Manan FF - Kaisi yeh Yaariyan season 3 - Chapter 123 & note - Page 29

"Why are you looking at me like that?" He asked, rubbing his fingers restlessly around his neck.

One drink down, her movements had begun to linger just a little bit. The more obscure things started appearing, the wider her pupils grew. Where were they coming from, these new sensations popping up in her head and on her skin and even in the underlayers of her belly . Sensations like, the dancing tingle in her head, the heat rising in her cheeks, the flapping butterflies in her tummy and the undulating rhythm of her breaths. "Has any one told you, that you are hot...like super suppper hot"

Manik was a little confused. Something didn't seem right, and yet he couldn't exactly point out what. Neither of them were aware that alchohol was slowly but steadily making its way into her bloodstream.

The way she was speaking in a slow seductive voice, resting her chin on her palm and gently swaying her face. Her eyes were fixed on him, and the longing he saw in them, he hadn't seen anything this intense in a long while.

"Yes, a lot of people except my girlfriend, who thinks I am saru and horrible and bad."

"She is a dumb, your GF, or may be blind." She gave a naughty smile while twirling her hair. "Buy her a pair of specs ..mister."

Interesting.. Manik thought. 'So you are pretending to be drunk... hmmm...bring it on Nandini, it would be so much fun Sobering up my so called drunk girlfriend. " He thought. Little did he know that she wasnt pretending.

"Are you trying to flirt with me miss?"

"No, never, why should I?" she was literally drooling over him "BUT... why are you are so handsome Manik..your lips are so softy softy..and pinkish... and ur chotu sa nose.. And your cheeks... I looove your cheeks... " She bent over to his side and pinched his cheeks with both her hands.

People around were ogling at them. She had done the same thing twice, at the same place. He was a little miffed with her, but then she was such a cute doll, how could he stay angry with her for long. "Nandini!!" He scolded her, pretending to be cross.

"Manik!!" She retorted in the same mocking tone , totally dismissing his anger.

Just then the waitress walked by to check on them. She was yet to realize the grave mess-up she had done "Is everything ok, would you need anything more?"

Even before Manik could utter a word, Nandini blurted out "The drink was too good, may I have another one please?"

As the waitress politely nodded and went away, Nandini turned back towards Manik "So what was I saying, haa...why are you so handsome Manik?"

"What's up with you, today?" He raised his brows at her "Baki din to you don't even look at me.. And I am the one running after you all the time."

She burst out laughing & then tilting her head to one side, she looked into her eyes " Waise to I fall in love with you a litt..le more eve..ry day, and I am kinda cr..a.a.zy for you, you a..re like an addiction.. But if I tell you all this... tum chane ke jhar pe char jaoge... so I ke..eep you grounded." And she started giggling again. In between, her drink arrived and the she started sipping it down right away. "But I love your eyes, th...ey are the mo..ost be..au..ti..ful pair of eyes in the wh..ole Wor..ld." She cutely confessed, quite loudly this time, stretching her arms in the air.

Manik was totally loving these revelations, but somewhere all of this didn't seem normal. He knew Nandini way too well to know, she was extremely guarded when it came to her feelings about him. She did love him silly, but she wasn't one of those people to shout it down from her rooftop. What then, had gotten into her today, for her to behave like this.

Suddenly , it struck him that her drink could be spiked. But it was already too late by then. Nandini had finished more than two thirds of the second glass. Manik grabbed the glass from her hand and took a quick sip. He was right, it was the drink. Immediately he called for the waitress.

That's when they all got to know that instead of a 'Blueberry Mojito', she had served 'Jungle Juice', which people say is one hell of a cocktail. He wanted to blast the girl for the blunder & he would have, if he didn't have a totally knocked out girlfriend to handle.

"Nandini, lets go" He pulled her by the arm, but she couldn't even stand straight. She was stuttering all the way and he had to hold her tightly by her waist to keep her straight.

"Wo Man..ii..k, Main kya bol rahi thi.. Yo..ur Gf is a du..mbo, and bli..nd too.. " She sniffed her nose. Her speech was slurred now and she was swaying back and forth, her long mane, dancing along.

