1.1 | Milkshakes For Sale

04 | butterscotch

⋆ —————— shaurya ⋮ ⋆

"HEY, MY NEW favourite person!" A familiar voice greeted rather enthusiastically from the other side of the phone.

"Sitar?"

"And here I was hoping you would've saved my number by now. You wound my heart, Shaurya!"

I still couldn't believe I was hearing her voice in the middle of the day. It was a welcomed change and it felt surprisingly good. I played along. "I wanted to but I forgot. I'm sorry that I wound your heart. Maybe you could tell me how to mend it back?"

"Do you know something? I might be the talkative one out of us but you definitely are the one good with words. Like seriously, how do you say the right thing every damn time?"

"I don't really make an effort," I admitted honestly.

"Now, now, don't turn me jealous with your self-praise," she said, and I imagined her gaze low and her lips pressed.

"So, what's up, my favourite person?" I asked, playing along.

"Ah, you know, just avoiding going home because my parents came back yesterday. All the gossip they heard will be fresh in their mind and I don't want to fall prey to that bugging. Anyway, I have nothing to do right now. Are you busy?"

I really wanted to tell her I was not. Her offer was tempting me and I wanted to do nothing but spend time with her. But, the number of emails this morning alone warned me that I had heaps of work to do. The deadlines stretched from today until tomorrow so I had to start working.

"Sitar," I started slowly. God, I hated that I had to turn her down. "I have a lot of work that needs to be completed. I am so sorry."

A few seconds of silence followed. "That's totally okay," She said but the pep in her voice was gone. And to think I was the reason for it, broke my heart.

"Wait. Maybe you can come to my place and just hang out?" I suggested hurriedly.

"And distract you? No thanks. I really appreciate the idea, though," She said.

"No, you won't distract me. Come over, Sitar. I like spending time with you," I whispered the last part under my breath.

"What did you say? I couldn't hear you — Ishaan, get the hell away from me. Deepika, tell your brother to stop torturing me!"

"I know you are talking to your boyfriend!"

"No, I am not. Go away."

"I'll see for myself!"

I heard two hard slaps on the back.

"Aeii!"

"Eruma maadu, phone a kudu!"

I chuckled at Sitara's desperate attempt at getting back her phone from him. I could hear Ishaan's loud laughter through the phone.

After a few seconds of shuffling sounds, Sitara came back on the call. "Sorry. This boy is one shameless nut case. He loves to annoy the hell out of me."

"Anyway, um, what were you saying?" She asked.

"Nothing," I quickly said. "Just come over. I'll send you the address."

"Fine, I'll come. On one condition, though."

Of course. "Yes, Madam. What is it?"

"You have to promise me a hug," She said, "Because I need one."

Taking advantage of the fact that she couldn't see me, I grinned like an idiot.

"As many as you want," I promised her, a little too bravely. It's just that the past week, I had visited Sitara a lot, bringing her milkshakes and then just chatting until either I decided to return home or just fell asleep. She let me sleep in her room and a room fully representing her and her alone — the smell, the feel, the vibe, the colours- only brought me closer to her. I felt like I knew her better.