Chapter 41 - Oops! I Did It Again
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Later that evening...
Preet was standing by the stairs on the 2nd level of the Juneja mansion, surveying the situation below. His mother, Heer Bhabi, Veera, Daljeet and a hoard of other female relatives had gathered, laughing up a storm while discussing his upcoming nuptials. They had all united into some strange kind of sisterhood obsessed with planning some of the most expensive and flawless days of singing, dancing, eating, and drinking, all while secretly trying to out do anyone and everyone including the bride in looking good.
Preet heard his stomach grumble. Dinner was not for another hour and he was starving. The chocolate bar he had downed a few minutes ago hadn't helped much either. Ordinarily he'd run down and grab himself a bite to eat, but tonight the path to the kitchen was littered with women just waiting for a chance to corner him. He could just imagine them grabbing him, making him sit in the center, tweaking his cheeks, messing up his hair and then exchanging embarrassing stories of which one of them had given him a baby bath, and who had changed his diaper. He'd rather stay hungry than give them the opportunity. Besides, he decided while rubbing his sore head, his run in with the aunty at the store earlier was more than enough for one day. If Prem had been home, he would have at least had someone to pass his time with, but he and Meher's Chacha had gone down to the hotel to instruct the staff about setting up for the wedding venue and reception. The only ones not doing anything about their wedding were him and Meher. Wait a minute! Thought Preet. Meher's Chachee is here...and her Chachu is at the hotel...so what the hell am I doing here?!
A short while later...
Meher came downstairs dressed in her pajamas. It was still early, but she was exhausted from the day's shopping and had wanted to curl up in bed with a good book until she fell asleep. If only she could find the book she had been reading earlier, she thought. Where had she left it? She checked the living room, and found it under one of the sofa cushions. She was about to turn back towards the stairs, when she heard the rustling of the window curtains as they moved with the wind.
"Hmm, I must have forgotten to close that window", she said. She went to the window and looked outside. The evening hours had just begun to set in and it looked like it would be a beautiful clear night. She smiled as a cool gentle breeze hit her face. Just then she felt movement behind her and almost let out a scream, but a hand immediately covered her mouth.
"Mmphf! Mmphf!" cried Meher, as she hit the intruder hard with her elbow.
"Ow!" cried Preet, as held his stomach. "What is it with everyone today? Why does everybody want to beat up on me?"
"Preet!" Meher cried in surprise. "You almost gave me a heart attack!" She pursed her lips then smacked him again.
"Hey!" protested Preet. "Didn't anyone ever teach you that violence is never the answer for anything?"
"What are you doing here?" demanded Meher.
"Nice to see you too", said Preet.
"I'm serious Preet", said Meher. "Why are you here, when you know you shouldn't be?"
"Well...I knew you'd be home alone...", grinned Preet. "So I thought I'd come over and..."
"And?" Meher said with a raised brow.
"...keep you company", said Preet.
"Bad idea", said Meher. "What if Chachee comes home?"
"Are you kidding...she's on another planet with all the other aunties gathered at my house, and your Chachu is with Prem Bhaiya at the hotel. I figure we have at least a good 2 hours to ourselves", Preet said. "Do you have any idea how much damage we can do in 2 hours?" He tried to put his arms around Meher, but she distanced herself from him.
"Nothing doing Preet...you're going home right now", she insisted.
"Oh come on Meher, don't be such a spoiled sport", whined Preet.
"Really?" said Meher. A small chuckle escaped from her lips. "I thought after what happened at the store today...you would have learned your lesson".
"Oh...you heard about that did you?" said Preet, looking clearly embarrassed. "I swear that old lady was carrying a brick in her purse".
"Aww you poor baby", laughed Meher. She ruffled his hair playfully.
"You think that's funny eh?" said Preet. A wounded look drew his mouth. "I make all sorts of effort just to spend some precious moments with you and it totally goes unappreciated. I think I'm actually hurt".
"I'm sorry Preet", said Meher. "We've already been through so much. I just don't want anything else to go wrong".
Preet frowned and looked away.
"Preet please," said Meher. "I said I was sorry. How can I make it up to you?
"I'm not sure, but give me some time", said Preet. A smile broke out on his face. "I'm sure I'll think of something". He closed the distance between them and gazed longingly into her eyes.
"Uh...D...did you eat yet? H...how about if I fix you something?" stammered Meher. She quickly pulled away from him and headed towards the kitchen.
"Now you're talking", said Preet. He followed her into the kitchen and watched as she put her book down on the counter and began to look through the fridge.
"Hmm...so what do you want?" Meher asked. Preet didn't answer her immediately, but she could almost feel his gaze tracing her bent over figure. She turned around quickly to meet his smile with narrowed eyes. "I meant to eat Preet", she said shaking her head. "What do you want to eat?"
