Chapter 14

Aman didn’t know what had gotten in to him.  He had no intention of ever taking Priya out on a romantic date, and of course Payal hadn’t actually asked told him to take Priya out.  He was relieved that Priya had agreed, but now he was in a fix.  He quickly rushed to Payal’s room.

“Payal.” He called out as he gently knocked on the door.

“Jija-ji? What’s up?” Payal said after flinging the door open.

“I need your help.” Aman replied.

“Sure. With what?” Payal asked.  She motioned for him to enter.

Aman followed her inside her room.  He took a seat on a chair as Payal settled onto her bed.  She looked at Aman, waiting for him to continue.

“I need you to lie to Priya.” Aman said cautiously.

Payal’s smile faded.  A puzzled expression appeared on her face.

“Lie to Didi? I can’t lie to her.  Why would I lie to her?” Payal was confused.  She had never lied to her sister before.  Well, when they were children, she would occasionally tell a fib here and there, but they had been innocent little white lies.  Payal had a feeling whatever it was that Aman wanted her to lie about was much more serious.

“I’m taking her out on a date.” Aman stated.

Payal nodded, unsure what that had to do with lying.  A smile tugged at the corners of her lips.  She knew that Priya had never been out on a date before.

“I told her that you wanted us to go out alone together.” Aman admitted.

Payal said nothing, assessing the situation.

“So what’s the problem?” She finally asked.

“Payal, I told her it was your idea so she would say yes.  I need you to lie to her when she asks you because she will ask you.” Aman explained.

“That’s it?” Payal asked.

Aman slowly nodded.  He thought Payal would be more concerned about lying.

“Of course I’ll do it! Aww…this is so romantic.  Jija-ji, I’m so amazing!  I can’t believe I came with such a great idea.” Payal enthused with a wink.

“Yeah Payal.  You sure are something.” Aman said, playing along.

“So where are you going to take her?” Payal asked.

“I don’t know.” Admitted Aman.

Priya waited anxiously for the limo to approach.  She had never been on a date before.  Even though Aman was her husband, so technically it wasn’t a real date, she was still nervous.  Dates were supposed to romantic.  And Priya wasn’t the least bit romantic.  He heart skipped a beat at the thought of Aman being romantic.  He was caring, but she’d never actually seen his romantic side.  To take her mind off of Aman, Priya went to Payal’s room.  Payal would definitely be able to distract her.

“Payal?” Priya called as she approached Payal’s room.

“Yeah Didi. What’s up?” Payal asked, emerging out of the door.

“Tonight is the night.” Priya said.

“I know! Are you excited?” Payal beamed.

“I don’t know. I guess so.” Priya said.  “Payal, why did you ask Aman to ask me out on a date?”

“I…uh…feel like I’m in the way.” Lied Payal.  “I thought that you two deserved some alone time away from me.”

“Payal! You’re never in the way. Aman and I aren’t…” Priya paused.  They aren’t in love.

“Aren’t what?” asked Payal.

“We aren’t the romantic type.” Priya admitted.

“Well if you’d go out on a date with him once in a while, maybe you would be.” Reasoned Payal.

“He’s busy, Payal.  He works so hard. He doesn’t have time for all of this.  You shouldn’t have asked him.” Priya chastise.

“But Didi, he wants this.” Payal said quietly.

“Now, how do you know that?” Priya asked.

“When I came up with the idea, he seemed excited.” Payal fibbed.

“Payal, you shouldn’t get involved.” Priya said.

Her words stung.  Payal knew that a the relationship between a husband and wife was something that no one should get in the middle of, but Aman had practically forced her to get involved.  She wondered why he didn’t just ask her sister out without telling her that it was Payal’s idea.  Would Priya have refused?

“I know. I’m sorry.” Payal said.

A comfortable silence fell between the two sisters.  Payal was contemplating how to ask her next question, while Priya allowed her thoughts to drift back to her impending date with Aman.

“Didi,” Payal said, breaking the silence, “What if Jija-ji asked you out? What if it wasn’t my idea?” Payal asked.  “Would you have said no?”

“He wouldn’t have asked me.” Priya answered.

“What if he did?” Payal insisted.

“I would’ve said no.” Priya said.

Payal’s eyes grew wide.  She tried to suppress her shock.

“Why?” she asked incredulously.

“I’ve never been on a date before. I’m not romantic.  I’m so unprepared.  Aman would’ve never asked me if you hadn’t asked him to.” Priya explained.

Payal heaved a great sigh.  Priya needed to be more open minded about romance.

“Didi, chill. It’s not an exam. It’s a date!” Payal said.

Priya slumped slump down onto Payal’s bed.  Payal took a seat beside her.  Priya looked miserable.  She seemed so unwilling to spend the evening with her husband.  Payal started to grow suspicious.  This date thing was Aman’s idea, so obviously he wanted to go out with Priya, but Priya was so reluctant.  Why was she so unwilling? Payal decided not to ask.  Maybe it was just her sister being her unromantic self. Suddenly Payal’s eyes grew wide in realization.

“Didi!” she exclaimed.

“What happened?” Priya asked quickly, a little surprised at Payal’s sudden outburst.

“What aren’t you dressed yet?  Jija-ji should be here any minute!” Payal nearly shouted.

“He told me to wait until he got home before getting ready.” Priya explained.

“What is he up to?” Payal questioned.

“Your guess is as good as mine.” Priya replied.  “I’m going to go wait for him in my room.”

“Mmkay see ya!” called Payal as Priya exited.

Priya walked into Aman’s room.  She didn’t want Payal to ask any more questions.  She had gone to Payal so she could take her attention away from this date, but Payal had made her even more nervous.

