Always and Forever Part – 9: The Pink Romance

Murmurs vibrated in the hall, but two people were cocooned in a bubble of love. Sameer pulled Naina even closer, barely controlling himself from kissing her, he swallowed, touching her lips once again. Her eyes were dark and deep, the whiskey colour looked like aged bourbon. Naina could see the response in his eyes, his pupils were dilated to an extent that only a rim of black showed.

“Mr. Maheshwari”, a sound reached her ear, jolting her slightly, she looked around him and saw a man approaching. Sameer hadn’t heard the call, he was still intensely focused on her. Naina stepped back from his hold, confusing him, he opened his mouth to speak, but she gestured him to look back. He turned slightly to see the client he had just talked to approaching him again, he muttered a curse, closing his eyes and left her hand. A moment later when he turned to talk to the man, he was again the confident businessman, though the traces of the aroused man could be seen in his eyes, but only by Naina. Vishakha signalled her to come over, and she smiled moving towards the small group, Sameer’s eyes followed her for a moment, and then focused back on the client.

Vishakha was sitting along with Rohan and Preeti around a round table, “Naina, aaj bahot sundar lag rahi ho”, she complimented just as Naina reached the table.

Naina took the seat beside her, “thank you mummy”. Preeti stared at them, “mummy?”

“Haan, mummy hi hui na main to ab”, Vishakha explained to Preeti, who nodded and smiled.

Sameer soon got rid of the client and came over, “last group chal raha hai bas, fir aap logo ko dikhate hai hamari presentation”, he said standing next to Naina’s chair, “kuch logi?”, he asked Naina and Preeti. They shook their head and Sameer left from there to join his team. Fifteen minutes later Munna came over to call them, and they proceeded towards the area booked for Maheshwari Industries. Even though, she didn’t know much about the manufacturing process, Naina could see that the team had indeed put in lot of effort. They weren’t potential stakeholders, they were family, yet the team behaved completely professionally, while Sameer stood a little back, letting his employees handle the front line. When he stepped up towards the end, Naina smiled slightly, the authority was visible in his body language, no one would mistake him as a part of the group, he was different, the leader, and it was evident. After it was done, Vishakha talked to him, she knew the business of course. Rohan and Preeti were talking to each other while Naina waited patiently.

Soon they were seated at the table again, and Sameer called for coffee. Most of the people were gone but they still needed to be there for the final formalities. The waiter serving coffee stumbled, and the cup toppled over on the tray, hot coffee spilling over Naina’s dress. Sameer was instantly by her side, scolding the waiter, and fussing over her. “Main thik hun”, Naina tried to calm him, “unki galti nai hai.” Sameer dismissed the waiter and looked at her, “kahin jala?”, he was scanning her over.

She smiled, “nai. Lekin yeh dress saaf karna padega.”

“Hmm chalo”, he took her hand leading her towards the washrooms.

Just before she entered inside, she turned back, “rumaal hai?” Sameer gave her his handkerchief.

Ten minutes later she came back, and returned his handkerchief, it wasn’t wet, “use nai kiya?”, he asked.

She shook her head, “nai, andar tissues the.” Now that he was assured that she was okay, his attention returned to where it had been when they were alone. He was about to ask her something, but Preeti came over looking for them, telling Sameer that he was needed by his team. It took them another hour to wind up everything and they left from there. Vishakha, Rohan and Preeti went in one car, along with the driver. While Sameer took Naina towards the car he had driven, he wanted her alone. “Yeh gloss kyun lagaya aaj?”, he asked as soon as they were seated in the car.

She smiled, “aree, mujhe to nai lagana tha”, she lied smoothly, “yeh to Preeti ne laga diya zabardasti. Gloss bhi uska hi hai, parlour se laai thi.”

He smothered a curse, as they merged into traffic, he couldn’t help but be slightly disappointed. Slightly, because he had already convinced himself earlier, in the past three days, that Naina didn’t know anything about real kissing. But still he had hoped, and the hope had increased on seeing the gloss.

He drove steadily, and one part of his mind drifted to the fresher’s party in third year of college. He was sulking in the corner of the party venue, while Munna and Pandit pestered him to join in the dance. She was late. How could she? He had specially worn black shirt and jeans for her, because she had told him that she liked to see him in black. For the previous two fresher’s party he had picked her up, and Preeti too, an alley away from her home. But today she had said that Swati’s father was dropping all of them together. It didn’t make any sense, he thought. “Chal na yaar”, Pandit cajoled, “bhabhi aa jayegi, tab tak thoda to dance karle.”

