Fear & Love

Seventeen

Rohan forwarded his hand to greet Gita. Gita was still confused. Is he the person, she is thinking he is?

"Long time, Gita." Rohan said with a smile. And that confirmed Gita's doubts. What would you do if you come across your best friend's ex boyfriend? Moreover, he is your to-be sister-in-law's boyfriend! Gita just smiled faintly and they all sat down.

"You both know each other?" Isha questioned with astonishment and was curious to know from where to do they know each other.

She looked at Rohan and noticed how much he has changed. No more the long rockstar like hair and hippie clothing. Gita was quite shocked to see him in formals and hair cut short. He was a cute looking guy but in the past, the hair made it quite difficult to see. But one thing that remained was the ear piercing. Rohan was Shaina's boyfriend when they were in college. Shaina had met him in some college music concert where Rohan played guitar and on rare occasions, Gita had met Rohan. Shaina and him must have dated for almost a year.

Gita paused not knowing whether it would be right to say where she knows Rohan from. But thankfully, Rohan took the lead and answered, "Ya, she is the friend of the girl I used to date." Eveb Gita could see that Rohan cringed at the end of the sentence but she was haply atleast, he was honest with Isha.
And now, Isha was awkward for mere seconds at that answer. Who knew this lunch would take this turn?

"Oh. But good, you are not a total stranger to her." Isha could only utter that.

After tapping his fingers on the table and not knowing whether to take make small  conversation or not, Rohan finally asked, "so what do you do, Gita?"

"I am a teacher. I teach at the school but I also want to be a freelancer writer. So,   let's see where that goes." Gita replied. She loved teaching and the kids were obviously the best part about her job. But after reading years of blogs and books, she thought of why not become a writer or atleast give it a try? Afterall, you should atleast agree to the simple things your heart says.

"Oh god, not just a teacher at some school. She is the teacher at the most expensive school here...hahahaha but she compensates that by teaching at some charity school." Isha said.

"Isha! I will kill you. You said it in the worst way possible. It is not some charity school ya. The kids there are more talented than you and I ever can be!" Gita said with huge eyes, not believing how Isha put it. Isha just laughed. Gita tried to seriously scold her but couldn't. Even Gita knew that Isha didn't mean it in a mean spirited way. That is just her. But Isha apologized and also told Rohan of the award Gita will be honored very soo with.

"Wow! I must say kids are the best to work with it. A few years ago, during my rockstar phase, I did teach some kids guitar classes and I still cherish those times." Rohan said. Gita asked him more about his start up with his friend and what impressed her was that the rockstar- phase guy was actually thinking of business.

"But you know, it is not booming. And Isha's family...I don't know if they would understand all this. Also, we need some more time to date and enjoy. Marriage is not on our minds. That is why we planned to be a bit more settled and then tell them." Rohan explained.

Gita nodded her head. Ofcourse, being settled is important but from her perspective,  Rohan's business was settled, he had a goal and was working towards it. What more do they required? She understood his query of not being to match Isha's family status but then, hardly 3-4 families in the city would match theirs. Gita didn't want to advise incorrect things. Like Isha, she had no clue what would Dadu and Anand's reaction be.

"Okay. But don't wait for a long time to settle. You should tell them sooner." Gita advised. "And about the trip. Please be careful guys. Now that I know about you both, if something happens, I will be guilty of it and if Anand comes to know, he will kill me." Gita was anxious just thinking of the consequences.

"No, no, no. Chill, he won't do anything." Isha said doubting her own words. She knew her Bhai. If Bhai comes to know, both her and Gita would be six feet below. But she had to calm Gita down.

"Isha, please have some conviction when you say he won't kill me." Even Gita heard the doubt in her voice. "So please be careful, don't get killed, don't get involved in any accident." Gita instructed them.

"Is this your version of  'have a happy journey'?" Rohan asked jokingly but Gita was in no mood of jokes.

"I think I have a better plan. Why don't you all cancel this trip and go on  a normal weekend date?" Gita asked. Isha rolled her eyes, "I didn't tell you this sp that you be like Bhai 2.0 and reject my trip."

"Exactly! Why did you tell me all this? Now it is like a hanging sword around my head. Ofcourse, I am happy for you but all this lying and keeping it a secret is a big deal." Gita kept talking about all her worries to which Isha just gave her a simple reply, "look, you don't have to lie because nobody is going to ask you where am I and they don't usually care about my whereabouts. So chill and if you feel that I have burdened you with this, I am sorry. I was just sharing stuff." 

Gita felt really bad to have expressed her stress in a manner where Isha felt that her happiness and secret was a burden. "Isha! I am sorry. I was just stressed. You know I love you and I am really happy that you shared this with me. You know what I meant."

To lighten the room a bit, Rohan asked, "Would you and Anand come on a trip with us?" To which Gita and Isha both laughed out loud.

"Anand, I don't know how much he would appreciate to go on a trip with others, especially his sister's boyfriend."  Gita knew of Anand's reserved nature. Apart from his business trips and meetings, he never likes being among other people. That guy shoos away people who would sit on other tables just for a date, he would never go on a trip with others.

"Also, they are the shy couple, just starting out. They will just stare at each other and make out with eyes." Isha and Rohan laughed at this.

"Shut up, Isha." Gita couldn't control her laughter and joined them.

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