Fatima's Cozy Corner 2 - Link to New Corner on Pg 152 :) - Page 102

Chapter 23 - No Ordinary Kiss

"There you are!" cried Sam, as she walked into the kitchen and spotted her friend. "I've been waiting for you to get back ever since the Wicked Witch of the East kidnapped you this morning. What did she want?"

"Nothing," lied Meher. She looked down at the chocolate cake in front of her, then picked up her fork and stuffed her face with a large mouthful of it.

"She must have wanted something," insisted Sam. "She whisked you away fast enough."

"She just wanted to see me," Meher said in between mouthfuls. "She is my step-aunt you know. She can see me if she wants."

"Oh and I suppose she suddenly wants to add you to her will or something," Sam said sarcastically. "Come on Meher, she despises you. The only time she even acknowledges your existence is when her precious Ash needs an escort on her car ride to and from Ludhiana. Now fess up, and tell me what she really wanted. You know I'm not going to leave you until you do."

"Sam, do you mind?" Meher rolled her eyes. "I've had a horrible start to my day, I missed breakfast and I'd appreciate it if you'd let me eat in peace."

"You're going to have chocolate cake in place of breakfast?" remarked Sam.

"Yes, so what?" said Meher.

"So, that's not a piece, that's the entire cake," said Sam.

"I'm hungry," lied Meher.

"And chocolate cake is also your go to remedy for alleviating depression," Sam said folding her arms before her.

"I'm not depressed," insisted Meher.

"Fine," said Sam. She slid the plate of cake away from her. "Then tell me what Daljeet Rampal wanted from you."

Meher threw her friend a peevish glance, but she also knew Sam wouldn't leave her alone until she got the information she wanted. "If you must know," she sighed. "She wanted me to convince Preet to marry Ashlesha."

"What?!" cried Sam. "The nerve of that woman!" She looked at her friend with narrowed eyes. "Wait a minute! Meher, don't tell me you did as she asked."

"Well...," said Meher. "Sort of..."

"Oh no! I can't believe you're behaving like such an idiot!" Sam threw her arms in the air. "What is wrong with you?!"

"What do you mean what is wrong with me?" cried Meher. "Why is everyone on my case today?"

"Because I can't stand to see you throw away your chance at happiness," replied Sam. "Stop moping around in the kitchen." She took out her phone and offered it to Meher. "Call Preet and tell him you weren't in your senses. Tell him you love him."

"No!" cried Meher.

"Why not?" demanded Sam. "You love Preet. It's obvious that you do. You're not going to let Ash take him away from you are you?"

"He was never mine to begin with!" argued Meher. "And I...I'm not in love with him."

Sam looked at Meher with a raised eyebrow.

"What? Do I have something as obvious as an I Love Preet Juneja sign plastered on my forehead or something? I mean, he was nice and I admit that I thought I liked him at one point, but I...uh...I've changed my mind," lied Meher. "You yourself said that a person is entitled to change their mind."

"I guess you're right Meher," said Sam. "You aren't making it obvious that you're in love with Preet. It's obvious that you're trying to hide the fact that you're in love with him!"

"Oh God Sam!" cried Meher, as she threw her fork down, walked out of the kitchen and headed upstairs. "Will you please just leave me alone?"

Undeterred, Sam followed Meher into her room. "What did Preet say?" she asked. "Did he believe you? He must have been so crushed. How did he react?"

Meher thought of just how angry Preet had been at her. Any feelings he may have had for her must have died right then and there. She had undoubtedly turned him off for good. A grim silence fell upon her. Ignoring her friend's barrage of questions, she quickly walked over to the closet, took out her bag and began to pack her belongings.

"Where are you going?" asked Sam.

"Back where I belong...home," replied Meher.

"Oh, so you're running away," said Sam.

"No, I'm going home," countered Meher. "I miss Papa-Ji, and I have to get back to my job and my little old life waiting for me in Ludhiana."

