~Part – 2~
Prachi sat with her hands on her lap, staring at an unknown object on the wall with no emotion on her face to conceal the boredom that was filling her heart. The guest speaker kept on talking as though he felt that everyone enjoyed his clichd speech.
But it had always been this way for her. God only knew why she had given into Neev's badgering to attend this gala tonight. She'd done it out of exasperation and because he was simply her best friend.
Tonight, the whole room was stuffy with bankers talking money non-stop. She should have known that it would be dreadful. Money and Politics and Economy dominated the conversations and she was not interested in any of those things.
There were very few women in the room and she could feel the attention of almost every male on her. She hated the intrusion and loathed their attitude towards women. They may be rich but most of them here were ruthless sharks that would eat anyone for breakfast, lunch and dinner without any qualm. If at all they had space they would have them for a snack in between all their meals she thought wryly. A small smile spread across her lips at that thought.
Prachi had adopted her usual defense against all their interest, refusing to acknowledge their interest in her. Neev's presence did not sufficiently deter some of their blatant ogling. Neev was not particularly giving it much thought as he always thought of her as a friend but nothing else.
With boredom and annoyance she reached out took the mineral water that was placed in front of her and took a sip.
Alaap, instinctively she thought of what her poor brother would have to deal with. All this money talk was not his or her cup of tea.
She stared into the distance trying think about some thing interesting. Her mind drifted of to her voluntary work at the orphanage. She had initially gone there when her father had donated money to build a unit for the small babies that arrived at the ashram almost everyday. She loved working there.
The small babies who were left at the door step squeezed her heart. Their tiny feet and their cute wide yawns drew her to the place almost everyday. That was the kind of fulfilling work that she enjoyed.
Phew it was over and the guest of honor was taking his seat.
"Where you bored?" He sounded as though he was amused.
"Well, do you think this is a dance recital to enjoy?" she asked smiling back at him.
"No, but who is who of the financial world are here – to capture the headlines for tomorrow's story" he said laughing with her.
She reached out and started picking on the desert that was laid out in front of her. Black forest cake, her favorite since childhood, but today she was in no mood to eat even a piece of the tempting morsel in front of her.
"Do you want to drink something?" Neev asked looking at her.
She shook her head. She was already bored and the food wasn't that great either. She didn't want to eat one more bit of the horrible food they had served.
Changing her mind "A glass of orange juice would be great" she said placing her delicate hands on Neev's sleeve.
Neev immediately called the passing waiter and asked for a glass of orange juice. Neev and Prachi were both smiling at the waiter when Prachi felt a prickling sensation at the back of her neck. Probably, it was from sitting so stiffly for so long she thought.
She turned her head to the right and to the left to get rid of the stiffness that overcame her.
And her whole being froze and she realized that a man was looking at her.
Butterflies flew in her stomach at the direct gaze she encountered. With hooded eyes he was looking at her with lazy amusement or was it assessment.
He was sitting directly across on the side of her table. He was tall with wavy black hair which touched his shoulders. He had an unshaven look about it him as though he did not care about how he looked. Among the well dressed men in the room he stood out with his unruly look. His skin was dark as though he had been out in the sun for long. He had a strong nose and a mouth which was unsmiling. His eyes, they were dark, impossibly dark.
And his eyes were still on her looking her over.
As her eyes met his, she felt the tug of her heart as her eyes liquefied into his. He was staring at her as though he knew her intimately. His eyes suddenly dropped to her lips and fixed it self there.
For timeless moments, she couldn't move, his eyes captured hers and wouldn't let her break away. With an effort of will she broke away from the magnetic pull and turned towards Neev.
"Here's your juice" he said handing it over to her. She jumped at the voice that broke away her thoughts.
Did her voice sound shaky even to her ears? She reached for the glass with shaking hands and lifted it to her lips. As she slowly slipped the juice, she tried to regain her precious composure that had deserted her.
For heaven sake, she reprimanded herself – he just took you by surprise that's all. Snap out of it, she lectured herself.
She slowly drank her juice as she tried to listen to what Neev was telling her.
Edited by panache - 17 years ago
Ye Hai Mohabbatein
