They reached the restaurant and ordered for themselves. Keerti and Pallavi were gossiping and Raghav felt left out. Pallavi saw this and involved him in the discussion too. This time Pallavi ordered a Mutton dish and Raghav ordered a Chicken dish.
"If you want you can try this super amazing Mutton curry." Pallavi told Raghav.
"If you want you can also try this Chicken Chettinad." Raghav offered Pallavi smilingly.
"One minute, one minute. Pallavi from when did you start eating Mutton at restaurants? Anna from when did you start sharing your food?"
"Keerti I like Mutton that's the reason I ordered it. And did you not listen when I was ordering it?" Pallavi defended herself.
"I don't remember because we were busy in gossiping." Keerti said chuckling. "And what about you, Anna?"
"Sharing is Caring. Do you want it?" He asked Keerti.
"No, Thank you."
They finished their dinner and were leaving.
"I will drop both of you. Come sit in the car." Raghav offered to drop both of them.
"Anna, you drop Pallavi. I will go by myself because what if Amma sees you?" Keerti had a logical point.
"Okay."
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Raghav was driving Pallavi home. There was a comfortable silence between them.
"When are we meeting for dinner?" Raghav asked her breaking the ice.
"We just had one."
"Keerti was also there. We were not alone. If you don't want to meet me alone, it's okay. I understand." He said in a sad tone as he thought she was probably uncomfortable and didn't want to meet him alone.
"You tell me when you are free. I'll come. But, please tell me well in advance so that I can get my work done before that." She said with a smile.
"Tomorrow?" He answered immediately before she changes her mind.
She chuckled at his reaction and said okay.
They finally reached Deshmukh House. She got out of the car and started walking towards the house.
"Goodnight." She said turning back.
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Today was the day when they were going for dinner together. Both of them were excited to meet each other. It's been months of knowing each other and still they were discovering something new about each other whenever they met. Raghav messaged Pallavi.
"We are going for dinner today?" Raghav asked to confirm.
"Yes." She texted back immediately as if she was waiting for his reply.
"Where do we meet?" Raghav asked as he wanted to know her preferences.
"Whichever place is okay with you."
"Will send you the location. Let's meet at 8."
"Okay with me."
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Both were desperately waiting for the clock to tick 8pm. In that process both reached the restaurant early. Raghav was earlier than Pallavi. Pallavi entered the restaurant and saw Raghav already sitting there. She was happy that he was also eager to meet her. She went to him and they shared a friendly side hug.
"Wow Ghamandi Rao!! You were so eager to meet me that you came so early?" Pallavi teased.
"Ac..actually woh I had my meeting here." He lied so that she doesn't categorize him as a despo.
"Ohh." She was disappointed as she thought that he was here to meet her.
Her disappointed face did not go unnoticed by Raghav. He also teased her.
"I was here for a meeting but you came here all by yourself that too early. Shows who is more eager."
"My work got finished early and I don't like to be late so, I came early." She defended herself.
She was now embarrassed and Raghav as always noticed it.
He came closer to her and whispered into her ears, "Don't worry Saree Ka Dukaan, I also came here early to meet you. No need to get embarrassed." He laughed after saying this.
Pallavi realized that he was teasing her all this while and started hitting him.
"Aeee Saree Ka Dukaan kayko maar raha hai itna jorse? Mein to bass mazak kar raha tha." Even though it was not hurting him he said it to maintain the vibe.
"Itni der tum majak kar rahe the aur mujhe laga tumhe mujhse milne mein koi interest nahi hai."
"Tumhara dimaag theek hai na? Mein khud tumko call kiya aur bulaya yaha pe aur tum bol raha hai ki tumko laga ki mereko interest nahi hai. Waah Saree Ka Dukaan. Ajeeb hai tum."
"Main ajeeb nahi hoon tum kuch jyaada hi oversmart ho."
"Woh sab chodo. Hum abhi order kare please." He requested her.
"Wow!! The Raghav Rao is requesting me? Ab toh order karna hi padega." Pallavi said laughing.
"God!!! When will you stop being so dramatic?"
"Never."
Both of them chuckled and ordered for themselves. They order Paneer 65 in starters. Raghav ordered a Pesto Pasta which is a continental dish while Pallavi ordered Sushi which is a Japanese cuisine.
They enjoyed the starters together while talking on various subjects from sports to politics. It was now time for main course.
