"That was--- err--- some show you put up" Pallav said with a wicked smile.

"Don't start!" I said, feeling embarrassed at my own thoughtless action "For a whole week, that's all everyone's going to talk about. Isn't it?"

"A week? Are you kidding? They will talk about it every single time Saraswati plays against BITM. For years to come"

I groaned.

He laughed "You should have thought about it before tonguing her in front of everyone"

"I know. It's not like I planned it. She was happy. I was happy----- dammit. Why did I have to?"

That kiss should have happened indoors. With no witnesses. Definitely not in the middle of the cricket ground where anybody from one of our teams can make a video out of it.

How will I face Anju if someone did shoot us and then shared it to our old classmates? Or worse, put it up on Facebook.

"Hey Anjali!" Pallav's voice made me turn around in nervous excitement.

She glanced at me with a bored look "Are you going to stay longer?"

"Err---no. I just came to say bye" I mumbled out a clarification, surprised by her attitude.

"Can we go then? I am not up for a long walk back home" she said, subtly implying the last time I told her to get off the ground.

"You don't have to" I said and peered back at Pallav "Thanks man. I will call you later"

He took the hint and didn't say another word as I followed Anjali to the parking lot in silence.

"Why isn't Johnny here?" she asked in a casual tone.

"Er---He's in Canada now, apparently" I responded, surprised by her irrelevant question.

"Ok"

"Don't do that!"

"What?"

"That" I said pointing at her face "You got your cool mask back on. Stop hiding from me"

She rolled her eyes "I'm not hiding"

"Don't you want to talk about it?"

"What?" she said carelessly.

"You want me to spell it?" I said sarcastically.

"Fine! No, I don't want to talk about it. Happy?"

"No. I want to know why not"

"Because I know why it happened" she said stonily.

I grew curious "Why do you think?"

"We won the match. I was happy. You were happy. We were full of adrenaline and did something stupid. End of story"

It isn't as simple as she's trying to make it to be.

But then, I don't know who she's trying to convince; me or her? However, I understand one thing. She definitely heard me talking to Pallav.

"Fine!" I said in a clipped tone before mumbling under my breath "If that's what you want"

She got behind me on the bullet without another word.

May be this is for the best. Instead of dissecting the kiss and arguing about it, I should just concentrate on winning her friendship. That was the original plan. Make her my friend again and then make her see how well we will be together; as a couple.

Only, the plan isn't working any better. In spite of staying close to her, I haven't gotten one step close to her.

And time's running out.

"Why are we stopping here?" She broke the awkward silence between us when I stopped at our usual ice cream spot; creme castle.

"We won the match. Or did you easily forget that too?" I couldn't hide the bitterness in my voice if I tried.

"Well, I didn't know you still remember things about us" she replied snidely.

At least, she gave a comeback instead of keeping her mouth shut. That's better!

"Do I order your usual Nutty Delight or did that preference change too?" I said darkly.

"Yes Please. But without the nuts" she said, imitating me evilly.

No nuts in nutty delight? Is that a joke?

I glared at her "What do I order?"

She answered with a matching glare "Nutty Delight, please"

I ordered 'What The Fudge' for myself and waited for the ice creams to arrive as my best friend and I pretended to not know each other for the next ten minutes.

"I didn't bring money" she said when the bill arrived.

"I know"

"I will pay you back when we go home"

"Did I ask you to?"

"No. But I earn too"

"I am aware of that" I said, throwing my ICICI debit card on the table.

The first thing she did upon reaching home is pay me back for her ice cream.

"Does this mean I have to pay for all the nights I devoured every food item available in your kitchen?" I asked, annoyed by her actions.

"No. Then I will have to pay back for all the times your family fed me. Even if did that, even if I gave every penny I own, I can never repay Ammamma's love"

And just like that, my anger vanished. Up in a poof!

She knows just how to push my buttons but damn if she didn't melt my insides like a chocolate lava cake.

"Anju! We can't keep doing this to ourselves"

"What?"

"Pretend to hate each other" I grunted.

"I am not pretending anything"

"Liar!"

"What's going on here?" Ananya's shrill voice interrupted before our argument could proceed further. Standing by the main door entrance, she watched both of us with a frown on her face.

What is she doing all the way down here!

"What the hell are you doing here?" Anju gave voice to my question, looking equally stunned by her cousin's sudden presence.

If Anju had no idea, why is she here when she should have been on a honeymoon with her husband!

"Jeez, thank you Anju. You always make me feel so welcomed"

Ignoring her sarcastic tone, Anju proceeded "I am serious"

"I came to take you both with us on a trip to Lambasingi"

"Us?"

Ananya rolled her eyes "Us as in me, Madhu, Nandu and my husband"

"Why do you want to take us with you when you can go with your husband?" Anju said irately.

"Oh, let me think why. Because I am an idiot" she snarled, looking displeased with her questioning.

"Why didn't you call us before?"

"Because you will say no"

"How will we go?"

"Don't you think I planned that part?" Ananya replied in annoyance "Everyone's waiting outside in the car. Please get going"

"Now?"

"Yes, Now"

"Wait. I have to call my parents"

"I informed them already. Now move your ass!" she screamed in exasperation.

"Do we have to pack a bag?" I said doubtfully.

She looked ready to kill "We will return in the morning. Now will you move?"

A silver Innova stood outside the house when Anjali and I walked out, freshened up five minutes later. She changed her dress but I'm still in my cricket jersey but what's more ridiculous than that is the newly wed groom is in his shorts.

What the hell is going on in Ananya's head? Who would plan a sudden overnight trip without informing them beforehand! We could have been away. We could have been sick.

Ignoring the dull throb in my head caused by my fight with my best friend, I tried to focus on Madhu's excited chatter but gave up after a while.

