oxidised jewellery was my thing as I felt that it reflected my personal style. In fact, I was adorned in oxidised jewellery, my favourite blue and off-white Anarkali kurta with three-quarter sleeves and white palazzos when I first met Aidan Preobrazhensky. It was a typical January morning. A Sunday. Swastika and I decided to go to Hauz Khas in the morning and catch that much-needed aesthetic vibe after a mind-numbing week.
"If you want more, then just order some for myself," I said as I dodged my plate away from Swati's approaching spoon.
"First of all, I only want to taste it," she responded. "Also, I am not interested in your veg food-whatever. I just can't understand how a person can become a vegetarian by choice."
I giggled. For Swastika, life without chicken was a life without oxygen. "Shut up, please," I said. "Let me breathe a little. These professors really know how to fuck you hard."
"And to think we just gave our mid-term exams," Swati muttered. "Bloody bastards. Flip the topic. I heard Zehan is dating that Sanya girl?" Zehan was this cute Delhiite in our college's boys' basketball team and the heartthrob of a lot of girls. Well, he was not my crush or anything, but yeah, one could not deny the fact that he was not good looking.
"Sociology department, yes," I said, taking a spoon of my blueberry pancakes, the only breakfast that I ordered whenever I was in Hauz Khas Social.
"But he was texting you, right?" She again picked up her spoon and took a bite off my pancake. I gave her one of my best glares. "Only for tasting," she said and ate it.
"And you wanted to have those heavy parathas for breakfast," I teased.
"Oh please, I will have parathas over these stupid pancakes every day. No way I am eating mess food now, that's why I am eating it. Besides, he was texting you, right?"
"He was, but it does not matter. Everyone knows he's a player."
"Jahanara is crazy for him," Swastika laughed. "But c'mon, he is at least good-looking."
"That's why girls flock over him so much," I pointed out. "Plus, that sexy Delhi accent."
"When did he last text you?" She took another bite off my plate. I did not stop her this time as I realized the pancake was far too big for me to eat as I was not feeling very hungry.
"A week ago."
"Who's last seen?"
"Mine."
"Woah, girl," she chuckled and leaned over towards me to pat my shoulder. "Very good."
I smiled. "But you know, he is actually very cute. Too bad he is an asshole. I mean, why can't there be guys who are both hot and loyal and also not stupid?"
"No idea," Swati said and then raised her orangeade in a toast. "Let's hope he falls for Jahanara someday and our begum sahiba makes him a gentleman." We clinked our orangeade glasses and took a sip. "Hey listen," Swati said. I looked at her and flicked my eyebrows as if to ask what? "Can I borrow your black dress for tonight?"
"Well," I began, as I took a last sip of my orangeade. When you are comfortable enough to borrow your roomie's clothes, hair ties, clips and make-up, that means that you two are roommates by real sense. "No."
"But whyyy?" she said, stretching the y for two extra seconds.
"Because you spilled red wine over that maroon top that I gave you last time. And what about that black tank top that you borrowed? You still haven't returned it to me."
"That was an accident, okay? Also, it is not visible. Red over maroon does not matter. And I will return it to you, promise."
"First return everything that you borrowed before and then, I will think. And about the stain, it matters. For me," I asserted. "I don't want any stains in my clothes. Not even invisible ones."
Nevertheless, after that clicking some bomb pictures in Hauz Khas complex (both of us channelling our inner social media "influencaas" as we like to call it while we posed), Swati said she wanted to raid Sarojini Nagar since she wanted a sexy olive dress to go with her deep red lipstick for her date that evening in Imperfecto with her better half. Since I did not exactly have anything to buy, I decided to stay behind and drink coffee in Kailash tea stall (i carry my own coffee sachets and just order a cup of milk. Yes, I am an Indian and no, I don't drink chai, except for kullhad vaali chai which is beyond exceptional), while Swastika went further inside the glittery world of shops and shops in the super crowded Sarojini Nagar.
I was stalking Rohan's account (third year, English department. Also, super cute. Again, not my crush or anything, but sometimes even I needed a dose of good-looking guys to please my eyes) when a deep voice said, "Excuse me?" just an inch or two away from my ear.
