On the Brink of falling in Love (On Hold)

"Was waiting for you to ask me properly"

~ Tere dil mein meri saanson ko panaah mil jaye ... tere ishq mein meri jaan fanaa ho jaye ~

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Srishti stood still as the call went blank. Akash had not let her utter a word. She mentally sighed and thought of handling him in the evening and returned to concentrate on her work. She briskly walked to the pantry. She definitely needed coffee. No two thoughts on it. She completed her work by four and submitted the files to her senior. She was asked to wait so that he could review the files and let her know of corrections, if any.

She sat back in her cubicle thinking of how she was going to face Akash. As the time came closer, she felt more nervous. What was she going to tell him? Of course, a yes. But how was she going to say that? She put these thoughts behind as her senior called her to his cabin. She was relieved when he told her that the files were perfect and needed no changes. She wished him for the weekend and walked back to her table to pack her stuff for the day.

As she zipped her bag, she looked up to see the office clock. Twenty minutes to five. She started debating whether she should wait for twenty minutes or just leave. But what if Akash was serious and did come once she leaves? It would be so disrespectful of her to do something like that. And then, what would she tell her parents? She hadn't told them anything about Akash's call or meeting him. The sound of the elevator bell brought her out of her thoughts. She smiled at the receptionist and walked out of the building, only to see Akash standing against a bike, fiddling with his phone.

She mentally drooled at his figure. He was dressed in a rugged pair of denims and a white collared tee with half-sleeves, his toned arms on display to onlookers. He had completed his look with sport sneakers and messy hair. She walked towards him, in a trance, attracted like a bee to honey.

Akash was too engrossed in his phone that he did not notice his girl till she came close enough and stood opposite him. He immediately slipped his phone into his pocket and stood straight, giving her one of his killer smiles. He took in her appearance as his gaze moved over her from the top till her feet. She was dressed in white floral full sleeve top and black skinny jeans. Her hair open, face glowing with a natural radiance, minimal accessories of simple ear drops and a watch dangling on her wrist, she had completed her chic look with a pair of black wedges.

"You look breathtakingly beautiful, Srishti" he gushed into her ears, making her go weak in her knees.

"Thanks, you look good too", she managed to reply, taking a few steps backwards in order to maintain a decent gap between them.

"Hope you didn't have to wait for long..." Srishti stuttered as she looked into his eyes.

"Honestly, umm...yes. I have been waiting since four", Akash replied in a hesitant voice, scratching the back of his neck sheepishly.

"What? Why that early? You had told me five, right. Then why did you come at four? And even if you did, why didn't you call me? I would have had you seated in the lounge of my office. Why were you standing out all this while?" she continued to rant. This guy had officially lost it! He could have called her. Why did he have to be so difficult?

"You look more pretty when you're angry. And I don't know if you've realised it" he paused and she raised her eyebrows in question.

"You look straight into my eyes when you're mad at me", he flicked his forefinger against her nose as he continued "And I absolutely love it."

And that was the final pull. Srishti immediately lowered her gaze, her eyelids shut tightly against each other as she bit on her lower lip out of embarrassment. Looking at her flushed face, Akash couldn't resist his urge to pull her cheeks. She took in a deep breath as she felt his long fingers pulling her cheeks on either side, his laughter rolling into the surroundings.