“My name is Karan, by the way. Ab hum rooftop partners hai toh I guess we should at least know each other’s names.”

(Now that we are rooftop partners so I guess we should at least know each other’s names.)

That made her smile and she shook his hand which he had forwarded for a hand shake.

“Monami.”

She gave her name and he repeated it in a low voice. 

“Hmm… Monami. Nice name.”

Why did she feel her stomach flip just with him muttering her name like that? Sometimes God did do justice to people’s faces. Karan was an extremely good-looking man and he had a good voice too. But the only negative was that he already had a girlfriend.

That’s what Monami thought. She unfortunately couldn’t get the job in the company she wanted but she bagged a decent job with a good salary.

Monami and Karan met every night at the rooftop but he as promised always sat away from her, not bothering her in her personal time. And now, she was regretting saying that to him.

He seemed like a good person. And she genuinely wanted to get to know him. She knew he had a girlfriend but maybe they could be friends. The few times that she talked to him, he seemed like he would be a good friend.

Even today, she sat on the rooftop but her eyes constantly kept going to the stairs. He wasn’t there yet. She was rocking back and forth and waiting impatiently. Trying to think of how to start a conversation. Would he think that she was trying to cling to him?

She turned her head in a whiplash when she heard his footsteps climbing up the deck. He waved at her and she quickly waved back like an idiot. He sat at his usual place and she kept looking at him like a crazy lover.

He suddenly turned and looked at her when he sensed a gaze on him, making her look away and close her eyes in embarrassment. A minute later, she felt a presence besides her and saw him sitting next to her.

She gasped and looked at him wide eyed.

“Hi!”

He grinned at her and she opened and closed her mouth a few times before whispering a breathy hi. He poked his cheek with his tongue in amusement and leaned towards her sideways.

“Bhut der sideways dekhne se neck cramp aa skta hai. I thought I’d save you the pain. Toh mai yahi aa gaya.”

(You can get a neck cramp due to looking sideways for a long time…So I came here.)

He said naughtily and she closed her eyes in embarrassment and looked away.

“I… I was not looking. Mai bas… mai bas…”

(I was…I was just…)

She tried to cover up but stopped when she heard him chuckle.

“It's ok. I don’t mind. I’ve been trying to gain courage to talk to you myself. You just gave me the perfect chance.”

He confessed and she felt her heartbeat raise. A blush coated her cheeks until she remembered that he had a girlfriend. Why was he flirting with her then?

“Is your girlfriend ok with you flirting with random women?”

She asked not wanting to create a misunderstanding. Maybe she was wrong and was assuming things that were not even there. And his reaction confirmed her doubts.

“Girlfriend? Who told you I have a girlfriend?”

He scrunched his nose in confusion. And God, she swore she had never seen such a masculine man pull off that cute reaction. He was the perfect combination of deadly hot, sexy, masculine, rugged and cute. 

“Umm… I heard you talking on your phone the second night you were here.”

He frowned and looked at her in confusion, trying to recall what she was talking about. His expression changed to one of understanding when he realised what she was talking about.

“That wasn’t my girlfriend. That was my princess. My bhaiya’s daughter. She’s 5 and she has never been away from me since birth. So, she gets sad when she doesn’t see me for long. I was talking to her that day.”

He explained and her eyes softened. She could see the love in his eyes. And she knew he would be the best papa one day. She could imagine him being so soft and caring with kids. And she had no idea why she was blushing at the thought.

“You, okay?”

He asked when she didn’t say anything. She cleared her throat and looked at him.

“Umm… yeah! I just… you must miss her a lot na?”

“So fucking much! She’s just so so adorable. Funny how something so small can wrap your entire 6”3 being in her little fingers. I’m sure you’ll love her.”

She too smiled and nodded.

“I’m sure I will. I love kids. And she sounds too cute. What’s her name?”

“Misha. My brother’s name is Mithilesh and my bhabhi’s name is Shalini. So MiSha. You get it?”

“I do! That’s so cute!”

She gushed. She loved when kids were named after their parents’ names combined. Truly depicting them as the symbol of their love. Their union. And nothing could be more beautiful than this. 

How would their ship name sound? She started thinking. Monami and Karan. Karan and Monami. Monami Karan. MonamiKaran. MonamiKaran. Namik.

“Hey!”

He waved a hand in front of her, breaking her out of her reverie. 

“Where do you get lost again and again?”

“I… uhh… nothing.”

She blushed at her own thoughts. Karan bit the inside of lip seeing her blush and smiled to himself. He was down so bad. None of them realised how long they sat there and chatted. It was 12:30 when they finally realised that it had been more than one and half hours that they had been sitting there and talking to each other.

The two have been meeting for a week. It had become their nighttime routine to spend time together and talk about their day. Both of them felt oddly comfortable around each other.

“Hii!.”

Monami greeted him with a wide smile as she reached the rooftop one night. Karan grinned mischievously and bumped his shoulder against hers.

“So happy to see me, huh?”

“Aisa kuch nhi hai. I just had a very good day at work.”

(Nothing like that.)

She said looking away and he hummed in a teasing tone.

“Tsk! Stop with that teasing tone.”

He laughed and she smiled with a blush coating her cheeks.