‘Of course, I’ll write you a blank cheque.’

‘And where will we live? Can you move to Mumbai?’

‘Why not? I can work from anywhere. You’ve got most of your stuff lined up in Mumbai, so it makes sense for me to move, I guess. Let’s start hunting for a place together. I’ll fly to Mumbai and book a hotel room temporarily.’ I make that promise rather half-heartedly.

‘I love you!’ she whispers, hugging me tightly.

‘Am I your boyfriend, Nia?’ I ask her in a feeble voice. Now, for the first time since we got together, I’m scared to know what her answer is going to be.

‘Once we move in together, we would be …’ she trails off as she tries to think of the right word.

‘Partners,’ I say to fill in the uncomfortable silence.

‘Oh yes, quite a bit of progress, huh, mister?’ She smiles.

‘But we’ll have to commit at some point or the other. Probably get married?’ I ask her yet again.

‘It’s a situationship, Nirvaan, we’re not in a formal relationship,’ she counters.

‘What does that mean?’ I am shocked. Situationship? I’m hearing this word for the first time.

‘You don’t know what a situationship is?’ Nia looks equally shocked.

‘No, please, do educate me.’ I force out a smile.

‘A situationship is, well, it’s interesting. It blurs the lines between friendship, dating and commitment. We have undefined expectations from our partner, and we just sort of go with the flow!’ she states in a matter-of-fact tone.

‘But then why invest time and emotion into something that’s so inherently uncertain?’ I ask. I’ve always been a pretty logical guy—it’s either this or that. I’ve never been a this-and-that type of a person. I do go with the flow with some things in life, but I’m quite certain I want to break this particular status quo in my relationship.

‘In a situationship, there’s a strange allure … a pull towards the excitement of venturing into the unknown.’

‘Like the thrill we experience while gambling on the poker table?’ I ask as we continue to dance slowly in each other’s arms.

‘Yes! You’ve expressed the idea in such an amazing way!’ She kisses me yet again. And that puts a full stop to our conversation.

But it does no such thing to my thoughts which wander down memory lane and make me think back about my very first kiss, the one I shared with Kiranjeet. I try to recreate that moment in my head … The taste of her strawberry lip balm, the warmth of her body pressed close to mine, the way her tongue felt against mine. It was magical. It was heady. And even though I’ve kissed quite a few women after Kiranjeet left me, it has never been the same. I’ve never felt that kind of spark with anyone else. Never.