this is for u sanju 😳 i dont get any sadistic pleasure 😆 but time is sure a constraint to write!!!
PART 28
National
Highway #2... 100 kilometres from Agra!
"Look at me Arohi!"
Arohi continued looking outside the window.
"Im sorry ok! I know that you don't like anyone
taking decisions for you... but cant you extend me this small liberty?"
Arohi continued to ignore him.
"You were to go to Agra anyway... so instead of
the driver I am driving you there. This way we can spend some time outside
office. Whats wrong with that?"
Arohi let out a sharp breath.
"Fine! I will call your driver with the car to
Agra, i will drop you there and by the time your meeting is over he will reach
to pick you up!"
Arjun pulled over and Arohi heard him take his
cell phone and dial a number. She snapped her head in his direction and kept
her hand on the phone. Arjun looked up and Arohi could see the pain in his
eyes. There was mild anger which he was trying very hard to control.
"Dont... don't call. Its ok. I'm... I'm..."
"I'm what? Stubborn? Irrational? Egoistic?"
Arohi glared at Arjun but he was back in his
teasing avatar.
"Or do you want to say... i'm... sorry???"
Arohi made to turn her head away but Arjun
caught her chin and forced her to look at him. He pulled her face slightly
towards him and leaned to whisper.
"Its ok Arohi. You can say sorry... I'm waiting
for you to say it so that i can say 'its ok' and we can start having some fun."
Arjuns fingers left her chin and he cupped her
cheek in his palm. He could see her anger melting away and her eyes soften.
"Aur tumne jo waha dhaabe pe kiya usska kya?"
Arjuns eyebrows jumped in surprise. "Arohi...
thodasa majak kar liya bas!"
"Thodasa!" Arohi moved back with a jerk. "Arjun
unko lagraha tha ki hum dono... ki mein... aur tum..."
Arjun chuckled. "Unhe aisa lag nahi raha tha!
Maine unse kaha ki tum pregnant ho."
"What?! Arjun how could you..."
"C'mon Arohi... itnasa mazak karna allowed hai!"
"Tumhe har cheez mazak lagti haina?"
"Haan! Jaise tumhe har cheez serious lagti hai."
Arjun winked and Arohi shook her head in defeat.
"Ab chalo! Im getting late for the meeting."
"Pehle bolo ki tum fir gussa nahi karogi. I have
come all the way with you to spend some quality time... not just bear your
anger!"
"Fine! Ab chalein???"
"Chalte hain... but we just had a fight...so
lets kiss and make up first!"
The next moment Arohis surprised lips were
captured by Arjuns eager ones. Arohi tried moving back but Arjun leaned in
more, refusing to leave hold of her soft lips. He slipped one hand through her
thick hair, holding her neck. Arohis soft skin under his hand and her soft lips
in his, were making Arjun crazy. Before he got carried away, Arjun pulled back.
Looking at her blushed face he smiled.
Now he felt that his day had started.
Ahluwalia
office...
"Ma'm is not coming back, is she?"
"No. She'll be back late." D replied to Shanti
without moving his eyes from his computer screen.
"And Arjun Sir??"
"Even he will come tomorrow morning."
Danish continued his work. After a few minutes
of silence, he looked up to see Shanti staring in to distance, thinking deeply.
"Kuch kaam tha dono se?"
Shanti was pulled out of her trance. "Huh? No...
Yes actually. I wanted to show ma'm some papers before i sent them to Sudhir
Sir."
D frowned at Shantis weird behaviour. "Show them
to me. I will send them off."
"NO. Ma'm had said she wanted to personally
check them. So, i will show them tomorrow."
D stared as Shanti scurried out of his cabin.
Shrugging his shoulders, he got back to his work.
Shanti walked slowly to her desk and sat down. She
narrowed her eyes and chewed her lip. Minakshi elbowed her and she broke out of
her thoughts.
"Kya hua Shanti??? Kya soch rahi ho?"
Shanti smiled at her. "Minu... tuney kuch...
notice kiya hai???"
Arjuns
car... Evening... NH #2... 50 kms from Agra... but towards Delhi!
Arohi watched the strong handsome man sitting
next to her in the driving seat, talking on his Bluetooth. She leaned her elbow
on the window cill and rested her cheek in her palm, her eyes on the object of
her attention. The drive had been fun after she had dropped her anger. Even the
meeting at the plant was a pleasant one. Her staff was happy to see her as they
rarely get the privilege of her company.
And not many get to be lucky to be in a
'smiling' Arohi Ahlwalias company!
