Becoming Sweethearts [✓]

Part Eighteen

Shivaay, Rudra and Annika kept smiling throughout dinner, looking at the other two of them frequently glancing at each other, while lost in thoughts. Finally, Annika’s words seemed to have knocked some sense into the two of them. Shivaay looked at Annika and telepathically thanked her. His brother had seen enough of sorrow owing to his parents’ troubled marriage and their dysfunctional family. He deserved happiness in abundance now. Shivaay knew that Gauri was the only one who could bring that genuine, unadulterated light into Om’s life. Shivaay also had an inkling that no one could love and understand his brother the way Gauri did, and the funniest part was the two knuckleheads couldn’t see how much they cared for each other. “Best friends!” they’d kept saying throughout, not bothering to look beyond that tag and see the possibility of that friendship blossoming into something beautiful, more profound, more fulfilling; something close to what he and Annika shared. Annika smiled, reading her husband’s unspoken words reflected in his marble eyes.

Rudra was the happiest of them all. He was always fond of Gauri, and now, to see that the possibility of Gauri becoming his ‘Gauri Bhabhi’ coming true, made him all the more excited. He was already envisioning himself sitting by the poolside with his two Bhabhi’s, while gossiping and bitching about his two adorably-sweet-yet-bullying brothers. A small chuckle escaped his lips, causing both the brothers to look at him with a question in their eyes as if they could hear his thoughts out loud. He shook his head quickly, dismissing any mischievous thoughts right away. Thankfully, they thought he was just being his usual silly-self, and Rudra was quick to resume his daydreaming again.

Omkara looked at Gauri as he fed her the last morsel in her plate, and smiled when she clicked her tongue like she always did after a sumptuous meal. She was adorably cute in so many ways. She did have an equally wickedly dirty mind like him, yet there was an air of innocence about her. He’d been fond of her the moment they’d met. The thought of dating her had struck him in their initial days of working together, but she’d downright dismissed the idea, making it clear that she wanted to stay just friends with him. Omkara had happily obliged and had genuinely been just friends with her thereafter. She was someone with whom he could be himself; he could pour out all his sorrow and anger in front of her; he could laugh like a child, and annoy and fight with her to no end. and the best part was, she wouldn’t judge him, except for the occasional stink-eye she gave him at his outrageous flirting with every other girl, and his dirty double-meaning jokes. Now that they’d been friends for so long, he wondered if he could see her as something beyond a friend. But then, he wouldn’t know so, unless he’d given it a shot now, would he?

Gauri smiled, suddenly awkward. The room had quietened down, and everyone seemed to have their eyes on her, including Oberoi. She was acutely aware of the three other gazes on her as if studying her like she was a specimen in the laboratory. She was also aware that she was stealing glances at Oberoi, yet she couldn’t refrain from doing so. This was new to her. No doubt he was a handsome man – sometimes too handsome for his own good. He was charming, sweet, and genuine too. And he could be so darn annoying at times, especially with the way he pulled her leg to trouble her and get it on her nerves. Of course, he was the only friend who was closest to her. Sometimes, she felt that he knew her more than she knew herself. He could easily read through her, and wouldn’t hesitate to even admonish her like she was a naïve little girl. Maybe if they hadn’t been so deep into the friendzone, she’d be happy with the idea of dating him. Now that Annika Bhabhi had spoken those words and sowed those thoughts deep into their minds, she knew there was a lot they needed to introspect about their equation. What would be the worst part about dating your best friend, after all? Well, she could have an answer to that only after she took that leap of faith!

The evening came to an end with Shivaay announcing that he was wanting to go home. Omkara, Gauri and Rudra didn’t miss the subtle exchange between the couple, as well as Annika’s not-so-subtle blush, while they suppressed smiles without saying a word. While Rudra found it utterly adorable to see his brother, whom he once compared to an angry King-Kong, fall irrevocably in love with a firecracker of a person like Annika Bhabhi, Omkara still found it hard to believe that a once-upon-a-time-khadoos like Shivaay could melt like wax the moment he set his eyes on his wife. Such love stories, Om believed, were only in fairy tales; but now, looking at his brother, his perspectives were challenged. Maybe fairy-tale like love-stories did exist in real life, after all!