Lambasingi, also known as Kashmir of Andhra Pradesh is a small village located in the Eastern Ghats at an altitude of 3000 feet.

Unlike the rest of Visakhapatnam, the temperature is cooler going almost upto 0 degrees, making it a tourist destination and the only place to snow in south India i.e if you are lucky.

"Why exactly are we going there?" Anju spoke a few minutes later.

Ananya gave a dramatic sigh "I have no idea why I'm taking you"

"Have you ever been there?" Anju asked, looking at me.

"No. But I heard there are no facilities over there" I replied calmly.

"Why exactly are we going then?"

"I want my cousins to spend time knowing my husband" Ananya explained patiently "And what better than a long drive to a hill station?"

"You could not find anything else?" Anju scowled.

"Nope" she responded cheerfully.

"How far is it?" I asked, hoping to break their conversation before they could argue more.

"Hundred and forty kilometres" Ayaan replied with an easy smile "It's going to be a long ride"

It took almost 4 hours for us to reach the destination. Four hours of Ananya and Madhu's loud singing. Four hours of Anju's constant scowls.

Lambasingi is surrounded by dense forests and hills and valleys but there's nothing to witness in the dark except for a huge drop in the temperatures making us visit the ramshackle shacks that sell hot tea and biscuits.

Thankfully, we stopped midway for food and need not worry about finding a suitable place for dinner. We purchased tents and necessary supplies to make a bonfire.

"Why do you look so grumpy? Have you never gone camping in the states?" Ananya asked Anju with a displeased look.

"I did but where I went, I didn't have people camping outside every corner of my tent" she replied with a scowl.

Madhu giggled at her answer "This is India. You can't escape people no matter where you go"

"Is there anything else to see here?" I asked curiously.

"There's a reservoir and waterfalls nearby but obviously, we can't go there now" Ayaan replied calmly.

Anjali nodded in acknowledgement making him add "Where do you live? In states, I mean"

"Orange County. California. Have you ever been there?"

"Not California but I have been to New York and DC"

Nandu helped me in making a fire while Ayaan and Anju spoke about her job and the places she visited.

"There's this campground near Laguna beach in Orange County. It's beautiful. We hiked in the morning, roasted marshmallows in the pit fire and camped at night" Anju carried on the conversation, answering all of his questions with ease.

She seemed comfortable with his company.

"He's easy to talk to" I commented as Ananya sat beside me facing Anjali and Ayaan.

"Yes but he's also damn good at charming women"

I raised my eyebrows making her blush "You know what I mean, Vamsi"

I bit my lip, shaking my head "No, I don't"

"Shut up!"

"How's married life treating you? How's his family?"

"They are good. Everything's working well. But then, we are in the honeymoon phase so that's only normal"

I watched Anjali smile effortlessly at whatever he's saying but instead of feeling jealous, it only warmed my heart.

"When are you going to tell my cousin?"

"What?" I said, caught off guard by her question.

"You know what" she said with a roll of her eyes "Don't think I don't see anything"

Filled with curiosity, I asked "What do you see?"

"You look like you want to eat her up"

I chuckled "That's a little straightforward. How did I look at her before?"

"Like she meant the world to you" she said softly "Now, you look at her like she's your world"

"You are right" I confessed.

"And yet you are doing nothing?"

"In case you didn't notice already, your cousin is a little stubborn" I pointed out "And naive. Considering how she cannot see what you clearly do"

"Give her some credit, Vamsi. We are all blind in the matters of love. Look at Ayaan and me, for example. Apparently, he liked me since day one but I did not know until he confessed his feelings; two years later"

I sighed with disappointment "I don't understand her anymore"

"She's gotten grumpier" Ananya said with a look of horror.

I laughed at her directness "That's one way of putting it"

The light shone through the flames cast shadows on her face, highlighting her pretty features. Anjali's eyes twinkled as she listened to Ayaan's story with a look of interest on her face and an amused smile on her lips.

Lips that I kissed few hours ago. And one other time, more than nine years ago.

We were fifteen years old when that happened. Having feelings for Anjali for a long time and not knowing what to do about it made me take a step that I regretted ever since.

Being a confused teenager and having the access to sleep in her bedroom made me kiss her when she was asleep. But what amazed me beyond anything was that she kissed me back.

But the hours spent afterwards, worrying what if she tells her parents or worse doesn't want me to be her friend anymore made me realize the importance of her in my life.

Nothing seemed to hold more worth than her friendship; than her.

Fortunately she didn't remember that night and I promised myself to never do anything to risk our friendship again.

Over years, I succeeded in putting away my feelings; even pretending they never existed.

But losing her was a punch in the face that made me see things clearly; made me realize the feelings I tried to bury desperately and failed marginally.

"You still here?" Ananya snapped her fingers to gain my attention.

"I am sorry. What?"

"Want me to make Anjali share her tent with you?" she said with a mischievous smile.

I grinned in answer "Will Ayaan be alright if I gave you a kiss right now?"

------

Thank you for reading. Vote, Comment and Share if you like the chap.

I owe you all a huge apology. Don't I? I am so sorry for making you all wait but more than that, I am so sorry for making you worry.

I am fine, though. I am doing alright. Our business was really good in the last 6 months. I know we are one of the few lucky people to say that. 

How are you guys doing? At home or back to offices and colleges?

I don't have a publishing schedule this time. Not with my brother (who's back home) constantly hovering over me at office and at home.

So, I will try to sneak in a chapter anytime I can. The editing of this book is real bad though. I keep going back between present and past tenses unconsciously and it's all a huge mess now.  

I have a couple of more chapters and an epilogue to write before I can complete this story.

Until next time, lots of love.

- JANAKI