Of course, I jumped in shock and spilled my coffee over my arm and dress. Muttering a few inaudible curses, I looked up and saw a surprised and I-am-so-sorry face looking down at me. For a moment, my heart made a leap and the next moment, I felt super embarrassed and awkward for jumping like that in front of a cute guy.
Did I just say cute? Swap it with hot.
He looked Caucasian; he was tall and had uncombed, caramel coloured hair falling lazily on his forehead. His face was pink, probably from the sun and exhaustion, and had a hell of a body; leanly muscular. So, obviously I felt silly. Here was this one guy who could beat Zehan and Rohan in all physical aspects standing just, maybe a few feet away from me and his first impression of me was that of a silly girl who dropped her coffee all over herself. "Sorry I am really sorry," he said, looking exactly like a cute puppy. "It's just…you didn't respond earlier."
Your girl's other senses ain't working when she is stalking hot boys, a voice in my head laughed. "It's alright," I mumbled, not sure even if he heard me as I put my coffee cup on the bench, and cleaned my arm and kurta with my handkerchief. He waited patiently till I finally made a ball of my hanky and dumped it in my bag carelessly before speaking again, "Excuse me?"
"Yeah. How can I help you?" I said like a call centre agent, this time loud enough for even Kailash Bhaiya, the owner of the tea stall to hear. Keep your voice normal, I scolded myself.
"Can you explain this to me?" he asked as he handed me a pamphlet. He spoke in a vague European accent, and it was a little difficult to tell which country he was from. The pamphlet announced, in Hindi and Punjabi, a Lohri program (and buffet afterwards) to be held that evening in Chandni Chowk. Five male Bhangra dancers adorned in their Bhangra attire were photoshopped in the bottom of the pamphlet with both their hands up in the air. Each of them was dancing around a big fire with Rapunzel haired, kurta clad young girls. Honestly, if Swati would have read it, only the buffet thing would have excited her.
"By the way, I am Adrian," he said. His voice. Dead Sexy.
"And I am Nainisha," I said, this time my voice sounding normal. Alright, so the hot guy has a name; Adrian. I wandered what this name meant.
"So, what's this, uh, L-thing? he asked.
I told him about the way North Indians, especially the Punjabis celebrate this festival by dancing and lighting this huge fire in the vague and incomplete way I knew about it, as I was not a North Indian nor a Punjabi. (yes, we exist) However, I looked straight into his eyes which were a brilliant emerald as I wanted to show him that I am confident. Nevertheless, my face remained red (a side effect of all that eye contact). At that moment, the chilly January morning felt like scorching July to me.
"I see," he said, after I finished my monologue. At that time, I was feeling quite hot and breathless (more because I was explaining all this to a guy who could give a tough competition to the Greek gods) but then, like a moron, I asked, "Anyone else?"
He looked at me, and then gave a puzzled look. I felt like my stomach which was turning cartwheels, flip and die. Why did you say "anyone"? I cursed myself. Are you a frigging seven-year-old who confuses over similar prefix words?
"I am sorry."
"Excuse me?" I blinked my eyes in surprise. Why is he apologizing?
"Sorry I scared you like that. I didn't mean to."
"Oh," I said. This hot guy, Adrian has a heart too. I am discovering so many things about him. "It's alright."
"No, it isn't," he said, earnestly. "Can I get another cup of tea for you?"
"No, thanks. I don't drink tea," I said, and then realized how stupid I was sounding; sitting in a tea stall, visibly drinking something and denying the fact that I am drinking tea.
"Sorry?"
"This is coffee. I actually carry my own sachets of coffee and just order a cup of milk from here."
"Cool."
I smiled a little. I expected him to walk away, looking at all the "exotic stuffs" with interest and curiosity, but instead, he just stood there, looking at the busy road with both his hands in his pants' pockets. Why is he still standing here? I worried that the air between us would become awkward. Maybe he wants to say something, I wondered. But what? Will he really make small talk here with Kailash Bhaiya eyeing us with curiosity and amusement?
