I know there are many of you wondering why are you starting an One Shot when you have two FFs that are in desperate need of an update. Many apologies...I have been super busy at work and have not had the chance to sit down and really focus on the storyline there. Things are getting a but more complex in All the Wrong Moves and In All the Right Ways and I'm trying to decide how I want to end At First Sight.
And while I was trying to decide what to do with those two FFs this idea suddenly came into my head. This One Shot was inspired by this song I was listening to on youtube. Jason Mraz's I Won't Give up (Click Link to Listen https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdN5GyTl8K0 ) It is such a beautiful and inspirational song.
Hope you all enjoy this little piece of work from me.
--Grace
Please excuse any spelling and grammatical errors 😊
Part 1:
Rich red fabric and sparkling gold threads were all she could see as she stared into the vanity mirror. Her hair was pulled back into a tight but elegant bun. Her skin looked flawless from the makeup that had been applied and her almond shaped eyes were enhanced even more from the kajol. Flicks of hazel glimmered in her iris as she continued to inspect herself. The gold jhumka earrings hung delicately from her ears making her give into a tiny grin. She had to admit that the large chandelier sized earrings were extraordinary exquisite. It was probably one of hers if not favorite pieces of jewelry she had on today.
She took a deep breath thinking about what was about to occur a few minutes from now. Today, life was going to change as she knew it. Twenty-six years of routines, rituals, and habits she had formed; things that she was use to and things she was familiar with were going to be replaced by new and foreign experiences. It was a little terrifying to think about. Yes, things were going to be different for her. Things were going to be different for him as well. Her eyes gently moistened as she thought about the first time they had met. His family had moved in next door the summer before she was to start sixth grade. At the time he was this short and plump eleven year old kid with braces. He always ate peanut butter sandwiches for lunch and would study alone in the library. He loved playing soccer and practiced everyday in his backyard. She recalled that fateful day during gym glass when they were paired up as dance partners for a class competition. That was the day that their lifelong friendship begun.
She was jolted from her memories when she heard a hard knock against the door. "Heer? Are you ready?"
She recognized the voice. It was her mother checking up on her. "Haan Mama...just finishing up."
The door opened and in walked a smiling gentle woman with bright eyes. "You look gorgeous Heer," she said with such pride. Her hands warmly held her daughter's shoulders as she stood behind her, "He is going to be speechless." Heer simply smiled and looked back into the mirror to cover her head with the wedding ghunghat. With the help of her mother she gently rose from her seat and began her walk to the mandap that was awaiting her downstairs.
*******************************************************
Everyone fidgeted in the room waiting for the professor to finish his lecture. It was five minutes before the period was over and the class was beginning to get restless. Heer secretly slipped her cell phone out from her book bag to check the time and sighed; only one minute had passed. Her mind was already wondering off in her own thoughts. She was anxious to go back home and check her email. She knew if she really wanted to she could check her inbox on her phone but she found it more satisfying to read the messages on her laptop in the privacy of her own room.
Eventually to everyone's relief the professor finished his lecture with one minute to spare. Heer quickly stuffed her textbook and notebook into her bag and made her way out of the lecture hall. She unlocked her bike from the bike rack and pedaled fiercely towards home. Luckily, the apartment was close to campus. It was one of the reasons why she moved in and one of the reasons why the apartment was expensive. But her parents had been flexible about the expense as her education was very important to them. They reasoned if she was closer to school then it would be less traveling time between campus and home and more time for studying. And because she lived so close there wouldn't be a reason for them to purchase a car for her. She could catch rides with her friends or roommates when she needed to go around town.
"Hi, I'm home," Heer greeted as she entered the apartment. She quickly slipped her shoes off and began walking towards her room.
"Welcome home," giggled a bubbly girl with wavy light brown hair. She was sitting on the couch snacking on a bowl of popcorn.
"Hi Heer!" smiled a tall girl walking from the kitchen. She was holding a cup of chai in her hands. "Would you like some chai?"
