Like majority of the female population in my University, Rithik first fell into my peripheral vision at the college fashion walk last semester. He was dressed in a dark brown kurta with light intricate designs and a plain brown kameez of a slightly different shade. His dress alongwith others were specifically designed by the fashion designing department. His face was clean shaved, one of the rarest times where I have seen him like that. He was only lacking a sword and a turban perhaps, because even without that, he seemed no more than a royal prince from Rajasthan. However, that went to all handsome young men who volunteered for the show.

Girls were practically drooling at the sight of them but only Rithik managed to hold my gaze for the longest time. It was so bad that I couldn't find myself distracting my eyes anywhere else throughout the event. I couldn't forget those two precious seconds where he caught my gaze across the table at dinner. I had the urge to talk to him, just to hear his voice.

It was difficult though. His classroom was in a complete different building, and we shared no mutual friends. I didn't know Shivani that time. Neither the fact she knew him. I know I could have just approached him in class to slap a 'hi' but that would make me one of his fangirls and I never entertained the idea to be mixed with the rest of the herd. I simply gratified myself with the sight of him every once- in- a- while. I was completely fine with it.

Until we crossed paths at a bar, two months later.

Credits rolled in front of my eyes as I pictured it all. A party, a hideous staring contest between two drunken individuals and flirting. Those very same individuals caught up with each other, leading the girl to ask him out for the night. The guy took his sweet time thinking, before rejecting her with a heartthrob  smile. If the girl wasn't acquainted with English, she would have taken that smile as a yes.

Call me shameless but I wasn't the type of person to beat around the bush for long. If I wanted something, I went for the kill. Guess some people didn't like the fast and furious way. I could still taste the humiliation. The guy clearly showed interest that evening, but rejected me like I was nothing but a senseless fangirl. No man can reject Natasha. Not even me.

Regardless, that was still a memorable night. Two strangers talking about strange things and laughing. Just thinking about it brought a smile to my face.

Though that wasn't the end of our encounter. One day I visited a convenient store close to my home when I chanced upon Rithik again. Both of us were dumbly surprised. As for him, he didn't want anyone from his University to find out he was working. I understood that. We Indians particularly didn't fancy having a part time job at a convenient store. Undergraduate, middle class family, lack of money— those were the synonyms one could deduct from his situation. Regardless, I let him know his secret was safe with me. 

Rithik worked for four days a week from Wednesday to Saturday. And me being the attention seeker, took full advantage of his situation. I would laze around to buy something from the store before approaching him. We would talk for a couple of minutes before I leave. Undoubtedly, he had my undivided attention during those short encounters. Our conversations weren't particularly interesting since we never talked beyond the norm. In other boring words, we were merely acquaintances. Yup, nothing disappointing about that.

Okay, maybe a little disappointing. It took me a couple of encounters encounters to confirm which category Rithik belonged to. The least one of all— Those who I wanted. It was as clear as the white clothes from a washing powder ad— He. Was. Not. Interested. Moreover, he left his post after two weeks, digging holes into my pit of disappointment.

So here we were, six months later. I got to see his grateful ass again at the Barista cafe. But instead of ignoring me like I thought he would, he stalked me till the headlights. Just too many wrong equations here. Was he bipolar? Why the fuck did he lie to Shivani about not knowing me? Why was he persistent on making me smile or whatever he was trying to do. And what's up with him and his part time jobs anyway? More questions with no answers. It infuriated me to no end, but damn fuck, I loved it when guys were mysterious. Made me want to claw out every mystery out of their body.

A day later, Rithik found me on the worst time possible. When I was busy devouring my burger in the canteen. Now I did allow men to come between my legs but that didn't mean, I would allow them to come between my burger. Not anyone. Not even a hot hunk like him.

Rithik walked towards the table where I was seated and cleared his throat when I didn't speak. “Hi.”

I raised my eyes to him and flashed a finger, indicating one minute, never stopping my mouth even for a second. I wiped my mouth with my napkin after I was finished slaughtering my food. Rithik was already seated opposite me. He seemed a bit agitated by now. “So, what's up—”

“Why did you pretend not to know me in front of my classmates?” I attacked him with the question right away, obviously taking him by surprise. I lay my elbows at the table, getting comfortable. “Unless you had amnesia in the past six months but let's be real, this is reality.”

The corners of his mouth lifted into a loop- sided smile. “You are blunt as ever, Patil.”

