To Love Or Not To Love| A FEATURED STORY

Chapter 3

The choices humans make dictate their fate, and Anya had made one such choice. All this time, she was merely observing Ajay as a distant spectator, not bold enough to approach him directly. Not that she lacked confidence, it was just that Ajay was intimidating, and his established player ways put her on guard.

She was still in two minds, if she should go ahead, and somehow introduce herself, or if she should look for a different person altogether. People may or may not take the best courses of action while drunk.

She was not too drunk to have lost in a drunken haze. She had her wits about her, yet, her actions were impulsive. This might not be the most reliable of her judgments. Of late, most of her decisions were not sound —like refusing to believe the clear signs with Karthik.

Her impetuous action to buy Ajay a drink had earned his undivided attention. She hid behind her cell phone screen, observing him as usual from her peripheral vision. Usually, his gaze never wavered from his cronies. Today, he threw one too many glances her way. She must say, she was quite good at being obscure, and at the same time ashamed of her activities. Anything to take her mind off Karthik was worth it.

Ajay took special care not to be obvious, and that struck her odd. Who wouldn't boast about getting a drink from a woman? The minute she requested the bartender her order, she dreaded being ridiculed among his colleagues, but now she could vouchsafe for his respectability and grace. That added to the long list of his other fine qualities.

She saw his colleagues slowly vacate the place. She wondered if he would, at the very least, thank her for the drink, then shrugged and left for the exit. 

Anya was on the sidewalk, waiting for her cab when she felt a looming presence behind her.

She turned around and was startled for a moment. She quickly recouped, took in his tall form and piercing brown eyes.

Brown being the common eye-colour for most people from the Indian subcontinent, it was not remarkable. However, his wide, deep-set eyes and prominent brow line added to the attractiveness.

She was glad to not to have lost her senses and act dumb. Instead, she gave him a slow, appreciative smile which lit her up from within. He was a handsome man and up close, he looked all the more incredible. And then, he smiled back!

Anya knew the effect the smile was having on her. Nevertheless, she was determined to not to be a simpering miss before him.

"Hi, Ms Anya! Am I right?" his not so deep but sexy voice, added to the overall package of the damn sex god that he was.

Anya wondered if her hyper-awareness of him was the reason for feeling that way, and she chuckled within herself at her silliness.

"Hello, Mr.Ajay Mullapudi. Anya Rao here. I'm glad to meet you."

She extended her hand and gave him a firm handshake though she was quivering within. His warm and surprisingly soft hand engulfed her dainty one. She was correct in her assessment he took care of himself as she could see perfectly manicured fingers. There was not a better turn on than a well-groomed man.

There was an extended pause when both their gazes locked. As Anya studied him admiringly, Ajay too did not miss the opportunity to appraise her with his calculating eyes. He placed her around 25-26 years of age. She was quite tall in her flat sandals. Her firm handshake and clear black eyes spoke volumes about her self-assurance.

And then she smiled! Ajay observed that she was not overtly beautiful, but her smile did wonders to her otherwise normal looks. With neatly combed black shoulder-length hair that she wore in a ponytail—without any crazy highlights or inexplicable hair colour that most people seemed to prefer these days— presentable work clothes and sensible footwear, she was a professional incarnate.

She did not seem the type to take a tumble with a random stranger, and he wondered why she had approached him. It could be the same reason as she stated in the message, just for the pleasure of meeting him. He did have a reputation after all. He thought he was slightly getting ahead of himself and being a conceited ass.

Her dress and rest of her did not speak of money. She had a polished Indian English diction, perhaps a city-born girl with decent educational background, a competent job and possibly from an upper-middle-income family? Her smile was arresting, and she lit up from within which somehow warmed his heart. Heart, he thought he forgot having one. He mocked himself and cleared his head. He needed to keep his wits about him to know about this mystery female.

All of a sudden, he remembered and muttered, "Thank you for the drink order. I was surprised to receive it out of the blue."

She smiled at him again, "Believe me, even I'm surprised."

Again her honest words made him curious to know more about her. Amusement danced in her eyes as if she was enjoying a private joke, and she looked away for a bit. When she met his eyes again, she said, "I saw you here and came to know about you. I didn't know how to approach you, though. I just hope I did not freak you out."

"Nah, you didn't. This is a safe place to hang out. So what do you do?" he asked.

"I'm a data analyst from XYZ technologies. I work nearby."

At that point, an Uber approached them, revved its engine and stopped right next to the pavement.

Anya bent down to inquire if it was for her and turned around to take leave of Ajay, "Well, that's my cab there. I'll see you around?"

"Sure. Will do."

"It was nice talking to you," and as an afterthought, she added, "I must say you look good tonight. Blue suits you. Bye."

"Thank you and take care, Anya," he waved her away and ordered driver services from an app to take him home in his car.

All through the ride to his apartment, he kept going back to the unusual encounter. It was too surreal for him, and at the same time, he couldn't dismiss it. She was nothing like the women who often fawned over him at such places.

Her confident stance, honest words and beautiful smile had floored him. There was something grounded about her. She was one fascinating woman he wanted to meet again. Talk about the first impressions, she truly struck a chord with him, whether it was all an act or not depended if at all they met the next time.

He also thought that he was reading too much into a simple six-line conversation. By now, she could be asleep, forgetting about the whole meeting. But, he felt that they would meet again and soon.

On another side of the city, contrary to what Ajay assumed, Anya was recollecting every minute of their time together. Though it was a reckless move, the end was satisfactory.

She must admit other than the silent stalking she did, she was herself, before him. She couldn't pretend like someone else, and she could never act like that.

She was disconcerted, and she was ashamed of her stalking too. But then, information was wealth, and it was better this way. She could make a conscious decision about him with most of the facts lying open on the table. He was still a closed book. She knew nothing about his private life and again questioned why she went to such lengths to know about him? Of course, it provided a very good distraction from Karthik's thoughts and all the self-pity.

She wanted to have fun and have a no-strings-attached relationship with someone. She wouldn't mind taking whatever Ajay had to offer, and it was what he offered. However, this attitude was highly conflicting with her ethos and family values. She never imagined entering a relationship for fun.

Karthik ruined her for the worse. Though she suppressed her feelings about Karthik, somehow they resurfaced and caught her off-guard. She invested six years of her time and feelings for him, out of which the last four years were on a different plane. She thought he was her happily ever after, and her naïve belief in Cinderella love stories caused her downfall.

Now she was not anymore a daydreamer, dreaming about knights in shining armour. For once, she wanted to live recklessly and chose Ajay for that purpose. She hoped her plan would work, and she could get away scot-free from this.

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