"No thanks Maya," Heer replied and continued on her way to her room.
"She was in a rush," Maya said as she sat down.
"She's always in a rush to get to her room after her classes have finished for the day. It's her daily routine."
"What do you mean?" Maya's eyebrows were raised in extreme interest. She was eagerly awaiting the full story and explanation, unfortunately they were interrupted when someone else came walking in from the front door.
"Hey Meher...Hey Maya," greeted a slender girl with dark brown hair. She was carrying a few plastic bags. "Phew, traffic was horrible coming back from the grocery store."
"Is there any more?" Meher inquired looking at her roommate.
"I thought you said you were going to only pick up a few things," Maya asked as she inspected the four large grocery bags.
"Well, they had a lot of things that were buy one get one free...and it just so happened I remember there were a few things we all needed to get...so, I thought since I was already there at the store I might as well purchase them."
"Ash, how much do we owe you?" Meher asked. "You should have waited for us. We should have gone with you. How much did you spend?"
"I'll have to take a look at the bill. Don't worry about it Meher."
"Ashlesha..."
"I said don't worry about. But you could come down and help me get the rest. There are few more bags in the car," Ash smiled.
"Let's go. Should we get Heer?" Maya suggested.
"No, let her enjoy her email," Meher snickered.
Maya's eyes flexed at the comment and said, "Explain please. You were about to tell me but then Ash came home."
"Oh, Heer?" Ash chuckled.
"Yes, what is this story?"
"You don't know because you don't live with us," Meher said as she walked with them out of the apartment.
"And I've only known you guys for a half a semester. What is this big secret?" Maya probed. "Why do I feel like this has to do with a boy? Is Heer seeing someone? You know how many guys have hit on her but she doesn't give them the time of day," squealing in sudden excitement, "She does have someone doesn't she? Who is he? Does he go to school here? No, wait he can't go to school here. I haven't seen her with anyone...well, there is that partner she has in Chemistry lab...what's his name..."
"If you keep talking like this how are we suppose to answer your questions?" Meher replied.
"Her Chem lab partner is Jarrod...and no, it isn't him," Ash answered.
"So then?"
"He doesn't go to this school. He's studying at the University of Florida in Business Administration. She's been friends with him since middle school," Meher divulged.
"He emails her practically every day. And on the weekends they text message or call each other," Ash added.
"Wow, it sounds like she's basically having a long distance relationship with this guy."
"I know but she apparently doesn't seem to see it that way. She keeps insisting that they are just friends," Meher said.
"Yeah, my guy friends send me special care packages during finals...call in a panic when I'm sick...bake chocolate chip cookies for me..." Ash said with sarcasm as she opened the trunk to her car.
"What? He sent her a care package and baked chocolate chip cookies?" Maya exclaimed. "Is she blind? No guy out there would do something like that unless he was interested."
"Yea, I know. She is blind. And he's stupid for not telling her," Meher agreed as she took some grocery bags out of the trunk.
"Or he's gay," Ash joked causing them to chuckle, "Hey, who knows? He is single and from what Heer has told us he doesn't really date."
"But he doesn't seem the type," Meher said.
"He doesn't seem the type?" Ash repeated.
"Yea, I've talked to him once on the phone before. He sounds normal."
"Anyone can sound normal," Ash replied.
"I don't know. I just have a feeling he isn't," Meher defended.
"So, you two haven't tried to have an intervention with her about this. You know explain to her that she is actually in a relationship with this guy and she just doesn't even know it?" Maya asked.
"Believe me we've tried. And she just says we are making something out of nothing. They are just good friends," Meher said.
"Oh God..." Maya sighed.
"I know," Ash agreed as she opened the apartment door.
"You don't think he's stupid enough to think they aren't in a relationship either do you?" Meher gasped.
"I certainly hope not. Then it's just two dummies," Maya replied making everyone laugh with her.
