‘I bet you were wishing the flight would take off and I’d get offloaded,’ Yudi said with the same infuriating grin he’d had earlier.

‘What? Of course not, how juvenile is that!’ I said with what I hoped sounded like a light laugh. ‘I was catching up on some reading, actually.’ I pointed towards the trusty Wodehouse that I’d been using to fan myself for the last hour and Yudi’s eyes flickered with interest.

‘Hey, are you a P.G. Wodehouse fan too? I grew up on his books and I don’t think I’ll ever outgrow them!’ he said.

‘Me too! Some of my all-time favourite books are by Wodehouse; I’ve re-read some of them as many as fourteen times! And they always act as an instant pick-me-up when I’m feeling low.’ I smiled again at Yudi, a genuine smile this time, as he sat down beside me, his brown eyes warm and crinkly with interest. We spent the next two hours chatting about books and by the time the flight landed in Delhi we’d discovered tons of common favourites.

‘You must come over sometime to see my collection,’ I told Yudi enthusiastically as we made our way to the prepaid cab GF had sent for us. Suddenly realizing that I had just invited the guy over like a total moron, I hastily added, ‘Umm, that is if you want to and if you have any free time. I know you must be terribly busy…’

‘I’d love to,’ Yudi said firmly, putting his hand on the small of my back and deftly steering me out of a near-collision with an auto that was speeding towards the main road like its driver’s pants were on fire.

Operation Separation gave a few dying splutters as I struggled to remain upright at Yudi’s touch, fighting strongly against the growing instinct to put my arms around him and curl up into his chest. Thankfully, we reached the cab soon after and I escaped into the relative safety of its bright red-and-maroon interiors. Our driver was a jovial sardar who made up for his lack of aesthetic sense with an affable personality and a love for bhangra and we were soon on our way to Lajpat Nagar with Sukhbir’s ‘Bindaas Beats’ hammering away in the background.

I leaned back, trying to ignore the whiff of Old Spice that was marking Yudi’s uncomfortably close presence and also the growing hunger pangs in my stomach. My stomach promptly let out a belligerent grumble and I shot an embarrassed glance at Yudi, only to find him grinning straight at me.

‘Hungry?’ he asked me, and I nodded, feeling my cheeks redden. ‘Me too. Flight food totally sucks!’ Yudi went on and looked at his watch. ‘How much time do we have before the research starts?’

‘Not too much, actually,’ I replied, glancing at my own watch. ‘We only have forty minutes to spare and I don’t know any place on the way where we can grab a quick bite.’