"Oye Moti"
Startled but not surprised by the nickname and the familiar husky voice which seemed to have come from very close quarters , as if almost the head was buried in her thick long curls , she dropped the gulab jamun which she was setting on the plate ..
Just one hour was left for Neha and Vicky's engagement ceremony and Kria was helping in the department she just loved .. something she could never resist .. aaha sweets .. she was decorating and setting the mouthwatering sweets for the guests .. She had already controlled her temptation and had finished with the jalebis , the laddus , the pedas , the kalakands , the barfis and now only the gulab jamuns were left ..
Sneaking a look around her to make sure that no one was seeing her side , she had already dropped two in her mouth and was just relishing them and was having a strong mind to gobble a third one too when she was called from behind ..
She very well knew who was behind her .. he was the only one who called her that .. or should she say who dared to call her that since school times .. She hated being called that .. but he had dutifully and mercilessly teased her back then ..
How she hated him..
Liar !!!
Yes , she had been lying to herself that she hated him .. in fact she herself didn't know when she had fallen for him .. only she knew how hard she had fallen for him ... and the fact that after school he had left to study abroad had only worsened the matter to her .. initially she had welcomed the change .. not seeing him .. not hearing his comments .. but as time passed by, she started missing him .. and so much that she sometimes even cried herself to sleep .. he hadn't kept contact with her .. and that hurt a lot .. they were not best buddies but she knew that even though they argued non-stop , she was comfortable with him and she herself didn't know when he had become such an important part of her life ..
"Aur khaogi toh tum mein aur gulab jamun mein koi farak hi nahi rahega " came the taunting voice again , bringing her back to reality .. a reality which was harsh ..
"REY .. you " She turned to give him her best death glare and a piece of her mind only to be rooted at her spot with the expression which is normally called "shock" .. but that was not something she was feeling inside .. she wondered why the dhols and the drums were playing so loudly .. it was just an engagement and not marriage .. but it was just in a fraction of a moment she realized , it was heart beats .. her heart was drumming into her ears almost deafening her ..
How had this happened .. this change .. she was transported back to another time and another place … He had been 2 years senior to her .. they had been neighbors and had been to the same school since first grade .. their families had shared a very close bond which had resulted now in the union of her brother Vicky and Rey's sister Neha ... Neha and Vicky were 4 years elder to her .. Neha had always considered her as her baby sister and had loved and pampered her a lot ..
But she and Rey .. they had shared a not so cordial relation between them .. he would tease her to death with this nickname which he had given her and she would give him as good as she got from him .. she would always get irritated with his tongue-in-cheek bantering and his obnoxious attitude and would always stomp off with her head held high , only to hear his wicked laughter behind her ..
She simply hated him from the core of her heart at that time ..
He had always been this brilliant guy as per her parents , which she thought was just to convey to her that ,even she put in some amount of time on her books .. . But she realized that it was true only when he won a scholarship to one of the most prestigious medical school in US .. she had heard from her mother that , even though his number of school years were not as per the medical school's norms , they still had admitted him because of his aptitude ..
He had left immediately after that and had returned now only after 5 years ..
She looked at him now , from head to toe unabashedly.. he had always been a tall guy .. but back then , he was lanky , he was thin .. with those wavy unruly flicks falling over his eyes .. Always clad in a jeans and his shirt carelessly half tucked always fooling around with his gang of boy friends ..
He was towering over her wearing a black tuxedo .. his hair well set .. and it was impossible to ignore the hard, muscular build beneath his well-fitting attire .. He'd developed impressive biceps to match his impressive brain, and she felt diminutive and feminine next to him.
Suddenly an involuntary shiver of awareness ran down her spine ..
"It's been a while .. Isn't it ?" he asked tacitly .. he had acknowledged the uncertainty in her voice and the surprise was clearly evident on her ever so expressive face .. he could read her face so easily now and also back then ..
As his voice again brought her back from her dreamland, she looked into those same mocking deep brown eyes .. the lopsided smile which she could never forget in her entire life .. and before she could stop her stupid mouth , it blurted out "What are you doing here ?"
He simply smirked at how unfocused he had made her by his presence .. he couldn't believe he had done that .. he had least expected this reaction from her .. but nevertheless he was happy .. indeed very happy ..
"I guess you are forgetting that it's my sister's engagement ... " he simply raised his brow to make her realize her folly ..
Disconcerted, in an attempt to change the topic "I meant .. how come you came so late ?"