"Oh, that's just sad if you ask me," Ash sighed.
"What's sad?" The girls all stopped and turned towards the staircase. Heer was at the bottom steps holding her cell phone in her hand.
"Nothing. Hey, can you help me put some of this stuff in the fridge?" Ash asked with a smile and walked towards the kitchen. Heer nodded and followed her friend.
*******************************************************
Maya glanced over at the arm chair during the commercial break of the show they were watching with great curiosity. She had noticed Heer spending a lot of time staring at her cell phone. "Are you expecting a call?"
Heer lifted her eyes alarmed that someone was speaking to her. "Oh," smiling nervously, "no..."
"Right and that explains why you've been staring at your phone for the past half hour," Ash said sarcastically.
"Did Prem say he was going to call you?" Meher inquired.
"So, his name is Prem?" Maya giggled. "I can't believe you never told me about him."
"He's my friend. We've known each other since middle school. There isn't that much to tell," Heer replied.
"Please Heer I still can't believe you seriously think that is all," Ash said. "You're sitting here waiting for his call."
"He didn't email me today. I know he's been a bit busy at school. He's had a couple of term papers due last week," Heer replied. "But he usually gives me a call or text if he can't email me. I guess he could have some other project come up in one of his classes."
"Sounds like he's been pretty busy but if his projects are over he should have some free time now," Meher pondered. "You know, what if he's dating someone?"
"Huh?"
"Well, last week you only got one email from him," Meher said.
"Because he was busy with school," Heer answered. "He told me that."
"Didn't he mention how he met someone new?"
"Yea, so? I mean I meet new people every day just walking around campus," Heer replied.
"Stop messing with her like that," Maya interjected. "Look at her face she's getting worried."
"I'm not getting worried. He can date anyone he likes for all I care," Heer stated.
"You say that now. But he's usually in touch with you every other day if not daily. When you start seeing less and less emails from him...no more frequent text messages or weekend calls...you'll feel left out. He'll be busy with his girlfriend and have less time to speak with you," Ash explained.
"You going to be okay Heer?" Maya inquired.
"I'm going to be fine. It's not like he hasn't dated anyone before. I've dated too...and we still remained friends," she defended. The conversation soon ended when they heard her cell phone go off. Heer quickly answered the call, "Hello? Hey Prem." Maya, Ash, and Meher looked at each other with questioning eyes as they saw her make her way upstairs to her room to speak in private.
*******************************************************
"Hey, sorry about not emailing you." Heer smiled at his response and instantly forgive him in her heart. "It's been really hectic with everything. I'm moving out of my apartment. Did I tell you that?"
"Yes, you did. And it's fine. I know how busy you've been you don't have to apologize about it."
"Thanks, you're the best," his deep voice replied. "I've kind of lost track of time for a few days."
"I've done that myself, Prem. You know how I can get when things get busy. Last time I had finals I barely talked to you."
"Why did you think I called you every morning? Personal alarm clock...I wanted to make sure you were up for class."
"Thanks for doing that. You saved me in biology," Heer grinned. "So you turned in your papers?"
"Yeah."
"So how did you think you did?" Heer asked. She could hear him moving his phone around and there was some muffled background noise.
"Uh, not bad...I think...you never can tell what the professor really wants." She heard him cover the mouth piece of the phone and him talking but she couldn't make out what he was saying. Then she heard his hand move down and his clear voice. "No, um...oh, sorry Heer."
"Everything okay?"
"Yea, we just got back from a jog...little tired," Prem replied.
Heer's ears perked at the word 'we'. "Oh? One of your roommates?"
"No," Prem answered. He pulled the phone away for a few seconds and then came back in a hurried fashion. "Ginger...um..." Heer was curious as to what was going on the other end of the phone. "Heer, can I call you tomorrow? I really have to go now."
"Okay sure. I'll..."
"Bye. Tomorrow..." Prem quickly said cutting her off.
