Chapter 21

He moved closer to her and she moved back. All his inner desires and passion, that he was unable to control, was displayed in his eyes for her to see; for her to witness; for her to enjoy today. He had not worn his shirt. His trousers were a lil below his hips. She scanned his perfectly toned body with 6 pack abs. She drooled over his chiseled chest. She had fantasized innumerable times of resting her head on that rock solid chest. He looked like some Hollywood actor. He was on fire today. She was scared of him; his new desires. She tried to scream but her voice just did not support her today. She tried to move back. But, it was the end. There was a wall behind. He came close to her. She tried to move away from him from the left and the right side. But, he kept his strong arms on either side. He closed in on her. She had worn the same perfume that always drove him crazy. He came close to her. She closed her eyes. He proceeded towards her ear and huskily said, "I know, you want me too. I can see it in your eyes". Sanyukta was startled hearing this. Afraid and scared, she hesitantly said,

Sanyukta: (With a trembling voice) "Sssir, (pause)...you are getting me wrong...(pause) let me go!"

He kept a finger on her lips. She felt a shockwave pass through her body.

Vardaan: (Huskily) "Sshh! I really enjoy your sweet nothing talks. But today, I want to feast on something else, Sanyu!"

Sanyukta was surprised on hearing "Sanyu" from him.

He kept his hands on her hips and pulled her towards him. She collided on his chiselled chest. As a reflex, she kept her one hand on his chest. He smirked at this. Without wasting anytime, his lips landed on her lips. Furiously and rapidly, he started placing wet kisses on her lips; taking her lips entirely in his mouth. She tried to push him. But, he was way too strong for her. She tried to free his grip on her. But, the more she did that, the more he pressed her hips. She started hitting on his chest. But, those were like tickles for him. He was too rough on her. She had sealed her lips completely in fear. He wanted to enter her mouth. He kissed them, sucked them and licked them with all the love and care in the world. But, she just did not budge. So, he bit on her lips hard. She gasped in pain. Taking this opportunity, his tongue wandered in her mouth. And, in no time started sucking on to her tongue. Sanyukta was in a different world now. All this was very new to her. Damn, this feeling was even better than scoring the highest in his subject. She stopped hitting and pushing him away and was now reciprocating his actions. Vardaan pulled her close to her. Their bodies were now stuck to each other, inseparable and grinding on each other. Her hands were going everywhere on his body and was running through his hair. They stopped for sometime to breathe some oxygen and again started the process of discovering each other. His hands were now inside her kurta, on her bare back. A shiver ran through her body. He opened her bra hooks and his hands glided on her soft skin towards her breast.

"Sanyu, Sanyu, Sanyu!!!! We'll be late for Vardaan Sir's class. There are rumours that he'll be taking a test today. Get up", Kaustuki screamed with so much intensity that the entire building of the hostel would collapse.

Sanyukta sprang from the bed hearing the word test'. She was sweating from head to toe, even though the fan was rotating in its full speed. She was just stunned by her recent dream. She was finding it hard to digest that she was dreaming about Vardaan and too such a dream. She was ashamed of herself.

Kaustuki: "Hey, kya hua? Tum theek ho. Koi bura sapna dekha kya?"

Kaustuki shook her best friend. Sanyukta came out of trance.

Sanyukta: "Huh..haa...I mean nahi. Kuch bhi nahi. Chal, I'll take a shower."

She rushed to the bathroom to have a shower and brush away things about her dream.

Sanyukta: (Thinking) "Nahi Sanyu. Yeh sahi nahi hai. Kya ho gaya hai tujhe? Keep him far from yourself. He is a professor. But, he kissed me. What's going on in his mind? Does he like me? So what? That does not give you the rights to start dreaming such things about your professor. Yaa, you're right."

As a punishment, she slapped herself twice or thrice and came out of the bathroom and was ready in minutes to go to college. "God, how will I face him now? What if he comes to know about this dream? What nonsense? How will he come to know, what I dream? Chill, Sanyu. You are thinking too much", she assured herself.

