#MyStory: I Went On A Trip With An *Almost* Stranger And…

I had just arrived in London for a short course. Since it was a weekend, I was trying to make a plan with friends who had been living there so I could familiarize myself with the city. After making a few calls and sorting out the plan, me and some of my college friends decided to go out dancing. Sonia was making the plan so she had also invited a few of her friends whom the rest of us didn’t know.

I had reached the club early and was waiting at the bar to get myself a drink. I noticed this handsome guy sitting next to me. He was drinking Red Bull. I was curious and I couldn’t help myself from asking him as to why he was sitting at the bar and drinking a non-alcoholic drink. He casually said he’s waiting for his friends to join him and that he doesn’t drink anyway. I must say, I was intrigued. So, while both of us were waiting, we started chatting. I figured Rehaan was a fellow Indian visiting London for work. It had been almost twenty minutes and that’s when my friend, Sonia, came up from behind to say hi. The strange thing, she was the friend both Rehaan and I were waiting for. This was getting more interesting.

After that, all of us just ended up dancing and Rehaan and I didn’t get too much time to chat. We all had a great time that night and went home pretty late.

Sonia made a biking plan for the next day with Rehaan, another friend and me. That’s when Rehaan and I really got to talk. We spent almost 4 hours out biking around London. I really liked his company.

From then on, he and I started making plans every day. Sometimes Sonia was there, sometimes she wasn’t. We were discovering London together. From nightclubs to after hours food joints and historic places, we’d meet every day and explore a bit more. A week had passed since I met Rehaan and we had got to know each other better. We both shared the passion to travel and decided to make a plan with Sonia and her boyfriend to go to Scotland. 

I didn’t have any time off but luckily one of my classes got cancelled and I had 4 days to spare. But then, one night before the trip, Sonia cancelled because her boyfriend wasn’t well. That landed Rehaan and me in an awkward situation.

We were wondering whether or not he and I should go ahead with the plan. I thought to myself that going on a vacation with someone I barely know was probably not a smart move, but then, you don’t get the chance to go to Scotland very often. And with the class getting cancelled and just a few days left before Rehaan was to head back to India, we thought, why not?! All this while, he had been very courteous and fun, I didn’t mind going to a new place with him!

We left early the next morning by train and got to Glasgow. On the way, Rehaan and I were randomly chatting like we always did and in the middle, during some point, I must have fallen off to sleep, resting my head on his shoulders. When I woke up, I realized I had snuggled very close to him. I lifted my head up and he looked down and kissed me on my lips! Oh my God!

I was wondering what had just happened! I couldn’t stop smiling. It felt so natural, somehow. There goes the awkwardness, out the window! This trip was becoming more exciting.

We stayed over at his friend’s place in Glasgow and were to drive to Isle of Arran the next morning. His friend thought we were a couple, so he thought we’d sleep in the same room and kept one blanket for us. While both the friends were catching up outside, I passed out inside.

Rehaan must have come to bed at some point, but I was deep in sleep and didn’t realize. We woke up early the next day and headed to the taxi stand and guess what, the car we had originally booked was cancelled and instead they let us choose another one. We chose a Mercedes convertible, which was the icing on the cake. Driving to this romantic place in a convertible with this boy who wants to kiss me! It surely felt like a movie. The drive was gorgeous, the view splendid. We played some desi music and stopped at every place that looked amazing. We’d been driving for 6 hours but I had no idea where the time flew by.

We reached the small town in the island around 5 pm. He asked me to pick a place to stay that I was comfortable with. It didn’t make sense to take two rooms, we were on a budget. We checked into a bed and breakfast place that had one double bed and one single bed for our convenience. But Rehaan and I both couldn’t stop ourselves after the first kiss.

We freshened up to go out for dinner, and he came forward and kissed me again. I could not hold myself back and we went and made ourselves comfortable on one of the beds. One thing lead to another and we ended up going all the way! It was just so beautiful.

We only woke up the next morning when someone knocked on our door saying breakfast was served. We had slept for over 10 hours, the most peaceful sleep I’d got in a while.

This stranger, whom I didn’t know existed until ten days back, gave me such wonderful memories that I’ll never forget. We got back to London after two more days of travelling and lots of kisses! He left for India and I stayed back for another few months until my course got over.

It’s been almost three years since then and he and I are inseparable. I am still intrigued by him, like the day I was when I saw this boy sitting by the bar sipping his Red Bull.

Images: Shutterstock

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