"But what about Preet?" asked Sam.

"Preet! Preet! Preet!" cried Meher. "I'm so sick and tired of everyone telling me to think about Preet! Let me tell you something Sam, Preet Juneja can take care of himself! And quite frankly, I want nothing more than to be as far away from him as possible!"

Just then there was a knock on the door. It was Mrs. Singh. "Is everything alright girls?" she asked.

"Heh heh...yes Auntie Ji, why do you ask?" Meher threw Sam a nervous glance.

"Because it sounded like you 2 were arguing," said Mrs. Singh.

"We weren't arguing Ma...we were having a...a...discussion," lied Sam. "Meher wants to go back home and I was trying to convince her to stay a little longer."

"Was there something you wanted, Aunti Ji?" Meher quickly added.

"Well, it seems today is a day of visitors for you Meher," sighed Mrs. Singh. "That boy is here...you know the one your father works for...the one that was standing out in the rain..."

"Preet?" Meher and Sam said in unison.

"Yes, that's right," nodded Mrs Singh. "You know he's a lovely young man, now that I actually had a chance to speak to him. He even invited us to his sister's upcoming wedding festivities. Anyway, he's waiting downstairs for you Meher."

"Thanks Ma," smiled Sam. "She'll be down in a minute, won't you Meher?"

"Do I have a choice?" mumbled Meher.

"What was that dear?" asked Mrs. Singh.

"Uh...nothing," Meher gave her a weak smile. "I'll be right down."

A short while later...

Meher stood outside the Singh's living room pondering her predicament. Preet had been polite and cordial with Mrs. Singh, but then he didn't have a bone to pick with the older woman. She on the other hand had broken his heart...again. Why was he here? What more could they have to say to each other?

Taking a deep breath she pushed the door open. Preet stood up as she entered the room.

"Hi," he said, offering her a small smile.

"Hi," Meher said quietly. Taking a cautious step back, she tried to read his face. He didn't seem angry as he had been when they had met earlier. She turned back to look at the door as if deciding whether or not to leave it open in case she needed to make a quick get away. Preet made the decision for her.

"Do you mind?" he asked as he came up beside her and closed the door. "I'd like to talk to you in private, and I promise not to bite." He motioned towards the sofa, but Meher did not move. "Um..., you dropped this at my place," said Preet.

Meher looked at the invitation he was holding out and took it from him. "You came by to give me this?" she asked. "I thought after this morning...you wouldn't want to have anything to do with me let alone have me come to your sister's party."

"Yeah...about that," Preet sighed as he passed his hand through his hair. "Meher, I'm sorry. I...uh...I shouldn't have yelled at you...or asked you to leave."

"Asked me to leave? You practically told me to get lost!" Meher corrected him.

"I know...and I never should have behaved the way I did," said Preet. "It's just that, I saw you agreeing to do Bauji's bidding aur mera meter ghoom gaya (and I lost it). I realize now that you didn't really mean anything you said. Bauji put you up to it. "

"Your father didn't put me up to anything Preet," said Meher. "I really do want you to marry Ashlesha."

"Are you crazy? No way!" said Preet.

"Why not?" argued Meher. "What's wrong with Ashlesha? She's a perfectly eligible match for you."

"Oh she's perfectly eligible alright, if your criteria for a good match is the size of her bank balance." frowned Preet. "But that's not the kind of girl I'm looking for Meher. I want someone who loves me for who I am. Someone who's kind and caring and down to earth. Someone I can talk to and be myself around. Someone who can be fun and do something completely spontaneous and crazy like climb a tree just to cheer me up. Someone who cares about my family more than her designer dresses. Someone who doesn't feel the need to put a surgical mask on before she hands me my medication. Someone...someone I would have introduced to my mother and said...Hey Ma look...she's the one, and my mother would have approved. Ash is none of these things."

"Phir toh tume aisi ladki milne se rahi (Then you'll never find such a girl)," said Meher.

