Love Me Tonight Chapter 1: A Long Night

Naina…

The spoken name hung in the air of Vortex Club, resonating in the mind of two people in such a way that every sound of music and conversations faded away. The soft brown eyes gazed into the glittering pools of deep chocolaty eyes, a strange electricity crackling in the air, a connection deeper than normal human comprehension capability being formed. A balloon busted nearby, breaking the strange eye-lock, random sounds and conversations started to pop up once more.

Naina rubbed her bare arms, not sure what had happened in the last one minute. As much as she was shaken with the strange phenomenon that just happened, she was also shocked on hearing her name from his mouth. Two years… Two full years he had never ever taken her name… He and every other student in their school had addressed her as behenji, maniben, padhaku, teacher ki chamchi and several other nicknames.

Sameer swayed once more, and suddenly giggled, “tum yeh sab ajeeb naam kyun bol rahi ho? Mujhe pata hai tumhara naam Naina hai… I know you… Tumhari yeh aankhen kabhi nahi bhool sakta main.”

Naina tried to process his statement, wondering what he meant, but before she could understand anything, he suddenly stumbled once more. She quickly held him once more, “sambhalke… idhar betho…”

He looked around, “bathroom… urgent…”

She blinked in confusion, “uhh… ek minute…” Hailing for a waiter, she requested him to assist, but Sameer shrugged, “maine itni nahi pee ke khud zip nahi khol paau.”

Her face reddened a bit, “tum ladkhada rahe ho… Waiter bahar khada rahega…”

He frowned, trying to understand her proposition, but then shrugged and started walking unsteadily towards the bathroom, followed by a hesitant waiter. Naina went back to her friends, who asked her about the man, and she informed that he was just an old acquaintance.

“Kaafi handsome banda hai”, a girl commented, bumping her shoulder with Naina’s, “dosti karle… fayde me rahegi…”

Naina rolled her eyes, “main usko theek se jaanti bhi nahi hun… bas school me tha… naam pata hai…”

Acquaintance or friend or something more, she had no idea and didn’t even want to think about it. It was all in the past… Wasn’t it? That’s why she didn’t feel the tingling in her body, like she had when they had almost collided in their school corridor so many years ago… That’s why her heartbeat hadn’t accelerated today when their eyes had met, just like so many times in school… That’s why she didn’t feel the urge to join their names and stare at it, like she used to do on the last page of her notebook in school… She hadn’t even thought of him in all these years; she had not craved the sight of him; she had not lost herself in dreamy romantic tales… She had been right in guessing that it was just a little infatuation, and once they parted ways after 12^th boards ended, that phase in her life also ended. Yes, she had successfully gotten over her first teenage crush… The idea of having Sameer Maheshwari in her life no longer lured her…

However, interested or not, she couldn’t still stop herself from glancing frequently in the direction of bathroom to check if he came out or not. The waiter was still standing there, fiddling his hands, looking absolutely bored. Finally, after five more minutes, she couldn’t resist anymore, and excused herself.

Walking over to the waiter, she queried, “ab tak bahar nahi aaye?”

“Jee nahi madam”, the waiter shook his head, “main toh yahin pe khada hun kabse.”

She frowned a bit, “toh khade kyun hai… andar jaake dekhiye na. Itne nashe me the, kahin andar gir na gaye ho…”

After a brief hesitation, the waiter pushed the door open and stepped inside. Another five minutes later, the door opened again, and out stumbled Sameer, along with the waiter who was holding his arm. “Sink ke paas khade the”, the waiter said, panting a bit, “aa hi nahi rahe the bahar.”

Sameer scowled furiously, “kyun aau bahar? Andar pink bub…bubbles hai…”

Naina was curious, “bubbles?”

The waiter informed, “madam woh… handwash se bubbles bana rahe the.”

She covered her mouth to stifle her giggle. Sameer peered at her, “has kyun rahi ho? Kaun ho tum?”