Finally, it was he who spoke. "Are you waiting for someone?"
Good. He was making small talk. Maybe his first impression on me was not that bad as I assumed it to be. "Yeah. My friend Swati- I mean, Swastika has gone shopping and I am waiting for her."
"So, why aren't you shopping?"
I mentally thought of the answer. Should I confess that I don't want to shop for anything now? How should the sentence be like? Like, I am not shopping, or I have nothing to buy? "I have nothing to buy," I finally said, truthfully.
"I did not know girls ever have nothing to buy," he said in an attempt to be funny, but being very sexist, unfortunately.
"Well, spending money wisely is not a bad thing. Is it?" I smiled a little, more out of politeness than for his poor attempt of being funny. My interest in him slowly began to evaporate away as my brain concluded that he is nothing more than a good-looking douchebag. It was funny how your brain could change opinions about anybody that quickly. What a loser.
"Of course, it isn't. Sorry I did not want to sound sexist," he quickly added, quite earnestly. His apology made up for it. Nice guy. "No, it's alright." I smiled.
"Great, so can I sit here?" he asked, pointing towards the bench opposite to mine.
"Yeah, of course."
He had decided to stay after all. "Can you order a cup of tea for me?" he asked.
"Sure," I said, and told Kailash Bhaiya's minion to bring a cup of tea for Adrian. We sipped our respective drinks for a while, watching the busy road and the people walking past. "So, where are you from?" I asked him, breaking our silence.
"Russia," he said as he sipped his tea.
"Really?" I was surprised. "You don't really sound like a Russian…" (till this date, I assumed all the Russians spoke in a very heavy and a rather intimidating accent.)
"Yeah?" he laughed. "I am Russian. At least, both of my parents are." He paused for a while before asking, "And you are from India, I assume?"
I said yeah and he nodded, sipping his tea. "So, what's your full name?" I asked.
"Preobrazhensky,"
"Sorry?"
He laughed. I liked that laugh. "Preo-braz-hens-ky," he spoke slowly as he broke down the word. "That's my surname."
"Adrian Preo-braz-hensky?"
"Yeah," he said, and gave a slight smile.
"So," I began, not wanting to end the conversation. "What are you doing here? Tourist?" Of course, he is a tourist, you dumb-butt. What else will he be? A local fisherman?
"Um, yeah. You can call me one."
I suddenly realized that it was I who was asking most of the questions, and he was just replying. So, I decided to shut my damn mouth and just finish my coffee. A minute went by in complete silence. Suddenly, I got a call from Swastika, I picked it up. "HELLO? WHERE ARE YOU?" Swati screamed from the phone.
"Kailash," I said, taking the phone away from my ear. "And don't shout. I am not deaf."
"O sorry, sorry. It's really crowded here. So, I thought you can't hear me,"
"Ok fine. Come quickly,"
I hung up the call. From the corner of my eye, I saw Adrian taking pictures of his chai cup from his phone. I know it sounds silly, but I was kind of angry at him for not talking to me. Just because he is hot does not mean that he is gonna get all the attention, I told myself. I finished my coffee and tossed the cup in the dustbin, looking around for Swastika.
"Looking for someone?"
I mentally hi-fived myself. Finally. FINALLY, Mr. Petrovinsky had decided to talk. "Yeah. My friend, Swastika."
He nodded and returned to his phone. What? I screamed inside my head. That's it? You are not going to talk anymore? Fine. It's fine. Completely fine. Fine fine fine. I knew I was being stupid, but I felt like this one kid at the fair who badly wanted to eat a candy floss, but his parents were like, "No beta, no." I felt like tossing that chai Kailash Bhaiya was making down Petronsky's shirt.
My phone's ring snapped me back from my thoughts; it was Swati. She called me to say that she has spotted me, but she will buy a few earrings and then meet me. I told her to come quickly.
"Are you a student?" he asked, lifting his eyes from his phone's screen.
"Yeah." I decided to not toss the chai down his shirt, after all. "And you?"
"Same. Fourth year, veterinary. You?"