“Maine kaha na nai”, he replied and picked up a glass of fruit punch from the passing waiter. He was cranky, he always was when he had board meetings. Naina knew he had a meeting this morning, and he needed her to be around him, still she was late.

“Sameer, tum yahan akele kyun bethe ho”, a girl’s voice sounded, and his vision was filled with short jeans skirt and bare legs. He looked up immediately. Mitali had seated herself in the chair next to him and was looking at him with blatant interest. He stood up to leave, but she caught his hand.

“Mera haath chodo”, he tried to pull his hand back. But she stood up too, coming close to him, “kya hua? Tumhari woh desi model nai aai, isiliye naraaz ho?”, she smirked.

He didn’t bother to reply. He had no idea why Mitali had taken a hatred towards Naina since they started college. She and her gang of girls left no stone unturned in teasing and troubling Naina. And since the time he had taken a stand for Naina, she had started to flirt with him. It seemed this was another of her tactic to harass Naina. Mitali was even worse than Kamya, who also studied in the same class. Kamya’s open flirting had reduced in college, it seemed over the years she had accepted that he was not interested in her. No one officially knew about his and Naina’s relationship, but it wasn’t difficult to gauge such things especially when he spent all the time with Naina. But it seemed, Mitali found pleasure in troubling Naina.

“C’mon Sameer”, she tightened her grip, her nails digging in his wrist, “party shuru hue ek ghanta ho gaya hai, aaj to woh nai aane wali. Waise bhi achcha hua na, dekho naa iss baar ki party kitni happening hai, itne bade hotel me”, she continued, “woh apne sade hue se kapde pehenke aayegi to kaisa lagega. Trust me, you are better off without her. Ab tum mere saath aaram se time spend kar sakte ho, what say?”

Sameer was already frustrated, and at that moment hearing those things about Naina, he felt he could have hit her. He had just opened his mouth to blast her, when he felt a hand on his back. This touch, he knew, he liked. He relaxed slightly.

“Do saal me tum zara bhi nai badli Mitali”, Naina stepped up beside Sameer. He turned to see her, eager for a glimpse of her, and his heart skipped beats, eyes rounded, jaw slacked, hanging open, as he stared at Naina. She wrenched away Sameer’s hand from Mitali’s grip, “Sameer se baar baar beizzati karvana achcha lagta hai shayad tumhe.” Naina didn’t waste much time talking to Mitali, instead she turned to look at him, and she smiled. This was what she had wanted, to see his reaction on seeing her. “Chalo yahan se”, she said, but he didn’t respond, so she pulled him along with her. Their friends followed. She took him towards the dining area, away from the dance floor, and they took seat on the chairs there. Sameer was still staring nonplussed at her, his lips parted in surprise. Munna tried to shake him, but there was no effect. They laughed at his condition. Sameer could hear them, but he couldn’t reply, he couldn’t tear his gaze away from Naina. How could he? She was wearing a pink sequined sleeveless top along with black jeans. Her hair was open, eyes lined with black, and crystal drops gleamed in her ears.

“Jijaji to kaam se gaye”, Preeti teased, “hum jaa rahe hai dance karne, tu aa jaana jab inhe hosh aaye.” Naina laughed and looked at Sameer as their friends left. He was still staring at her. Finally, after ten minutes, he exclaimed softly, “wow!”

“Bas itna sa reaction”, she said slyly.

He grinned, checking her out from top to bottom, even though she was seated he could clearly see each of her curve. He shifted closer to her, “sexy lag rahi ho.”

She blushed furiously. “Dance kare?”, she asked softly. He took her hand and they moved to the dance floor. While dancing, he tried to hold her as close as possible, without being obvious. After about thirty minutes, he leaned forward, “bahar chalogi mere saath?”, he asked in her ears. She nodded, and he took her hand and pulled her out of the hall, towards a lounge area in the hotel.

“Yeh kaise kiya?”, he asked sitting down on a sofa, and tugging her hand to make her sit beside him. He knew how her family, especially Taiji was, narrowminded would be the correct word. Taiji never allowed Naina and Preeti to dress up properly for parties or even for college, the dresses they would be allowed to wear would have specific regulations; quarter or full sleeves, no deep neck, no body hugging fitting. In such a situation it was not something less than a miracle that Naina was wearing sleeveless.