"Have you ever tried Sushi?" Pallavi asked Raghav.
"No. I have heard a lot about it but never tried it." He answered.
"Same pinch." She said pinching his bicep.
"I am a little nervous to try this out. I have heard Amruta talk a lot about Sushi and she does have amazing taste in food. So, I thought to try it out. But, what if I don't like it. I should have ordered something else." Her words were stopped by Raghav.
"Saree Ka Dukaan how much will you speak? It is good to try out new things. If you don't like it, you can take parcel and give it to Amruta saying that you brought this for her. Then, you can order whatever you want." Raghav gave her a solution.
"That's a good idea."
The waiter arrived with food and served them.
"This Sushi is really nice. Try it once you will love it."
Raghav tried the Sushi and he loved it too.
"This is really nice. Atleast that Chipku ladki knows something."
"Her name is Amruta."
"Whatever."
"You also try this Pasta. This is also nice."
"Thank you. " She said taking a bite.
"Do you mind meeting me again?" He asked while eating.
"I don't mind meeting you again unless and until it's not an expensive place like this." She chuckled.
"This is not a 3star or 5star restaurant. It is pocket friendly. Also, you don't need to pay I will pay because I was the one who called you."
"Firstly, this is not at all pocket friendly. Extremely rich people like you will only find this pocket friendly.
Secondly, why will you pay the bill? I will pay for whatever I ordered because it's me who ate it and not you.
Thirdly, just because you called me doesn't mean that you will pay." She placed her points to not let him pay the bill alone.
"But.."
"No ifs and buts. We are splitting the bill and that's final. End of discussion."
The waiter came with the bill and they had to split it. They paid the bill and left.
"Come, I will drop you home."
"Thank you, but I have my scooter with me."
"Fine. Message me once you reach home."
"Okay."
She left with her scooter. Once, she left he followed her by his car as it was pretty late to go back home and was not very safe.
She reached home and called him.
"Hello Raghav, I reached home safely."
"Good."
"Were you following me?"
"N..No. Why would I follow you?" He fumbled.
"You know it better."
"I wasn't following you. Are you in love with me or something like it that you are seeing me even if I am not there?" He countered.
"Uhmm No." She answered after a short break.
"Actually there was a black car following me which was quite similar to your car. So, I asked you." She explained the reason for asking him.
"Ohh. Didn't you do anything to him?" He asked curiously.
"No, he was at a distance from me but whenever there were no vehicles I saw that car always behind me and when I took the last turn, the car stopped there itself and went straight."
"Probably he wants to go somewhere near your house and was taking the same route. Don't overthink."
"It can be the case but when I gave him a side to go, he did not go even when there were not a lot of people in front."
She said curiously.
"He might be talking with someone or there might be some senior citizen in his car who would advise him to go slow. Also, one cannot deny anything that senior citizens ask them to do. You know it better than anyone." He said.
"Ofcourse." She said chuckling.
He was happy that she finally stopped being Sherlock Holmes ka nani.
"Did you reach home?" She asked him.
"No. I will reach late as I am going to meet my girlfriend." He said to make her jealous and he did make her jealous.
"Ohh. But you said that you were single." She said disappointed.
"I never said it. It was you who assumed that I am single." Raghav argued.
"Ya right. Btw who is that lucky girl?" She asked trying hard to hide her jealousy.
"She is a very beautiful girl both from inside as well as outside. When I am with her, I feel so peaceful that I can't even describe. It's just been a while that we've met but it seems like an eternity since I have known her. She is very special to me. Even my Amma and Keerti love her." He described all of Pallavi's qualities but she failed to understand it was her only. At this point, Raghav had understood that he liked Pallavi. He wasn't sure about love but there was liking from his side and not a mere attraction.
"Ohh. That's nice. Even Amma and Keerti know her?" She asked curiously.
"Know her? They are in love with her. Amma loves her more than her daughter at times. Keerti is also very fond of her."
"That's great. When are you planning to make me meet her?"
"Whenever you want."
"Hope she doesn't have a problem with us meeting." She didn't want to loose the friend that Raghav was to her.
"Why would she have a problem with me meeting you? Come on Saree Ka Dukaan she is not a jealous cat like you." He said laughing.
"Shut up!!! I am not a jealous cat." She said shouting angrily.
