Mayur FF - It had to be you-Ch 14 (Last prt)-Pg 67 - Page 35

Hey guys!!! Thank u so much for such amazing comments...I'm so glad u all liked this part... 🤗

I'm really sorry for the delay...Had a comp problem first and then was busy wid my interviews...I hope I'll be forgiven...😃

Again, lack of tym, so cant get to ur comments individually...:( But plz keep commenting...And do let me noe if u dont like something...:)

Here's the next part...Enjoy! :)

Love Appu

Chapter 11:

Mayank slowly made his way from his room to the hall, unsure of what to say to Nupur. He found her sitting on the sofa, absent-mindedly flipping channels on the TV. He cleared his throat to catch her attention.

Nupur abruptly sat up straight as she heard Mayank. She didn't have the courage to look at him yet. She was still cursing herself for not leaving the room the instant he came out from the bathroom. She should have immediately made her presence known and left the God-forsaken sheets for later, but No!! She had to stand and stare at him as if hypnotised and then, to add to it, she had to be so helpful as to dry his hair for him! What was the need for that?? You have totally lost it, Nupur Bhushan!!

Mayank hesitantly chanced a look at her. She was staring resolutely at the TV screen, watching God knows what. He looked away, cursing himself. This is all my fault. I should have kept control on myself. He had no clue what was going on in her head, but what worried him the most was whether she would ever trust him again? Did she hold this against him? God!! Help me!

"Umm, Nupur?"

"Yeah?"

Great! Now we are strangers again! Mayank realised. He looked at his watch. He was really getting late. I guess this'll have to wait till night.

"Nothing. Just, had to tell you, that..."

"That?"

"That the nurse should be here any minute..."

Nupur let out the sigh that she had been holding in due to anticipation. Nurse??

Nurse?? Dude!!! "And that, you have to speak to your boss too...about working from..."

"I remember, Mayank..." Nupur interrupted "I'll do that." She assured him, still confused as to why he was talking of such far off things after what just happened between them. What did this mean?

Mayank simply nodded in response. He was feeling totally useless, talking of all unrelated things, when all he could think of was the almost-kiss. But now was not the time. He didn't want to say something in a hurry, without giving much thought to the whole situation. He also had to know how she felt. And that required them to sit and talk. And right now, he didn't have the wretched time to do that! For the first time, he hated his work.

"I – I should go now. I'll see you in the evening." He finally looked at her the same time she looked at him. His last sentence filled his heart with joy. He'll be seeing her again in the evening!!! He felt like doing a little jig. Till then, I'll miss you. He added silently.

She smiled slightly. "Yeah..." She blushed at his last sentence "See you..." Till then, I'll miss you. She added silently.

With that, he finally left, grabbing his car keys from the side counter. Nupur leaned back into the sofa, closed her eyes, and sighed deeply.

**********

"Mayank, we are all planning to go out tonight, after the shoot...You heard no? It'll be so much fun!!" Sara told him excitedly in between a shot. He was trying to avoid this particular conversation with each of his co-star since the morning. Everyone on the set was really excited, coz their show had completed 200 episodes, so this called for a celebration.

"Yeah, I heard..." He tried to get out of this "You guys have fun...I have something really important to do!"

"Important???" Sahil barged in. "No bloody way! You are coming, dude...Party-sharty kare huey kitna time ho gaya..." He high-fived Sara.

"Exactly!! What can be more important than this occasion??" Sara asked.

"Huh? No guys, it's actually important... Please!"

"Come on, dude!! Don't be such a spoilsport... Tere bina mazza bhi nahi ayega!!" Rohit also joined in.

"Mayank, next shot ready hai! Ready?" His AD's voice came to his rescue.

"Excuse me guys..." Mayank rushed out of there. "Haan, coming!!" He yelled back, sighing in relief.

**********

Nupur opened the fridge and scrutinised its contents. She was done with her work for the day. Apparently, for her boss, being hurt on the head automatically translated into less workload, however fit she may claim to be. Lucky for her. But not today.

Today she needed something to get her mind off the morning's incident. Not the almost-kiss, but what followed thereafter. Her awkward conversation with Mayank had left her completely puzzled. She had even gone to the terrace to spend some time there and watch the sun go down like the day before, but that place only made her miss Mayank more. Finally, she had decided on cooking dinner to keep herself occupied.

She was halfway past making the mixed vegetable, while stirring dal on the other stove, when Shilpa came in.

"Waah! Kya khushbu hai...Kya pak raha hai?" She placed her purse on the kitchen counter and walked straight to where Nupur was standing.

"Hi aunty..." Nupur beamed at her. She was feeling far better now. Cooking always relaxed her. And cooking for someone special was an even better feeling.