"Oh but I have found her, and she's standing right in front of me." grinned Preet. He took a step forward and put his hand on the door, cornering Meher, as his eyes traced her pretty features. "Did you hear what I said?" he asked. "I'm crazy about you Meher. I've never met anybody I've wanted the way I want you. I like who I am when I'm around you. You're real, not some fake like so many girls I've met. I can see all of you, and I'm in love with what I see."

"You...uh...you don't know what you're talking about Preet?" gulped Meher. Her face suddenly felt very hot. She pushed past him so that he wouldn't see her blush.

"Oh I know exactly what I'm talking about," smiled Preet. "I'm asking you to marry me Meher. I'll even get down on one knee if you want me to."

"No!" Meher turned around and raised both hands to stop him.

Preet took her hands in his, closed the distance between them and gazed longingly into her eyes. "Will you Meher? Will you marry me?"

"I...I can't," Meher stammered as she took a step backward. "I mean...no. My answer is no."

"Why not?" demanded Preet.

"Because I just...I can't," insisted Meher. "Besides...uh...Ashlesha...she's in love with you."

"So what?!" cried Preet. "I don't love her. I could never love her. She's annoying, immature, selfish, self-absorbed, and arrogant. And she's my father's choice...not mine. I've never encouraged her feelings towards me. She's a fool if she thinks she can change the way I feel, especially when I'm in love with someone else. I'm in love with you Meher. I don't care what anyone else thinks. I want to spend the rest of my life with you." Preet walked over to Meher and gently took her hands in his again. "And I know you feel the same way about me."

"You're right Preet," sighed Meher. She gazed back intently into his eyes. "I...I love you. I fell in love with you the very first time I saw you with those poor children in Ambala." Suddenly her expression changed, and she yanked her hands out of his grip. "Is that what you'd like to hear from me?! Oh come on, grow up Preet! This is real life not some fairy tale! And the truth of the matter is I...I don't want to marry you because I...I'm not in love with you. You and I were nothing more than friends."

"You're lying Meher! Stop hiding behind that word friendship!" growled Preet. "There's more going on here between you and me and you know it! You can't be just friends with someone you're madly in love with. I don't want to be just friends with you!"

"I can't believe you Preet!" cried Meher. "Your family is on the verge of bankruptcy. If you don't marry Ashlesha they'll lose everything! Think of all the people that will lose their jobs if Juneja Enterprises goes down, including my father!"

"Meher, I know things look bleak right now, but my family's business has taken plenty of hits before and survived," reasoned Preet. "We'll come out of this one too."

"You don't have any guarantees of that," said Meher.

"No I don't," agreed Preet. "But I'm not willing to sacrifice my love over my dad's business failures."

"My answer is still no," said Meher.

Preet passed his hands over his face and exhaled loudly. "So, you really don't love me?" he asked studying Meher's face carefully.

"No," Meher lied shaking her head vehemently.

"And you want to punish me for my father's bad business choices...even though I had nothing to do with them... by giving me a life sentence with Ash," continued Preet. "A girl I can barely stand to be in the same room with...because it's the noble thing to do...and it would save your father's job."

"No...I mean yes...I mean no," said Meher. "I mean...that sounds terrible! Stop trying to confuse everything! Look, all I'm asking is that you at least think things over? Give Ashlesha a fair chance. Try and get to know her...give her a call or something."

"Um...yeah...okay... I'll do that," nodded Preet. A small smile tugged at the corner of his lips.

"You will?" Meher said in surprise.

"Yes, I will," said Preet. "I mean, it's what you really want isn't it?"

"Uh...yes...it...it is," said Meher. She wore a confused expression on her face. Why had Preet suddenly agreed to her demands?

"And if you really don't love me, I may as well move on in my life, right?" said Preet.

"Right," nodded Meher.

"So, I'll give Ash a call," said Preet.

"Okay...thanks...I guess," said Meher. She suddenly felt deflated.

