Mehendi & Moonlight || Ana

Chapter 20:: Encouragement & Admiration

"I'll read the books you bought for me," Nisha said softly as Kabir hummed. He looked at the bag in his hand, "I'll read the ones you bought too." 

They both shared a glance and walked out of the fair. 
"Did you wait for me here?" Kabir asked as they approached an ice cream truck nearby. She pressed her lips, "Only for five minutes, yeah." 
"But you called me and texted me within a span of thirty minutes." 

Her eyes widened slightly at his statement. Clearing her throat, she quickly added, "Ah, I called you when I was coming here." 
She frowned, hearing his chuckle, "Okay then. I'll guess you waited for five minutes after calling and texting me during that half an hour. I'll only count the last five minutes then." 

He was holding back his laughter and that embarrassed her. 
"Excuse me?" She eyed him, looking away offended. 
"Are you offended?"
"No." 
"So you are." He inched closer to her as she moved away.
"Stop coming so close to me. I don't like it." She spoke.

He stared at her for a few seconds before nodding and moving away, "Okay. Sorry." 

Now she was regretting her words. Why did he move away? 

Right, it was her words. 

As they stood in front of the ice cream truck, she watched him cautiously shift farther from her. 
'What a lousy person.' She muttered under her breath, looking at the ice cream on the menu. 
"Which flavour do you want?" He asked, earning a thoughtful hum from her.
"I want... coconut milk."

"Okay. Same for me." He said.

Her expression twisted slightly, "Why are you copying my order?"
"When did I copy your order? I ordered what I wanted."
"I said it first, though." 
"First or last doesn't matter. That guy came first at the fair but technically, I'm your choice. The same goes with ice creams." He nonchalantly spoke and watched the man prepare the ice creams. 
"How are you my choice—" 
"Cone or cup?" The man asked, interrupting Nisha's words.

"Cone." 
"Cup." 

They both shared a second of eye contact. 
"See, our tastes don't match." Nisha spoke in a satisfied tone as he arched an eyebrow, "Are you in the opposites attract trope?" 
"How'd you know?" She gasped slightly as the right corner of his lips inched up. 

Seeing his expression, her eyes widened slightly.

"Excuse me. It's not what you think—" 
"I didn't think anything though." 
"You're looking at me like..." 
"Like?" He asked, getting the ice creams and searching for his wallet as she interrupted, "Stop. I'll pay for this. You already paid." 

"I was late today and made you wait so I should pay." He reasoned as she contemplated it for a few moments.
"Sure, then. You pay. I'll get more food, thanks." 

Letting out an airy chuckle, he nodded and gestured for her to follow him. 

She glanced at him, wondering why he kept teasing her about almost everything. He was doing something more than being annoying — like grabbing her attention on purpose. 
"You said you'll return my jhumka today." She spoke as they sat on a nearby bench. The breeze passed them by as she huffed slightly.

He licked his ice cream, blinking innocently.
"Don't tell me you lied to me again—" 
"I brought it with me." He stared at the sky. 

She sighed in relief, "Thank you for returning what's mine." 

"The sarcasm is getting to me." He whispered.
"You deserve sarcasm. Why'd you even run away with my jhumka?" She asked, taking a bite of her coconut milk ice cream. It was a light flavour with tiny coconut chunks in it. 
"I like this flavour." He spoke, earning a satisfactory hum from her. 
"This is my favourite flavour."