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"Too short,"

Soha scrounged for another red dress in her tiny cupboard.

Red, Nandini had been particular about red, and that was the one colour Soha was lacking a variety of options in.

"It's too bright,"

Soha huffed and put it back, sifting through the garments.

"Okay, this!" Pulling out a red and black printed maxi summery dress, Soha placed the garment with its hanger on Nandini's small frame. The length was perfect for the vibe Nandini wanted and the elbow-length sleeves were modest yet eye-catching. "This is perfect Nands, it's not over the top or anything!"

Nandini gave a double thumbs-up, taking the dress into the bathroom. When she changed, she sat on Soha's bed to get a makeover. "Listen haan, I want a very minimal neutral base and just a pop of colour on my cheeks and lips. Bas!"

"Nands, you can trust me!" Usually, the people who said that deserved the least of it, but Nandini decided to leave her fate to Soha's hands, while she crossed her fingers and hoped for the best.

"Look, I know you're excited and all, but he's somebody you don't know. A complete stranger..." Soha mentioned out of pure concern, aware of the creeps and freaks that surrounded them on the regular.

While she was one of the more modernly dressed women in the locality, it came with some disadvantages in their town. One particular instance when she had felt extremely unsafe two streets away was when she was catcalled by a group of biker boys on the way back from buying some tea biscuits at a corner shop. The memory made her jitter.

Her experiment was seated blissfully, lost in some thought of her own. Soha wished for that innocence to always remain intact and lodged some advice to her close friend, "If you feel uncomfortable at any point, don't hesitate to just leave from there. Or ring me... even a missed call will do."

"Thank you for having my back." She said with a cute smile that reached her eyes.

When Nandini finally was ready, she was running five minutes behind her predicted schedule so she passed a quick look in the mirror and headed out, her sleek straightened hair flying behind her shoulders. "Tell us everything when you're back, haan?" Soha said, to thin air, smiling at her friend's naivety.

Her friend's very first date.

Hurrying and boarding a rickshaw, Nandini arrived ten minutes late at the arcade. Ten minutes! Aiyappa, what is he going to think! His message said he was already inside. Such a terrible first impression she was going to create.

Holding her heart in her palm, Nandini got on the escalator to the entrance of the gaming arena, keeping her eyes on full alert to find Manik.

From the glass panes railing the escalator, Nandini saw a man from the back, dressed in a yellow jacket with splashes of pink and blue and red, and beige shorts, wearing a belt and some expensive-looking shoes leaning on the glass railing in the waiting lobby. The only thing, his hair was long, wavy and bushy, not spiky and straight like the ones in the pictures.

It couldn't be him.

Her heart hammered as she made her way up, her legs crossing each other quickly to desperately bridge the distance. As if by cue, he turned to his shoulder, lazily catching her in his vision, and stilled like a statue.

She was looking nothing like how he had imagined. None of those familiar kurtis and leggings or braided hair like in those photos. Nandini shifted her weight on her legs, naively worrying whether she was overdressed for the occasion and if that was the reason for his stunned surprise as he regarded her.

Smiling at his undivided attention, she waved and Manik cleared his already-clear throat, "You're so... different... from your photos, way more beautiful," His hands were casually stuffed in his pockets, which Nandini noticed as he turned.

He was not smiling, there was not even a flicker of amusement over his features but his voice trickled down like honey into her ears as it lingered with mild appreciation. Nandini fiddled with her fingers, unsure of how to take the compliment, and ended up shyly pointing at his head, "Your hair has grown out too compared to those photos I saw,"

"Do you like it or not?" His right hand came out and ran through his hair, fluffing the waves up. Air was punched out of Nandini's lungs. She stumbled on her feet tripping over nothing. His arms reached her in a puzzled manner and waved in the air, torn between wanting to be at her aid and refusing his itching senses to touch her.

"Hey, hey... careful! Are you already swept off your feet? Tch, very bad Nandini," Nandini clutched the cold railing beside her and stabilised, reeling in his mockery and softly giggling, solely unaware of the blank bewitched look Manik returned at the wonderful sound. Fleeting eye contact knocked them into another world altogether. 

Had the AC in the premises stopped working, or was it just Manik and Nandini who were feeling the sudden temperature rise?

Rings laced around his fingers. On his right hand, he was wearing a simple silver-looking band on his index and a black gemmed silver one on his pinky. His left middle finger had a strip of black stones embedded in a silver band.

She did not think she would like men with rings, but she was so so wrong... for she was so charmed by the effortlessness with which he carried himself. To top it off, he was wearing a long thin silver chain with a guitar pendant. Connecting with her heart through the invisible strings of their shared love for music.

Why was she staring hopelessly, what would he think of her if he noticed?

"I think it'll grow on me," She answered abruptly and he warmly smiled, robbing Nandini of her peace forever.

Manik's hand came forward in a leading motion as he gestured 'ladies first' and they entered the arcade at an arms' distance from each other. He pulled out a few coins and confessed that he had already bought the two of them a bunch of tokens since he was early anyway. So it was up to Nandini to choose which game to start with.

Nandini scanned the buzzing centre and went to a 'feed the monkey' game, where they had to stuff fake oranges down a spiralling monkey's mouth before time ran out.

