Not Around The Corner

Can't Blow It This Time

“When someone is in your heart, they’re never truly gone. They can come back to you, even at unlikely times.” ~ Mitch Albom

Akash’s POV:

I entered the room and saw Gaurav Kapoor with my boss, Mr. Shroff. I realised, this guy was from my school. Mr. Shroff introduced me to Gaurav. And that is when I saw her. She was standing right behind Gaurav. Rhea Kapoor. ‘So we meet again,’ I thought to myself. She looked more beautiful from the last time I had seen her. Last time she was in a pair of jeans and a casual shirt. She was in a rush and she had taken me by surprise.

She was 5’ 6’’ tall and had long black hair which was now tied up in a high ponytail. She wore a white formal shirt with a black tight knee length skirt. Very professional and very sexy. She had the most beautiful eyes and her smile always took me back to that day when I had first seen her.

“Akash? Man, where have you been?” Gaurav said with a smile, interrupting my thoughts.

“Hey long time,” I replied not really paying attention to him. I glanced at Rhea. She had recognized me. She kept looking at me after every few seconds. I looked at her and smiled. Gaurav introduced both of us and I mouthed a small hello before we resumed with the meeting.

I guessed he didn’t know that we already knew each other. We knew each other since that beautiful rainy day. Trying to get a hold on myself, I got back in the meeting. As we were discussing some points, I could feel her eyes on me. I was tempted to look at her but this meeting was in progress and I didn’t want to make myself too obvious. After a while, when I glanced at her she was taking notes. After two excruciating hours of trying to not look at her continuously we took the lunch break.

As we got to our feet, she rushed out with Gaurav. When we resumed an hour later, she was nowhere to be seen. Another intern was taking notes now, and I felt my mood drop. It was nice having her here and now she had left.

After an hour or so, I excused myself from the meeting. Most of the work was already done. The final talk between my boss and Gaurav was going on and my presence wasn’t needed. I went to get a cup of coffee for myself. As I was making my way back to the conference room, I saw her peering inside the room. Seeing her back here, uplifted my mood.

She was about to knock when I cleared my throat behind her. She turned around and I smiled at her. She smiled her pretty smile. It had been thirteen years since I had first seen her and about four to five years since I had seen her last and she still seemed to take my breath away.

“They have asked everybody to sit out for an hour. They will call you in when needed,” I informed.

“Thank God for your perfect timing,” she replied with a sigh. “Gaurav would have been livid if I would have knocked!”

She was so genuine. And this time I decided I wasn’t going to be a coward. Nobody was given as many opportunities as I had been, to meet such a beautiful girl. This time I was making my move. I wasn’t going to wait around for the right opportunity. There had been too many before and I hadn’t used any of them. From the way she was shying under my gaze, I knew the feeling was mutual. I was going to ask her out soon. I couldn’t afford to blow it this time around.