Preet caught the unhappiness in her tone and looked at her inquisitively, but she let out a small nervous laugh, hoping he wouldn't ask her any questions.

"Heh heh...well, it's all settled then," said Meher. "I mean, you'll see soon enough, it's for the best. I'm glad we talked, and I'm glad you came by."

As she turned to leave, Preet suddenly slid his arms around her waist and pulled her close to him. He was set on a purpose and nothing was going to interfere with it, not even the shocked look on Meher's face.

"Preet, what are you...?" stammered Meher.

Before she could complete her question, he leaned over and pressed his lips firmly against hers. Meher inhaled sharply, unsure of how to react. She tried to think, but her brain suddenly seemed to be short-circuited. Logic demanded that she should push him away or slap him for his audacity, but as she felt his warm breath on her lips with each persuasive kiss, and felt him pull her closer until his hands rested in the small of her back, common sense and logic just flew out the window. Stunned, she realized that she was actually enjoying the new sensations assailing her brain and turning her legs into jelly.

To Preet's delight, she kissed him back. That encouraged him to deepen the kiss. After what seemed like ages, he slowly pulled back. Both were out of breath.

"You're right Meher," Preet spoke softly as he looked down at her and smiled. "There's absolutely nothing going on between us."

Shocked, Meher realized that her arms were circled around his neck. Embarrassed, she pulled her arms back and quickly distanced herself from him. Before anything else could go wrong, she ran out of the room.

Meher didn't stop running until she was in her room, safe behind closed doors. She walked over to the dressing table's mirror and stared at her reflection. Her face felt hot and was as red as a tomato. She had just had her first kiss. Not just a little peck on the cheek, but an intense and passionate first kiss. She ran to her bed and covered her face with her pillow, and sighed deeply, not even wanting to think about the mess she had just dug herself deeper into.

Later...

Preet strolled into the Juneja mansion humming to himself. "Aaj mausam, bada bayiman hai, bada bayiman hai." Suddenly 2 little boys and a little girl ran and hugged him from all sides.

"Mamu! Mamu!" they all cried at once.

"Hey guys! Great to see you!" smiled Preet as he ruffled the boys' hair and picked up and tossed the girl in the air. "And how's my little princess?"

"We're going to be staying with you, because Veera Maasi is getting married and daddy has to go on a business trip," explained Tanu.

"I heard," Preet smiled before proceeding to tickle his young niece. He then put her down and pulled out chocolate bars from his pocket. "Look what I've got for you."

"Yay!" the children cried, jumping up and down happily.

"I want one too! I want one too!" Chahat came running.

"Of course," smiled Preet. "I'd never forget my little munchkin." He handed Chahat a chocolate bar of her own then scooped the little girl up.

"Thanks Chachu," smiled Chahat, as she gave him a kiss on his cheek. "You're the best."

"Spoiling the kids already, I see," smiled Kulraj, as she and Heer joined Preet.

"It's what I do best," chuckled Preet, as he gave his elder sister a hug from the side. "It's good to see you Kul Di."

"Yes, we missed each other the last time Kiran and I were here," smiled Kulraj. "So, what's new?"

"Nothing much," Preet shrugged his shoulders. "Hey does Veera know you're here? Do you want me to go get her?"

"She's actually out with Nihal right now, but they'll be back after lunch," said Heer.

"Speaking of lunch, I'm starving," declared Preet.

"Okay, it should be ready in another 15-20 minutes," said Heer.

"Okay," smiled Preet as he turned towards the children. "Who wants to check out my new video game, while we wait for lunch?"

"We do! We do!" All 4 chidlren cried excitedly.

"Then follow me," smiled Preet. He tossed each child an apple from the fruit bowl as they passed by the dining table and made their way upstairs to his room.

"I thought you said there was so much tension going on in the house with regards to Preet," said Kulraj. "He looks perfectly fine to me."

"He does doesn't he," muttered Heer. Things must have gone well between him and Meher. I have to find out.