She entered the class only to see him sitting on the table and smirking at her. She became conscious. She narrowed her eyes and eyebrows and looked at him. She then did her eyebrows up and down, indirectly questioning him, "what happened? Why are you smirking?" He smiled and shook his left and right indicating - nothing. All the students entered the class and he started with his lecture. The students were relieved thinking there was no test today. He started teaching and all the students concentrated on his lecture. Sanyukta was even recording his lecture. There was 30 minutes for the lecture to get over, when Vardaan cleaned the board and wrote the word "TEST" on it. The students held their heads in despair, and he could hear words like "Oh Sh*t, Oh god help me etc etc." There was one peculiar voice he caught that said, "How Sadist!" He exactly knew the source of this - Sanyukta Agarwal. He turned back to the class to be precise to Sanyukta. He saw that she folded her hands in anger, pressed her juicy lips and was giving death glares to him from those already killer eyes, shaking her head left to right. He smirked and smiled and again turned back to the board to write the questions. There were 3 numericals. There was no use of copying each other's answers coz nobody knew anything; except the genius Sanyukta Agarwal. She could solve 2 of them after racking her brains to the core. She drew an angry smiley at the end of her answer. Kaustuki could solve one, all thanks to Sanyukta. They had cracked a similar sum few days back sitting in the library. The time was up and the students one by one came to submit the paper. Sanyukta gave her answer sheet to Kaustuki to collectively submit them. Kaustuki went towards the table to keep the answer sheets, when Vardaan's pen fell from it. She picked it up and carefully looked at it. It had the same initials that Vidhushi was talking about a few before - VS. She had a good look at it before returning it back to Vardaan.

Days and weeks passed by. The semester exams also finished. This time, they did not have a vacation. Instead, they had some extra classes to help them become fit for the internship placements The results came and was put up in the notice board. The students rushed to see it. Sanyukta and Kaustuki were struggling behind all the students to get a glimpse of their marks. Just then Yoyo came to them.

Yoyo: "Oh ji..yeh lo ji mithai. Main iss baar bhi grace marks se paas ho gaya."

Kaustuki: "Just shut up yoyo! Dekh nahi rahe, ke hum dono ko apna result bhi dekhna hai."

Yoyo: "Bas, inni si baat. Baat yeh hai ji, jab peon yeh result laga raha than na, tab maine iski photo leli thi."

Kaustuki and Sanykta: (Screaming together) "What! Really! Toh jaldi dihao abhi, please, please!"

Yoyo: "Oh ho ho...inni soni kudiyo ko kaun mana kar sakta hai. Ek second ji...abhi dikhata hu."

Both the girls eagerly waited for him to show the pic. They snatched the phone from him, zoomed the pic and scanned for kaustuki's name on it. She scored 80%.

Sanyukta: "Woww...Congrats"

They hugged each other. Sanyukta started searching for her name. They found it and looked at the row corresponding to her name. She directly went to the column under "Cost Management". She scored 95 marks in it.

Sanyukta: "Woww...I again topped in Vardaan Sir's subject. I can't believe this."

She jumped with joy. Kaustuki was surprised. She said, "Sanyukta, apna pura result nahi dekhna kya?" Sanyukta again looked at the pic and she had scored 92%. She stood second in the class. Kaustuki came forward to hug her. Next, Yoyo came to hug her. Sanyukta happily hugged him too. Yoyo froze to the spot. They gave the phone back to Yoyo.

Yoyo: "Oji, ek baat samajh anhi aati...itni khoobsurathi maintain karte hue...apko padhai karne ka time kaha se milta hai?"

Both the girls, just ignored his comment and just walked away.

Vardaan and Dean were busy in shortlisting the best companies, contacting them, and dealing with the other contract related stuff.

Dean: "Kuch bhi bolo Vardaa, iss baar ki batch thodi different hai. They have a good mix of students from all the academic backgrounds. In such situations, there is a good flow of different ideas. What say?"

Vardaan: "Absolutely. You remember, I always talk about the chaos theory? It will be applicable to this batch."

Dean: (Laughing) "Aur who ladki, Sanyukta. Suna hai usne iss baar bhi bhi tumhare subject mein top kiya hai. Be careful Vardaan, she is not easily going to get into your trap when you set the toughest paper every year. Chalo, itne saalo baad koi toh tumhare takkar ka koi toh mila. Kisi ne toh tumhe haraaya."

Vardaan: (Mumbling) "Aur iss bar haarke bhi jeetne jaise feeling aa rahi hai."

Dean: "Huh..kuch kaha tumne?"

