A short story by Kushagra Nigam
I looked up just in time to see Sonia pass by with her friends. She looked at me and I smiled but she continued to walk with her friends towards the college gate. There was something about her today that made me turn around and take another look. Under the bright sun, her hair looked shiner than before. Her eyes had a twinkle in them. Her sweet smile made her look more gorgeous than before. I turned around to my friends, biting my lip for the moment, and then spoke. “I’ll see you guys later, got some other work.” I picked up my bag and jogged in her direction. I looked around and saw Sonia walking towards the tram stop. I walked quickly towards her. She realised I was following as I spoke, “Hey!” I greeted. “Hi, Kush”, she replied. I caught my breath and asked, “Is it possible if I could have a quick word with you?” She gazed sideways and replied, “Sure”. She spoke to her friends for a second and we walked away.
Sonia looked at me. There was a moment of silence. That moment our eyes met. Gazing straight at each other, I gathered my thoughts. “I was wondering if you were free this evening. Exams are done. So…“ What’s on your mind?” she folded her arms and asked, with the smile on her face decreasing in size. “Ok. Will you go out with me? For a dinner or something,” I answered, with some confidence on my face and voice. “Are you asking me out for a date?” she questioned. “Hmm-Hmm… That shouldn’t be a problem,” she replied. “How about tomorrow, for lunch?” I asked. She paused for a moment and I added “…dinner??” “Dinner should be alright,” she suggested. “Great! So, tomorrow. Flinders at 6?” She nodded with a smile.
My train reached Flinders Station few minutes before 6pm. As I walked towards the gate, I saw Sonia exiting the station. She was wearing a lovely white dress with small white heels and matching earrings, and looked a stunning simple beauty. I walked out towards her. “Good evening gorgeous,” I greeted. She turned around smiling, realising who it was. “Good Evening, handsome,” she replied and kissed my cheek. “You look beautiful,” I complimented, looking straight into her eyes, waiting for them to twinkle. And they did. She blushed, “Thank you”. “Let’s go”, I added. We caught the tram to make our way to the restaurant.
The restaurant was outdoors on the beach. . The manager came up to welcome us. “Good evening sir, good evening ma’am”, he spoke in a very soft tone. “Table for two, thanks”, I replied. The manager walked ahead and escorted us to a table. The place felt very soothing. There was a band playing soft music in the corner. Cool wind blew slowly. The candles on every table were lit and looked beautiful. We sat facing each other, feeling the cool air and listening to the waves hit rocks in the distance. “So how’s your day been?” I asked her as we sat. “Pretty good”, she replied. “For most of day I was thinking about you and how it would be…”. “I hope you’ve liked it?” I asked. She responded with a nod accompanied with a smile. “Your smile is really beautiful,” I added. She enlarged it slowly and I continued, “Just like you.”
Soon the starters were served. We continued our talk with the blowing wind and the playing music. “Would you like to dance?” I asked. “Sure,” she replied. I held her hand and we walked towards the dance stage. There were a few other couples dancing but we made ourselves some space. I held her close, placing my hand on her back, around her waist. We slowly move our feet in the rhythm of the instrumental music being played.
The dinner was served soon. We continued talking, discussing various relevant and irrelevant topics. As we walked towards the tram, the rain started. Sonia untied her wet hair and I just stared at her for a long moment.
“You look really beautiful. You should keep your hair untied,” I said. She gave me a shy look and looked away, smiling. “Thanks”, she replied. We made our back to the hostel through the city quietly. Holding hands with her head resting on my shoulder. We did not need words at that moment in time. We were together and that was enough. We reached our campus and, just as we were about to separate and make our way to our dorms, there was that moment.
I felt her hands around my waist, slowly crawling up my back. I saw her eyes lowering towards my lips and then slowly rising to meet my gaze. I felt my heart thumping faster than before. Slowly, I moved my hands and gently placed them on her waist and pulled her a little towards me. She looked up and slowly moved even closer, keeping a tight grip on my back. She removed her sandals and placed her cold, bare feet on top of my feet, giving me a sensation through my whole body. My hands moved up to her thick black hair. Slowly, I leaned back on the wall. Very gently, she moved her hands from my waist, from my waist, up to my chest and finally around my neck. Her face slowly moved so close to me that our noses were touching. Slowly, I moved my right hand and placed it around her warm neck. I could feel her fragrance going into my nose and straight to my mind. Slowly, I felt the tip of her lip on mine for a split second, and then it was apart. I saw her eyelids raising and dropping with shyness. Again, I felt her lips touching mine, but this time, longer, much longer… Slowly, she moved her hands down to my waist and leaned her head on my shoulder. I moved my hands through her hair and closed my eyes feeling the love in that moment.