Amidst the pandemonium created world-wide by Covid-19, Annika is stuck in Toronto, away from home. After her university asks all students to leave the dorms, Annika has nowhere to go, that is until her best friend in India suggests Annika move in wi...
The minute Annika hit the submit button for her last exam, she shut the lid of her laptop and fell back on her bed. Finally, after weeks of stress-induced pimples, sleepless nights, and surviving on coffee, she was done with her finals. Wasting no more time, Annika pulled her duvet close to her chest and fell into a deep slumber. The perfect way to celebrate the end of the semester.
She woke up when it was almost time for dinner. Stretching, she checked the time and decided that her mom must be already awake back in India. After talking to her for a while and lamenting over the fact that she should have been on campus now, packing to go back home, Annika hung up. She decided to go say hi to Shivaay. They hadn't met after that hug last night and so Annika was quite nervous. She walked out into the hall, and found him in the kitchen, preparing dinner.
"Hey," He smiled when he noticed her. "I knocked on your door earlier, but I guess you were sleeping, Miss Kumbhakaran." Annika frowned at the nickname. "How did your exam go?"
"Oh, I think it went great!" Annika replied, settling down on one of the bar stools near the kitchen counter. "Thanks to you."
"That's good," Shivaay grinned. He seemed to be in a good mood, and Annika was relieved to see this side of him after last night's conversation. "So, finally done with exams, huh?"
"Yep," Annika replied, stretching her arms. "Finally done. I can't believe it, actually. It's like the feeling of vacation hasn't sunk in yet."
Shivaay nodded. He was preparing penne arrabbiata and the sauce smelled delicious as he let it simmer in the pan.
"What's your plan for the vacation?"
Annika sighed. Her only plan had been to go back to Mumbai and hibernate for the next 3 months, but that wasn't possible now.
"I really don't know. Now that I'm stuck at home, I might as well apply for online internships, maybe even do a summer semester. But I'll think about all of that later. Vacation has just started and all I want to do right now is sleep, eat, and Netflix."
"Fair enough," Shivaay laughed. As he poured boiled pasta into the sauce, Annika got up to set the plates. She realized how easy it had become recently to be around Shivaay. They had gone from being complete strangers living in the same house, to hating each other's guts, to this. Annika smiled to herself as she placed forks on the table. Her heart was so full of Shivaay right now.
Soon, the two were digging into the delicious pasta prepared by Shivaay. Annika always marveled over how good of a cook he was. It was one of the most important qualities she had always wished for in her dream guy, but Shivaay's skills in the kitchen surpassed anything she could have imagined.
"How did you learn to cook?" Annika asked as she filled her mouth with pasta.
"Well, our parents never cooked, so Om-Ru and I just somehow ended up spending a lot of time in the kitchen. I guess because it was the one place the others would never visit."
Annika looked down at her plate. She couldn't imagine the things the Oberoi kids had had to endure in their childhood. Prinku had always been protected by her brothers and so never had to face the brunt of it like they did.
"Sorry," Shivaay said, making Annika look up. "Didn't want to ruin the mood."
"You didn't," Annika mumbled.
"So, Miss K," Shivaay grinned, making Annika roll her eyes. "Now that you've slept through the day, what will you do to keep yourself busy the whole night?"
"Oh, easy. I have this entire list of movies I plan on watching this summer, so I'll get started on that."
"What's the first one on the list?"
Annika shrugged. "I don't exactly remember. Probably the new Chris Hemsworth movie, Extraction."
"Oh, I've heard it's good. Haven't gotten around to watch it yet, though."
"Do you want to join me?" Annika asked. She was surprised by her own directness, but it was too late now. Shivaay looked at her, considering for a moment.
"Well, I guess I could. It's Saturday tomorrow so I don't really have to wake up early for online meetings."
Annika bit the inside of her cheeks to stop from smiling. After dinner, they washed the dishes and Annika decided to talk to her dad before her movie 'date' with Shivaay. Meanwhile, Shivaay finished off whatever work he had for the day. They met in the living room in half an hour. Settling down on the couch, they played the movie on the 75-inch TV. Five minutes in, Annika suggested they microwave some popcorn, to which Shivaay looked at her in amusement.
"We had dinner like, half an hour ago," He reminded her.
"You don't need to be hungry to have popcorn," Annika stated, moving towards the kitchen already. "And it's essential while watching a movie."
"I think I should call you Miss K and B from now on," Shivaay called out. "Miss Kumbhakaran and Bhukkad."
"How rude!" Annika yelled from the kitchen. When they resumed the movie, Annika looked at Shivaay with a smirk when he reached into the popcorn bowl.
"What? Popcorn is essential while watching a movie," He shrugged, making Annika laugh. Sometime during the movie, Shivaay's phone rang. It was one of his employees from India, seeking clarification on some deal. He kept the conversation short and apologized to Annika. A few minutes later, his secretary called because of some other work.
"And listen, Mishra," he said after they were done speaking about work, "don't call me again for a few hours, okay? I'm busy."
Saying that, he hung up. From the corner of her eyes, Annika saw him put his phone on silent, throw it aside, and focus his entire attention on the movie and her.
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