"I am working as an intern for a hospital , it was difficult to get leaves .. I arrived today afternoon and then after meeting everyone , freshening up , I came to the hall .. " he said as a matter of fact .. "Were you expecting me earlier ?" she was not expecting this question from him , it unnerved her ..
"No .. " she turned abruptly to go ..
"Hey Moti .. I heard that you are now a dentist .. " his eyes twinkled ..
"The name is Kria .. " she said sternly turning to face him once again ..
Mischief sparkled in his eyes ..
"I know it Moti .. " he again stressed on the salutation he always gave her ..
She huffed .. "Yes .. I topped my exams and now I am a qualified dentist .. did it surprise you ? or did I disappoint you ? " she asked sarcastically ..
"No, it doesn't surprise me," he murmured .. "Actually I thought you would go in the food industry .. because you are such a foodie " he winked ..
She simply rolled her eyes .. but then something changed .. his expression became solemn ..
She watched as he gave her a once-over, causing her blood pressure to rise..
His eyes came back to hers .. "You can never disappoint me " A small smile adored on his ever so alluring lips ..
She felt a flash of heat .. Was he flirting with her ..
Of course he was flirting with her .. Rey watched as Kria's beautiful black orbs widened and she left the place hurriedly and he realized that he had unsettled her again .. Good.. he felt his chest bloating with pride .. after all she was the reason why he was here tonight ..
******
Kria sat looking at her image in the mirror .. she had worn an orange-green lehenga .. the choli fitted her perfectly , the lehenga enhanced her bottom well and then flared up .. but Kria could never be happy with herself .. she had never been the skinny girl .. it was all thanks to her mom's genes which she had inherited .. her punjabi mom had given her the broad stature .. and she was always on the healthier side .. and her weakness for food especially sweets and parathas was something she hated but just couldn't do anything about it .. even with diets and gym ,she hardly reduced any weight ..
In school and college she may never have been the Diva , but that never meant that she never got the attention from the opposite s** .. she got ample looks from them .. except of course one .. and she knew that he would definitely be waiting for her like a hawk and would pass some comment ..
As she descended down the stairs , she caught his eyes on her .. she saw his eyes widen and then she could see it darken .. she couldn't believe that his heated gaze was enough to melt her .. she felt her heart again pounding erratically .. she immediately looked away and got busy with her friends ..
Rey's eyes were following every little nuance that was occurring on Kria's face .. he just couldn't keep his eyes off her ..
The minute he had seen her come down , his heart had skipped a beat .. she looked nothing but gorgeous .. her hair curled and settled on her shoulders , her transparent duppatta spread across her chest displaying the beautiful work on her choli as well as the deep neckline displaying her milky white soft skin and doris carelessly hanging down her bare back tantalizing him to no end .. he forced himself to look only at her face as he knew that her flat midriff and the small ring on her belly button was enough to turn him on ..
He had realized that she was avoiding him , and in that process , she was acting all clumsy .. He couldn't believe that he had made her off balance just by his gaze .. he had seen her drop the glass of juice .. he had seen her spill some soup on the buffet table .. once or twice she had tripped on her own lehenga , but he knew she was stealing glances at him even with all her antics ..
Kria , on the other hand was getting over conscious with his eyes continuously on her .. she found it strange that she wanted him to compliment her and at the same time she was nervous ..
******
After the engagement ceremony and all the dance and fun games , the cute but a bit tired couple sat for their dinner , Kria and her cousins and friends had something else in their mind ..
"Vicky Bhaiya .. itni bhi kya jaldi hai ?" Kria remarked and pulled the dinner plate away from him .. leaving a dismayed Vicky ..
"Kria .. its pretty late now .. Neha is also hungry " he countered ..
"Hmm .. Hmm .. Bhabhi is hungry " she and her cousins teased .. " Kitni chinta hai bhabi ki " and they all giggled .. as the shy Neha blushed ..
"Shut up Kria " Vicky tried to get his plate but in vain ..
"Ok ok .. just one last game " Kria winked at him ..
He was a bit frustrated with her .. but just couldn't help it .. as all his friends and cousins were surrounding him ..
"Ok what is it .. make it fast .. ok ?"
"Yes .. yes .. it depends on you both how fast you want to complete the game .. "
Vicky and Neha looked a bit confused at them ..
"If Vicky bhaiya wins then , he will have to make Neha bhabi sit on his lap and feed her "
"No .. " Neha almost shrieked ..
