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Chapter 14: Sweet Nights
As they left the theater and started walking out into the big hallway Preet spotted his brother Prem with Sanjana standing at one of the concession stand waiting areas. He warmly greeted, "Hey PB, how was the movie?"
Prem turned and grinned. His grin grew naughtily as he spotted Meher with him and no one else. "It was pretty good. What about you?"
Meher smiled politely noticing the girl standing rather closely to Prem. "It was good. Too bad Preet had no idea what was going on."
"Oh, did he?" Prem replied a sparkle of mischief dancing in his eyes, "What was he doing?" Preet narrowed his eyes giving him a dirty look at his brother.
"He was too busy eating popcorn," Meher giggled.
Realizing that they had been talking for awhile without introducing the girl next to his brother, Preet smiled, "Oh, this is Sanjana." Meher and Sanjana politely exchanged greetings. "You're coming to the Diwali party right?" Preet asked.
"Most definitely wouldn't miss it for the world," Sanjana replied. She lightly rested her hand on Prem's shoulder, "He promised he would give me one dance." Meher eyed her suspiciously wondering why she seemed to be overly friendly with Prem.
"PB is going to be dancing?" Preet replied in shock. "He never dances...you have to force him on the dance floor."
"I know. But he promised me he would give me one dance," Sanjana smiled.
"He never promises me. He always says no when I ask...but then again I'm not a pretty girl, so," Preet teased.
Prem frowned, "She wouldn't stop asking. So I gave in."
"Ah, that's another way to do it," Preet replied while Sanjana just smiled.
Meher gently tugged Preet's arm, "We should probably get going John, Keri, and Rano will be waiting for us." Preet nodded and they both bid farewell to Prem and Sanjana.
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Meher sat in the car silently pondering if she should say anything. Eventually she figured Preet would be the best person to talk about what she was planning. After all it concerned his brother so he would definitely be able to give some advice and hopefully help her. But she first had to find out if he was feeling the same way she was feeling about the whole situation. She cautiously started, "So, Preet...what do you think about Heer?"
Preet looked at her rather dumbfounded. He was wondering why she was asking about Heer when she was on a date with him. But then he chided himself because the only person who knew they were on a date was him. "What about her?"
"You know like as a person what do you think about her," Meher continued to probe.
"Um, well she's nice...very sweet personality. She's a good cook. Um, she's very supportive and dependable..." Preet replied.
"Do you think she's pretty?" she asked.
"Yeah, of course she is," Preet said. But he suddenly realized that probably wasn't the best thing to say in his current situation. "But your pretty too," he quickly added.
"I'm pretty?" she repeated looking at him in shock. "You don't think I'm a little rolly?"
Preet shook his head vigorously, "There is nothing wrong with you. You're like Miss Universe...no, even better than that."
"Preet..." Meher softly said.
He turned and looked at her, "You're beautiful Meher. There's no need to change anything." Meher shyly bit her lower lip and tucked her hair behind her ear. "You're funny. You laugh a lot. You're smart. You live life to the fullest. That's what I like about you," he continued to compliment.
"Thank you, Preet," she timidly replied. "I think you're great too."
"Really?" Preet asked. She nodded her head. "Thanks, Meher," he replied sheepishly. "But why are you asking me about your sister?"
"Well, you see...how do I put this...do you know of any guys who might be interested in my sister?"
Preet arched his eyebrow, "I'm sure I could find some guys...good guys on the other hand are hard to find. Why? Are you trying to set your sister up or something?"
Meher frowned that she wasn't explaining herself properly. "What I mean is...what do you think about Pr---"
But before Meher could finish her sentence Preet interrupted excitedly, "Prem Bhaiya for Heer?!" Meher screamed as the car suddenly swerved in Preet's excitement. "So sorry, Meher." She unclenched her hand from the arm rest and nodded that she was okay. "I've actually been thinking about that. About a week ago he came home late wearing a NYU shirt that I know he doesn't own. He said Heer let him borrow it because he stained his shirt or something."
"I know," Meher eagerly joined in, "I saw his shirt soaking in the laundry room when I came home that night. I really wondered what happened that night."
Preet grinned naughtily, "I don't know but it must have been something good cause for the past week now he's been wearing that shirt to sleep."
Meher rejoiced, "I knew it. There's something there. So, you'll help get them together?"
"Of course. I'll be your partner in crime," Preet replied. "I've already got an idea for the Diwali party."
Meher clapped her hands enthusiastically. "Great, but wait..." she said suddenly serious, "Who's this Sanjana?"
Preet laughed, "Sanjana? Oh come on, nothing to worry about Prem doesn't even think of her like that...they're just good friends."
"He may think of her as a good friend but what about her? She may think differently," Meher informed. "She was standing really close to him at the movies."
"Nah, come on you are overreacting," Preet replied.
"Trust me, call it woman's intuition," she said.
