Thankyou to each & every one of you for inspiring me to continue with this FF! I love you all!
Part 9:"Single room," Maan & Geet said in unison. They shared a glance, then looked away.
"I'm sorry, but we don't have any single rooms left.""What?!" said Maan angrily.
"It is very late into the night, most of our rooms are all booked. We only have one double room left."
"We'll- I'll take it," Maan said hesitantly. They recieved the key & made their way to the room. Once they were inside, Maan & Geet stood at the foot of the bed, unsure about what to do.
"You take the bed," offered Geet.
"I'll sleep on the sofa.""No, you take it," said Maan.
"Sir, I'll sleep on the sofa, it'll be fine."
"I told you Geet, you can take the bed."
"You can have it if you want."
"I don't, I'm telling you that you can have the bed."
"I don't want it, you can have the bed."Maan rolled his eyes in frustration, & Geet fiddled with her dupatta.
"Ok, fine," he said angrily.
"I'll have the bed."Geet walked over to the sofa & sat down, then winced. The sofa wasn't comfortable at all - it was squeaky & lumpy. She saw Maan put his shoes aside & about to climb into the bed, facing away from her. She ran up to him and quickly grabbed the duvet.
"I want the bed!" she exclaimed. Maan frowned.
"You said you didn't want it before."
"I do now."
"Geet-""Look, you shouldn't make a woman sleep on the sofa, it's not right."
"You said you didn't want the bed!"
"But I'm changing my mind now!"
"Tough luck, I'm taking the bed."
"Sir!"
"Don't 'sir' me, Geet. I offered you the bed, you declined, not once, not twice, but three times! So now it's mine!""The sofa is uncomfortable!"
"You should have considered your options before you said no to the bed."Before Geet could protest further, Maan crept into the bed and turned his bedside lamp off, pulling the duvet over him. Geet scoffed.
"Dusht Dhanav," she muttered. Maan was listening under the covers.
"I don't know what Sasha sees in him..."Maan's ears perked up. He sat up immediately.
"Geet, did you mention Sasha?"
Her eyes widened. Had Maan found out?
"Um... no. What made you think that?"
"I could have sworn you said something about Sasha."
"Not at all." She took the opportunity to help nudge along the Maan-Sasha process.
"Why, are you missing her?"Why is she asking me about Sasha? thought Maan.
What if she mistakenly thinks that I like Sasha...?"I don't think about any other woman apart from my Dadi," he lied.
"Oh really?"
"Yes, really. Now shut up & go to sleep, over there, on your favourite sofa." Maan buried himself under the duvet again. Geet pulled a blanket from the wardrobe and settled herself down on the sofa for an uncomfortable night's sleep.
THUD!
Maan jolted upright, looking around the room. It was pitch black, so he turned on the lamp, and that's when he saw her.
Geet had fallen onto the floor, but was somehow still asleep. The blanket was on the floor beside her, & she was subconsciously hugging herself in her sleep.
He crept out of bed & walked over to her slightly, trying not to wake her up. Carefully, he lifted her into his arms. Geet unknowingly rested her head against Maan's shoulder. He smiled as he admired her sleeping beauty, how peaceful she looked when she was asleep. He held her in his arms for a while, staring at her, then snapped out of it & carried her over to the bed. He placed her down, but her arms were locked around his neck & she wouldn't let go. He was trying to prise her off him when Geet spoke.
"Maan."He froze, & slowly turned to look at her face, terrified that she had woken up & would ask him what he was doing. Geet was still asleep - she was talking in her dream.
"Maan," she said softly, and he felt the butterflies churn in his stomach.
She's dreaming of me, he thought with a smile on his face.
Then he realised that Geet probably didn't have feelings about him at all, & it was just wishful thinking on his part. So he pulled himself away from her arms & laid them down beside her, pulled the duvet over her & went to sleep on the sofa instead.
The next morning, Geet woke up & found herself in the bed. She sat up straight, adjusting her dupatta to cover her, & looked around. Maan was nowhere to be seen.
"How did I get here?" she mumbled to herself, when the door opened and Maan stepped out from the bathroom, dressed in a business suit. He was straightening his collar out - he hadn't noticed Geet was awake, but Geet was noticing him. She was admiring how dashing & handsome he looked in his suit when she realised what she was doing & kicked herself under the bed.
"Oww!" she muttered. Maan had heard & turned to face her.
"Oh, so Miss Geet Handa decides to wake up."
"How did I get here?" asked Geet, folding her arms.
"You fell off the sofa," he replied calmly.
"Get ready quickly; the sooner we meet Mr Sharma, the sooner we can get out of here."
By 10am, Maan & Geet were down at reception, inquiring about Mr Sharma's hotel room.
"I'm sorry," said the receptionist.
"But it looks like you've just missed him. He checked out an hour ago."Maan's expression turned to fury, & it was visible. Geet stepped slightly away from him, to avoid the wrath of his temper.
"What do you mean he's left? I travelled all the way for nothing?""I'm sorry," said the receptionist once more, then got back to doing her work. Maan stepped away from the desk & called Mr Sharma, but there was no answer. He stormed out of the hotel; Geet followed.
"Sir, what do we do now?""Go back to office," he said angrily.
"I can't believe I wasted so much valuable time here!"But something had caught Geet's eye from afar, & she wasn't paying attention to what Maan was saying.
"Geet?" asked Maan, and he followed her gaze...
(What catches Geet's attention? Part 10 up soon!)
Anupamaa
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