She laughed softly and told him that the top she was wearing had a jacket along with it. When they bought it, Taiji hadn’t realized that the jacket was removable. She had simply worn the complete outfit from home and then at Swati’s home she had removed the jacket, they had also done some makeup and hairdo. She shrugged, grinning. He stared at her for a minute, then burst out laughing. He liked it. His girl had started to find ways to outwit Taiji. He also liked that she had started to pay more attention to her dresses and looks since a few months now. She didn’t have much choice, but she did whatever she could within the limits set by her family.

He looked at her again, “bas ek cheez missing hai.”

“Kya?”, she asked confused.

“Pink lip gloss”, he grinned. Naina never used gloss or lipstick. The maximum she would use was any lip balm, neutral.

She bit her lip slightly, “umm… Swati ke paas tha. Lekin mereko pasand nai, ajeeb taste hota hai.”

That lip bite always raised his temperatures. He leaned towards her and whispered in her ears, “lekin woh tumhe thodi na taste karna hai”, he pulled back and winked.

She had a thoughtful expression, “mere hothon pe hoga to main hi taste karungi na”, she observed puzzled, “I mean, mujhe aadat hai na aisi”, she bit her lip again to show him what she meant.

He almost groaned aloud, at her action, and then at her innocence. He closed his eyes for a moment. Calming himself, he held her hands, “Naina, ek baat kahu maanogi?”, he asked.

She nodded. He took a deep breath, “jis din tumhe meri baat ka matlab samajh aa jaaye uss din mujhe zaroor batana.” She was completely clueless about what he meant by that, but on seeing his solemn expression she nodded.

He came back to the present, heaved a sigh, and nudged the car in the society lane, parking beside the curb. It seemed like he would have to make some plan to make her understand things. As he turned off the engine, he looked over at her, and a plan clicked in place. Naina looked at him, and saw the glint in his eyes, “kya soch rahe ho?”

He immediately controlled his expression, “umm… kuch nai. Bhukh lag rahi hai to soch raha hun Taiji ne kya banaya hoga”, he smiled.

She laughed, and they descended just as the other car also came up.

Inside the Agarwal house, the situation had been slightly tense since morning. Taiji wanted to schedule the dinner at Bela’s house. While Tauji had adamantly refused saying the dinner would be at their house. Taiji couldn’t tell anyone but she was worried about the numerous things that could be broken by her Bholuram. But finally, of course, she had to agree to Tauji’s order. With a slightly heavy heart she welcomed Sameer and his family.

Sameer looked around, he had visited this house during Pooja di’s wedding but hadn’t really stayed for long anytime. He was always at Chachiji’s house, and that now seemed completely like home, simply because Naina stayed there. He noticed that Taiji’s house was furnished with more expensive things, china showpieces, ceramic vases, and even the table in the living room had a glass top. He also noticed that even though, it was Taiji’s house, Chachiji was also working, and Naina and Preeti also didn’t sit in the living room, but immediately went in the kitchen to help. Soon Naina came out with tea, followed by Preeti who carried a dish of biscuits. Tauji and Chachaji asked about the exhibition, and they all talked for sometime.

When dinner was served, Vishakha asked Naina and Preeti to sit with them. Naina said she would sit later, but when Vishakha asked again, Tauji invited her and Preeti to sit. Sameer understood that it was an awkward situation for Naina, because they don’t usually sit with guests and elders, and that too when Chachiji and Taiji were still serving. Naina sat beside him, her expression thoughtful, then she looked at Vishakha, “mummy, aapne aur Tauji ne kaha to main beth rahi hun lekin main khaungi baad me, please.”

Vishakha smiled, “thike beta”, she felt happy with the way Naina had spoken her mind. Everyone except Preeti and Rohan, were surprised when Naina addressed Vishakha as mummy. Sameer decided to ask her about it later. Preeti sat next to Naina, opposite to Rohan, and she also refused to eat.

When Sameer tasted the carrot halwa, he frowned, his eyes narrowed, “yeh tumne banaya hai”, he stated turning towards Naina. Everyone including Naina looked up in surprise.

“Bhagwan jhuth na bulaye beta, tumhe kaise pata chala?”, Chachiji asked surprised.

Sameer blushed, realizing what he had uttered, “umm… woh Naina khana banake laati thi na college me. To taste se pata chal gaya.”

When everyone was busy eating again, Sameer looked up at her and winked. She smiled, serving him more vegetables. A minute later, Sameer had just picked up the glass of water, when he felt a touch on his foot. Naina’s toe traced a line from his toe to ankle, then moved upward beneath his trouser, skimming up his calf. He swallowed, looking at her, she was talking to Vishakha, but she shifted her stance a bit, and now he felt the underside of her foot against his leg.