My foul impression about him became good again. Veterinary? A guy who likes animals can never be bad. "First year in English."
"Cool. You study here?"
"Yup. In St. Francis."
"So, you guys live in a hostel or, is there some apartment facility for you?"
"I stay in a hostel," I said. "I mean, we do have an option to live as paying guests, but I chose not to. It's more fun in Karuna. And you?"
"Oh, I live in an apartment on rent with my friends. By the way, what was that K-word that you just said?"
"That's my hostel's name. It's, uh, Karuna."
"Cool," he said, and then cracked a little smile. "Maybe you can teach me bit English?"
I smiled back. He is good. Great, in fact. I liked that tone of is voice, deep yet kind of light-hearted. "You speak English pretty nicely. You, uh, like animals?"
"I love animals. My dedushka has a farm, and as a kid, I always visited him during our summer holidays. I still visit his farm."
"Dedushka?"
"That means Grandfather in Russian,"
"That's great. I mean, you liking animals and all."
From a corner of my eye, I saw Swati coming towards me with her hands carrying a million shopping bags, which was not unusual because she never buys only what's in her list. "Sit here," I told her, and Adrian turned his head to see who I was talking to.
"Help me first," she said, transferring a few bags in my hand. Out of nowhere, Adrian got up and helped us manage all those bags. Swastika caught his eye and then looked at me.
"Esehi baat kar rahe the` (we were talking casually)," I told her, feeling thankful that I and Swastika know one language which Petrovinsky did not. Her face lit up with that are-you-into-him? look, and I made my eyes as big as possible to warn her to not say anything stupid. "Thank you, Adrian," I said. He smiled in return. I hastily introduced them. "Adrian, that's Swastika and Swati, that's Adrian."
Adrian gave Swati a polite smile, and said a meek hello which she returned flirtatiously. Before she does anything stupid, I decided to take her back to campus. "Um, Adrian, I think we should leave," I said, wandering whether I should shake hands with him or what.
"Oh, okay," he said, and we hovered around rather awkwardly for a while until I finally stuck my hand out for a handshake which he grasped. His hands were not exactly very soft. (i remembered him saying he works in his dedushka's farm)
Swastika began to smile, looking first at me and then at Adrian. We broke off our handshake, and then he slowly murmured a bye which I returned with a smile. Swati halted an auto.
"Um, bye. See you soon," he said as we sat inside it. The auto sped off, its engine sighing noisily.
My head began to process what the fig that just happened, where I met and talked to the most beautiful guy in this world. However, I did not get much time to ponder about it because the moment the auto sped off, Swati began to laugh. "Wh-at?" I said, trying to supress my own grin.
"You like him?"
"Of course not."
"What's his name?"
"Adrian Petrovinsky-something,"
She exhaled exaggeratedly. "Hmmm…let me see. Nainisha Petro-grad?" I laughed a little and punched her, denying the fact that I have a thing for him even though, I kind of wanted her prediction to come true. "And forget all these," I said. "I want my black tank top today."
I spent the rest of the day thinking about our little meeting. He definitely was hot, no doubt about it, but I was thinking more about his "see you soon". Did he really mean that? Personally, I never said see you soon to any stranger. Maybe, it's a common thing in Russia?
Just then, my phone rang and like an idiot, I half expected it to be Adrian. However, it was JZee (A much cooler version of Jasmeet Arora) who was saying that there's this one gora who wants to meet me, and I was immediately like Petrograd Petrograd Petrograd, and promised JZee that I will be there before he can pronounce his last name correctly.
Surely, it was Petrograd, wearing the same camo cargos, a dark blue and grey flannel and a black blouson jacket that he was wearing that morning. He was also carrying a small white paper bag. Souvenirs, I assumed. He smiled when he saw me and not kidding, I was kind of half surprised when he smiled as I expected him to cringe; because I was wearing this black oversized T- shirt with good boy attitude written on it untidily tucked around in random places in my hastily worn boyfriend jeans, and my light brown overcoat.
"You are looking…" he began, smiling a little.
"Ridiculous," I finished, untucking my T-shirt. I was not even wearing my bra. I feared he'd look at my boobs and notice they are not very defined, but he was making eye contact with me.
