Match Made In Hotel | Ruturaj Gaikwad ✓

To slipping.

"How did the party go?" Devi asks as I finish the glass of water that she had given me.

"It was a success!" I tell her excitedly as I recall Chahar's overwhelmed expression.

"Tell me everything!" She takes my hand as we walk towards our room.

"You know, Devi, it's so nice to see someone happy. Even more when that person's smile is because of his dear ones." I sigh.

"Ah Akka, I can imagine! What about Sara? She must have been over the moon!"

I chuckle. "Yes, Sara was living her dream today. In fact when I gave her the responsibility of bringing Chahar into the team room, she was overjoyed. But..."

I pause. Do I want to involve Devi in the complicated matters of heart? I do wish to hear what she thinks about this.

"But?" She's waiting for me to continue.

"But the thing is that Sara adores Cherry. She always has. She's terribly attached to him."

"And you're worried about where this attachment would lead her?"

"Exactly." I swallow the lump that's forming in my throat, well aware that it's not just Sara I'm talking about.

I watch Devi's face change. She smiles as she squeezes my hand.

"Akka, what if he's the one? What a great story she'll have to tell her kids!"

I roll my eyes.

"That's a possibility, but what if he isn't the one? What if her time with him is meant to be a filler. What If he's supposed to just come and go and not stay? What if she ends up loving him in a way she had never thought and he doesn't love her back?"

Devi raises her eyebrows, "Those are a lot of what ifs. All sensible ones but Akka, so what? So what if her heart gets broken?"

I look at her with disbelief. So what?

"So what? Pain. So much pain. So much heartache. Endless yearning for someone she'll never have."

She rolls her eyes as she says, "You have to stop treating everything as the final, Akka. Okay, let's assume that they both fall in love..." she stops and I nod, picturing Cherry looking at Sara with the same adoration in his eyes. That picture makes me smile.

"What's the guarantee that they'll stay in love? There could be a fallout... they could discover that they aren't right for each other... she could get tired of his popularity, he could get tired of her complaints... anything could go wrong."

I'm beginning to see her point.

"But that's how life is... isn't it? Unpredictable. You're never going to be sure of how things will go in the future, why bother thinking about the future then? Live in the moment." She has her hands outstretched as she says this and I take her in. Her words, her mannerisms.

I find myself guilty of not having enough heart to heart talks with her. Before I can begin the guilt trip, she asks me, "You helped them plan everything. And you, Akka, are a perfectionist. I'm sure you must have tried your best for everything to be perfect. But was it?"

I find little things coming back to me. The slight delay in the deliveries, the close calls and the glitch in the technical system that required some time to be sorted.

I shake my head. "There were a few glitches." I admit.

"Exactly. And there are always going to be. No matter how much you plan, Kritika Pillai, there are always going to be some slippages. But those are part of life. I'd say, slip a little, live a little."

She's holding her hand in front of me to place my palm on.

I understand what she's hinting at and nod.

"Alright, sister. Here's to slipping."

"And living." She adds.

I have a wide grin on my face. She's about to leave when I say,
"Thank you, I'll keep that in mind. Ah, it feels like I have a load off my chest."

She must have heard it because she stops and turns. I realise what I have done. I have slipped.

*******

"Oh my God! Wet wipes and KitKats! He. Is. Such. A. Sweetheart."

I look at the dreamy eyed Devi in front of me and sigh. I don't regret telling her about my time with Ruturaj because one, I enjoyed reliving the last two weeks and two, because I have someone to talk to about him without any judgements.

Devi and I have been vocal about our feelings throughout our life. It's just our way of living. Devi feels something she tells me. I feel something, I tell her. Apart from her transition to adolescence and my to adulthood, we've always liked being transparent with each other. Even if we're not, the other always has a fair idea of what's going on.

Hence I am not surprised when she says this, "You should totally go out with Rutu."

I almost have a coughing fit and she's laughing at my reaction.

"Excuse me, two things to be noted. One, you can't call him Rutu. Two, I don't like him like that."

Devi narrows her eyes on me. "If you don't like him like that then then why can't I call him Rutu? Just because you won't?"

"No, because you can't randomly nickname people without knowing them."

"Oh, please. Akka, after hearing you speak about him for the past one hour, I know him better than you think."

I shake my head.

"Plus I googled him as well." She holds the screen for me to see a young Ruturaj in Maharashtra's jersey.

"God, he isn't that lean. He has gorg-" I stop mid-sentence. Uh-oh.

"He has a great physique."

Devi giggles. "Akka, slip a little..." She reminds me.

Despite my hesitation, I find myself smiling. "Fine. He's gorgeous." I admit. Somehow saying that aloud sends shivers down my spine.

I'm terrified. I'm thrilled.

The decision has been made.

I'll slip. I'll live.

A/N Merry Christmas to everyone who celebrates!
This chapter is dedicated to my wonderful sister and our heart to heart talks.
Please let me know your thoughts via comments.
Until next time, let's slip together :)