You can't be him.

It was a first. A first he was not really proud of. But he had to do something. She was slipping away from his fingers with such a quickness mocking the strength of his grip. It felt like a dare. It felt like she was silently challenging him. He had to accept it. And even though his deeds were not exactly noble yet he didn't step back. Everything was fair in love and war,right?

He met her on a random chat website. They got connected because of their shared interests. They both loved old Classics. Norah Jones. Frank Sinatra. Elvis Presley. They kept talking about all their favourite tracks for hours. He felt a connection; a real one. He saw this going somewhere. Truth be told,he has been wanting something akin to this for quite sometime now.

He had to travel a lot for his work. And now with that being reduced to more than half of what it used to be,he had loads of free time at his disposal. Time he knew not what to fill with for he has never really enjoyed being a homebody.

Going out,exploring and playing all kinds of sports have been his thing. He had no patience for things like books and he rarely watched movies. He liked to be on the move constantly. Thats why he'd opted for Sales and Marketing. It suited extremely well his desire to go places.

However,his relations over the past couple of years've all fallen prey to his crazy work ethics. There were complaints- too many of them. And at one point,the frustation made him decide-more like resolve-dating aint in the cards for him. He was better on his own. It all took but the gorgeous laughter of the woman he was yet to see coupled with her brilliant conversation skills to break that resolve into a thousand tiny little fragments.

He'd been with a fair number of interesting woman. But she was something else entirely. Warm,funny,witty,sassy,kind and so damn bright. She was the kind of presence that could very well lit up an entire room. He wanted that presence in his life. Too bad as the woman was equally stubborn too.

It came as a shock to him. The denial. The absolute denial to invest in what he saw in terms of a connection having tremendous potential. He was certain she wanted him too. But she proved him wrong. Terribly so.

She didn't want him any more than a traveller would want a shade or an inn. She made it very clear that whatever had happened wouldn't be drawn into the future. It was beautiful without a question. But it was only a one time thing. A one time wonder.

It hurt him beyond logic and reasoning. He couldn't explain why her words had cut so deep leaving gashes that refused to stop bleeding. With so much happening in that one conversation,how could he just be a one time thing to her? How could he not be the man she wanted?

She was being unfair both to him as well as herself. He had to make her see that. It was a dare he needed to win for both of their sakes.

What he did was definitely not praiseworthy but too much as at stake. He decided he could do with her anger. Even her rage. But not with her silence. Her absence. Never with that. He couldn't bear that.

He,like every other, inhabitant of this tech-dependent earth had relied on the net to win the affections of the lady who had managed to steal his heart in but one conversation. He remembered that one website she'd told him about. It was an aspiring poet's community where budding poets shared their work and received critical inputs on the same. That was the only thing she had allowed him. The only part of herself. And he was greedy for more. So much more. Everything as a matter of fact.

So,he'd done the only thing he could think of. He posted a message on that website. As a reply to one of the poems- "You can't be him"- that she had written. He wrote,"Darling,you very well know I can be. In fact,only I can be. For she only ran away because she was too sure. Isn't that so,hun?"

He remembered reading those lines somewhere. Probably in high school. And what better time than now to use those. All he could do now was hope that she'd call him on the number he'd left for her at the end of the message. 32 and yet acting like a teenager. Probably thats what love did to you.He couldn't help but smile a little at his silliness.

The sudden ringing of his phone gave him a lot more reason to smile. All the reason he wanted and needed. Time to prove to his lady luck,he is the one.

On picking up the call,the tone that greeted him was nothing even remotely close to what he'd heard on that website and fallen for irrevocably. It lacked the softness as well the sweetness that made it so very attractive. This is not to say,she was not sounding attractive now. What he was getting at that moment could very well be termed as an altogether different brand of attractive. His woman got sass and she surely was fiesty. She could not only light up a room but burn it down to cinders as well with all that fire and delicious heat. Exactly,what he found irresistable in a woman.

He could see it-in bits and pieces- even during their first conversation. And that excited him as much as the intrinsic sweetness delighted him. That woman turned out to be a three course meal and he wanted her all to himself.

It could be nothing more than fanciful imagination aimed at supporting his intentions, but her giving him an access to that website felt like an opening of some sorts. It was as if she opened up a possible path for him to persue her. It was like she had given him consent to chase her. Otherwise,why would she even care? For heaven's sake,the woman knew he couldn't read to save his life.

He would make her see this. He would make her see she intended for things to be a challenge for him. A dare. And also,that she'd wanted for him to win. He would make her see a lot many things. But for now he was content with savouring her sass. The woman surely knew how to put up a show. He took delight in being her sole audience.