Ch-02: A FRIENDLY DINNER

He had arrived at the diner before the given time and for passing time he ordered a glass of mango juice. While sipping a juice, he looked around at people enjoying the company of their partners. After 10 mins, when his juice was nearly coming to its end, Vaneeza stepped into the dining area of the hotel.

She was beautiful but today she just..... Perfect! He thought to himself when he first saw her. She looked everywhere and smiled after spotting him among the crowd.

"Welcome!" When she sat down in front of him, he said with a smile.

"I thought that I would have to wait for you." She smiled.

"Excuse me.... You're a woman not me!" He said with a brow up.

"What do you mean by that?" She asked with the same expressions.

"It means that all the efforts you made to develop this look, takes time. While in our case it's nothing like that. We don't need that makeup or jewellery for looking good." Ahmar winked, she laughed aloud and everyone's head turned towards her, and it made her stop.

"Can I share a secret with you?..." She leaned in, whispering in a hushed tone. Ahmar leaned forward, towards her.

"Yeah?" He asked with visible interest.

"You people don't need to look good because your work is to stare at beautiful people like us." She smirked and Ahmar backed off with slight anger.

"That's nonsense, not a secret." He leaned back in his seat, with a scowl on his face. She giggled in her usual bubbly way, attracting people's attention once again.

"Could you please stop doing that?" He said with gritted teeth.

"Doing what?" She asked with a teasing smile.

"Laughing out loud like this. People are looking at us."

"I told you, they just want to find any reason to look in the way of this beautiful, elegant lady sitting against you." She winked at him and she rolled his eyes.

"Keep dreaming, girl. You will get nowhere at this speed." This time she rolled her eyes at him.

"Whatever. Let's order." She suggested, Ahmar nodded in agreement.

They ordered their meal from the menu. Then started chatting about random topics.

"How are your parents doing? I'm sure they were happy to see you after a long time." He said with a smile.

"Yeah. But this time they want something from me to agree on and I don't know what to do." Vaneeza said disinterestedly.

"What do they want?" He inquired.

"They want to get married as soon as possible."

"Oh! That's not something illegal at all. Does that mean I'm going to get some good news soon?" Ahmar smiled mischievously, irritating her more.

"I'm serious, Ahmar." She said with a straight face.

"Are you worried about finding a groom urgently? If that's the case then don't you worry, I can offer my services to you in this matter." He teased her.

"Shut up!" She glared at him.

"Did you invite me here to discuss this?" He laughed.

"No... I..uh.. Forget it!" She dismissed him.

"Complete your sentence, Vaneeza. I want to know the purpose of this dinner." He winked at her and she scoffed.

"Can we not go out together for dinner, huh?"

"We can, of course." He affirmed.

"Then why are you saying this?" She raised her eyebrows.

"I was just joking, buddy. Calm down, will you!?" He chuckled and she also smiled slightly.

"I am calm."

"Tell me why you get so panicked? Is there someone special you like to introduce to your parents?" He asked. Vaneeza stared at him for some moments to contemplate if he was joking or not but when he didn't smile then she sighed.

"Maybe."

"Maybe?"

"Yeah. Maybe because I don't know what he feels about me." She said this while looking away from him.

"Arrange his meeting with me, I'll confirm to you what he feels." Ahmar said softly, Vaneeza chuckled.

"I can't do this. I don't want to confirm anything, I just want to be delusional for some time even if it's a waste of time." She said strangely.

"So, you're ready to waste your time, energy and feelings on someone you don't even know if he feels the same for you or not... what's this madness, Vaneeza?" Ahmar asked, surprised.

Vaneeza nodded her head. "Trust me, he's worth it!"

"Okay fine, I trust you." Ahmar said after a moment. He didn't want Vaneeza to waste her time and feelings like he did on someone who could deceive at any moment.

"I'll pay the bill by the way." Vaneeza took the book from the waiter.

"Vaneeza, give it to me." He protested.

"Please, the dinner was on me because I invited you. Next time you invite, then you will have to pay the bill." She advised sincerely while putting the cash in the book. Ahmar huffed in frustration but didn't argue because it's of no use anyways....

......