She shook her head, “kamaal hai… zindagi me pehli baar naam liya aur 15-20 minute me bhool bhi gaye… I am impressed…”

He squinted at her, just like he had done before, and in just a few seconds muttered, “yaad aaya… Naina… aankhen… beautiful…”

“Lagta hai bahot zyada pee li hai tumne”, she grabbed his arm, “chalo… tum kahan bethe the?” He wasn’t really in much sense to answer, but the waiter pointed out the corner table, and Naina guided him. As soon as he was seated, he tried to grab the half-finished glass of whisky, but Naina snatched it away, “bas ho gaya… yeh drink ab nahi peena.”

He pouted for a moment, and then shrugged, “okay… waiter!” The waiter came rushing, and he ordered, “repeat…” Naina rolled her eyes, sighing, and handed over the glass to the waiter, instructing in low voice, “lemon water please… aur haan… keep repeating…”

She sat down opposite him, wondering if she should stay or leave… He looked at her, and blessed her with a magnificently sweet smile that made her relax a bit, and she queried, “tum hamesha mujhe padhaku ya behenji bolte the… aaj achanak se mera naam kaise yaad aaya?”

He hiccupped once, “bataya toh… tumhari aankhen…”

The waiter placed a glass of lemon water in-front of him, and he squinted at it, “yeh whisky nahi hai… meri whisky laao…”

“Whisky hi hai”, Naina said, gesturing the waiter to leave, “new brand… different hai… dekhte hai tum pee paate ho ya nahi…”

He smirked, “challenge… I like it…” Picking up the glass he downed half of the content, pulling a funny face at the taste… She chuckled, and he immediately smiled, suddenly saying in a soft reminiscing voice, “tum mere school ke first day pe mujhse takrane wali thi… Aur jaise dekh rahi thi mujhe… tumhe kaise bhool sakta hun main?”

She stilled, her breath catching in her throat, “kaise dekh rahi thi main?”

He emptied the glass, thanked the waiter who placed another one in-front of him, and then replied, “jaise maano tum kisi bahot khaas insaan ko dekh rahi thi…”

She couldn’t believe that he had noticed, and asked, “tumhe yeh sab yaad hai?”

He smiled, “of course… main bhi toh tumhe dekh raha tha na. Don’t you remember?”

Of course she remembered… What surprised her was that he remembered… And not just the fact that they had almost collided, but he specifically remembered the way she had looked at him. She very well knew how she must have stared at him… After all in that one moment she had felt as if he was the most special person in her life, as if she could do anything for him, as if… as if… there could come a time when she could love him. Sameer Maheshwari was her first and only serious crush… But that was just a teenage affliction… Hadn’t she just determined that? She had gotten over it… Otherwise she wouldn’t have been able to sit here and talk to him so freely… Those were the days when she would blush even if Sameer teased her; she would feel a euphoric rush of happiness in her if he just looked at her; she would feel the zing of delight if he talked to her even if it was for asking her notes. And here she was today… talking to him properly… not even blushing or feeling that rush of happiness or that zing of delight. She had even touched him, albeit to save him from falling flat on his face, but still… it was a touch… And she had felt nothing… nada…

While she sat lost in her thoughts, Sameer nursed the second glass of lemon water, and suddenly queried, “hey… tumhari do choti kahan gai? Aur baalo me tel kyun nahi hai? Tumhe baalo me tel lagana chahiye… add more oil…”

A sarcastic laughter escaped her lips, thinking that he was back to normal now, and so the first thing he does is tease her. Shaking her head slightly she queried, “kyun tel lagau? Taaki tum mujhe ched sako… pareshan kar sako…”

His brows furrowed and he leaned forward on the table, “nooo… taaki dusre ladke tumhe chede aur unki nazar tumhari khoobsurat aankhon par naa pade.”

