to your loved ones. It’s about taking a pause in our lives, taking the time out to realize that there are more important things in life than just work and money. We get so busy with other things in life that we tend to take some people for granted, and that is why we need a day where we can just hold that person close to us and say ‘you are special’. Get it.” she said before she came even closer to me. I could feel her scent now; her perfume was mild yet intoxicating. Her hand brushed against mine. She smiled a bit, and then she just kept looking into my eyes. She was behaving quite strange, rather unusual.

“What is happening.?” I wondered. “Raj. Is this what I think it is.? Does she like me too.?”

All these days, I had harbored certain feelings for Sneha which I wasn’t exactly able to tag - Was it just friendship, or was it more.? I definitely liked her, and I was extremely comfortable around her. Sometimes, I felt that what we shared was more special than friendship, but somehow, I never had the courage to take things further. I didn’t want to spoil the great relation we already shared. But now here she was, giving me all kinds of signals. She was driving me crazy. And in that moment, I just let my emotions burst out. I leaned in closer and I kissed her.