"Talk to you tomorrow..." Heer finished as she heard his phone click off. The grin that appeared on her face at the beginning of their conversation had faded into confusion. She sighed and reasoned that he was just really busy. He would make it up to her tomorrow. He always did.
*******************************************************
Heer sat on her bed with a book in her lap reading. At least that was what she was trying to do. It was Saturday morning. She had woken up at 8:00am for some reason. Usually she would sleep until 10:00 or 10:30 on the weekends since she didn't have to go to class. Her eyes moved along the pages of the novel reading the words but her mind wasn't processing their meaning. She glanced at her cell phone and then sighed. It had been three days since her last conversation with Prem. He had told her that he would call her back but he never did. She tried calling him but it would just ring and ring and then go to his voicemail. So, she emailed and texted him to see if he would respond back. No reply. She even tried calling his roommate but her call would just go straight to voicemail. She was frustrated to say the least but also very concern. She didn't voice her worries to Meher or Ash even though they were her friends because she was afraid they would tease her again about her relationship with him. A part of her tried reasoning that he was just really busy after all he was moving apartments soon. But a small tiny part wondered if he was seeing someone. Now, whatever free time he use to spend talking to her he was using to date this new girl.
Heer sighed again shaking her head feeling stupid. If he was seeing someone he would have told her. No, there was something else going on and he wasn't telling her. And it made her angry that he was keeping something from her. They always talked to each other and told each other things. They never hid things from one another. Feeling stiff she got up from her bed and decided to go downstairs and get an ice cold glass of water to sooth her mind. As she came down the staircase she was surprised to hear noises in the kitchen. "Good Morning," she greeted. "You're up early."
"Good Morning. I should say the same thing," Meher replied as she poured some milk in her bowl of cereal. "Since I got that part time job my sleeping cycle has been a bit off. I randomly wake up at odd times. You know yesterday I woke up at 4:00am and didn't fall back asleep until 6:00. I had class at 9:00. I was so tire yesterday and I thought I would be able to sleep until 10:00 or 11:00 but I woke up at 7:00. I laid in bed for an hour and then decided to get up and eat breakfast. You want some cereal?"
"No, I'm not very hungry...thank you. I just woke up early today for some reason," Heer answered.
"Everything okay?" Meher inquired. "You've been a bit down lately. Classes going okay? You were worried about Microbiology."
"No, classes are fine," Heer reassured and poured a glass of water for herself.
"But?"
Heer sighed and replied. "You promise you won't make fun?"
Meher's eyes grew wide and she noted the concern in Heer's voice. "I promise. What's wrong? Family?"
"It's Prem. I haven't heard from him all week. He told me he would call me back on Wednesday but it's been three days now. I know he's busy but when I call him he's not picking up my calls and he's not responding to my text messages or my emails. I even tried getting in contact with one of his roommates but maybe there is something wrong with his phone because it just goes straight to voicemail," Heer divulged.
Meher could her the anxiety in her friend's voice. She generally ragged on her and her relationship with Prem but she knew this was serious. Her friend needed her help and advice. "Do you have any other numbers? Any of his other friends?"
"No, I only have his roommate, Arjun's number."
"Don't worry. I'm sure everything is okay. Prem could be moving this weekend so he's probably just busy with that. He'll call you soon. And when he does I would ask him for all the phone numbers of his friends for emergency purposes. I'll give Prem my phone number too...and he should also have Ash's, Maya's, and Veera's too," Meher said. "If he's moving that could also explain why he hasn't replied back to your emails. He has no internet connection." Meher placed her hand on her hand in a comforting manner. "Don't worry he's fine."
"I know. My mind is just being stupid. It's blowing things up for no reason. And he could have found a girl...like you guys said and he's dating her," Heer replied.
"You know we were just joking about that," Meher said feeling guilty that she had ever teased her over this. "Even if he did make a new friend he shouldn't treat you like this...only speaking to you when he's lonely and once he finds someone new to talk to he stops speaking to you...and I know you said he's not that type of person but there are girls out there that can have that affect on guys. They need to be the center of attention at all times."