Arjun had walked around with her in the plant,
tried to understand how things functioned there, asked intelligent questions,
given smart suggestions and mingled with her staff as if he knew them from
before. All in all, he had been a delight to be around. And they all had
immense amount of respect in their eyes for him. Arohi could not help but smile
remembering how the day had gone by so quickly. Arjuns company was becoming
like an addiction for her, the more she got, the more she craved for it.
Arjun hung up the phone and turned to look at
her. "Dadi ka phone tha. Unki koi saheli rehti hai Chandigarh mein... usse
milne jaa rahi hai 4 din."
Arohi simply smiled back.
"I don't want her to go! Abhi abhi toh America
se aayi hai... i don't like going back to an empty house."
Arohis smile widened seeing Arjun complain and
frown like a small child.
"Its just 4 days Arjun. Tum unhe chodke 2 weeks
ke liye Singapore jaaoge... usska kya???"
"Haan toh... mein kaam se jaaraha hoon! Aur
waise bhi, you think she will stay alone in the duplex? She will pack her bags
and dump herself in your house."
"Toh tum bhi 4 din ke liye ghar aajao." Arohi
gave away the invitation with so much ease that Arjun looked at her in
surprise.
Arjun pulled over the car and Arohi frowned.
"Gaadi kyu rok di?"
"Are you serious? Tum sachme mujhe apne ghar
rehne ke liye invite karrahi ho?"
Arohi narrowed her eyes. "Ghar pe invite karrahi
hoon... mere room mein nahi!"
"Mere liye toh ek hi baat hai!"
Arohi blushed profusely. "Shut up Arjun!"
"Arohi... mera number kaunsa hai?"
"Matlab?"
"Matlab I am sure that iss duniya mein bohat kam
log hain jinhone tumhe sharmaate huey dekha hain. Toh unn channd logon mein se... mera kaunsa
number hai???"
Arohi rolled her eyes and Arjun moved closer to
her.
"Kasam se Arohi! You look gorgeous when you
blush."
Arohi blushed more and moved back. "Arjun...
seedhe baitho aur gaadi chalao."
"Uh huh! Pehle toll bharo."
"Kaisa toll???"
"Kiss ka! Ek kiss ke bina ye gaadi aage nahi
jaayegi."
Arohi looked on with shock in her eyes. Now he
was demanding kisses??? "Arjun... just drive the car."
"Nope! I think we will be breaking a tradition.
Jab jab hum ek saath, akele gaadi mein baithe hain tab tab we have kissed.
So..."
Arjun leaned in towards her and Arohi kept her
hand on his mouth.
"Arjun... tum har baar aise hi rehte ho???"
Arjun pulled off her hand. "Aise hi matlab?"
"Matlab... in every relationship... have you
always been... this way?"
"Saaf saaf pucho Arohi. Kyuki mein saaf saaf
jawab dunga. I've always been very open in all my relationships. But i've never
felt so attracted to any girl the way i feel for you."
Arohi smiled but he could still see the
hesitation in her eyes. "I... I just feel that... we are going too fast. I mean
I am not used to being in a relationship... which is so... physical!"
"Physical??? You think because we kiss each
other, we are physical???"
Arohi could sense the irritation in Arjuns voice
but she had spoken what she felt. She had never bothered getting close to any
other man after Naveen and so she was not used to all this. Arjun on the other
hand sounded offended.
"Arjun... i didn't mean to..."
"Its ok Arohi. I didn't know you felt that way.
I guess i wont try to touch you now... unless you take the first step. I don't
want you to feel that I'm only interested in being 'physical' with you."
Arohi tried to open her mouth to explain but
Arjun started driving the car and she sighed. Maybe she didnot put it the right
way.
"Arjun mera voh matlab nahi tha..." Feeling
Arjuns anger, she placed a hand on his, on the gear stick. But Arjun drew his
hand back with a jerk.
"I'm sorry. I didnot know you wanted to keep
your hand on the gear. I hope my touch didn't offend you."
"Stop it Arjun!!!" Arohis long gone anger was
returning with Arjuns antics. He looked ahead stubbornly.
"Tumne hi kaha tha na... saaf saaf bolo! Lekin
tumhe saaf baatein achhi nahi lagti. Im telling you that I'm not used to
somethings..."
"Touching and kissing is a natural phenomenon
Arohi! Its a way of expressing your feelings. Har cheez bol kar kahi nahi
jaati..."
"I'm not denying that. I just said I. AM. NOT.
Used to it."
"So fine... i will wait till you get used to
it."
"GGOOODDD!!!!" Arohi screamed in frustration.
This man was impossible. He called her angry-young-woman but he was no less.
And now he was the one starting the fight, not her! But reminding that to him
would probably not be a good idea.
