To Love Or Not To Love| A FEATURED STORY

Chapter 5

Ajay found Anya gaping at him and apologizing through his watery eyes.

"I'm so sorry, Mr Mullapudi, I did not expect you. I thought it was that scumbag who nearly assaulted me."

He still felt a little sore, where her knuckle connected with his jaw, "That's fine. It was my mistake. I shouldn't have crept behind you."

"Unfortunately that's true. Still, I'm sorry. Shall I get you some ice, or maybe a cold bottle of water for the bruise?"

Her stricken expression amused him, and the corner of his lips quirked up.

"Nah, I'm good. Where did you learn to punch like that? It was a good one," he muttered, his expression a mixture of amusement, admiration, and disbelief.

She only smiled in return, instantly getting over her earlier predicament. She was, however, glad that he wasn't fussy about it.

Again, he was struck with her smile, as she had a heart-melting one and kept looking at her in amazed silence. He felt he could do anything to make her smile like that and somehow wanted all her smiles for himself. He was not sure where these thoughts were coming from and mildly shook his head to clear them.

She turned back to look for her friends. She was puzzled of Samantha's whereabouts —that girl usually followed wherever she went.

"Looks like your friends ditched you," Ajay commented, standing very close to her.

She looked up, "I think so. I must leave now. It is pretty late. I better book an Uber. Catch you later, Mr Mullapudi."

She was happy to find her sling bag on her and pulled her phone from it. It also contained apartment keys, her debit cards and some cash. She even remembered putting a small bottle of water and chocolate bar in there.

"It's Ajay," he mumbled.

Anya looked at him questioningly. He sighed and repeated, "Please call me Ajay".

He, briefly, mused where his charm had gone off. He was mumbling and stammering like an adolescent in her presence.

"Would you mind if I drop you instead of a cab?" he asked her, as usual taking control of the situation.

Anya was in a dilemma. Though she had been leaning about him, there were a lot of things she didn't know. She was not sure if she could trust him enough to accompany him.

He noticed her hesitation and calmly insisted, "Anya, I promise nothing untoward will happen to you, and I'll take you home safely."

His penetrating gaze and grave voice somehow reassured her.

"Did you drink, today?"

"No, I did not drink today," he added as she followed him out of the pub.

He handed over his ticket to the valet to get his car out of the parking lot. While they waited for the car, they were silent —immersed in their private thoughts. It was a clear cloudless night, and surprisingly Anya could see the stars. Bangalore was a cosmopolitan city filled with skyscrapers, the city that never slept. The nights here were no longer dark enough to have her fill with the stars.

She hailed from a small town but was from a prosperous family. Her parents were scholars and had a laid-back attitude. They had never wished to earn more than that was required. They dedicated a lot of time to intellectual pursuits than materialistic comforts. 

She was always surrounded by books, books and more books. She had read enough of these to know the differences between a small town and a big, happening city like Bangalore. She wanted to leave that town, live in a metro and experience something different.