"Look, don't worry about it," he said. "This is about Prem Bhaiya and Heer Bhabhi."
"Bhabhi, already?" Meher chuckled.
"Hey, what kind of men do you think we Juneja men are? We don't love them and then leave them. When we fall in love it's for life," Preet explained.
Meher glanced over at him with wonderment, "You surprise me every time, Preet." He just smiled not really knowing if he should take that as a compliment or as something else. They then spent the rest of the ride discussing their plan on getting Prem and Heer together.
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Heer laid her forehead on her arm whining, "Why? Why?! Why! Is this stupid thing doing this to me? Ugh, it was working fine a minute ago." She lifted her head up and glared at the computer screen. The Excel project she was working on was nearly complete but when she did a test run the program was giving her incorrect figures. She sighed and got up from the living room floor and started walking around trying to calm herself down. She eventually lay down on the couch and turned the TV on, "Okay 10 minute break and then back to work," she reasoned with herself. She noticed ever since she had been getting less sleep she was talking to herself a lot. The lack of sleep was causing her to feel and act loopy. She sighed to herself as she flipped through the channels looking for something interesting to watch. Suddenly the door bell rang. Heer dragged herself up from the couch and mumbled, "Who is it?"
"It's me," the person replied from the other side.
"Do I know me?" Heer replied as she opened the door.
"I certainly hope you do," Prem said standing on the porch with a smirk on his face. Despite Heer's obvious lack of sleep he couldn't help but feel that she still looked beautiful. "Are we going to stand here or are you going to let me in?"
She blinked a couple of times and asked, "Prem? What are you doing here?"
"Coffee break," he simply replied. "From the looks of it...you need it." Heer continued to stand there leaning against the edge of the door not making a sound. "Aren't you cold standing here?" he asked as he looked over her outfit. She just nodded in response and walked back into the house leaving Prem to see himself in. He looked at her with a concern face, "How many hours have you been sleeping?" She held up her fingers. "Four hours?!" he replied. "What have you been doing?" Heer pouted and pointed at her computer. He shook his head, "No project is worth killing yourself over."
She place her hand on her forehead, "I know it isn't but the stupid program isn't working right...I was almost done too. I don't know what went wrong. I also have to finish that paper for Business Ethics...its half way done. I'm so exhausted that I can't even think straight right now."
"I'm glad I came," Prem said as he took off his jacket.
She looked at him and asked again, "Wait, what are you doing here? Didn't you go to the movies?"
"Yes, I did," he answered.
Heer gave him a look, "Oh," she said her voice thick with disappointment.
"Also went out and had dinner at this really great Italian place," he continued.
"Sounds like you had a lot of fun," she muttered.
A thin smirk formed on his lips as he noticed the twinge of jealous in her last sentence. "Yea, they had the best testing fettuccine alfredo I've ever had. And the dessert...the tiramisu, just wow!"
"That sounds really nice," she curtly replied. She turned her back to him and crossed her arms, "You and Sanjana sure had a good time."
For whatever reason Prem was enjoying the reaction Heer was giving him. He walked closer, "It was okay. But I was missing someone a lot..." Heer cautiously turned around and looked at him. "Kunal," he finished. "I was missing him..."
Heer gave him a stern look embarrassed that she had fallen into his joke. "Prem," she exhaled in aggravation.
He placed his hand on her shoulder stopping her from turning away from him. Heer's body stiffened at his touch. The way his fingers were gently pressing down on her skin was sending a wave of mix emotions through her. "Come on," he smiled turning her around to face him. "You're really sensitive when you don't sleep. I promise to take you there for dinner one night. Just you and me, okay?" Heer silently nodded her response. Prem then looked into her eyes, "But I did miss you." She felt her cheeks grow warm as her eyes widen at his sudden confession. He smiled and then walked away towards the kitchen, "So, how about some coffee?"
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Heer sat on the couch rubbing the back of her neck and shoulders. All the hours hunched over her laptop was putting a strain on her muscles. Prem put down his coffee cup and gently place his hands on her shoulder. He felt a tingling jolt through his fingers; the same sensation he felt moments earlier when he had touched her shoulder. He swallowed hard trying to understand why he was feeling this way; a nervousness spreading about him. Heer sat stunned over Prem's actions. "You're pretty tense," he whispered. "I'm pretty good at massages. Um, we should probably move to the floor."
Heer obediently got up and grabbed a pillow from the couch. She walked over to the other side of the coffee table and gently tossed the pillow onto the floor. Prem silently watched as she undid her ponytail and twirled her hair up into a bun before lying down. He knelt down beside her and stared at her exposed neck silently berating himself...I'm just giving a massage...nothing to be nervous about...wh-why do I feel so weird all of a sudden? Prem stop it right now... He cleared his throat in an effort to quiet his mind from veering off into strange thoughts. He slowly started with her shoulders feeling for tight knots; his fingers probing moving inwards towards her shoulder blades. Heer let out a moan which Prem tried not to think too much about. He shouted inside his head for his hormones to stop whatever it was that was going on. As he reached her top right shoulder near her neck, "Wow, you are really tight here," he informed. Prem put pressure on his thumb rubbing into her back with a circular motion. Heer let out a yelp as she felt an intense pain. He immediately pulled away, "Sorry, Heer...didn't mean to hurt you."