Later in the day...

Preet was in his room seated on a chair by the window staring into empty space. A smile danced across his face as thoughts of Meher consumed him. No matter how hard she tried to hide it, she loved him. He was convinced of that. She of course would never admit it. Nor would she ever agree to marry him, as long as she felt it would ruin his family's finances. If only she would for once listen to her heart.

"Hey Preet," said Heer as she knocked on the door. "Got a minute."

"Sure Bhabi, come on in, but make it quick," said Preet. He quickly bent down and picked up a business magazine from the floor and began flipping through it absentmindedly. "I...uh...have a lot of reading I need to catch up on."

"I see. When you get a chance do tell me where you learned to read upside down from," smiled Heer. She reached out and straightened the magazine for him then pulled up a chair and took a seat.

Oh-o, thought Preet. Here it comes...the inquisition.

"Thanks for keeping the kids entertained earlier," said Heer. "It gave Kulraj and me a chance to talk and make some plans for next week."

"No problem," said Preet. "I love spending time with them."

"Right...so...um...you want to talk about what happened?" asked Heer.

Preet eyed the pillows scattered on the floor. Some of them had their stuffing ripped out of them. "Chahat and Tanu had a pillow fight," he explained. "Don't worry, it was all friendly. Tanu does have a 1 year and 2 inch advantage so to be fair we had a best of 2 out 3 contest. You'll be proud to know that your daughter won. Vikas and Ketan on the other hand got a little too much into it. You're probably on your way back down to the kitchen. Maybe you can ask Kishan to come and tidy things up a bit. We'll definitely have to replace some of those pillows...and..."

"Preet, I was not asking about the mess," sighed Heer.

"You weren't?" said Preet.

"No! Your room is always messy," said Heer. "How did things go with Meher?"

"Meher?" said Preet.

"Yes Meher...the girl you're in love with," smiled Heer. "Did you talk to her? What did she say?"

"I did talk to her...and...uh...we...uh...had a very fruitful discussion," said Preet. He tossed the magazine aside, slid off the bed and began to tidy up his room.

"Fruitful? She made you a fruit salad or something? What do you mean fruitful?" asked Heer.

"Bhabi, if you don't mind, I'd rather wait until PB got home and discussed things with him," said Preet.

"What?! Why?!" cried Heer. "I've been supportive of you and Meher from the very beginning. I'm the one who told you the girls are like apples story and you want to talk to Prem?! That's not fair Preet!"

"I'm sorry Bhabi, it's just that, I don't think you'd understand," said Preet.

"Not understand? Why wouldn't I understand?" asked Heer.

"Because you're not a guy," chuckled Preet.

"What's that got to do with anything?" protested Heer. "Oh come on Preet, you can tell me anything. Just what did Meher say?"

"She said exactly what I expected her to say. She told me to marry Ashlesha. She gave me an entire list of very logical reasons why I should," said Preet.

"Uh-O," said Heer. "And what did you say?"

"I countered by giving her a longer list of why she and not Ashlesha is perfect for me. I asked her to marry me and she refused. Things were going south fast, so I just grabbed her and kissed her...,"

"Preet Juneja!" gasped Heer. She stood up and smacked him on his arm. "You didn't! Did you?!"

Preet immediately paused realizing what he had just said. "Um...yeah...well, I had to find out if she was lying or not...and...you're the one who told me not to come back until I found out how she really felt about me...and...I couldn't think of a better way." He looked up at her, slightly embarrassed. "What? Don't tell me you and PB have never kissed?"

"That's different," Heer said defensively. "Prem and I are married."

"And you never kissed before that?" Preet asked raising an eyebrow. "You guys were college sweethearts."

"That is none of your business," Heer pursed her lips and smacked him on the arm again. "Besides, you can't just go around grabbing girls and kissing them against their will! That's just plain wrong."

"I don't go around grabbing girls Bhabi," said Preet. "At least not normally. But this was different."

