After a lot of persuasion, everybody was on board for a catch up on the weekend after. With calculated sneakiness, Anu convinced that a mere get together would not suffice, and they need to plan better to unwind from their hectic lives. Everyone tentatively agreed, and Anu came up with a detailed plan.

She booked for a camping trip near BR Hills, after much thought, which took about five hours from Bangalore to reach. It was a first for her too. She had never been to a wilderness camp and never planned anything of that kind to the T. Rajendra's assistants had planned their trips. These mostly consisted of his business meetings while she spent time at the exotic resorts or shopping. He would join her for a part of the day, occasionally.

They would attend well-orchestrated evening parties with other business partners and their respective spouses or girlfriends or dates for the night. Initially, she was thrilled to be there, and Rajendra would often join her for a quiet night. Soon, it became repetitive. Their quiet nights together never happened, hence she lost interest. However, she had to still be there for appearances.

Anu shook her head to get rid of those depressing thoughts. She wanted to enjoy herself, and she was happy that Ajay would be there. A known person amidst almost strangers was just right for her. She knew Ajay understood her at a more personal level, and she could rely on him for something unforeseen. She wanted to rip away all her shackles and move ahead, be adventurous but not reckless.

Ajay was swamped with so much work that he hadn't given much thought about the upcoming trip. He knew his conscious mind was telling him it was for Anu's sake that he had agreed, but his conscience knew it was for both Anya and Anu. His favourite two As' in his life. He was determined to salvage his friendship with Anya at any cost.

Anya was a little sceptical about spending time with Ajay around but was happy they would be on a trip which may or may not involve a lot of interactions between the two. It was an adventure trip into the wilderness of Western Ghats of India. She knew this trip would fill her yearning for her native town to some extent. She was looking forward, in particular, for the nature walk and jungle safari that were mentioned in the itinerary. She was, however, happy Sanjay could get away from the closed life he led. She was pissed for not doing something of this kind for him earlier.

Though initially, reluctant about spending the whole weekend away from home, Anya persuaded Sanjay to take the much-needed break. From there, it was just a piece of cake to inform his family about it.

Sanjay was a little shocked when his mother smilingly said, "You deserve it Sanju. Just go without second thoughts. Moreover, it's only for the weekend. You'll be back by Sunday evening, won't you? Don't worry about us. Enjoy the break."

His family did not know anything else about the trip, other than that, that he was going out with his anonymous friends.

Finally, the weekend did come by, and as agreed, they started at dawn in Ajay's Ford EcoSport. It was advised in the itinerary to pack dark shades of clothing such as grey, black, brown, dark green or khaki to meld with the forest surroundings along with other essentials like bug repellent, sunscreen, sunglasses and hats. Single-use plastics were strictly prohibited.

While Anu sat in the passenger seat Anya and Sanjay, who met at Anya's apartment complex, bundled at the back.

"Hey, guys. Good Morning," Anu greeted merrily.

As Sanjay chirped a "Hey Anu" with the same enthusiasm, she heard a sleepy, "Hi Anu" from Anya.

Ajay's breath hitched at the sound of Anya's voice. It had a soft timbre and a hint of sleepiness which sounded even sexier. The morning mist and cool air only added to the overall effect she had on him.

"Rough night?" asked a smirking Anu.

Ajay's knuckles whitened at Anu's obvious insinuation as he waited with bated breath for Anya's reply. Of course, he never expected her to blurt out her nightly activities here, but still, he couldn't control his reactions. He thanked God for Anu's lack of attention on him since she had turned around to greet them.

Ajay took a deep breath only after hearing Anya's "Yeah, in the hands of my imaginary fuck buddy," sassy reply.

Anya continued after a beat, "Sorry for that. I'm not a morning person. And this guy here hardly ever sleeps, and last night he kept me awake with all his bubbling energy over the phone. I must tell you he is much more excited than a hyperactive six-year-old."

Sanjay flushed and added defensively, "You should've told me when you are about to sleep. I would've hung up."

"I didn't mind entertaining you because you would do the same when I need it. After all, what are we close friends for? The only difference is you are a part zombie, and I'm merely a human."

"Please keep talking. I only yawn when I'm fascinated," Sanjay quipped yawning deliberately.

"And you sound better with your mouth shut," Anya retorted playfully.

Soft chuckles were heard from the front of the car, which put a stop to their friendly banter.

"Didn't expect you guys to be so close. And Sanjay? Meet Ajay Mullapudi, my brother and bro' meet Sanjay Jandhyala, Anya's best friend."

"Nice to meet you, Mr Mullapudi. Heard a lot about you."

Ajay looked in the rear-view mirror at the other young man who was about his age and smiled, "I hope you heard only good things."

Anya controlled her breath and maintained a cool façade at the sound of his voice. She missed him. His tangible presence created havoc in her mind, but she was determined to enclose all these feelings he evoked into a cast-iron case, secure it with an indestructible lock and throw away the key.

She couldn't deny the fact that he was here at an arm's length, looking at her from time to time through the rearview mirror when he thought she didn't notice, yet she did. These were subtle glances, and that was enough to put her mind into overdrive.

"Of course. I know your work is at the Fraud control unit at your bank. I'm fascinated with cyber forensics, esp. ethical hacking. So what is the framework that you follow at your bank?"

Ajay was surprised at the question and was intrigued as to what Sanjay had in store. He seldom discussed his work outside his office but didn't mind sharing superficial and known details that could even be gathered from the public domain. He, in turn, wanted to assess Sanjay who was a close friend to one of his A and managed to charm his other A.

"Before I launch into a detailed explanation about that, I need to do something else."

He proceeded after a beat, "Hi Anya, how are you?"

There was pin-drop silence in the car, and all of them held their collective breathes. While Anu watched the scene unfold in amusement, Sanjay wanted to half stay out of it and half curious about the whole thing.

Anya briefly looked away before she answered him, "I'm fine, Mr Mullapudi. How are you?"

Ajay winced at the way she addressed him but did not show his disappointment and muttered, "So we are back to square one then? I deserve that. I'm fine! Thank you."

Anu quirked her brows in disbelief at the formality in their greetings. She gave props to Ajay for initiating the conversation. She was happy that her little brother was not a chicken but wondered why was there palpable tension between them. She gathered they weren't on talking terms since the hospital.

Ajay cleared his throat and continued, "Coming back to your question Sanjay. Is it ok to call you Sanjay? And please call me, Ajay."

When Ajay saw Sanjay nod to these from the rearview mirror, he proceeded further to explain his line of work.

Anya thanked God for Sanjay's intervention and his love for programming. She was saved from an awkward trip. Anu tried to make conversation with Anya but found her slowly drifting off to sleep. Besides, she was a little captivated with all the talk the men did and asked some sensible questions.

Little by little, the conversation took a different course. They spoke about politics, movies and sports. Sanjay, the ever stuttering mess of a person for the second time in his life, was not reluctant in someone's presence. He felt, apart from whatever issues Ajay dealt within, was a decent person, down to earth but did not tolerate fools. 

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