Hey guys...I'm really really sorry for making u all wait for so long for the next update...Thank u for being so patient...:) Here's the next part...Ive tried to make it looong, to make up for this gap...I hope u all like it...:)
Shinzy, This one's for u...😉
Chapter 10:
A ray of light hit her eyes, breaking her deep slumber. She smiled slightly and stretched her arms a little, enjoying the after-effects of the beautiful dream she had been seeing. Dancing and jumping in the rain, on her own feet.
She sat bolt upright, as the impossibility of the dream sunk into her sub-conscious. Slowly, she opened her eyes and was met with unfamiliar surroundings. It all came back as she looked around; she was in Mayank's house, in HIS bedroom. Shaking her head slightly to rid herself of the visions of the dream, she yawned widely as she pulled off the covers. The bedside alarm clock read 8:03 AM. For a change, Nupur was up without any external help, or force, as she liked to call it. Maybe it was the air; maybe it was the fact that she was here; or maybe even the fact that her nervousness and excitement had not toned down even by a notch. Whatever it was, she needed a cup of hot coffee to clear her mind and then move on to the thinking part.
Rubbing her eyes sleepily, she made her way to the kitchen, but what met her sight, once she was out in the hall, made her stop right away.
Mayank slept peacefully on the couch, looking as innocent as one can. His usually neatly spiked hair was ruffled messily and small locks of it fell on his forehead. Nupur couldn't help but move towards him. He looked so adorable – even more adorable than he had when he had been jealous of his mother. A small smile played on his lips, indicating that he was surely dreaming something pleasant. A sense of disappointment washed through her as Nupur realised how much she wanted to know what he was dreaming but couldn't.
Making sure that she didn't make any noise, she sat on the table adjacent to the couch and continued her staring session. A slow smile made its way on her face as she was reminded of his chivalry and how he had offered to sleep out here, despite her repeated pleas, requests, even threats. He just didn't listen to her, even after her trying to reason that he needed a good night's sleep for his hectic shooting schedule. No! Mr.Mayank Sharma was adamant.
An urge took over her as she reached forward and ran her fingers lightly through his hair. She froze as Mayank shifted a little in his sleep for a few seconds and then became still. Phew!! She let out a sigh of relief as she realised how close she had been to getting caught.
"Nupur?? Tum kab uthi?" A loud voice broke the quiet of the hall. She jumped slightly, pulling her hand as she turned sideways to see Shilpa aunty standing a few feet away from them. She had a smug, amused expression on her face as she looked at Nupur, then at Mayank and then back at Nupur. Nupur turned crimson, as the knowledge of her getting caught by Shilpa aunty dawned on her.
At this, Mayank also woke up, annoyed at the shrill sound of his mother's voice.
"Maa!! Kitni baar kaha hai..." He broke off as he opened his eyes to see Nupur sitting there, right next to him and smiled slightly at her. Nupur wished fervently that she could just disappear somewhere or become invisible by some stroke of luck. But, of course, that was just in Harry's luck.
"Good morning, Nupur!" Mayank sat up, enjoying the sight of Nupur blushing. He felt a weird sense of achievement as he guessed the reason for why she was sitting here. Watching me, what else? He smiled wider as she awkwardly muttered a 'good morning' to him, looking everywhere except at him.
"Ahem...Good morning to ho gayi, ab main breakfast banane ja rahi hun..." Shilpa aunty dramatically interrupted the scene in front of her and turned towards the kitchen.
Nupur seemed to come to her senses when she heard the word 'breakfast' and tried to stand up rapidly, quicker than required. The narrow passage between the couch and the table made it impossible for her to turn around at this speed and she lost her balance and was about to fall on the couch, when Mayank caught her securely around the waist and smoothly turned her around to a comfortable sitting position on the couch. Now, they sat inches away from each other, looking into each other's eyes, oblivious to everything else.
She didn't realise how, but her heartbeat shot up the instant Mayank's hands caught her around her waist.
"I told you, I'm right here to catch you..." He spoke softly, making her blush even deeper.
"Till when?" She whispered, more to herself, as she looked away.
"What?"
"Nothing...I – nothing..." She shook her head. "Thanks. Again."
"Don't mention it..." He grudgingly left her waist as he realised that she was fine now. "Umm, what were you doing here?" He tilted his head slightly to observe her reaction more closely, as he struggled to keep a straight face.
"Me? I – I...." She stammered as she looked around and tried to come up with an excuse to justify what she was doing there, sitting on the table. "Mmmm, I was...haan, I came to wake you up...You are getting late for your shoot..." She spoke with total conviction.
