So, are you ready for this ride to forever with me, Praunuti?

He asked and she blushed while typing.

Yes, I am, Abhishek.

Great! That means I can flirt with now, right?

He questioned with a naughty smile on his face. He waited for her answer. Praunuti flushed red.

I guess. I mean I don't know how it works considering the fact that I have never been flirted with. Plus, mai itni clueless hu ki shayad mujhe pata bhi nhi chalega that you're flirting with me.

(Plus, I am so clueless that I might not even realise you’re flirting with me.)

He chuckled at her answer and wrote.

Don't worry. I'll make sure you know that you are being flirted with 😉.

Was that how it felt to be flirted with. Because somehow, she just knew that he had started. Her cheeks felt warm and her heart was beating wildly while her stomach felt like he had given birth to a thousand butterflies.

Things were going pretty smooth between the two. It has been almost a month that they have been chatting and talking.

Two weeks ago, soon after their serious conversation, they shifted to chatting over WhatsApp. A week ago, she talked to him over voice call for the first time.

He had a very very very hot voice. The slight huskiness and depth in his voice made her shiver involuntarily. It was at the moment that Praunuti realised that she was not the innocent girl she assumed herself to be.

Abhishek was too whipped. He was down real bad and he knew it. She knew it too. Because he had confessed.

“I like you too much, Praunuti. I don't know what I am going to do if this doesn't work out. So, I am going to make sure to do everything in my power to make this work.”

Praunuti was in her room, doing some pending work, when her phone rang. A smile formed on her face seeing Aahan's caller Id.

“Hey beautiful!”

She blushed. That's how he greeted her every time he called.

“Hi! And you don't even know if I am beautiful or not. Pictures edited bhi toh skti h na.”

(Pictures can be edited too.)

She heard him chuckle and bit her lip. Everything he did, sounded so hot with that voice.

“Then let me see how beautiful you are. And let me prove you wrong.”

“Kaise?”

(How?)

“Video call?”

She stilled. Video call? She looked down towards her attire. She was in her night dress. It was a simple t-shirt and pajama. She quickly rushed towards the mirror to check her appearance. She looked fine. 

“Umm-ok. But I look homeless right now.”

“Koi nhi! I'll be your home. Phir homeless nhi rahogi.”

(No worries! I’ll be your home. Then you won’t be homeless.)

Her eyes widened and she blushed. 

“Stop blushing, Praunuti. I am switching to video calling.”

He said and the call disconnected. She kept a hand on her heart and whispered.

“Calm down! Relax! It's just a video call.”

Her phone rang again, indicating a video call and she sat on the bed with her knees to her chest and the phone held over them. Showing only her face.

Taking a deep breath, she picked the call and his face came into view.

Oh God! She had seen his pictures. And truth be told, pictures did no justice to him. He was very good looking. Especially with that boyish grin on his stubbled face.

She had always liked stubble. And he looked super hot in that.

“You were right! You're not beautiful.”

Her smile fell upon hearing his words. Before she could ask what he meant, he grinned and spoke.

“Beautiful is a very small word to express your magnificent beauty. So breathtaking, Praunuti. Tumhe apne saamne dekh kr mai behosh na ho jaau kahi.”

(I might faint seeing you in front of me.)

He whispered and admired her openly by keeping his face between his palms as he leaned forward. She tucked her hair behind her ears and blushed.

“Stop it now!”

She giggled as he looked at her without blinking and he grinned.

“Nhi kr paa raha. Although I'm not even trying, I know koshish kru bhi toh koi fayda nhi h. Nahi hata paaunga nazre.”

(I am not able to….I know even if I try there would be in vain. I wouldn’t be able to look away.)

She blushed again and in that moment, he had found his favourite colour. The red on her cheeks.

Things were going pretty smooth. It had been almost two weeks of them talking to each other on video calls late at night.

It had been more than a month that the two had known each other and they were going to meet today for the first time. Abhishek was surprised because it was Praunuti who asked him to meet.

“Ummhmmm! Milkar kya karogi?”

(What will you do after meeting?)

He had teased when she asked if they should not meet face to face. She blushed at his implication and bit her lip.

“Abhishek! Aapko nhi milna kya mujhse?”

(Don’t you want to meet me?)

“Mai toh mar raha hu tumhe dekhne ke liye. I just did not want to make you uncomfortable. Par ab tum saamne se bula rhi ho toh koi pagal hi mana krega. And I'm not one.”

(I am dying to see you….Now that you are calling directly, only an idiot would deny.)

She wore a simple yet graceful co-ord set she had. Wearing her favourite Titan watch with it and applying her lip balm, she looked at herself in the mirror.

She told her parents she was going to meet a friend and left. She would tell her parents soon. First, she needed to discuss with Abhishek.

She reached the place they had decided and looked around for him. Her gaze stopped on a particular figure.

There he was! Sitting with his hands clasped in front of him, lips moving as if rehearsing something and eyes focused on the table as he mumbled whatever he was rehearsing. 

An amused smile formed on her lips as she took slow steps towards him. She was just a few steps away when he looked up. 

His eyes widened dramatically and he got up with a jolt. He opened his mouth like a fish, trying to get whatever he had rehearsed to say out of his mouth. 

His expressions were so comical that she burst out laughing. He grinned sheepishly and rubbed his neck.