1. You gotta take it kinda slowly

"Pooja!"

"Hey, Kabir," I greeted, turning from my locker. "Do you need help with something?"

At that time, we didn't really associate outside of our two classes we had together. He was fun to talk to, but most of the time he just asked for my help on whatever homework we had.

He stopped in front of me, rubbing the back of his head. "I was wondering...well, you see, Rani and I broke up a couple days ago and I...I—"

My eyes widened and I help up my hand. "No way. I will not kiss you in front of her, go on a double with you guys, or pretend to be your girlfriend just to make her jealous. That's stupid. If you want her back, find someone else to do all that dirty work."

Kabir was staring at me, a confused expression on his face. "You thought I was going to ask you to pretend to be my girlfriend?"

"Well, yeah." I rolled my eyes. "Isn't that what guys do whenever their girlfriends break up with them?"

Suddenly he was laughing.

"What?" I demanded. "It's not funny. It's cruel because 99% of the time, the girl ends up falling in love and the guy just leaves her."

Kabir stopped laughing, staring at me with his cheeks puffed out. He let out the air he was holding, laughing more. "I'm so—sorry," he said, holding his side. "I wasn't laughing at that, I was laughing because you thought I was going to ask you to pretend to be my girlfriend."

My face started burning as I realized what he was saying. "Oh, sorry, I'll just go to class now." I turned and started walking away, but he grabbed my hand.

"Wait, Pooja." He turned me around. "I did have a question to ask."

I kept my head down. "Please ask quickly, I'm going to be late."

"Well..." He let go of my arm, shuffling his feet. "I just wanted to know if you would like to...go on a date with me."

I narrowed my eyes. "Rani's not going to be anywhere near?"

He smiled, shaking his head. "Just you and me."

I was still a little suspicious, but I decided to give him a try. "Ok, but no good night kiss and I will not become your girlfriend after just one date."

I don't think I've ever seen him look so happy.

2. You gotta hurry up and make your move

"Oh my, gosh! That was so much fun!" I laughed as Kabir and I walked out of the arcade. "I've never seen a golf ball go so fast!"

"Glad you had fun, but please don't mention this to anyone else."

I looked up to see Kabir's face completely red. "Awe!" I laughed. "But it was so funny! Can't I just tell Kavya."

Kabir's eyes widened. "Definitely not. Everybody will know what happened by the time school starts on Monday."

"Oh, come on," I said, following him down the sidewalk. He didn't have a car so we had to walk, but I didn't mind. The night was nice and I would rather walk anyway. "It wasn't that bad."

He looked at me skeptically. "I broke a mirror, put multiple dents in the walls, put a hole in that dinosaur's eye, and hit the little kid behind us in the face."

I immediately started laughing again. "That was so funny!"

"I've never been so embarrassed in my life," he moaned looking into the sky. "That little kid's mom threatened to shove the ball down my throat if I even touched him again!"

"That wasn't funny," I admitted. "She scared me too. I wonder how many swear words that kid's already learned."

"I don't want to know," Kabir mumbled.

I chuckled and we continued walking in a comfortable silence. This was our fifth date and I was starting to like Kabir the more we went on them. I wasn't sure how he felt because he still hasn't kissed me or held my hand, but the fact that he keeps asking me on dates is keeping my hopes up.

Our hands brushed as I was thinking. I didn't really think much of it until his fingers entwined with mine. I blushed and looked down. I wasn't sure if I wanted to look at his face, but I knew I didn't want him to let go.I squeezed his hand a little to let him know I didn't mind holding his hand.

"I love nights like this," I blurted out.

Kabir laughed, throwing his head back. I looked at him and couldn't help but laugh with him. I couldn't remember a time when I had more fun.

3. You gotta tell her how you're feelin'

I plopped my tray on the table, food getting everywhere. I scowled and sat down heavily.

"What's wrong, Pooja?" Kabir asked looking at me in concern.

"I failed my English vocabulary test and lost my essay," I said. "Now it's going to be considered late and I will only get half credit for it. I'll probably only get a B now and my mom is not going to be happy."

"Will you still be able to go with me to the movies this Friday?" he asked worriedly.

I nodded. "I only get grounded when I have a C."

"Then there's nothing to worry about," Kabir decided with a nod. "Our date on Friday just makes it all better." He grinned at me innocently.

I stared at him in surprise and his grin disappeared.

"And you can probably just retake the test, so don't worry about a B," he added hurriedly. "The lowest grade you'll probably get will be a B+."

I continued to stare at him and he gulped. And then I started laughing. "You're hilarious!"

His expression lightened. "So, you're not mad?"

I shook my head. "You can't make me mad."

He grinned. "Will you be my girlfriend?" I froze and his eyes widened. "I mean, I like you a lot, but you know, if you don't want to be my girlfriend, I can wait. Unless you never, ever want to be my girlfriend, than that would be a little confusing seeing as we've been on I don't even know how many dates and—"

"It took you long enough to ask," I said slapping the back of his head. "Of course I'll be your girlfriend."

He looked relieved. "Good."

I smiled the biggest smile I've ever given and it didn't disappear for the rest of the day.

4. You gotta be the perfect gentleman

My boyfriend sat next to me, making sure there was a couple inches between us. Kavya looked at us skeptically.

"You guys have been together for how long?" she asked.

I looked at Kabir, my eyebrow raised. "Uh..."

He mocked hurt. "You mean you don't remember?"

I slapped his arm. "You know I'm not good at math."

"It doesn't take a math genius to figure out how long it's been since you're first date!" Kavya said.

"Oh, come on," Kabir said. "This is Pooja we're talking about!"

I glared at him and opened my mouth to throw a witty comment back, but he answered Kavya's question before I could.

"We've been together for almost a year."

"How come you guys don't ever snuggle or kiss?" Kavya demanded.

"Because it's not necessary," Kabir answered. "There's no reason for us to rush."

"But most couples would be all over each other!" She yelled.

I wrapped my arms around Kabir's shoulder and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "He's too much of a gentleman to make me feel uncomfortable."

"Uncomfortable?" Kavya scoffed. "Kissing is far from uncomfortable."

"Kissing leads to other things," Kabir said. "We would rather not get there."

"Besides," I said with a shrug. "I like hugs better."

Kavya shook her head, standing up. "You guys are hopeless." She left the room, probably to go find my brother and flirt with him.

I looked at Kabir. "You know I love you, right?"

He kissed my forehead. "I love you, too."

I rested my head on his shoulder with a small smile on my face. I was happier than ever before.