But .. Kria continued ignoring her completely .. "If Neha bhabi wins then Vicky bhaiya would kneel in front of her and she would feed him "
"And the game is .. Whoever blinks first loses " Kria jumped on her place clapping her hands .. Vicky simply hid his face in his palms in frustration .. He can't loose .. he had kneeled and proposed her .. but that was in private .. he wouldn't kneel in front of Neha and she feeding him and make a spectacle of himself in front of the whole family and friends … He has to win this game ..
Neha was sure that she didn't want to be embarrassed in front of the whole family and relatives by losing and then she would have to sit on Vicky's lap .. she knew she had to win it ..
"Kria .. me or Neha whoever wins , you would have to do what we ask " Vicky said nodding at Neha ..
"Ok .. " she shrugged without thinking much ..
As they started the game .. Kria was staring at both of them so that they don't do any cheating which she knew they wouldn't because she was sure the conditions of losing was such that they both didn't even dare to think of losing it ..
She didn't realize when someone came and stood right behind her..
Vicky easily won as he simply brought some of his hair over his forehead and ruffling them a bit .. and he knew Neha's weakness .. she simply can't resist to move her fingers thru his hair .. he was proven correct yet another time , Neha forgot about the game, blinked and moved ahead running her fingers thru Vicky's hair .. She realized her silliness only when she heard the peals of laughter around her ...
He lovingly made her sit on the lap , fed her a piece of kalakand and then asked her to sit on her chair much to her relief , as everyone clapped around them .
Now they both looked at Kria who was a bit nervous with their stern gaze on her ..
"Now you need to play this game "
She sighed a relief .. not a problem .. she was very good at this .. she always won when she played with her friends ..
"Whoever loses can ask the other to do anything "
She nodded ..
As she sat on one of the chairs .. Vicky called "Rey ,come here " .. Kria involuntarily clutched the handle of the chair ..
Rey came and sat opposite her with a sly smirk playing on his face ..
She hastily burst out .. "No no .. I am not playing .. "
"No backing off .. "Vicky held her shoulders firmly .. to which she simply pouted sadly and got ready to meet Rey's eyes ..
As they sat looking at each other .. she realized that it must have been more than 5 minutes that they were staring at each other without blinking .. the people around them getting bored that neither of them were ready to lose .. some started drifting a bit far to sit on their chairs …
Suddenly she found him leaning towards her .. confusing her with his action .. his eyes looking appreciatively at her .. but she was ready for any taunt coming her way .. and then he whispered ever so softly only to be heard by her "I love you " her heart stopped beating .. her breath hitched in her lungs.. her mouth opened in a perfect "O" shape and her eyes became as wide as saucers and then she blinked ..
"Yuhuu " he screamed .. getting everybody's attention to them .. "She blinked .. " he was grinning .. surrounded by the claps from all their friends and cousins …
She could almost feel as if someone had just slapped her .. she could feel her cheeks still blazing with his comment but she daren't look at him .. She looked everywhere but him .. "Ok .. what do I have to do .. ?" she asked meekly ..still recovering from the shock ..
Before he could reply ..
"Kria what are you doing there , there is lots of work left, come with me quick .. " Her mom called out and Kria couldn't believe her luck .. her mom had rescued her from the dire consequences of losing to Rey .. she was not sure what he would ask her to do .. but now she couldn't have been happier to do almost anything for her mom ..
"Coming , Mom " She literally flew on the direction of her mom without giving anyone a glance..
Her mom had to give the gifts to Neha's relatives .. So Kria stood next to her mom with the gifts in her hand ,as her mom did aarti of the ladies and then Kria handed a gift to them ..
She nervously was stealing a glance to look what Rey was doing … but to her dismay or maybe relief to some extent, she couldn't see him anywhere ..
******
As she kept the stuff in the room and was about to turn when she heard the door being locked from inside .. she abruptly stood and found herself face to face with Rey ,alone, in the room where in all the gifts and other things were to be kept ..
"Hey Moti .. " he gave her his blatant grin .. "tumhe laga tum mujh se bach jaogi ?"
She controlled her nervous heart beats .. an unknown fear looming in her heart ..
"I need my prize for winning the game .. " he spoke smoothly ..
She didn't even realize when he had come close to her and he held her waist firmly ..
She was well aware of his cold hands on her heated bare waist .. "Now .. ?" she asked incredulously ..still not making any movement to squirm out of his arms ..