“Priya.” Aman’s voice called out.

Priya spun around quickly facing the sofa where Aman was attentively perched.  She neatly leaped out of skin upon setting sights on him.  She hadn’t even heard him come home.

“You scared me.” Priya said, trying to calm her breathing down.

“Sorry.” Aman chuckled.  He stood up and walked towards Priya.  He handed her a flat box, wrapped in shiny wrapping paper.

“What is this?” Priya asked.

“It’s what I want you to wear tonight.” Aman replied.

Priya looked down at the box and back up at Aman.  A panicked expression appeared on her face.  Aman’s smile faded.

“It’s not an evening gown, Priya, or even worse, a pair of jeans.” Aman said, mock horror in his tone.

“Then what is it?” Priya asked suspiciously.

“Open it and find out.” Aman mused.

Priya cautiously unraveled the wrapping paper.  She set it aside and worked on opening the box.    Her eyes fell on bright red fabric.  Priya lifted the fabric up, examining it.

“A sari?” she said.  “You bought me a sari? You hate when I wear sarees.”

“I don’t hate when you wear them. I just think you should wear something else once in a while.” Aman defended.  “Get ready.  Take all the time you need. We leave in two hours.” Aman walked out of the room, closing the door behind him.

Priya was absolutely elated.  This was the first time Aman had given her a gift, and it was a beautiful gift.  She rushed into the bathroom, eager to wear the sari.  Priya’s happiness dwindled as she saw her reflection in the mirror.   The sari was gorgeous.  It was a bright red color with rose embellishments throughout.  However, the blouse showed a lot more midriff than Priya was comfortable with and the sleeves were much shorter than what she was used to.  The part of the sari that draped over the shoulder was sheer, meaning it concealed nothing.    Priya sighed.  She felt so exposed.  She could’ve worn something else, but she didn’t want to hurt Aman’s feelings.  Priya decided to continue getting ready.  She did her hair and makeup rather quickly.  She wasn’t sure how elegant the venue would be, so she decided to go with a simple look.  She was putting on her jewelry when there was a knock at the door.

“Payal.” Priya said aloud before making it towards the door.

“Payal, I haven’t finished getting ready yet.” Priya said as she swung the door open.

It wasn’t Payal who had knocked.  It was Aman.  His eyes raked over Priya’s body.  Priya shied away from Aman’s gaze.  She instinctively crossed her arms over her stomach in an effort to hide what the sheer sari didn’t.  Aman frowned.

“You don’t like it.” He said, a hint of disappointment in his voice.

“No! I love it.” Priya said.

Aman looked at her suspiciously.  He could tell she wasn’t comfortable.

“It just shows a little more skin than I prefer.” Priya told him.

Aman rolled his eyes.  He took one of Priya’s hands and pulled her arm away so he could take a better look at her.  She looked breathtakingly beautiful just as he had hoped she would when he bought her the sari.  His eyes involuntarily traveled down her body again.  When he looked back at her face, he noticed a deep blush had appeared.  She was looking at the ground, avoiding eye contact with him.

“Priya, you look great. If you’re really that uncomfortable, I don’t mind if you wear something else.” Aman said.  “I should tell you though, I’m the only who’s going to see you.  We’ll be completely alone where we’re going.”

“I’m fine. It’s really a lovely sari, Aman.” Priya said.  Now that she knew that only Aman would see her, she felt a lot more relaxed.  “So,” Priya continued, changing the subject, “where are we going?”

“That’s a surprise.” Aman said with a wink.

“Aman,” Priya protested.

“I’m not telling you. Now, come with me.” Aman grabbed her hand and rushed her to one of his luxury cars.  He was in such a hurry that he didn’t allow Priya to even say goodbye to Payal.  Aman took the keys from his driver.  He opened the passenger side door for Priya before positioning himself in the driver’s seat.

“Ready to go?” he questioned.

Priya nodded briefly.  Aman revved the engine and began driving.  Priya stared out the window, taking in the scenery as they drove by.  The city scenes soon meshed into countryside scenes.  Displays of rolling, green hills and tall trees filled Priya’s vision.  She looked over at Aman, who was focused intensely on the road.  He glanced over at her and smiled.

“Are we almost there?” Priya asked.

“Why? You can’t stand being in the car with me for a few more hours?” Aman smirked.

“A few more hours?” Priya said, horrified.  They had already been driving for what seemed like an eternity.

“Relax. I was just kidding.  We’re almost there.” Aman chuckled.

The car ride  with Aman hadn’t been unbearable.  It had been quiet.  They didn’t speak much.  Aman was focusing on driving, while Priya continued gazing out the window taking in the scenery.

Since the ice was broken, Aman decided to continue the conversation.

“So when you think of a romantic date, what do you picture?   Long walks on the beach? Watching the sunset? What?” Aman asked.  He quickly glanced over at Priya, who was blushing.  He grinned.

“I really don’t know,” Priya admitted, “I’ve never been on a date.” She added quietly.

“Come on, Priya. You must have some idea.” Aman insisted.

“Sunsets are nice.” Priya said.

“I’m sorry we missed it. Next time.” Aman replied.

Priya’s heart skipped a beat.  Aman, whether he realized it or not, just said he’d take her out on another date.

“We’re here.” Aman announced.

I know they didn't exactly go on their date in this chapter. I've never been on a date (sad, I know) so I don't know how to write about one! I have serious writer's block! Ugh!

Check out Priya's sari on the side! I love Sonakshi Sinha :)

Next chapter will be up really soon and it WILL have their date.

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