Naina slapped her forehead… God… He was still so drunk that he was just spouting nonsense. She asked the waiter to bring one more glass of lemon water, and made him drink it, even though he kept protesting, saying that he didn’t like the taste of this whisky. Finally after the third glass, he was still shaky, but much less inebriated. He squeezed his eyes shut, shook his head, groaning, rubbing his forehead, and licked his lips, “Oh God… Yeh kya pila diya?”

“Lemon water”, she replied, “thoda theek lag raha hai?”

His head snapped up at her voice, and he blinked, rubbing his eyes with his knuckles several times and then gasped, “oh my God… tum sach me yahan ho? Naina… shit… I thought I was dreaming…”

She quirked a brow, “tum nashe mere mere sapne dekhte ho? Taste zara theek nahi hai tumhara…”

He promptly replied, “not you… I dream of beautiful girls…”

She chuckled, “exactly kitni pee rakhi hai tumne? Nasha kuch khaas utra nahi hai… ab tak mujhe beautiful bol rahe ho.”

“Hey… Can’t you take a compliment?” He muttered indignantly, “ab yeh batao tum yahan kya kar rahi ho? And… What happened to you?”

She found it really funny that he was talking mostly in Hindi when he was completely drunk, but now when he was slightly in senses he was talking majorly in English with a few Hindi sentences in between. Tilting her head, she asked, “kya matlab?”

He moved one hand up and down gesturing towards her, “look at you… baalo me tel nahi hai… kapde modern hai… I can see your skin, literally… and you are talking! Tumhare muh me zubaan hai…!!”

She laughed softly, “haan… shayad thoda badli hun…”

He quirked a brow, “thoda? Thoda nahi Naina… bahot… I never expected to see you here, in a club, like this…”

She glanced down for a bit, trying to avoid his eyes, and then turned the question on him, “meri chodo… Tum batao… Tum yahan kya kar rahe ho? Aur hamesha itne pee rakhi hoti hai kya?”

The question hit like some sharp object hurled straight at him… And just like that, one question brought back every memory which he had been trying to drown in alcohol. His throat worked up and down, and he couldn’t find any words to reply. His mood changed in just a matter of seconds, anger clouded his eyes. He pulled out a small red box from his pocket, glared at it with utmost hatred, and then flung it across the club in a fit of rage. Naina sat still, shocked at his sudden anger, but he didn’t pay any attention to her. Rather, he just stood up, grabbed his suit jacket, and staggered towards the door.

The waiter ran after him, “sir, aapka bill… aur yeh…”

Naina jerked at the voice, remembering how drunken Sameer was, and without thinking much she also stood up, took her own jacket and purse, briefly telling her friends not to worry about her. Pulling out a note she thrust it to the waiter, “keep the change.”

As she tried to leave, the waiter called out, “madam yeh… sir ne pheka…”

She only briefly hesitated before grabbing the box and shoving it in her purse and then rushed out of the club intending to stop Sameer. He had just managed to stumble up to his car, and was trying to open the car door, but she grabbed the door handle, inadvertently placing her hand over his. There was a moment of stillness, when once more no sounds could be heard, and both of them looked down to where their hands touched. After half a minute, he drew back his hand, and roughly commanded, “leave from here.”

She frowned, “nahi… tumne pee rakhi hai. Aisi haalat me drive nahi karna chahiye.”

His eyes narrowed, “why are you even bothered? Hun kaun main tumhara? Dekho… it was nice meeting you… but you should go now… kisiko meri kuch padi nahi hai… mar bhi gaya toh koi puchne nahi wala…”

“Mujhe padi hai”, she countered, “kyunki tum mere…”

He raised his eyebrows in query, “kya? Mere kya…?”

She bit her lip, “mere… uh… mere classmate the…”

He scoffed, “dekha… tum dost bhi nahi bol paai.”

She sighed, “main jhooth nahi bolti Sameer… yeh pehli baar hai jab hum dhang se baat kar rahe hai, aur phir bhi mujhe itni toh padi hai tumhari ke tumhe iss haalat me drive na karne du.”

