Aayush : Hey!

Taara stared at her phone biting her lower lip. She had been living in that moment again and again. He said he liked her! It seemed her life was slowly transforming into a beautiful romantic movie. She liked a guy, good. He liked her back, great. He confessed, awesome. He was a natural romantic and she admired him. What could possibly go out of place? Her heart thudded. What if, this was an illusion? All of this was sheer stupidity? What did not help was that he seemed to have grown handsome overnight and still more terribly attractive. It was so hard for Taara to not stare at him, the last time they met.

"Taara."

Taara finally gained her composure and texted back. "Hey!" She smiled looking at the screen.

"Taara."

"Taara Mittal Jaisingh!" Her mom's loud voice made Taara look up. "What?" She replied  frowning. Her mother almost always disturbed her when she was on the phone.

"Tell me who the guy is." Tara stared at her. " I have been trying to get your attention from the past ten minutes. It wasn't, clearly, in my favor.  I know it's a guy." Her mother added, walking up to her. Taara panicked. If she told her mom how she met Aayush, her mother would lose her sanity. Perhaps locked her in like Rapunzel? Okay, exaggeration. Tara knew it wouldn't be nice.  She quickly got up walking towards the stairs.

 "I will be back, I need to get my towel from the terrace." Taara smiled at her mother.

Her mother, Manisha, smiled knowingly, "I am your mother sweetie!" She folded her arms, looking at her.

"Come on Mom! It's just Priya."  Taara attempted to convince her.

"You're a lesbian?" 

It wasn her mother's question, but her serious look that made Taara freak out and say, "What! no way!" 

"Then stop naming your boyfriend Priya." With that the right corner of her mother's lips tugged upward forming a winning smirk.

Taara rolled her eyes and turned, lest her mother should catch her almost grin. She jogged up the stairs. "You're running away, Taara."

"I am not mom." She shouted back. 

"Don't do anything stupid before marriage." Her mom screamed. Taara smacked her palm on her forehead. Her mother didn't know her level of stupid.

"Cut it, mom. " 

"At least use..."

"Mom please!" Taara yelled before she completed that sentence. Here she was struggling to sink in the fact that a guy liked her and her moment was way ahead thinking about the unnecessary. Twenty First Century mothers! It was the Netflix that made her mother so forward, perhaps.

Taara smiled as she saw a message from him.

Aayush:
Did you think about it?

Taara smiled typing. "Desperate?"

Aayush grinned looking at his smartphone's screen. "No, not at all. Just making sure if you're okay."

Taara:
Why wouldn't I be okay?

Aayush:  you went all speechless after I confessed. Either I did it the wrong way or you weren't expecting it.

Taara:
I wasn't. 

Aayush:
So.... Then?

Taara:
Then, what?

Aayush:
Come on, Taara.
Don't beat around the bush.

Taara:
Do you know that --
You are too straightforward for my liking?

Aayush:
Am I ? I have heard opposites attract. 

Taara:
And after that attraction, they repel. 

Aayush:
But that's for magnets. Not electrons and protons.  

Taara:
I thought business was your majors. 

Aayush:
It is, but I knew my science well in the final year of school. 

Taara:
Why did you not consider being an engineer or a scientist then?

Aayush:
I feel like this is an interview over text messaging, suddenly.

Taara :
Lol! 

Aayush:
can't believe you actually used that.

Taara :
you mean lol?

Aayush:
Yeah. 

Taara:
Normalcy, you see.

Aayush:
Why aren't you this comfortable in person?

Taara:
How do you find ways of offending me? I am this way in person as well.

Aayush:
Let me be the judge of that. 

Taara:
Judge-mental.

Aayush burst into laughter reading that. "You're funny." He typed.

Taara:
That's not the way you complement. You say - you have a good sense of humor.

Aayush:
Aye Aye Captain, as you prefer it.

Taara blushed. Licking her dry lips she wondered what to type. Her stomach growled. Something else needed her attention now. She giggled typing, "Gotta go."

Aayush:
Happy night!

Taara:
Too you too. :)

Aayush:
By the way, you look gorgeous in maroon. 

Taara smiled stupidly, not choosing to reply right away. She quickly ran to her room for a quick bath. Pn weekends she generally bathed at night. At the dining table her mother simply observed her. "What now?" Taara asked looking at her mother squarely. 

"Would you like to go and meet Vivek? He is Mrs.Thakural's elder son. Just back from the States." 

"Oh, the one who went to Boston for postgrad?" Taara remembered meeting this guy at one of the get-togethers her mother had tagged along too. That was like more than two years ago. 

"You remember?" Her mother looked at her with twinkling eyes. 

"Of course. He was intelligent." Taara thoughtfully chewed her food. 

"Should I set up a meeting? If you like him, you guys can you know see if things work.."

"I am not marrying him."

"So is it going to be the guy you name Priya?" Her mother narrowed her eyes at her. Taara was in a fix. She didn't want to tell her mom about Aayush yet. She would freak out. And maybe because she needed time.

"Please not again. If you want me to meet him fine I will. Stop playing this Curious mommy of a teenager. I am twenty-five."

"You stop behaving like a teenager sweetie, I will stop acting like a teenager mommy!" 

Taara rolled her eyes. Meeting Vivek was a good way to throw her mom off track. She was being too observant off late especially when Taara was with her phone. She retired to her room and picked up her phone. She smiled reading his last message again. Smiling she typed, "Stop flattering me, Mister. Good night!" She sighed looking outside her window. 

Her phone beeped. "Good night, Sweet dreams ;) " Taara grinned stupidly, her eyes noticing the wink emoji. 

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Fourth update in a row! ;)