Chapter 29
Adam blinked a few times when he woke up the next morning. He reached up to lift one hand out of his sleeping bag to take a look at his watch that was lying next to him. He shivered when the cold crept in as soon as he had opened the zipper. It was 6:30 am and he was sure he had already heard the guides outside, so it was just a matter of time until they had to get up. He rolled over to glance at Madhu who was still sleeping peacefully with a smile on her face. Maybe one day she will truly be happy like she is in her sleep, he thought when Madhu shifted in her sleep.
He reached out to her face, trying to wake her up softly. Madhu grumbled in her sleep, when something disturbed her and she tried to shove it away. "Hey, sleepyhead, it's time to get up," Adam said quietly and leaned over to place a kiss on her forehead. Hopefully today will the day for new beginnings.
She tried to burrow in search for some warmth and frowned when her movements were constricted. "What the..." she mumbled, forcing her eyes open. The night before came flooding back as she recognized her surroundings and she realized that she and Adam had slept in sleeping bags. "Adam... wha' time is it?"
"6:30 am," he said gently. She bit her bottom lip uncertainly. "Adam, I don't think this's working," she said slowly. He frowned. "What?"
"I wanted to do this with you and Abby. I seriously thought I could do this and we would all have a good time, but... maybe it would be better if I just have our guide take us back down the mountain. I could spend the rest of the vacation at the cabin until you guys come back down."
He shook his head and moved closer to take her in his arms as much as possible with the sleeping bag around her. "Listen, Madhu, you think I don't understand what is going on. Let me tell you, I knew the moment I saw you and Rishab in the same room." He sighed and tried to comfort her, "I know that things haven't been working out so great lately, but everything is going to get better soon, okay? I promise. And so you are not gonna just go back down again and that is final"
"You don't understand Adam. I am not even sure I wanna go there." She shrugged. "I just figure it'd be easier if I left." "Well, easier isn't always better, right? You did teach me that, so you are staying. You gotta face your obstacles and currently, Deepali nor Kapoor are your obstacles. You yourself are your own obstacle. You can't run away from yourself."
Madhu looked up at him. "Are you sure I can do this?" He smiled. "I'm sure and you are so much more stronger than you think. So can I take it that you are staying?" He opened his sleeping bag more and stretched his arms out. Madhu smiled, quickly diving into his arms. "Okay."
"Excited about the upcoming day?" he asked trying to change the topic. "Yeah." She hesitated a moment when she heard movement nearby. "Hey, guys, time to get up," Harpreet called from outside, pulling on the tents to be sure everyone would wake up.
"Yes, we are up" she said, shoving down the weird feeling that came over her at the thought of spending the day trying to talk to Rishab.
Madhu pulled the zipper open at that moment and looked out of the tent she and Adam were sharing, lifting one eyebrow in question when she saw one of the guides sitting in front of her tent.
"Y'all ready for the next leg of this climb?" Kapoor asked the girl with her head sticking out of one of the tents. "You're going with us?" Madhu asked confused. "Nope, I'll be taking my group down the mountain after breakfast." "Oh." Madhu crawled out of the tent and stretched, pleased with her answer. "Are the others up yet?", she asked secretly wanting to know if they had spend the night together.
"Akash and Abby, I think? They went up to watch the sunrise." Madhu smiled. "Thats so romantic." "And Harpreet's waking up the rest."
Deepali opened the tent after getting dressed and she stretched as she stepped out. "Hey Deepali, Good Morning," Madhu greeted her politely. Deepali rolled her eyes at Madhu. "Whatever" and walked away.
"What're you two talking about?" Adam eyed Kapoor as he crawled out of the tent as well. "f**k," he hissed. "It's cold." "Don't be such a pussy, Adam," Abby said, shaking her head and laughing, as she walked up to them with Akash. "We're on a mountain; it's always gonna be cold up here. You don't see Madhu or me complaining." Madhu howled with laughter at his offended look and held her hand out to him, helping him up.