Vardaan nodded no. He started thinking about her and was smiling. Man, he was missing her and her antics. Sanyukta and the first ranker had the highest chances of getting selected for the best companies, especially Sanyukta as she has scored the highest in his subjects consecutively. Moreover, she was much more than just a bookworm. Her resume had an extensive list of extracurricular activities too. Vardaan had handled this processing for years, but doing it this year gave him immense satisfaction. May be because, that in some way he was creating Sanyukta's future. Few days passed by. It was evening and he was packing his stuff and was ready to head home. Just then he got a call from the best company in India. The HR said that they would be visiting the campus and they would like to interview the top 30 students. Vardaan asked the HR about the job profile, the job description and the stipend. He called the admin department and told to get him the list of top 30 students immediately. He sent a peon to get the list. The peon got it. He looked at the list and was shocked to see that Sanyukta's name was not in that list. He called the admin department again and told them that they sent him a wrong list. The admin department assured him that they had got the final list of internship placements from the Dean himself. He kept the receiver.

Vardaan: (thinking) "How can this happen? Sure there is some mistake. I'll go check with the Dean."

He went to the Dean's cabin and demanded.

Vardaan: "What the hell is this? Sanyal Enterprises ke HR ne call kiya mujhe. Top 20 students ka list maanga hai. Admin department ke list mein Sanyukta ka naam kyun nahi hai?"

Dean: "Calm down Vardaan. List mein uska name isiliye nahi hai because she has opted out of campus placements. Ye dekho uska application letter and she herself has signed it."

Vardaan read it and looked at the sign. He was stunned. He stormed out of the cabin.

Vardaan: (Thinking) "Why the hell did she do that? Itna bright future hai uske saamne, aur usne yeh kiya? Itna bachpana hai iss ziddi ladki mein? I have to talk to her."

He called her up. Sanyukta was surprised at the same time happy to see his name on the mobile screen. She picked it up immediately.

Sanyukta: "Hello Sir."

Vardaan: "Abb..bb...are you busy Sanyukta?"

Sanyukta: "Umm...yeahh...I was busy. But, you are lucky. I just finished doing my riyaas."

Vardaan: "Good. Then come and meet me on the terrace. Not now. At 8 PM."

Sanyukta couldn't believe her ears. The phone fell from her hands in shock. She quickly picked it up and again regained her composure.

Sanyukta: "Abb...Ok Sir. As you wish."

She jumped with joy. Kaustuki asked her, "Kya baat hai? Kis ka phone tha? Bohot khush lag rahi ho?" Sanyukta tried to control blushing and said, "kuch nahi. Bas ye, credit card walo ka phone tha."

She looked at herself in front of mirror. She was sweating from top to bottom, after all she just finished her riyaas. She rushed to the bathroom for a quick shower. After that, she had a tough time selecting what to wear. After trying out all permutations and combinations, she selected a cream color kurta and dark blue denims as bottom. She was ready in 15 minutes She looked stunning with minimal make up. Kaustuki was now definitely sure that there is something Sanyukta is hiding. She had to ask her soon. Sanyukta was the first to reach on the terrace. She had a good look at the place. She recollected the first time Vardaan tried to kiss her here. He looked mentally disturbed at that time. She blushed thinking about that moment. She didn't realize when he arrived. He called out to her. She did not listen. He tapped her shoulder to bring her out of her thoughts. He came and stood exactly in front of her. Wind was blowing in the direction of her face. Her hair was resting on one shoulder. Her silver jhumkas were shining in the minimal light that was available. She looked stunning. Her eyes were unable to meet his. He saw that she was trying to hide her blush. He was ready to drool over her, but he regained his composure. He had to talk business today.

Vardaan: "Bolo. Jaldi. Kyun bulaya hai mujhe?"

Sanyukta: (Blushing) "Sir, main kya bolu. Aap ne mujhe bulaya hai yaha."

Vardaan hit himself mentally at his foolishness.

Vardaan: "Huhh...yea yaa! So Miss Agarwal, is it true that you have opted out of campus placements?"

Sanyukta saw it coming. Whenever, Vardaan called her by her surname, it always meant that something is serious.

Sanyukta: (Hesitantly) "Woh, woh Sir...(pause)..umm...that is something personal."