He thumped a hand on top of his car in frustration, “so, what do you want? Main yahan bethke tumhare saath gossip karu ke kaise maine jis ladki ko propose kiya usne mujhe dump kar diya… Tumse yeh kahu ke she never felt anything for me… that she was only interested in sex.”

She blinked in surprise at the revelation, the reason for him getting drunk suddenly clear, and she also understood that the box he had thrown away was probably a ring that he had used to propose the girl. She wondered if she should console him, but then she didn’t really know anything about him. And so she said, “aaj ke liye taxi le lo please…”

He lifted his hand gesturing her to stop, his expressions full of disinterest, “you just leave… let me go…”

“Nahi”, she firmly replied, “agar car hi lena hai toh main drive karungi… Tum mujhe apna address do, main tumhe ghar chod dungi.”

He looked at her, his eyes widening in surprise at her proposal. She took advantage of his speechless state, and snatched the car key from his hand. Holding his arm, she guided him to the passenger side, and then took the wheel herself. As she threw her jacket in the back seat, and started the car, driving out of the club’s parking lot, he suddenly chuckled, “jab last time tumhe dekha tha tum do choti baandhke, school uniform pehenke cycle chala rahi thi… Aur aaj stylish kapde pehenke car chala rahi ho…”

She negotiated a turn on the road, “jab maine tumhe last time dekha tha tumhe kisiki kuch padi nahi thi… aur aaj ek aisi ladki ke gum me sharab pee rahe jisko tumhari kuch padi nahi hai…”

He stopped laughing, and choked, “I thought she loved me…”

She queried immediately, “did you love her?”

Sameer opened his mouth to answer in positive, but surprisingly no words came out, leaving him bit surprised. He sat lost in thoughts, silent, oblivious… After a minute or two she queried, “ghar kahan hai tumhara?”

He automatically replied in a monotone, giving her the address of his home, something he had never done before. The car merged into the traffic on main road, she didn’t say anything more thinking he needed silence. But after few minutes he started speaking, or rather she should say blabbering, because most of the times he made no sense, and he also kept jumping between years… Some statements she recognized to be some memory of childhood or school time, some maybe from after school which she couldn’t relate to, she even heard something about Delhi but wasn’t sure how that was a part of his life, and then she heard a name that made something pinch in her heart…

Sakshi se ek saal pehle mila… Aaj uska birthday hai… Maine socha best day hoga meri life ka.

So he was in a relationship since a year. A steady relationship… meaning he surely loved this… this Sakshi…

School me Munna, Pandit hamesha saath hote the… Ab unka saath bhi nahi hai…

I am such an useless person… I just spoil everything…

Nanu ko dukh diya… Mummy ka ghar… That Mr. Somani…

Sakshi used to say I was so good in bed… She would always tell me she wanted me…

Main hi gadha hun… I should have known…

Par tum kabhi bura nahi maanti thi…

London is awesome Naina… so many girls… tumhe pata hai, wahan roz alag ladki…

She looked at him as he trailed off, and saw that he had closed his eyes, his head lulling to the side… Maybe he was asleep… Well, probably that was good, because he had been blabbering non-stop since last twenty minutes. But that last line… roz alag ladki… did he really mean that? And what was that – par tum kabhi bura nahi maanti thi… Was he talking about her? Why would he say that?

Questions racing in her mind remained unanswered as Sameer kept on sleeping. Another fifteen minutes later, she reached the address he had mentioned, and saw the enormous gates of the society. A watchman stood by the side and saluted as the car passed by; the society, to Naina’s astonishment, was extremely posh… And the houses inside were individual bungalows with personal lawn and low wall all around… The smooth roads, the tall trees, the lawn, the line of bungalows, everything screamed luxury… She wondered what exactly Sameer Maheshwari did to have this kind of lifestyle. Was it all because of his grandfather? She knew that Mr. Jayprakash Maheshwari was rich, but was he so rich that he could afford this kind of luxury for his grandson in Mumbai?

