He left my hand, exclaiming a quiet 'yes' under his breath but I heard it. Then remembering what I said, he replied, nonchalantly, “Psst, no issue. I'll simply choose you.” 
“Sure, I'll also choose someone and that will be 'no one'.” 
“I'll simply write 'no one' on my forehead.” 
I pressed my lips inwardly. There was just no winning with this man. Sighing, I pushed the knob, opening the door and continued walking further away from him. 
“Remember it, Patil,” his voice was distant and loud, “it's a date!” 
“In your dreams, Arora!” I waved a dismissive hand at him, without looking back. I could still feel his smile burning at the back of my head until the sound of the door reached my ears. 
On my way, I inadvertently found myself counting the days until the party. 
~ 
In the upcoming week, my bitches and I decided to do hardcore shopping for the saree. Their farewells were just a day after mine. While browsing through various dresses of different colors and fabrics, something else crossed my mind. 
“Have you ever given a return gift before?” I made a dunce out of myself by asking. 
Khushboo who was holding a black- copper saree, paused, rolling her eyes sideways as if straining her memory to remember. Then pursuing her lips, she replied, “Pretty sure I didn't have my wedding yet, so no.”
“Me neither,” Ayesha added before back to whatever they were concentrating earlier on. 
Shit, that backfired! I approached them again. “So if your boyfriend or brother happens to give you something—” I indirectly addressed Khushboo's boyfriend and Ayesha's brother, “you wouldn't give them back?” 
“Nope, we wouldn't,” they said something along those lines together, after which Ayesha added, “I mean wouldn't we normally gift them on their respective birthdays as well?” 
“Why are you asking anyway?” 
I had already prepared my answer. “I thought of giving my brother something in return for the dress he gifted me last week.” 
“Oo~” The girls exclaimed, dragging the 'o'. Why did I have a stinking feeling that they didn't buy my lie? “Sure, buy it. There's nothing wrong with a return gift. Everybody loves gifts.” 
“So it won't be weird then,” I mumbled, looking away when their suspicious gazes fell hard on me. I regret asking them now. 
After I was done choosing my dress, I excused myself to the men's section, which was one floor below us. It only seemed fair. Rithik bought me a dress— a whole set at that. I didn't want to feel like I owed his money. With this, we would be even. I roamed through different sections of men's clothes, imagining him in some of them. It made me feel weird and giddy at the same time. It wasn't my first time shopping for a man. I bought ties and jackets for Abhishek before (nevermind the fact that he was there with me) and for my Momma's favourite boy.
So, when was the last time you bought something for a fuck buddy? Never. 
Twenty minutes into the showroom and still no luck. For Rithik, I decided to opt for something out of his usual style, just like he did for me. I couldn't decide what the fuck I wanted to cloth him in. I couldn't believe Natasha Patil was having a difficult time shopping for a man. Yet another list of things that Rithik made me do. 
Thankfully, I managed to pick out a few potentials after a while. I laid them on a rectangular table and picked a dark orange tee, holding them between my hands. I was absolutely sure he didn't have this color. A small smile built up my lips as I envisioned him wearing this. He would look like a man straight out of a beach.