Shut Up & Kiss Me...

Not all relationships are meant to be great love stories, some are just destined to be flings. While love stories make it to the printed page, flings are often forgotten and flushed down the memory lane. This story would have had a similar fate, had this happened to anyone else. But if you meet a writer who's hit a block, and pour your heart out about that girl who just wouldn't call you back, be sure he'll write about it. That's exactly what Poorab (name changed) did. I will surely take some liberties with the story while narrating it for you but will try to capture the essence of what happened as well as possible.

Poorab & Ruchi were set up by over-zealous common friends. They started texting each other first, something Poorab excelled at. Especially since he had just recently broken up with his high school sweetheart. Ruchi was the morose, self-deprecating and depressed kind of girl who often finds betrayal in love. Or that was what she made him believe. Poorab knew that the way to this girl's heart was by being there for her, giving her good advice and just helping her get over those bad experiences. So that is exactly what he did.

At first, Ruchi didn't even agree to talk over the phone. She had a hundred excuses that included classics like 'sore throat', 'headache' and more unorthodox ones like 'am crying and would sound like a mess'. But by the end of the night, she called him. Yeah, Poorab was definitely good at texts. But now, he had to be as good over a call. They ended up talking late into the night. He was straight forward, honest and spoke his mind, especially about Ruchi's 'boy problems'.

Ruchi seemed to be taken aback by Poorab's blunt ways but she was definitely in a better mood after that phone call. Poorab wasn't sure whether he secured a date or not, but he was pretty hopeful that there would be another long phone call in the days to come. And there was one, and then there was another. As Poorab read it, Ruchi was hesitant about meeting him. And he thought that he knew just how to get her around. He started suggesting names of good eateries, and kept dropping hints that he'd be a gentleman, to prime her. He did manage to get her interested about one of the places, but she still would turn him down every time he suggested meeting.

So one day Poorab decided to be pro-active and told her he was coming to her area and would meet at the eatery she fancied. Once there, he failed to reach her and she ditched him. She stood him up and Poorab was deeply hurt. After all the great conversations they'd had, he felt rejected by the way she'd just refused to meet. It was brutal rejection and Poorab stopped talking to her after that. She called and made some excuse to mask her cold feet. Poorab just told her that she made him feel terrible.

Some time passed. Poorab was less angry at her now. And then one day, Ruchi asked Poorab to meet her after work. She had asked him to meet at a local watering hole. Poorab reached early and waited for her. She showed up but seemed a little aloof, which Poorab wrote off to being nervousness about the date. They had a meal and some dessert and parted ways. Poorab wanted to drop her home, but she didn't agree. She later told him that she wasn't well and had offered to meet only because she felt guilty about ditching him last time.

They met a few more times. Every time, Ruchi would reveal something new about herself. And every time, it would be something that indicated that she wasn't available. Poorab, being a guy and one that was really eager to make a connection, failed to read the signs every time. Eventually, she told him. She was engaged to be married.

Once the initial shock of the revelation wore off, Poorab had two clear options to choose from - either to bow out or persevere. Ruchi told him in clear terms that they could not be together, even though she liked him as talking to him "he made her feel good". So Poorab actually had just one choice - to move away. But being silly and a guy, he chose to persevere, to see where it leads.

At this point in Poorab's narration of this story, I felt like kicking his ass and telling him that he was an idiot. But I stopped myself. God knows how many of these blunders I've made myself. So I decided not to be 'holier-than-thou' and kept listening to Poorab's gloomy tale.

So Poorab kept on talking to her. The next time they met for dinner, he kept joking that he'd win her heart and she kept on laughing at his words. He dropped her home that night and jokingly asked if she was going to ask him to come in. She curtly said she wasn't, because she needed to sleep. So he left, not really disappointed since he was actually joking. She called him a few minutes later and told him he could come if he wanted but she'd have to sleep. He said he wasn't serious and that was that.

The next time, Ruchi called Poorab to her apartment. She had a cozy studio apartment in the heart of the town. Poorab was really excited about things. He had planned to woo her with his electric charm and sway her decision to get married 'out of obligation'. But when they were actually together, he found himself out of his elements. Conversation languished. He didn't know what to say. He tried to kiss her and she pushed him away. She shushed him when he tried to coax her to rethink marrying her betrothed. Eventually he felt rejected and left.

When he got home, she called him and told him that she was moving away in a couple of months, and even though she liked him, they didn't have a future together. A single tear drop rolled down his cheek. So he clicked a picture of it and sent it to her.

"Can you come over right now?" Ruchi asked Poorab. "I know this sounds crazy because you live in the other part of town and the traffic is gnarly but I really wanna see you now."

It was already late evening and Poorab rushed to meet her. He had a feeling something had snapped and that the dynamic had shifted a little. She offered him food when he arrived. They sat down, had dinner and watched a show on her laptop. He told her how he himself was surprised at how terrible he felt when she told him about her plans to move away. They kept looking into each others' eyes till it was bedtime.

She then got up and switched the lights off and settled down next to him on the bed. It was dark and she told him to go to sleep. He turned to face her and held her face in his hands and kissed her. She started saying something about how it was all wrong. He just said, "Shut up and kiss me".

She did.

They were soon taking each other's clothes off. He kissed her cheeks, her neck and her shoulders. He cupped her breasts and kissed them. She seemed to like every bit of it. So he asked her with a smirk, "I hope you know where this is going?". She grabbed his hair and pulled him close and whispered into his ears, "Shut up and kiss me."

One kiss turned to two and three and four. Soon, she was writhing and whimpering as his lips worked its magic. "Damn, you're good at it", she exclaimed. He looked up at her, her wetness all over his mouth and nose. She pulled him up and kissed him some more and asked him, "Do you have protection?" He didn't.

She rushed over to her cupboard and tried to find something. A second later, she tossed a condom towards him. "You're a life saver", he said. The night was cold but Ruchi and Poorab were locked in the most intimate of embraces that kept them warm. The next time Ruchi walked to her cupboard, Poorab asked her to just "get the whole packet and keep it nearby".

In the throws of passion, Ruchi asked Poorab if he really wanted to marry her. He said yes but she didn't believe him. Instead she just asked him to shut up and kissed him.

By the time they slept off, the sun was peeking at the horizon. Poorab woke up to Ruchi's naked body wrapped in a blanket. She looked so serene. He kissed her forehead and told her that he loved her. "Shut up and kiss me", she said pulling him close. And the rest, well, the rest just happened. She kicked him out when that packet of condoms ran out. She had to work the next day and she knew they wouldn't sleep if he stayed.

Poorab left Ruchi's apartment happier than he'd ever been. He felt like a new man. On the way, he bought a fresh packet of condoms so that he isn't unprepared the  next time he meets Ruchi. He went home and told his little brother about Ruchi and how he thought he'd found the one.

And then...she vanished. She started avoiding his calls, with one excuse or the other. And after a week, she just ghosted him completely. A week later, Poorab realized that he'd been in a one-night stand without realizing it. It was a fling and he'd pinned too much hope on it, like a child. He did move on, but it still hurt, even three years later. Ruchi got married later that year and Poorab was just another name in her 'list'.

And Poorab, well he moved on too. He just never asked anyone else to shut up and kiss him.