She stopped the car when she saw the bronze number 12 sign gleaming under the overhead light that was fixed especially just to highlight that plate. She shook her head at the quirks of rich people, and then pulled inside, parking at the end of the driveway. Turning off the engine, she sat there for a minute, staring at the house, not sure if anyone else lived there. It was totally dark, so she concluded that he lived alone, but the house was so big, so wasn’t there any servant… She sighed, and turned, trying to wake him up, “Sameer… Sameer utho… Tumhara ghar aa gaya…”

It took her ten minutes to even get him to stir, and he blinked at her stupidly, “sone do na…”

Shaking her head, she got out of the car and went to his side, opened the door, and tried to pull him out, “Sameer chalo… niklo bahar.”

He tried to obey, groggily stumbling, the effect of alcohol combined with sleep making his body lax. Naina somehow pulled him out, and struggled at the same time to stop herself from focusing on how his hand was on her bottom, of how his head kept moving closer to her face. He was mumbling something, some tune, but she couldn’t comprehend… “Sameer”, she muttered, trying to straighten him, but the next moment, he staggered a bit causing them to turn on the spot… His head dropped on her shoulder, and he almost collapsed against her… She grabbed both of his arms, trying to balance, but his weight made her step back and she was pinned between the cold metal of the car and his warm body. God… What a position to be in, she pondered, as she felt his whole body plastered against her own.

What the hell was she thinking? This wasn’t any romantic moment… He was drunk… That’s it…

“Sameer”, she called out, hoping he would listen.

After one more attempt, he responded, “hmmm?”

She gruffly tried to explain, “main tumhe aise manage nahi kar paungi Sameer… you have to help me…”

“I will help you”, he mumbled, lifting his head a bit and peering at her, “who are you?”

She sighed, “let’s go… thoda chalne ki koshish karo… main batati hun phir main kaun hun…”

Thankfully he agreed to the proposal and let her guide him to the door, stumbling all the way, making the short walk extend up to almost ten minutes. Maybe she shouldn’t have let him sleep in car… He was alright before that… But now, he seemed to back to the state he was in club before that lemon water. Somehow they managed to reach the door, and that seemed to be the limit of his walking, because he once again collapsed on her shoulder.

She huffed, trying to manage his weight, “Sameer… ghar ki chaabi kahan hai?”

He turned his head, nuzzling her neck, “konsi chaabi?”

Her lips parted in exhale at the sensation, “ghar ki chaabi… do mujhe…”

His hands came up to hold her waist, “kyun du ghar ki chaabi? Kaun ho tum?”

She was bit amused at his question, especially given that he was still nuzzling her neck and his one hand was literally wrapped around her waist, both of the sensations playing havoc inside her. Trying to keep her tone normal, she said, “thodi der nahi ho gai iss sawaal ke liye? Main Naina hun… yaad aaya? School se… padhaku…”

“Oh yes”, he murmured, and fumbled in his trouser pocket, pulling out a set of keys, holding them up, “yeh lo…”

She had no idea why was he behaving like this… asking repeatedly who she was… as if he wanted to make sure who was entering his home… Given his lifestyle he should be used to girls coming over. Especially his girlfriend… And that brought a thought that maybe he was asking because he knew that she wasn’t his girlfriend. Even though he was drunk, he would know it… her voice was different, and also he was holding her, so maybe the feel was different as well. As she unlocked the door, she felt as if her own thoughts didn’t make any sense to her.

She guided him inside, and tried to find the switch board. As the overhead tube-lights flickered on, he suddenly wrenched himself away from her, and stumbled to the right side with the support of wall. Naina had no idea what to do… Now that she no longer had to support him, she suddenly felt useless standing there on the threshold of the big house. Maybe she should leave… It was obvious that he no longer needed her… Her task was done, he was home safe, and now she should go to her home too.

