Along the Lines of Love | ✓

Chapter 10 : It's A Yes

~ ~ ~ ♡ ~ ~ ~

Sharanya and Gargi occupied the small corner table at McDonald's. Gargi was craving for a cheese burger so they had decided to stop by. Sharanya tried to avoid fast food and food that had a lot of preservatives and fat as much as possible. However, the aroma of the fried aloo tikki poured with cheese was hard to resist. She decided to have one burger, promising herself she'd walk an extra fifteen minutes at night before going to bed.

"So, what's cooking in your mind?" Sharanya asked as they waited for their order number to be called out.

Gargi looked up with a hint of smile. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, you made me narrate the recipe of paneer Tikka gravy, you bought aromatic candles and a new night dress."

Gargi smiled, this time with a hint of blush. "Dinner date."

"Figured. But what's the occasion?" Sharanya asked

"Nothing. Just that past few weeks Arun has been under a lot of work stress. The deal he's been working on will meet success on Friday. So he's planning to take half a day off to relax. So it thought might as well, make it special for him. I booked him a spa session for the Friday afternoon and a surprise candle light dinner at home."

"Wow," Sharanya grinned. "How do you manage to be so romantic all the time. I'd just probably sleep."

"Romance takes efforts. You can't expect your car to breakdown in middle of nowhere and the universe to coordinate to give you a rainy night and magical find a hut where you can spend a night."

Sharanya laughed heartily. "We are so scarred with these stupid shows and movies!"

"Well, sometimes they do give good ideas. But an abandoned hut is such a turn off."

Sharanya giggled glancing towards the counter as she heard their order number being called out. She wordlessly got up and walked to the counter to collect their tray.

"Gosh, it's been so long!" Gargi said as she picked up the burger and began unwrapping it.

"Hmm," Sharanya said picking up the other burger on the tray.

"So, did you find any good job openings?"

"Not really. I applied to few senior HR roles but I have yet to hear back."

"What about the opening at Arun's office that I sent?"

"I had a look at them. Applied for just one out of the three. The other two were not exactly a match for my skills. One required expertise in taxation and the other needed some technical prerequisites."

Gargi stared at the friend as she chewed. "Coke?" She offered.

"No," Sharanya answered.

"Out with it." Gargi muttered.

Sharanya looked up with a raised brow.

"About Nikhil, something is bothering you..."

"Nothing is." Sharanya said a tad bit defensively.

Gargi sighed placing down the burger on the tray. "Give him some time, I am sure he'll get back."

"Hmm,"

"You've started liking him, have you not?"

"No," Sharanya denied, looking at her burger.

"Fine I have another man in mind, for you."

Sharanya looked up with wide eyes. "What?"

"Yeah, he's my neighbour's son. A week back she visited me, and was talking about her son. He's in Pune right now, but is planning to move back here and stay with his mother. She's looking for suitable matches. Just imagine, if things go right, you could be my neighbour. I mean that's—"