"I know you guys were joking. It's okay. I would feel a lot better if I knew what was going on. I don't really care if he is seeing someone...I just want to know what's going on," Heer reasoned.
"I know," Meher nodded in agreement. "Well, I say give it another day. If worse comes to worse you can see if anyone in his family has heard from him. I know you probably don't want to alarm them...maybe you could ask if they have any of his other friend's numbers."
"Yea, I guess you're right. I could call his cousin Preet," Heer replied in a positive and hopeful tone.
Their conversation was soon interrupted by Ash's voice shouting, "Heer, your phone is ringing!"
Heer quickly ran up the stairs and entered her bedroom hoping to catch the call in time. Unfortunately, it stopped ringing the moment she picked up the phone. She saw Prem's name on the miss call list and hurriedly dialed his number. "Hey, you called?" Heer inquired.
"You're mad at me aren't you?" Prem greeted.
"No..."
"Don't lie Heer. I know you are." She could hear the smirk in his voice and it was making her upset. "You want to beat me and ring my neck for not calling you back."
"Why are you laughing?" Heer asked her voice steady and firm.
"Wow, you really are upset. I don't think I've heard you this upset before," Prem pondered out loud.
"Did something happen to your phone?"
"No," Prem replied.
"Something happen to your internet?"
"Um, no...it's working fine. I was playing games last night...no hang ups," Prem answered thoughtfully.
"Is Arjun with you?"
"No, he's playing basketball with some of the guys," Prem replied. "Why?"
"Did something happen to his phone? I tried calling it but it went straight to voicemail," Heer explained.
"Oh, yeah...his phone is broken. We've been yelling at him to get a new phone. He said once he gets paid at the end of this month he'll go out and buy a new phone. He's been using other people's phones to make calls to his family," Prem chuckled.
"Oh..."
"So, you're really mad at me, huh?" he inquired again.
"What differences does it make? Obviously you have more important things to do and people to be with like other girls," Heer replied.
"Hmmm...I suppose your right," Prem teased. He was finding their conversation extremely amusing.
"Goodbye Prem."
"Okay...stop being mad at me...I didn't mean it. But if you have to go I understand. Anyways, I have to take Ginger shopping."
"Ginger?" Heer repeated with wide eyes. She couldn't believe that Meher and Ash had been right about him dating someone.
"Yea," Heer swallowed hard as she could hear his smile on the other end. "So I'll talk to you next week...I mean I'll see you next week. Okay, bye Heer."
"Huh? What? Wait..." she exclaimed but all she heard was the sound of the call ending. Heer stared at her phone wondering what just happened. She quickly re-dialed his number but all she heard was Prem's voicemail. She scrunched her nose up and tossed her phone angrily on the bed. "Who does he think he is? Playing around like that. He's so insensitive sometimes. Oh, I just want to strangle him."
*******************************************************
Meher and Ash passed glances at each other when they heard Heer's phone go off for the third time that night. It was Thursday night and the week was almost over. They had noticed a change in their friend as she wasn't completing her normal weekly routine. She would come home from school and watch a little TV instead of going straight to her room to check her emails. She wasn't waiting by her phone like she use to. In fact she ignored all texts and calls from a certain male friend. They were concern and tried approaching her but she was good at deflecting their questions.
Ash sighed eventually giving up as the phone continued ringing, "Heer are you going to answer that? He's been calling for the past half hour."
"Sorry," Heer replied and put her phone on silent.
"What's wrong Heer? You've been out of sorts this whole week. What did he do? Maybe talking about it will help you relieve some of your tension and stress."
"I'm not tense or stressed," Heer snapped back.
Ash shot a look at Meher seeking some assistance. Just as Meher opened her mouth to speak the main house phone started to ring. Heer angrily got up from her chair and grabbed the phone off the hook and slammed it back down. She then unhooked the phone line and took the batteries out of the cordless phone. "Okay, you're not stressed. You're just extremely angry," Ash stated.
