Posted:
Mayur version on the next page
Sajan Version
"Samraaattt..." she screamed at the top of her voice at 1.30am when they were coming back from a business party, on their way home. she had gulped down six shots of vodka when she saw her husband dance with a skimpy clothed business associate, who tried to get too "touchy" with him.
"ssshhh... lower your volume. We are not at home, we are on the road." Samrat tried closing her mouth and then changing the gear with his left hand alternatively, while he tried handling the steering wheel with his right. When he felt that she was calm enough, he moved his hand away from her mouth and looked at her, to which she returned an angry pout.
"i don't want to go home. i want to go somewhere else. Stop the car na..." she looked at him in the cutest way possible. "no, hum dono seedha ghar jaa rahein hain. Last time you were in high spirits and we went to the beach, i had a tough time pulling you out of the water and then taking you home. so iss baar hum seedhe ghar jaa rahein hain." Gunjan was about to protest when he looked at her and pointed his index finger and said "koi bahana nahi, koi zidd nahi. Chup chaap baithi raho. Yeh gaadi toh ghar pahunchne par hi rukegi" And with that warning, she sat with her feet raised on the seat, thus hugging her knees, with a pout ofcourse.
It was drizzling and Samrat usually preferred to drive slow since the roads weren't visible enough. She slowly slid the glasses down and put her hands out to feel the drops on her palm. The rain splashed on her fingertips and slid down her bangles, dripping on her saree. "Gunjan, haath ander karo. Tum bheeg jaogi, aur phir beemaar padogi." Gunjan refused to listen to him and continued to play with the rain drops. She slowly looked at him and saw that he was concentrating on the road, just like an archer would concentrate on the bull's eye of the dart board.
She giggled at her own imagination and splashed a few drops on his face. He just glared at her, at which she was extremely annoyed. "gaadi roko, abhi ke abhi gaadi roko. Mujhe utarna hai. Rokooo" she yelled in his ears and suddenly, Samrat brought the car to a halt. Gunjan looked at his face that was expressionless. "haaye, rok diya? yun toh meri baat kabhi nahi manta, aaj wrong time pe maan gaya?" she murmured to herself. She began to ponder as to how she would reach home when Samrat leaned on to her seat and went close to her. she looked at him and smiled shyly. He held her face in his hands gently and brushed his fingers down her right shoulder, proceeding to her arm. Gunjan closed her eyes. Even though she was drunk, she shivered at his touch. Samrat suddenly left her hand and unbuckled the seat belt. "uthro, ghar aa gaya" Gunjan opened her eyes and found him smirking, when she realized that they had already reached home. She sat in her seat and refused to get down.
"carry me. Tabhi main ander jaungi, warna saari raat yahin pe baithungi." Samrat had no option as it was pointless to argue with Gunjan. He got down and opened the door at her side. He carefully picked her up in his arms and she grinned at him. He opened the house door after he placed her on her feet. "main nahi chalungi. Maine kaha na, mujhe uthao" she stamped her feet with stubbornness. Samrat shut his eyes. He picked her up again after he locked the door behind. He took her upstairs to their room, while she kept pulling his cheeks, constantly ranting as to how cute he was. For a minute, Samrat was glad that she was drunk. Or else Gunjan being the shy girl that she was, would never take any initiative in expressing her feeings.
He finally reached the bedroom and placed her back on her feet. He took off his blazers and was about to say something to her when the phone rang. Before he answered the call, he gestured her to go and change her clothes and then went away to the hall to attend the call.
After about five minutes, when he was done with the call, he came back to the room, but found Gunjan missing. He went to the balcony and saw her standing near the railing, stretching her hands out to feel the raindrops. With her hair left open and the edge of her saree flying due to the heavy breeze, she looked no less than an angel. He snapped out of his thoughts when she called him to join her in "playing" in the rain. He stood next to her and kept looking at her face. Her smile, her eyes, that excitement on her face. She splashed raindrops on his face and giggled. Samrat warned her not to, since he was not very fond of rains. In fact, he hated when it rained. While standing in the rain and getting drenched was Gunjan's dream, it was a nightmare for Samrat.
He looked away to the other side and admired the dark sky, while Gunjan splashed water on his face again. This time Samrat held her hand while she kept trying to make him get wet in the rain. Suddenly, he held both her hands and pinned her to the wall behind her. Gunjan felt him close to her and became calm. She looked into his eyes, and noticed that there was same amount of love for her. it was just that he hadn't expressed it since a long time. Samrat noticed Gunjan becoming calm due to their proximity. He decreased his grip on her hands and cupped her face gently. He kissed her forehead and in response, she shut her eyes. He proceeded towards her lips. She could feel his warm breath on her face and soon they were so close that they could feel their breaths mingling. A flash of lightening and Samrat opened his eyes. He realized that they were too close.
"sorry" he said and immediately stood away from her. it had been awkward for him since he hadn't been this close to her since months. After a major fight, when their marriage had reached to the extent of a divorce, and the judge had granted them three months to stay together and sort out differences if they wished to, they had never been this close. "main change karke aata hoon. Uske baad tum bhi kapde badlo" he walked into the bedroom, took out his clothes from the closet and rushed into the bedroom, leaving Gunjan in the balcony, just staring at him.
When Samrat came out after he had changed, he noticed Gunjan sitting on the floor, right next to their bed, with her head on her knees, tightly hugging herself and crying. Samrat thought that she felt bad since he came too close to her. he slightly coughed making her aware of his presence. Gunjan lifted her head to see him standing next to her. he sat down and looked at her.