"Maybe this is a conversation you should have with your PB," said Heer.

"I thought you said I could tell you anything," said Preet.

"Well...okay," said Heer. "...but give me the G-rated version of events. It was G-rated, wasn't it?"

Preet rolled his eyes. "Look, I did kiss Meher, but the point is she didn't slap me, or push me away. And she was in no way an unwilling participant. In fact, she kissed me back, grinned Preet. "...and believe me... it was no ordinary kiss. It was everything I needed to know how she truly felt about me. She loves me Bhabi. She may not admit it, but she does."

A short while later...

"Hello, Daljeet," said Maya. She was on the phone. "I just saw Preet coming out of his room while talking to Heer. He was all smiles. He was even singing at lunch earlier. Certainly not the demeanor of someone who has been rejected by his lady love. What is going on? I thought you said you'd have a talk with Meher."

"I did," said Daljeet. "I wonder what she said to him."

"Yeah well, now you that you know the problem still exists, what are you going to do about it?" asked Maya.

"I'll just have to get rid of Meher," Daljeet said flatly.

"Get rid of her?" Maya asked worriedly.

"Relax Maya, I'm a concerned mother, not a hit man for the mob," Daljeet rolled her eyes. "I'll call my sister and ask her to call Meher back to Ludhiana. You know what they say...out of sight, out of mind."

"That won't help," Maya shook her head. "Ludhiana isn't at the other end of the world you know. Preet will just follow her there."

"Hmm...well then...we'll have to make Meher inaccessible to Preet in some other way," smiled Daljeet.

To all Readers: Please be silent no more!
Please hit the like button and leave your feedback for me.
It would be greatly appreciated.
Hope you all found the chapter interesting. 😊

Links to lots of Meet scenes are on page 1, 5th post of this thread, so do check them out.
If anyone has working links to Desh episodes with Meet scenes that you want me to upload
Please PM the link to me.
Take care and happy reading. 🤗

Chapter 24: Preview: Preet follows Meher to Ludhiana

Link to Chapter 24: https://www.indiaforums.com/forum/post/136250605

Link to: Table of Contents

Originally posted by: AASUS

Woot woot I beat lazychick me first me first woohoo 🥳 *smug smile *

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Page 132

Woah that scene was not expected - cool like the tit for tat convo Meet had

Coming back home Preet's bonding with kids my fav scene. ⭐️ I lobbb d whole scene.

Hehe Kul Di is fun. Chahat also made appearance

That was fun.

Wow Heer Preet convo too. Bonus 😎 that was fun. Haha it's good Heer didn't slap him for what he said 😆. She is Cool - that scene was very real. Preet wanted to speak to Prem 😆 lets see if there is any such scene.

Oh sad spy on J house - for Preet huh. So based on pre cap Meher will return. This is getting tougher. Oh man if I were her I'd run away from d useless father of hers - really can't stand that guy. Kuljeet is y herself but her dad is just ... Blah. Not looking forward to father daughter reunion.🥱

Is next chapter gona b torture of Meher 😒 I'm skipping of it is *sob* may b Sam will b around and some fun scenes coming?

Hope so.

This chapter was awesome - I'm nt sure what to say about Meet kiss part though - I think it was alright 👍🏼

Originally posted by: lazychick.maria

acha acha be happy Athi 😛😆

****

RES 😉 will unres VERY SOON 😛

UNRES!

UFFFOOO!!!!!!!! blushing !!!!!!!

☺️☺️☺️

Their scene was so intense and passionnate ☺️☺️☺️

DHAK DHAK you've totally ruined me this time Fatima 🤣

I was not expecting such a scene and that too on Meet but aaah the surprise was full actually ☺️

The whole update was simply fantastic Heer & Preet scene was hilarious 🤣 Preet told her everything and she got shocked! 😆

Loved Preet scenes with the kids so adorable 😳

stunning update... as always ...🤗