Page 29 of 12 Years

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‘Thank you. I guess I needed to hear that,’ I said.

‘You’re welcome. Sorry you had to go through all that in your marriage.’

‘Well, it’s all over now,’ I said. ‘And I’m sure Raashi has her own version of events. As a reaction to what she did, I did some stupid things myself. I’m not proud of that.’

‘There are always two sides to a story.’

I kept my glass down. ‘I want to say something to you.’

‘What?’

‘I like you.’

‘Oh, I like you as well.’

‘No, I mean … I don’t want to be just friends with you. I mean, I couldn’t, even if I tried.’

‘What do you want to be then?’

‘Perhaps one of the items on your banned list?’

‘Garlic?’ she said, and grinned. ‘Sorry, that was a bad one. But I couldn’t help it.’

I laughed. ‘That was good, actually. You, too, are funny. Who’s the real comic here?’ I said.

‘Thank you, I’m learning from the best,’ she said.

‘So, umm, I like you. And not just as a friend.’

‘Wow.’

‘Is that a good wow or a bad wow?’

‘It’s an I-don’t-know-how-to-react wow. I’ve never done this before, Saket.’

‘In a way, it’s a first for me as well. Raashi and I had an arranged marriage.’

‘Is this a date now?’ Payal said.

‘Depends on your response.’

‘I’m not allowed to have a boyfriend, you know that,’ she said.

‘I also know that sometimes you like to rebel and make your own decisions, no matter what the rules are,’ I said, pointing to her glass.

She smiled.

‘And if you can decide whether to invest millions in a company or not, you can also decide what you want for yourself.’

Payal remained quiet. I gently placed my hand on top of hers. She didn’t retract her hand.

‘Do you like me?’ I said.

‘What? Of course, I like you. You’re nice.’

‘Are you attracted to me? Even a little?’

‘What does “a little attracted” mean?’

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