The next half hour went in an uncomfortable
silence, where both were fidgeting but neither bothered to break the ice. Arohi
dozed off on her seat and her eyes opened where there was pitch dark outside.
She looked around and realised that they were not moving. She looked to her
right but Arjun was not there. Straightening in her seat, she looked in the
front and saw the bonnet of the car open. Opening the door she stepped out.
Arjun was bent over the hood, trying to fix
somthing, his shoulder touching his ear, where a phone was tucked in. He was
telling what he saw to someone and getting instructions from the other end.
"Saare nuts tight hain. Haan maine check kiye...
kaunsa? Which yellow stick??" Ignoring Arohi he continued looking for
something. Arohi realised that he was to check the oil filter, which was below
his elbow. She drew her hand towards it at the same time that Arjun did. Arohi
grabbed the filter stick and Arjun grabbed her hand, and then jerked behind.
Arohi gritted her teeth at his reaction. "Stop
it Arjun." She hissed.
Glaring at her Arjun waited for her to remove
her hand and then removed the stick to check the oil levels. Everthing was in
order, yet the car was not starting. Mumbling a quick goodbye, Arjun hung up.
"Kya hua???"
Arjun looked at her blankly. "Agar kya hua pata
hota, toh ab tak thik kar chukka hota. Filhaal hum kuch nahi kar sakte. Lift
maangni padegi kisise."
Arohi looked around but there was not a car in
sight. Lightening cracked overhead and she gasped. They both looked upwards.
"Looks like its going to rain... bhabhiji ne
kaha tha... toofan aane waala hai!"
"Tumhe yahi jagah mili thi gaadi rokne ke liye?"
Arjuns eyebrows scrunched up. "Gaadi meri
employee nahi hai... jisse mein overtime karaa sakta hoon. Kharab hogayi toh
ruk gayi. Agar tumhe thik karni aati hai toh please try!"
Arohi twisted her lips and went back to sit in
the car. It started drizzling and Arjun was forced to close the bonnet and seek
shelter in the car too. Removing a card from his pocket, he dialled a number.
"Bhaisaab... mein Arjun bol raha hoon. Ji.. mein
apni biwi ke saath aaj khana khane aaya tha?? Haanji wohi... saatve mahine
waala..."
Arjun looked at a glaring Arohi from the corner
of his eye. "Hamari gaadi kharab hogayi hai... hum shayad 100 kms hai agra
se... thodi der pehle maine Barauli gaon ka board dekha tha... ji..."
Arohi looked on at Arjun with hope. Maybe the
Bhallas could help them, probably send someone to pick them up. Atleast they
would get shelter for the night.
"Achha? Aage... ek mandir dikhayi de raha hai...
ji... thik hai. Bohat bohat shukriya."
Arjun hung up the phone but ignored the
expectant looking Arohi.
"Kya hua???"
Without looking at her, Arjun started gathering
his things. "Raste mein roadblock hogaaya hai... ek bohat bada ped gir gaya
hai, issliye voh humey lene nahi aasakte. Lekin saamne mandir ke paas koi
mechanic milna chahiye. Tum yahi ruko mein dekhke aata hoon."
"Pagal ho! Yaha andhere raste pe mujhe akela
chodke jaaoge? Mein bhi saath chalungi."
"Its raining Arohi. Bheeg jaaogi. Mein jaake
mechanic leke aata hoon."
"Its ok. Lekin mein yaha nahi rahungi..."
"Lagta hai Miss Ahluwalia ko andhere se darr
lagta hai?"
Arohi ignored him and got down from the car. By
the time they reached the garage it was pouring heavily. Arjun handed over the
keys to the mechanic and waited at the garage. Arohi could not help but notice
that Arjun was consciously maintaining a good enough distance from her, he was
also avoiding looking in her direction. She didn't know why, but that made her
more angry! After a few minutes the mechanic came back.
"Saab thoda time lagega. Kuch saaman laaneke
liye doosre gaon mein jana padega. Aap aur memsaab ko raat yahi rehna padega."
Arohi looked on horror at the dilapidated garage
with water leaking from the roof.
"Yaha matlab, iss gaon mein. Uss gali mein ek
chotasa daakbangla hai. Aap dono wohi chale jaaiye... chotu aapko le jaayega.
Chotu???"
A young boy of not more than 15 came out from
the rear door of the garage, which opened into a house. Crossing her arms
around her wet self, Arohi followed the small boy through the rain, who was clearly
mesmerised by her beauty. He refused to look her in the eye and started
marching ahead. Arjun and Arohi noticed that all the shops were opening up into
houses on the rear. So the entire village had their shops or businesses
attached to their houses, cutting out the time of travel.