Crash! Crash!

Sameer had dropped his glass on floor. Surprisingly so had Rohan. Preeti had stretched her legs, and accidently her feet had touched Rohan, resulting in the second crash. Sameer jerked his attention shifting to Preeti, while Rohan stared at Naina, and both the sisters looked at each other. Taiji disappointedly stared at the glass pieces while Chachiji tried to hide her smile. Chachaji was also having a hard time to control his smile, but Tauji had a neutral expression.

Naina recovered first and got up to clean the broken glass immediately. Bela helped her. Taiji looked too distraught to do anything.

When Naina came back, Sameer was still in a daze, she picked up the salad plate offering it to him. He kept looking at Naina and picked up an item randomly, biting into it, he saw her eyes widen in horror, and a moment later he was coughing and sputtering. He had bit into a green chilly.

Vishakha rubbed his back, and Naina poured another glass of water for him. His eyes watering, he gratefully took the water. He ate some more halwa, and looked at Naina who was smiling now, “chodunga nai tumko”, he mouthed narrowing his eyes. She grinned and winked. Sameer was feeling sensations run down his spine, an electrical thrill, at her actions. God, he needed time with her. Alone.

He thought about it for a minute more, he had finished eating, but he toyed around with the bowl, and spilled the remaining dal on his own suit, supposedly accidentally.

“Aree, aaj kya kar rahe ho Sameer”, Vishakha shifted to help him.

Sameer stood up, “sorry mummy”, he looked down at himself, “main saaf karke aata hun.”

Taiji was immediately nervous, thinking about the things he could break in her bathroom, “woh beta, hamare bathroom me Pralay gaya hai abhi abhi”, she said, “tum Bela ke wahan chale jao.”

Bela agreed, “haan haan, chalo beta, main bhi aati hun.”

Sameer almost slapped his forehead. But Naina stood up immediately, “aap rehne dijiye Chachiji, main madad kar deti hun.” He did a mental victory dance, thinking his plan worked.

They went in the adjacent house, and Sameer cleaned his suit, she offered him a towel. He wiped his hands, the grabbed her hand and pulled her into her own room.

“Kya kar rahi thi wahan?”, he asked looking down at her.

She smiled, “tumhe pareshan karne ka man ho raha tha.”

He stared at her, then unable to control anymore, he pulled her in his arms. She didn’t object at all, instead she slid her arms under his open suit jacket, wrapping them around his waist, feeling the silk of his shirt, as she pressed herself to him, hugging him tight. He was surprised but relished the fact at how comfortable she was. After a couple of minutes, the plan he had formed in the car, prodded in his brain and he turned, plastering her to the wall, while he leaned on her. Satisfied with the surprised look in her eyes, he smiled slyly.

“Kaha tha na”, he whispered, “chodunga nai tumko.”

She tried to push him, “koi aa jayega Sameer.”

“Aane do. Tumne mujhe mirchi khilai na”, he accused.

“Nai”, she squirmed trying to free herself, “maine salad diya tha, aur mirchi tumne khud uthai.”

Sameer settled himself more firmly against her, “jo bhi ho, mirchi to khai na. Isiliye ab kuch meetha to banta hai.”

“Meetha?”, she quizzed, “gajar ka halwa khaya to.”

“Kaafi nai tha”, he said, picking up one of her hands, “umm… kya kaha tha tumne uss din, ke main tumko sirf haath pe kiss kar sakta hun… haina?”

Naina shivered recognizing the intense reaction in his eyes as he looked at her. “Sameer tum…”, she trailed off as he brought her hand to his lips and dropped a kiss to the back of her palm.

She thought that was it. But of course, it wasn’t. He kissed each of her finger, opening her palm and kissing the inside of it. He slowly trailed to the underside of her wrist, then up her forearm, the inside of her elbow. Naina felt her heart pounding violently and tried to pull her hand back. He lifted his head slightly, gazing into her eyes, “kya hua? Ab tak haath pe hi kiss kar raha hun”, he returned back to where he was. Since her dress was short sleeved he had more access to her bare skin, and he kissed every inch of it. He wound one hand around her waist and picked up her other hand, repeating the same procedure. She was shivering in his arms, her head dropped against his chest, as if she couldn’t hold herself upright anymore. His lips skimmed up her shoulders, over her dress, then back down to her forearm, when he reached her wrist he nibbled the smooth flesh gently and she whimpered.

