Risky Romance [COMPLETED]

Chapter 7

The night was young, and refreshing. The moonlight glimmered on their faces, as Varun and Rhea laughed, and shared their memories, and for the first time since they met, they felt at ease with each other.

She is fun to be with, thought Varun. Until she gets cranky and unnecessarily moody. He sighed. He had dealt with enough mood swings in his life. Kritika was one mood fluctuation mistress. Her tantrums made him crazy, but he could never break up with her; he had been with her for too long, and he didn't do breakups.

"So what happened then? Did your parents find out?" asked Rhea, eating a chocolate bar, and looking at him intently.

"Obviously not, I'm pretty good at hiding stuff", said Varun. "That's why I wear long sleeved shirts at home. If my mom ever finds out that I'm brandishing a tattoo on my arm, she would get me married."

"Brandishing", snorted Rhea. "Why would she get you married?"

"Because her thoughts are still old school", he said. "I think she believes that to bring a guy on the right path, either get him married, or make him work like a donkey. But I am already working like a donkey, so the only option left is to tie me in holy matrimony", he finished sarcastically.

"And let me guess, you never want to be tied in holy matrimony, do you?" laughed Rhea.

"Not never", said Varun, thoughtfully. "If I ever find the right girl, and when it's the right time, I will get married to her. I'm not one to shy away from marriage."

"Really?" asked Rhea, incredulously. "I thought guys were terrified of such solid commitment."

"We are, but each one has to face their fears sometime or the other, right?" he said. "What about you? Do you ever want to walk down the aisle?"

"I'm glad you asked me, otherwise everybody just assumes that since I am a girl, I am ever ready to get married and have kids and stuff", she said, frowning a little.

"So you don't want to get married?" he asked her, skeptically.

"Dude, I'm just 23", she said. "And besides, I cannot handle responsibilities really well, and I don't think I'll ever be mature enough to do so." She looked at him, a little questioningly, as if hoping he would contradict her.

"The woman's got a point", he just said.

"So you think I'm immature?" Rhea fired up at once, her eyes flashing dangerously.

"Yes", said Varun, not looking into her eyes, because he knew that if he would, he would change his answer to "No", just to make her happy. God, he was losing his mind, and she was definitely making him question his sanity.

"Really?" asked Rhea, in a small voice.

He finally tore his eyes off the railway tracks that he was focusing upon, and looked at her. "It's not that bad", he said. "Yes you are chidlish, and immature, but I feel that is in a good way. Like you said, you can take care of yourself, despite the situation. But there will come a time when you realise that life is not full of rainbows and chocolates", he said gesturing at the chocolate bar in her hand. "That's when you grow up and start acting your age. Moreover, you are 23, you aren't a child anymore. Anybody can handle responsibilities, it is difficult, but not impossible." He looked at her, studying her for a moment, before continuing, "I'm guessing you have been brought up in a very protective environment and have been shielded from uncertainties and mistakes and doubts and everything, which pretty much makes you think that nothing can go wrong in your perfectly ordered life. Believe me, there's nothing wrong in thinking that, but when something that you hadn't planned for does happen in your life, you must have the strength to face it. And I'm thinking that till now, all of your choices and decisions have been made by your parents. I'm not blaming them, I know that they love you a lot, and they have your best interests at heart, but it's time you make your own choices and decisions, and stick to them, and also make mistakes. That's how you learn and grow."