"I can clearly make it out by your voice Saree Ka Dukaan so, don't lie. I hate liars. Also, will hang up now because I am just outside her house and she would come anytime now. I need to give her all my attention." He said and hanged up not even waiting for Pallavi to say bye.
He knew that she was not in the state of mind to come outside so he climbed up to her room through the water pipe.
The room of her window had a grill so he had to come through the balcony. He climbed up the balcony and entered her room.
She was sitting on the bed teary eyed. She was in deep thoughts when he tapped her shoulder.
"What are you doing here? Are you here for real or am I hallucinating you? Was Raghav being correct when he said that I was in love with him and could see him everywhere? No, No this is not the case."
Turning towards Raghav she said,
"I know you are not here. All of this is my hallucination. Stop bothering me."
Raghav was shocked by whatever she spoke. He knew and could see that she was attracted to him but her being affected by him to such an extent was something that he did not expect.
"Saree Ka Dukaan I really am here. This is not your hallucination." Raghav told her coming out of his shock.
"How do I know that you are not my hallucination and are really here?"
Pallavi asked.
"If I was a hallucination, I wouldn't have been able to touch you and when I came I tapped on your shoulder." He justified.
Pallavi took her mobile and called him. His phone rang in his pocket and she confirmed that he was really here. She was very happy but did not show it to him.
"You were going to your girlfriend's place then why did you come here?" She asked.
"Saree Ka Dukaan, you know so much about politics, corruption etc and yet you are so naive when it comes to yourself. I was joking, Picchi Ammayi."
"Matlab you don't have a girlfriend." She asked overexcited.
"Ofcourse not."
"Then whose qualities were you listing?" She asked suspiciously.
"It was you. Couldn't you just guess it?"
"Uh.. actually I..."
"How will you guess it when you were busy in being jealous of my so called 'girlfriend'. You really thought I was talking about someone else?" He said air quoting girlfriend.
"Ofcourse I will think that it was some other girl because you would never praise me so much." She said accusing him of never praising her so that he forgets the jealousy thing.
"And so you were jealous?" He asked not at all letting her divert the topic.
"I wasn't jealous. Infact, I was happy that you found someone who cares for you and is also loved by your Amma and Keerti." She said trying to sound happy.
"Jhoot. You were jealous when I said that I am going to meet my girlfriend."
"You are saying this as if you know me better than myself." She retaliated.
He just gave her a glare in return.
"Fine. I was jealous." She gave up.
"That's more like it. Atlast, you admitted. Why is it bothering you if I am dating someone else, huh?" He asked her so as to know her feelings about him.
"I don't know. I just don't like the idea of you being with someone else." She said annoyed.
He chuckled at her reaction and took her hands in his.
"Do you like me?"
"What are you saying?" She asked turning her face to another side and looking anywhere but at him.
Now that he had asked her, he was impatiently waiting for her answer. But she chose to act like she doesn't know anything.
"Pallavi it is a very simple question which has a very simple answer i.e Yes or No. I expect an answer from you."
She understood that there was no turning back now and she had to answer his question. She got nervous and started fumbling.
"Raghav actually woh I.."
"It's okay Pallavi I understand. You don't have to be nervous. Take your time or if you don't like me, you can tell it to me. I promise I will respect your decision. If you don't want to meet me again we will not meet. But, please whatever your decision is be honest with yourself. Don't take any decision under pressure. I want to see you happy be it with me or without me." He consoled her.
"Do you like me?" She asked him.
"Hain?"
"I asked you do you like me? It is very simple question which has a very simple answer. There is no scope of getting confused."
"What are you saying?" He asked her confused.
"This is what happens when someone suddenly drops a bomb on you. I hope you understand the taste of your own medicine."
"Saree Ka Dukaan, I am still not understanding what you mean?"
"Raghav I was just nervous because you suddenly asked me this. Give me some time to process whatever is happening. But, no you always have to be impatient and ruin things for yourself. Thank Bappa that you did not assume something and went without waiting for my response." She said mentally thanking her Ganpati Bappa.
"It means you like me?" He asked surprised.
"Ofcourse you idiot. I hope you also do."
"I also like you a lot." He said and hugged her tightly.
Author's Note - Finally, Raghav and Pallavi have confessed of liking each other. But, what about love? Will they ever fall in love or this will stay as a mere liking? Stay Tuned !!!!
Date - 7th May 2022