"Who the heck does he think he is? He's such an idiot sometimes'so insensitive'here I was all worried about him and he calls up making fun and laughing at me," Heer suddenly fumed. Ash and Meher immediately came to her side to comfort her. "He doesn't care that I was worried. And then he goes off about going shopping. It was like the call was just a call to get me off his back. Here I called you so you can stop pestering me with emails, texts, and calls. Everything should be fine now'now that I called. Well it isn't fine!" Heer took a deep breath and then exhaled. She looked at her two friends and frowned, "I'm so sorry."
"Sorry? Why are you sorry? You have nothing to be sorry about," Meher replied. "We're the ones that need to apologized. We've teased you a lot about him and we shouldn't have."
"Anyways, he's stupid. That's just it'plain and simple'guys can be so immature sometimes," Ash stated. "They have no concept of feelings'understanding how the other person may feel. It was cruel of him to joke around about you being worried."
"Let's not think about this anymore. Come on, we're going out," Meher stated. "Let's go to Baskin' Robbins for some ice cream."
"Chocolate Almond?" Heer inquired hopefully.
"Why not? Heck we don't have to get one scoop we could get three scoops if we wanted to."
"Let's go," Ash confirmed and grabbed her purse and keys.
*******************************************************
Meher rubbed her eyes and stumbled to the front door of the apartment wondering who was knocking on their door so early on a Saturday morning. It was 5:30am and she knew it couldn't be the mail man. She grabbed a bat laying beside the door way that the girls had bought for those just in case situations. She opened the door and threatened to swing at the intruder. "AH!" was the reply as a young male in his twenties stumbled back in alarm covering his face. "Who are you?!" Meher demanded. "Do you know what time it is? Are you drunk? What apartment number are you looking for?"
"A-apartment 703," sputtered the male. "Does-does Heer Maan live here?"
Meher used the tip of the bat to poke the guy in the shoulder, "Who are you?"
"Prem...my name is Prem Juneja. I'm her fffriend," he replied continuing to stammer.
The sleepiness in her eyes faded as she suddenly recognized his face from some of the pictures Heer had of him. "Prem? What are you doing here? Did you tell her you were coming?"
"I did. But she's been sort of mad at me. I was calling her all last week but she kept ignoring my calls," he explained. "Can I come in?"
Meher lowered the bat and motioned for him to enter the apartment. Once the door was closed she raised her bat slightly at him and inquired, "Where are you staying?"
"I was going to stay at a hotel," Prem answered knowing the look she was giving him. He wasn't that shameless to bunk at his female friend's apartment while he was in town. He still respected her honor.
"Good answer Prem," Meher replied.
They both turned their heads towards the staircase when they heard footsteps moving about on the second floor. Eventually Heer and Ash came down with bewildered expressions on their faces at the morning commotion. Heer's eyes widen in surprise as Prem waved and smiled at her with great excitement. "Surprise!" he beamed. "I told you didn't I? That I would be coming. But you haven't been answering the phone or replying back to my emails and text. Sorry for waking you girls up so early in the morning."
"What?" Heer sleepily greeted. He was talking super fast because of his excitement and the only thing she heard was that he was sorry for waking them up so early in the morning."
"Where are you staying?" Ash inquired.
"I was just telling Meher that I'll be staying at the hotel. I took a cab from the airport and decided to come straight here to surprise Heer," Prem explained and then turned suddenly sheepish, "Could I trouble one of you to drop me off at the hotel? In my hurry to get here I forgot Heer doesn't have a car. I'll rent one from Hertz or Enterprise for the week so you girls don't have to worry about me."
"Good I wasn't going to," Ash muttered under her breath. She was extremely annoyed that he woke them up so early in the morning especially since it was the weekend and they could sleep in. She was also irritated for his behavior and the way he had been treating Heer. "Okay, I'm going back to bed."
