Amma's Cafe | Short Story ✓

chapter 17

I turned around to face him again. He kept watching me but I had no courage to look into his eyes. "You knew?" I whispered.

I heard him sigh a little but could feel him nodding. "I thought..." He said but I cut him before he could go ahead.

I was nervous about this sudden thing as I wasn't prepared for the confession yet. But I have to now as I have gotten this chance. I can't run away anymore and I don't even want to. So I took a deep breath and gathered the courage before looking at him in the eyes. He was welcoming as always and my nervousness was gone in no time.

"I like you, Aarush. I didn't think it will come out this way. I wanted to tell you about my feelings in a better way but I stopped myself as I felt you might not be feeling the same way," I started speaking fast without giving him a chance to speak.

"I didn't realise when and how it happened but when you went back to Mumbai it suddenly hit me while talking with Madhavi. She asked me to think about it once as she didn't want to see me broken," I said and added again.

"I mean you belong to a different culture, a different state, we speak different languages, share different tastes and it's obvious that you will find someone like you. I mean something should match for someone to click and..." I said and stopped while looking down at my hands nervously.

He was still quiet while letting me speak. "I just don't know what you thought and I was too scared and nervous to tell you everything that I felt. You might have done this much for me for that friendship but I took it in a wrong way," I said and shook my head.

"I didn't even think about you and started everything on my own. I am sorry," I said and turned around so that my back would face him and I don't have to look at him anymore.

He was silent for some time and it made me feel frustrated. "Will you speak?" I shouted while looking back at him.

He chuckled lightly and nodded. "I haven't seen you this aggressive with anyone else. I even told my Aai that you are so soft always," He said. I kept watching him with annoyance.

What was he talking about?

"Are you serious?" I asked and walked towards him again. He nodded. "Even yesterday," He said and frowned.

"You always get angry at me when you smile at the rest of the world," He said. I sighed and shook my head in disappointment while not understanding what was he talking about anymore.

"Yes I do get frustrated with you because you are frustrating," I said and added, "No one else has made me this confused before and I just feel like fighting with you. I can't do that with anyone else as I don't know whether they will come back to me again."

"But somehow it's safe with you," I said. He kept watching me for a few moments.

"Why?" He asked again.

I shook my head. "I don't know. I just feel that you will fight back instead of running away. I fight because I don't want to lose you. I can't," I murmured.

He chuckled lightly. "Yet you doubt me?" He asked as my head moved towards him again. He smiled further and extended his hand to keep it on me.

"I like you too. I thought of telling you this many times but I was being careful to not hurt your feelings," he said. I didn't expect him to say this when I was so sure he didn't feel the same way about me.

My eyes held emotions as I kept looking at him. I looked down at our hands and moved mine to intertwined in his.

He smiled again while watching at them too. "You have never hurt me and have always respected my emotions," I said truthfully.