Chapter 22

Devakshi FF: Reaching Out

Part 20

Dev clenched his hands.

He wasn't happy at all.

Ranveer spotted Dev's reaction. And he knew his best friend. Dev was an expert at impulsive decisions. And looking at the intensity of the situation he knew he needed to be alert. So he nudged Neha and discreetly pointed at Dev's clenched hands. She in turn alerted Riya and Tina.

With eyes trained on the man who called himself Jatin, Dev took a step towards him. Ranveer and the rest of them realised that Dev was going to go all Hulk on the man with Sonakshi, so they panicked. Right at that moment the receptionist located Jatin's reservation and looked up at them saying,

 "Sir this way and the entire group, excluding Dev of course, were horrified to realise that she was pointing in their direction.

They could already see Sonakshi and Jatin turning towards them. By then, Dev had already taken a couple of steps forward. Tina frantically looked around and spotted a tall plant on their left. Tapping on Ranveer's shoulder she pointed towards it. Ranveer quickly understood what she meant and sent a nod her way, pulling along Neha and Riya to help him.

Thankfully while Sonakshi and Jatin were standing near the reception desk, a random person bumped into Sonakshi, throwing her slightly off balance, which made her let go of the purse in her hand, which then landed on the floor. She bent to pick it up. Thanking God for giving them enough time, Ranveer ran forward, grabbed Dev's hand and pulled him behind the plant, with Riya, Neha and Tina following right  behind them.

Sonakshi straightened and turn around to be faced with a whoosh of air. She looked around with a confused expression. While there was no breeze around, the leaves of the plant on their left were moving as if someone had blown on them. She stared at it for a moment. Jatin looked at her and asked,

"Kya hua?

Sonakshi stared at the plant for a second longer and then turned to Jatin,

 "Kuch nahin.

Jatin made sweeping motion with his hand and said,

"Chalein?

Sonakshi nodded with a smile and both of them walked into the restaurant.

Seeing them walk in, Dev hissed,"Kya kar raha hai Ranveer! Mujhey ussey baat karna hai!

Ranveer, still gripping Dev so that he couldn't escape said,

"Tu agar yahan se hila, toh achha nahin hoga Dev.

Tina quickly whispered, "Haan Sir. Aap gusse me hai. Abhi nahin mil sakte aap Dr. Bose se.

Dev glared at them, "Maine kab kahan ki main Sonakshi se milna Chahta hoon. Main to uss 6 footiye ki baat kar raha tha.

Riya pushed the rest aside and said, "Bhaiyya, agar aap ussey abhi milte toh yahin apni poori life ka badla le lete. Hum aisa nahin hone de sakte!

While they whispered and bickered among themselves, the manager happened to be passing by the spot. Hearing the harsh whispers he peeped behind the plant. To say he was shocked at the sight would be an understatement. Eyes wide he literally yelled, "Mr. Dixit? Hearing that, the entire group snapped their heads towards the voice. As the manager stared at them, mouth agape, the group seemed like they were caught in the middle of an illegal act.

All of them sprang up quickly. Dev cleared his throat. The manager quickly said, "Sir, aap logo ko kuch chahiye tha?

Tina stepped up beside Dev, "Haan! Actually yeh plant bohot pretty hai! Kahan se liya aapney? Hum bhi office me yahin lagana chahtey hai. Wahi discuss kar rahey the hum!

Dev glared at Tina. Neha jumped in, "Exactly. Aap batayengey please?

Riya was trying hard not to burst out laughing while Ranveer kept a firm grip on Dev's shoulder. He didn't want to take any chances. But that seemed fruitless when the next incident happened.

The manager opened his mouth to reply to Neha's question when Dev cut in, "Actually aapney theek kahan. Humein kuch chahiye. Abhi abhi ek couple andar gaye. Reservation by some Jatin Gupta. Humein unke directly peechey ek table chahiye. Not too close but.

Ranveer groaned while Neha, Riya and Tina sighed in defeat. The manager stuttered slightly, "P-par Sir, aap logo ne toh abhi dinner kiya...

Dev narrowed his eyes, "Achha? Toh humein phirsey bhook lagi hai. The manager quickly snapped his mouth shut.

Dev regarded him coolly and said, "Jitna kahan gaya hai, utna kijiye. The manager nodded vigorously and asked them to follow him.

Dev followed him. The rest of them stood for a second longer, but then followed him, having no choice.

Ranveer called out to Dev, "Galti kar raha hai tu.

