Chapter 3
Tammana
Tammy, do u remember Thakur uncle? His daughter has taken admission in Nielsen College. He was worried about her stay and
his concern reminded me of the time when you took up a job in Mumbai. I have told him that she can stay with you. I shall text you her flight details soon,' said Mr Kapoor, Tamanna's dad.
What? Oh dad, I would have looked for someone here. You know I don't like others intruding my privacy. I mean I wanted a room partner but not a family friend. I wanted someone who would live her life and let me live mine. Now I hope she is not a gossipmonger. I absolutely hate such people. You should have at least asked me once before letting her stay with me.'
It's okay, Tammy. She won't disturb you. She is a sweet girl. Don't worry too much. I understand your work pressure and all that, but you don't have to be so stressed for such small issues. Chill, my doll.'
Tamanna finally gave in to her father's wishes as she had neither a choice nor the energy to argue any further. Tamanna was of an independent nature and didn't like to compromise as far as her personal life was concerned. She was an introvert and extremely stubborn. She had a short frame with a dusky complexion but her features were very well-defined. She didn't talk much and her reserved nature would often let her be misconstrued as snobbish. It was only her closed ones who understood her feelings perfectly. Her sharp features would get highlighted further when she wore spectacles and it would make her look more intellectual. She usually wore pencil skirts and tops with stilettos and a tightly-tied high ponytail which made her look very strict, almost like a school teacher. She was a manager at Galaxy House, an HR firm, and had been working there since the past one year. She lived alone in an apartment in Churchgate.
Somehow, she convinced herself to let Jodha into her apartment for her parent's sake but decided to make some things clear in the first meeting itself, so they each knew where the line had to be drawn. She looked at the clock. It was 8.30 am. She was getting late for office and her cab was waiting below her apartment. She took her bag and rushed out.
As she reached the work floor, she looked at her teammates. Everyone greeted her and exchanged smiles. Deep, come to my desk in fifteen minutes,' she said in a strict tone.
Deep was an engineer in Galaxy House and worked under Tamanna's team. He had recently joined the company and was on probation. So every time he would get called by Tamanna, it would make him anxious. Deep had the added responsibility of looking after his mother and younger sister since he had lost his dad at a very young age. Since his mom too had retired from her job recently, he was the only breadwinner in his family and could not afford to lose his job. Though he had a fulfilling social life with friends and enjoyed weekends with them, he had added responsibility on his shoulders and this job meant a lot to him. He had his priorities set and was very clear about it from the start.
He went to the washroom to freshen up and then went to Tamanna who was busy signing some papers on her desk. Yes ma'am. Any problem?'
Deep, it's been two weeks since I asked you for the reports and you still have not submitted them! Why the delay?' she said without breaking eye contact with Deep, embarrassing him.
Just give me a couple of hours and it will be done. I was about to submit it today but got held up with some other work,' he defended himself.
Okay, cool,' said Tamanna still staring at him.
He smiled embarrassingly and managed to leave. He could sense there was something fishy about Tamanna since the day he had met her. But he kept his assumptions to himself and never discussed it with anyone.
Tamanna turned off her monitor and rested back on her chair. Something was cooking in her mind and it was not the menu for dinner. It was something close to her heart. Due to increasing pressure from higher authorities in office, she had forgotten all about her personal life and had become a workaholic over the years. All this while, she never realized she had drifted apart from her friends and family. She could feel how hollow her life had become. Moreover, her nature of keeping things to herself and not sharing them with others made her feel even more alone. A couple of months ago when she started training Deep and interacting with him, she realized she had developed feelings for him but never told him about it due to her reticent nature. Neither did she discuss it with her colleagues. Her feelings grewstronger with each passing day and she felt like she was suffocating. Suddenly she had developed an urge to touch him and feel him. This urge transformed her from a hard working girl into a desirable animalistic wild lover whenever she was lost in his thoughts.
Relaxing in her chair, thinking about the last conversation with him, she was picturing his body, his tanned skin so close to her that she could actually feel the heat coming from him. His lips wet and moist pressed against hers, his left hand on her waist and the right hand brushing her hair aside so that he could kiss her hard. Every time she thought about his touch, it sent a shiver down her spine. It would turn her on, thinking of him ripping her clothes apart. She concentrated hard on how his touch would feel on her body. She crossed her legs as she imagined Deep's masculine hands removing her top and sliding it up over her head. She even removed one button of her top. Her breathing got heavier and she was about to trace her lips with her index finger when suddenly she got a call on her desk number, which brought her back to the real world.
