To Love Or Not To Love| A FEATURED STORY

Chapter 19

"Did they leave?" Sanjay asked Anu as soon as he woke up from his restorative nap. He was more than refreshed and took a deep breath. Power naps anywhere between an hour and an hour and half helped him combat his usually sleep deprived state.

"Yeah."

"That's better. I hope they resolve whatever is going on between them. Coming to think of it, it was all pointless. Both are so stubborn and proud."

Anu nodded in agreement and enquired, "Did you sleep for real then?"

"Yes, I had a power nap, and that'll hold good till night."

"Power naps? Night owl? programming? What do you do for a living Sanjay?" Anu asked him, intrigued by his nocturnal activities.

He was dressed in a very old pair of jeans which were washed too many times and in an unremarkable but comfortable T-shirt. He paired it with sneakers which had seen better days.

Anu surmised that he had scrubbed up rather well than the last time she had met him, since his hair looked better, and he was clean-shaven. It was difficult to place his profession in such attire. He looked like a nerd from modest backgrounds.

"Nothing interesting. I'm a hacker more precisely ethical hacker."

"Wow, no wonder you sounded so knowledgeable when you spoke to Ajay this morning."

She smiled pleasantly at him. His eyes widened subtly at her beauty. She was gorgeous in a maroon, floral top, skinny dark blue jeans and some kind of hiking shoes.

"It was nothing. I must say you asked some valid questions."

A tell-tale blush adorned his cheeks which he tried to contain. He wondered why at all he was blushing, could be because of the way she smiled or the way she kept looking at him. Often making direct eye contact, being warm and open.

If he didn't know better, he would think she was trying to flirt with him. He wondered if she was indeed flirting with him.

As per the schedule, the ground staff had brought in tea, coffee and certain refreshments to the hut. While both of them indulged in those, conversation flowed freely without a moment of awkwardness with occasional lingering glances.

Things drifted to serious topics about Sanjay's dad, and Anu was surprised to find that he was homeschooled from sixth grade and only went to engineering college at the insistence of his mother. She too divulged about her divorce at a surface level and quickly changed the subject.

She realised that he was a kind and a caring person but was too practical for her taste. His life was only filled with his father's illness though his mother tried to give him something normal by sending him to college.

"How is your mother doing? I heard from Anya that she wasn't keeping well."

"She is fine, or else both of us wouldn't have left her alone at all. But she needs to work on certain things at her own pace. It was a nasty scare, took us by surprise."

"Hmm, hmm, I understand. I'm a pro at knowing all about such scary surprises," he dismissed. Being practical bordering almost on being cynical was not something Anu agreed upon. Though her life had many downs, she was an optimistic person and wouldn't have made it through tough times without it. She kept her thoughts aside and changed the subject.

All through the conversation, Anu felt very comfortable around Sanjay. Post Rajendra she could seldom stand men other than being extremely professional. Sanjay was unlike them. She understood that he was not that naïve a guy she initially supposed. He was sure shy, at times, but she did not doubt that he would go from being meek to being in charge in a split second.