"Hmmm...This looks yum...Mujhe to bahut bhuk lag rahi hai!!" Shilpa exclaimed and sat down at the table.

"Chalo badhiya hai, ab mere saare kaam khatam! Subah isko impress karne ke liye Mayu khana banata hai, aur shaam ko yeh usko impress karne ke liye banati hai!"

The pressure cooker whistled.

"Ji aunty? Aapne kuch kaha? Mujhe sunai nahi diya..." Nupur said.

Shilpa chuckled. "Kuch nahi, beta..." She spoke loudly.

"Oh, achcha... Waise aunty, woh, actually, Mayank usually kab tak ghar aata hai?" She asked hesitantly.

"Mayu?? Kabhi bhi aa jata hai...Depends kitna kaam ho?"

"Kabhi bhi? Achcha..." Nupur muttered. She quietly started cutting the cucumber for salad.

"Laao, yeh main karti hun..." Shilpa took the knife and cucumber from her and went back to the table.

Nupur followed her to the table and sat down. She was still lost in her thoughts; thoughts about what he would say to her when he'd return.

"Koi fayda nahi hai..."

"Ji aunty?" She was startled with the sudden comment.

"Maine kaha koi fayda nahi hai uska wait karne ka... Kabhi kabhi bahut zyada late ho jata hai..." Shilpa commented as she peeled the cucumber.

Nupur smiled slightly and nodded. She reached out and poured herself a glass of water.

"Waise Nupur... Tum aur Mayank baat kya karte ho?"

"Ji!?!?!?" She almost spat out the sip in her mouth.

"I mean generally, tum log kya baatein karte ho?" She pushed the salad plate aside and leaned forward, as if readying herself for some juicy gossip.

"Aunty, hum, general baatein...Yehi sab..." Nupur avoided her look.

"Hmmm...Kyunki Mayank waise toh bahut extrovert banne ki koshish karta hai, but uske dil mein kya hai, woh aasani se keh nahi pata hai...Tum samajh rahi ho na?" Her tone took a serious note.

Nupur looked at her, her mind finally grasping what she was hinting at. She blushed involuntarily as she nodded her head. Shilpa smiled at her.

**********

Mayank looked around in frustration, as the loud music for once seemed more of an annoyance to him than enjoyment. All his co-stars were enjoying themselves to the fullest, but he sat in one corner of the club, sipping at his drink. He desperately wanted to get home, to see Nupur, to talk to her, to be with her. But his director had not taken no for an answer, and so, here he was.

He glanced at his cell. 10:30. He took another swig at his glass.

"C'mon Mayank, join us..." His friends called him to the dance floor. He politely declined with a smile. They shook their heads at his unusual behaviour. He sighed and signalled the waiter for a refill. Atleast that was calming his nerves.

**********

Nupur drummed her fingers impatiently against the table to keep herself awake. It was a little past 11, and she was beginning to feel drowsy. She bit back a yawn. Shilpa aunty was right. She should have gone off to sleep, but now that she had stayed up so late, she might as well wait for some more time. She had finally decided to confront him for whatever happened, to apologise for staying in the room when she should have left and if she was brave enough at that point of time, then to ask him why he was behaving that way afterwards.

On the other hand, Mayank was finally free to go, but unfortunately, to calm his nerves, he had had one extra drink, which made him slightly tipsy. He usually didn't drink much as he liked to be in control of himself, his thoughts and his actions, but today was an exception. He probably needed it too, to put his thoughts into words. Anyway, he made his way home, with a huge smile on his face. He was FINALLY going to see her.

He steadied his wavering steps once he reached his flat and took out his keys. He looked at his huge bunch of keys but couldn't recall which key was supposed to be for this door. He looked at each key very closely, then scratched his head wondering what to do. Resigning, he decided to try each and every key.

He had barely reached the fourth key, when the door suddenly opened. Nupur stood at the other side of the door. He gave a huge grin to her.

"Hi Nupsi..."

"Nupsi?? Mayank, are you OK?" Nupur took a close look at him and gasped "Are you drunk, Mayank?"

"Drunk??" He scratched his head again and then suddenly started yelling. "WON'T YOU EVEN LET ME ENTER THE HOUSE?? I'M SO TIRED!!!"

Nupur actually jumped aside. She was shell-shocked. But what was worse was how was she supposed to handle this guy? Baby, not guy!! She corrected herself. As quick as it was possible for her, she followed him.

By the time she reached the kitchen table, Mayank had already dissected the food she had made. Dissected in the sense that he had picked up the serving spoon and was looking at each vegetable in the mixed veg closely, as if performing an experiment.

