Confessions

"Oh here's one more confession!" I said excitedly, "Remember you told me about some guy in your neighborhood you had crush on? I was very sad that day. I felt so jealous of that guy! When you told he played guitar I even considered learning it at one wild moment!"

She burst into laughter, "You were trying to change the topic and I was deliberately pulling you back at it. I knew you were a little jealous. I was having a time of my life." she said winking at me, smiling radiantly.

"You know how much it sucks being friend-zoned!? You wicked girl! You know what, I thought you would never fall for someone like me! Day and night we talked about food, work, families, stories, songs, studies and all the other things in the world but not the very thing we kept secret from each other!" I reminisced. The memories brought smile on our faces.

"The guy was only imaginary, by the way, that guitar guy!" she said with her tongue playing in her cheeks.

"What!" I gawked at her with wide eyes, "You are so mean!"

She laughed even more. Then suddenly she seemed to have remembered something and she smiled slyly.

"What is it!" I asked her, "Don't try to hide anything! It's confession time! Your turn now!"

She blushed deep red and shook her head vigorously, "Noway! It's embarrassing and well... really..." she paused, searching for a word and said, "Icky!"

"Now you have to tell me! Please please please!!!" I insisted curiously.

"Promise me you will never tell this to anyone." she asked me with pleading eyes.
I rolled my eyes and agreed.

She heaved a deep sigh and suppressing her smile, she said, "Remember we used to go to the tapri for the evening tea?? Our entire group?"

"What about it?" I asked her impatiently.

"I used to love that time. I wasn't really a fan of tapri chai. I just got to steal glances at you from above the tea cups. I used to never skip that teatime no matter how much work I had." she pursed her lips, fidgeting with her fingers nervously.

"What's so embarrassing in this! That was the reason I never skipped tea too!" I said.

"Ummm... You know..." she cleared her throat and nibbling at her knuckles to suppress a fit of smiles, she said, "Actually one day when I finished my tea, I found a very ugly dead insect lying at the bottom of the cup..." she shivered a little and continued, "I did not scream nor did I tell anyone fearing we might stop coming to the tapri altogether. I did not even say anything to the chaiwala. I quickly threw the rest of tea along with that insect away when no-one was looking at me. And we continued to go there. That's why I suggested everyone had tea in paper-cups instead of glass cups!!"

She looked at my face tentatively, waiting for my expression.

I stared at her for a moment and roared with laughter.

"Oh my god! Yuck!!!!!" I stopped laughing and imagining the whole scene, burst into a fresh fit of laughter.

"I knew you would laugh! I shouldn't have told you in the first place." she snapped at me flaring her nostrils in mock anger, pushing me away.

I controlled my fit of laughter, "You know how crazy you are?"

She fidgeted with her fingers sheepishly. When she looked up at me, her button-eyes were shining with tears. Sniffing and rubbing her nose with the back of her palm, she shrugged.

I pulled her closer to me and pushed back a strand of her hair that tickled my cheek. I could feel her breath quickening. She could even have heard my heart beating and then we kissed, her fingers pulling gently at my hair and mine touching her cheeks... I traced my finger softly on her neck and pulling back a little, I whispered in her ear, "There's an insect right here, you want to eat it?"

She pinched my arm and we giggled.