The Sunday morning light fell on me from the window, as did a bucket full of bone-chilling realizations.

Last night was rebellious in forms normal people won't understand. At least those with modern, supportive parents who didn't give a damn about the caste, creed and eating habits of their children's partners, were open to the idea of relationships as long as their children were happy.

Such things existed in books. For me, of course. I had friends who dated without having to hide it from their parents, and such things were always a touchy topic for me. And now, it had become a sore topic. The limits that had been drawn for me had been scaled, all fears forgotten.

And for the life of me, I couldn't get myself to regret last night. And I'd be a douchebag to regret it, after everything I had done to Abeer.

Or rather what he had done to me.

I felt my cheeks warm at the memories of last night as I got out of my bed. The lips, the hands, the stares...it had been breath-taking. The numerous novels I had read over the course of my teenage and right through my adulthood had provided me with enough descriptions of passionate make-out sessions to have me aware of what happened when people kissed.

But damn, last night had been a whirlwind. Everything had happened fast, my emotions had been all over the place. I had felt shy, embarrassed, bold, wanting, everything. If someone asked me what I had been feeling when Abeer had planted his lips on mine, I wouldn't have an answer. At least a coherent one.

It had been a blur - all of it - and confusing. And I absolutely detested being confused. Not knowing something.

But this...this had been good. Fulfilling. A good confusion.

I sat on a chair around my dinner table, a steaming cup of tea in my hands as I scrolled down the notifications of my phone. I opened my Facebook, when I came across Abeer's post. My heart sped as my mind flashed all that happened last night. The post was a photograph of the concert, with Arijit Singh on the stage.

He hadn't tagged me, or mentioned me anywhere. It was the most logical thing to do. We didn't want people to know. We had remained discreet the entire time, though I wasn't sure whether Abeer knew of the no-dating policy at office.

I clicked on his profile to go through his other posts when a change in his bio caught my eye.

Relationship status: taken.

Taken.

He was taken. By me. He belonged to me. Me!

My heart fluttered in the most obnoxious manner. Abeer and I. Him and me. Us. There was a us. There was no denying it. No going back. We had leapt forward. Crossed the lines. There were no lines now. No limits.

Against my ego. Against parents. Against my office rules.

I had waged a rebellion that no one knew about. A silent, discreet rebellion. Which could cost me my job, my career, and possibly my family too. But some things were too tempting to forego. So tempting that one could put their lives at stake. The stakes were high, but what if I had wagered a weak play? After all, nothing was promised. The future was as bleak as before.

Correction - it is way bleaker than it was before.

I took a sip of my tea as my mind buzzed with a million worries. Abeer had defeated my ego, he had made me go against the limits laid down by my parents and compelled me to go against the office rules as well.

He was the one who had taken the position I worked for and coveted. That had hurt bad, even though he didn't have a hand in that. Abeer was...perfect. The golden boy. My parents would love, as my friend. Not as my prospective partner.

But the question was, it had just been a date! A single date! We didn't love each other, no promises made, and yet all I could think of was what my parents would say about Abeer if I should get him to meet them.

I was thinking ahead...of the future. With him!

It was wrong.

Well, going on the date with Abeer had been wrong too, but I had done it. Leapt over the lines. The truth was, I didn't like the concept of casual dating. Because romantic relationships were never casual to me. If I drove in, I was in it for deep. For a forever. I didn't know baby steps. I didn't know all that. Because I hadn't done all that. Last night's date hadn't just been a date. 'Just a date' concept didn't exist for me.

It did for normal people. I had never said I was normal.

But Abeer was. He didn't know. What if he saw this date as a 'date', and perhaps, nothing else? Dating...just dating. Nothing more.

I was overthinking. But I couldn't help myself. Such things were strange to me. Foreign. These were changes, and I hated changes. Tea long forgotten, I had taken to pacing across the hall, biting the skin of my nails as I over thought everything I possibly could.

I was busy contemplating the 'what if's' when my phone rang, flashing Abeer's number on the screen.

I paused and stared at the phone on the dining table. He was calling me. He hadn't called me after he had asked me on the date. But he was calling me now. Perhaps, perhaps...

I answered the call.

"Aa..."

"Are you aware of the no-dating policy in the office? Do you know we could both lose our jobs if this came up?" I cut him before he could speak anything, voicing my worries.

Perhaps not the most charming after-date greeting, but these weren't normal circumstances. Heck, who am I kidding? I didn't even know normal circumstances. There was a pause before I heard his deep, very masculine voice from the other end.

