Page 45 of 12 Years

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‘Which is exactly what you did.’

‘She even asked me to block your number. But I didn’t do that.’

‘Thank God for small mercies,’ I said sarcastically.

‘I freaked out. You must understand, Saket, it was all too much. We barely know each other, and yet, so much happened that night.’

‘I know. But like you said, it just happened.’

She exhaled. ‘Akanksha also said that this is just a crazy infatuation. Doesn’t mean anything.’

‘And? What else?’

‘That you’re just this older guy looking for some young piece of action.’

I took a deep breath to remain calm.

‘And you believed her?’ I said.

‘She’s my childhood friend. We’ve been together since school. I trust her.’

‘What does this Akanksha do?’

‘She’s a housewife. She’s also an Instagram influencer. Just starting out though.’

‘You said childhood friend. She’s your age then?’

‘Yes. She married early.’

‘Wow.’

The waiter arrived with our food. I quickly served both of us.

‘I don’t know about Akanksha,’ I said, tearing a piece of roti and dipping it in the dal. ‘All I know is that I’ve never waited outside an office building to just talk to a girl. And I probably never will.’

‘I’m sorry I cut you off like that,’ Payal said. ‘I didn’t mean to hurt you. I’m not experienced in all this and—’

‘It’s all right, Payal,’ I said, interrupting her mid-sentence. ‘And I want to say something about the physical stuff as well.’

‘What?’

‘It can wait.’

‘Meaning?’

‘Meaning, you’re right. We don’t know each other well. We took things too far the other night. And one more thing.’

‘What?’

‘You’re not just some young piece of action for me,’ I said.

She looked at me. Our eyes locked.

‘Can you trust me?’

‘I’ll try,’ she said in a subdued voice.

For the next few minutes, we ate our dinner in silence until Payal spoke again.

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