Nupur rushed to him and took the spoon from him. He whined slightly. She forced a smile at him.

"Mayank, tum jake sofa pe baitho na, main tumhara khana laga ke lati hun."

"Nahi!! Main yahi baithunga!! Aur tum bhi mere saath yahin khaogi..."

"Mayank, wahan pe aaram se..."

"NO NO NO NO NO...."

She placed a palm on his mouth to shut his trail of No's "Achcha theek hai, I'm sitting here, OK?"

He mumbled something against her palm. She removed her hand. He smiled happily "OK!"

Nupur had to smile at that. Quietly, she laid 2 plates for herself and Mayank while he looked around and sighed at regular intervals.

"Waise Nupsi..." She looked up at 'Nupsi'; it was really surprising...and sweet also, specially the way he said it, with a slight pout. "Haan bolo?"

He giggled "Kuch nahi..."

She rolled her eyes and sat down across from him.

"Udhar nahi...." She raised her eyebrows at his protest "Idhar baitho..." He pointed at the seat next to him and smiled sweetly. She obediently got up and did as she was told, lest he started his yelling spree again.

They quietly started to eat. Mayank had not really eaten anything in his hurry to leave, so he actually dug in. Nupur smiled on seeing him that way.

"Nupsi, Maa kitna achcha khana banati hai na? Dekho...Yummmm!!" He stretched the word as far as he could.

"Actually Mayank, yeh aunty ne nahi, maine banaya hai..." She explained to him as she ate another bite.

"Kya keh rahi ho???? Yummmmmmmmmmm..." He started off again so she had to place her palm on his mouth again. This time, he went silent, but kept looking at her intensely. She forgot to remove her hand for a few seconds, though h had gone quiet. Coming to her senses, she swiftly started removing her hand when he caught it.

"Kya hua Mayank? Tum khana khao na..."

He firmly caught her hand in between his own palms and looked into her eyes. This silenced her.

"I'm sorry, Nupsi..."

She was surprised "Kis ke liye??"

"Haan, kiss ke liye..." He nodded.

"Kya kis ke liye?" She was confused.

"Wahi toh maine kaha, kiss ke liye...uffo Nupsi!!!" He frowned irritably.

"Kya kis ke liye, kis ke liye laga rak... Oh!" It suddenly dawned on her. She blushed as she looked away "Kiss ke liye!!" She murmured.

"I'm really sorry, Nupsi...Dil se sorry..." He placed a palm on his heart. "Mujhe tumse bina puche aise..." He looked away and as Nupur observed him, she actually caught him blushing. She giggled at his cuteness.

"Nahi Mayank, I am sorry...Mujhe aise tumhare room mein..." She looked away, blushing herself.

"Par tum to meri help kar rahi thi na..." He pouted as he caught her hand again, and for a second, it seemed Mayank was totally sober; the sincerity in his words was real "Thank you...Jab tum mera khayal rakhti ho toh mujhe bahut achcha lagta hai..."

Nupur smiled. For the first time, Mayank was saying what was truly in his heart. And as people say, a drunk person always speaks the truth.

"Aur kya achcha lagta hai?" She coaxed him softly, to carry on.

"Aur jab tum apne baalon se irritate hoke unhe peeche karti ho, toh woh bahut achcha lagta hai..." Saying this, he reached forward and tucked her locks behind her ear, tracing her forehead lightly.

Nupur sucked in a breath at his touch. "Aur?" She asked, her voice softer.

His voice dipped too "Aur jab tum aise sharmati ho, toh woh bahut achcha lagta hai..." He cupped her face and traced his thumb over her cheeks, which were beetroot red by now.

"Aur?" Her voice was barely a whisper now. Only she knew how long she had waited to hear such things from him.

"Aur sabse zyada mujhe yeh soch ke achcha lagta hai ki I'm coming home to you; that you're going to be right here, with me, for me..."

Tears shone in Nupur's eyes as his barely audible voice rung in her head. This was truly the most beautiful moment of her life, hearing what she had been craving for; finally knowing how much she meant to someone, who meant the World to her. Unable to control herself anymore, she flung herself into his arms, sniffing softly.

Mayank took a few seconds to grasp what just happened. Smiling slowly, he tightened his grip around her and hugged her back. He closed his eyes as he heard a soft murmur "Mujhe bhi, Mayank...Mujhe bhi..."

**********

Don't worry guys, this Mayank is not so sloshed as to not remember whatever he said or did...so its not going to be like that...In fact this shud be better for their relationship, right?😉

Please leave ur comments regarding this part...Wud love to noe how u found dis talli mayu...:) Also, I havent proof-read it...Feeling too lazy...😆 Plz overlook typo errors...:)