"Yes .. "
"What do you want .. ?"
He simply raised his one brow .. smirked "A sweet and simply kiss " his breath brushing against her earlobe ..
She gulped "Kiss " she almost stammered ..
"Hmm " he wore an amused expression on his face .. it was impossible to understand what he was feeling ..
Kria's gaze lowered to his lips .. He really did have a nice mouth .. It was curved and looked soft enough to be inviting and exciting .. Holy S*** what was I thinking …
He leaned towards her , which led to her focus to his eyes .. the intent look in his eyes made her heart flutter .. and she thought of backing out ..
As if he read her mind … "Come on Kria .. I dare you " he provoked her gently ..
Trying to show a nonchalance , she tried to keep her breath even and went on her tip toe to and placed her lips softly on his cheeks ..
Rey saw as she raised herself and her plump, full, juicy and soft lips , shining with the baby pink lipsgloss came in contact with his rough cheeks .. As she was settling down back , He didn't know what got into him , he held her neck with his free hand and pulled her more to himself with his hand on her waist and literally bore his eyes into her flickering ones .. "I will show you what is a kiss " and then took her lips into his for a long ,smearing and loving kiss …
She thought with the penetrating look he had in his eyes .. he would be rough with her .. but to her surprise .. his lips were soft and gentle .. he caressed her lower lip in his mouth making sure not to hurt her by his teeth .. he gave attention to each and every part of her lips slowing and steadily with a pressure which just brought a sense of warmth and softness along with a little jolt of electricity in Kria .. he was warm yet intimate with her .. he didn't push his tongue in her mouth but kept worshiping her lips evoking exciting sensations in Kria .. She couldn't believe the way he was building the kiss until she sighed and sank into his arms , her hands coiled around his neck ..
There was a moan and she realized it was her .. she was expecting him to deepen the kiss when he brusquely left her .. she was too dazed to understand anything .. and then she heard the knock on the door and her mom's voice ..
She looked at his face , he had a different expression ..she was not sure what she had expected from him .. and she herself didn't know why she was crying ..
Wiping her tears ,she ran out of the room … leaving a confused Rey behind ..and for the rest of the evening he saw the sparkle in her eyes absent and she being lost in her own thoughts ..
******
Kria lay curled up into a ball in one corner of her bed under the warm duvet , lost in her own thoughts and her fingers kept switching on and off the beside night lamp without even her own knowledge ..
Her mind was replaying the laughing conversations, which she had heard accidentally, that her parents and Rey's parents were having ..
Her mom had said "Now that Neha and Vicky are engaged , we must think about Kria and Rey too .. " and the four had laughed ..
She was not sure if Rey had feelings for her .. and she felt betrayed that , Rey knew about this proposed liaison between them and so he had acted like that .. she couldn't stop the tears falling from her eyes ..
Amongst her sniffs ,she didn't even see when a figure jumped in her bedroom thru the window and stood there ..
Rey looked around her room in awe .. As a teenager he had always wanted to see Kria's room .. he would have done anything to see it ..
They had never shared a close relation with each other that she would invite him to her room .. but he had his own fantasies about her room .. he had imagined it to be in purple and pink and her soft bed covered with lots of soft toys ..
He almost chuckled at his thought ..
The slight sound brought back Kria from her reverie .. and she saw Rey standing by her window ..
"What the hell are you doing here ?" she almost screamed hoarsely .. "Just get the hell out of here .. " she pointed to the window ..
"Kria .. "
Just the word stunned her … she stood still ..
Rey had never called her by her name when they were alone .. he would always address her with that stupid nickname he had given her ..
He came towards her and stood close to her , not touching her …
She looked at him with those piercing eyes .. "You knew about what our parents were thinking about us ?" she asked accusingly .. "That's why you .. " she couldn't complete ..
He knew he had to play it right .. now that reality had struck ..
"Kria .. yes I knew it .. I .. "
Again he had addressed her by her name .. She looked again in his eyes .. but they were not mocking her .. they were looking .. wait .. he was nervous .. she had never seen Rey nervous .. What was wrong with him .. she wondered …
"Rey .. I really don't want to hear anything after this .. " she didn't let him complete .. "Just leave me alone .. "
"Kria .. please .. " he tried again ..
