Jeeva's POV

There was a shift in my heart when our gazes locked. His eyes, which had been filled with despair before entering the café, now glistened with affection.

He was staring at me like a kid who had just received an ice cream cone.

How much I've refrained from giving him a hug.

Holding his hand, Dev ushered him in the direction of Aditi and me.

I was still staring into his eyes and his into mine.

In his gaze, I sensed relief. For an instant, it felt as though my heartache, exhaustion, and stress vanished.

"Hey", I said, waving my hand in the air.

He was staring at me as though I might vanish if he looked away for even a split second.

Dev shook him by the shoulder and inquired, "What happened now?" when he did not answer.

He snapped out of his reverie, asking, "Are you really here?" while glancing first at Dev and then at me.

With a rolling of his eyes, Dev acknowledged him, saying, "Yes, bhab— I mean Jeeva is here, she's standing right in front of you."

Dev, seated in front of Aditi, added, 'she might even disappear if you don't sit immediately.

Aditi and I chuckled a little at what he said.

He looked at me as he sat on the chair in front of me.
Dev and Aditi were seated across from one other, as was the case with him and me.

He was staring at me alone, which made me feel quite self-conscious.

He was sitting back in his chair, his left leg resting on his right knee, his hand resting on his lips, and all he could do was stare at me.

(Exclude the glass.)

My heart was racing so quickly. I could feel the weakness in my legs. I feel very personal around his eyes.

I was experiencing bodily feelings for the first time that I had never felt before.

I looked at Dev and Aditi to get rid of the uneasiness, and they were both engrossed in each other.

Like wow, ye dono ek dusre mein kho rahe hai, ye mujhme kho rahe hai. Nahi aakhir, Kya chal Raha hai idhar?
Ek-dusre ko ghooro pratiyogita.

Bhagwan ji, please have pity on me and end this stringing competition before awkwardness kills me.

And suddenly, the waiter came to take the order.
I praised God and took up the menu card, swiftly flipping through it.

"Two Frappuccinos," Dev placed his and Aditi's order.
I ordered, " An Iced Caramel Macchiato".

We all turned to face Rish so he could place his order after we had finished putting ours.

He did not say anything, but kept staring at me.

I asked him, raising my eyebrows, "What will you have?"

"You" he said casually.

I coughed while I  took up a glass of water from the table and started sipping it.
He then continued, " I mean, I'll have the same as yours".

After noting our orders, the waiter departed.
" When did you get here?", Rish asked.

I replied "two days ago."

He gave a head nod.

Then he enquired to the dev, "You were pressuring me to come to the cafe since yesterday because you knew she was here."

Dev pointed to Aditi and added, "Yes, by the way, this is my girlfriend Aditi."
Rish said "hi" to Aditi after glancing at her.
"Hello" Aditi answered.

Then those intimate eyes of his turned back to me. Why is it that his eyes turn intimate when he looks at me?

It was time for our order to arrive. We spoke while we finished our drinks.

It was mostly just Dev and Aditi conversing. Rish was staring at me as I listened to them converse.

After we finished our beverages and asked the waiter for the bill, Dev remarked, "Hey, this is my cafe. No need for a bill."
" So what if this is your cafe," I said. " The invoice will still be settled."

I said to the waiter, "Please bring the bill."

he hesitated a little when Rish said "Yes, please proceed and bring the bill."

Dev stated that, " you actually don't have to pay the bill."

"In my opinion, this is your café, but sales are recorded here. Why is there no need? Thus, what will you document in it?" Folding my hands, I asked him, "How will you show your net profit if you serve for free like this?"

"This is not how business operates; if you want to grow, you will need to quit providing this free service", I continued.

He clarified, " i only offer this complimentary service to those who are close to me".

"You have a lot of loved ones here, even though I understand that this complimentary service is solely for them. You'll have family and buddies from college, right?" I enquired.

At my words, he nodded.

"So you're going to offer everyone free service?" I enquired.

He said,"yes, after all they are friends and family."

"Yes, they are your relatives and friends, but you are losing business as a result of this. I recognize that you have friends and family, so it is free for them, but if you consistently provide free service, they will grow accustomed to it and will always eat it for free, regardless of how much it costs." I said.

I continued, "Furthermore, your cafe is rather opulent; the cost of the lights, air conditioning, or TV will be very expensive. To figure out how much your cafe will cost, you will combine their bill with the prices of the foods below. Now that you're offering your friends and family free service as well, how are you going to pay for the salaries of your employees, your power bill, and luxuries?"

With a nod of his head, dev seemed to comprehend everything.

Aditi gestured as though she could also understand.
And Rish was just grinning proudly at me. His eyes were full of admiration for me.

The waiter had his mouth agape, staring at me as though he'd heard something crucial.

I know this information was not that crucial but not many people know about it and even if they know, they become blind in love with their close ones.

"You're right—I shouldn't have done this", Dev expressed gratitude for helping him realize this, saying that without it, he would have gone bankrupt in the next few years.

His remarks made us all laugh.
We left the cafe after paying the bill.

"I and Aditi are going on a date, so Krish, you leave Jeeva to the hostel," Dev remarked after stepping outside.

As he glanced at Rish, who is standing behind me, there was devilish intent in his eyes.

"No, I'll go by myself actually I have to buy some books from the book shop" I replied.

"Yes, Krish will get that too, right krish?" Dev questioned Rish.

I knew he was staring at me even though I didn't look at him.

He said, softly speaking into my ears from behind, "Yes, let's go."

He was clutching my waist with one hand while the other was in his pocket.

My body experienced an odd feeling.

My tummy was churning with butterflies.
I took a seat in his G-wagon without recognizing it.

I came out of my thoughts when he said,

"Back to earth baby."

______________________________________________

How was the chapter smoothies?

Hope y'all liked it.
Thank you ❤️