A: Awakening

"Atleast let me take you out for a cup of coffee." Nihal pleads for the tenth time today.

I was busy at work, but he has been here everyday since a month trying to ask me out.

"Don't you have to be at work?" I look at him through my glasses.

"Sia, I'm a businessman. I can work whenever I want to." He plays with the pen stand on my desk.

Ofcourse I knew that he was a businessman. Nihal Dutta, the super rich scion of the Dutta group of industries. His family was into every business under the sun. From real estate, to textiles to hotels; they had it all under their family name. Why this millionaire was pursuing a simple receptionist like me was something that I could not understand. And more than that what I could not understand was how did I fall in love with him. I had met him eight months ago at a hospital where I was admitted for dengue. He was visiting the person in the next bed and we had started talking about the cricket match that was going on. After that we continued to remain friends and would hang out once in a while. In about three months, I was head over heels in love with him. And from the looks of it, it looked like he was smitten too. But the whole situation seemed very unlikely to me and I knew deep in my heart that this was not right.

"So, what do you say?" He breaks my reverie.

"Okay fine, what the hell."

He does a small victory dance and helps me out of my chair. I wrap the scarf around my neck hastily and walk ahead of him with a smile on his face. He takes me to the poshest restaurant in town in his BMW. The restaurant overlooked the whole city and the height gave me a thrill. I look around in glee as he watches me with a grin.

"I think you like the place." He signals to a waiter.

"I love it! Thank you so much."

I give him an impromptu hug and he embraces me tightly. I can feel his breath on my hair. I feel my insides melting and I wish that the world stood still for now. The waiter interrupts and Nihal escorts me to a corner table.

"Thank you Raman. We shall place the order shortly." He tells the waiter who is looking at me weirdly.

"Sure Dutta sir. I'll come back later."

"Why did he look at me like that?" I ask Nihal.

"Maybe it was all that PDA." He winks.

I blush deep and he holds my hand turning me red.

"You know I've fallen in love with you right?" He looks right into my eyes.

I nod and smile at him. He doesn't prod much and instead asks me what I will have.

"You tell me. You seem to be the regular here." I chide him as he signals to the waiter again.

"Raman, we shall have the usual. Be generous on the spice though."

He smiles at the waiter and melts me all over again. It is a sexy quality when men treat people lower to them really well. Nihal was excellent at it. While I was at the hospital I remember the way he used to address the nurses by their names and bring in small presents for them. He used to play with the children of visitors and made everyone around feel happy. It was mainly because of him that I healed quickly. I felt happy having him around and I knew that he is the one with whom I could spend all my life. This little realization of mine reminded me of the most important thing.

"Did you go to the hospital today?" There was a certain concern in my voice that changed the look on his face.

"Yeah, I went there this morning. As usual." He looks away.

"And?"

"And the usual, no improvements. Just the way it always was."

I squeeze his hand and force a smile out of him.

"It will all be fine. Do not worry." I say as he nods.

The waiter arrives with a tray of food and a pot of coffee. Soon, the conversation drifts and we are back to being the awesome twosome that we always were. His laugh made me feel alive and having him by my side made me feel so lucky. It was not because of the money, that was the last thing on my mind. I just wanted him. His pleasing aura and personality drove me crazy and his modesty was what I had fallen for. I loved him so much that I could not think beyond him. I had ignored his feelings for a long time but I could no longer hold back my feelings for him. As I kept staring at him in the backdrop of the sunset, he comes closer and plants a kiss on my lips. I kiss him back as I taste the bitter coffee on his lips. I was never too fond of coffee, but now it was becoming my favorite.

I look at him and see the love in his eyes. His smile takes me to the moon and he is all that I have ever wanted. But I cannot help but think what would happen when his wife wakes up from her coma.

Linking to the A to Z Challenge.