"Yes, I know, She is such a dumbo and definitely blind. Who knows better than me? But ab kya karein, I love her so I have to put up with all her stupidity." He said it more to himself than to her. None of what he was saying was anyways making any sense to her. For she was long lost in her LA-LA land

"You love her?" She asked innocently, tugging at his sleeve.

"Yes I do"

"Really?"

"Hmm"

"Kitna?? "

" A lot. Now can we please return to our room? " It was becoming so difficult to drag her along. To begin with, she was such a tiny girl that his hands barely reached her waist and on top of that she didn't seem to run out of her stock of never ending questions. It would have been so much easier to just pick her up in his arms and carry her like he always did. But damn his stupid bones! "

They had to cross the disc on their way to the escalator, and on a Sunday evening like this, it was choc a block with people. The door to the disc was slightly ajar and thumping beats were flowing out. Manik desperately hoped that the music didn't reach Nandini's ears, or better still, bounced off her head because a drunk girlfriend was already too much to handle, he didn't need a drunk dancing girlfriend now.

But in the history of Manik and Nandini and their love saga, has destiny ever played by the rulebook. Why then do you think it would be any different today.

Manik's dad who was perhaps hibernating in some meeting room in Europe had to call him right at this moment. With much difficulty Manik pulled his cell out of his pocket and rejected the call, but when his dad decided to act stubborn and kept ringing, he had no option but to take it.

"Nandini, yahan do min ruko, dad's calling, yahan bohot noise hai... Main yun gaya aur yun aya." he shook her shoulders to make sure his words were registering.

She nodded, half drooling, half smiling. Only God knows how much actually went inside her head.

"pakka na, hilna mat, ok?"

"Tum jao, main yahi pe hun... Yaaahiin pe...go ..go Manik...nahi to Daaa..d will beco...me an..gry and pu..n..ch on your cho..o..o.tuu sa nose."

Poor Manik had to leave her there, with the hope that she would stay put, and ran across the hallway to take his dad's call.

****

"Are dad, kya hua, main call karta na baad mein.."

"Haan wo to dikhta hai. Where the hell are you for the past one week?"

This was absolutely not the time for him to explain that he had met with an accident and had got his memory back and had gone back to Mumbai and then again returned to Panchgani with Nandini. That was too much of information to be given away right then and he had absolutely no time for a follow up QnA session . "Main wo friends ke saath ghumne aya hun, just wanted a break. I will return to Pune in a week or two."

"Kaun wo Panchgani wali friend?" His dad was teasing him.

"Haan dad wahi, listen I am in damn hurry, I will talk to you later."

Even before hid dad could ask anything else or even say a bye, he disconnected and ran back to the hallway only to not find Nandini there.

Here Manik was cursing his dad for calling him at this hour, when he was stuck in an alcohol induced emergency. But he had no idea of the emergencies his dad could have caused, had Manik informed him about gaining his memory back and meeting his old friends. Things don't always happen for the worst, sometimes the good is hidden in the bad. It's just that we fail to see it at once.

"Have you seen this girl going inside?" He asked the bouncer waiting outside the disc.

"Oh yaa, she did go in."

As Manik stepped inside the disc, he heard the two bouncers talk behind his back " School mein parti hogi, puri talli thi, chal bhi nahi pa rahi thi. Bigre baap ke baache, hath me paisa milte hi aiyashiyan karte hain." Manik turned around & dragged the guy by his collar "What did you just say? Ek baar repeat kar thora zor se.. "

Seeing the fury in Manik's eyes, he backed off and started fumbling "Nahi wo to... "

"Tujhe kis cheez ka paisa milta hai? gossip karne ke liye? Roka kyun nahi agar wo chal nahi pa rahi thi to? Bloody Idiots!

Teri aur us waitress ki to main khabar leta hun. Agar dobara ek ulti seedhi baat ki to kal tu baithne ke liye yahan rahega nahi, samjha."

Leaving the bouncer visibly perplexed, he dashed inside.

Where would he find her amidst 300 odd people. He checked the bar, and the lounge, she wasn't there. Then he went about the dance floor and what he saw next was..