However, as she turned to leave, suddenly she heard the sound of running water and a loud groan. Worried, she rushed in the direction he had walked over, dropping her purse somewhere mid-way. The far end of the hall was a spacious kitchen, and she found Sameer kneeling over at the sink, his head under the tap which was turned on in full force. She grabbed his arm, and tugged him back, almost shrieking, “yeh kya kar rahe ho?” He blinked, and smiled at her, his eyes clearer and more focused than before. She turned off the tap, murmuring, “pagal ho gaya hai sharab peeke.”

He shook his head vigorously, the water droplets from his wet hair falling over her, and then he smirked, “don’t worry Naina… Sink me doobunga nahi main…”

She gaped at him for a few seconds, and then started laughing earnestly. He stilled, his entire focus moving from his own sorry state to the lilting sound that reverberated around the house. His heart thumped hard, the sound wrapping around him like a warm caring blanket that lessened the pain inside him, that lifted the melancholy he had been trying to drown in alcohol. His head had cleared with the lemon water in club, his sleepy daze gone with the water bath now, and as his senses returned all he could do was be captivated in the girl in-front of him. The care she had shown this evening had made him smile through his heartbreak, her concern had surprised him, but now her cheerful carefree laughter made something much more potent coil inside him. Acting upon impulse he wrapped a hand around her waist and pulled her to him. She gasped, her laughter catching in her throat, her eyes wide as she looked up at him. He gazed in her eyes, cupped her face with his other hand, as gently as if he was touching a figment of his imagination, “I never forgot your eyes since the first day of school… they are still just as pretty…”

If possible her eyes widened even more, and a trembling sigh escaped her parted lips. His breathing accelerated, there was no caution in his mind, there was only something so sharp and compelling that he couldn’t comprehend what it was. His thumb traced the corner of her mouth, and his voice was few decibels lower as he said, “I am going to kiss you Naina… If you don’t want it, say no now…”

What? Oh God… Oh yes… No… Yes… No, no… But… Yes…

Her confused mind tumbled between yes and no, but she seemed to have lost her voice and the will to answer. Taking her lack of response for a yes he dipped his head, pressing his lips with hers… They both shuddered, the first soft brush of lips sending waves of electric shocks down their body. He tentatively tasted her lips, craving for more of her, but even in his half-drunk state he realized that she wasn’t kissing him back… Her hands were gripping his shirt, but she was standing still, unresponsive. He immediately started to withdraw, intending to ask her if she was alright… But before he could put some distance between them, her mouth moved against his, a soft whimper escaped her lips, and she leaned closer just a fraction of an inch.

With a surge of delight he realized that she was responding, and then every thought in his brain shut off. He tightened his hold on her, pulling her flush against him, and her hands moved up to his shoulder slowly wrapping around his neck. The tentative exploration strung his body tight; her slow acceptance, soft sighs, the way her body quivered in his arms, the way her tongue tangled with his made him feel a combination of sensations that he had never felt before. His hand moved up her back, tangling in her hair, and he angled his head to deepen the kiss even more. She stiffened for a briefest moment, but soon whimpered and melted against him.

He had no idea what was happening to him, but in that moment he wanted nothing more in this world than her… He just needed her… Without breaking the kiss, he hooked his hands beneath her bottom and lifted her in his arms. She let out a small surprised gasp, but he didn’t leave her mouth, nibbling gently on her lower lip and soon she relaxed against him.