He laughed. "No, I did not mean that. I was saying you are looking different without all your large earrings and nose rings."
"Oh," I said. Was it a compliment? I did not ask. He sensed it, though.
"It was a compliment," he confirmed. "Though you look nice in both the avatars. I thought you are an e-girl or something." I smiled. I took this one as a compliment. "Oh, yeah," he mumbled, and then handed me that paper bag. "For you."
This one came as a surprise for me. Obviously, my cheeks flushed, and I (unhappily) realized that I was looking like an overripe tomato. "For me?" was the only thing that I could squawk amidst all the confusion and blushing. He said yeah, and as I took it from his hands, our fingers touched briefly (i had intentionally stretched my fingers in the hope that I would be able to touch his fingers and HURRAY! I did it). There was a box inside it covered in brown paper. My mind began to churn out wild possibilities; the wildest one being an engagement ring. But after I mentally scoffed myself and warned my mind not to be unrealistic (which it did not obey, anyways), I took it out, gave Adrian a smile and was about to tear the paper apart when Adrian went like, "Don't open it!" I looked at him again. Did I hear him right? So, I was like, "Excuse me?"
"Don't open it," he repeated. "Now."
"Why?
"It's just," he paused for a while, "Just don't." I raised my eyebrows. "Please," he pleaded. Oh boy. How do you say no to this face?
I sighed loudly. "Fine."
He smiled a little. He was nice. He is a Russian guy called Adrian Petrovinsky who is studying veterinary. He is sweet, funny and insanely handsome. I felt like I knew a lot of things about him even though I met him just that morning. "So," I began. "Are you going somewhere?"
"I was, uh, on my way to my hotel when I suddenly decided that I should compensate for what I did. So, I decided to buy something for you first."
"Oh," I said, and smiled a little. "That was really sweet of you." I paused for a while before asking, "Which hotel are you staying, by the way?"
"It's called, uh, Back-O-Fye," which was this decent hotel famous for its proximity to CoCo Shot, one of the most famous bars in New Delhi. But I was confused, and it was not unnatural; my college and Back-O-Fye were in complete opposite direction with a fairly good distance between them. Why would someone travel this far just to compensate for a mistake that accidentally happened with a virtual stranger?
"Thanks," I said, finally. "You should not have bothered, though. I mean, it was just an accident."
"Alright," he said, his voice sounding rather low than normal, as though, he was expecting this answer. "Next time, if you spill coffee on your dress because of me, I will just take you straight to a mall and buy you a new dress. Deal?"
Maybe it was my imagination, but I observed a tiny speck of flirt in his tone, and decided to stretch it further. "For that, we have to meet again."
"Well, I don't have any problem."
We caught each other's eye and smiled. It seemed, as if he was pursuing a degree in subtle flirting; no less, no more. Just the perfect amount in the right sentences. I wanted to ask for his number. However, I felt that I would look desperate. But who knows when we will meet again?
"I guess, I should leave now," Adrian said, cutting my thoughts.
"Oh, yeah. Uh, sure." Just go for it, I screamed internally. Okay. One. Two. Three…
"Listen."
"Yeah?"
"Happy journey." I regretted it immediately.
He laughed. "Sure."
I turned around, my face red in embarrassment. Fuck, I screamed inside my head. Did I seriously say Happy Journey? I half-walked, half-ran inside Karuna, and did not even think of bidding him farewell. I felt like I would never be able to face Adrian again. I ran inside my room and slammed the door shut. My mind was chanting happy journey on loop, and Adrian's laugh afterwards was playing inside my head. YOU ARE SO STUPID! I scolded myself again. You are doing bachelors in English, damn it. Now he is probably thinking that you are doing a degree in fluke. Then, I remembered the paper bag in my left hand.
"You back?" Swastika asked, her eyes engrossed on her phone's screen. I murmured a hmmm. "What's that?" she asked, now looking at that paper bag in my hand. "Stationary," I replied, as I sat down on my bed. "Told JZee to buy some for me." She hmmm-ed, and turned her attention towards her phone again.
