First Date to Forever

Life happens , Tea helps

     "What the hell Sujay ! Where are you ? I have been calling you since morning !! What if there was an emergency ? What if I was in an accident? You don't care about me anymore . Now that you have Shonali you have forgotten your first love ?!!" Jeet said dramatically.

       Sujay laughed at his best friend's antics. After stressing himself out the entire day and hiding from Shonali and his feelings he decided to call Jeet back. He had 50 missed calls and so many messages from him.

" Yeah right accident ? Did you forget the hundreds of messages you left ? I doubt you will be able to drop me messages in the middle of an accident or an emergency?" He answered .

"Leave it , you quickly get ready we are going out " ordered Jeet.

"I am not in a mood to go out today Jeet. Some other day "

"I am not listening to you bro , I am reaching in about 15 mins , be ready and yes wear something comfortable!" Jeet said teasingly.

      Sujay immediately remembered his date with Shonali ! He groaned knowing Jeet said this on purpose. After spending the whole day trying not to think of her or anything related to her , this stupid person has to say this !

      Sujay reluctantly got ready and waited for Jeet . Soon they hit the road and Jeet refused to tell him where they were going .

"Did you meet Shonali today ? " asked Sujay avoiding his gaze . He knew Jeet will quickly figure out his struggle. Little did he know that he already knows what is going on in his mind.

"Yes I did ! She was so happy without you today . She said finally she could breathe freely otherwise you are always hovering around her ! " chuckled Jeet.

Sujay looked at him with shock and then realized he was joking . He hit his arm , making him wince in pain.
"Ouch!! What ?? First you decide to ditch college and then you are asking me if I met Shonali ? If you are missing her so much why don't you call her and let her know? "

Sujay just sat there not responding to him. He was lost in his thoughts again .

      Jeet finally pulled up into the parking lot of a Dhaba just on the outskirts of Delhi. As soon as Sujay realised where they are he knew he was in trouble. Jeet always brought Sujay here whenever he wanted to have a serious conversation with him . Away from the hustle bustle of the city , this place had the best food , and peaceful vibes to it making it a perfect place to have long conversations without any disturbance.
 
   They took their seats and Jeet quickly ordered some snacks and two bottles of beer. Sujay somehow felt today even beer won't be able to comfort him . He ordered a cup of strongly brewed ginger tea ! A surprised Jeet too followed the lead and ordered tea for himself.
"Let's find out why does Shonali love him so much !" Jeet exclaimed.

"What ? Who ? " Sujay asked him in shock.

"Tea , I am talking about Tea ! What did you think ? " Jeet gave an innocent smile.

     Once their order came , Sujay took one sip and a strange warmth spread through him. It reminded him of Shonali. He sighed , he can now never have tea without thinking about her . The feeling was comforting. Now he knew why she loved it soo much ! 
  
    "What are you doing Sujay ? What is going on your mind ? " asked Jeet with a serious tone.

"Drinking tea ?! " answered Sujay . What kind of a question is this.

"No , I meant with Shonali . What are you thinking ? You are making things difficult for her Sujay. I know you have her best interest in mind , and you like her alot , and you are my best friend but you cannot play with her feelings like this Sujay. " Jeet said very calmly.

"What are you talking about ? I am not playing with her ! I seriously like her alot . I wanted to ask her out again. Why would you say that ? " Sujay was surprised his best friend would say something like this .

    "Then why haven't you told her about the semester abroad program ? Why are you making her fall for you when you know you would be leaving for four months ? Don't you think being with each other for hardly one month will be enough to bear a long distance relationship? " Jeet answered his questions .

    Sujay had completely forgotten about the semester program . It was only after the email yesterday he remembered that he will leave in few days . Had he remembered earlier he would not have spent so much time with Shonali , or would have mentioned this on the first date itself so she could take her decisions accordingly.

"I know, I realised it yesterday. " Sujay sighed sadly.

"And instead of telling her , you decided to hide from her ? " Jeet stated .

"I know, I acted like a jerk ! " Sujay said. "Wait how did you know I haven't told Shonali about this ? "

           Jeet narrated his encounter with Shonali today. He decided to not tell him about Arush and Akshay's reaction , that is something Shonali needs to sort out.  He continued,   "...She looked visibly hurt Sujay ! She is a very nice person, don't do this to her.... If you are trying to get her to open up to you , then you should open up to her too. Let her in Sujay , let her know what you are thinking , what you are feeling . Let her take her decisions after knowing everything. And if you have the slightest of doubt about your feelings , I would suggest you to back off ! "

     Jeet looked very determined. He cannot allow his friend to get hurt and he knew if Shonali got hurt , Sujay would fill himself up with guilt. Moreover Shonali was a wonderful person , she didn't deserve this uncertainty.

     Sujay was surprised seeing his best friend take Shonali's side . But he was proud . Proud of Shonali that she had such an impact on people around her that they become protective of her , and proud of his best friend that he decided to call him out for his behavior instead of blindly supporting him.

"Well looks like drinking Tea can make you think straightly ! " Sujay laughed .

Jeet narrowed his eyes at him.

"I know what you mean Jeet . Don't worry I will tell her everything. Even I don't intend to keep her in uncertainty. I just needed a day off to calm myself because I am falling too hard for her . Otherwise it would be difficult for me to go to America. " He said with so much emotion in his voice.

Jeet almost choked at his confession. Looks like his best friend is in trouble! He remembered the argument between Shonali's friends.
"By the way , Shonali had a very bad day today. You should cheer her up ? And thank me later ! " He said.

"Why ? What happened ? Did someone say anything to her? " Sujay asked while cursing himself for not being there for her in college.

     "Just some arguments with her friends. Now don't ask me about what ! That is for her to tell you . " Jeet said and signalled the waiter for their cheque .

    Soon they were on their way back,  discussing about their visa process,  pending paperwork and making plans for their visit. They were waiting for this trip so eagerly. Had the situation been different , they both would have been ecstatic about it. But now , both of them were a little worried , Jeet about Sujay and Sujay about Shonali. They wondered how these last few days before they left for America would go...