"Anything will do, I guess", He said shrugging his shoulders. He picked up Meher's book and began to flip through it. "Hey isn't this the book where a rich couple gets killed and in the end the police finds out that it was the butler who did it".
"Gee thanks", sighed Meher, as she tossed the book away and handed him a sandwich.
"Aren't you going to have anything?" asked Preet.
"Just a glass of milk", said Meher. "There are only 2 weeks before the wedding. I'm not about to risk putting on any weight".
"Meher, I love you just the way you are", said Preet.
"I know", smiled Meher. "But my wedding dress may not be as forgiving".
"Chalo (let's go)", said Preet, as he took Meher's hand in his.
"Where?" she Meher.
"Some place where I can eat in peace", said Preet.
"What's wrong with right here?" asked Meher.
"Well...just imagine if your worst nightmare comes true and your Chacha or Chachee do come home early...where would I hide?" asked Preet. "I mean, I'm a little tall for the kitchen cabinets. I know...we'll go to your bedroom".
"No way!" said Meher. "We are not going to my room...".
"But...", said Preet.
"...Or any other room that has the word bed in it", Meher said firmly.
"Fine!" frowned Preet. "I guess there's only one place left then".
A shortwhile later...
Meher rubbed her arms with her hands. The thin fabric of her night suit wasn't helping much against the cool wind blowing around her. She watched in relief as Preet took the last bite of his sandwich.
"Preet, if you're done eating, can we please go back inside?" She asked. "It's kind of chilly up here".
Preet set his plate aside and stood up. "Here...let me take care of that", he offered.
Coming up behind her, he wrapped his arms around Meher. His face nuzzled into the crook of her neck causing her to gasp slightly, but this time she didn't push him away. All of a sudden, Meher felt the soft pressure of his lips brushing against her skin, bringing a rush of warmth and a tingling sensation all over her body.
"Preet", she whispered. "What are you doing?"
"Sharing body heat", he replied.
"Well, I'm feeling quite warm now", said Meher, as she squirmed away from him.
"But I'm not", said Preet. With one hand, he reached over and threaded his fingers into her loose hair, cupping the back of her head, and the other he drew around her waist pulling her closer to him again. Flutters started in Meher's stomach as he gently pressed his mouth to her cheek and trailed kisses along her jaw until he touched a spot just beneath her ear.
She pulled away from him just far enough to look into his eyes. "Preet...I don't think you should kiss me like that", she said. A hint of nervousness was evident in her tone of voice. "I mean, we promised our families we wouldn't see each other".
"Actually we were just ordered not to see each other", said Preet. "I don't remember promising anyone anything".
"But what if someone sees us like this?" asked Meher.
"Meher, there is no one here", said Preet. "And...I can't stand being away from you any longer".
"I don't like being away from you anymore than you do, but it's only for 2 more weeks", pleaded Meher, as she backed away from him towards the stairs.
"That's a very long time", countered Preet, as he continued to move in her direction.
"But we'll be married then", said Meher.
"Meher...we're already married", Preet reminded her.
"You're hopeless, you know that", sighed Meher.
"Maybe...", said Preet. "But it's your own fault".
"My fault?" said Meher.
"Hmm...", said Preet. He lifted a handful of thick, silky hair in his fingers and rubbed each strand thoughtfully as it slipped back to settle in soft waves around her face. "You're so irresistibly beautiful".
"Preet, I don't look any different than I normally do", Meher said rolling her eyes. "In fact, I'm in my pajamas. You're definitely imagining things. Anyway, there is no point in arguing. We have to stop this".
"Define this...", said Preet. His fingers slowly traced a path from her shoulder to her hand. He then took hold of her hand and with his thumb began to draw gentle circles into her palm.
"This...this secret meeting on the roof...this snuggling...sharing of body warmth...hand holding...this...kissing", said Meher.
"But I haven't kissed you yet. Not properly anyways. Would you like me to kiss you?" grinned Preet, as he closed the distance between them.
"No!" said Meher.
"Why not?" Preet asked. He pushed the bottom of her shirt up just enough to let him place his hands on her waist, while his thumbs caressed the soft delicate skin there.
"Be...because when you do things like this...I...I can't think straight okay?" She said, taking his hands away from her waist.
"Meher..." sighed Preet. "You know I love you, but sometimes you talk way too much".
Before she could protest any further, he grabbed her hands in one quick movement and pinned her against the wall. "I've been waiting all day to do this...", whispered Preet. He lowered his head capturing her lips in a slow and passionate kiss.
Meher sighed, unable to do anything except kiss him back. Slowly Preet released her hands so that he could slide his own hands around her waist pulling her tightly to him. She in turn brought her arms around his neck, and began to enjoy the wonderful, unhurried, sensual moment taking place between them. Just then, the door to the stairwell flew open startling them both.