“That's because I break the shy stereotypes of women.” He fucking remembered me! Well, of course he did. I flicked my thumbnail to remove the small stain from my finger. I raised a brow at him, waiting for his answer.

“Well, the Natasha I knew was the one who visited the store I previously worked. Didn't feel like mentioning that part so I went along with the one who is Shivani's friend,” he shrugged indifferently.

“Oh,” I said, nodding. Well, that made sense. But what didn't make sense was how I was busy focusing on the way his lips spoke my name. I wriggled my brows. “And which Natasha am I to you now?”

“The one who's having her lunch alone. That reminds me, why are you all by yourself? You sure dig being a lone wolf, don't you? You were alone at the bar, too,” Rithik asked but my eyes were too busy noticing his fingers, tapping against the table. Damn, I almost forgot how his arms looked like. Strong and brawny. Of all the dirty images my mind could get, I visualised those calloused hands gripping my neck while fucking instead. And the way my cups would weigh under his grip.

“Natasha?” He called and I blinked. What was he going on about again? Something about eating alone. Wait, did he notice me before? Get a grip, pervert!

“I usually have my lunch with Boo— Sorry, Khushboo. She is skipping classes today. As well as Ayesha.” I said, absentmindedly. Truth was, both were getting mind-fucked as a consequence of partying last night. Khushboo from her hangover while Ayesha with her project. Some bunch of proud hoès we were.

“Oh,” he said then said no more. His gaze trailed off beyond the canteen thoughtfully. “I saw Shivani and Devki near the campus. You can join them. They are nice.”

“Yup, they are too nice,” I muttered under my breath and he asked me to repeat myself. “It's fine, really. I'm used to it,” I dismissed with my hand. Seriously, he was making it sound like such a big deal. I mostly ate my lunch alone during one and a half years of my university. Didn't people know? It was a crime to talk while eating.

“Alright, if you say so. I gotta leave as well,” he said the most disappointing words but I smiled in a way that would make the actors cry. Dramatic, I know.

I got up too, since I had nothing else to kill from the canteen. We were on our way outside when he slowed down, making me curious. “Oh, I forgot to tell you. I'm quiting my job next week.”

“Okay...” I said with uncertainty and frowned a little, “And why are you telling me this?”

At that, he laughed. “Are you seriously asking me this question?”

My mouth fell open. Now he was seriously misunderstanding something. “Okay, whatever silly theories are cooking inside your head, tell them to stop! Just stop.”

He turned to me, smirking. “I never claimed to think anything otherwise.” I gritted my teeth, in annoyance but then told myself to calm down. We reached outside the canteen, finding ourselves amongst a herd of students. A daily occurrence. Rithik ran a hand through his hair, making me wanna do the deed with my own hands. Was he doing this to mock me, this brat. “I found a better job now. It's quite convenient, actually.”

“That's none of my business.”

But he continued, stepping closer, suddenly getting my attention. “Chalke restaurant. It's three kilometres to the east. That's where I'll work. You are welcome to drop by with your friends. It's quite a place.”

I remained mute though both of us knew. We knew I'd come. We almost parted ways when I heard my name and I whipped my head to his direction. He was talking to Shivani and Devki who literally appeared out of nowhere.

“Ah, there she is,” Rithik addressed me to them and I fought the urge to roll my eyes.

“Natasha, hey, join us,” Shivani said loudly, ushering me to join them.

“Coming,” I answered, mustering a fake smile.

I walked up to them while Rithik began walking to my side. When we were within our hearing range I gave him a tight lipped smile. “Gee, thanks! I was so lonely back then.” 

“Mention not. I happen to be very considerate,” he replied with amusement. A smile threatened to leave my lips but I puckered it to my left, trying my best not to show. Soon he went his way, showing off with a smug as he passed me by.

Cocky bastard.

*

After a week of procrastination, I finally decided to visit this Chalke club, tagging Khushboo and Ayesha along. It was a restaurant cum club. It didn't look that grand from the outside as it was on the inside. It was classy with sets of wooden tables and chairs arranged in one corner, a bar at another and a kitchen at another. There was a door, just adjacent to the kitchen that led to the club. The colorful lights reflected on the transparent door. Muffled noises were heard, practically begging the door to be opened.

But instead, I decided to draw my attention to the hot bartender in front of the bar. Rithik was in a typical bartender uniform, wearing white shirt and black trousers. A black ribbon was neatly tugged at the middle of his chest. Upon looking closely, it seemed like he was chewing something as his jaws moved slightly.

