“I got these for you. I hope you like flowers.”

It was a beautiful bouquet of pink and white flowers wrapped in a soft pink pastel paper. It gave romantic and aesthetic vibes.

“I do love flowers but I thought that this was just a friendly dinner.”

She teased and he smiled sheepishly. Not having any reply to that, he opened the door for her. They drove to a restaurant and Vani looked at him in surprise.

“Veer? Isn’t this place too expensive?”

“Doesn’t matter. It had the best reviews. Unless you want to go somewhere else.”

“I don’t know but I’ve heard that this place is very high class and expensive.”

“Don’t worry about expenses. It’s on me.”

“What? Why?”

“I’m not letting you pay when I asked you out on a date.”

He confessed absentmindedly and she playfully narrowed her eyes on him.

“Date? What happened to the ‘friendly’ dinner?”

He looked at her intensely and said.

“You and I both know it’s not just a dinner, Vani.”

The way he took her name, with that intense, meaningful look, made her shiver involuntarily. She looked away trying to hide her blush.

“Still! You didn’t have to choose such an expensive place.”

She mumbled feeling guilty already about letting him spend so much. He leaned in and whispered mischievously.

“Next time jagah tum decide kr lena.”

(You decide the place the next time.)

“How are you so sure there’s going to be a next time?”

She asked, turning to face him again. He shrugged and looked into her eyes.

“I’m not. I just want a next time.”

He then got out of the car and quickly rushed to her side. He opened the door for her and gave her his hand.

“Shall we?”

She nodded and got out holding his hand. As soon as she stepped out, she immediately left his hand, making him a little disappointed. She, too, immediately felt the warmth disappear. 

They took their seats and skimmed through the menu. Vani bit her lip looking at the prices. Veer took the menu from her hand and she looked at him surprised.

“What?”

“I know what you’re doing. Don’t!”

He then called the waiter over and asked for a menu without the prices.

“Hey! That’s not fair!”

Vani protested but Veer gave her a look that said that he’s got it covered. He handed her the new menu and said.

“Order without any guilt. I want you to enjoy the time you spend with me. Don't worry about such stupid things.”

She looked at the menu which now had no prices mentioned and mumbled.

“Nice way to flex, Mr. Richie Rich!”

She teased and he chuckled. She too smiled and they finally gave their orders. They looked at each other after their order was given.

“So?”

She asked and he smiled.

“You know….I’ve heard a lot about you from my sister. She keeps talking non-stop about how helpful, kind and beautiful you are.”

He said and she smiled.

“She’s cute. Class ke waqt aadhe time aapki baatein krti hai.”

(She talks about you during half the class.)

He chuckled and said.

“She is like that. Jo bhi pasand aata hai dusro ke saamne ussi ke gungaan gaati rehti hai. She loves your mom, by the way. Says she is the bestttttt teacher in the world.”

(She starts singing praises of whoever she likes in front of everyone.)

He mimicked her way and they both laughed.

“She’s a smart kid. Very quick in grasping everything.”

Vani said and Veer nodded.

“Ab dono mai se ek sibling toh smart hona hi chahiye na. Dono dumb achhe nhi lagenge.”

(One of the siblings has to be smart. It wouldn’t be good if both are dumb.)

He joked and she frowned in confusion.

“Dumb? But according to Varenya, you are her smart Veer bhaiya.”

He chuckled, totally imagining her doing that.

“She just likes to boast about me being an officer.”

Vani frowned again.

“Officer? What kind of officer?”

This time, he frowned. He thought she knew. Varenya and her habit of babbling everything made it impossible for anyone not to know about his profession. He knew she worked in the finance sector in a company.

“I am an IAS officer.”

Her eyes widened dramatically and she looked at him open-mouthed. He chuckled at her expression

“You…I…I’m on a date with an IAS officer?”

“Why? Are we not humans?”

“Nhi…I didn’t mean that. I mean…wow!”

She was surprised. He teased and asked.

“You mean I look too dumb to be an IAS officer?”

“No! I mean it’s a very respectable profession and I never imagined being on a date with one.”

He mock bowed and she giggled. 

“And you say you’re the dumb sibling.”

She teased and he laughed.

“Oh! trust me I was. Until my 12th grade. Barely pass hota tha mai. 50% marks were like a celebration for me. I was a certified back bencher. Kabhi first bench ke darshan bhi nhi kiye the.”

(I barely passed…I never experienced the first bench.)

“What changed?”

She asked and he shrugged with a small smile.

“I grew up. I realised ki puri life aise masti mazak mai nhi nikaal skta na. My parents were growing old. I had a younger sister. Just this realisation and I had to do something. Something to make them proud and also earn for the house.”

(I realised that I cannot spend my whole life in jokes.)

She smiled, understanding what he meant. Being the elder child of the house, she too felt what he was trying to say.

“And you’ve done it. Made them proud. Uncle aunty se itna nhi mili but jitna bhi Varenya se baat kri hai na, I know that they’re extremely proud of you.”

(I haven’t met uncle aunty so much but from what I’ve heard from Varenya…)

He kept looking into her eyes with a soft smile. His eyes carried a lot of emotions. He opened his mouth to say something but the moment was broken by the arrival of their food.

They spent the rest of the evening talking about general things about each other. Veer had dropped her back and was walking her till her door. 

They stopped in front of her apartment and she turned to face him.

“Thank you for today. I really enjoyed it.”

She said and he smiled and whispered “Me too” back to her. He had his hands in his pockets because he wasn’t sure what to do with them. He wanted to hug her but maybe it would be too soon.