"Ah Ha! I knew it!" cried Veera with a devilish grin. "Ma they're up here!"
Within minutes, Gaytri appeared at the door followed by Daljeet and Heer.
"Preet!" cried Gaytri. "What on earth are you doing here?"
"Preet and Meher sitting on a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G", sang Veera.
"Veera please!" cried Heer.
"Hai Rabba!" gasped Daljeet. "What am I to do with this girl? What will your Chachu say when he finds out?"
Meher's face turned red as a tomato. She stared at her feet guiltily.
"Ma...I can explain", tried Preet. His mother only responded by grabbing him by the ear and leading him away.
He was still protesting when they reached down stairs. "Ow! Ma...I'm a grown man. A married one at that. At least don't pull my ears in front of my wife".
As soon as Gaytri let him go Preet turned on Veera. "I suppose you're getting a real kick out this aren't you?" he said accusingly.
"Hang on bro", said Veera. "I'm totally innocent this time. You can blame your predicament on Kulraj Didi".
"Kul Di?" said Preet. He smacked his forehead. Kulraj and her family were coming in from Canada today. It had totally slipped his mind.
"Her flight got delayed and Prem was busy at the hotel with Meher's uncle so he tried to get in touch with you, but you weren't answering your phone", explained Heer.
"Because I left my phone in the car", lamented Preet.
"And because you were otherwise occupied", chuckled Veera, ignoring the daggers her brother was shooting at her with his eyes.
"Ma had to call in one of the drivers to pick her up", continued Heer. "And everyone began wondering just where you were".
"She knew Meher was home alone so it wasn't exactly rocket science to put 2 and 2 together", added Veera.
"Preet Juneja, I really don't know what to say to you right now?" said Gaytri, giving both him and Meher a hard look. "Daljeet, I'm so embarrassed, and I'm so sorry. I have no idea what's gotten into him. God knows how many more times I'm going to have to apologize for my son in the coming 2 weeks".
"Now just hang on a minute here Ma", cried Preet. "Meher and I didn't do anything wrong. We're already married for crying out loud, so what if I spent some time with her!"
"But Preet you agreed...", said Gaytri.
"I agreed to let you throw us a wedding, not separate us because of some stupid tradition you feel compelled to follow", said Preet.
"Stupid tradition?" muttered Gaytri.
"In fact, I'm beginning to regret agreeing to anything at at all!" said Preet.
"Preet...I think you need to calm down", said Heer.
"No Bhabi, I've had enough. I'm sick and tired of trying to please everyone else all the time, and I'm just not going to do it anymore. And...Meher is with me on this one. Right Meher?" asked Preet.
"Nahin (No) Preet". Meher saw the hurt look on Gaytri's face. She walked over to her and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Auntie Ji, I'm sorry. It's all my fault. I should have sent Preet home right away. We won't see each other again until the wedding. I promise".
"What?!" said Preet.
"Oh really?" said Daljeet. "And how do expect us to believe that?"
"Preet...is leaving for Mumbai tomorrow", said Meher.
"He is?" said Gaytri.
"I am?" Preet said in surprise.
"Yes you are", insisted Meher.
"But Meher...", said Preet.
"You need to officially resign from your job, and bring back our stuff from the apartment there, don't you?" said Meher. "This is as good a time as any to do so. I'm sure you'll be so busy, you won't even realize how quickly the days pass by".
"You're sending me away?" asked Preet.
Meher could tell he was hurt. She took him to one side. "Preet", she said. "It was embarrassing enough to get caught by your mom and my Chachee. Imagine if it had been my Chacha instead. I would have died. They're the only family I have left. I want our elders to be happy and bless our marriage, not be hurt by it".
"So you're solution is to get rid of me?" he said.
"Preet please don't be angry", said Meher.
"Hey, I'm Mr. Laid-Back remember? I don't do angry!" growled Preet. "Fine! If that's what will make you and everyone else happy, then I'll go away! To hell with what I think, right?"
"Preet please..." said Meher. She tried to put her hand on his arm but he shrugged it away and walked out the door.
There you have it.Hope you all liked it. Please do leave your comments and feedback. Or at least hit the like button. 😛
Credit: The book dialogue between Preet & Meher is adapted from Kuch Kuch Hota Hai.
As always... a humble request...if you are reading this FF it's because Sushant and Meher made an impression on you in their portrayal of Preet and Meher. Please be kind enough to comment on the respective actors' profiles Thanks. 😛
Chapter 42: Preet & Meher's wedding day has finally arived. Will Preet show up? 😳
Edited by Fatima_Q - 10 years ago
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