Complicated Love

CH10: Stolen glances and Jealousy

|IRA|
~Present~

The music echoed around the empty studio. I stared at my reflection and moved my hands to the beat. No no this isn't working. I let out a groan and switched off the music that was playing on my phone connected to the Bluetooth. Everything is such a mess.

I sighed and leaned my head against the mirror wall. It's been almost six months since I graduated from The Bharatiya Nrithya. I immediately applied for jobs at a few reputed dance studios that were located in Kolkata, Pune, Mumbai, and Bangalore. I received acceptance from almost all of them. I chose to work in Reverence Dance Academy which was in Pune. I missed home. I'm currently teaching Bharatanatyam for children aged 10 and above. Occasionally I take Western dance classes.

Being away from home has taught me a lot of things. I learned how to be independent, I learned that not everyone is as sweet as they appear to be and I missed my parents but the sense of accomplishment that I felt was truly something else.

The year and a half at The Bharatiya Nrithya taught me various forms of dance and along with that, I learned singing as well. I wasn't as good at singing when I danced but it was nice to be able to match up to tunes and dance. Although the first month was hard I pushed through it. One of my close friends at the dance school encouraged me to upload some of my choreographies on Instagram. I was hesitant but when I received a positive response I never looked back. It was fulfilling to see so many of them getting inspired through my videos.

Among all of this, there wasn't a single day that I did not think about Kabir. Some days I missed him more, I missed his encouraging words and the way he cracked jokes to cheer me up, I missed all of it. I prayed every day for his safety.

Memories of our last conversation flashed in my head. I sniffled and wiped the tears that cascaded down my cheeks. He better come back when he does I will show him hell and then I will love him for the rest of our lives.

Although Kabir never called me like I knew he wouldn't his mother and I have stayed in touch. She didn't know what exactly had transpired between us but I think she assumed that there were some tensions between the two of us.

She often updated me about Kabir, and honestly, even though it hurts that was the only thing that kept me sane. She is such a sweetheart not once did she question if something happened between us, she always provided me with words of comfort assuring me that everything would be good in the end.

I couldn't control myself today. I grabbed my phone and clicked on the gallery button. My thumb trembled slightly and hovered over the archived folder. I took a deep breath and clicked on it. I smiled as the first picture popped up. It was a picture of Kabir and me dancing at Meera Di's reception.

He was gazing at me lovingly while I was laughing because of some stupid joke that he had cracked. "Hey! There you are I finally found you!" I switched off my phone and kept it on the side table. I wiped my face, sniffed, and stood up.

"Hi, Varun!" He smiled and leaned against the wall. Varun Kumar was one of the instructors and an amazing dancer at the academy. The academy had recently started some Zumba sessions and Varun was taking them.

I have seen girls and even some ladies who are married hit on him openly. Sometimes it was quite hilarious how these ladies tried to grab his attention. He was very charming after all. With his signature smile and attitude. I'm not going to lie over the past six months Varun has asked me out several times which I have denied politely but now I'm starting to feel bad for constantly dodging his advances. He is a great friend and conversations are easy with him. He deserves someone who will give him all the love and attention. No matter how things were between Kabir and me I can never think about anyone other than him.