Ameeya's POV

"So how was it?" Asked Nishit as I comfortably sat inside our car and adjusted the seatbelt.

I looked at the review mirror, to find my free hair gently resting on my back while my lips were still embracing the pinch of rosy tint that my lipstick had managed to retain on my skin. My skin glowed

I look at myself and wonder about my appearance and my brother automatically answers my unanswered question "You look beautiful. Your hair is surprisingly glossy. Your bottle green trench coat suits your frame. And most importantly, that glow on your face suits you." He smiled as he assumed his driving.

I smiled sheepishly. "Mom made me go for facial. Can you believe it?" I knew mum would ambush me with questions as soon as I would put my foot inside the house.

"No. I mean  this glow is different. It reflects peace. And ease. And yet..."

"And yet... I need time." I completed his statement and he nodded. We were silent throughout the whole route while I reflected upon the conversation I had with Anant.

I remember how odd it felt when I Nishit had asked me to welcome our "guests" outside the club's entrance with him. I could literally see my cousin Ragini stepping out of the car with her husband, who once had a huge laughter session with me over the telephone as he was my brother in law. She smiled at me, ear to ear as Jiju (brother in law) Rohan waved at me. I returned his wave with my small hello, trying to feign at least half of the excitement that they both had. But inside, I felt dead. Not until....

Until my uninterested eyes met his quiet ones. He said a quiet hello to Nishit and looked at me. We gave each other a quick hello, as me and my brother took the lead in introducing them to our table. Those tables faced the swimming pool. Since it was already late, the customers had started fading while the winter winds stepped up to show their presence.

"Your cheeks look so rosy." Nishit whispered the fact as we all took our seats, Anant's opposite to mine.

"We are sorry for being so late. It's already the peak season for our business and office is too far. We just got home." Rohan smiled apologetically while I simply nod my head.

I decided to give a quick glance to the prospect of mine but he caught me, gave me one of the most polite yet intense eye contact and looked at his brother.

"So? What should we order?" Asked Nishit while I struggled with the butterflies in my stomach.

"Oh no. We just had our dinner so we are full." Said Ragini, looking curiously at me and Rohan, waiting for some action. Perhaps she saw too much of Bollywood drama. No. It wasn't going to be one. It would be a mature one on one conversation between me and Anant. No filmy drama. I was already tired of filmy love stories. My previous marriage was a typically arranged marriage with loads of filmy drama during the our engagement phase. And on that instant, I realised what I wanted from my partner. Maturity.

And by maturity, I meant respect. By maturity, I meant understanding. By maturity, I meant maintaining personal boundaries and by maturity, I meant a combination freedom wrapped with forever concern. After an abusive marriage, I was in no mood of any toxicity, poetry or tears or social media drama.

I looked at him while Nishit ordered cold coffee for all of us. Unfortunately for us, the servers were taking infinite time to get our orders. Now here's the deal. If someone wastes my precious time, his image is ruined for me, for the rest of the life. I was already tired of waiting for Anant and now the servers.

I couldn't take it any longer while all of us looked at each other and smiled awkwardly.

"Let me go and check with the main server."I couldn't stop myself.

"Wait, let me go and check!" Anant got up, in a gentlemanly way, realising impatience in my eyes. He somehow seemed to realise that him being late rattled me. At least a little bit.

"That's okay, I can take care of it." Said Nishit, knowing fully well of my temperament. Since the day I lost my father, I had almost became a walking corpse. I had gone through so much of nonsense that nothing practically mattered. And now, I was being my earlier self.

Suddenly the server appear with five cold coffees. Silence prevailed as we went to our usual self.

"Okay, this is awkward." Exclaimed Ragini and that was enough to burst the bubble.

"How about this? You both can grab another table while we three have some chat?" Rohan offered and I could see Anant's eyes reflecting the same serenity that he possessed a few moments ago.

So technically I was dealing with a gentleman perhaps with tonnes of patience? I wondered as I lead the way and chose a place, still far away from others, yet closer to the pool.

We descended on the lush and comfy blue sofas with a small coffee table between us.

"I apologise for being late. It was too hectic in the office. Besides, I had to go home, get ready and have dinner." He offered.

I gave him a small smile and nodded. I looked at my small hands and then my face reflected by the shiny coffee table. My cheeks were red and I quickly looked at my coffee that I had just placed on my table.

"So?" He spoke up, his deep rich voice reflected the same serenity that his eyes did.

"Hi. I am Ameeya." I didn't know what came over me and I started with a formal introduction.

His eyes looked amused for a split of second and he nodded. "I am Anant. Glad to meet you... Ameeya."

I looked up as he spoke my name. And that was the longest eye contact that I had with him.

The tension was high but for some reason, I felt calm. For some unknown reason, I relaxed dispute my heartbeats creating havoc inside. I knew what was about to come. I will have to, for some reason explain to him about the reason of my being there in front of him. This was going to get real awkward...