Dev paid no heed. Ranveer sighed and looked at the rest. The others nodded. They couldn't leave him alone here. So they would stay and do whatever they could. The moment they stepped back into the restaurant, they spotted Jatin and Sonakshi. The manager silently led them to a table diagonally behind them. Seating themselves, that though they could all see Jatin and Sonakshi clearly, they couldn't hear what they were talking about.

Dev grew restless, "Unki baatein kaise sunegey?

Ranveer rolled his eyes, "Dikh raha hai yahi bohot hai. Jo dekhna hai yahan se dekh.

But suddenly Riya squealed, "Par bhaiyya humey woh dikh rahey hai. Iska matlab woh bhi humein dekh payengey naah?

All of them, again excluding Dev, panicked. Dev was too busy observing Sonakshi's behaviour towards Jatin to even bother. Neha was the first one to do something.

She whipped out her scarf and said, Riya Tina, apney scarves nikalo and aapna muh dhako.

Ranveer rolled his eyes, "Tum teeno muh dhakkey kya karogey? Humein toh sabse pehley Dev ko chupana hai! Humein dekh lengey toh zyada kuch nahin hoga.

Riya snatched Neha's scarf, "Toh yeh scarf bhaiyya ko pehena de?

Dev turned to glare at Riya. But Ranveer started guffawing loudly. Hearing his loud laugh, Jatin, Sonakshi and a few other people in the restaurant turned to look at them. Realising his mistake Ranveer quickly stopped laughing. He took up the menu card, made Dev turn around towards the table forcefully and kept the menu card upright in front of their faces. Dev struggled to move it away. He wanted Sonakshi to spot him. But his friend would have none of it.

Thankfully Riya, Neha and Tina were sitting in such a way, that the people in the table in front of them guarded them. So they were not visible from the table where Sonakshi sat. Still, for precautionary measures they had ducked their heads as well.

Dev hissed again, "Menu card hata Ranveer. Mujhey Sonakshi nahin dikh rahi!

Ranveer hissed right back, "Ruk ja do minute. Phir dekhna mann bhar ke.

After a couple of minutes, Ranveer slowly removed the menu card. But he was painfully slow about it. Dev was getting more agitated by the minute. So he slapped Ranveer's hand down.

The menu hit the table with a loud whack. The people on the table to their right stared at them.

Neha quickly said, "Yahan kuch nahin hai. Mind your own business!

The people squinted at her and then turned away.

Tina sighed and said, "Aap log aise karte rahoge toh Dr. Bose aur Mr. Gupta humein dekh lengey. Sir, hum yahan se chalte hai.

Dev looked back at Tina, " Aur Sonakshi ko akela chhor de?

Ranveer rolled his eyes, "Tu counting bhool gaya? Ek akela hota hai. Wahan Sonakshi ke saath koi aur bhi hai. Woh do huye. Toh woh akeli kaise hui?

Dev glared at his best friend. It seemed like that's the only thing he could do at this point. "Tu dost hai ya dushmann Ranveer?

Ranveer clasped his hands together, "Tu soch tujhey jo sochna hai. Par main tujhey Sonakshi se abhi milne nahin dunga. Pata nahin kya ulta seedha bol dega tu!

Dev rolled his eyes. "Main bachha nahin hoon. I know kahan kya bolna hota hai.

Riya butted in, "Nahin bhaiyya iss mamle me aap bachhey hi hai.

Dev turned to look at Riya. He stared at her for a minute. Then slowly he smirked.

Four pairs of eyes looked at his smirk with apprehension. "Main bachha hoon? Theek hai. Apni bachhon waali image rakhne ke liye kuch to karna padega hi naah?

The four pairs of eyes turned horrified. That did not sound good. The gang braced themselves. Dev flicked his hand and called a waiter. When the waiter walked up to him, Dev whispered something to him, which made the waiters eyes widen in fear.

He stuttered, "A-ap sure h-hai Sir? Dev nodded firmly. The waiter agreed, though full of uncertainty.

He gulped, "Theek hai Sir. Main karta hoon.

As he walked away Ranveer whispered to Dev furiously, "Kya bola tune ussey? Dev continued to smirk, "Dekhta ja. Samajh jayega.

A few minutes passed. While Dev looked as calm and smug as ever, the others seemed ready to burst with anticipation.

Neha chewed her lip, "Bhaiyya, kya karne waley ho aap? Dev didn't look at her. His eyes were trained on Sonakshi. "Kuch nahin. Jo karega waiter hi karega.

He couldn't wait for his plan to be executed.