She muffled a response into her pillow, "It's okay. Just undo the knot. I'll be fine."
"Are you sure?" Prem hesitantly asked.
"Go ahead. Keep going even if it hurts," she instructed.
"Okay, here I go," he warned as he began to massage the same spot again. Heer's body instinctively tighten her hands grabbed her pillow squeezing it from both sides. Prem gently placed his right hand on the lower back trying to relax her. "It's loosening. I'm almost done," he reported. He could sense that her breathing was becoming less shallow as the knot disappeared. Her body soon fell into a relaxed state. "That's just one I found," Prem reported.
"I have more than one?" Heer replied rather fearfully.
"You're been under a lot of stress. You have more than one knot," he responded. "I can get rid of them if you want. You'll sleep a lot better tonight."
She nodded her head, "Okay, do it." Prem granted her request and began working on his task. The next few knots located on her left side were easily taken care of and he finished rubbing her back soothing away any pain she was feeling. Prem noticed she was being very quiet and with a concern voice said, "Are you okay?"
Heer rubbed her nose against her pillow in an awkward response. Prem crouched lower so he could see her face. She reached out and pulled his arm causing him to lie down on the floor next to her. "Thanks I'm feeling a lot better."
"You scared me there for a minute," he replied.
"Sorry, but after a while it wasn't hurting anymore and I was getting sleepy," she said as she rested her hands underneath the pillow.
"I'm glad I could help," he grinned. "But promise me you will go to bed early tonight?"
"But---" she tired protesting.
"Heer," he sternly ordered. "Get the proper sleep and you will be able to finish what you need to get done."
She saw the concern look on his face and relented, "Okay fine." He smiled happily and placed his hands behind his head as he lay on his back.
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Keri and John waved goodbye to Preet, Meher, and Rano as they walked in the opposite direction to their car. The other three then began heading down their side of the parking lot looking for their cars. "That was a lot of fun. We should get together again," Rano said.
"We definitely should," Meher agreed.
"Oh, Preet...are you sure you want to invite me and my sisters too?" Rano asked in a concern tone.
"Why not?" he questioned even though he knew very well what she meant.
"Well, I know there isn't a problem with Bani but...really, you want to deal with Pia?" she said.
"So, she's a bit of a nuisance," he replied.
"A bit..." Rano said sarcastically. "I think your brother would say otherwise."
"It's Diwali and you're my friend and Bani's cool...she's a close acquaintance with us...it wouldn't be right if I didn't invite Pia as well if both of you are invited," he explained.
"Well, okay. We'll make sure she doesn't cause any trouble," Rano promised. "Oh, here's my car. I'll see you guys on campus."
Preet and Meher bid farewell to Rano and continued walking to their car. "So, who's this Pia? Do we have to be worried about her getting in the way of our plan?" Meher asked.
"Nah, she's harmless. I think the only reason she's been chasing after Prem Bhaiya is because she still thinks he's available. All we need to show her is that he's not and I think she'll back off," Preet explained. "Besides, she may come in handy...we can always use her in our plan."
"I certainly hope you are right," she replied in a worried voice.
Preet spotted his car and quickly walked over to the passenger side and opened the door for Meher. She looked at him perplexed by his action but quietly sat down in the car. Preet smiled as closed the door. The ride home was a pleasant one as they listened to the radio and chatted. Preet parked the car in the driveway and walked Meher to the porch. He fidgeted nervously wondering to himself if he should let her know he would like to spend more time with her. Meher timidly stood facing Preet in front of the door playing with her keys. "Um, I had a really good time tonight," she said.
"Yeah, we should go out again with them," Preet automatically replied.
"Well, that too..." she said and then glancing down, "but I had a lot of fun at the movies with you...maybe we can do that again."
Preet eyes sparkled with joy as a grin spread across his face, "Yea, I mean yes. I'd like that a lot." Meher looked up at him with a nervous smile. "Hey Meher..." he suddenly said pointing his finger to the right. She turned to look at what he was pointing at and without warning Preet quickly gave her a kiss on her cheek and ran off. Meher turned around her eyes in shock covering her mouth with her hand. She stood there for several minutes even after Preet had driven away trying to process everything that had just happened. She touched her cheek and blushed.
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Cameo Appearance by Rano Dixit from Kasamh Se
Pre-Cap:
Chapter 15: The Green Eye of Jealous
Lots of fun and drama at the Diwali Party read to find out what happens.
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Thanks again for reading!
Comments greatly welcomed!
---Grace 😃
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
Geet - Hui Sabse Parayee
