Chapter 4 - Jack and Jill went up the hill

The new guy narrowed his eyes and peered at me with an inquisitive expression on his face. He had a commanding presence because to his towering stature, broad shoulders, and stunning looks. Because he was wearing a white t-shirt, he stood out immediately. It felt like I'd seen him before. I was unaware that someone was introducing the two of us.

He extended his hand. "Hi I am Ishaan Shekhawat."

"Aarya," I said.

He smiled "Aarya Stark?"

I had a good laugh "No, it's just Mathur here. Aarya Mathur."

“I'm willing to wager that you hear that a lot!” He showed a grin.

I responded by saying that I was accustomed to it.

"It's good to meet you," he said with a grin.

Suddenly, I was able to place his identity. It was impossible to forget that flawless jawline. It turned out that he was the same person I had seen in Phoenix a few months earlier.

I couldn't help but blurt out, "I know you."

He wore a sly grin on his face. "Excuse me. Do you recognise who I am? I was under the impression that we had just met ".

I stammered "I mean. I am sorry I might be mistaken" I lowered my head and thought to myself, perhaps I was wrong.

When we had last spoken, I had not had the opportunity to look into his eyes; today, I did not want to tear my attention away. He had the most stunning eyes of a hazel colour.

The new guy narrowed his eyes and peered at me with an inquisitive expression on his face. He had a commanding presence because to his towering stature, broad shoulders, and stunning beautiful looks. Because he was wearing a white t-shirt, he stood out immediately. It felt like I'd seen him before.

I was unaware that someone would be introducing the two of us.

He extended his hand for a shaking of the hand. "Hi I am Ishaan Shekhawat."

A prod had been given to me by Swati.

"Aarya," I said.

He smiled "Aarya Stark?"

I had a good laugh "No, it's just Mathur here. Aarya Mathur."

I'm willing to wager that you hear that a lot! He showed a grin. I responded by saying that I was accustomed to it.

"It's good to meet you," he said with a grin.

Suddenly, I was able to place his identity. It was impossible to take one's mind off of how flawless that jawline looked. It turned out that he was the same person I had seen in Phoenix a few months earlier.

I couldn't help but blurt out, "I know you."

He wore a sly grin on his face. "Excuse me.

Do you recognise who I am? I was under the impression that we had just met ".

I stammered "I mean. I am sorry I might be mistaken" I lowered my head and thought to myself, perhaps I was wrong.

When we had last spoken, I had not had the opportunity to look into his eyes; today, I did not want to tear my attention away. He had the most stunning eyes of a hazel colour.

The conversation was cut off by Swati, who said, "I know Aarya is nice, but we need to move out as soon as possible."

I became aware that we had not stopped holding hands with one another. Almost instantly, he released his grip on me, and we were hurried out of the house.

Swati said a low voice "Is it just me, or is he smoking hot? I'm willing to guess that Priya, our resident boy magnet, has already set her sights on him ".

The Singhgarh fort was our final destination, and we didn't waste much time getting there. I was positioned in the rear seat of someone's car at the time. Ishaan was riding his bike. Priya was sitting in the passenger seat behind Ishaan.

I was considering the various ways to recognise him. Would it be weird if I said, "Hello, are you the guy that rescued me from a weirdo?"

If he was not the right guy, this conversation would seem absolutely ridiculous and embarrassing.

Within the hour, we arrived at the base of the Sinhgad Mountains. A day in Singhal Fort is like a day at the park. The ascent is not overly challenging, and on a nice day, there is a large group of hikers moving up and down the trail in both directions. It had been one of those kinds of days. The sky was overcast, and the vegetation was at its lushest and most vibrant because of the weather. The members of our group were dispersed. It appeared that Ishaan had travelled quite a distance ahead of me on the trail. He was not the type of person who could easily stand out among the crowd. I could hear him giggling and making jokes with a group of other men a little way ahead of me.

"It's a blessing in disguise that he's not with Priya!" I mumbled. My feelings of envy caught me off guard.