"I know. You didn't?" He asked, softly.

"No, I did," I answered shortly. Silence reigned. None of us spoke anything for some moments, before I lost it.

"So, what are we going to do about it? Don't just stay silent, say something, yaar!" I snapped impatiently.

"Aashi, you must know this isn't how I expected my 'good morning, Abeer' to be like. After what happened last night, nonetheless!" He said, irritated. I coloured at his words. My guess was right. It wasn't the normal greeting after an awesome date.

"That's bullshit! This should be the first thing to be said, especially after what happened last night!"

"It doesn't hurt to use manners from time to time, you know," he muttered from the other end.

"I'm not in the mood for a lecture on phone call about mannerisms right now, Abeer. This is bloody serious!"

He sighed. "I know, Aashi. Do you think I haven't thought of this? I don't know what we will do if anything comes up in the office about our relationship. The only thing I could think of is practicing discretion. I can't think of anything else."

I stilled at his words. He knew. He had thought about it. And yet, he had risked his job as well, for this. Us. My heart was overcome with a warm, fuzzy emotion.

There was a pause, the awkward, unsettling type. Finally, he cleared his throat.

"Aashi," he started, cautiously. "You...you aren't thinking of..."

"No," I quickly responded, erasing his doubts. I could feel his relief from the other side.

"Aashi, when I said I liked you last night, I wasn't saying for the sake of it. I know I haven't been clear about everything, but trust me, I want to..I want to be with you. Even though I should be in the mental asylum for this, but I do. Just not dates, but everything. And...and I don't want to scare you, but the future does seem awesome with you in it," his voice dimmed at the end, but it was enough.

Scare, scare? He was right about the mental asylum part, because damn, I was as crazy about imagining about the future as he had put it to be. Some people might think we were rushing things. But that was the way I was. I had never waited for things to happen on their own. I took charge, solved things. I didn't care if all this was unconventional. It felt right.

I wanted future. Future with Abeer didn't seem dull. It felt bright with laughter, sarcasm, and passion, my brain added slyly.

I couldn't deny, that too.

And if future happened, I would be more than glad. I didn't know if it was love, but there was something, and that something was enough to keep me going. Risking everything was still not fine with me. I feared the outcomes. But fear was fine. I could live with fear. I couldn't live with uncertainty, being in the unknown. The warm, fuzzy feeling increased, engulfing me whole.

"Aashi..." I heard Abeer call me.

"Future doesn't sound bad to me too," I replied, a small smile playing on my lips.

I heard him sigh from the phone, which made me laugh. "Scared?" I teased.

"Very. It's you we're talking about. One must be mad to not be scared."

"Am I that scary?" I shot up, my heart sinking. Was I?

"Perhaps. But you're an adventure. And I hated them until I met you. Not everyone can master being scary and kind, you know."

"Kind? How do you know I'm kind?" I giggled, a girlish, almost teenage-ish feeling taking over me.

"You didn't kill that Abhay from last night when you were clearly irritated. That's proof enough," he replied, his tone light with humour.

"Hmm...but I didn't know you could look so cute when you're jealous," I cooed, remembering his face from last night. At that moment, all I was praying for was for Abhay to go away, unscathed. But now when I remembered it, all I could see was Abeer's face, looking adorably cute in his jealous fury.

"Aashi!" he huffed indignantly, making me roll over with laughter.

It took me some moments to come to senses again, and we settled in a comfortable silence.

"You should meet Taira," I blurted out of the blue.

"I'm sorry...who?" He questioned, shocked.

"Taira," I replied simply, as if that made any sense.

"Taira who? You seriously are a mood, woman," he snapped, irritated, to which I giggled.

"Taira, my best friend Taira. Taira Kapoor. You will like her. She's exactly like you. Too good for her own good." I didn't feel the need to mention she was our company's owner's daughter. Taira was Taira first, the rest of the things didn't matter.

There was absolute silence for a minute. "Abeer? You there?" I asked.

"Yes...yes I am. Taira Kapoor?"

"Yes! Do you know her?" I questioned, curious.

There was the silence again. "No. No I don't," he answered.

"I thought so. Anyways, we all should meet up. It will be fun. Accha listen, I'm getting a call from her, I'll call you back later. Bye!" I hung up, barely able to contain my excitement of telling Taira all that happened to notice the shift in Abeer's tone when I had mentioned Taira.

I didn't know then that it would come back to haunt me in the worst possible manner.

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