small steps | drabble series ✔️

11

Like the last time, Shivaay was already waiting outside the café as Annika arrived. He got up and to her surprise, placed a kiss on her cheek.

"You look lovely," He said, making her blush turn a deeper red.

"Thank you," Annika replied with a shy smile.

"So, how have you been?"

Annika told him all about how life had been for her in the past three years. How she had traveled to different parts of the country with her friends, how she had almost failed one course before topping it in the finals, how she had done an internship with a publishing house last summer. She told him about her future plan of completing her masters in Mumbai itself while working with Penguin House India simultaneously, from where she had already gotten a job offer. Her dream was to open her own publishing house someday.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, I've been rambling on about myself," Annika apologized, embarrassed. "How have you been?"

"I've been great, actually," Shivaay said, taking a sip of his espresso. "Did my masters in Cambridge, then returned back to Mumbai to take over the company as CEO. It's been hard but... I love it."

"That's amazing," Annika smiled, genuinely happy for him. They fell into silence.

"Look, Annika," Shivaay suddenly said, setting down his coffee cup and crossing his fingers over the table. He was looking into her eyes intently, apprehensively. "I wanted to tell you something. I...I've liked you for a very long time."

"L-liked me?" Annika asked with wide eyes.

"Yeah, liked you. And not just as a friend but...in an I-want-you-to-be-my-girlfriend kind of way," He said with a low chuckle, as if trying to dispel the nervousness he felt. "Since, you know. Since I lived in Boston."

"Wow," Annika mouthed, not quite sure how to respond. Her long-time crush telling her that he's liked her for a long time was not a scenario college had prepared her for.

"Yeah. I don't want to make it awkward for you," Shivaay said with an embarrassed smile. "But I just wanted to let you know. In fact, I'd wanted to tell you when I lived here, three years ago. But things didn't work out. For one, you were much younger, just starting college, while I was leaving Boston. I didn't think long-distance would work with both of us being so busy. And I also had a girlfriend who just wouldn't take the hint that I wanted to break up with her until I had to dump her myself. And also...I'm rambling. Sorry."

"No, no, go on," Annika said, biting the insides of her cheeks to keep the smile from appearing.

"I didn't know if you liked me back. When you stopped texting, I lost hope. But now, being back in the same place and it finally being the right time with both of us shifting back to Mumbai...I just had to let you know about my feelings."

Annika didn't say anything, still reveling in all that he had said, but Shivaay seemed to take it in the wrong way.

"You-you don't have to answer. I get it. It was stupid of me to just appear out of nowhere after 3 years and expect you to like me back. I'll just-"

"I don't want my parents to find out just now," Annika interrupted nonchalantly, taking a sip of her latte. "Or any of our family members to find out. And I want to take it slow."

Shivaay blinked, not quite sure what she meant. Until...

"Wait," He asked slowly, his eyes wide with hope, "So that's a yes?" 

Annika giggled.

"I've liked you for four years now, Oberoi. Of course it's a yes."