Chapter 47

He took deep breaths in to try and calm himself down desperately. The air conditioning was working but he was sweating as if someone had shut him in an oven. The things that he was having to do for love...

He caught sight of Ulka and she smiled brightly at him, giving him a quick thumbs-up in encouragement, making him only more nervous. No. He could do it. Would he remember everything?

Shit...

***

She [jewellery and coiffure] checked that her dupatta was correctly pinned in place one last time even as her anxious mind stressed over the fact that NK had disappeared off somewhere. Seriously, where was he? She perceived Ulka walking in towards her in the mirror and turned around hastily.

"Have you seen NK?" the words fell out of her mouth hurriedly and she grasped her sister-in-law's arms. "Voh ladka phone bhi nahin utha raha hai!" (...That boy is not even answering his phone!)

Ulka smiled at her encouragingly. "Hey, don't worry, okay? Your partner will be there on time."

"Anjali will kill me if anything goes wrong!"

"Kuchh galat nahin hoga, baba! You just don't worry! Are you ready? Abhi shuru hi hone wala hai aur tumhaara number pehle hai." (Nothing will go wrong! [...] It's going to start soon and your number is first.)

Khushi nodded, taking a deep breath. She just had to remain calm and concentrate. She could not allow herself to even think about the man she had slapped in the face days ago, especially. He unsettled to the point that... No. These coming days were going to be very special for her best-friend and she could not at all ruin any of it. Anjali and Shyam had already had to go through a lot to get this wedding happen...

"Khushi? Are you coming?"

***

She tapped her foot lightly with the beat as the music, willing her cheekiness to take over and her smile naturally stretched itself on her lips. Her cheery self was back and she could swear her mind was completely off a particular man as she whipped around, her lips shaping themselves around the lyrics.

The loud claps and whistles only widened her grin and boosted her confidence as she shimmied to the front.

Smirking, Khushi shot a quick wink at the crowd, raising more cheers. For a moment, she worried about NK. Where was he? He was supposed to make his entry in just seconds.

Hum lut gaye ainvayi aake tere mohalle (x4)

She turned to the other side, from where NK was supposed to enter, haughtily and her eyes wide-opened with feigned surprise, expecting her friend, but instead, she found the man she had been trying to forget, his eyebrows raised and he sauntered mockingly towards her and her mouth fell open. This time, her surprise was for real!

***

All his tension drained away the moment her jaw dropped. The expression on her face was truly priceless and he knew it was going to have a good time on this stage, even if it lasted for just a few minutes. With a teasing grin, he bumped his hips into her and she almost toppled over but he caught her arm on the nick of time, dragged her back against him and flung an arm around her before circling her around roughly.

He released her abruptly and she stumbled slightly, unstable on her feet. He noticed that her mouth was still comically hanging open. It took an extreme willpower not to laugh at her but he managed to keep his face straight as he kept dancing his part, starting to enjoy the attention from the crowd.

As per the choreography, he and the other men circled about the girls, dancing goofily. He saw her blink quickly as the realisation set in and something akin to the fury he had witnessed when she had slapped him flared in her dark eyes again. He would have expected her to lash out on him but she didn't. She simply fixed her glare on him, her eyes silently promising to make him pay for whatever this was, as she caught herself and started dancing too. He knew the price for this was going to be very high but he was having fun. Surely, it would be totally worth it!

Her venomous look was supposed to scare him but he only chuckled heartily. God, she was beautiful... He lifted an eyebrow and she suddenly moved in on him.

Kara lo ji, kara lo, dil ki FD kara lo

At the word dil' she thumped her fist on her chest. She was not supposed to do it very hard, but she did it hard enough to make him lose his breath. Dammit! This woman could definitely be stronger than a woman when she wanted to! Both the pain and the choreography fell him to his knees but he kept his taunting expression, no matter what, and that did have the desired effect. She got even more riled up.

Angootha bhi lagwalo, dil pheinka tujhpar

He winked cheekily, throwing his hands up at her, in the gesture of giving her his heart and he got a disgusted look in exchange. He could have laughed at how perfect this song was for them right now. He flashed a grin at her, which made her face fall in exasperation, as if she were on the point of breaking into hot, angry tears.

Hum lut gaye ainvayi aake tere mohalle

***

She felt like she could lift something - anything - and whack him on the head with it as she watched him lip sync to the cheesy lines and dance like a complete goofball. And at the same time, a small vulnerable part of her wanted to get her hands firmly around the collar of his pristine white shirt, drag him down to her and kiss him senseless. She didn't know what he had done to NK, she didn't know what he was planning to do to her, but she knew he was being painstakingly adorable. She could act like it was not working on her but he was definitely winning this.

He dropped his head on her shoulder as his part began and she ducked away quickly but that did not stop him from chasing her.

She slapped the hand he had latched around her wrist to pull her against him and stepped away.

He audaciously pushed his tongue into his cheek, his eyes never leaving her, and, grabbing her by the elbow, he twirled her around.

Badha lo ji, badha lo, relationwa badha lo

She narrowed her eyes in warning but the man did not look scared at all. Half her heart was melting for him already...

Nainon ke penchh lada lo aajaao na chat par

He returned with his silly dance, flapping his jacket around him and she had to bite the insides of her cheeks to keep herself from smiling. He looked like a stupid over-grown penguin.

***

He wondered of this grin was ever going to leave his face. Not that he minded! The anger was not dimming from her eyes either but he had certainly not missed the crack that was starting to form in the dam. The plan was working!

Hum lut gaye ainvayi aake tere mohalle (x2)

And oh! He was definitely enjoying himself. This was even better than a presentation, in the end. Well, given that Khushi was his partner - rather, his unwilling and angry partner. But he was ready to do it for her again. Hell, he was willing to do anything for her! How could he have been so stupid?

He went down on his knees and winked at her again, making her roll her eyes.

Deewane hain dilon ko hum toh jodeinge

She slapped her dupatta in his face as she turned on her heels, pretending to leave.

Na ghar ka tumhein ghaat ka na chhodeinge

His hand fisted around the end of the cloth and he tugged, lightly but hard enough to catch her attention.

Kyun paas na aati hai kheencha taani se

Scowling, she grasped it to try and free it, causing an impromptu tug of war to arise.

Hum popular hain apni manmaani se

And he kept pulling her to him slowly, inch by inch even as she tried to resist.

She put a good resistance but not really enough to get out of his grasp, and he had to admit he was not even trying hard enough to hold on to her dupatta. At the end of the song, however, she gruffly snatched the cloth from him and stormed off-stage, leaving him alone with the other dancers. Arnav awkwardly bobbed into a gauche curtsey to thank the audience for their applause, still grinning widely.

~~~

Song: Tere Mohalle
Movie: Besharam