RAGNA SS:MY lady love Ms.Santa claus(chap20 updated -83)(27/10/16 IST) - Page 15

RAGHAV...

"Hey there," she said, coming closer.

"Hey."

"Are you ready to do my bidding for a day?"

"What does your "bidding" entail?" I asked her.

"We are going to spend the day doing all things Christmassy," she said. I felt the trepidation in my stomach begin to spread across the excitement, swallowing it whole and leaving me only with the dread.

"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea," I said.

"Why?" she asked. "You obviously already re-arranged your schedule so you could be here. Don't back out now, please."

I realized something new right then, when I looked into her eyes I could hardly remember the word, "No." I usually didn't do anyone else's bidding unless it was beneficial to me. This was not going to be beneficial but I still couldn't turn her down.

"Okay," I said, "What's first?" I was sorry I'd asked.

"Ice-skating," she said with what I'd only have to describe as an evil grin.

"Oh no... I don't think so." I said it steadily without a trace of the anxiety I was feeling coming through.

"Did I say no when you sent me an elf costume to wear? Did I balk at

wearing it to the office even?"

I'd never been ice-skating in my life. I looked over towards the pond at the people sailing across the ice and a few of them making their way across like a newborn deer and I knew which one I was going to look like. This is why I hadn't felt anxiety in years. I didn't set myself to do things that would make me look like a fool... ever.

"I don't know how," I said at last. I hadn't wanted to admit that, but maybe it would make her change her mind.

"I'll teach you," she said. Then as if that had settled it she asked me, "What size skates do you need?"

"Kalpana, really..."

"Come on Raghav, live a little. I'm not asking you to risk your life. I think you'll like it, but if you don't at least you tried it and you know for sure, right?"

"Eleven and a half," I said. I suppose she was right. I might come off the ice with a bruised ego, but I'd live. I did always think it looked like fun. I reached for my wallet but Kalpana was having none of it.

"Huh uh, I'm the boss today, I'm buying."

That confused me more than the ice-skating. I always bought no matter where I went or who I was with.

"I really don't mind..."

"Listen, I don't care if you are one of the richest men in the world. This entire day is my treat, okay? Stop resisting everything, you'll never have any fun if you don't relax."

This was all so strange to me. For years now, when I took anyone out I

made the plans and I paid for it all.

.

"I'll try." I intended to try, but I definitely couldn't make her any promises.

She grinned and said, "That's the spirit!" Everything she did was with such passion. I was realizing that it was hard not to get caught up in it, even for me. Her energy was all positive and it just drew me in. I watched her go and get our skates and pay for our passes. She smiled at every person she passed and they all smiled back. It would be impossible not to. Her smile was infectious. I was quickly discovering that her attitude was too.

She came back with the skates and we sat down on the bench next to the ice-rink. While I changed out of my shoes and into the skates I watched the people on the ice falling and laughing. I saw the couples holding hands and the parents chasing their children. I knew Kalpana was right, I did things that made me comfortable and that mostly made me happy, but I really didn't know how to do things that were purely for fun.

"Ready?" she asked with a smile.

"As I'll ever be, I suppose," I told her. She giggled, like a schoolgirl and stood up. Then she reached out for me and my adventures on the ice began.

Kalpana, it turned out was a fabulous ice-skater. She turned around

backwards, facing me and took both of my hands. As soon as she pulled me onto the ice I felt like the world was falling out from under me. I was concentrating hard, trying to pretend like I did this all the time when all I could think about was that if I fell; I was going to take her down with me. I pictured myself, crushing this delicate girl and being unable to get enough traction to get back up. The thought of it mortified me. I watched a couple skate by holding hands and looking happy. I wanted to trip them. I kept looking down at my feet, willing them to get some traction and begging

them to keep me upright.

"Look at my face," she said. I glanced up and then back down. She laughed.It was hard for me to get used to being laughed at. People may want to laugh at me sometimes, but they don't. Everyone wants to be best friends with a billionaire so they agree with everything I do and say. As much as Kalpana's attitude towards me surprised me, I appreciated it, a lot.

"Don't watch your feet. It's like striking the keys on a keyboard. The more you watch them, the more they're going to mess up. Look at my face and look around at the beautifully decorated trees. Let your feet do the work. It's just like walking, one foot in front of the other. If you ignore them, they'll figure it out on their own."

I glanced back up at her again and felt myself stumble. She moved her body slightly and said,"See, it's okay, I've got you."

"Right," I said. "I outweigh you by at least a hundred pounds. What happens if I fall? You're going to go down with me. What if I crush you?"

