My Last First Love

~9~

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Few days later

Arun and Vivek were sitting in a cozy corner of a nearby bookstore. The day had been long, and Vivek had dragged Arun along to help him pick out some books for his sister. Arun initially resisted, but Vivek's constant nagging got the better of him. Now, they were sitting among the quiet hum of readers, surrounded by the scent of old pages and freshly brewed coffee.

As they sat inside, the sound of rain suddenly began to patter against the windows. Arun, who was staring out at the rain, noticed the door open. His eyes widened in surprise. The person who walked in was none other than Sangeeta, half-soaked from the rain. Arun couldn't take his eyes off her.

Vivek, ever observant, noticed the change in Arun's demeanor. "Well, well, who do we have here?" he whispered, nudging Arun with a grin. But Arun was too busy in watching Sangeeta to respond.

Sangeeta, with her clothes slightly clinging to her, looked around the bookstore, seemingly searching for something. She found an empty chair near Arun and sat down with a sigh, completely unaware of his gaze fixed on her. She searched through her bag, looking for an umbrella, her irritation clear as she came up empty-handed.

Arun couldn't help but smile at her little display of frustration. There was something undeniably charming about her when she was irritated. The way her brows furrowed, the slight pout of her lips—it all made her seem even more adorable to him.

Finally, she let out a deep sigh and gave up on her search. She turned to look out the window, lost in her thoughts, while Arun continued to look at her. Time seemed to stand still for him as he sat there, completely entranced.

Suddenly, Sangeeta stood up. She left her bag on the chair and started walking towards the door. Arun was startled by her sudden movement, his eyes following her as she headed outside. She walked straight into the rain and stopped in the middle of the street, letting the rain pour down on her.

Arun smiled as he watched her. She seemed so free, so alive, as she enjoyed the rain. Her hair clung to her face and body, and her lips glistened as the rainwater dripped off them. Arun couldn’t tear his gaze away from her, completely mesmerized.

"Arun," Vivek’s voice broke through his thoughts. "You’re staring at her like you’ve never seen a woman before."

Arun snapped back to reality, his face flushing slightly. "What? No, I’m not," he said, a little too defensively.

"Right," Vivek teased, "Man, you’re going to burn a hole through her with that intense gaze of yours."

Arun snapped out of his trance and glared at Vivek. Embarrassed, he quickly looked around, trying to distract himself. But when he glanced back outside, he noticed that everyone else was also watching Sangeeta. She looked stunning, completely soaked, and the way everyone was staring at her made Arun feel a pang of jealousy.

Without thinking, Arun got up, grabbed an umbrella from the stand, and picked up Sangeeta’s bag. He didn’t know what he was doing, but he felt a strong urge to do something.

"Where are you going?" Vivek called after him, but Arun was already halfway to the door.

Arun stepped outside, opening the umbrella as the rain continued to pour. As soon as he walked out, Sangeeta turned to look at him. Her eyes met his, and time seemed to freeze for a moment. Arun’s heart raced as her wide, surprised eyes locked onto his. The rain had made her look even more stunning, and now, for the first time, she was looking directly at him.

He swallowed hard, trying to steady his nerves as he approached her. Her eyes were shining, the rain making her lashes clump together in a way that made her gaze even more striking. His heart pounded so loudly in his chest that he was sure she could hear it. He opened the door and stepped out into the rain, his heart pounding in his chest.

When he reached her, he handed her the umbrella and her bag, their eyes still locked. Sangeeta looked at him with a mix of surprise and curiosity (conversation in the 4th part "First Encounter"), Arun turned and walked away quickly, not knowing why he did what he did.

He was halfway back to the bookstore when he heard Sangeeta call out to him, "Wait!"

Arun stopped for a brief moment, looked back at her, then quickly started running again, his heart racing even faster now.

He returned to the bookstore after sometime but stopped short when he saw Vivek grinning at him from the doorway of the bookstore. "Smooth move, Romeo," Vivek teased, clapping him on the back.

Arun glared at him, but there was no real heat in it. "Shut up," he mumbled. Even though he hadn’t said much, just seeing her up close had made his day.

"Seriously, man," Vivek said, his tone softening, "you should talk to her. You can’t keep admiring her from afar like this. You’re going to drive yourself crazy."

As they headed back into the bookstore to finish up, Arun couldn’t help but glance back at the street where Sangeeta had just disappeared.

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Stay tuned for the next part...☺️

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