"Huh? What about the hotel?" Prem asked. He then cast a worried glance towards Heer requesting assistance in trying to persuade her friend to drop him off at the hotel.
"Ash..." Heer began.
"Keys are hanging on the mail rack. You have a driver license Heer...I trust you to bring my car back in one piece," Ash simply replied and trudged back up the stairs.
Meher glanced at Heer and inquired with her eyes if she wanted her to go with them. Heer shook her head letting her know it was her friend and she would take care of him. "Give me ten minutes to get ready and I'll take you Prem," Heer grumbled. Prem just smiled at her response and sat down on the couch.
*******************************************************
Heer sat at the booth of the pizza parlor quietly sipping her soda. It was a Wednesday night and they had decided to go out and eat. Unfortunately, Meher got a last minute call from work asking if she could fill in for a few hours and Ash had a study group to attend. The party of four turned into a party of two. Heer's eyes lifted when she sensed Prem walking back to their table from the restroom. "So, what's good here?" he inquired as he started to browse through the menu.
"Everything," Heer replied.
Prem grinned knowing she was still a little sore with him. He gave her space during the day while she was at school as he also needed to attend to his own class work. Luckily for him, he had online lectures he could watch and the classes that did not have them he had good friends who were taking notes for him. He'd also read the assigned chapters and completed the review questions. When night fell he'd come over to the apartment to hang out with her and her friends. Sometimes Heer would come over to the hotel and hang with him there.
Prem felt his phone buzzing in his pocket and pulled it out to see who was calling. He sighed and answered it, "Hello? What now?" Heer looked at him curious as to who was calling him. He had been getting these calls the past few days. Every time he received one he would end up excusing himself to speak in private with the person. When he came back he never explained who it was. "Hey, I can't hear you very clearly. Let me take this outside, okay?" Prem answered. He looked at Heer and motioned with his head, "Sorry. I'll be just a minute."
Heer nodded and watch him leave the restaurant. A few minutes later he came back in the restaurant as if nothing had happened. Heer was irked by his behavior. "Hey, you want to get some ice cream after dinner? My treat," Prem offered.
"Okay," Heer answered and went back to studying her menu.
*******************************************************
Prem grinned as they walked along the sidewalk of the park quietly enjoying their ice cream. He took a deep breath to take in the fresh night air. "So, you wanna talk?"
"About what?" Heer inquired. She made no effort to look at him and continued walking on the path.
"Why you're mad at me," Prem smirked. Heer gritted her teeth at his remark. She really wasn't in the mood for this. Just as much as she wished he had never come to visit she was just as glad he still came. It was a hard feeling to understand. "Look, I know surprising you like that probably wasn't such a good idea. But I really missed you and I wanted to come down and hang out with you." He watched with curious eyes as she turned around to face him. The glare in her almond shaped eyes said it all to him.
"Missed hanging out with me? What kind of person just suddenly shows up without telling the other person...that you are coming? And who takes a red eye flight and comes banging on the door at 5:30am? Honestly, you think waking someone up at that hour is suppose to make them happy? You know what kind of week at school I had? Horrible. And now I have to babysit your butt because you are here and I can't just leave you on your own to wonder around the city."
"You know in my defense I tried telling you. It's not my fault you ignored my calls, texts, and emails," Prem defended.
Heer's blood went to boil at his reply. "You're impossible...you know that?"
"Do tell..."
"I really can't believe you think this is funny," Heer fumed. "I was so worried about you last week and you are playing it off like nothing happened. You didn't return any of my calls. You ignored my texts and emails...what was I suppose to think? You've never just stopped communicating with me like that. I thought something bad had happened. And when I couldn't get a hold of Arjun I thought you were laying in a ditch somewhere..."
"Laying in a ditch somewhere? Wow, that's dramatic," Prem mused.
