First date! ©

“But Pragya, I want to be myself for my first date!” I said to my best friend.
“Today you’re going to act like a girl Shruti, now shut up and let me get you ready!” Pragya said while working on my face.
“I wonder if I could ever win an argument from you!” I said in the most irritated voice.

She smiled and continued doing something on my face.

I was going on my first date with my boyfriend Rohit. Even though we had been dating for 3 months, my mom had allowed me to go for the first time.

“Here you go!” Pragya said with a final touch of eyeliner on my eyes. She turned around my chair and I looked into a mirror. It was a reflection of a complete stranger. My hair was pinned up in a way that only two strands on curls were falling on my face.

“Is that really me?” I managed to say. She started laughing on that. “Shruti, you really do underestimate yourself, don’t you?”

Before I could say anything the door bell rang, I was going to get up and run to the door when Pragya said “Shruti act a bit like a girl! Please!!”

I looked at her for exactly 5 seconds and then said “OKAY!”
She was grinning widely at me; she rushed to my closet and took out a pair of sandals given to me by my mother.

“How come I have never seen you wear these?” She asked.
“I have never worn them.” I said blankly.
“Well, these would be perfect with your dress. Now wear them and I will go attend to Rohit.” She smiled and then went out the door.

I waited for the door to close and then sighed. I did not know how I landed up with the perfect guy. I looked at the watch it was 7:45 pm. He said he would come to pick me up at 8:00 pm. This was his limit of perfection. I looked into the mirror and said to myself “What did he see in me?”

I got of the stairs gently and then looked at Rohit with his black colored suit. He had a bow tie, and was sitting in front of my mother. My mother looked at him with her eyes wide open. She then turned around and looked at me. Her smile was gentle.

She finally approved of our relationship! I thought to myself. Just as I got down the staircase, Rohit was right next to me. He held out his elbow for me to hold. I tugged on to him. He looked at me and said “You’re looking beautiful!”

“Thank you!” I said, while I felt my cheeks burn. My mom came up to me and said “Enjoy your date!” I nodded.

She turned to Rohit and said “Have her home by 10”
“Yes I will ma’am!” He said with a smile. We walked outside the door. He opened the car door for me and then went to his seat.

“So… where are we going?” I asked.
“It’s a surprise..” he said with the kindest smile and drove.

He turned around into a dark alley and stopped the car. He opened my door and held my hand. I got of his car. The alley was totally empty. He clapped his hands twice and the lights turned on. I just looked at the alley there was a spotlight on a table for two. Rohit came up behind me and hugged me. Suddenly music started playing in the background.

He backed off and then put his hand forward and said “Shall we?”
I held his hands gently and started dancing with him. His body was warm and with every move I got closer to him. At the end of the song he gave me a slight peck on my lips.

The dinner was set up so beautifully, that I did not even care to sense the taste. While driving back home, he said “I am going to leave this Town tomorrow, I will miss you Shruti…”

“You’re going?” I said shocked. Finally my mother had accepted him and he was leaving town.
“I will come here every week to see you...” he said with gentleness.

The car stopped in front of my house, but I did not care get off. I could not believe he was leaving town. We used to sit together at school, and in between classes we used to hold hands, kiss each other. But now he was going.

He opened my door and then kissed my hands gently and said “Shruti… we have our whole lives to ourselves… These years would feel like seconds…”

I kissed him and said “I will miss you!”
“I will miss you too…” He said. He walked me to the door and gave me a good night kiss.

I entered the house and saw Mom and Pragya looking at me with curious eyes.
“The date was beautiful!” I managed to say, and ran upstairs.

That was my first date with my boyfriend, and he had done everything to make my date special. This was the day, when I truly learned that he was the person who I was in love with, and the one who I was going to spend the rest of my life with.