"Zoya, we've been here for a quarter of an hour and I don't understand why you're still hiding behind that menu", I heard Rahul's bemused voice.

I couldn't imagine how on earth, Rahul and I had talked like best old buddies at my home before he went to Delhi and chatted for the last few months on Snapchat like BFF's.

Because right now sitting across the table from Rahul in the radiantly lit room of Golden Spoons, one of the best continental restaurants in entire Mumbai, wearing the prettiest outfit I owned, I felt like a complete freak and hadn't been able to think of single sensible thing to say in the last ten minutes except, "Can I get a tissue?"

It was Tuesday night. Mom had gone to the engagement of a colleague's son.

She had asked me if I wanted to tag along but I had replied that I would prefer to stay back and do my homework, have an early dinner and crash.

Well, I wasn't entirely lying.

I had finished my homework before I left home.

My brain had been perfectly alright when I'd hastily been solving all the complicated sums in Physics two hours ago. But now it seemed like it had decided to jam itself up and not co-operate with me.

Besides, this restaurant didn't have the warm, buddy-buddy vibe of Tashan's.

Golden Spoons was much less crowded, much more sophisticated, seemed to contain only couples and all in all, appeared unfriendly somehow.

That was not to say the place wasn't beautiful. The restuarant played upto it's name. Everything in the room was golden except for the pink confetti that kept falling out occasionally on the occupants of each table from a crystal ball on top of it.

"So what will it be, my dears?"

We looked up to see a waitress who was nothing like Tashan uncle. She was possibly in her late twenties, model slim and wearing a skimpy outfit most of which was mercifully hidden behind her apron. Her hair was pulled up in a high ponytail and she had her iPod ready in her hand to take our order.

I was mildly surprised (and very happy) that Rahul wasn't checking her out. But then again, he was probably too used to this type of thing to gawp when he saw a lot of skin.

Thankful for an opportunity to open my mouth, I started reciting like an idiot from the menu I had just memorised, "One cold cucumber soup, one BBQ potato salad, one cinnamon roll, one plate of chicken wings, and one creamy fettuccine with brussels sprouts and mushrooms noodles. Oh and a coffee".

Rahul was staring at me like he had never seen me before.

Which I would normally have appreciated.

But not now.

"You order yourself something too no?", I asked tentatively.

The waitress however didn't seem at all perturbed by my long order. She turned to look at Rahul expectantly.

"One chicken noodles and a latte", he said very quietly.

As the waitress drifted away from us, I saw through the corner of my eyes that the couple in the table next to us had started kissing.

I hadn't even touched Rahul's hand since we had stepped into the restaurant.

What was wrong with me?

It was this blasted restaurant, I decided. I wanted to be back at the stone bench in the society park.

Our orders arrived in no time and as I started devouring my noodles, I glanced again sideways, this time a bit more obviously. The couple now seemed glued to each other.

I turned back towards Rahul who was now looking out of the windows into the busy street as he shovelled his noodles into his mouth. His right hand was lying lazily on the table.

Just grab it. Come on!

"You are being so silly Zoya!", I heard Riya's disappointed voice inside my head.

With an enormous internal struggle, I lunged forward to grab Rahul's long fingers but at the precise moment, he shifted his hand away towards his hair.

That was the last straw!

I fell back into my chair and started gobbling up all the food infront of me. In less than half an hour, I had finished every last scrap. I could feel my stomach pressing against the lilac satin sheath dress I was wearing.

I looked up and saw Rahul still pushing his noodles around and around in the plate with his fork.

"Do you want help?", I asked.

He nodded.

I lunged forward with my fork and finished the rest of the noodles for him.

"You really don't like this restaurant, do you?" Rahul asked as I dropped my fork, finally.

I was blithely aware of the couple next to us, still pressed together. Wouldn't they run out of oxygen?

"No", I said honestly "How did you guess?"

Rahul paid the bill this time without so much as a second of hesitation. I was embarrassed but glad because in my tension to get ready, I hadn't remembered to pick up any cash.

