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"Do not be in a hurry, the right man will come at last"
Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice
How had she managed to let Manvi talk her into this one?
Jeevika blamed it on the high-strung emotions caused by the Big Bang Theory season 8 finale. She clearly hadn't been thinking straight. And now, as Manvi pulled out a short black romper from her closet, she flatly refused, "No."
"This would look great on you!" Manvi pouted.
"I am not wearing...that thing..." Jeevika gave it a nasty glare, "In the night. For a movie with a friend."
"If you get cold, you could ask Manny to give you his sweater?" Manvi suggested hopefully.
"No!" Jeevika flopped back on the bed, groaning, "Why did you have to text him?"
"Di...you gotta live life!"
"As far as I know, I'm still breathing. Although it's doubtful I'll remain this way much longer, the way you drag me into all your mad schemes."
Manvi sighed, finally pulling out a pair of designer stonewashed jeans and a lace-necked peplum, "This one, then?"
Jeevika craned her neck forward and reconciled herself to the inevitable, "Those the comfy jeans?"
"Uh huh."
"I suppose so."
"Perfect! Go change and I'll do your hair and-"
"It's a movie, Mannu, not prom night," Jeevika grumbled, but let herself be pushed into the washroom to change. She did her hair up loosely with a clip and decided on eyeliner and lip-gloss before heading out.
Her sister surveyed her critically, "I have a brighter shade of lip-gloss..."
"I like this one just fine," Jeevika crossed her arms firmly.
"If you're sure...?"
Jeevika's phone buzzed and Manvi made a mad dash for it, "He's here! He's here!"
Any other day and she would've been amused at her sister's childish excitement, especially when she started being pushed out the front door, "Have fun, Di! Enjoy yourselves!"
And then she was outside, with Manny standing outside his car.
He was a fairly attractive guy; she had to admit, with his ocean-blue eyes and dark hair. He wasn't cocky or irritating, he was intelligent and gentle and she supposed there were quite a few girls after him. But, there were no sparks. You're reading too many books, Di! Manvi's mockery passed through her mind.
"Hi," she paused awkwardly.
He seemed just as unsure of himself as she was, tucking his hands into his jean pockets, "Hey."
It was almost weird, seeing him outside of college and she was sure he was feeling the same way. It made her relax slightly. He's your friend, she told herself sternly, so treat him like one!
"Hope you picked out a good movie," she smiled, in order to lessen the tension.
"Actually, I left it to you," he opened the side door for her and she got in the car. Such a gentleman, she could almost hear Manvi's voice in her head. A gentleman. That's what she wanted, didn't she?
"You think Bua would be mad if I rode my motorcycle around in the middle of the night?" Virat mused.
"Don't even think about it," Viren warned. They were in his room, Viren lying back in his bed with his laptop; Virat sprawled across his chair with his headphones in.
"I need to get out, man! I'm feeling claustrophobic. It's so freakin' constricting in here, this house is so...so..." his younger brother searched for the right word.
"Clean?" Viren suggested helpfully.
"Exactly! She gave me a look of death this morning when I came in, leaving a shoeprint on the floor. The woman's a neat freak! I swear, she hates me."
"It's a case of conflicting personalities. You two just need to find a happy medium to get along by."
"Don't BS it, you're her little angel. Can't do a thing wrong in her eyes. What did she say, the other day? Viren, beta, you're like the son I never had..."
Viren grinned, "Maybe I'm just the charming one."
"Charming? You basically hide from women!"
"I don't. I just focus on studies..."
"Right...let me remind you of that gal...what was her name again? Adeline...no..."
"Adrianne."
"That's the one. She had a massive crush on you and you just broke her heart didn't you?"
"Well, I knew I had you to pick up the pieces..." Viren raised his eyebrow.
Virat grinned, "She was pretty cute."
"I didn't break her heart. I just didn't reciprocate her affections."
Virat mimed banging his head on the bedpost, "Christ. Clearly you need to get out more. Reciprocate her affections? You're twenty years old and you talk like an eighty-year-old English professor!"
Viren winced, "It's called intelligence."
"No offence, bro...but, it's not exactly a turn-on."
Jeevika sighed. They'd gone for While We're Young, and she thought she might have enjoyed it better, had Manny not seemed so uninterested in it. Every time she'd laughed and turned to him to gauge his reaction, he'd been merely staring at her with an odd look in his eyes. He was intelligent in his studies, sure, but could he not appreciate some intelligent humour, as well? There had been a moment, when she could've sworn his hand brushed hers on the armrest, but she'd pulled away so quickly at the slightest bit of contact, that she couldn't be sure. Was it possible...? Was Manvi right, when she'd said he had a crush on her?
But, the moment passed, and she forgot about it entirely.
He'd dropped her off at her house, but instead of going inside, she decided to take a walk. It was lovely weather, that time of warmth just after summer, yet with the cool crispness of fall and she revelled in it. It was a full-moon night as well, casting silver light and soft shadows.
