Amour à Paris- a rekindled Romance

Chapter 8

While driving Zain's mind suddenly time-traveled to a fancy Restaurant in Mehrauli, Delhi. The pretty girl opposite him was too prying and too talkative. He never felt this awkward during a date. Suddenly a girl in a knee-length yellow summer dress appeared in front of him like a storm and grabbed his arm, "Zain Khurrana? Photographer? I need you right now. Come with me! It is urgent!" She completely ignored the person sitting on the other side and dragged Zain out of there. Zain was so flabbergasted that it took him a few minutes before he could speak".

"Hi...ummm hello! Excuse me!! Who are you?"

"I am your savior aka Shirin. Shirin Roy. I am actually a friend of Manish and he said you are my best hope. So basically, I really need your help. I am in dire need of a photographer for a small project."

"I didn't even know your name till 2 minutes back. You dragged me out from a date. And now you want me to help with your project? Who do you think you are?"

"You were clearly bored so I saved you from another hour of boredom. I already told you who I am and just to be clear, I don't think every Tinder meet-up can be called a Date. When two people date they don't look as bored as you did."

"You lack manners, Shirin Roy! I am already exhausted! Anyway I am a decent person so in return of the favor you did to me, I'll try to help you." Zain added a bit woefully.

"Decent and using Tinder. Kinda oxymoronic, don't you think?"

"That's a gross over-generalization. By that calculation everyone on Tinder, irrespective of their gender is indecent and decent people should never date and die single and sad. Am I right?

"Ooooohhh, so the Decent guy can bite too!"

"Decent guy can do a lot of other things too but he wouldn't. So anyway Shirin, tell me what do you need from me?

"Interesting! What I don't NEED but absolutely WANT is to have coffee with you and maybe later have a meal at KFC. These places are bloody expensive. And obviously discussing the project is a part of that."

"As milady wishes. However, discussing gender inequality and a photography project over coffee? Odd but interesting combination for a first date." Zain couldn't stop himself from saying that.

"So, it's a date now? Okay, let's see how the first date turns out. How good are you actually? or is it all just... you know? Shirin winked"

Zain just raised an eyebrow, without saying anything.

They ended up in a Café and the evening was definitely steamier than their hot coffees. Afterwards, it became a kind of a funny thing between them to kiss every time they had coffee. No matter where they were they would always steal a kiss from each other. Oh those memories! Those memories suddenly made Zain smile unknowingly.

During the time they were together, he never clearly talked about his family heritage and business with Shirin. He used to enjoy it when Shirin insisted on paying for his share at any restaurant or even at KFC or Mcdonald's. It was an endearing act of caring that grew on him so much that he couldn't reveal his background. He kept talking about his dreams, career and future and she never even once interrupted him. He didn't even realize the challenges she was facing working as an Intern journalist. He never realized when she started building a big wall around her that he had no access to. Every time he tried; she only grew distant. At times, she looked scared when he touched her. The strange look on her face made him feel so guilty and lonely.

They were already living together but it felt to him like living with a stranger. He saw her a few times with another guy, and it was evident that she lost all interest in Zain. He was already struggling to keep himself afloat as the world of photography was extremely challenging but the rejection from Shirin was not something he was prepared for. Even after he stormed out of the café 6 years ago, he never even received a message or call from her. As if he did a favor on her by walking out. Maybe, she found his replacement. After all, he was not doing much, was broke and obviously stupid.

Stuck in the traffic near 7th arrondissement, Zain realized he still had no closure, and no amount of success and achievement could heal that pain. The signal turned green, but someone crossed the road in an E-Bike causing more chaos on the road, delaying him even more. Zain could feel his body temperature rising and he needed to cool down a bit before meeting Shirin.
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Present moment-

"Oh, you are doing well then. Successful entrepreneur, girlfriend, good for you" Shirin didn't realize the bitterness she felt inside was pretty evident in her tone.

Zain ignored the tone and asked, "have you had dinner? When is your cruise?"

"It starts at 11. Let's see how it turns out. Alex recommended it."

Then after a pause, on a whim, she suddenly asked, "Will you join me? Everyone here is with a group or with someone, but it seems like only I am alone. Would you like to give me company, Zain? One time, just for our old time's sake?"

The last part felt like a strong punch in his gut. Zain took a deep breath before composing himself. A group of tourists was talking loudly next to them and that just added to his already heavy mind.

"So, why are you alone, Shirin? Why are you bothering Alex for everything? Do you think he is free? And I don't owe you a river cruise or anything for whatever old time you are talking about!" He was on the verge of losing his temper, so he stopped.

"I am alone because I am, do I need a reason to be alone by myself and take a trip by myself? Just because I am a girl or because you have a girlfriend, do you think everyone has the luxury to be in a relationship? Why do you care? Don't forget, YOU walked out on me and never looked back. What do you know, Zain? Oh sorry, Mr. Khurrana. Some people have problems, not just work-related, but other problems too. Some people are not as healthy as they look from outside. But CEO or Fashion Photographer, ZainKhurrana never had the time or should I say emotional bandwidth to think about anything from other people's perspectives. So do not lecture me here. I really wanted to talk and enjoy this River cruise and I had no other intention. I apologize for causing you any inconvenience." Shirin did not lose her calm andher words were all clear.

However, her panic was rising, and she knew she needed to go away from there. She didn't want to be struck by panic in front of Zain. Before things got out of her hands, she stormed off leaving Zain dumbfounded. Zain crushed a ticket for the Seine River cruise from out of his pocket and wanted to throw it away while walking away from the harbour. He was enraged.