Chapter 6

“Raavi, Shiva tum dono yaha kya kar rahe ho?” Dev asked. 

Raavi pretended like she didn’t expect Dev to be here. Then she left Shiva’s hand and started blushing profusely. 

“Woh... woh hum... hum bas aise hi yaha coffee peene aaye the.” Raavi pretended to be nervous. 

“Overacting ki dukaan.” Shiva muttered to himself. 

“Tum dono ek saath coffee peene aaye the?” Dev asked in disbelief. 

“Haa, iss maami ki behen ki beti ko toh tu janta hai. Ek baar zid karna start karti hai toh manwakei manti hai.” Shiva replied. 

Dev had a hard time believing any of them. He must have heard Shiva saying that he hates this mami ki behen ki beti atleast a hundred times. So why was he here drinking coffee with her? And why was Raavi wearing a dress?

“Tu baith na Dev.” Shiva said. 

“Nahi main woh apne friends ke saath- ”

Before he could finish his sentence, the girl who was with Dev came there. Raavi noticed that she was also wearing a dress. She was also kind of pretty, but most importantly she touched Dev’s arm when she came. Raavi reminded herself that friends touched each other too. 

“Dev kya hua?” She asked, looking at Raavi and Shiva. 

“Rishita, yeh mera bhai hai, Shiva. Aur yeh meri friend, Raavi.” Dev introduced them. “Aur Raavi, Shiva, yeh hai Rishita, meri college friend.”

“Arrey tum wohi Raavi ho na jo Dev ko leke bachpan se obsessed ho?” Rishita asked. 

Raavi didn’t like this one bit. Was this what Dev told his friends about her? It just sounded so bad. Dev tried to tell Rishita to keep quiet and Raavi felt even more humiliated. Did Dev and his friends make fun of her behind her back?

“Bachpan mein toh Dev bhi humari pados waali Jamna kaki se obsessed tha. Jab dekho unke ghar mein milta tha.” Shiva replied. 

Rishita looked surprised and Dev looked embarrassed. Raavi couldn’t believe Shiva just saved her from such a humiliating situation. She gave him a smile. 

“Tum dono hume join karo na.” Dev said. 

“Nahi Dev. Tu apne friends ke saath baith, main Raavi ke saath hu.” Shiva said. 

Raavi couldn’t believe he called her Raavi. It had been years since he called her that! She felt somewhat special when he called her by her name. 

“Okay, see you later Shiva, Raavi.” Rishita smiled and left with Dev. 

Shiva and Raavi’s order came. Raavi took a sip of her cold coffee and it just made her forget everything else. It was wonderful, chocolatey and creamy. 

“Shiva tu try kar na. Bohot achha hai.” Raavi said. 

Shiva took a sip from her glass. “Bohot meetha hai.”

“Waise Dev kya sachhi mein Jamna kaki se obsessed tha?” Raavi couldn’t stop the part of her which loved gossiping. 

“Haa. Mujhe toh aaj tak pata nahi chala ki woh Jamna kaki ke ghar itna kyu jata tha.” Shiva said. 

“Dev ki choice itni kharab thi?” Raavi laughed. 

“Dus saal pehle Jamna kaki itni bhi moti nahi thi.”

“Tujhe bara pata hai...” Raavi teased. 

“Bakwaas mat kar. Meri choice bachpan se ekdum best hai.”

Raavi rolled her eyes. She noticed Dev and his friends leaving. Dev excused himself from his friends and came to meet Shiva, Raavi one more time. 

“Raavi, sorry yaar. Woh Rishita ka aisa kehna ka matlab nahi tha. Woh toh bas mazak kar rahi thi. Tumhe bura laga ho toh sorry.”

“It’s okay Dev.” Raavi smiled. 

“Main nikalta hu.” Dev said. “Tu kab tak ghar aayega Shiva?”

“Aata hu thodi der mein.”

Dev left. Raavi didn’t expect them to be leaving so soon. Otherwise she’d come here earlier. But her coffee was really good and it was getting dark, and the place was looking even more beautiful. The ambience was stunning. Raavi didn’t want to leave so soon. 

“Dev jealous toh nahi hua.” Shiva said. 

Raavi suddenly remembered her plan. She had noticed Dev getting surprised but there was no jealousy on his face. 

“Tu abhi se haar mangle chipkali. Dev tujhse pyaar nahi karta.”

Raavi was annoyed. “Woh jealous hoga kaise? Plan teri wajah se fail jo ho gaya!”

“Meri wajah se?”

“Aur nahi toh kya? Woh jealous kyu hoga? Tu thik se boyfriend waali acting jo nahi kar raha. Thode aur romance ki zaroorat hai par tujhse toh kuch nahi hota.”

Shiva was mad. Here he was doing everything she was asking her to. He even brought her on a date and he had been permanently assigned as her driver. Still, this girl blamed him. Shiva knew he was right when he thought that getting a girlfriend spoilt a man’s life. If this girl wanted more romance, then fine! She desperately needed a reality check to know that Dev wasn’t interested in her. At all. 

