Nalani woke up startled by her ringing phone and searched for it as it buzzed. Groaning, she pushed the blankets away and walked over to the small study table in her room, where the phone was present. 

She picked it up without looking at the caller ID. "Hello?" Her voice was hoarse and sleepy. She waited for the person to speak. "Hello?" she asked.

"Nalani. . ."

"Hridyanshu?" She pulled her phone away and looked at the screen. Indeed it was Hridyanshnu's number. "Is everything okay?" As she looked at the clock, all her sleepiness disappeared. It was 2:03 am.

There was shuffling and she knew he was getting out of the car. "Did something happen? Where are you?"

"No― I mean. . . Can you step out of your house for a moment?" Nalani's eyes widened. She went to the window and pushed the curtain aside to see the road. Indeed, a car was parked on the side of the road, and Hridyashu was standing with his gaze fixed on the ground. 

"What―" Words stuck in her throat. She knew something had happened and wasn't sure how she would react to it. "Can you please come down silently? I― I don't want to disturb Uncle and Aunty."

"Sure." Nalani ended the call and wore the sweater on the tank top before leaving her room. Hridyanshu watched as Nalani hurried to where he was standing. The night was chill, and it was almost winter. 

"Hey. . ." Nalani walked up calmly, trying to ease the tension and not make things worse. She wrapped arms around Hridyanshu's tense body when he stood straight upon seeing her. "is everything alright?"

"Yeah. . ." Nalani pulled away from the hug and looked at Hridynashu. "What happened? Why are you here?" Nalani crossed her arms and waited for Hridyanshu to speak. 

Hridyanshu opened and closed his mouth. "You are scaring me." He scratched the back of his neck as he glanced at Nalani. "I―I received your message."

Nalani's brows frowned. "What message?" Hridyanshu pulled his phone out and opened the message box. He turned the screen towards Nalani. It was the message she sent two days ago saying she was leaving for Canada in a week after getting her visa approved. 

The confusion left her mind as it clicked. "I still got a week." Hridyanshu nodded his head. "Yeah, you do. But Vedant told me you are busy with your student's concerts." 

"Yeah, your point?"

"Hmm. . . I was hoping you could spend your free time with me. So I flew down to Hyderabad." Nalani was stunned to hear the words. "I have a concert tomorrow― Technically this evening and will be busy all day." 

"I know, that's why I woke you up. I want to take you on a night ride around the city before you become busy for the day." Nalani laughed, and soon Hridyanshu joined her. 

"Do you know what time it is?" She asked. Hridyanshu gave a nod. "2:15 am"

"My parents wake up around six in the morning." Hridyanshu smiled. "I will drop you off by 5:55 am." Nalani beamed and gave a nod. "Well, then, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" He opened the car door for her. "Thank you."

Hridyanshu was tense when he reached Hyderabad three hours ago. His friend Arun had picked him up and gave him his car to use. He wasn't sure how Nalani would react once she saw him in person.

The past few days had been hectic and stressful, and he didn't have time to talk with Nalani. He didn't check his message box until the evening, and when he heard from Vedant, he couldn't sit in his office.

He had to meet her and spend some time before she left for Canada. He isn't sure about how long she plans to stay in Canada. But he knew that it was something she had been working hard for. 

"Do you mint?" Nalani asked. "I'm worried that my breath might smell." Hridyanshu opened the box where he stores the basic things. He handed the mint mouth fresher. "Whose car is this?" 

"My friend's. He picked me up from the airport." Nalani nodded. "Where are we going?" Hridyansu smiled. "I planned something." Nalani turned her body in her seat to look at Hridyanhsu. "You did?"

"Yeah. . . I'm not sure if you gonna like it. But that's something my friend has suggested to do." 

"Well, I'm thrilled to know what you have planned. Do you know that route to the location?" 

"Yeah." 

"Cool."