“Just look at how he's squirting these colorful liquids with those bottles. Even the glasses must be aroused. I bet he makes love to those drinks every night so they turn out to be exactly as he wants,” I commented to my friends as we watched Rithik prepare a cocktail for a customer.

“Are you high because that didn't make the slightest sense?” Ayesha observed then lowered her voice to a minimum. “The drinks look lovely though. Women would love to lick that shit.”

Both Khushboo and I giggled besides her. “Calm your tits, ladies! What Nat actually means is he's passionate about his work,” Khushboo concluded in basic English terms.

I grimaced. “Damn, you destroyed his romance with his dears.”

See, I wasn't lying when I claimed us as dirty hoès. I didn't know how shallow or deep our friendship ran but as far as I was concerned, they surely wiped out a quarter of my boredom. I was happy to meet my kind of people for a change. Slowly we made our way towards the bar, the smell of fruit, alcohol and cologne, hitting my nostrils all at the same time. Rithik's jaws stopped moving upon noticing me. He greeted gruffly and I spotted small beads of sweat at his forehead. “Well, someone came earlier than expected.”

“I had to, considering your inconsistency with part time jobs. Besides, who would wanna miss a discount?”

He chuckled, the lines beside his mouth reappearing. He slipped a menu on the bar table. “As you wish, miss Patil. The first drinks are on the house.”

Thereafter, I introduced him to my bitches and ordered a drink for them each. Rithik busied himself in a small talk while preparing drinks for us. His brows creased as he poured the alcohol from the small holes of the bottle into a small glass. He then poured them to a cup shaped glass, containing a fruity liquid. He was mixing liquids with such precision, looking like a professional. First waiter and now bartender. I wondered what else he was capable of. Maybe he could cook, too. The idea of handsome men cooking sort of fascinated me, though unfortunately, I never had any man cook for me. It obviously wasn't something that came along with hooking up. I vaguely imagined a picture of Rithik in an apron, cooking ingredients in a hot pan.

Khushboo pinched me on my side, destroying my wonder- fucking imagination. I turned to glare at her, hoping to wound her with my stare. “Stop dissecting him with your eyes, Nat. You are being painfully obvious,” she whisper shouted.

“Really?”

“Yes. It's obvious as in, dog- wagging- it's- tail- for- food, kind of obvious,” Ayesha piped in. “Luckily, he hasn't noticed yet since he's busy doing his job.”

Rithik dropped the cherries into the drinks, creating a ripple on its surface, “Drinks are ready, ladies. Have fun,” he spoke as he held the stem of the two glasses with his two fingers. God, he seemed so... Seriously, I should stop glorifying him in every chance I see.

I brought the cool corners of the glass, to my lips and raised it to let the liquid sink in. It tasted like mixed fruit and wine together. Maybe some mint, too. “It's divine. You are good at this. Did you learn this recently?”

“No, uh—” He paused, keeping the liquid bottles back to the rectangular shelves behind him. He then turned to me. “I've known this for quite a while, you see. Learned it from an older friend. He's a master pro. Works at a royal hotel in Chicago and gets huge sums of money, that rich bastard.”

“I see. Maybe you should join him.”

His eyes widened with disbelief. “No, hell, no! I like this job but I can't imagine doing this the whole day. It will bore me to death.”

We talked a bit more until we had to drift away, to let him do his job. The three of us girls lost ourselves in laughing, dancing and simply talking the night away after which, we settled down to grab some delicacies. More often than not, I would find my gaze travelling back to the bar. Rithik would be either preparing a drink or simply talking to his customers, irrespective of their gender. Sometimes, I would look away without him knowing. Sometimes, I would get caught and a few lesser times, I would catch him looking my way. I tried to decipher something from his eyes but found nothing. It only intrigued me more.

We soon resigned ourselves to our shelters, calling it a night. I replayed the last few days in my head. I have met Rithik four times this month, including tonight. I could feel it in the air. Feel the way things have shifted ever since I encountered him at the Barista cafe. Though it didn't make a significant difference from last year, it was still something.

I didn't need an alarm or an acknowledgement to question myself. I knew what I wanted and right now, I wanted him.

And Natasha never failed to get what she wanted. Well, almost.

Thoughts about this chapter and the characters of course. I decided to split the chapter in two parts to make it short. The next chapter will be posted soon. Look forward to it cos the next one will be spicy. 🔥

Also, I hope those dirty dialogs made your jaw drop instead of making you cringe lol.

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