He turned, walking out of the kitchen and carefully made his way to the bedroom… He didn’t want to stumble and fall, it would hurt her, and so he focused his entire attention on taking careful steps. Her lips tempted him to taste more, his hands wanted to wander over her body… As soon as he reached inside the bedroom, he tipped her on the big bed, coming down on top of her. Her breath whooshed out of her lungs at the impact, and she wrenched her mouth away from him… The lack of her taste made him return to a brief moment of clarity, and he looked down at her… Her hair was bit messed up, her lips swollen, her eyes squeezed shut and her breath was heavy… He could feel her soft alluring body pressed beneath him and in that moment all he wanted to do was dip his head and kiss her again… But the moment of clarity made him realize what he was doing…

Dammit… He had literally compelled her to bed… What was he doing? This was the first time he had met her after school time… She had been so nice to him… She had genuinely cared… And what was he doing? Treating her the same way he did other women… The difference was those women agreed to come to bed, they talked the rules, but he hadn’t even given Naina a warning…

He rolled away from her, sitting up quickly, “shit…” Pulling her up, he hugged her gently, flipped on the bedside lamp, and said, “I am sorry… I am so sorry…”

She jerked, gasped, and pushed him away from herself. He felt bereft of her comforting warmth, but he deserved this… What did he expect? That she would hug him back… Tough for that to happen…  He sighed, dragging a hand through his hair, “I am really sorry Naina… I didn’t realize…”

“It’s okay”, she interrupted in a low voice, “I know… I k…know tumne pee rakhi hai… Aur… Aur tumko laga ke shayad main Sakshi hun… Isiliye…”

He squeaked, “what?”

She glanced up at him for a moment, before lowering her eyes once more and he was horrified to see the tears in her eyes. Her voice broke a bit as she said, “it’s okay… main jaati hun…”

Acting upon the needy impulse inside him, he grabbed her hand and tugged her in his arms once more, holding her tight this time, “are you mad? What are you saying? Maine uske baare me socha bhi nahi tha…”

She stilled, and then queried, “toh phir sorry kyun bola?”

“Kyunki maine tumhe kiss kiya”, he promptly replied.

She tried to pull back from him again, “aur tum nahi karna chahte the… isiliye sorry…”

He tugged her back once more, tightening his arms, “tum pagal ho kya? Of course I wanted it… Maine kiss karne se pehle bola bhi… Tumhara naam liya… Naina… Uske baad bhi tum aisa kaise soch sakti ho?”

She tilted her head back to look at him, her eyes still glistening with tears, and whispered to confirm, “you wanted it?”

He took a deep breath, and used one hand to wipe her tears, “I still want it Naina… Maine sorry bola kyunki hum itne din baad mile, aur maine pee rakhi hai aur ekdum se maine… mmmuuummppp…”

The remaining of his sentence was silenced because she stretched up and kissed him. His mind reeled in surprise, his eyes fluttering shut at the pleasure. He vaguely wondered if she knew what she was doing.

Naina had no idea why she was doing what she was doing… She didn’t know if it was right or wrong… All she knew was that she wanted this… Ever since her hand had touched his on the door handle, in that neon-lit parking lot of club Vortex, she had known that what she had felt for him in school was not an adolescent crush, nor infatuation and neither something silly. It was more… so much more… And it had scared her… The person in-front of her was Sameer Maheshwari… The Sameer Maheshwari, who was always perfect, the most popular, the one who never cared about what anyone thought about him, the one who always did what he wanted to do. He was out of reach… They were not compatible… He was the center of universe, rooted, prominent, strong… And she was just a distant tiny particle that kept circling around him helpless because of his magnetic charm… He would never notice her; she would never reach him… But then he had kissed her, and said that he wanted it… It was like a dream… A dream she desperately wanted to live, even if it was for one night… Because after this there would be no future for them, it would be just her and her memories of him… And if tonight was all she had, she would grab it and make memories of lifetime. There was no caution in her brain, no trigger warning, she was reduced to a bundle of her own needs and desires that had surged with that single touch of hand.