She sat down on a bench. She'd been brought up in this neighbourhood; she knew it better than anyone else and it was a quiet, friendly place, where almost everyone knew each other. It was out of the way and far from the highway; which was why she and Manvi lived on residence during weekdays, but she loved her home more than anywhere else. Their parents had died in a car accident when she was only seven and their grandmother had taken care of them ever since. She could be a little strict, domineering, even, but she also loved them very deeply and Jeevika would never do anything to hurt her. Which was why when she thought about her little escapade, she felt a little pang of guilt. Beeji certainly wouldn't approve if she found out.
She knew she should be walking the few steps back home, it was quite late, but she decided she'd stay out a few minutes longer...enjoying the solitude of the night.
Shit. She'd fallen asleep. The sun was already breaking its way through the sky; the deep purple of the night was shot through with lavender and pale gold. She checked her phone in horror: it was almost six o'clock! Beeji would be getting up around this time!
She ran back the distance to the house, praying that Beeji would not yet be awake and searched her purse frantically for the keys. No, no, no! She must have forgotten about them when Manvi pushed her out of the house. This was the height of carelessness. She dialled Manvi's number, but the call went to voicemail. Manvi never got up past eleven unless she had to. Jeevika tried calling again, hoping the sound of her ringtone would wake her up, but to no avail. She definitely wasn't going to go in through the front, though. Beeji would have a heart attack if she knew she'd been out the entire night.
There was only one thing for it then. There was a tree on their front lawn that stretched its branches close to the balcony of the room she shared with Manvi. Manvi and she had often climbed it as children; it had been an amusing game for them, although the last time had been when Manvi had misjudged the distance and fallen...breaking her arm and spraining her leg in the process.
Jeevika thanked God she hadn't worn the romper and had picked the jeans, pulling herself up by a branch and desperately hoping no one was walking by so early in the morning...or what reputation she had as being the quiet, sweet girl of the Chaudhary household would be utterly finished.
She was halfway up the tree when she saw him.
Him.
She had no idea who he was; she'd never seen him before in her neighbourhood. He was tall and lean, jogging up the sidewalk with his earphones in, with his athletic shorts and a black tank that clearly showed off the corded muscles of his arms.
Don't look up, don't look up, don't look up...she fervently chanted in her head, pulling herself up higher, hoping the shaded canopy of the tree hid her from his sight.
She was almost there. She caught the last branch, for some strange reason, feeling compelled to look back, she did.
And he was staring back at her.
Her foot faltered precariously on the lower branch and her hand slipped.
And she fell.
Eye contact was a dangerous thing.
He'd felt excessively tired that morning, but went out for his morning jog anyway, trying to rid himself of sleep.
And yet, it felt as though he was still dreaming.
It wasn't exactly common to see a young woman climbing up a tree. Certainly not in front of a house. And so, he'd stopped, staring upwards at the weird picture before him. He didn't mean to startle her. But she'd fallen anyway.
He'd had the presence of mind to catch her before she hit the ground. But he'd lost all logic and reason as soon she was in his arms. All he could think was Damn...she's beautiful...
Her hair was longer than most girls kept it, waist-length and silken, dark, falling in soft waves. She was light in his arms, despite the initial jerk of catching her. Her eyes looked up at him, with an unreadable expression, large and an exquisite shade of grey, long-lashed and unfathomable.
It took him a moment to realize he was shamelessly staring at her, at which he let go gently, setting her on her feet and running a hand bashfully through his hair. He wasn't normally like this. He'd never reacted to a girl this way before, but this one seemed to deny all convention.
Well...he supposed climbing trees at six in the morning wasn't exactly normal.
She hadn't realized how beautiful he was until up close. And really, beautiful was the only word to describe him. He wasn't ruggedly kept; he was clean-shaven and his hair was cropped short, falling into his forehead slightly. His eyes were dark, intense, intelligent. Her hands had caught onto his shoulders, which, her eyes traveled past his arms, were quite well defined. She shook herself out of he reverie. This isn't the time, she mentally shouted at herself. She'd just been discovered under very embarrassing circumstances by this boy...and she was checking him out? There had to be something very wrong with her. She'd never reacted to a guy like this before.
Well...she'd been wondering what it felt like to fall for someone. She never thought she could take it quite so literally.
She took a few steps back. What could she say? Thank you?
He watched her uncertainly as she moved away from him. Neither of them said a word. Although when he saw her begin to climb back up the tree he was slightly concerned.
She looked down. He was still standing there.
He wasn't going to let her fall to the ground, if she imbalanced herself again. That was his excuse for brazenly staring at her.
She made sure not to look down again until she climbed up to the balcony. Thankfully she didn't fall again.
She peered down at him from the balcony, one last time. He grinned to himself slightly, shaking his head. He hadn't even got her name. He probably wouldn't see her again.
Her pulse was still racing. They hadn't said a word to each other. She brushed off whatever shooting sparks she'd been experiencing. She probably wouldn't see him again.
Eye contact. Again. It was a dangerous, yet lovely thing.
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