"i'm sorry Gunjan. Mujhe pata nahi chala ke main kab tumhare itne kareeb.." he paused for a while looking at her, while she still looked at him with the same blank expression. "aage se aisa nahi hoga" he said as he looked down to the floor.
"kya main itni buri hoon Samrat?" she said after a long silence, without looking at him. Samrat looked at her. he wanted to stop her, but then decided that he should hear her heart out. And finally, the feelings that were tied up within her had unleashed itself.
"main jaanti hoon ke humare rishte main kadwahat bhar gayi hai. Aur uski zimmedar main bhi hoon. Jab tumne kaha ke tumhare aur sheena ke beech kuch nahi hai, mujhe tum par yakeen karna chahiye tha. Im sorry Samrat. Mujhse bahut badi galti ho gayi. Lekin iss galti ki itni badi saza toh math do. Please mujhe apne aap se iss tarah alag math karo" the drinks had worked well. She was finally speaking what she could never tell him if she was sober. While Samrat just kept listening to her with moist eyes, she kept crying and expressing her take on their relationship.
"pati-patni ka rishta pyar aur vishwas ke aadhar par hota hai Samrat. Main maanti hoon ke jab tumhe meri sab se zyada zarurat thi, uss waqt maine tumhara saath chod diya. lekin trust me Samrat, main uske liye bahut guilty feel karti hon. Jo hua, so hua. Lekin main humare iss rishte ko todna nahi chahti Samrat. Please mujhe apne dil mein aur apni zindagi mein thodi si jagah de do. Please Samrat" she burst out crying.
Samrat hugged her tightly, and she snuggled close to him. "galti mujhse bhi hui hai Gunjan." He said as he stroked her head. "maine bhi gusse mein aake na jaane kya kya keh diya. bewajah maine tumhare aur neil ke rishte pe sawaal uthaya, jab ki main jaanta tha ke tum dono sirf dost ho."
Gunjan raised her head from his shoulders and looked in his eyes. "kya hum apne rishte ko ek aur mauka nahi de sakte? Kya iss rishte ko khatam karna hi aakri option hai?" she questioned him, looking into his deep brown eyes. "kya tum iss rishte ko todna chahti ho?" he asked her , to which she nodded her head in a no. "toh bass, hum apne iss rishte ko ek aur mauka zaroor denge". And with this, they hugged each other tightly.
They remained in the same positon for quite a long time, and Samrat felt Gunjan's nails digging in his back, through his shirt. He ran his hands through her long black hair and felt her shiver when his finger brushed the skin of her back. He lowered his head to kiss her shoulder and traced her jaw, cheeks and her ears with his lips. Gunjan ran her fingers through his hair and clutched a handful tightly, while he continued to stroke her back and and leave feather kisses on her cheek. They broke the hug and looked in each other's eyes. Gunjan shyly looked away, when she saw Samrat passing her a smile, which meant that he had read her eyes.
He picked her up and placed her on their bed and snuggled next to her. he kissed her eyes, nose and her lips, being gentle at first, which then turned into a deep passionate one, causing the atmosphere in the room to be filled with moans and sighs. After a long kiss, when they broke apart, Samrat cupped her face and looked at her. "tumne kaafi drink kar rakhi hai. Aur main nahi chahtha ke kal subah jab tum utho, toh tumhe inn khoobsurat palon par afsos ho." Gunjan opened her mouth to convince him that she wanted to proceed. But Samrat's peck on her lips silenced her and the constant stroking of his fingers in her hair, made her drift into sleep.
The next morning when she woke up, she felt suffocated. She opened her eyes slowly, and after a while she realized that Samrat was sleeping almost over her, with his head buried in the nape of her neck and his hands wrapped round her waist and his leg crossing both her legs. She had butterflies in her tummy when she felt Samrat's warm breath fanning her neck. she recollected last night's events. Although not clear, but she could fairly remember their conversation about their relationship. She thanked God that she was drunk, else she wouldn't have spoken so openly.
She continued stroking his head and kept running her fingers in his hair. She gently kissed his forehead. He moved a little in his sleep, causing his rough cheek to rub against her feathery soft skin of her neck. She felt goosebumps all over her. she gently rolled him over to his side and pecked on his lips before she rose from the bed. Just when she was about to get up, he held her hand and pulled her towards him with a force that she fell right on top of him.
They said nothing, but their eyes spoke volumes. She shyly smiled, gesturing him to leave her, to which he protested. Instead he rolled her over so that she lied on her back and kissed her lips. "good morning Gunjan... subah subah meethe ka mazaa kuch aur hi hota hai..." he said breathlessly once they broke apart. She just kept blushing and Samrat patted her cheek and rose from the bed.
"Samrat" she called out to which he immediately looked at her. "she kept her gaze on the floor and said "kal raat toh main hosh mein nahi thi. Lekin abhi toh hoon. Main inn khoobsoorat palon ko hamesha apne dil mein qaid karke rakhna chahto hoon. Agar tum chaho toh..."
Samrat knew what she meant by that. He went close to where she was lying and kissed her on her neck. And while nipping in the nape of her neck, he whispered hoarsely "you really want to continue?" to which she hid herself in his shoulders, indicating her approval. Samrat hugged her tightly and pulled the covers over them, after which they made love and became one all over again.
