Rediscover

10. unconventional

I glanced at the glass doors that lead to the beach and then looked at Akash. My earlier excitement was gone—extinguished. I raised a shaky hand and pushed a strand of hair behind my ears before meeting his gaze.

"Just give me a minute." I said, inclining my head towards the ladies' room.

He nodded.

I scurried off to the washroom, sighing in relief once the door closed behind me. Blissfully, no one was inside. I closed my eyes and stood before the mirror, taking in a deep breath before opening them again.

My face looked devoid of any colour and I wished I had my make-up with me. I pinched my cheeks and chastised myself for my lapse of judgement. My eyes had been outlined with a stroke of the eyeliner and my lashes were curled. I had opted for a nude lipgloss over my favourite dark red lipstick. Sighing, I fixed my dress—a pretty white piece with two shafts of fabric that covered my breasts, running down to the clinched waist that was adorned with a black satin bow on one side. The skirt flowed down to my knee—the material slightly translucent. I loved the feel of soft cotton over my skin. Soft white cotton—innocent yet sinful.

The dress had a bare-back held up with thin cross-cross straps. It would probably be a little chilly, but I loved it.

I tried to forget my previous phone call and smiled at the mirror. It came out all wrong. Sighing, I groaned under my breath, "What the hell am I doing."

Not giving myself another minute to start thinking, I checked if I had my black cardigan and purse before heading out again.

I wanted to go back to my room. I was in no mood to go out after talking to Jack. We had too many memories and I didn't want to disrespect him like this. But as Akash came to view—his posture relaxed as he leaned against the bar, wearing a loosely fitted white shirt and black shorts, I couldn't shrug off the slow thrill of excitement that came with acquainting myself with someone new. With him.

His gaze flitted to mine and a brilliant smile lit up his face. He wasn't grinning, yet he looked buoyant, carefree.

"Ready?" He enquired, straightening.

I gave him a nod as he urged me forward resting his hand at the small of my back. His touch was foreign and it took me a while to get used to the feel of his large hand on my back. We headed towards the part of the beach where the lights were brighter with countless number of tents set up.

All around me, there were lights. Bright fairy lights entwined around rods, hanging from the roofs of the canvas. The place had everything: from carnival games, food, tiny stalls. I looked around, awestruck.

The ocean grumbled on one side—its sound subdued by the chattering around us. The place was filled with people. And everyone's face held a smile. The two of us weaved through the crowd, our eyes scanning the stalls. I stopped short when something caught my eye. Turning to face Akash, I threw him a grin before pointing at the stall. His gaze drifted to the most amazing place in the world—

The chaat stall.

Excitedly, I took his hand and pulled him towards the stall. I could hear his laughter despite the noise that surrounded us and I smiled involuntarily.

We spent the next twenty minutes feasting on chaat after chaat. I had started off with bhel puri when the vada paav called to me. After that, I ended with good old paani puri. When we left the chaat stall, my stomach was already full but Akash insisted we drink some coke to get rid of the heaviness.

So we walked by the beach, holding our respective cans of coke. We still had a lot to see. They had set up a temporary amusement park with Ferris wheels, swings and the like. At a distance away, a stage was being set up and people had already begun to arrive.