twenty-three The Next Station Is … #3
Uh oh. Had I messed up? ‘I … I’m sorry, Neil. I should’ve just found a way to send it to you.’
I saw him shaking his head, a smile working its way onto his lips. ‘No, Kavya. He forwarded it to me … along with a cheque for my startup.’
‘Oh,’ was all I could manage.
Out of the corner of my eye, I could see some aunties pointing at us and whispering to each other.
A young girl was openly filming us. Another was leaning on the edge of her seat to catch our words.
But I couldn’t have cared less if they’d been launching rotten tomatoes at us.
Because Neil was here. We both lowered our phones as he finally reached me.
His hair was a mess and his shirt was damp with sweat, but I’d never seen a more beautiful sight.
‘That letter didn’t sound like it was written by someone who hated my guts,’ he said as he searched my face for a clue. ‘Or is that just my blind optimism?’
A laugh that sounded more like a whimper broke out of me.
‘I don’t hate you … okay maybe I did for a bit, but that was when I thought you’d sold me out to HR and destroyed my career because I didn’t say I liked you back …
’ The words were tumbling out breathlessly.
‘... and then it turned out to be Tanya and I hated myself for doubting you and I kept calling and calling and I just needed to tell you—’
The rest of the sentence dissolved in my mouth as he lifted one hand and cupped my face. ‘Hey, I’m here now.’ His thumb stroked my cheek gently. ‘And I’m listening.’
Him and eighty other ladies, apparently, because the entire compartment fell silent. The only thing you could hear was the train rattling on the tracks beneath us.
I filled my lungs with air. I was going to need it. ‘I don’t even know where to start. When I first met you, I swear to God, I thought you were the most annoying person on the planet. You were smug and entitled and, quite frankly, a bit of a manchild—’
‘Ouch,’ he said, but I went on, ignoring him.
‘I spent many days imagining strangling you in a million different ways.’ The girl who had been filming us was shifting her weight uncomfortably, like she wasn’t sure if this was going to turn out to be the viral moment she’d imagined in her head.
‘But then … things began to change. Somewhere between the blackmailing and the bickering, the early mornings and the late nights … I started to see beyond this dumb front you put up.’
He stepped closer, his hand dropping from my face to hold my elbow, steadying me as the train jolted.
‘That first night, when you kissed me?’ An aunty in the back cleared her throat loudly.
‘It broke down walls I didn’t even know I had up …
but then you got all distant, and I thought you’d changed your mind.
It wrecked me, Neil.’ My voice broke and he immediately pulled me closer, his hand wrapping protectively around my waist.
‘Kavya, how could I ever change my mind about you? You’re the only—’
I shushed him, pressing a finger to his lips.
There were things I still needed to get off my chest. For some reason, it made his smile widen.
‘That night in Mussoorie … I was just scared, Neil. But then everything blew up and I thought I’d lost you for good …
and that made me understand what a dumbfuck I’d been to let my fear get the best of me.
’ I took another breath. ‘Neil, the truth is … I’m not falling for you.
I have fallen. And I don’t think I’ll ever be able to get back up again. ’
I didn’t even realize I’d run out of words until I felt his hands tighten around mine. It felt like the whole compartment was holding its breath as Neil leaned in to whisper, ‘Then I’ll just have to carry you home.’
Neil didn’t waste any more time. He pulled me into him and my breath hitched as he bent down to kiss me.
The whole world started melting around us until there was nothing left but him and I.
He pressed his lips against mine with a certainty that made every fear, every insecurity and every misunderstanding fade into the distance.
Somewhere far away, someone gasped. Someone else started clapping.
And then the whole compartment erupted in cheers.
When we finally pulled apart, we were still tangled together.
An aunty was demanding a wedding invite.
Another one was complaining about our PDA.
And many others were telling us to get off at the next station and take our filmy reunion elsewhere.
But we just stood there in the rocking compartment, forehead to forehead, grinning like two fools in love.
And when the train reached the next station, we were ushered out onto the platform by aunties who decided they’d had enough of our sappy love story.
We held tightly onto each other and let the next flock of commuters funnel us out of the station.
That’s the thing about Bombay—it pushes you and humbles you, and it never slows down for you, but if you’re lucky, it gives you someone worth elbowing through the crowd for.