Suddenly he pulled back from her lips, his breathing erratic as he looked in her eyes, and asked, “tumne toh sharab nahi pee na?” She shook her head in negative, and he muttered, “Thank God…” He returned to her lips, kissing deep, bliss surrounding her at the skillful strokes of his tongue. It was a new experience for him… He wasn’t sure if she understood or not but this was…so different… This wasn’t about the physical need… This need was different… He didn’t need just sex, he felt the need for her… It should have shocked him, surprised him, but this wasn’t a line of thought he wanted to focus on when he was in mid of kissing her…  Naina… The name seemed to embed inside him, and all he wanted to do was make it special for her… He kept of kissing her lips, desperately trying to free his brain from the remaining haze of alcohol… He felt as if she didn’t deserve the Sameer he was, she deserved better… He needed to focus on her… only her… She deserved his undivided attention…

He kept stealing soft kisses from her mouth, and in between skimmed his lips on her cheeks, ears, down the side of her neck. His hand moved over her waist, sliding up to her breast, gently cupping… She gasped, shuddering, and he stopped immediately… A new realization washed over him… Unless he was mistaken, this was the first time someone was touching her like this…

He drew back, removing his hand from her breast, and instead cupped her face, “Naina… do you… umm… tumhe pata hai aage kya hota hai?” She nodded, blush tinging her cheeks. His throat felt dry as he queried further, “tumne pehle kabhi… I mean… isse pehle kisike saath…?”

It was strange that he trailed off, that he couldn’t ask point blank if she had sex before… As he had expected, she shook her head in negative, and stammered, “n…nahi…”

Even though he had expected it, it still shocked him, left him dumbfounded… He had this weird urge to savor her innocence, to cherish what he had found… He was half-torn between wanting her and protecting her… It was funny because he had never wanted someone as fiercely as he wanted her, and nor had he ever thought if what he was doing was right or wrong… Yet today he couldn’t decide if to pull back or move ahead… And so he decided to leave it up to her… If she said no, then he would accept… But if she said yes, then there was no one luckier than him tonight.

He gently suggested, “we don’t have to do this… tumhe yeh karneki zaroorat nahi hai…”

She bit her lip, her hands lying useless on her lap as she was no longer touching him, “kyun? Mujhe yeb sab ke baare me kuch pata nahi hai isiliye…? Ya… aaj tumhara mood nahi hai?”

His brows furrowed at the strange questions… He couldn’t understand the context, but just assured her, “tumhara first time hoga Naina… I mean… yeh bahot badi baat hoti hai ladkiyo ke liye, I guess… Tum chahogi ke tum wait karo shaadi ke waqt tak… sahi insaan ke liye… aur main… main toh kuch bhi nahi hun tumhari life me…”

She felt a chuckle bubble up inside her, but stifled it… How funny it was that after those two years of struggling with her sensations, and the gap of many more years, she was finally here… For the first time in her life, Sameer Maheshwari was looking at her, talking to her… He had even kissed her… And yet… yet she couldn’t tell him how special he was for her… He had just suffered from heartbreak, and he wouldn’t really want another relationship… All he needed was release like his other nights, but for her it was so much more… She remembered that he discussed terms before hook-ups, but he had not talked to her, and now he knew she was completely inexperienced. And so she asked once more, “tum nahi chahte… I mean… you don’t want me… isiliye yeh puch rahe ho na?”

Frustrated at wanting her so fiercely, and yet wanting to do the right thing, he grabbed her and pulled her on his lap, positioning her in a way that she could feel him clearly… Her eyes widened as her thighs straddled his hips, and he pressed her to him… His voice was rough as he asked, “do you feel it? Aisa lag raha hai tumhe ke main yeh nahi chahta…? I want you, dammit…”

Shock coursed through her body on hearing his voice, accompanied with a combination of thrill and excitement at his confession. He wanted her… Sameer Maheshwari wanted her… Her heart thumped hard and fast, her confidence bloomed… She cupped his face, tracing her fingers along the sharp line of his jaw, and dropped the first soft kiss on his forehead. He shivered, his eyes shutting as she kissed them close, and then he felt the petal soft brushes of her lips on his cheeks… He waited, his body strung with anticipation, and then finally she kissed his lips, tasting like he had done. His entire body shuddered, and with a deep hungry groan, he fisted a hand in her hair, deepened the kiss and tilted her back on bed…