Dropping two coins to trigger the dispenser, both Nandini and Manik aggressively stabbed the mouth with as many orange balls as they could, in hopes to maximise their points. The first time their hands gently slapped each other, they paused momentarily gazing at each other. Bursting into chuckles subsequently, they continued the game.

"Where to, next?" Manik asked as he collected the tickets from the machine.

"Okay, there is one game I have in mind... but don't laugh okay?"

"And why would you think I would do something as evil as that?" Manik joked with a slight smirk that made Nandini roll a lip between her teeth, controlling a blush.

He dazedly blinked at her and eyed it, setting a series of splitting fireworks in Nandini's guts. She moved to keep herself occupied with something else... to distract herself as she took him to one of those candy games she and her cousins used to obsessively play when they were younger.

Her eyes shone as she narrated a short anecdote from her past, and Manik shoved a whole set of tokens into the machine. He was being so generous with her, Nandini regarded the gesture as notably endearing, and they both played until each of them secured a chocolate, healing her inner child that never won one before!

When they played a shooting game in one of those closed cubbies, the mindnumbing shatters of glass and bone-chilling cries of the opponents had Nandini screaming whenever an enemy came upfront. Manik never missed an aim, mechanically feeding bullets to every target and singlehandedly defeating all their opponents while keeping Nandini alive.

She palmed her ears from the sound of shots fired and closed her eyes tightly, her forehead on Manik's bicep as the levels got tougher to progress. He blinked at her innocent frame, losing focus on the game temporarily as a target charged at him and depleted some health. Recovering from the unexpected blow, Manik killed them all and exited the game prematurely for Nandini's sake.

When they left the shooting fort, Nandini asked, "Have you played this game before? You seemed like a pro!"

"All the time," He said, without meeting her eyes.

The rest of their date went by so seamlessly, and after a while, both of them took a small break to grab a bite to eat nearby. Nandini did not think her idea of playing games together could turn out to be a great bonding activity, but she was glad by how comfortable she felt around him after the activity. He did not cross any lines; she would inform that too to Soha when she narrated the details to her.

At a takeaway shop, they were separated by a handspan. Manik ordered 4 different oily foods upon Nandini's suggestions on what tasted best. Nandini was distastefully ordering a salad to appear healthy when someone bumped into Manik from the other side, trying to cut the line. Manik's arm brushed Nandini's shoulder, but mumbling a 'sorry', he put back the same distance between them. She said nothing while simply smiling at the thought. Then came the real struggle, battling with Manik to pay for it herself and badly losing as he handed out cash from his leather wallet.

"That looks so unappetising, here, have this!" He pushed a Mangalorean bajji plate towards her while at a white circular table that seated two. She had said she loved food in her bio, but that... that was some grass and leaves in a biodegradable bowl!

"No, that's yours, it's not fair to you. Besides, I can't waste this," She poked a cucumber piece with their complimentary eco-friendly fork and it snapped in half into her bowl, breaking her soul.

Manik pressed a smile, taking the salad away. She didn't have to worry about being fair with him, things were never fair to him in his line of work–he was used to it. He offered his platter so she could have whichever one of his dishes she wanted. Why was he being such a darling? Nandini felt guilty stealing his food when he was such an angel.

The one she leaned towards was her favourite bajji, and she reluctantly yet carefully picked just one of them to try a bite; just one bite. It was just as oily and tasty as she remembered it to be.

Manik grinned and excused himself to bring them some more tissues, binned the salad, and returned with a fresh warm plate, placing it between them, and she dearly gazed at him... wishing to her Aiyappa for nothing else except his happiness, hamesha.

Feeding her was the pinnacle of winning her heart.

He folded a napkin to a point, and dabbed the corner of her mouth to absorb the grease, and prevent her lip stain from smearing, "Aise health-conscious banne ka nataak kyoon kiya when in reality, bajjiyaan ko dekhte hi... tsk, muh mein paani aa gaya tha?" Nandini giggled at his animated comment, and Manik chuckled, throwing his head back.

Filled with laughter and endless stories, neither of them even realised how quickly time flew by in each other's presence and for the first time in his life, Manik truly experienced what fun company—without underlying agendas—felt like.

As their date came to an end, they fell into step with each other. Manik's shoulder gently glided over Nandini's, which brought a soft radiance to her face. With an aura of stark confidence, a hot hand slid into hers filling the gaps between her fingers and engulfing her firmly, pulling her closer to his side.

Nandini beamed on the inside, gushing at both the advancement and the smooth manner in which Manik took his chances.

"I had a wonderful time," They said in unison and then smiled at each other as Nandini's cheeks felt warm. Manik paused and spun her and when she tumbled into his arms, he held her elbows and drew circles... deep in thought.

Suddenly shaken by the newfound proximity, her racing mind ventured into what would happen if he kissed her. Not that she would not want it... because it would undeniably be the perfect end to their first date... but what if she wasn't any good? What if she disappointed him?

Breaking her chain of thoughts, he softly asked, "How did you get here?"

"Rickshaw!"

"I brought my car, would you like a ride home?" Before Nandini could answer, Manik modified, "Actually, I meant two blocks away from your home." He said with a grin, wary of the gossip such a drop-off would invite amongst nosy neighbours. His hand extended before her.

Nandini took it and squeezed his hand, smiling as he guided her out.

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Who do you like more: simp Manik / intense Nawab?

Thoughts? Thanks for reading :")