Chapter 1: Heartbreak and a Surprise

5 years ago

The.Wanderer

@The.Wanderer

Vibha Sharma was sitting in her living room with her head in her hands.

“I lost the chance,” she thought dejectedly.

She had just gotten off the phone with her best friend, who informed that her that he had finally

mustered up the courage to ask his crush out on a date. She had had a crush on him for ages now

but had never said anything because she didn’t want things to get weird between them. And now he

was on his way to her place to gush about some stranger.

Now if she was a teenager, she would have listened to Tears Drops on my Guitar by Taylor Swift on

the loop. But, since she was a twenty-six-year-old grown woman she decided to be a good friend and

share his happiness.

Just then the doorbell rang and she opened the door to find Rohan Kapoor, her best friend standing

there, looking elated. She gave him a falsely bright smile and ushered him inside. She glanced at the

clock and saw that he was ten minutes late.

“Rule number one, never be late on your first date,” she told him.

“But it’s only...”

“You said she is a successful girl. No successful person would like tardiness,” she cut off his

argument. “She would appreciate if you reach before her. Rule number two, NEVER sit before she

does. Although we can pull up our chairs, women appreciate a little bit of chivalry. Don’t overdo it

though,” Vibha continued.

Rohan nodded meekly as he waited for Vibha to join him on the sofa. She didn’t.

“So, what are you planning for tomorrow?” she asked him in a would-be bright voice.

“You tell me,” he said.

“Shall I also go on that date tomorrow?” Vibha asked as she poured him some water.

“No, unless you are suddenly into girls. She is smoking hot, let me tell you,” Rohan replied cheekily.

“Rohan!” she exclaimed exasperatedly.

“Ummm okay, I was thinking of carrying a bunch of flowers...” Rohan was interrupted by Vibha’s

gasp.

“Whoa! Time out! A bunch of flowers, huh? Can you get a little more cheesy than that? Maybe carry

a bunch of heart-shaped balloons and while you are at it, why don’t you go ahead and buy a fluffy,

heart-carrying teddy-bear with ‘Love of my Life’ written on it?”

“Why are you being so mean?” Rohan asked in a hurt voice.

Vibha softened her tone a bit. For a moment intense jealously flared within her at the thought of

Rohan gifting someone else flowers.

“Sorry. Look, you can’t go on your first date with a bunch of flowers without first knowing if she

likes them. You can’t just assume that she will like flowers, right? She might be phobic or allergic to

flowers for all you know,” Vibha explained.

“Come on Vibs, who the hell is scared of flowers?” Rohan scoffed.

“Anthophobia is a very real thing, Rohan,” said Vibha, stubbornly.

“Well, I have it on authority that she loves flowers and would like nothing better than to be gifted a

bunch,” said Rohan.

When Vibha looked at him suspiciously, he elaborated, “ Look, she pretends to be this no-nonsense,

badass person, which she is obviously, but underneath that tough exterior is an extremely romantic

heart that loves flowers.”

“Sure?” Vibha asked him uncertainly because for a moment it felt like he was describing her.

He nodded in affirmative. “Why, will you mind it if I give her flowers?”

“Why should I mind? Gift her an entire florist shop if you want,” Vibha rushed to the kitchen to

escape his amused look.

“Are you jealous Vibs?” he called after her. He followed her to the kitchen and repeated the

question.

“Flowers are our thing, Rohan,” Vibha mumbled. “You don’t gift flowers to anyone else.”

“But she loves flowers, Vibsy,” he pleaded.

“Okay, then let’s practise how you will give them to her,” Vibha tried to continue without looking too

affected. She grabbed a bunch of mint leaves lying on her kitchen counter and offered it to him. He

took it uncertainly.

“Let’s pretend this is a bunch of flowers. Give this to me.”

Rohan passed the bunch to her.

“Eye contact Rohan,” Vibha said exasperatedly.

“Ummm okay.” Rohan gave her an intense look and disarming smile before offering her the bunch of

mint leaves.

Vibha was mesmerised by his stare for a moment. She had butterflies in her stomach and her legs

felt like jelly at that moment. She felt herself blush under his intense stare. She accepted it looking

dazed.