Heer narrowed her eyes as she heard Prem's cell phone go off. She grabbed the phone from his hands and ended the call. "I'm talking to you now. And why is Ginger calling you every five seconds? And why haven't you told me about her?"
"Ginger?" Prem repeated with a slightly dumbfounded look on his face.
"Yes, you're new girlfriend. You go jogging with her."
"Yeah, she's a decent jogger. But she still fairly new," Prem replied. He then smirked and looked into Heer's eyes, "You're really cute you know that."
"What? Prem, can we be serious for a minute," Heer said.
"Yes, of course," he nodded.
"We've always been honest with each other. We've talked about people we liked. We've dated people and still maintained our friendship. Why are you letting Ginger get in the way of our friendship? Is she that insecure? I'd like to meet her once...clear the air..." Heer looked on in angry confusion as Prem burst out in a fit of laughter. Heer clenched her fist at his reaction and turned in frustration ready to just leave him there by himself.
"Wait, Heer...wait..." Prem replied and grabbed her shoulder to turn her around. "Hehe...oh...hahahaa...that was good one...sorry...have to catch my breath here."
"Prem!" Heer whined.
"Sorry-sorry...serious," trying to be somber, "serious face. Focusing..." He took out his cell phone and pulled up a picture from his photo album. "This is Ginger..." Heer took the phone from his hand and stared at the picture. "My new dog. She's a Golden Retriever and her hair is this ginger color so I decided to call her ginger. That's why I moved apartments...I went to a pet friendly one. Arjun and the guys have been taking turns taking care of her. She's still not fully trained yet so she doing things and making the apartment a mess. That is why they have been calling me every five minutes."
"Well, why didn't you tell me?" Heer asked.
"Because I wanted it to be a surprise," Prem replied.
"Oh God Prem, you and your surprises!" Heer stated.
"I'm really sorry for not replying back to you. I was super busy with the apartment move and planning this trip. I was planning on coming down even before all this stuff happened. And I was taking to Preet...and he thought I should surprise you instead...you know figured since you were probably mad at me anyways and if I came down as a surprise you'd forgive me," Prem explained.
"You listened to Preet? Really? Out of all the people you took advice from Preet?" Heer sighed. "But Ginger?"
Prem grinned and put his arm around her shoulder pulling her into a sideways hug. "Okay, I was being bad. I thought it was kind of cute that you were getting jealous over a puppy," chuckling lightly, "You should have seen the look on your face. You're eyes had turned all green...and there was steam coming out of your ears. I've never seen you like that before."
"Shut up," Heer whined and pushed him. Prem just smirked as he maintained his balance and continued to hold her.
"You know you're the only special person in my life," Prem stated.
"Whatever. You going to tell your wife that?" Heer asked.
Prem laughed. "She'll have to know there are two very important women in my life. Ma and you."
Heer raised her eyes to look at him and was taken aback at the way his brown eyes were emoting. She was caught off guard when she felt him place a tender kiss on her forehead. "Forgive me?" Heer couldn't say a word and simply nodded her head. "Good, now let's finish eating our ice cream...I think mine is completely melted." Prem let his hand slip away from her shoulder and returned it to the plastic ice cream bowl.
"Heer..." She blinked and looked to her side to see her mother looking back at her. "You okay? We have to walk down the steps. Be careful."
"Haan Mama," Heer replied and started her decedent to the first level of the house. She could hear the guests talking and milling about waiting for the wedding to begin. As she walked down the grand staircase she felt everyone's eyes watching her and she felt so self-conscious. She lifted her eyes and began searching through the crowd to see if he had come. She had heard from his cousin Preet that he had a business meeting to attend in London and would most likely be unable to come to her wedding. Just as her eyes were about to give up hope, they glimmered in recognition seeing his well built frame at the other end of the room wearing a cream colored sherwani. Their eyes met and she could feel her heartbeat quicken. He had a huge grin on his face. She smiled as he motioned with his hands how beautiful she looked in her wedding sari.
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