If there was one thing I had mastered in life, it was pretending to be innocent when I was absolutely not.
Unfortunately, my brother Rishi had just leveled up his Big Brother Radar.
---
"So," he said at dinner, halfway through a bite of aloo gobi. "You and Aarav were talking for a long time at the beach festival."
I sipped my water like I hadn't rehearsed this scene in my head a thousand times.
"Just catching up," I shrugged.
"Uh-huh," Rishi said, not buying it. "Didn't look like catching up. Looked more like… catching feelings."
I almost choked on my roti.
"Excuse me?!"
He raised an eyebrow. "You were smiling at him like he invented Nutella."
"That's just my face."
"No. Your just-my-face face looks like a grumpy kitten. This was more like… heart eyes."
Maa cut in just in time. "Don't tease your sister, Rishi. Aarav's like family."
Yeah.
Exactly the problem.
---
The next afternoon, I was home alone.
Maa had gone to the tailor, and Rishi was at football practice. I was about to settle in with a bowl of popcorn and a rewatch of Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani when the doorbell rang.
I opened it.
And there he was.
Aarav.
In a white shirt, hair messy, holding a box of motichoor laddoos.
"I brought sweets," he said.
"For what?"
"I survived a beach festival where Aryan tried to flirt with you and I didn't commit murder."
I rolled my eyes. "Come in before someone hears you."
---
We sat on the floor, legs crossed, sharing sweets and childhood stories.
"Remember when I got stuck in your treehouse?" I said.
He laughed. "I had to bribe you with orange candies to stop crying."
"You still owe me those candies."
"Fine. I'll make up for it," he said, taking out a tiny packet from his pocket and tossing it to me.
It was the same candy brand.
The orange ones.
Still sticky-wrapped and sugary.
"You kept this?" I asked softly.
"Been keeping a lot of things," he said, eyes locked on mine.
The room fell quiet.
Only the fan spinning above us.
Then… it happened.
He tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear. His fingers brushed my cheek, lingering just long enough for my heart to forget how to beat.
"You're not a kid anymore, Tapasya," he murmured.
I swallowed. "Neither are you."
And for a second, I thought he might kiss me.
But he didn't.
Instead, he stood up suddenly. "I should go. Rishi might show up."
I nodded, pretending I wasn't disappointed.
He paused at the door, turned back.
"Lock the door after me."
"Why? Afraid of ghosts?"
"No," he said, smirking. "Afraid of your brother killing me if he finds me here."
---
Dear diary,
What do I do with a boy who remembers my candy preferences…
But forgets to kiss me when he should?
I swear, slow burns are cute in books, but in real life?
They're torture. 😤