Crush in My Heartbeat!

Pinch your cheeks

This was our first night together after the shift in our relationship. What would happen?

Aadhira asked, "Will I get a glass of milk?"

I laughed, "Why? You're someone who drinks alcohol, so why milk today?"

Aadhira made a cute face and said, "That's you! Always intoxicated, I'm just an innocent girl."

"Are you doing this on purpose, or do you want me to pinch your cheeks and turn them into a Bhatura (puffed-up poori)?"' I teased.

"No, I'm already cute!" Aadhira replied, overacting.

"You want milk? I'll give it to you. After that, be quiet, no drama." I said, standing up to put the milk.

"Be quiet? There should be something special tonight" Aadhira hinted.

Oh God! I thought to myself, please stop, Aadhira, not tonight. Not today. I'm not ready.

I avoided looking at her. I was scared. After a while, Aadhira came up behind me and hugged me, her hands wrapping around my waist.

"You had a crush on me for so many years, that's impossible to believe. I kept giving you hints. Why didn't you ever say anything?"

"Because your hints felt like flirting, and I was always too tired to deal with them. There were moments where I felt like my nose would start bleeding from the effort of pretending to be your best friend. It was really hard." I said.

 She is smiling sweetly before giving my shoulder a quick kiss.

"You never felt like giving in hint?" she asked.

"I felt like hitting you! We never acted like just best friends." I showed little.

'Oh really? I didn't know that. I thought you could do anything with a best friend,' Aadhira teased back.

I handed her the milk in a glass and said, "Here you go."

"I'll need energy tonight, so add some turmeric to it too."

Energy? What do you mean, Aadhira? My throat was dry. Even if I prayed to all the gods in the world, I felt like no one could stop Aadhira tonight.

I went straight to bed and pretended to sleep. Meanwhile, Aadhira stood quietly on the balcony. I thought she would come and annoy me, but she stayed there. I couldn't sleep either. This wasn't the right moment. I went over to Aadhira to talk.

"You're here? Didn't sleep?" she asked.

"What happened? You seem sad."

"No, I'm not sad."

"You can't hide your tears from me. I'm your girlfriend now. I have two roles—best friend and girlfriend."

"And a crush." Aadhira added with a smile.

"Yeah, but don't change the subject. Tell me what's wrong."

"Don't worry about me, I'm fine."

"So many nakhare (tantrums)? Aadhira, tell me, or else... you'll sleep on the sofa."

"Fine! Listen, when I met my dad after being away for so long, he was so happy with his new family, as if he had forgotten me. Why do people forget the ones they once loved? Does this happen to everyone?"

"Did your dad leave you?"

"Hmm. His business wasn't doing well, and he was sinking into depression. Mom would nag him daily, calling him a failure & looser. They fought all the time, and I'd get stuck in the middle. Then Dad left. But even after he was gone, she started drinking more, though.