Ishq-e-Watan

Chapter 100- Reluctance

CHAPTER 100

RELUCTANCE

Sanju stared at the clothes sprawled across her normally tidy bed. What was she supposed to wear to a chill-but-not-exactly meeting with her boyfriend's dad? None of the usual, over the top dressing up for potential grooms and their famil. Nope. Not a dress or something, those were for dates. "Need h-help?" Her thoughts were interrupted and she looked at her roommate, who was smiling slightly at her. Sanju looked at the array of clothes scattered and nodded. "R-Relax. It's just a d-dinner."

"Agar woh hume pasand naa kare toh?" She voiced out, fiddling with her hands.

"One, Avi Uncle aa-aapko kapdon par r-reject nahi k-karenge. Aadhi b-baar he w-wears cl-clothes bl-blindly, jaise unke paas n-negative mein fashion s-sense hai. S-Second, he's nice. I s-see no r-reason for him to not l-like you." She glanced around at the clothes, pointing to a pink suit. "Woh a-achha hai."

She picked it up and the girl nodded encouragingly. Monami had always been right about these things. So, sure. She was just going to trust her. By the time she was ready for the meeting, she was considerably more relaxed. The cadet had told her about his father a lot, patiently helping her getting ready, dressing her up and doing her makeup.

"Monami", she said, as the girl carefully twisted her hair into a neat and sleek hairstyle. She hummed her attention. "Karan Sir ji ko traditional kapde badhe pasand hai. Tu kabhi pehengi toh tujhe dekhto hi reh jaayenge."

It was her way of saying she knew and the girl heard it loud and clear if the sudden snapping of her head had anything to do with it. "He, uh, he t-told you", she said nervously, ducking her head and concentrating on her hair. Sanju hummed. "He... He t-told me he w-wanted to tell you. Do you m-mind?"

Sanju rolled her eyes. "Hum toh intezaar kar raho the", she said. "Humne kabhi Karan Sir ji ko kisi ladki mein itni dilchaspi dikhaato nahi dekho." Monami gave her a small, shy smile. "Tu unke laane bahut achhi hai."

"He's g-good for me t-too", she muttered. She took a step back, nodding. "All done."

"Thank you keh raho hain", she said, assessing herself in the mirror. She looked nice. Pretty. She exhaled, smoothening her dress although there were no wrinkles on it. There was a knock on the door. "Siddharth hogo."

Monami pranced to the door happily, yanking it open and sure enough, it was Siddharth. He walked in, pausing when he saw her, his mouth dropping open. "Woah", he muttered, eyeing her. "Daddy ji ko chhodo, date par chalte hain, Sanju."

"Siddharth", she protested, although she was pleased with the compliment. She walked closer, smiling at Monami, who had wished her luck. "Chalein?"

"Dekh lo", he said softly. "We can go on a date." He sighed at her look. "Fine, fine. Chalo."

---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---x---

Monami couldn't think of a better way to relax after her long days during the exams. Karan sat on his desk, leaning back and relaxing in the chair, and she had claimed his bed, sprawled across like she owned it. She was his girlfriend. She could at least, take over his bed for some time, right? She tilted her head, tuning back to what he was saying. "... a date."

She blinked. "What?" She asked. A date? She liked that. She wanted that.

He rolled his eyes, shaking his head a little. But there was a fond smile on his face. He leaned forward, narrowing his eyes playfully. "Pehle toh aapne mera bed le liya hai, Rani Sahiba", he teased. "Ab aap meri baatein bhi nahi sun rahi hain?"

She smiled, shrugging. She sat up, snuggling closer to the covers. They smelled like him, of cologne and a fresh, clean scent and something, distinctly him. "I like th-this bed", she said. "And I was listening. I j-just got thoda sa distracted. I h-heard a date. Kab? K-Kahan?"