Not You

Chapter 13

"So...what do you do?"

They were seated comfortably in front of the TV on her sofa with all the food on a table in front of them. She had loaded her plate with as much food as the plate could carry before tipping over.

She gulped down the morsel she was chewing on and said, "You're being awfully nice today. Great food, normal conversation. I already agreed to watching the match, you know."

He smiled at the TV and looked at her to say, "I'm always nice. You just don't know me well enough."

She shrugged and said, "I work in business development. Mads tells me you have your own company?"

He nodded and asked, "So you've spoken to Madhura about me?"

She wondered how often she was going to have to take her foot out of her mouth in one day.

He elbowed her lightly and said, "Relax, I'm pulling your leg. I don't own the company. My friend does. But I've been with the company since the launch."

She ate another spoonful and asked, "Do you cook for them?"

He threw his head back and laughed at the innocence of her question. She was surprised and looked at him. She then regretted her decision as she found it hard to look away. Not only was his laugh delightful to hear, his face was completely lit up with mirth. When he recovered, he said, "That is really sweet. And no, I have other talents as well."

"Such as?"

He was still smiling when he said, "Marketing. That's what I do for my company."

"Mads tells me you're going to try and expand to Asia?"

He nodded lightly and said, "Madhura seems to talk a lot around you. And yes, that's one of the reasons I found the time to come here even. It's been a while."

She smiled slyly and asked, "What about the other reason?"

He switched his focus to the match and asked, "What reason?"

"The love one, of course."

He chuckled and replied, "I'd hardly call this mad adventure my mother has put me up to love. Amusing, definitely. Love, no."

She giggled and raised a spoon to say, "I'll toast to that. I'm curious though."

He shot her a questioning look. She continued, "Why are you even bothering with this? I find it hard to believe you can't find someone on your own."

He set his plate down and looked at her with a teasing smile to ask, "And why do you think so?"

She looked at the TV, her ears turning slightly red as she said, "Ugh. Just answer the question. Don't comment on the statement."

He looked back at the screen and replied after a moment's thought, "I'm just keeping my mother and apparently the whole family entertained with this endeavor. If it makes her happy, so be it. It's just a few hours of my time. They make for great stories, don't you think?

She laughed and nodded.

He added quietly, "And to answer your statement, I have found people...interesting in the past. And I continue to do so. My mother needn't worry."

She smiled at that and chose to silently watch the next bit of the match. He followed suit.

A few hours later...

"They're going to win, right?"

He looked at her and said, "What do I know? It's called a nail-biter for a reason."

One ball, three runs. The odds were really tough to beat. She clutched the remote tighter.

She groaned and covered her eyes, "I can't watch this."

Adi reached out, held her wrist and pulled it away to say, "You have to!"

The bowler bowled and she closed her eyes just as she heard the bat connect to the ball. She then flicked them open a few moments later and asked, "Did we win?"

He whooped, "We did!"

Oddly, the first thing she registered was that he was still holding her wrist. She then exclaimed rather excitedly, "Oh my God! We won!"

With that, she pulled her hand away from his grasp and pulled him by the shoulders for a hug. He laughingly came closer and wrapped her in his arms. It was supposed to be a victory hug. Then why was the match the last thing on her brain suddenly? Why did she suddenly feel her heart beat faster? Why did she want this hug to prolong further even though she knew she should pull back? Most importantly, why did it feel so good?

Damn the stupid questions.

She pulled back eventually and hurriedly picked up the plates to say, "Refill. You want?"

He said quietly, "The food is right here, you know."

She absently nodded and said, "Uh yeah. Not hungry. I'll wash the plates. Great match right?"

He nodded and changed the channel while adding casually, "Oh yeah. Great match."

Later...

She liked this song. She liked this song so much that she should have made it her ringtone. Wait a minute. It was her ringtone. Her phone was ringing. She slowly opened her eyes blearily and took in her surroundings.

She was still in her work clothes. She was on her sofa , remote in hand, with her feet curled up leaning very cozily on Adi's chest, the bowl of popcorn still on his lap. He was fast asleep with his arm resting lightly on her back.

Damn the stupid questions.

Author'sNote: Hello,my lovely people! How's the week been so far? Did you enjoy watching the matchas well? :P What are your thoughts on the last two chapters? Are you waitingfor a certain someone whose name begins with a P to make a return? Or are youhappy with the namesake? Or damn the stupid questions? :P Much love – S.