Am always with you.....

Chapter 38

BEN

"Hey, Venu! How come we run into each other often these days? You sure you are not stalking me?"

"No! That's not the case! I just want to watch the sunrise. It's been raining for days, so it was hard to watch it. I saw that the sky was clear today, so here I am."

Zach, "Hello. We couldn't talk that day. But you know what, I am not surprised to see you here. I heard you introduced Ben to this place?"

He is still pulling my leg?

I glared at him, he was smiling mischievously.

"Venu, tell him. He won't believe when I say. Maybe he will believe you."

Take it!

Venu laughed awkwardly, "Yes, it's true. I brought him here. Actually, I like exploring places. I am new here, so I go around finding spots when I have free time. I live nearby, just 2-3 blocks away."

Zach made a big 'O' face.

I went close to him and pinched him hard at the back and whispered through my teeth, "Stop it already, unless you want to die."

He flinched and gave me a stare, "Venu, why don't we have something? Any suggestions for breakfast? Be our guide, you must be expert in the area now."

Venu responded with excitement, "Yeah sure! Why not? Be my guest!" and laughed at her own joke.

We went to a nearby food joint. This one was open since early morning. It was one of those- which start early and close late.

"So, Venu. You like this place?"

"Yes. Among all that I went to within this area, this is the best."

"Any suggestions from the menu?"

What's going on?

"You can try this one." Zach and Venu got busy exploring the menu. As for me, I simply told them to order something for me. They gave the order, and we continued our conversation.

"How are you feeling about Goa? Settling well?"

"Yes. Initially, I was quite reluctant, but the university is good, pay is nice and I have nice colleagues. Like Ben. And coincidently, we have met before."

"Really?" Zach widened his eyes and looked at me. I was alarmed. He didn't know any of this.

"I'll let you know afterwards. Just know that it happened when we went to Mumbai."

After I mentioned the Mumbai trip, Zach stopped being scary. If it was any other occasion, I would be dead meat!

"If you don't mind, can I ask you about you two?"

"Sure, why not? Ask away."

"Like normal questions. How you met, how you got together, how long have you been together. I have heard from Ben; like summary of your friendship, but never about his dating life."

Zach chuckled, "My Ben is kind of shy. I'll tell you."

Sorry?! My Ben!! What's his point?

"You know we are best friends- right from childhood. We went to the same school, luckily we went to the same college. We were constantly with each other. Our families were close for years. And then, one day Ben seduced me. He confessed that he likes me. Even I had liked him for a long time, so I said yes. We dated for around 1 year when my family transferred to Pune. Ben's brother lives with us, at Pune. And that's it- Our short story.", Zach said while holding my hand and giving me cute glances.