No Denying No more

                                    

                                          
2 weeks later:-
                          
"Manik are you free this weekend?"
                          
"Most likely yes but I'll try to make time even if I am busy" he said sincerely.
                          
"That's very sweet but I'm going to need your full time so I need to know whether you have some commitment already. We will do it another time in that case" she said.
                          
"Um.. okay I'll check with my team and let you know" he replied, confusion clear in his voice.
                          
"Yeah you do that."
                          
He called back less than fifteen minutes after they ended their last conversation.
                          
"Looks like I'm all yours for the weekend" he said cheekily.
                          
"Good" she said "well weekend and beyond if I'm being honest..." she said and it made him laugh. "I'll see you."
                          
"Wait can I at least know why?"
                          
"You need a reason to meet me now?" She counter asked.
                          
"No of course not, you know I didn't mean it like that. You're just stalling" he said dully.
                          
"Then don't ask, if you I'm stalling" he shrugged.
                          
"You're not going to tell me what you've got planned, isn't it?" He asked even though they both knew the answer to it.
                          
"How very observant" she sassed.
                          
"Niti."
                          
"Manik."
                          
"Seriously this is childish!" He huffed out annoyed.
                          
"And you've done a lot of similar stuff, not told me many things beforehand and tried to surprise me and all... remember Goa? So what they were mature?" She asked.
                          
"Well..."
                          
"It's a matter of a few days and you'll be too busy to even notice."
                          
"Don't say shit like that. I always notice when it's you."
                          
"I'm flattered" she tried to sound flippant but in truth those words warmed her heart. "
                          
"Sleep well" she said in almost a whisper. 
                          
"Meet me in my dreams" he said 
                          
"Cheesy fucker" she said, shaking her head.
                          
"If it makes you smile..." he replied sweetly, shrugging his shoulders.
                          
"Oh my God that's enough cheese for eight hundred years! I'm gonna now" she said mock horrified but she loved their conversations.
                          
"I'll raise a toast when that happens" he said and finally cut the call.
                          
~~~
                          
She picked him at 9 on that Saturday. It was a fine morning, the sun was down but it wasn't cloudy which left a coolness in the air. Niti was driving but she didn't have a car, so Manik assumed that it must be a rental.
                          
In the past week they hadn't been able to catch up much. Whenever he called and the conversation went on for too long or if he asked to meet up, she would always say she was busy. That did not leave him with many opportunities to pester her about this trip but nothing was stopping him now. So he asked.
                          
"Where are we going?" For it felt good. He had been itching to do this for the longest time.
                          
"Somewhere" she said vaguely keeping her eyes on the road.
                          
"That's evident."
                          
"God why are you doing this?" She asked, a frown replacing her neutral expression.