She came back to her senses and looked around to see if anyone was observing her. Everyone was busy with the day's activities. She breathed a sigh of relief. She got a call from the receptionist's desk telling her that her cab to the airport was ready. She had obtained permission for it a day before. She buttoned her top, went to the washroom to splash water on her face hard enough to pull her back into the real world. It was getting difficult for her to conceal her feelings. She checked her cell phone for the message from her dad giving her Jodha's flight details.
She reached the airport and checked the flight status on the big display screen at the entrance gate.
Indigo Kolkata to Mumbai Arrived
She was waiting near the arrival gate and observing everyone carefully. She saw a girl looking around eagerly. Tamanna went up to her and kept her hand on her shoulder. Tamanna Kapoor.'
Hey. I've been looking for you. What's up?' Jodha asked smiling.
Tamanna ignored Jodha's greeting and directed her to the waiting car. Within a few minutes, they were on their way to her apart- ment in Churchgate. After reaching the apartment, Tamanna gave her all the necessary instructions and left for work.
Once she returned to office, she found the reports on her table. Deep had submitted it before time. She smiled again, maybe because of the thoughts she had few hours back or because she had escaped a humiliating situation.
A couple of days had passed since Jodha had shifted to her apartment. She had somehow convinced Tamanna to take her for an outing. It was Saturday evening. Both of them had a ball, spending good time together. Jodha insisted they go for drinks at a nearby disc. Tamanna gave in to Jodha's wishes and decided to take her to Thrive' in Colaba.
Once in, Tamanna ordered a drink for Jodha and herself. Time flew, and soon both of them were three shots down. Tamanna got a call from office and she went outside, as it was impossible to answer the call in such loud music. After finishing the call, she came inside to see Jodha smiling.
What happened? Why are you smiling by yourself?' Tamanna enquired casually.
There was a cute guy who approached me while you were gone. He was not bad, but it's too early to say anything,' Jodha winked at Tamanna and ordered another drink.
So where is he now?' Tamanna asked out of curiosity.
I think he's left. I can't spot him either. Leave it. The night is still young. Let's enjoy. Cheers!' Jodha said raising a toast.
Both of them looked at each other for a moment and gulped down their drinks in one go. They were so washed out by the time they reached home that neither of them bothered changing into their night clothes. They just slumped down on their beds and dozed off to sleep.
Next day morning
A Date on BlackBerry
After a memorable Saturday night, jalal woke up late the next morning. The night before, he had lost his heart to a gorgeous
looking girl. Jodha. He was still half asleep when he felt like someone was hitting him with a hammer. He soon realized that the throb- bing headache was a result of the hangover. He had a bad headache, which meant that either he had an awesome night or that he was going to have the worst day ahead.
Still in bed, he stretched out his hands fumbling the side table for his mobile. He hardly remembered what happened last night. He wished he had slept for one more hour. The headache was getting unbearable. Everything around him seemed blurred. He finally got up from bed, still thinking about the previous evening. He unzipped his pants and was about to take a leak when he realized he was in front of his window and not the washroom.
Err!' he said to himself, Oh God, I hate mornings. It's the lack of sleep that causes hangover, not drinks.'
He came back to his bed and saw his mobile lying dismantled on the floor. Its battery was in one corner and the cover was under the bed. His body refused to allow him to bend down and pick them. He struggled hard to put his phone together in one piece. He switched on the cell phone and again lied down on the bed covering himself with his blanket when his phone rang. Good morning,' jalal said, still hungover.
You bloody swine... were you sleeping or dead? I called you at least ten times to check if everything was alright at home,' I yelled at him.
Ya bhai, I am okay. I don't remember much from last night, but the fact that I was about to pee through the window suggests that I had an awesome night,' he managed to laugh.
Just check your messages. We almost landed up in jail because of you yesterday.' Jalal opened WhatsApp to check my message.
f**k you asshole! I am sure you have gone off to sleep. Do you even remember what you did last night? I kicked you out of the disc after you flirted with that girl in the black dress. I think her name is Jodha since you kept shouting her name while walking out of the disc. But you ran straight into the small light post and if I wouldn't have dragged you away quickly, it would have almost landed on your head. You refused to let me drive, got into the car, and took off. From there we went straight down the wrong side of a one-way road. Needless to say, our luck ran out. A cop was waiting for us. When he asked us where we were coming from, you replied that you had killed a girl and her dead body was in the boot space of the car. Laash dikki me hai' you had said. Then what, I lost 500 rupees for such behaviour courtesy YOU' and we reached home two hours late.
