Chapter 27 / 51 · 1 min

It Wasn't a Date, Right?

The moment I pulled up the hood of the rickshaw, Aparajita said, “Look, this isn’t a date.”

“Okay. By your definition it isn’t a date. But by my definition, this is the seventh one.”

Aparajita went on, “When two people are in love and they go out together, that’s a date. You and I are never going to be in love. First, I won’t get into a relationship with someone of another religion. And second, I don’t even like you…”

She paused for a second.

“Wait. Are you trying to hold my hand?”

By the time the second second arrived, I had already done it. My fingers had found their place between hers. I don’t know whether it was right of me to do it without asking. But in that moment, all I knew was that on this road in Uttara, in this air, beside this impossibly beautiful girl, if I didn’t hold her hand I would regret it for the rest of my life.

Still, I could be wrong.

“Yeah, I’ve already done it. Should I let go?”

Eight seconds later, Aparajita said, “I don’t know.”

I had known the answer nine seconds earlier.