"Late?" Confused, he looked at the wall clock. "Nupur, its 8:15...I don't have to reach the set till 11...Remember, I was telling Maa this last night?" He countered, gloating secretly at having caught her lie.
"11??" She looked disappointed. "Haan, toh I forgot na...Ab har cheez thodi na yaad rehti hai..." She made a haughty face, trying to play innocent.
He chuckled. She looked away and stood up. "Late nahi ho rahe ho toh phir se so jao!!" She grumbled. He chuckled some more as she moved to join his mother in the kitchen. He shook his head and smiled affectionately at her retreating figure. Sighing happily, he got up and moved to his bedroom.
**********
Nupur walked into the kitchen, cursing her foolishness. What was the need to go and sit out there?? Nupur, you have gone MAD!! Pata nahi Mayank kya soch raha hoga... She wasn't watching where she was going and as a result, she bumped into Shilpa aunty, who was bent down and taking out the milk container from the refrigerator.
"Ouch!" She yelped.
"Sorry aunty, sorry aunty...maine aapko dekha nahi...I'm so sorry!!" Nupur frantically apologised as Shilpa straightened to look at her.
"Haan beta, ab mujhe kahan koi dekhega? Ab to..." She let her double-meaning sentence trail off, eyeing Nupur mischieviously.
Nupur blushed, yet again. Whoever's said this has never been more right – Out of the frying pan and into the fire. That's exactly how Nupur felt at the moment; especially coz she didn't even know for how long Shilpa aunty had been watching her, staring at her son. This definitely topped her list of most embarrassing situations; even above the time when she had mistakenly forwarded her boss, the list of top ten honeymoon destinations, instead of her newly-married cousin. She had even added little anecdotes of her own after each destination. Oh, that had been embarrassing. But not more than this.
"Nahi aunty, aisi – aisi koi baat nahi hai...Vo main bas aise hi..." She tried to reason out.
Shilpa took pity on the poor, harassed soul. "It's ok, beta...Main to mazak kar rahi thi...Main coffee banane jaa rahi hun, tum piogi?"
"Aunty, main banati hun na!" She took the milk container from her. "Main bahut achchi coffee banati hun..."
Shilpa aunty laughed at her self-praise. "Achcha? Mayank ke saamne mat kehna...According to him, woh World ki Best coffee banata hai..."
"Really aunty? And according to you?" Nupur asked as she lit the stove and placed a pan on it.
"Umm..." She pretended to think for a while "He's right!" She accepted in defeat, with a fake sigh. Nupur laughed with her.
"Phir toh peeni hi padhegi..." Nupur commented.
"Banda haazir hai!" Mayank spoke up from the kitchen entrance.
"Huh?" was all she could say.
Mayank covered the distance in a few long strides and took charge of the pan.
"You said it!" He smiled widely at her and his mom and reached for the coffee powder and milk container.
"Sahi hai...Waise bhi aaj teri turn thi...Main office ke liye late ho rahi hun..." Shilpa grabbed an apple from the fruit basket.
"Maa, coffee?" Mayank called out.
"Office mein le lungi...Main to tere liye hi bana rahi thi..." She walked back and gave Nupur a hug, taking her by surprise. "Aaj bahut din baad iss lazy bones ne kuch kaam kiya...yeh uske liye..." She winked at her, as Mayank groaned in denial.
"Acha Mayu, main jaa rahi hun...Shaam ko shayad late ho jaungi...Koi foreign delegates aa rahe hain..." She moved forward and kissed him on his cheek, despite his repeated attempts to prevent it.
"Bye Maaaa!!!" He yelled irritably as he got rid of her clutches. Nupur giggled on seeing the two of them. They had such an easy-going relationship; more like best pals and less like mother-son.
"Bye aunty..." Nupur walked with her till the main door to see her off. She felt complete; like she was a part of this family. Smiling, she walked back to the kitchen.
Main bana rahi thi na?" Nupur told Mayank, as she leaned against the kitchen counter, watching him at work.
He looked at her and continued to stir the pan expertly. She rolled her eyes at his show-off act.
"So, Miss, what would you like to accompany your coffee with?" He put on a fake professional voice.
"What's the chef's speciality?" She played along, smiling widely.
"Umm, how about some French toast?"
"You know how to make that?" She raised her brows disbelievingly.
"You are shocked." It was not a question.