Arjun looked at the shabby and ancient structure
in front of him, outside which Chotu stopped. He called for some "madho kaka"
and a bent over old man came out. Introducing them as guests, Chotu smiled at
Arjun, blushed at Arohi and pranced back to his house in the rain. To Arjun,
his walk seemed more like a dance. He looked at Arohi and smirked. This girl
affected people and didn't even have the slightest knowledge about it.
Madho kaka guided them inside and directed them
to a room.
"Kaka... ek hi room hai?" Arohis reluctant
question made Arjun grit his teeth. What did she expect in this small village?
A 5 star suite? With a living room and bedroom??? As if he was going to pounce
on her if they were forced to stay in one room!
"Kamre toh bohat hai beta, lekin bohat purana
daak bangla hai. Bohat se kamro ki marammat karni padegi... chatt se paani bhi
tapakta hai. Filhaal rehne laayak ek hi kamra bacha hai. Lekin tum dono toh
pati patni ho na???"
"Ji haan!" Arjun jumped in before Arohi
scandalised the poor old man like she did the Bhallas. "Voh kya haina... meri biwi badi dilwaali hai. Voh issliye pooch
rahi hai ki agar hamare baad koi aur agaya toh usse dene ke liye aapke paas
kamra bacha hai ya nahi... haina... darling?"
Arohi forced a smile and nodded her head.
"Bade bhagyasahaali ho beta, jo itni chinta
karne waali biwi mili hai tumhe."
Madho kaka smiled at the adorable couple and
Arjun murmured. "Haan kuch jyaada hi chinta harti hai..."
"Kya kaha beta?" Madho kaka strained his near
deaf ear in Arjuns direction.
"Kuch nahi kaka. Jyada raat hogayi haina... toh
aapko sona chahiye... goodnight."
Smiling away Arjun closed the door and his smile
dropped. Arohi had draped her dupatta on the back of a chair and was bent on one
side trying to dry her hair. In the bright light near the table, her lemon
yellow kurta had almost become transparent and was sticking to her every curve.
No wonder Chotu was blushing so hard!
Arohi went past a frozen Arjun and looked around
the cupboards.
"Towels bhi nahi hai yaha... Ab poori raat inn
geele kapdon mein guzaarenge???"
Arjun stripped the white sheet off the mattress
and handed to her. "Ye odh lena... aur kapde sookhane rakh dena."
Arohi looked at the thin sheet in Arjuns hand
and gulped. She really didn't have a choice here. They had not carried any
extra clothes as it was an 'impromptu' decision by Mr Singhania. Snatching the
sheet from his hand, she moved towards the washroom.
"Baahar aane se pehle knock karna." Arohi
stopped hearing Arjuns words. "Agar tum washroom mein change karogi toh mein
yaha change karunga. Aur mein nahi chahta ki tum mujhe bina kapdon ke dekho!"
Arohi turned with a snap. "Mujhe koi shauk nahi
hai tumhe..."
"Then knock before you come out."
Arohi felt like slapping the smirk out of his
face. "Fine!"
Throwing her hair over her shoulder, she marched
in to the washroom.
Arjun stripped off his clothes and spread them
on the table to dry. Luckily the room had twin beds that were joined to make
one double bed. Knotting the white sheet tightly on his belly, Arjun separated
the two beds with a good 3 feet distance between them. The light green walls of
the room gave it a very eerie look, but the fading fresco made him realise that
they were built during the British empire and the decor was supposed to be
English. There was a rusted mirror in one corner, with a small puffy in front
of it. The door opened between the beds and the wardrobe, which smelt of damp
wood. He picked up his phone and dropped a quick message to Sudhir uncle and
Natasha before his battery died.
A sharp knock sounded on the washroom door and
Arjun smiled.
"Its safe. You can come out." He assured her and
walked to the window.
He heard the bathroom door opened slowly with a
creak. Arjun could not help but smile thinking about Arohis condition but he
would not show her that. He was going to keep physically away from her even
though it killed him.
Turning around slowly, Arjuns eyes clashed with
Arohis and he froze. Clad in a pure white bedsheet knotted near her chest, her
arms shoulders and neck completely bare, her semi wet hair curling around her face
and lying on one shoulder, she stood in front of him like a goddess. The light
flickering in the bathroom behind, made the white sheet translucent where it
was not hugging her skin, giving him a perfect idea of her figure. Arohis nervousness, evident in chewing of her lip
and clenching the cloth at her sides made her more irresistible than she would
ever know.
Arjun was so stumped that he even forgot to
gulp. When sanity returned, the first thought that came to his mind was that he
should mind his words... when he had said 'even though it killed him', looked
like god had taken him seriously!!!
need your thoughts and comments guys 😃 MR will be next
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