MG FF: Forbidden Stranger Updated Part 20 pg 130 - Page 71

Originally posted by: Simran_14

thank u so much dear

well he is following her home 😉 😆

Chapter Nineteen

She let Dancer out, then flipped off the light switch. As Maan climbed the steps to the porch, she sat down in the swing that hung at one end. He sat at the other end, leaving enough room for another person between them, and he gazed off into the dark.

Every house on the block was dark except for the porch lights and the occasional flood lamp. None of her neighbours lived a nocturnal life, though old Mr Mohan did have a tendency to get up around one in the morning to sneak a forbidden snack from his wife's kitchen. She fussed at him for doing it, and he fussed back at her for not letting him have sweets during the day. Geet had never heard a conversation between them where the subject didn't come up, but their marriage was going on sixty-five years. They were doing something right.

Would she have that kind of luck? Would she ever have a marriage at all?

Her gaze slanted towards Maan. For distraction, she said the first thing that came to her. "Naintara told me about you two. Sorry?"

He was already distracted. When he turned to her, his expression was puzzled. "What about us?"

"That you'd broken up."

"Oh. Yeah. Thanks."

Oh. Yeah. Thanks? What kind of response was that?

Okay, so Geet didn't understand his and Naintara's relationship. She'd thought that they were a tad unconventional, but apparently there had been less to the relationship than she'd assumed. She just naturally associated long-term with love and commitment. Not everyone else did.

Lucky for her, in this case.

Dancer came onto the porch, her steps delicate in spite of her size. She nuzzled Geet's leg, then sniffed Maan intently before resting her head on his knees, staring up at him with her gorgeous brown eyes. "Geez, dog, why don't you just climb on up in my lap?" he grumbled.

"Don't invite'"

Too late. With one sleek, powerful jump, Dancer bounded onto his lap, turned on the unsteady surface of his thighs, then plopped down, her head leaning against his chest, her lips curled back in what Geet was sure was a grin.

"You're not a dog person, are you?" she asked as he stared down at forty pounds of puppy.

"Not so you'd noticed."

"Dancer, come here," she scolded.

The dog lifted her ears, considered it, then resettled with a heavy sigh.

"She learned 'come up' very quickly, but there's something about 'get down' that doesn't compute in her brain. Just shove her off."

He did so, pushing Dancer onto the bench between them. The dog rolled onto her back, legs splayed, and rested her head once again on Maan's legs. "She has no modesty, does she?" he asked drily.

"Of course not. Her mama's a stripper. Didn't you have dogs when you were a kid?"

"Yeah, sure, but they weren't allowed inside the house and they weren't too fond of kids. They always his when they heard my brothers and me coming."

"Gee, imagine that."

"Aw, we weren't bad kids. At least, not seriously so."

He gave in and started scratching Dancer's belly. Tongue lolling, she gazed up at him with pure puppy admiration. "What about you? Did you have pets?"

"No." A dog was to have been her Christmas present the year she was seven, a beautiful spotted Dalmatian. Her mother hadn't wanted a dog and had insisted that if they had to have one, one from the pound would do just as well as some fancy registered breed. But her dad had promised, and he never broke his promises.

At least, not by choice. His accident had been in late October; he'd spent Christmas and Easter in the hospital. Even at seven, Geet had known intuitively that there would be no more talk of a dog.

Her mother had been right about one thing, though: a pound puppy was just as good as a registered dog'even better. Dancer had come from the shelter and she was wonderful.

"Do you like to fish?" she asked, just to break the silence.

"Yeah. My granddad felt it was his duty to teach all of us. Promise him a catch and he would go anywhere in the world."

"There was a river about half a mile from our house. My dad spent more hours on those banks than anyplace else besides work." Fishing had made Mohindar happy. Those times that her mother had packed sandwiches and cold lemonade for a picnic while he fished were among her fondest memories. She didn't have many of them, though. After all, she'd been only sis when they ended.

"My old man wouldn't touch a fishing pole with...well, a ten-foot pole."

"Is that why you've never gotten married and had kids? Because of the examples your father set?"

His gaze was razor sharp in the night, but his tone was mild. "I never said that I hadn't been married."

She felt a tinge of...disappointment? He was thirty-six, sexy, with that previously mentioned old Georgia name and money, and he had a grin that could charm a woman right out her thong. It made sense that he'd been married at least once.

"No, you didn't."

He waited a beat, two, then said, "Though I haven't."

"Afraid of commitment?"

Again razor sharp gaze. "No just waiting for the right time. Like you, I've had other priorities in my life."

"Tending bar at a strip club?"

"Hey, strippers don't get to look down on bartenders."

"I've been looked down on enough in my life. I would never judge anyone else by their profession." Dancer, now snoring softly, began to twitch and Geet reached over to rub her belly. "But isn't your family a little disappointed?"

"They'd be happier if I was back home working in the family business, but that isn't going to happen and they know it. I like my job, I stay out of trouble and I don't ask them for money. Mom says that's all any woman can ask for her child."

Rano wouldn't agree. Geet liked her job, stayed out of trouble and gave money to Rano and Rasika when they needed it, but Rano had wanted so much more.

As she rubbed Dancer's silky black fur, Maan's fingers brushed hers. An accident, she thought the first time. Deliberate, she knew the second. It would be so easy to take his hand, to push Dancer out of the way and close the distance between them. It would be so damn easy to kiss him.

But she dint. If this were nothing more than a fling, she wouldn't hesitate. But she felt like a whole lot more. It felt like a chance. An opportunity.

Maybe a future. She wished.

"I'd better get inside," she said, scooting to the edge of the swing. "It's been a long night and Naintara wants one more practise before her audition tomorrow night. Good night."

She went to the door and opened the screen for Dancer, who leaped from the bench with a grunt, then padded into the house.

When Geet followed, locking both the doors behind her, Maan was still sitting on the swing in the dark. She thought about asking him to come in, even if it was too soon. If this was an opportunity for something more, rushing things wouldn't change that.

But still, there in the dark hallway, she hesitated. He made the decision for her. His footsteps sounded on the porch, followed by the slam of his car door, then the engine making that beefed-up growl.

As he drove away, she regretted her hesitation. A lot.

Precap: "Annie, were you friendly with Shasha?"

Please let me know how the part is

Do hit the like button and please do comment as well

Love n Wishes

Simran... 😳

Originally posted by: nishha

so there is some thing interesting going to take place then..😳

hope u can bear with me 😆

Originally posted by: Simran_14

actually I'm working on the next part n sorry dear, no romance 😕

there is maaneet, well only talking 😆

romance after geet understands whats happening with the girls

n she starts questioning Maan 😛

hope u can bear with me 😳 😆

Originally posted by: nishha

yeah sure..i will wait till then its getting more interesting

Originally posted by: Water.

Interesting...v interesting