Sonakshi had been smiling throughout the evening and Dev was not the least bit happy about it. While one part of his brain told him that Sonakshi had the right to enjoy the evening, the other part of his brain was furious that it wasn't with him. His dislike for that man, Jatin, grew by the second and he was sure that if his friends hadn't stopped him, by now, Sonakshi's date or whatever it was would be over. Date? He grimaced. No way. She could not go on a date with this man. Or for that matter no other man. As far as Dev believed, that place was only his. And he was going to make sure of that.

His train of thought was brought to a pause when he saw the waiter approaching Sonakshi's table with the food they ordered.  Dev straightened up, clasped his hands, put it under his chin and watched with rapt attention. Beside him, the gang were waiting for the bomb to explode, though they did not know what it exactly was. After the waiter finished placing the plates on the table, he turned and looked directly at Dev and gave him an almost imperceptible nod.

Dev smiled slightly indicating that he understood. Then his attention was back on Sonakshi's table.

Riya gulped, "Ab kya hone wala hai?

Ranveer suddenly yelped, "Dev tune Jatin ke khane me zeher toh nahin mila diya? The girls gasped.

Dev rolled his eyes at their melodrama. "Main koi psycho nahin hoon ki ussey seedha bhagwaan ke paas hi pohuncha doon he told them calmly.

 Ranveer furrowed his brows, "Tera koi bharosa nahin. Agar tu apne aap ko aine me dekh pata abhi, toh samajhta.

Dev shushed them, "Shhh. Mujhey dekhne do. The group turned their attention back to Sonakshi's table.

Sonakshi seemed to be enjoying her dish having dug into it. She was telling something to Jatin. He was yet to begin eating. He smiled at Sonakshi and then took a spoonful of food from his plate. Dev seemed to perk up at that. The group stole a glance at Dev and then looked at each other, worried. But nothing prepared them for what happened after that. Jatin deposited the food into his mouth. For the next few seconds nothing happened. The group almost sighed in relief. But, you see, almost. Jatin grimaced at his food. It seemed to have a weird taste. So he reached for the mock tail he had ordered and chugged half the glass to even out the taste. But that was his biggest mistake.

Because right after that he started coughing.

Ranveer tapped Dev, "Dev uske drink me kya milaya tune?!

Dev's smile just grew bigger. "Kuch nahin. Buss thodi mirchi milai hai. Oh sorry, thodi nahin, bohot saari.

Tina and Riya gasped loudly while Neha hid her face in her hands. Ranveer wanted to throttle his best friend who just smirked at the scene before him. By now Jatin had sprung up from his seat and at the moment had doubled over, coughing, and holding the table with one hand, while Sonakshi frantically rubbed his back. She took her own glass of water, sipped it once and then offered it to Jatin. But Jatin wasn't ready to stop coughing yet. There were small tears forming in his eyes.

Sonakshi was yelling at the waiters and trying to make Jatin drink some water simultaneously. She then coaxed him to go to the washroom and wash out the tingling and promised him that they would leave right after that.

 As Sonakshi helped Jatin to the washroom, Ranveer took up the chance, "Chal Dev. Bohot ho gaya tera. Issey pehley ki woh wapas ayein aur humey yahan dekhey, tu chal.

Dev highly satisfied that his plan had worked, wanted to see what happened next, "Nahin. Ruk ja.

But Ranveer had had enough. He literally pulled Dev up from his seat and dragged him out, with the ladies scurrying behind them.

They exited the restaurant and Neha was the first to yell at Dev, "Bhaiyya! Aapney Jatin ke saath bura kiya!

Riya and Tina agreed while Ranveer said, "Tu bachha hai kya?!

Dev stopped in front of the car and said, "Toh tum log hi toh keh rahe the main bachha hoon. Toh karli maine thodi shararat. Dinner to khatam ho gayi naah he smiled super happy.

Ranveer huffed, "Tu ghar chal. Phir baat karengey.

They all turned to get into the car.

"Mr. Dixit!

Everyone paused. They turned towards the sound simultaneously.

While Riya, Tina, Neha and Ranveer looked like a deer caught in the headlight looking at the person who called out, Dev looked like he was expecting it.

Because looking at him with a stormy expression stood Sonakshi.

His Sonakshi. And she looked ready to kill.

"Oh! Dev thought, "Ab ayega maza!

His lioness was back with all his attention directed at him.

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So... how was it?

Did you laugh heartily? I did while writing it  at least!

Please do hit the like button and let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

Ab pata nahin what Dr. Bose will do! :P

Well, we'll find that out on Sunday! ;)

Who are you going to side with? Dev ya Sona?

See you on the other side!

Love 

Mishti <3