“So, did I get it right?” Rohan asked her eagerly.

“Huh? Yeah... yeah, you were okay,” she replied and busied herself with cutting potatoes.

“Just okay?” he persisted.

“You need to tone down the intensity a bit. We don’t want the poor girl melting on the very first

date,” Vibha replied.

“Did you melt?” Rohan asked mischievously.

“No!” she replied.

“Then why are you blushing?” he asked.

“I am NOT blushing,” Vibha replied, mortified that he noticed.

“Yes, you are,” he insisted.

“Shut-up and let me concentrate,” Vibha told him.

Rohan continued to stand there looking amused as Vibha tried to focus on chopping potatoes and

calming her racing heart. After a few minutes of awkward silence, Rohan asked her, “What’s for

dinner? Boiled water?”

“No! I am making aloo-poori. Didn’t you see me put in potatoes for boiling ?” Vibha asked him. “I will

knead the dough once you leave.”

Rohan laughed out loud and Vibhha looked at him, annoyed. He shook his head indulgently and

pointed to her kitchen counter where halved potatoes were lying. She hurriedly took off the lid of

the vessel and peered inside to see that she had simply put up water for boiling.

Embarrassed, she retorted, “You need to boil the water first.”

“I am sure,” Rohan muttered and returned to the living room.

Vibha reentered the living room.

“Where are you taking her?” she asked.

“Why? Do you want to join us?” Rohan asked her back.

“God no! From where do you get such ideas, Rohan?” Vibha asked him annoyed.

“Here,” he retorted, pointing to his head.

Vibha rolled her eyes at him.

“Where do you think I should take her?” he asked her seriously.

“Your crush, you decide,” Vibha shrugged.

“Fine! I’ll figure out something,” Rohan retorted. “At least, help me to ask her out.”

“You haven’t yet asked her out?” Vibha asked.

Rohan shook his head looking sheepish.

“What do you want me to do?” she asked him.

He gestured for her to sit beside him on the sofa. Once she was there, he kneeled in from of her and

took both her hands in his.

“I have been meaning to ask this to you for ages but wasn’t able to muster up the courage. So,

before I lose my nerve, let me tell you, you are the most beautiful and intelligent girl I have ever

come across in my entire life. It would be my honour to take you out on a date tomorrow. Will you

allow me the honour to call you my girlfriend?”

The lines were cheesy but his eyes were intense. Vibha’s heart was racing and her emotions a wreck.

With great difficulty, she reminded herself that this question wasn’t for her. She took a deep breath

and looked away before she could tear-up and pulled her hands from his grasp.

“Nice, this will do. Now go and ask her,” she managed to say haltingly before getting up.

Rohan caught hold of her hand and held her back, “I just did,” he said softly.

“What?” she asked, unsure of what she heard.

“I said, I just asked the girl I like, out on a date,” he replied.

Vibha kept staring at him for a long time. Rohan continued to look at her. Finally, she said, “You

aren’t kidding, are you?”

“Of course not. I am dead serious. I wanted to ask you this for so long but then I kept postponing,

thinking that dating would make things weird between us. But now I am sure of what I want and so I

decided this is a risk worth taking.” Rohan was looking at her with such a tender expression that she

blushed once again.

“Vibha, say something,” he said as he shook her lightly.

“Huh? I... Yes...” she replied, dazed.

“What yes? Yes to my proposal to date or yes you will say something?” he asked.

“Yes, I will go out on a date with you,” she replied.

Rohan let out a loud whoop and picked her up and spun her around till she felt dizzy.

“Stop it, Rohan!” she shouted.

He finally set her down and they both looked at each other awkwardly.

“Now what?” he asked.

“You pick me up tomorrow at 7:00 PM. And don’t be late,” Vibha told him.

He leaned in and whispered in her ear, “This, Vibha Sharma was our first date. Be ready for 

the second one.”

Saying this, he left her to her thoughts. First coherent thought that she had was, "I did not expect

that. Among all the other things that I could predict, I did not see this coming."