‘I’ve always been that way. And I’m a teetotaller and a non-smoker to boot, just to complete the thoroughly boring picture. I think I make up for my otherwise bland choices with my atrocious taste in music,’ I said, grinning at Yudi. He smiled back.

‘Do you like rock music?’ he asked. ‘That’s one of my old loves. There was a time when I was happy to just live on Floyd.’

‘Umm, no. Actually I like Hindi music. Hindi film music to be precise—and the more dhinchak it is, the better. I haven’t really heard too much of rock, actually.’

‘Well, you can hear it now,’ Yudi cocked his head to the side and I realized he was referring to the soft strains of music that had been floating around us since we entered. I listened intently for a while and looked up to see Yudi watching me with a smile.

‘Mmmm… nice. He has a lovely voice, but it could do with a few more beats—you know, a little more life,’ I said and Yudi laughed.

‘God! You really are something, you know that? Okay, hang on a bit. Let me go talk to these guys and see if we can get something that’s a little more your type.’

He walked off and I sipped my soda feeling happier than I had in days, the last vestiges of Operation Separation seeping out of my pores. I mean, it wasn’t like I’d forced myself on Yudi. He had asked me out and we were actually having a good time. Or were we?

‘You’ve pretty much forced the guy to settle for vegetarian food, no booze and now you’ve even gone and screwed up the music,’ said the prissy little voice in my head. ‘Are we having a good time? Or maybe you’re just thinking of yourself.’

I gazed worriedly at Yudi as he returned to the table; the poor guy must be bored to tears by now! ‘Umm Yudi, you didn’t have to change the music for me, you know? I was okay with the stuff playing earlier. And are you okay with vegetarian food? We could’ve ordered some non-vegetarian food for you as well.’

‘Chill, will ya?’ Yudi said running a hand through his hair. ‘It won’t kill me if I eat vegetarian and listen to something else for one evening. Besides, I like Hindi film music too, like that song you have on your cell as your ringtone.’

‘Rock on!…’ Farhan Akhtar’s peachy voice began belting out one of my favourite numbers and I squealed in delight. ‘I love this song!’

‘Me too,’ Yudi grinned at me. ‘And I haven’t been completely unselfish either—this song still falls within the realm of rock music.’

‘Well, maybe we do have some common ground when it comes to music, after all,’ I smiled at Yudi, noticing the hazel tints in his eyes as he smiled back. The rest of the evening sped by almost magically as Yudi and I bantered back and forth over some great food and enjoyed the music. We tried some of Yudi’s style of rock music after the quota of Rock On!! songs were exhausted and I found myself enjoying some of his favourite songs. We never really ran out of things to say to each other, slipping comfortably in and out of little pockets of silence and just enjoying the music, as we chatted about work, our families and our hometowns.