Sorry, You're Not My Type (9 page)

‘No yaar, you both go. I will join you guys some other time,’ Vikrant said.

‘Yuvi, at least you come with us. You can bring Kashish along if you want. It will be fun. Then even I can spend some time with you and get to know you more.’

‘You want your boyfriend to kill me?’ Yuvi added.

‘Won’t Kashish kill me?’ Anamika asked and they all laughed.

‘Come on, Yuvi. Now, don’t make excuses. At least you should come,’ said Anamika tried to convince him.

‘What will we do there? Neither Kashish nor I know Anurag much. I mean we are not friends with him,’ Yuvi asked puzzled.

‘Shut up. You know me, that is enough. You come along for me and not for him. And obviously I will introduce you both to him. You will not feel like strangers. Trust me,’ she said excitedly.

After lot of convincing, Yuvi finally agreed to go along with Kashish. Vikrant was not in a mood to go. Anamika was excited that at least Yuvi was joining them. But before agreeing, he had put a condition in front of her that if he didn’t like Anurag, he would stay away from him. Anamika agreed.

Satyam Cineplex, Nehru Place, Delhi

24th August, 2012

All of them decided to go for a movie to Satyam Cineplex. Yuvi and Anurag were supposed to reach early to buy the tickets. It was an awkward moment when both of them reached almost at the same time and stood one after the other in the ticket counter line. Being from the same college, they vaguely knew of each other but had never got a chance to talk. To avoid embarrassment, Anurag broke the silence.

‘Hi. So what’s up? We never interacted with each other much. But I hope everything is going well,’ Anurag asked Yuvi.

‘Indeed. Everything is good. Even the grades are good,’ Yuvi replied.

‘I hope we both didn’t disturb you. I mean you know how Anamika is. She must have forced you to come along, right?’

‘Not really.’

‘Where is Vikrant? He didn’t come?’

‘He is in Lapataganj,’ Yuvi smiled and said, ‘How’s it going with Anamika?’

‘I am confused as to what it is that she wants from me. You won’t believe it but we still haven’t taken our relationship to the next level,’ he said.

‘That’s not a big deal,’ Yuvi said casually. He believed if you are serious in a relationship and have made up your mind to be with the other person, then the physical act of love does not really matter.

‘Yes, I agree. But if you want your relation to sustain for long, you need to get close. Else how would you…you know…’ Anurag gestured shrugging his shoulders. Yuvi felt weird talking to Anurag about such intimate matters. He wanted to run away but kept put just for Anamika’s sake. He felt that Anurag wanted to take advantage of Anamika and was in the relationship only for sex. On the other hand, he knew that even Anamika was not serious about Anurag. Then why did the relationship last so long? Probably, that’s what relationships have become these days. Chalti ka naam gaadi.

Where Yuvi and Anurag were a complete mismatch, Anamika and Kashish gelled along well, especially when the topic of discussion was Yuvi. Though Anamika and Kashish had not interacted with each other ever before, they got along like a house on fire. Kashish was a bit shy when it came to expressing her views. But when the conversation drifted to a discussion on Yuvi, she completely let loose.

‘How do you manage to handle his mood swings? He goes crazy once he’s doped,’ Anamika winked.

‘You have not seen the worst of him after doping. I know him better that way and I know how far things can go,’ Kashish smiled teasingly.

‘Is it? Then I should try it once,’ Anamika added.

‘No no. He is best suited for me. No one else can handle him the way I do. He is mine,’ Kashish said holding Yuvi’s hand.

‘Who is what? What’s going on?’ Yuvi asked but Kashish pushed him inside the theatre.

They took their seats. Yuvi and Kashish took the corner seats while Anamika and Anurag came and sat next to them. The lights were put off and the opening credits started rolling on the screen.

As time passed, Yuvi tried to get close to Kashish. Kashish hesitated as Anurag and Anamika were sitting right next to them. But eventually Yuvi managed to seduce Kashish and kissed her passionately on her lips. Anamika was more interested in what was happening in the seats next to her than the actual movie. She saw Yuvi insert his hand into Kashish’s top. Anurag had no clue what was happening. He felt Anamika was staring at him in the absence of lights. He put his hands on her shoulder and brought her close. They gazed at each other for a while until Anamika took his arm from her shoulder and placed it back on his lap.

‘Now what? Why are you pushing me away?’ Anurag asked in frustration.

‘Nothing. Please, not here,’ Anamika replied.

‘Is it the first time we are doing this?’ Anurag questioned again.

‘Please, not now. Can we just watch the movie, please, like the rest of the audience?’ Anamika requested.

‘Of course. Anyway, I don’t mean anything to you, right? I am a loser. Thanks for letting me know.’

‘When did I say that?’ Anamika said raising her voice.

To avoid fighting, Anurag kept quiet and did not react further. It would have been embarrassing to fight in front of Yuvi and Kashish, especially when they were having a good time together. Anurag didn’t talk to Anamika for the entire movie. On the other side, Yuvi and Kashish’s romance was picking up heat to which not only left Anurag but even Anamika feeling insecure. But lovers are lovers! They just look for an opportunity. The movie got over and Yuvi decided to drop Anamika and Anurag home.

‘Just stop the car at a nearby restaurant. I want to take a parcel,’ Anurag requested Yuvi on the way.

‘Sure. Buy some booze as well. You can make the most of it,’ Yuvi teased Anamika from the rear-view mirror.

