My Tom-Boy Girlfriend

#3 : First Date

Raghav's POV

🎶🎶
You're turning heads when you walk through the door
Don't need make-up to cover up
Being the way that you are is enough

Everyone else in the room can see it
Everyone else but you

Baby, you light up my world like nobody else
The way that you flip your hair gets me overwhelmed
🎶🎶

          For the on-lookers, I must have looked like a joker with a wide smile on my face for no reason at all;  but they didn't know that I was beaming in my glory. With my cappuccino in my hand, I went ahead looking for a suitable place to sit. Just then my eyes fell on the pixie-haired person and the empty chair in front of her. My legs automatically took me to that place but I was standing in between two rows and hesitant on whether to sit with her or not. I saw someone walk past me, I literally pounced to reach "the" chair, thinking my chair would be taken. A sudden rush of blood was within me and I felt if my performance was being rated, I was not just "meeting the expectations" but I was "exceeding the expectations".

"Oh man! I'm again making the same blunder as in the morning". I had already sat in the chair in front of Ms. Sneakers but forgot my courtesy. She was looking into her purse below the table so she mustn't have noticed anything, so it was OK, I reassured myself. 

"Hi! Sorry I forgot to ask if you are expecting someone to join you here." 

She looked up and adjusted her spectacles, "Uh?... No, you may take it." 

Thank God, I heaved a sigh of relief. Now I had to make the next move nice-n- smooth, before it becomes too late and looks like the "forced conversations" people have with the elders. 

"Oh ! Hey ! I'm Raghav, I think we met each other today morning?", trying to be as casual as I could and hoping I had delivered my dialogue of a sudden realization with conviction.

"Uh?" she said with a what-the-hell kind of a look and turned towards the Television on her left, trying to ignore me.

I realized if I try to be uber cool and try all kinds of stuffs, nothing is gonna happen. So I decided the best way is to be honest and pour my heart out, but obviously in a decent way.

"Yes, seriously !", swaying my body slightly to be face-to-face with her. 

"Don't you remember the morning dash while swiping the card at the floor? ...You may not remember me, but how can I forget my savior of the day"

        That caught her attention and she turned toward me. It was like those 5 penalty shootouts the team gets in a FIFA match to decide the winner and each time she gave a positive response, it was like a score for me.

I went on ,"Sorry and THANK YOU!"

Her first reply, "Both? Sorry and Thanks?"

"Thank you was for being my savior for opening the door and saving me from my man-eater manager." She giggled and I was like, I'm on the right track, just keep going. 

"If it wasn't for you, it would be Hell for me, today and for the next few days ; not only from my manager but from my clients too. Escalations after escalations, meetings after meetings and still the pending work lying right just there, in front of my eyes", I smirked. I didn't know while talking about my day's tension, I would be so involved and animated with so much hand gestures.

        She gave a reassuring smile that said I-have-been-there and I-can-understand. I guess everyone can relate to the escalation and meeting round-the-clock in the IT world.