Rishab had heard his Abby's comment from afar and he grinned to himself. They are different than other girls. There were only a few who wouldn't bitch about the cold and the wind and every other inconvenience up here on the mountain.
"What's for breakfast?" Adam asked, shooting a glare in Abby's direction. Madhu intercepted when she recognized Adam's grumpy mood coming on. "Blueberry pancakes or scrambled eggs and bacon, take your pick." "How about we make both and share?" "Amazing how men can be appeased with either food or sex isn't it?" Abby asked, grinning at Madhu. Adam rolled his eyes and shook his head. He'd be happier with food and sex, but here on this mountain...??
Madhu walked up to the fire, knowing that Rishab was still waiting for an answer from her. He was warming his hands over the fire when she joined him and he straightened up to look at her. "We'll be leaving in less than an hour," he said. "Which way are we gonna be going?"
"To the summit," she said without looking at him. She sat down on a rock next to the fire. He nodded in satisfaction. "I've gotta get my gear packed up." He leaned down over her shoulder as he moved to pass her. "Just for the record though, I know you wanted to kiss me last night," he whispered, his lips grazing her ear.
Madhu got to her feet and grabbed his arm, dragging him several feet away from everyone. "Listen," she grabbed his collar, "you probably think you're Mr. Know-It-All, but you're not. You don't know me."
She walked away from him before any of her friends could see them together and sat down so she could prepare her breakfast.
Rishab swallowed hard. Why does he keep forgetting that she isn't like the other girls he knows. The girls he had been with in the past would have been on top of the world with such antics. But she is different. He needs to forget his playboy ways and talk about his feelings, instead of trying to be stud like, like Sikander. He shuddered thinking about Sikander and his miserable pick-up lines.
"Hey," Adam greeted her when he joined her at the fire and sat down next to her. "That smells good." Madhu forced a smile as she glanced at him. "Hey, you ready for today?" "Of course." He leaned forward to get a cup. "Want me to make you a coffee as well?" "Please." A splash of something alcoholic in it would be nice, she thought.
"So, I saw you and Rishab talking earlier?" Abby asked as she joined them. "Yeah, he tried to make a pass at me and I was taken aback." "And", Adam asked a little hopeful. "It was so sudden that I kinda freaked out and over-reacted. I screwed up completely." And she went on telling them what exactly happened.
"Okay. I think we can still fix this. So as planned, Adam will be joining Akash and me on the climb today. Without him around, it might make it easier for you to talk to Rishab?" Madhu smiled at her friends and wrapped one arm around each of them. "Thanks for your support, guys. You really are the world's bestest friends."
"Alright, changing the subject. How was the sunrise?" Madhu asked, grinning. "Did you two snuggle in the cold watching the sun rise together?" "Well, of course we snuggled; Akash's very warm and snuggly."
Adam rolled his eyes. "I think I'll skip this talk out. I already have heard a lot over the years and am glad your here Madhu to lend her your ears now," he said walking away.
"C'mon, tell me more. Ya know what I wanna hear," Madhu said excitedly. "There's not that much to tell, Madhu. Although I did discover something I didn't know about him." "And that's what?" "He's a romantic."
Madhu literally spat out her coffee. "And what makes you think that?" "You should've heard him going on about connecting with that special someone and how sex is so much more intense when you're in love with the other person... I had no idea he had those thoughts running around in his head. I mean, we've passed sexual innuendos to each other plenty of times... neither of us are exactly shy about the subject, but... romance? That's a new one."
"Maybe it was just his weird way of telling you that you're THE one for him?" "I still don't know about that, Madhu," she hedged. "Although, thanks for suggesting that he's serious about me cause now I will not be able to get rid of that idea." She rolled her eyes at her friend.
Madhu shrugged with a grin. "Welcome to my world, girl."
"Okay, no more talking about our situations with guys for this morning," Abby said before they could get bogged down with the conversation. "We came here to have a good time, so let's have a good time."
Abby nodded. "I'm glad we decided to make this trip, Madhu."
Edited by luvera - 12 years ago
Bigg Boss 19