The ascent of the hill was completed without incident. Despite the fact that I caught him glancing at me on multiple occasions, I was unable to have a conversation with him. We finally made it to the peak, but by the time we reached it was drizzling We were exhausted and panting the whole way. As I peered down, I noticed that the vista below was just stunning.

"Isn't it just lovely?" I was startled by a voice, which caused me to turn around.

It was Ishaan, grinning mischievously, with a few water droplets sparkling on his hair.

I responded with a "yes."

"How do you know Gaurav?" I asked.

"We are neighbours. why?"

"Nothing, have you been to Mumbai?"

He said "obviously a great number of times. Why?"

"Because you bring to mind a someone, I knew a very long time ago."

He laughed and asked, "Was that encounter really life-changing?"

"Kind of," I said with a smile to him.

"I had no idea you were a member of the gang as well."

"Gang? Is it some kind of highly classified Mafia organisation?" He asked.

I couldn't help but grin as I said, "It's a W******p group where the majority of my friends schedule these get-togethers."

He looked disappointed "No, I'm afraid that I do not belong to such illustrious group. Do you think I am missing something?"

I gave him a wry smile and said, "Nah, you're good."

When he looked over at Swati, who was calling everyone for lunch, he added, "I believe that is your friend calling."

"Yup let’s go".

He nodded "After you".

Following lunch and some time spent on the hill, everyone in the group made the decision to hike back down. I bent my head and peered at the rocky and uneven ground below me. The ascent was challenging, but the descent would be even more challenging on foot. Because of the rain, the path was very slick. I made a fool of myself. I lost my footing on a steep turn, and I was about to fall to the ground if a familiar pair of strong arms hadn't caught me just in time. When I opened my eyes, I saw Ishaan holding me. I had a firm grip on the back of his shirt.

When I noticed that the other members of the group were gazing at us, I promptly released my grip on him.

"I truly apologise. I am not accustomed to going on hikes. "I said.

It was his reply "No problem. It's slippery."

After I had walked for a while without tripping, I did so again, and he grasped my hands to keep me from falling "Why is it that each time we meet. You are in need of rescuing. “He laughed.

I stared at him shocked "We met in Mumbai, few months ago right?”

He grinned "You still remember? I am touched.”

"How could I possibly forget the first time someone proposed marriage to me?" I rolled my eyes and responded, "But I never thought I would see you again."

He then looked at me, gave me a knowing wink, and said, "And I was living on this hope that we do meet again."

I couldn't help but laugh out loud. Because he was so amusing, even his flirtatious behaviour was cute.

"Why did you lie?" I spoke.

"I was only joking around with you. The fact that you were even here took me completely by surprise."

After the third time that I had fallen, he said to me, "Aarya, if you don't mind holding my hand, it's easier this way to keep you from falling rather than catching you over and over again."

As we made our way down the trail, I eagerly took his hand.

"I hope that suiter didn't disturb you again," he said.

"No, he didn’t, and I left Mumbai the next week."

"So, you don’t stay in Mumbai?? No wonder I never saw you again "He mumbled.

I said "What ??"

"Nothing. Where exactly do you live?"

I told him that I worked in Pune at the moment and that I lived with Swati. I explained that I was originally from Delhi. We were so immersed in our conversations that we were unaware of the startled, curious, and even a few envious stares that were being cast our way by others. The descent appeared to take only a few minutes. After climbing to the bottom of the hill, the guys all dispersed to find their automobiles.

Swati was glancing in my direction with a gaping mouth as she did so. "Aarya what's happening?"

I couldn't help but grin and respond, "Nothing, Swati. We were just talking."

She sighed and rolled her eyes before saying, "yep, we all saw that."

I answered "Nothing to worry about, Swati; remember that super-hot guy I met in Phoenix? that’s Ishaan.”

"What!!! Holy cow, what a strange coincidence! "Swati exclaimed.

The sound of a bike horn cut into the middle of our chat.

Ishaan pulled over in front of us on his motorcycle and beckoned to me, saying, "Come on, let's go."

I gazed at him in disbelief, and then on an impulse I climbed behind him. He immediately started the engine, and we drove away, leaving behind a group of friends who were stunned and Priya who was seething.