She smiled and said, "If we fall, we get back up and hopefully we laugh about it. I know I will, and you should try it as well as opposed to that furrowed brow look you've got going on there. Besides, you're not going to crush me. You worry too much."

It took at least ten minutes, but we made it one whole round around the pond. I had to admit that I did feel a little tingle of accomplishment. It was nothing to brag about, but it was a start. I felt good right up until the point that Kalpana said, "Okay, I think you're ready."

"Ready for what?" I asked, sheer terror gripping at my heart. Was she going to let go of me?

"I'm going to let go of one of your hands and turn around and skate next to you, okay?"

"Sure, I've made one round, I'm an expert now."

"Sarcasm," she said. "I love it." I loved the way her face was flushed from the cold and her eyes sparkled out from underneath the pink knit hat she wore.

She let go of my left hand and I watched her feet glide backwards until she was facing forward and right next to me. She made it look so easy. I couldn't really see myself, but I was sure I made it look ridiculous. I wondered if she was reading my mind somehow because right then she said, "Stop worrying about how you look and relax. Who cares what any of these people think? Chin up, chest out, head held high, and most importantly of all, smile. Have fun!" Easy for her to say, I thought, but I tried. I forced myself to stop looking down at my feet. I stopped looking at the others as they gracefully passed by too. I looked straight ahead and gripped Kalpana's hand like a lifeline. Before I knew it, we'd gone another lap around. On the next lap, Kalpana began singing along with the Christmas song playing in the background. She knew every word and she had a beautiful voice. I was enjoying the serenade so much that I hardly even registered the next lap.

By the time we were on our fourth, or maybe our fifth she said, "Are you ready to solo?" My stomach did somersaults. It was something I hadn't felt since I was a kid. I wasn't ready, I was scared to death. Sometimes in business when I took a big gamble it was scary, but it was a good scary. This was bone-breaking scary. I couldn't admit that out loud though. I had my reputation. Instead, I did what I thought would please her.

"Sure, let's give it a shot," I told her.

"That's the attitude I've been looking for. I knew it was in there

somewhere," she said with a wink. Kalpana smiled and squeezed my hand and then let it go. Although we were both wearing gloves, the first thing I realized was how much colder I felt as soon as I was missing her touch. The next thing I recognized was that I hadn't realized how much she was actually supporting me. I started slipping and sliding and my hands automatically reached out for something to hold onto. I didn't realize it at that moment, but it was like over-correcting in a car when you went into a skid. I grabbed hold of Kalpana without considering the consequences. I heard her squeal as we both went down... hard. I landed on my backside and Kalpana was lying across the top of me. I was glad at least that I didn't crush her. As much as this position would have been something I'd love in another setting, I was completely humiliated as people slid by so effortlessly while I sat on my ass on the cold ice. They seemed to all be smiling too.

Kalpana was squirming, trying to untangle us and it only seemed to tangle us up further. My left leg was twisted backwards at an odd angle and I was afraid I wasn't going to be able to stand back up. Kalpana finally got her legs free and I realized I was still gripping her arm. I let that go and she was sitting on her backside facing me, and she was laughing. She was laughing so hard that she had tears in her eyes.

At last she was able to stop and with an escaped tear rolling down her

cheek, she said, "See there, that wasn't so bad now, was it?" Maybe not, but now I was on my ass on the ice and I had no idea how to stand up.

"I suppose the falling wasn't so bad, but now how do I get back up?" I asked her.

"Watch," she said. She got up on her knees and put one skate underneath her. Using her hands she pushed herself up in what seemed to be one effortless motion. She did make it look easy, although I wasn't going to be fooled into believing it was going to be that easy for me, I felt a little better.

"Now you try it," she said.

I got up on my knees... so far so good. Then I put my hands down on the ice and put one skate underneath me and then... I fell forward, flat on my face.

"Oh my gosh! Raghav! I'm sorry! Are you okay?" Kalpana was suddenly down on the ice next to me. I don't know what happened then. It must have been breathing in her enthusiasm all morning, but the thought of what I had to look like, splayed out on the ice suddenly struck me as funny. I started laughing and I couldn't stop.

"Oh thank goodness, you're okay!" Kalpana said. I reached up and playfully pulled her down on top of me and once again we were both splayed out on the ice. She was laughing too now and it suddenly occurred to me that we were going to have to get back up and that made me want to laugh even more. It was like KALPANA had infected me with her magic and I had to admit that it felt really good.

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