Dusk is the deal-breaker

Chapter 4

Only after both of us were left alone in the house, I understood how awkward it could get. I literally started wondering where my hands were supposed to be on my body, for the first few minutes.

Surprisingly, she seemed to be quite comfortable. "So, what do we do now?" She asked. "Umm... Whatever you say," I replied. "Can we make some tea?" she asked. "Yeah sure," I replied, directing her to the kitchen. "Your house is pretty clean and organised, I am quite sure it is not Rakesh's effort," she started the conversation breaking the silence in the kitchen. "Ha, most of the credit goes to me, I am a cleanliness freak," I replied while adding some milk to the boiling tea decoction.

The conversation continued over the tea for an hour, without a break. We got to know about each other's lives briefly. She was a perfect combination of sweet-innocent and humorous-witty. I cherished every minute that I spent with her. I guess, she is felt the same way.

After a while, I suggested we play tennis on my Xbox. We held the consoles, stood side by side and started playing intensely. Halfway through the game, my shoulder accidentally hit hers and she lost her balance by the force. I spontaneously wrapped my hands around her and held her from falling down. It felt like everything around us remained static for a few seconds. We looked into each other's eyes and remained there for a few seconds, which felt like a few hours. I know it sounds cliche but I was left speechless. Awkwardness crept in again and both of us hesitated to talk. "Umm... I'll just be back," she said nervously and headed towards the restroom. I took a few deep breaths to get back to normal. I started getting nervous again when she walked out of the restroom. I didn't know how to behave normally again. She walked towards me, picked up the console and said, "shall we continue?" in a very neutral tone. We continued playing for a while and I was disappointed when the doorbell rang.

Rakesh and his friends returned back home from the movie. "What did you guys do?" Rakesh asked in an interrogative tone, his eyebrow raised. "Nothing much! we played tennis," replied Shraddha. "Nothing much, huh?," Rakesh looked at me suspiciously. We ordered Pizza and started playing cards while we waited. His friends stood up to leave after we finished dinner. I was standing in a corner when Shraddha walked towards me with a big smile and said, "It was nice spending time with you, I had fun." "Same here. Hope to see you around again," I replied while wondering if I should ask her out on a date or at least ask her number. I was nervous about how she would respond, and so, stayed quiet. She looked at me and waited for a few seconds as if she was expecting me to say something. I really wanted to, but I couldn't. She turned away and left looking disappointed.

Why dint you ask her out? You Idiot, coward, I cursed my self the whole night. I was not even sure when I will get to see her again, I grieved and slept on it.