It seemed as if Piyu had heard the car's sound, and she came out in no time. Her small hair was pulled to a side, and she wore a dark green dress with spaghetti straps. The hem of the dress was slanted and exposed a little of her right thigh while the other side stretched to just under her left knee.

Pooja got out to greet her, and as they hugged, she realised that Piyu smelled like heaven. After the formalities, they got into the car and went to the club.

At the door, Pooja showed her card to the matire d’, and he led them to a seating area that was reserved for them. The area was not exclusive. It was just that it gave them a chance to relax while being in the fun zone. They ordered a couple of shots for each of them, cheered and gulped them down. The next order was LIIT for Pooja and Margherita for Piyu. Piyu seemed to be in the mood to party and started to dance even as they sat with their drinks.

As they nursed their drinks, Pooja saw a woman in an LBD confidently approaching them. She approached Piyu and probably asked her for a dance. Piyu took her hand and followed her to the dance floor. As she was going, she looked at Pooja, surprised and with a smile. Pooja smiled and nodded at the action as if saying, “Of course you should go. Have fun.”

On the dance floor, Piyu put her hands on the girl’s waist, and the girl kept hers on her shoulders. They shook and twisted with the beats. They moved in unison as if they had choreographed the dance. Slowly, one hand of the new girl made its way to Piyu’s butt, where it rested. Sensing no opposition., the other followed. Piyu was surprised at the fast move of the girl but allowed it to be there. The girl would pat her butt with every beat, and as the song ended, she gave it a little squeeze. Piyu gave out a hearty laugh.

As the song changed, she rotated Piyu so that Piyu’s back faced her and rested her face on her shoulders. They continued to dance to the beat. As the rhythm increased, she turned Piyu around again and got closer. Their nose now touched each other’s. When the song reached its crescendo, Piyu took the girl's face and kissed her on the cheeks. While kissing, she said something in her ear. She was not confident what she said could be heard over the loud noise of the club, but she tore herself away from the girl, took her hand, kissed it, gave her a smile and danced her way back to their reserved area

“Phooh! That was something.”

“Yeah, you seemed to enjoy yourself quite a bit. Got her number or just left her midway?”

“Haha, nothing as such. The night is still young. We will have more such opportunities.”

“Cheers!” Pooja said. She did feel a pang of loss when she saw Piyu dance with the girl. The kiss and the parting with a kiss on her hand indicated that Piyu had found someone with whom she could at least start looking for options. There was a pain of losing Piyu, but she was happy that after such a long time, she was enjoying herself and giving herself a chance at romance.

A few men and women came during the course of the evening. Pooja excused herself from their proposition while Piyu said she would be with them in 15 minutes whenever someone approached her. Both of them just did small talk and ordered more drinks and some food to go with it. At around 10, Piyu just stood up and said, “Let’s go. It’s enough outing for a first day. And I may pass out if I drink more.”

“But you said you will dance with them. See, that guy is still awaiting your dance.”

“Who?” Piyu squinted to see the person to whom Pooja was pointing. “Doesn’t matter. I am done. Can you please call Uber, or should I do?”

“No, no, I will.”

They called the can and said that the first stop was Piyu’s place. She turned and looked inside the car from the window as she got down.

“Come in, na. Let’s chat some more. I may have some vodka lying somewhere. Once sober, I will take you to the club tomorrow, and we can get your car as well.”

“No, no. It is too late. And I don’t want to bother you any more tonight. You need rest.”

“No,” Piyu slurred, “I need you more than rest. Come na. Please.”

Pooja acquiesced. She handed over a thousand bucks more than the meter to the driver and helped Piyu to her home.

Piyu went to the washroom and washed her face. When she came back, they talked about the evening.

"It was a wild night, for sure. I have not had such fun for a long time. Thanks for arranging this.”

“You are welcome. I was hoping that you get to meet more people. That plan didn’t succeed.”

“Not everything has to be a plan. And not everything succeeds. We can be happy with what we have.”

“Yeah, but you and that girl would make a great pair. What was her name?”

“Didn’t catch it!” Piyu started laughing at this. Pooja also joined. As the laughter subsided, an awkward silence took its place.

They would just look at each other or the floor. To break the silence, Pooja said, “If you are settled, shall I leave, or what’s the plan?”

Piyu looked at her intently. She came close and held Pooja’s face. “Are you really such a numbnut? You do not know what is happening? How do you manage such a big company? Have you not noticed that I am totally enamoured by you? I have not said anything because I didn’t know how you felt, but I know from tonight that you like me as well.”

Pooja stared at her wide-eyed.

“Oh, will you say something?” Piyu said irritantly. “I am going to kiss you. If you have any issues, stop me now. Else, be mine forever.”

With this, she moved forward, held Pooja’s face in her hands, and their lips met each other and created fireworks. That feeling of defeat, which Pooja had since the evening, made way for a sense of shock, ultimately making way for pure love. She melted into the kiss, crossed her hands around Piyu and returned the kiss with the same intensity. As she melted into the kiss, her eyes closed. She could feel their heartbeats getting synchronised, which pounded like gongs every second.

P.S: This story was written by Pankhuri and the storyline given to her by her friends Anupama and Shruti.