Intimate Encounters | ✓

two

Amol had offered to hold her travel bag while she paid for her dosa at the counter.

Ananya got a warm vibe from him that she hadn't felt from anyone in a long time. Kindness was attractive. The last guy she had felt that with was a cute one-night stand almost a year ago. Pity he had only remained a cute one-night stand.

As they climbed up the narrow flights of stairs to reach his flat on the 4th floor, she noticed him glancing at her every now and then to make sure she wasn't having any trouble with her travel bag. Thankfully, she had packed relatively light. She stood a good foot away from him as he put in his key, and opened the door to his flat.

She removed her shoes outside, walking in only her socks, as she surveyed his living room. There was a laptop perched atop the coffee table in front of the sofa, a charger hanging aimlessly from a charging point beside the TV. There was a narrow passageway, fitting only one person at a time, leading to the kitchen and then, she assumed, to the bedroom and the bathroom. She just kept her travel bag in the corner of the living room, closing the door behind her; silently wondering if this was a good idea.

Amol looked at her in amusement from the middle of his living room, and then quickly noticed and picked up a stray t-shirt from one arm of the sofa to go and stuff it into his wardrobe. "Will you have a cup of tea?" She could hear him ask from his bedroom.

"No, thank you. Maybe later."

He came back into the living room, his hands on his hips as he gestured for her to take a seat on the sofa, "Why are you being so formal? Please sit down."

She rolled her eyes, sensing the playfulness in his voice, "I haven't been to your house before. I was just being polite." She could hear him laugh from the kitchen. He brought 2 glasses of water with him and sat down on the sofa that was perpendicular to the one she was sitting on.

"So." She smiled, trying not to look directly in his eyes for an extended period of time.

"So." He kept his hands in his lap, wringing them as he smiled at her, "What are you writing?"

"A novel, actually." She didn't know what made her tell him this when she hadn't even told her own friends. He raised an eyebrow and smiled, "That's amazing! What is it about?"

She laughed, "You'll know when I announce its publication. For now, I have to work on finishing the first draft." He held up his hands in surrender at that and chuckled, "Okay, I understand. Secret. How did you get into writing anyway?"

"I work as a freelance writer for some online publications. The love for writing went on developing until I finally felt like I had a story in mind that was mine to share."

Amol nodded in understanding, "I have read one of the articles that you had shared on your story once. I don't remember the exact title now but it was something about being a social media manager in a world run by social media."

She smiled, "Yes, that was one of my earliest ones. My writing has definitely improved after that. Anyway, do you still do freelance photography projects or something else as well?"

"I do freelance, yes, but it's more of a side hustle now because I have found some grip on the wedding photography business. That's really fun and it pays well too." Before she could reply, he continued, "I am also trying to decide on doing some short film projects and putting them up on Youtube but I'm still trying to understand if Youtube is where I really want to put my energy."

Ananya's eyes immediately got animated as she gushed in excitement, "I fucking love wedding photography! I mean, I have this friend who got married about 2 years ago, and she had hired a team of wedding photographers for the mehendi, the actual wedding ceremony, the after events, and the whole shebang. It was so much fun watching them work. Wedding photographers have existed before, yes, but this new generation is trying new and exciting things and that's what I love. I know some people will think it's too romantic of me, but I really love wedding photography."

Amol laughed in amusement at Ananya's excitement, biting his bottom lip subconsciously, as he said, "I don't think there's anything wrong with being romantic, and certainly nothing wrong with liking wedding photography."

"I think you just crushed the hearts of all the cynics in the world." Ananya didn't know she could giggle this overtly, but apparently, she could.

Amol laughed louder this time, turning his gaze to the coffee table and shaking his head. She could see his cheeks getting warmer by the second as she unabashedly kept smiling at him while trying to still her hands in her lap. After a few seconds, she averted her gaze too. He was cute, alright.

She suddenly got up, reminded that she hadn't freshened up yet. "I want to pee, can you show me where your bathroom is?" He didn't look her in the eye as he told her where it was and mumbled something about making lunch, retreating into the kitchen.

She found it in his bedroom, which was surprisingly cleaner than she had expected, and went about freshening herself up. Washing the dust particles off of her face felt positively refreshing, so did relieving herself after 3 hours. She wondered what Amol must have thought about seeing her sweaty face all this while. Better not to think about that.

Once she was done, she went to accompany him in the kitchen, seeing him crack some eggs. When he saw she was in the kitchen, he smiled, none of that blush from a while ago, as he asked her, "Oh, I'm sorry, I should have asked. You do eat eggs, right?"

"Yep, I do. What would you have done if I didn't eat eggs?" she teased him as he laughed, "I would have used these eggs for my supper later and made us something else." She went to stand beside him, still keeping a fair bit of distance, with her back against the kitchen granite. Standing this close, she realized he was taller than she had thought. Probably more than half a foot taller than her. "So you know your way around the kitchen?" She asked as she surveyed her surroundings.

"You mean, do I know how to cook?" He asked her as he glanced at her for a brief moment. "Uh-huh." She hummed.

"Definitely. I don't think I could have survived living by myself if I didn't know how to cook."

"That's great. I agree that everyone should know how to cook at least to be able to live independently." She nodded her head. She checked her phone after a long time, seeing new messages from her 2 roommates back in Bangalore. One of them had asked if she'd reached safely and when she had reached. Sending quick replies to their queries, she also added a vague line about meeting an old friend and currently being at his place to have lunch with him.

Their responses to that were laced with suspicion but they just told her to stay safe.

"Friends?" She looked up to see Amol looking at her, and then averting his gaze to the scrambled eggs on the stove. "Roommates and yes, friends." She nodded. He gave her a smile and a nod too.

After a few minutes of random banter about life in Pune, life in Bengaluru, and the difference between the two, they both got their scrambled eggs with the Maharashtrian flatbread, ketchup, and whatever their heart fancied, and decided to have lunch in the living room.

Ananya didn't want the afternoon to end. 

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