Jalal called me again after reading the message and we just laughed on the phone without speaking a word. I just told him casually to check if he had called or messaged someone to avoid leading to an embarrassing situation. Perhaps, I have this habit of texting and ir- ritating people after gulping down a couple of drinks. Drinking was indeed an emotional gateway for men. Jalal disconnected the phone and rechecked all the messages. Suddenly, he jumped out of his bed in panic. Impossible! How could I? I mean how? I mean when? Holy shit I am screwed, jalal wanted to scream aloud.
He saw that he had sent a BBM message to Jodha before dozing off. He began cursing himself for the blunder. It had hardly been a few minutes since they met and he had already messaged her saying that she was the princess of his life. It could make her think that either jalal was a big flirt or that the guy had lost his mind after gulping down a few pegs of alcohol. Jalal stood speechless and numb, not knowing how to react, and all he could think of was ways to disappear like the Genie of Aladdin. He read the message that he had sent.
At the risk of sounding like a flirt, I want to tell you that I could not erase you from my mind. You came into my life when I was least expecting it. It was as if I had hit a jackpot. When I saw you, I don't know what clicked, but from that moment, I could not get you out of my head. I always knew that love would find me someday, but never did I know it would come like this. Your touch healed this brokenheart and you caught me off guard and took me by surprise. I was initially reluctant to send u a BBM at this hour. Is it too late? Should I send you a request on Facebook? Your profile pic again urged me to send you a BBM. And no, I am not being desperate here. Everything seems so right, so perfect. Oh god. I will go crazy. Jodha, please don't take me the wrong way. Do reply. I am not so drunk.
Tere golden face ki beauty ne,
Mere komal heart pe attack kiya.
Sabko reject kiya aur tumko select kiya.
Request hai tumse ise refuse na karna,
Dosti ke is bulb ko kabhi fuse na karna!
On BBM, there is a way of knowing if the other person has read your message or not. Right next to the delivery tick mark appears D' for delivered' and R' for when the recipient reads' the message. She had not read the message yet. The R symbol didn't show above the tick mark. He thought that she was still sleeping. At the same time, he wondered what she would think after reading the message. He badly wanted to somehow get Jodha's cell phone and delete the message he had sent or press the undo button on his phone. But all he could do was bite his nails in anticipation of what was going to happen if she were to read it. He kept his cell aside and wanted to run away from the situation. However, after every five minutes, he checked his cell phone hoping that Jodha had still not read that message. He would have eagerly expected her reply in any other normal situation, but at this moment, he was praying not to receive any message from Jodha.When he checked the phone for the twentieth time, he saw the R symbol above the tick mark. Jodha had finally read the message.
Oh, f**k! Oh, shit! He was really nervous.
Jodha is typing a message, showed the BBM screen. His eyes popped out of his head and before she could send the message, Jalal quickly typed a message and sent her.
I am extremely sorry for last night. Ignore the message. It wasn't intentional. I was just kidding. Don't take it seriously. I was not in my senses.
He tried to hide his panic. He tried his best to make things sound normal for he knew the intensity of the blunder he had committed. As soon as he sent the message, Jodha's message popped on his screen.
Hey dude, are you insane? Were you out of your senses? From where did you copy paste it? Don't tell me you were serious! As if it's love at first sight. Two things I love in men"they never stop trying and they never miss an opportunity. Ha ha!
His confidence grew a little. Jalal decided to take a chance with the conversation. His fears had taken a back seat.
Jalal: I just tried to make you laugh and I think I succeeded in doing so. I am too good.
Jodha: Huh? Why do you think I am messaging you? Is it because I care? Or because I miss you? Or because you have become my secret crush? No. It's because I need someone for time pass. I am getting a little bored here. :D Rofl. I am the best.
Jalal: Err... That was rude.
Jodhaa: I'm just kidding. Chill!
Jalal: Hmm. I know. But trust me, you were looking lovely last night. You were so...
Jodha: Okay stop.
Jalalh: Stop what?
Jodha: Thinking about me and stop flirting. We hardly know each other. We are not even friends. :P Chalo c'ya, I need to freshen
up.
Jalal: Let's meet in the evening for a cup of coffee. You know, a lot can happen over coffee. Let's give it a try. At least for the sake of our new friendship. What say? Think over it, am not that bad.
Jodha: Nope. Get over it dude.
Jalal: Oh come on, I am asking you out just for a coffee. You're reacting as if am asking you out on a date. Jodha: Byeee.
Jalal: Atleast gimme your number so that I can call you.
Anupamaa
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
Cricket
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