I tore open the brown paper; it was a coffee mug. I took out the mug from its box, and my eyes fell on a sheaf of paper inside it. My heart gave a mini heart attack as I unfolded it. Was it by any chance…?
Yup. It was.
It was a note where Adrian had written in his small, rather child-like handwriting:
Nainisha,
I am really sorry about giving you a fright like that which led to the spoiling of your dress. I first thought of buying you a new dress but, unfortunately, I don't know the size and type of clothes that you wear. By the way, I hope you like this coffee mug :)
Adrian
p.s. I know it's old school, and perhaps even cheesy. But, in case you want to talk to me (or maybe text); And there it was: his number.
I let out a mouse-like cry in excitement. Swati looked up from her phone. "Everything alright?"
"Yeah, um, everything is fine," I said, hiding my mug behind me and trying to straighten my face to look normal. "Great, actually." I sat down on my study chair, my back on Swastika as I read that again and again; it smelt faintly Adrianish. Happy Journey didn't matter a lot anymore.
new belief: spilled coffee (noticeably hot) signifies new friendship.
I spent the entire night and most of the next day thinking about (a) should I text him first, and if so, then (b) What should I text? After much debating with Swastika (who spent the whole day saying that it was she who first noticed the spark, as if I and Adrian are giving each other serious hints in that way), and ignoring her suggestions which, unsurprisingly, contained hook-up hints more than anything else. "He's a doctor, right?" she asked once when we were discussing about what I should text.
I nodded. "Veterinary student, to be precise."
"Yeah, whatever. Listen, tell him this." Swati leaned a little towards me, dropped her voice into sensual whisper and cooed, "Are you drowning? Because I feel like giving you CPR."
"Oye hoye," I smirked. "Even better. Listen to this." I then dropped my voice into a sensuous whisper, "Are you pulmonary artery? Because you are all around my heart."
"Oye hoye hoye hoye," Swati whistled. "He will come running from wherever he is if you tell him this." I laughed, and then added, "He will drop his veterinary degree, and will permanently shift here if I show him my complete sexy avatar."
"Totally," she agreed.
Of course, I did not send him any of these lines (this level of closeness where I am weird takes time to develop with people), and finally texted him.
Honest feedback: It was cheesy, but kind of cute. Don't tell me it is quite common in your place.
A minute later, my phone's screen lit up: it was a text from Adrian.
At least you found it cute. I thought you will just cringe and throw that mug away.
PS: It was an idea that came exclusively in my head. So, don't worry about hearing a similar incident like this from someone ;)
Cute. I smiled as I typed,
But my kurta got spoiled.
Really sorry about that. I will buy you a new one. What say, meet me tomorrow?
Hmmm...is this some clever way to ask someone out?
It's how you look at it. What say, tomorrow?
Patience, Petrovinsky, patience ;)
Petrovinsky?
O GOD, It's PREOBRAZHENSKY
You GOTTA compensate for saying my name wrong. Meet me tomorrow, at 11 o'clock at Britonate :)
My heart gave a huge leap, and I bit my lower lip to stop smiling as I typed.
What was THAT?
So, is it a yes? Tomorrow sightseeing at the Lotus temple?
"What the hell?" I said out aloud. Swati, who was busy on the phone talking with Naina looked at me alarmingly. "Nothing," I assured her and then, I turned my attention towards Preo-whatever. I felt a warm, tingling sensation just at the back of my neck as I typed a reply.
Wait a second. You said Britonate before
A notification flashed on my screen a few moments later:
Yeah. But I have a better idea. Hear me out: How about this gorgeous girl with blue face-framing hair fringes shows me the temple that can match her stunning looks?
My smile leaked out. Damn this boy…
Fine. Meet me outside Karuna at eleven tomorrow.
Your wish is my command :)
Cheesy
Is it?
Yeah
I will compensate for it tomorrow with coffee.
I could totally see him smiling by now.
Is it a Russian thing? Asking a girl out bit by bit within scratch in ten minutes?
It's an Adrian thing
Damn. He really knew how to charm people off.