“Shiva, yeh jagah kitni khoobsoorat hai!” Raavi exclaimed. “Hum phir aayenge yaha!”

Shiva smiled at her innocence. How could anyone be so innocent especially when she lived with that maami of his? He had finished his coffee and he started eating her fries. She swatted his hands away.

“Mere plate se khana bandh kar.”

“Ae chipkali. Tu jab chahe toh mere plate se khaa sakti hai par main teri plate se nahi khaa sakta?”

Raavi shook her head. “Yeh mera badla hai. Tu kabhi mujhe apna tiffin khane nahi deta tha. Dhara di kya tasty tasty khana bhejti thi aur tu sab akele kha jata tha.”

“Haa toh? Tu bhi toh tiffin lati thi. Apna khana chorke mera khana khane kyu aati thi.”

“Maasi mujhe daily same tiffin deti thi.” Raavi pouted, then she smiled. “Achha chal khaa le. Maine tujhe maaf kiya!” She extended her plate of French fries with him. “Tera boyfriend version waise mujhe bohot pasand hai.”

Shiva blushed hearing that. He had never expected Raavi to say this out of all people. She had no idea what she was saying of course. She was never very appropriate with him and of course, he wasn’t either. 

“Ab chale? Andhera ho chuka hai. Ghar jane mein bhi ek ghanta lagega.” Shiva asked. 

Raavi looked at her phone. It was 7PM. Her curfew was till 7:30PM max. Maasi was going to kill her today. They left as soon as Shiva paid the bill. 

***

Dhara was getting too anxious. Why hadn’t Shiva come home yet? She suddenly heard someone come in but she was slightly disappointed to see it was Dev. She asked him to go change and made tea for him but she wasn’t getting any peace of mind. 

“Kya hua bhabhi? Aap tension mein lag rahi ho.” Dev asked. 

“Nahi nahi Dev. Main woh Shiva ka wait kar rahi hu. Woh pata nahi kaha hai. Bolke bhi nahi gaya aur kabhi itni late nahi karta.” 

“Woh Garden cafe mein tha Raavi ke saath.”

Dhara’s eyes widened hearing that. She went and sat next to Dev. “Raavi ke saath? Dono kya kar rahe the?”

“Baatein kar rahe the I think.” Dev said. 

“Dono akele the? Tum mile unn dono se?” Dhara couldn’t stop her curiosity. 

“Haa dono akele the. Main mila bhi tha.” Dev said. “Mujhe bhi bohot hairani hui dono ko dekhke. Raavi ne kaha dono bas coffee peene gaye the.”

Dhara frowned. Of course, Dev believed whatever Raavi told him. He took things at face value and he had no curiosity when it came to stuff like this. She asked him for more details but he had nothing. So she gave up.   

***

“Raavi!” Prafulla shouted when she finally returned home. It was 8:20 now. “Itni der kaha thi? Woh raakshash yaha kya kar raha tha? Maine dekha use tujhe ghar drop karte hue.” Then she noticed Raavi’s dress and she gasped. “Woh bhi yeh pehenke?”

“Tu Shiva ke saath yeh pehen kar kaha gayi thi?” Anita asked, confused. She knew Raavi had saved this dress for her first date with Dev, yet she was returning home with Shiva. 

“Tu uss jangli Shiva ke saath gayi thi kahi?” Prafulla looked as if she were about to have a heart attack. 

“Garden cafe gayi thi.” Raavi said. 

“Par kyu?” Anita asked. “Woh bhi yeh pehen ke?”

“Date pe gayi thi Anita di. Aur yeh dress date ke liye perfect hai.” Raavi asked

“Tu uss raakshash ke saath date pe gayi thi???” Prafulla definitely was gonna get a heart attack. 

“Haa. Woh mera boyfriend hai.” Raavi said. “Ab aap log mera interrogation bandh kijiye. Main room mein jaa rahi hu. Sone se pehle Shiva se phone pe baat karungi. Mera dinner please room mein bhej dena.”

Raavi knew this was the best way to avoid punishment. Now her Maasi would be obsessing over Shiva rather than her coming late. And it was always fun to irritate her Maasi.

***

Pros of fake dating Shiva-

1. Dev’s brother
2. I trust him. So he won’t take advantage of me 
3. I can go to Pandya House anytime I want
4. I can annoy him!
5. He gave me a chocolate because I couldn’t handle the chilli. 
6. Took a stand for me when Rishita tried to humiliate me. 

She took out her phone and began texting Shiva before she was about to sleep. 

“Dev ne kuch pucha tujhe mere baare mein?”

“Nahi par bhabhi ka sawal khatam nahi ho raha tha. Tere ghar pe sab thik hai?”

“Haa. Maasi toh pagal hi ho gayi hai yeh sunke ki main tere saath date pe gayi thi!”

“Ae gadheri! Maami ko batane ki kya zaroorat thi?”

“Aivayyi!”

“Tu na marwayegi mujhe. Ab zyaada daant mat phar aur mujhe sone de.”

“Goodnight Shiva <3”

“Goodnight.”