Vardaan: "No, it's not personal. I demand an answer."

Sanyukta looked at him in surprise.

I mean, I am handling the campus placements of students every year. I read your application letter and I want a better reason for you to not sit in the campus placement.

Sanyukta: (disheartened) "Oh, so this is the reason you called me here."

Vardaan: (Screaming) "Yes, Ms Agarwal. Now, open your mouth and tell me the damn reason. You have no idea what you are doing. The best company has called me up today. Itna knowledge, itne talent ko apne paas rakh kar, sirf kathak karna chaahti ho tum. Kitna kuch seekhne milega tumhe waha. You are just a step away from a great future. You will go places with this company. Yeh sab khel lagta hai tumko. Har waqt bachpana, har waqt bachpana!"

Tears were at the brim of her eyes. She couldn't control herself.

Sanyukta: "That's enough Sir. Bina kuch jaane aap mujhpe chillaye jaa rahe hai. Aap reason jaana chaahte the na, toh suniye. Haa maine campus placement se apna naam hatwa diya hai. Kyunki main apni dad ki company join kar rahi hu. Dad ki company loss mein jaa rahi hai. Every decision that they took, turned out to be wrong. They are out of ideas. Shares are falling down every day. Investors are backing out. The bank is calling him every day about the situation of the company. Employees are worried. These are the employees who've been with the company from Day 1. They've put in a hard work and seeing their company die a lil every day is not easy. They need somebody with a fresh outlook, fresh talent. They need somebody with new ideas. They are ready to hire some talented person from a good institute. But, the fact of the matter remains, that good institute students don't want to get into such companies. They want to get into companies, who would provide them with a luxurious office, AC cabin, a sexy secretary and a hefty pay package to take home. But at the end of the day, I don't think that will give me any satisfaction. The happiness and relief that I would get by bringing my company back to business is much huge than this internship programme that the college provides. If I have that commendable knowledge, then why should I use it for somebody else? Can you imagine, I can learn so much by working on live projects. What will I get if I work for somebody else? Only a thick stipend when my own company would be in pieces."

She was in tears now. Vardaan was stunned hearing all this. He was tongue tied and also ashamed. He felt like saluting her. Not everybody thinks like her, especially girls of her age. He felt like Niharika was standing on front of him and talking. Even her thought process was similar to her. She would jump to help anybody in need. He used to call her "Jhaansi ki Rani". When it came to her father, she would be ready to do anything. Sanyukta was made of the same material. Only, different packaging. He thought, "Her father is so lucky to have her as a daughter." Vardaan hung his head. He heard her crying. He provided her his handkerchief. She didn't take it. He came close to her, held her face in his hands and wiped her tears. She still did not look at him and was still crying. She just could not control it. She hugged him and was now crying even more. She closed her eyes. It's been ages, she hadn't cried like this before. He hugged her back. He held her shoulders and was lost in her hair. He wanted to protect her from the entire world. He kissed her head with all his love and caressed her back. She was lost in his world. His chiselled chest cushioned her face and she never felt so secure her entire life. She realized that she missed him. His affectionate touch. When he kissed her head, she felt shockwaves pass through her body. She had felt the same, when he had kissed her in his home. She did not want to leave him. She hugged him tight. After what seemed to be an eternity, they slowly broke the hug. Her hair was all over her face. He carefully tucked them behind her ears. He cupped her face and made her look at him.

Vardaan: "You are doing the right thing. And today, I am very proud of you. Even your father would be very proud of you. Listen, if you need any help, kisi kaam mein bhi agar tum atak gayi ho, agar samajh nahi aa raha ke kya karna hai, so please free to contact me. Day or night, I will be always there for you. Mujhe tum par pura bharosa hai. Tum ek din apni company ko wapas uske sahi jagah pe laaogi."

She smiled listening to his motivational speech. Slowly he removed his hand from her face and moved back.

Sanyukta: "Thank you Sir. I hope now you got your answer and..."

Her cell phone rang. Kaustuki was on the line. She answered it.

Sanyukta: "Sir, I have to leave. It seems the warden will be closing the gates."

Vardaan: "No problem. You go. Be careful."

Sanyukta: "And you?"

Vardaan: "I stay for some more time here. I like this place."

She smiled and left the place. Vardaan was totally in awe of this girl.