Part 29
M- Ye moti-moti badi-badi aankhon se mujhe ghurna band karo aur bolo jo mann mein hai!
G- Aap bhi toh mujhe ghur rahe hain!
He was actually staring and Geet’s saree had slipped, and she was in her petticoat & blouse
She realizes and her whole body gets goosebumps
M- Main toh badtameezi kar raha hoon
He says with his sly grin
Geet turns red with embarrassment
She steps to turn away and almost trips on her saree
G-Ah!
M- Dekh ke! Are you okay?
G- Hmm
Geet mumbles
M- I am looking away, tum saree pehen lo
Maan turns to the other side to ease the situation
+++++++
Adha ghanta ho gaya, Maan patiently waiting for her to finish up
Meanwhile, he grabs the shirt on the bed that he had planned to wear for the party
He swiftly removes the shirt he was wearing
Geet sneaks a quick glance as his broad back and wide shoulders become visible
The progress she had meticulously achieved on the saree while following the step-by-step tutorial is lost as she loses her grip on her pleats
She grunts out of frustration
He could hear her struggling with the saree
M- Koi help chahiye?
Maan asks without turning
G- Nahi…emm…main kar lungi….tumhe saree pehnni kaise aati hogi
M- Nahi aati hai, par tum ye video 15 baar chala chuki ho. The whole tutorial is stuck in my head
Geet ka koi response nahi aata toh Maan turns slowly
Geet is still struggling with it, tutorial baar baar rewind kar rahi hai
+++++
Geet had wrapped her saree but neatly pleats nahi bann rahe the
She finds Maan in front of her
He looks down at her and slowly gets down on his knee
She finds him sincerely arranging the pleats as per the video’s direction
He leaves the pleats dismissing them slightly
He walks up and moves behind Geet while following the tutorial
Maan’s scratchy cheek brushes her shoulder blades as he puts his arm around the periphery of her waist to re-arrange the pleats
M- Tuck in now
She does as instruct
He walks to her front again and kneels down to properly arrange the pleats
M- kar diya
He says getting up
G- Thanks
Geet mutters
He nods starting to walk away
He stops after a step and looks back
G- Kya hua?
M- Tumne pin galat laga rakhi hai
He refers to the pin on her shoulder
G- Kya? Galat hai?
Geet starts to look over her shoulder to find the problem
He walks towards her and carefully removes the pin to put it on the correct place
He is finding it difficult to concentrate as her fragrance and view of the curve of her neck is intoxicating
G- Ho gaya?
Her words bring him back to the reality
He quicky puts the pin and moves away
M- Haan!
He replies half panting
Geet wonders why is he panting?
M- Late ho raha hain. Nikalte hain
He says more to himself to divert his mind
G- Okay
++++++++
Both reach the venue
The colleagues and their families welcome them
‘Kitne achche lag rahe ho tum dono’
‘Ekdum celebrity couple lag rahe ho’
‘Tumhare family walon ne beauty contest rakhwake tum dono ki shaadi karayi thi kya?’
The girls take Geet aside
‘Geet, pati ke aane ke baad se toh khil gai hai’
‘Kya kaha Maan ne dekh ke? Itni achi lag rahi hai’
G- Kya kehna hai? Kuch nahi kaha
‘Kuch nahi kaha? Koi compliment nahi diya?’
Geet shakes her head
++++
Mann was with the boys when some of the colleagues approach him
‘Maan tumhari complaint aa rahi hai. Tumne apni biwi ko compliment hi nahi kiya’
‘Tumhe pata hai, Geet pehle kabhi annual party mein nahi aati. Usse lagta tha akeli kya aayegi. Tum ho isiliye aayi hai woh’
Maan looks at Geet who was speaking to some other people. She did look beautiful, he knew that. But he didn’t know whether to say that upfront
M- Main uss se kahunga toh use achcha lagega?
He asks the colleagues with curiosity
‘Off Course acha lagega!’
Maan sees Geet walking towards him
G- Mujhe kuch kehna tha
He moves to the side to hear her out
M- Hmm?
G- Photo le lijiye
M- Huh?
She hands over her phone to him
He takes it and moves towards her side to click their picture
G- emm..nahi…selfie nahi….meri photo
M- Oh!! Haan…haan!
He clicks her few solo pictures
The colleagues around her come over and pull them into the dance floor
++++++
The lights were dimmed, people were dancing as the singer sang romantic songs
Everyone around them cajoled Maan-Geet to dance too
They end up standing closer to each other while imitating the other couples around as Geet lightly puts her hand on his shoulder and Maan takes her other hand in his
They are slowly moving with the rhythm
M- Saree achi lag rahi hai tumpe
He finally says it
G- emm…haan saree achi hai
M- Nahi…saree mein tum…tum achi lag rahi ho
Her cheeks acquire a color while she bites her lower lip
He grins
M- Compliments make you awkward
He makes an observation
She looks up at him then looks down
G- Mujhe aadat nahi hai
M- Compliments ki?
She nods
M- Kyun?
She shrugs
G- Kisi ne aisa kuch kaha hi nahi
M- Kabhi nahi?
He is genuinely surprised
M- Ho hi nahi sakta. Tumhe samajh nahi aaya hoga
G- Mujhe kyun samajh nahi aayega?
She protests
He shrugs
G- Khair chodo, tumhe toh bohot compliments milte honge
Maan shakes his head
M- Ladiyon ko main boring lagta hoon
He admits
Geet is also surprised
G- Waise thode boring toh tum ho
Maan looks at her with stoic face to hide his disappointment
She chuckles
G- Mazzaak kar rahi hoon main!
He smiles seeing her grin
They dance in silence for a while
She looks around her colleagues cheering and supporting them and liking Maan’s presence
G- Thank you aane ke liye. Aaapko sablog bohot pasand karte hain yahan
He frowns looking intently at her
M- Tum naraaz ho? Abhi toh tum thik thi
Geet is surprised hearing him
G- Main? Naraaz? Nahi toh. Main kyun naraaz houngi?
M- Tumne mujhe ‘Aap’ kaha. Tum jab naraaz hoti ho toh mujhe ‘Aap’ kehti ho aur khush hoti ho toh ‘Tum’
He says matter of factly
Geet is stunned for a moment; she never realized Maan noticed these tiny details about her too; that she even ignored
G- Aap…Tum bhi toh mujhe ‘Aap’ kehte ho
M- Jo tum kehti ho wohi main kehta hoon
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