‘Thank you for your suggestion,’ Anamika said dismissively. She kept looking at him through the same rear mirror while driving the car. Yuvi dropped Kashish at her house and gave her a goodbye kiss at the gate. This made both Anamika and Anurag jealous as they had had a bad fight during the movie. Dropping off Kashish, Yuvi took to the wheel again and finally halted at a good roadside restaurant. Anurag got down to take the parcel while Yuvi and Anamika sat in the car. Yuvi turned back to look at Anamika and gave her a smile.

‘What’s wrong?’ he asked.

‘You really love Kashish a lot, right?’ she questioned.

‘Of course. No other girl has brought me the same amount of joy that she has in my life. I know now that if there was ever someone who could love me and take care of me, it is Kashish. You know what, Anamika? I fall deeper and deeper in love with her every day. The passion in our relationship is still alive,’ Yuvi said with a big smile on his face.

Anamika smiled back and looked outside the window.

‘What about you?’ Yuvi asked.

‘Me…. me too!’ Anamika whispered.

‘Really? I thought you were just…. with Anurag. Remember you had told me?’ Yuvi asked curiously.

‘Oh, you are talking about Anurag. I was just kidding. Obviously, I am not serious. We are more like friends than lovers. Did you see me getting intimate with him in the movie hall like Kashish?’ Anamika winked.

‘Maybe you are too shy or maybe he is not bold,’ Yuvi laughed and they gave a high-five to each other.

As their hands touched each other, Yuvi held her hand and said, ‘I am sorry.’

‘Why are you saying sorry?’ she asked.

Yuvi held her hand firmly, rubbing his thumb on the back of her hand. Before they could talk, they saw Anurag walking towards the car. Yuvi immediately let go of her hand. Then on second thoughts, he took her hand again and kissed it to apologize for the wrong things he had thought about her.

‘Anurag is watching. He will kill me if he sees you kissing my hand,’ Anamika whispered nervously.

‘Don’t worry, my windows are fully tinted. He can’t see what’s happening inside,’ Yuvi smiled.

‘Why did you say sorry?’ she asked again.

‘Will tell you some other time,’ Yuvi replied unlocking the doors of the car.

Anurag got into the car and gave Yuvi directions to his house. An hour later, Yuvi dropped both of them at Anurag’s apartment. Yuvi wanted to tell her that somewhere he assumed that she would just go wrong way and spoil the band image. He felt that her not-so-serious relationship would hamper their growth. He also thought that Anamika was that kind of a girl who could sleep around with others for her own benefit. But he was wrong. He still had doubts about Anurag though. He also wanted to tell her that somewhere he felt attracted towards her. If it was not for Kashish, he would have surely thought of making a move on her. But that wasn’t a possibility. Yuvi was trying to build the bonding stronger than before. However, Anurag bumped in between and Yuvi didn’t utter a word.

Anurag’s Residence, RK Puram, Delhi

‘I have brought your favourite brand and your favourite flavour—just to make you feel special,’ Anurag stated revealing the contents of the bag he had picked up from the restaurant on their way to his house.

‘What the fuck!’ Anamika shouted.

‘What? You dirty mind. I am talking about Vodka,’ he smiled.

He had purchased a vanilla-flavoured Smirnoff Vodka for the night. Anamika loved that flavour and her eyes glittered with happiness. She hugged Anurag for making the evening so special.

‘I have something else for you,’ Anurag added.

He brought out a greeting card from the bag and gave it to her. Anamika just gazed at him for few seconds before kissing him on his cheek for giving her such a lovely surprise. It had their photo on the front and a picture of Anamika dancing at the back. On the inside, their names were written in a beautiful font on the left and a message on the right. She started reading the text.

I don’t know how you will react to this little note of love. You may feel surprised, flattered, or be indifferent. But rest assured, this is my first love letter to any girl. I am not good at words but I will still try to convey my feelings to you. I have been in a relationship in the past but have never felt this way about someone. I am so struck by your innocent, child-like face. This is a small poem for you. Though it hasn’t been written by me, it reflects my love towards you.

To my love,

When nothing makes sense and every thought is blurred,

Love will find its way!!

When you look into my eyes, you view my soul.

It is everything I am and because of it,

I will always love you!!

If there was a word to describe my love,

Surely it would only be spoken by God!!

All I have to offer you is me and my love,

Though both are simple, I promise they are true.

Life is truly a mystery,

A puzzle waiting to be solved!

Although one might be able to solve it alone,

The answer will be found easier with another!!

I want to discover life with you Anamika,

And experience all of life’s mysteries together in your embrace!! I love you, dil se!

She closed the greeting card and kept it on the table beside her. The next moment she jumped into Anurag’s arms. They hugged tightly for the next few minutes after which Anurag took her to the bedroom for some drinks. He made a Vodka peg with sprite and offered it to Anamika.

‘Cheers. This is for our love,’ he said raising a toast.

Anamika started feeling awkward as she didn’t really love him. Her guilt had caught up with her. She remained quiet and took a sip of the vodka. She had started this relationship just to escape ragging and get over her phobia. But the same relationship was now getting on her nerves as Anurag was trying to come too close to her. She had never imagined Anurag would get serious about her. She gulped her drink down in one go and refilled her glass again.

‘Are you fine? Don’t drink too much,’ Anurag requested.

‘Chill. I am fine. Make another one for me,’ she ordered putting down the glass after her second shot.

Anurag made another peg which she gulped down again at the speed of lightning. She remained quiet for some time and then turned towards Anurag. She was not in her senses anymore and the alcohol was having its effect on her.