An Introvert's Guide To Finding Love

three | first encounter |

The next morning Pari changed into a casual pair of jeans and crop top as she headed out to go furniture shopping, her go to place would definitely have been Ikea but unfortunately India didn't have any. Pari was planning on buying a ton load of things as everything in her apartment was missing except for the makeshift bed that she soon wanted to get rid of. She took one look around her empty apartment and made a mental note of all the things that she needed and then headed out.

Stepping out on the lobby the first thing she seemed to notice was the apartment that stood opposite to hers, seeing the name plate once again made her realise that she should probably be going around introducing herself to some of the neighbours.

Yeah, I do suck at making friends at talking to people but what was the harm in trying.

Having locked the door and she headed to the elevator; the hallway was one long hallway. PAri pressed the elevator call button and waited while humming to the tunes of her favourite song. The elevator arrived and she went it. As the elevator door was closing, Pari heard an ever so beautiful voice asking her to hold the elevator. The voice wasn't either very melodic or very husky but it was just the right balance of both. Pari breaking away from her trance immediately held her hand in between the closing lift doors to stop it almost as if she was being controlled by someone else. The door open to reveal a greatly chiselled handsome face. He wore a navy-blue suit and was on the phone talking in his mesmerising voice. He was probably talking something important on the phone because he sounded more serious that one usually does while having a casual convo and his brows were furrowed almost as if he was disturbed.

As he entered the elevator, he looked up to face the person who had helped him, Pari felt his eyes linger on me for a few second before turning away, muttering a thank you and going back to his conversation on the phone. After that the other occupant of the elevator hardly even looked at her and that somehow seemed to annoy Pari, it's kind of bothered her but she tried my best to not let it get to her. Pari reasoned that he was either too busy on his call or her looks were too average for him to even look.

Here I go, blaming myself for something that wasn't remotely related to me.

The elevator reached the lobby and Pari couldn't be more thankful that the ride together had ended, even though it had been a short ride it felt like it had went on for years, and that's the thing about awkward ride, the go on and on while the ones you seem to enjoy ends even before you know it. It was time for them to part ways and she without wasting anytime was the first one to step out, not even looking at the stranger once. Once outside Pari beamed feeling victorious, like she had won some championship and the trophy was hers knowing that she has succeeded to shower the guy in the elevator with the same treatment that he had showered on her.

On the way to the market Pari's thoughts kept going back to the man she had met on the elevator, he was handsome and there was no doubt about it, he also seemed to have this kind of mysterious charm about him that had fascinated her but he was quite rude, something that she had not expected but then again it was common for good-looking guys to be full of attitude and ego and she was sure this man was stuck up like the others as well.

Was he the one living in the apartment opposite to me or was he just visiting? She found questioning herself. Pari didn't know what had taken over her that she was lost so deep in his thought that she didn't even realise when they had reached the store and had to be bolted out of her daydreams by Manish. But in her defence, Pari didn't know her way around Mumbai and she wasn't sure if this was the store Manish had intended to take her to.

Once inside, she looked around the store, and Pari seemed to like everything in it, starting from the kind sized bed to the hammock swing and the antique coffee table to the rugs in there. It was almost 2 hours that she had spent looking around and buying tonnes of furniture. Her apartment was very big, in fact, too big for a single person to be living there and to be honest she wanted her place to look welcoming and comfortable thus she was ready to hoard on tonnes of furniture like back in London. Pari wanted her apartment to feel like home, she bought three beds for the three bedrooms. Cabinets, wardrobe, cupboard, sofas, table, chairs, rugs and even carpets like those that Ali Baba sold in the Arabian Nights. She also bought some kitchenware and other things to fully furnish her apartment. She left my address at the reception of the store after she was done paying for all the things that she had bought, so they could deliver them that day itself. Pari could see the happiness radiating off the face of the store manager at the huge bill.

The rest of Pari's day went by in buying necessities and groceries for her empty apartment. Later in the day the movers had arrived with all her deliveries and it was nearly evening when they were done unloading all the items, while installing them in the apartment was left for the next day. Taking a look around Pari saw that my apartment was now a bigger mess than it was before as the item stood here and there in a haphazard manner leaving hardly any straight path for her to walk, every time she tried to move from one place to another she had to carefully dodge item to get to her destination.

By the time Pari was done with making her dinner and tidying up the kitchen it was already seven o clock, when her thoughts wandered to the numerable boxes of chocolate she had bought from her trip to the grocery store with the intention of going around and introducing herself. She hurried to her living room and tried to find the bag that had the chocolates in them from the innumerable bags that laid messily spread across the floor, having spotted them Pari quickly grabbed the bag and headed out to try and make some connections in the god forsaken place where she had no idea how long she was to live for.

Pari decided that she should begin with the apartment opposite to hers, after all, they were going to be immediate neighbour. She rang the bell, shifting nervously on her feet wondering if the handsome man from the morning was going to open the door or if it was going to be someone else. Pari waited and waited but no one answered, assuming that no one was home, she headed to the occupants of the floor above and below her, saving this apartment for the last.

Pari was tired from all the running around that she had to earlier that day and then while going around introducing herself. The introduction session had gone smoothly, all of them had been elderly aunties and had appreciated her coming to meet them and had filled her in on gossips of other tenants that she had not cared about at all, she didn't like gossiping. As Pari made her way to her apartment she saw that it was nine o clock by her watch, thinking that maybe her neighbour was home now, she thought she should try to go introduce herself again and waited where she had previously waited two hours ago after she had rung the bell.

Pari could hear shuffling inside, so they were definitely home now, which made her anxious at the thought of encountering the guy again. Pari was broken from her train of thoughts when she heard the door unhinge. The door opened slowly to reveal the chiselled face that she had encounter earlier in the morning stand Infront of her, and her fears had come true.

Siddharth was clearly taken aback, seeing Pari standing in his doorway and Pari too was too breathless to say anything as her heart was skipping a million beats. The handsome guy was here standing face to face, his eyes scrutinizing her and that made her anger boil a little at how he had ignored her existence in the elevator.

"Yes? How may I help you?" Siddharth said looking like he was in a hurry to get rid of Pari which further annoyed her at his manners.

"Umm, hey, hi." Pari said stammering fidgeting with the box of chocolates in her hand. "I am actually new here; I just shifted yesterday and hadn't gotten a chance to meet the neighbours so I thought that I should introduce myself" she said unsure of what she was blabbering but her mind saying that she needed to keep the conversation going.

"I am Pari, I just shifted here from London" She again said extending her arms this time which Siddharth gawked at but never took. Pari felt awkward at the present condition and quickly withdrew her hand not wanting to embarrass herself any further. Siddharth didn't seem to want to talk to her because apparently, he kept mum the whole time that she was speaking and Pari couldn't make out if it was because he was surprise by her sudden appearance or that he was like that in general. Not wanting to indulge any further she quickly thought of a plan to excuse herself.

"Here" Pari said putting forward the box of chocolates that she had bought waiting for him to take them so that she could leave as soon as possible.

.

So they have finally met. Stay tuned to find out what happens.

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