Two to Tango, One to Love

Chapter X : The Battle of Hotness

It is an hour before we finish up our pizzas- rather, I finish my pizza and he looks at me, twirling the straw in his cup, those sparkly eyes never leaving my face. Now, I have an empty tray in front of me and a man who looks as if he eats nothing but air. We have been talking animatedly for more than an hour, although it is again me being the talkative and overenthusiastic information provider while he nods from time to time, smiling and cocking his head or raising his eyebrows.

"So? Back to office?" He asks me a bit dubious and unwillingly. "Yup. Although, it was technically supposed to be a half day." I look at my watch and I can see it screaming the exaggerated amount of time I have spent with him. I look wide-eyed at him and the watch and mutter something entirely nonsensical because I see Vikram scrunch up his face, trying to decipher what I mean to say. He looks at his own watch and then replicates the same expression I had a while earlier- though a lot more dignified and sexy.

Did I just say sexy? I am the worst creep ever.

I break the flow of my thought and babble everything that comes to my head- "We... I...should be going. Kabir is going to kill me. I swear he will. And I haven't even told him. What will he do? I haven't even seen my phone and..." A finger places itself on my lips, halting my typical blabber. It almost feels like its place is there, over my lip, like its home. Now that's like the weirdest shit I have ever thought of, but really it does feel like home and now all that I am doing is looking, nah- squinting, at the finger and alternating between feels and touchy emotions.

I peek over and I see his mischievous eyes now all calm and persuading. "Listen. I know it's late. And it's mostly my fault for making you stay, but I am sure Kabir is a big boy?" He ended a firmly placating sentence with his sarcasm. Yup. All in good time.

"Of course he is!" And some part of the Defend-Kabir-Always mode went off somewhere in me. I clamp my mouth shut lest I should start howling away. "Now calm your horses down lady and let me drop you off." He pushes his body out of the chaise longue that we had been sharing and for the first time in an hour, I suddenly miss the two-layered touch our jeans had shared.

It's only been a day- You hopeless human.

I too shift out of the chaise and we proceed to move out of the restaurant when I hear a familiar musical tone somewhere near me. 

 Might just be the store's music player. But this is so familiar.

Vikram glances over me and shrugs, "Are you ever going to pick that phone?" And then I realize that all it had been my cell all along. I smack my forehead and hastily tug at the pocket of my jeans and retrieve the cell that had been humming the instrumental version of 'Pocketful of sunshine'. 

And all I needed at this moment was this call. Mom. Vikram notices the caller-id too and smirks at me before moving a respectable distance away to let me have privacy. 

  Aww... Such a chivalrous man. 

 I grit my teeth before I muster up a cheery voice and click to answer the call. I am met with a bellowing voice from the other end and I pull the cell away from my ear. I see Vikram grin one more time and he asks me to wait and talk rather than bump into people and poles. I smile, "Yes, Ma? I really can't hear you."

Mum screams at me, "Have you checked the time? Do you know my phone is being bombarded with calls since the past half an hour?!?"

God. Who is it now?