Akshara and Aarohi were in the car, driving back home. Akshara looked out the window with thin lips, while Aarohi drove, looking ahead with a goofy smile.

"I thought you were going to make him wait," Aarohi asked.

"I thought so too," Akshara said, looking a little worried. She glanced at Aarohi and asked, "Was I too easy? Did I say yes too early?"

"No," Aarohi said, shaking her head.

"Then why do I have a nervous pit?" Akshara said, rubbing her stomach.

"That's probably the coffee. I'm telling you, too much coffee is bad for your health," Aarohi said, wagging her finger at Akshara.

"Aruu," Akshara said, a little annoyed.

"You always do this when you like a guy. Remember the roses guy?" Aarohi said.

"He was weird. He gave me a rose every time I met him," Akshara said, narrowing her eyes.

"That was romantic," Aarohi said in a high-pitched voice. "Whenever somebody does something nice for you, you get all nervous and end up breaking up with him." Akshara remained quiet as they reached home.

Then Aarohi turned to Akshara and said, "Give him a chance." Akshara nodded, opening the door, and they both got out of the car.

As they walked to the door, Aarohi teased, "And who knows, he might be the one, like the ones from your stupid romcoms."

"Don't call my movies stupid," Akshara said, slapping Aarohi's arm lightly.

Seeing them coming, Anupama asked, getting up from the couch in the living room, "Where did you girls go early in the morning?"

"I had to swing by the boutique to get the new samples," Aarohi said, showing her bag of samples.

"I went to give her company," Akshara added, placing an arm around Aarohi's shoulder.

__________

The next day, Aarohi and Akshara made plans to meet up after work and go to the hospital together.

Aarohi dropped Akshara off at work and rushed to the boutique where she had a meeting with new stylists. The meeting lasted for an hour, and Aarohi could barely keep her eyes open. She decided to get a cup of tea from Neil's cafe. As she got up, she quickly sat back down, remembering yesterday's conversation with Neil and Akshara's relentless teasing about Neil having a crush on her. Face-palming, she decided to send her assistant for tea.

Walking out, she saw her assistant busy marking the inventory, and a few others were unpacking new boxes. Aarohi decided to go to the cafe herself.

"In and out quickly," Aarohi told herself as she entered the cafe. Not spotting Neil, she quickly approached the counter and placed her order, "Green tea and jalapeno croissants."

"I'm sorry, ma'am, but we are out of jalapeno croissants," said the waitress.

"Then I'll just have the tea," Aarohi said as she paid and added, "Hurry, please."

In a few seconds, the waitress came with Aarohi's green tea in a to-go cup. As she was about to pick it up, she heard Neil calling her name. Aarohi turned to see him waving and walking towards her. With widened eyes, she quickly turned with the tea and accidentally collided with another customer, spilling the tea on the floor and on her white heels. She sighed and immediately started apologizing to the customer, who began to get agitated.

"What's wrong with you girls? Can't you watch where you are going?" the customer said, raising his voice.

"I am so sorry. I will pay for dry cleaning," Aarohi said with a nervous smile.

"Of course, you will," he replied with a still raised voice.

"Listen, she apologized. It was an honest mistake," Neil said, standing behind Aarohi.

"Still, she should watch where she is going," the customer said, narrowing his eyes.

"And you should watch how you speak to girls," Neil said, gently holding the customer's shoulder. Aarohi whispered to Neil, "Neil, everyone is watching."

Nodding, Neil said to the customer, "I am going to ask you to leave." The customer left as Neil's hold grew stronger, and Aarohi quickly gave him the money for dry cleaning.

"Are you okay?" Neil asked, turning towards Aarohi.

"Hmm hmm," Aarohi murmured, nodding, stepping back suddenly noticing the closeness between them.

"Your shoes will get stained," Neil said, noticing the tea stains on Aarohi's heels.

"They are heels," Aarohi whispered, stepping back again.

"Whatever, they are still white and will be stained," Neil said, placing an arm around Aarohi's shoulder to guide her to the washroom.

"I know where the washroom is," Aarohi said, shrugging off Neil's arm.

Seeing her going into the washroom, Neil narrowed his eyes, thinking, 'Why is she being weird today?'

Aarohi cleaned her heels with tissues and looked at herself in the mirror. She shook her head, wearing her heels, she splashed water on her face, replaying the earlier incident in her mind. "Akshara and her stupid movies," Aarohi murmured, wiping her face and looking at herself, slapping her cheeks lightly, noticing her cheeks smiling a little thinking about Neil, and pointed at herself in the mirror. "Stop smiling. Neil will think you have gone crazy." Turning towards the mirror, she murmured in frustration, making fists. "Why do I care about what he thinks?"

She opened the door with a frown. Noticing Neil standing outside, Aarohi closed the door.

Neil widened his eyes as he noticed Aarohi shutting the door, worried. He knocked on the door, "Aarohi, is everything okay? The stains didn't come off?  Do you need new shoes?"

"No, no, Neil," Aarohi said in a panicky voice, pressing her back against the door. Stuttering a little, she added, "I just have to make a call."

"A call? Like on the phone?" Neil said in a confused tone, looking towards his right to see Aarohi's phone left on the counter, which she left before she went to the washroom.

"Yes, Neil. Obviously, people make calls with their phones," Aarohi said in a frustrated tone.

"Well, that is how normal people do it," Neil said more to himself and added, "Come out whenever you are ready."

Aarohi nodded.

After a few seconds, Aarohi came out to see Neil serving the customers with a pleasant smile. She smiled, and he approached her, looking at her shoes. He said, "The stain came off."

"Yeah," Aarohi said, nodding.

"Here, I got your tea," Neil said, giving Aarohi her green tea in a to-go cup from the tray.

"Thanks," Aarohi said, taking it and started walking towards the door.

"Oh, and Aarohi," Neil called, turning towards her. Aarohi looked at him with raised eyebrows.

"Your phone," Neil said, extending her phone.

"Thanks," Aarohi said, taking it, and Neil nodded his head with a smile, then walked to attend other customers.

Seeing him walk away, Aarohi widened her eyes a little, shocked, remembering the washroom incident. She hit her head with the phone, shaking her head, and walked out the door a little embarrassed.

Neil saw her walking outside the cafe through the glass window and chuckled, murmuring, "There is something different about her today," shaking his head.

At the end of the day, Aarohi was ready to leave and go to the hospital. When her assistant came in and gave her a paper bag, saying, "Mr. Oberoi dropped these for you."

Taking the bag, Aarohi peeked inside to see jalapeno croissants and murmured with a smile, "He noticed."

Feeling the smile getting bigger, Aarohi slightly slapped herself on her cheek and murmured, "Stop it, Aarohi," picked up her handbag and croissants, and headed to pick up Akshara.

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