Red Ribbon Of Fate

*Chapter 8* : And things get more awkward

It was certainly one of my lucky days in the clinic. Arya had not only been a good guide but a great friend over the past week. I was given the opportunity to restore a cavity on my own and it came out perfectly. Arya beamed at me, which caused pink to taint my cheeks. That was happening far too often these days. He was very impressed with my work. The patient too, gave me a broad smile as she left. I felt a sense of accomplishment.

" This calls for a treat," he said " And it's all on me."

I protested saying that I could pay too but he told me not to waste my pocket money on such silly things. After all, he was working and I wasn't. That just made me realize how young I was compared to him. Four years wasn't such a big gap, but when it came to having experience, it was a huge deal.

" What sort of treat?" I asked.

" Ice-cream, of course!! " he said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

It was presently 6 in the evening and the closest Natural ice cream parlour was a five minute walk away.
A feeling of excitement coursed through me when I walked beside him. Our arms swinging with a rhythm, our fingertips almost brushing each others'.
The loud sounds of traffic accompanied by the wailing of one little kid who was not getting her way around, all added to the cacophony of noises surrounding us.

We would occasionally glance at each other and the brief eye contact made butterflies flit in my stomach furiously.

We managed to make small talk as we walked. I asked him about his family, if he had any siblings, and which school he studied in. I asked him if he was always in Chennai or if he moved from somewhere else. He told me he had a little sister, in twelfth and that he was born and brought up here.
He asked me about my friends in college and I told him about Nikita,Rahul, Kajal, Meera and Desh.
When I told him about how close Desh and I were, an odd emotion passed over his face, which I later realized was jealousy. Or that's what I imagined.

Once, our hands came very very close to each other and our shoulders brushed. The electric sparks could surely be felt between us. Arya slowly took my hand in is, but kept looking forward even when I turned to stare at him. With a giddy smile on my face I turned back to the front too, swinging our arms.

And that's when Arya turned to stare at me with a small smile and a raised eyebrow. As if asking' what are you doing?'
But I should have been asking that question ' what ARE you doing to my poor heart Arya? What does this all mean?'

But just as soon as we reached the shop, his hands dropped from mine and we were broken from our momentary daze. Arya acted like nothing happened and went to order, after asking me what I wanted. I was a tad bit disappointed at that.

"Ummm... Roasted Almond," I stammered, still unable to look at his face. I still could not get over the effect he had on me.

As we sat at a side table licking our ice-creams, I glanced at him from beneath my lashes. His chin was turned sideways and he was busy observing the piece of modern art on one of the walls. His eyes were wide as though they were trying to figure out the meaning of the painting.

When he realized I was staring at him, he turned his face but I was quick enough to return my gaze back to my ice cream cone.

I felt his eyes on me. There was a palpable tension in the room. My heart was racing, my fingers were clammy, and I really hoped my ice cream cone wouldn't slip out of them. Then I decided that the only way to overlook this was to ignore what was happening and start a conversation. So I looked up, and froze. It was the biggest mistake ever. His gaze was so intense, I felt like a melting puddle of goo.

Then his eyes crinkled and softened and his lips stretched into a dazzling smile, that would have knocked me off my feet if I had been standing.

" You have a little something there," he said pointing to my chin cheekily.

A/N: I know it's cliché but come on these scenes are always cute ;)

I tried wiping it with my napkin but he stopped me.

" No, let me," he said.

I was reminded of all the cliché movie scenes where this happened, the ones which I always watched and cooed at.
I blushed really hard. I couldn't control it this time. He leaned over and brushed his thumb over my chin, and with one swipe, had got it all off.
No, don't go overboard with your imagination. He didn't lick it. He just wiped it on the tissue paper.
I didn't comment about his action. Or anything else. I couldn't. I was literally in shock at how different Arya was behaving with me today.
For a moment I wondered if this was all a dream, and if so, when I would wake up from it.

But then Arya said " Come on, let's leave," and that's when I knew all this had happened and was very much reality.

___________x____________

Hey peeps,
Sorry guys for the really short chapter.
But something finally happened between our two lovebirds. Did you enjoy it?
Don't forget to vote, comment and follow if you are enjoying the story so far :)
Adios amigos,
:) harshini :)