"Oh, you have very expressive eyes", Rahul said "You're a dancer aren't you?"

"Yes", I said shortly, now putting all my efforts into surprising a belch that was threatening to spill out.

"You should start a YouTube channel", Rahul said "become an influencer".

"I'm not interested in public life Rahul", I said after a pause, feeling confident that the belch had passed over.

"Then get interested. Most people don't realise what they want. I didn't realise I wanted this job either. It wasn't until eleventh grade that I realised I wanted a career in music..."

When he was this good at conversations why couldn't he have started this a bit earlier, eh?

Then I realized. It was always he who had steered all the conversations we had had so far. I was pathetic!

I looked up and saw that Rahul had finished speaking and was now watching me intently. In the dim golden light of the room, he appeared more handsome than ever.

Now I knew what the deal with the couple next table was.

I leaned forward to kiss him but before I could reach him, I was greeted with a shower of confetti on my face.

"Damn that", I said trying to brush it off my face furiously.

The girl in the next table sniggered. I hadn't noticed when they had broken apart. I wished her boyfriend would snatch her up and start smooching her again.

"Relax babe", I heard Rahul's calming voice as he brushed the confetti off me. I tried to snap his hand off. I was not a kid.

"Shall we call this a night and go back home then?", he asked.

I nodded as Rahul brushed off the last of the stupid pink stuff from my shoulder.

We got up and made our way out.

Of course, I hadn't expected our date to end with a full blown hook up session or anything but this wasn't how I had hoped for it to go either.

"That was some dinner, huh?", he said as we walked to the car.

It hadn't occurred to me that I might've pissed him off.

"I'm so sorry Rahul", I said truthfully "I could've shown some behaviour".

He looked at me with his famous bemused expression, "Behaviour? I'm not your teacher Zoya. Chill!"

When I continued to look glum, he said "See what I have".

I looked up reluctantly. He was holding out a bunch of some kind of tickets.

"They are not..?"

"They are! You and your friends are coming to watch our concert this Friday. You can come right?".

The approaching Thursday was Makar Sankranthi and we had been given a long weekend of four days at school.

"Of course!", I beamed.

Rahul beamed back and gently kissed my forehead.

I wanted to kiss back his forehead but I was too short. For the first time, my lack of height bothered me. I hadn't noticed it much at school though both Riya and Mishti were taller than me.

So I did what my height allowed me to and threw my arms around him. He hugged me back tightly pressing me against his chest.

This date wasn't so bad after all.

"Friday? Concert?", Mom asked suspiciously "I didn't know you were into rock music".

"But who isn't mom? Hehe.."

"That Saxena boy's band?"

"Yeah, that's the one".

"But I thought we could do something together. Like go for lunch or the PVR or somewhere else".

I felt guilty. Since I usually spent the weekends with dad, I rarely got to go anywhere out with mom. On the few holidays that we got outside the weekends, both of us would have our hands full. Mom was forever setting question papers and prepping for her classes. It had been ages since the two of us had even gone to a movie together.

"But I so wanted to go to this concert mom", I said.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes mom. Pleeease!"

"Riya is coming?"

"Yeah".

"And Mishti too?"

I nodded.

"Alright, you can go", she said and I beamed "But on one condition", she said.

"What?" I asked nervously.

"We have to spend Thursday together"

"Done!", I said immediately. Mom laughed at my excitement and shook her head.

"My parents almost didn't agree", Mishti told me and Riya on the phone warily. Her parents were the opposite of Riya's.

"Where are you going? Why? What time are you leaving? What time are you coming back? Oh my God!", Mishti grumbled "But in the end, they agreed".

"I'm coming of course", Riya said "But there's a teensy problem".

"What?"

"Mom and dad are going to a client's house on Friday", she sounded distressed "And I am supposed to babysit my useless brother. When I told them, I wanted to go out, they asked me to take Krish along".

"Then bring him", I said relieved that it was nothing more, "I'm sure we can handle him".

"Alright then. Friday night is open ladies!", Riya shouted "Woohoo!"