“See sweetheart”, he held her tight, “maine sirf haath pe kiss kiya hai. Jaise tumne kaha tha.” She was breathing heavily, still reeling from the effect of his kisses. He held her until her breathing evened, kissed the top of her head, then leaned, “ab aage sochna aur kahan kiss kar sakta hun”, he breathed in her ear. He didn’t want to, yet he disentangled himself from her, and started to move away.

He had taken exactly two steps, when she grabbed his hand and pulled him back, hard. He stumbled slightly, bracing his hands on the wall, on either side of her head, to stop himself from hurting her. Puzzled at her action he had just opened his mouth to ask what she was up to, when she placed her palms on his chest. His heart thudded once, then started beating in a slow heavy rhythm, as she slid her palms up to his shoulders, then around his neck and she lifted herself up on tiptoes. She leaned closer to him, her breath tickling his ear, “mere paas, mere purse me tissues the”, she pulled back slightly to look at his eyes. They held a mixture of desire and confusion, she smiled, then brushed her lips against his cheek, kissing him softly. He closed his eyes, absorbing the feeling and when he opened them again she was gone. He looked around, the room was empty, he touched his own cheek, an expression of complete disbelief on his face as he looked at his own reflection in the mirror.

Slowly, after few minutes, he walked out to Taiji’s house and saw the remaining people having dinner. Naina was chatting animatedly with Preeti and eating as if she was completely unaffected while he was still speechless. Finally, when they were leaving he looked at Naina again, and she smiled at him. This was different. It wasn’t the simple, innocent smile that always lit up her face. This one was, he rummaged in his brain for a proper word, yes, this one was sensual. His own eyes widened slightly, as he realized what word he was using in Naina’s context.

Vishakha patted his arm, “kya hua beta?”

Sameer shook his head slightly, “umm… kuch nai mummy, main zara tired hun”, he turned towards his brother, “Rohan, tum ek car drive karlena, mujhe driver ki zaroorat hai.”

He didn’t think he was in any condition to drive. Rohan agreed to drive one car. Taiji was offering pan masala to everyone, Sameer noticed it was a glass bottle. Oh no! He shouldn’t even be near it. And he shouldn’t look at Naina. Else he would again break something. Taiji also refrained from giving him the bottle, instead she herself took out a spoon of masala and gave it to Sameer. He sighed, thinking he was safe, and couldn’t resist looking at Naina once again. She still had the same smile on her face, and damn, she looked sexy. His heartbeat tripped, and as he turned towards the door, someone else also tripped on his feet, but for real. And there was another crash! Pralay had tripped over Sameer’s feet, and collided into Taiji, thus breaking the glass bottle of pan masala. Sameer closed his eyes briefly, then muttered a sorry, and swiftly went down the stairs. Vishakha looked confused at her son’s reaction, while Preeti and Naina giggled softly.

An hour later at Maheshwari residence, Sameer sat on the sofa in his room, his hand on his cheek, and he stared at Naina’s photo. He tried to decipher what had happened. It seemed like a dream. He had thought he was leaving a shivering, slightly aroused Naina behind, who would be forced to think of his actions and words. But she had pulled him back, touched his chest, the proximity initiated by her. Then she had whispered something in his ears and kissed his cheek. He closed his eyes, still feeling the feathery soft touch of her lips. What had she said? He squeezed his eyes tight, recalling, trying to pull the words out from the pheromone fog that had clouded his mind since she had drawn him back to her. Finally, the words spilled out.

Mere paas, mere purse me tissues the.

What did she mean by that? Tissues? When had she used tissues? Of course, she was a girl so its natural for her to have tissues in her purse. But why was it important to tell him that? He shook his head, trying to clear his mind, to think properly. Yes! In the exhibition. She had come out of the washroom and said there were tissues inside. But now she said she had tissues in her purse. Why would she lie? Suddenly his eyes popped open. She had returned his handkerchief, unused, saying she didn’t need to because there were tissues in the washroom.

He stood up, throwing open the cupboard and grabbed the suit he had worn today, frantically searching for the handkerchief. He found it. He frowned, it was neatly folded, just like he always used. He slowly opened the folds, inhaling sharply, he stumbled back to the sofa, sinking into the cushion. There was a kiss mark, the same shade of gloss Naina had used today, and that wasn’t all. She had scribbled a message beneath the mark – ‘Mujhe samajh aa gaya ke third year ke freshers party me tum mujhse kya keh rahe the.’

She knew. His Naina had finally understood that he had wanted to kiss her that day. She knew that he wanted to kiss her now.