‘Why did you do all this for me, Yudi?’ I finally asked a few seconds later, pulling myself away with difficulty.

Yudi groaned. ‘Do you want me to get it tattooed on my forehead, Megha? Isn’t it obvious by now?’

‘No, it isn’t! You’ve always been so horrible to me! And now suddenly, you care, just like that!’ I wiped my eyes and looked at Yudi. ‘Till this evening I wasn’t even sure if you liked me.’

‘I don’t like you,’ Yudi said darkly. ‘I’m crazy about you! Have been for some time now.’

I stared at Yudi, my heart pumping wildly. ‘Yudi… I’m crazy too… I mean, I’m not crazy—I meant, about you… What I mean is—’

‘I know,’ Yudi said, a smile in his voice. I looked up to see his smiling eyes as he leaned over and kissed me very gently. ‘Do you want to get some ice cream?’ he said a few minutes later as we held each other, unspeaking, savouring the moment.

‘Ice cream?’ I looked at him in surprise. ‘Umm… sure!’

‘Let’s go,’ Yudi said, taking my hand and smiling. We walked out on to the south Mumbai seaside promenade the hotel was located on and walked down the paved path milling with people. The Mumbai Indians had just emerged victorious in a neck-to-neck IPL match against the Rajasthan Royals, and jubilant fans were thronging the promenade to celebrate. Some overexcited enthu cutlet had even set up a fireworks display at the far end of the promenade and the night sky behind us lit up with sprays of ochre and orange as we walked together. We bought an ice cream each and found a quiet spot on the ledge running alongside the promenade and sat down with our faces turned towards the sea. Yudi seemed content to just be, so I ate my ice cream in silence, replaying the last half-hour in my mind over and over again.

‘What did you mean, you knew?’ I asked suddenly, remembering what Yudi had said back at the hotel. ‘You are so supremely overconfident, you know that? How could you be so sure that I liked you too?’

‘Don’t you?’ Yudi asked, turning towards me with a slightly twisted smile. I blushed furiously and looked down at the ground, quickly trying to think of a suitable retort.

‘I’m not…’ I began, looking up again but my nose bumped into Yudi’s face. Bending his head, he kissed me again, except that there was nothing gentle about it this time.

‘Yudi…’ I gasped a few seconds later as he pulled away. ‘That…’

‘That, my hot-headed little firecracker, was an I’m-crazy-about-you-too kiss, and I think you meant it too.’ Yudi grinned at me and I glared back.

‘Shut up, you jerk! God! You are so confusing!’ I looked at Yudi, my brain going into sudden overdrive. ‘And what about Priyanka?’

‘What about her?’ Yudi remained unfazed as he gazed back at me.

‘The two of you… I thought you were a couple.’