"Not shocked." He raised a brow at her. "Oh well, ok, yeah...I AM shocked."
"Let me prove it then..." He put the coffee to simmer and took out some eggs from the fridge.
She watched quietly and obviously in awe, as he quickly finished the entire cooking process flawlessly. Once it was ready, he laid the entire table for them and then led her to the table.
She sat down and smiled up at him, waiting for him to sit too. She was feeling like a princess, with the way he was treating her. She was so glad that he was hers...He is, right? She quickly brushed that random question aside and took a sip of the coffee. He sat next to her and looked at her expectantly.
"It's the best..." She spoke honestly, truly. He smiled widely and sipped on his own cup.
It would have probably been like any other coffee, but for Nupur, it was truly the World's Best Coffee, coz it had been prepared with so much love, care and affection for her. It couldn't have been better.
She took a bite of the French toast. "Wow!! I'm seriously impressed! Tum itna acha khana banate ho? How come I didn't know??"
"You don't know a lot many things yet!" He muttered to himself.
"Hmmm?"
"Kuch nahi...To, tum World ki best coffee piyo..." He smiled at her.
She smiled back, and they ate, enjoying the beauty of the bond that was building between them and the ease of each other's company.
**********
"I'll go get ready now...It's almost 10...Or else, I'll actually be late..." Mayank emphasised on the 'actually', hinting at morning's incident. Nupur slapped his arm playfully, in retaliation.
He laughed and left the kitchen, after being threatened to be thrown out, coz he wouldn't let her clear the dishes alone. When she finally picked up the 'belan' and headed towards him threateningly, he made a dash from the place, laughing hard at her antics.
He felt so good to have her around. So good, that he just didn't want to go for the shoot also. Ok, that was not exactly good, but he couldn't help it. After a long time, he had actually cooked, for someone he loved. His mother would usually leave by the time he was ready and he returned home much past their dinner time, so he had not really been able to do that for some time. It made him realise how he was losing out on the precious time that he used to spend with his mom earlier. He made a mental note to do something about it.
Quickly gathering his towel, he moved to the bathroom.
In the meantime, Nupur cleared everything from the table and rinsed the utensils. Once she was done, she sat at the table when she suddenly remembered that she had left the bedcovers in a messy pile. Without thinking, she got up and moved towards Mayank's bedroom and started folding the covers, when she heard the bathroom door click open.
Before she could react, Mayank was out. He was dressed in a black vest and (thankfully), his tracks. Call it her absolute lack of sense, but she couldn't help but stare blatantly at him as she caught a glimpse of his well-built, muscular body, quite evident from his vest's perfect fit and his broad shoulders, which were still slightly wet from the shower.
Droplets of water fell from his hair as he tried to unsuccessfully dry his hair with a towel. He had still not noticed her standing at the other side of the room as he directly made a dash for his cupboard. He turned around to throw the towel on the bed and stilled at his spot on seeing her. He noticed her fixed glance on him and found himself losing in it.
As if being ruled by an external force, Nupur walked up to him, holding tightly on her clutch, not breaking eye contact. He watched her coming closer to him; he had no clue what was happening but he sure didn't want to put an end to it. She finally reached him and slowly took the towel from his hand. Tugging at his hand, she pulled him towards the bed and gestured him to sit. He sat down quietly, not yet sure what she wanted.
Once he was seated, Nupur left her clutch and leaned against the bed. Quietly, she started drying his hair with the towel. He smiled up at her slowly, as he finally understood what she had in mind. She too smiled, as she slowly massaged his head. They got entirely lost in the moment and in each other. After a few seconds, Mayank pulled her down and she sat, right in front of him.
He looked deeply into her eyes, the passion surrounding them overcoming his control. He cupped her cheeks with his hands and stroke them softly with his thumb. He tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear. As he leaned closer, she closed her eyes. Her pulse quickened at the thought of what was coming next. He was in no better condition. He was inches away from her lips when suddenly, his cell phone's message tone beeped loudly.
They jumped apart at the sudden intrusion. Nupur stood up instantly, flustered about the whole thing and what was about to happen. She grabbed her clutch and left the room, without another look at Mayank.
He sat still as he saw her leaving hurriedly from the room. He cursed himself for losing control; for what could have happened if not for the phone. Now he had ruined whatever little progress they had made. Sighing, he ran a hand through his hair in frustration, slowly stood up and got dressed.
**********
I hope u all liked it...:) Do leave your comments...😃😳
Udne Ki Aasha
Jaane Anjaane Hum Mile
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon
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