
The New Guy - Chapter One
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"I swear i hate Armaan." Riddhima complained to Kripa as they walked out of the hospital quickly throwing on their jackets. Kripa shivered in the cold air rubbing her hands together staring at the Starbucks across the street, just imagining the taste of warm coffee on her tongue.
"I don't understand why you don't tell Armaan you like him." Kripa muttered to Riddhima who rolled her eyes at her.
"Kripa, are you for real? Honestly, I'm not sure how you're ever going to find yourself a guy. Armaan clearly likes you. I can't believe you haven't noticed." Riddhima snapped at her.
Kripa kept quiet. She knew full well that Armaan liked her but she chose to ignore that because she didn't feel that way for Armaan at all. But she didn't want to break his heart either. After all, he was her childhood friend. As the two girls entered Starbucks, sighing in the heat, Kripa smiled at the smell of coffee and sugary delicacies. She looked around and stared at the picture of Madhubala and Khushi Gupta, the two sisters that ran the place. Without waiting for Riddhima, who was too busy inspecting her shoe, Kripa speed walked to the counter, glad no one was in line before her. Scanning the menu, she turned to look back at Riddhima who walked to her shaking her head.
"I want a White Chocolate Mocha and the Caramel Coffee Cake. How about you?" Kripa asked. Riddhima shuddered.
"Dude, considering the amount of sugar you take in every day, you're going to get diabetes before my grandfather." Riddhima chuckled. Kripa rolled her eyes facing forward, waiting for someone to come and take their order.
"I've heard the two sisters are dating Rishab and Arnav Kundra." Riddhima whispered to Kripa, excitement visible in her eyes. Kripa's mouth dropped open.
"No way! The Kundra brothers? The.. business tycoon Kundras?" Kripa gasped to which Riddhima merely nodded.
"Small town girls know where the money is. You should find yourself someone rich too Krips." Riddhima teased knocking her shoulder with hers. The two quietened down upon the footsteps of someone approaching. And then came a man they never saw in town before. Disheveled dark brown hair, light brown eyes and an apologetic smile. He ran a hand over his shirt and pressed a few buttons on the cashier.
"Good morning, welcome to Starbucks. How may I help you?" He asked in a deep, sensuous voice. Riddhima nudged Kripa excited while Kripa just turned a deep red unable to speak.
"I, uh..." She trailed off, looking at the counter gulping before turning to Riddhima with a pleading look who ordered for them. Kripa tried to look anywhere but at the gorgeous man. Unable to stop herself, she took a look at the name on his shirt that said 'Sahil Kapoor'. Pretty name, she thought. She was brought out of reverie when he placed the cups of coffee before the two with their food. Riddhima thanked him as they grabbed everything and turned around to find a seat. Kripa took one last look at him, exactly the same time he looked at her. The two were startled as they looked at each other in the eye. Embarrassed, Kripa quickly turned around and walked off to where Riddhima sat.
As Kripa opened her bag to pull out her coffee cake, Riddhima kicked her leg with a naughty smile.
"You likeee him? Don't you?" Riddhima sang to her, in a teasing tone. Kripa chose not to respond and shot her a glare before taking a bite. "What? I just wanna know so i can be sure that i have a chance with Armaan." She said, placing a hand on her heart dramatically. Before Kripa could say anything, Riddhima stood up.
"Sahil! You doing anything right now?" She yelled. Sahil looked up at them and shook his head in a 'no'. "Good. Come over here, join us! We're bored." Kripa's eyes widened and stared at Riddhima speechless who had a smile of victory glued on to her face. Who could be more insecure than Miss.Gupta here? Kripa thought shaking her head. She stared at the table as Sahil walked over and sat down across from Kripa, beside Riddhima.
"So, new here?" Riddhima asked taking a sip of her coffee. Sahil nodded taking his hat off.
"Yeah. I used to live in the city earlier but, I lost my job and living there became a little too expensive for me. So my Uncle, Brijesh Kapoor, called me and told me I could live here with him. He even got me a job here." Sahil explained biting the inside of his cheek.
"Brijesh Kapoor is your Uncle?" Riddhima asked surprised. Kripa looked up at that too. No one knew much about that man. Sahil just nodded.
"He's my only family. I lost my parents when I was a kid. Dropped out of high school and this is me now." Sahil laughed, almost pitying himself. Kripa looked at him, her heart breaking for him. He was an orphan just like her.
"Made any new friends in town?" Riddhima inquired further.
"Not really. Khushi and Madhu are nice girls but, other than them, I don't know anyone." He muttered running a hand through his messy hair.
"We can be friends. I'm Riddhima Gupta and this is my best friend, Kripa Sharma. We're interns at the hospital right across the street. And you know what? There's a BBQ event tonight at, organized by our friend Armaan tonight. At the back of the Hyatt Hotel at 7. Be there. We'll all get to know each other. For now, Kripa & I have to go. Our lunch break is over." Riddhima said with a grin.
Sahil nodded standing up. He offered another smile, a smile that seemed to be full of pain and sadness Kripa noticed. He fixed his shirt and rubbed his hand on his old, ripped jeans and walked away.
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That was Chapter One! 😃 Comment, press the Like Button.. whatever.
-Jot.
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