New FF- Unexpected Love-Part 25 Pg 86- 11/12/2015 - Page 12

Kalpi entered her room muttering to herself. "What is his problem? One moment he was sharing his life story with me and next minute he treats me like a stranger". But suddenly the thoughts of Vihaan's pain came crowding back into her mind. She thought to herself, "He has undergone so much pain and suffering, even though I knew about his parent's death, I never expected those wounds to be still so raw." She suddenly felt her cheeks getting wet again and she felt surprised at herself. "Why did his pain move me so much? Why did I feel his pain in my heart? He is the great Vihaan Malhotra, but for the 1^st time I felt a human vulnerability in him and it moved me so much." She was suddenly reminded of the hug she had given Vihaan and she felt her cheeks redden. "How had she grown so bold as to hug a guy who was her employer? No wonder he had thrown her out of his room. He must have thought her exceeding her boundaries beyond the limit". The last thought she had as she laid on her bed was how she would face Vihaan tomorrow.

Vihaan kept staring at the door through which Kalpana exited the study. He could not believe what had just happened in that room. "How could I have made myself so vulnerable in front of her? How could I have shared things which I had never told anyone before? No one except my Naani and my friends in USA know about my drug abuse and stint in rehab. Why did I tell her these things, when I have never shared these things with even my closest friends? Why does she make me behave differently from the way behave normally. She makes me angry, she makes me laugh, she makes me feel vulnerable and every time she surprises me with a new aspect of her character. Today she made me laugh and then she made me cry. She is not good for the peace of my mind", he thought. "I am not going to allow myself to ever get close to her again. I will treat her as an employee and nothing else", he resolved firmly.

Kalpi sleep was restless and she was wide awake at 5.00 am. She knew that even if she tried she would not be able to go back to sleep again. She decided to go for a swim. She had asked permission from Naani for swimming in their pool. She had told Naani how much she loved swimming when she stayed at the boarding school and how she had not been able to find a swimming pool with specific timings for ladies near to her house in Delhi and how much she missed swimming. She had assured Naani that she would use the pool only when no one else was using it. Naani told Kalpi that she should go ahead and use the pool as no one other than Vihaan ever used the pool.

Kalpi dressed in a swimsuit. It was a simple one-piece swim-suit in dark purple colour. It was not very revealing but it hugged Kalpi's slender curves and accentuated her perfect figure. Kalpana covered herself in a short white toweling robe and walked towards the pool.

The sun had not yet come out, but the poolside was lit up with shaded lamps which made the pool look absolutely gorgeous. Kalpi smiled unconsciously as the pool seemed to be calling out to her.

She discarded the robe and dived into the pool and started swimming. Kalpi thought to herself I must have been a fish in my past life, because given a chance I would live my entire life in water.

Vihaan who himself had spent a restless night had just woken up thirsty. He was just picking up the jug of water when her he heard a splash coming from the pool area and he was startled.

He walked towards the balcony of his room which faced the pool and looked out, only to be to see Kalpi swimming down the pool in elegant strides. She was a beautiful swimmer and Vihaan kept starting at the pool. Suddenly she grabbed hold of the railing and pulled herself up from climbed up to the pool's edge. Vihaan suddenly felt stunned into the realization of Kalpana as a desirable woman. He knew she had a beautiful face, but her petite but lovely body was a total revelation. Vihaan who was used to seeing beautiful women all around him, did not understand why this girl suddenly looked more attractive than any one of them. Maybe because he did not remember the last time he had seen someone so devoid of makeup look so lovely and still so unaware of her good looks. He remembered the last time he had told her that she used her looks to get her work done, she had seemed really surprised.

Vihaan was not a playboy, as he believed in true love like the one his parent's had. He had women throwing themselves at him, but he never took up on their offers. Kalpana had never thrown herself at him nor did she use any feminine wiles to attract him, but she still intrigued him. He had only one serious relationship in his life and they had parted as friends, so it really surprised him to feel drawn towards her.

All his resolutions of keeping away from her suddenly got swept away. He dressed himself in his swimming trunks and walked towards the pool. Kalpana was blissfully unaware of his presence till he jumped into the pool. Kalpana stride suddenly faltered and she looked back sputtering, only to see Vihaan swim towards her.

Kalpana swum towards the shallow end of the pool and made a move to pull herself out of the pool when Vihaan reached her and asked, "What are you doing?"

"I am really sorry, I did not know you wanted to use the pool in the morning. I had asked your Naani for permission. I will leave now and you can have the pool to yourself. I will ensure this never happens again", Kalpi spoke hastily.

"Why should I object to you using this pool. It is an Olympic sized pool and there is enough space for a delicate creature like you to swim here without disturbing me", he said with his eyes on her slender figure. Vihaan looked at her and thought she looks absolutely spectacular without a stitch of makeup. Her perfect features required no enhancement. The light around the pool made her look like a river nymph. Kalpi who was distinctly uncomfortable with by her proximity to Vihaan's naked chest, suddenly felt very shy. She could feel a blush stain her entire body and she felt speechless.

"No, I will leave. I have already finished my swim", Kalpi said and turned to grab the railing again. Vihaan who did not want her to leave, instinctively held her waist and turned her towards him. Their bodies were almost touching and the heat generated seemed to warm up the water.

Kalpi felt strange fluttering in the pit of her stomach and Vihaan felt his heart beating faster. Kalpi had lowered her eyes shyly and suddenly lifted her eyes towards Vihaan and he was totally mesmerized by its beauty. Kalpi and Vihaan started into each other's eyes, black eyes meeting intense green ones. Both were lost in each other for a lengthy moment. Kalpi was the first to break the trance and said, "Vihaan, please leave me. I need to go. I am tired, as I have already swum many laps." Vihaan suddenly felt angry and desolate as he did not want her to go. She pulled herself to the poolside and grabbed her toweling robe and removed her cap. Vihaan was awestruck to see her lovely hair fall down in long waves. He suddenly felt very angry at himself for getting so affected by someone who was nobody and called out, "Don't you ever divulge what I told you yesterday to anyone and don't try to sell my story to some tabloid or you will have hell to pay."

Kalpana who hated herself for getting so affected by Vihaan suddenly felt righteous anger take over her and she shouted back, "How dare you think I would do such a thing. I know we have been working together only for a short time, but I think you would know by now that I would never stoop so low".

Vihaan said, "As you said before, you work for me, we are not friends that we know everything about each other".

Kalpi suddenly felt tears fill her eyes at Vihaan's rudeness and she ran inside the house. "Why does his being rude to me affect me so much. He is just my boss and I need to be more resilient" Kalpi thought.

"I am not a person to pick up fights , but why does every encounter of ours end up in a fight." Vihaan wondered.