*

Nalani was stunned after getting out of the car. She walked near the temporary iron-chained walls, her gaze fixed on the sky. "How?" Hridyanshu smiled. "My friend's father owns these lands." 

"It's perfect. Do you think they gonna fly above us?" Hridyanshu chuckled. "Yeah, he told me we would have a good experience." Nalani turned around. "I can see the flights on the runway."

"Are you excited?" Nalani smiled and nodded her head. "I'm very much excited. I have always wanted to see aeroplanes flying above my head. Like near experience. . ."

"I know." Hridyanshu leaned against the hood of the car whilst looking at Nalani. "How?"

"I figured it out the way you kept smiling when the flights took off when we were at the airport last time." Nalani awed. Hridyanshu crossed his arms and watched the smile grow as she spoke about her love for aeroplanes. 

He doesn't want anything to change between them. This is the first time in his life that he has enjoyed the attention he's been getting from Nalani. He loves the way she looks at him with those hooded eyes, and he knows about the dirty thoughts that cross her mind. He overheard her telling Vidha that she had dirty thoughts, which included him.

He couldn't stop thinking about the sentence for days. He didn't feel bad. He was curious to know what dirty thoughts she had of him. 

"Look. . . Look. . . Look. . . There's a flight ready to fly!" Hridyanshu chuckled as Nalani excitedly yelled. Hridyanshu walked over and stood beside her as they watched the flight takeoff. The wind picked up, and there was a loud noise as the plane flew over their heads. 

Nalani watched the body of the flight in awe as Hridyanshu tried to cover his face as the dust was everywhere. "Wow! This is one of the best things I have experienced in life." Nalani hugged Hridyanshu as she couldn't contain her happiness. 

"Awe, I could feel my stress and tension leaving my body. I have been under a lot of pressure and needed a break from everything." Hridyanshu unknowingly kissed her hair and hugged her gently. 

"I know, it's been stressful. I saw the videos Aadya has shared on your studio page."  Nalani sighed against Hridyanshu's chest. "It's going to be their first ever on-stage performance. They're going to be a lot of masters from the dance industry and―" Nalani breathed heavily.

"Ssh. . . Everything's going to be fine. They are going to be perfect on stage. They wouldn't mess up with anything, and you will be wearing the proudest smile watching them."

"Yeah." 

"Thanks for coming, Hridyanshu. I missed talking with you." Hridyanshu rolled his lips inside his mouth to hide the smile that was threatening to break free. "If it helps, I missed you too. . ."

As they stood there, another flight flew above their heads. Nalani looked up at Hridyanshu with her arms lying around his waist lazily. Her gaze flicked from his lips to his eyes. "Do you want to hear an honest confession?"

Hridyanshu hummed, "I want to kiss you, but I don't want to kiss you because you haven't given me an answer." Hridyanshu was stunned at the blunt confession. He was tongue-tied. He knew deep down he was falling for Nalani, but he wasn't sure how they were going to survive if they were in a relationship.

With the kind of snappy relationship they had all the years long, it's impossible to tell about the future. Hridyanshu and Nalani always fought or bickered in the past. After a few months, things between them changed, but that doesn't mean he could ignore the past connection they had.

After what happened when Mitali left when the engagement broke, it took him months to come out of it. And he vividly remembers the night she crossed a line she wasn't supposed to cross.

"You are overthinking― Again." Hridyanshu snapped out of his thoughts and looked down at Nalani. "No, I mean, I was thinking about that night." The skin in between her eyes frowned in confusion. "Which night?"

Hridyanshu looked into her eyes. The confusion was vivid. "You don't remember, do you?" 

"No?" Hridyanshu chuckled and shook his head. "Let's forget that I mentioned about it."

"No― Tell me. What were you talking about? Which night? There were a lot of nights." Hridyanshu isn't sure if she remembers that night or not. 

"Three years ago, at my parents anniversary party. . . Two days before I―" Hridyanshu doesn't have to finish the sentence. Nalani's eyes widened when she remembered it.