"Oh really .. what do you want to say .. when our parents decided on this match-making , you decided to leave your original self and started being this mushy mushy guy "
"No Kria .. you are getting it wrong .. "
"I am not .. you just kissed me because you knew that we were being hitched by our parents .. else you would never even think of me … "
"Kria .. please I have always thought about you "
"Oh yeah .. so in these 5 years .. you didn't contact me even once .. " she immediately interrupted him ..
He didn't know what to do to make her listen to him .. Or .. maybe he knew ..
He snaked his arms around her before she could protest and then kissed her thoroughly , deeply , lovingly , passionately and satisfyingly ..
While kissing , Kria's knees had buckled down and while holding her steady , they had fallen on the bed .. with him on top of her ..
Finally when Rey left her lips , Kria realized her position and tried to shove him off her but he was too quick for her .. He simply caught her wrists and pinned her down ...
"Now Ms. Kria Ghai , you better listen to what I have to say .. Not that you have much choice " he smiled slyly at her flushed face with anger and fear .. She looked so adorable but he changed his mind to tell her at the moment .. This was the time for some serious talk ...
"Yes, I knew about what our parents were thinking ... Neha had told me almost 6 m back ..
You wud be surprised they even thought of having our engagement with along with Neha and Vicky .. But I showed least interest in the proposal, making her feel that I don't like you and I told Neha not to tell you anything as I didn't want you to have any ideas about me.."
She looked shocked .. and a bit sad .. but Rey continued ..
"At least the engagement was not thought of , but they never let go of the idea of us together .." he winked .. "But accidentally you heard our parents speak I guess .." he twitched his nose ..
"Another point which I want to clarify is that I came for my sister's engagement but most importantly I came for you ..." he paused and took a deep breath .. and Kria almost held her breath in anticipation ..
"I love you ... Love you so much .." he looked deeply in her eyes and said ..
"I wanted to woo you and then propose you .. I knew ,you would never like us being matched by our parents ..but I guess the plans had to be changed "
She blinked .. her heart began to lift at his sweet and simply yet honest and sincere confession .. they hadn't know each other much .. just thru their fights but he truly understood her .. and why wasn't she surprised ?
"I know you are confused so let me start from the very beginning …I had a whooper of a crush on you from school "
Her popped out eyes made her look so comical .. Rey thought .. but she narrowed them and said .."What a great way to show that .. but I thought you hated me"
"Actually going by the boys talk in school I realized I had lot of competition .. Guys liked you because you were friendly , no attitude , easy to talk to and most important you would even laugh at their silly jokes .. You were not like those snooty girls with their nose in air .. You were the cute girl next door and so I knew sooner or later you might like some guy and start dating him ...
So I did what I thought as the full proof method to get your attention .. Tease you .. Trying to get on your nerves .. Irritate you do much that you would always think about me .."
"You were obnoxious " she scowled .. but in her heart she was so happy that he had thought of her from school times ..
"Hmm .. But I got my girl .. "
"You think you got your girl .. with that stupid method .. " she suddenly left her sentence mid-way as she realized ..
"I think I have got her in the best possible way .. " he looked at her with a wicked smile .. brushing his lips lightly on to hers .. making her blush and smile involuntarily ..
"Why didn't you ever contact me in these 5 years ?" she was not ready to let me him go so easily ..
"Actually I thought you were just my crush and I would forget you .. But as time passed by I realized that the crush got worse .. I could never think of anyone else other than you ..And I was seriously not sure of your feelings ...
But when I saw you in the evening and the way you reacted to me , I had an inkling that you too have feelings for me .."
"Yes I feel the same about you ... " .. She had to admit seeing him being so frank about his own feelings ..
"Then why do you tease me as Moti ?" she suddenly remembered the name he always addresses her with …
"Oh .. That I am going to call you even after our marriage .." he winked ..
She rolled her eyes ..
"I love that you have such beautiful curves .. You were so full .. So beautiful .. Your cheeks always were pink .. So full of life .. .." he said lifting himself a bit and eyeing her .. "You are not skinny like the other girls .. I have always imagined how it would be to feel you with my hands .. "
She had turned crimson at the way he boldly ogled her .. A giddy joy filled her .. yes she had wanted him too ..
"It irked me when the other guys talked about you .. "
"Jealous ?" she teased and laughed ..
"Ya I guess I was but not now as now you are mine .." he spoke seriously …
"Oh so you assume I am yours ?" she asked ..
"What do you mean ?" he seemed a bit unnerved ..
"I mean where have I accepted your proposal ?"
He was shocked that his grip loosened on her hands .. She could easily push him off her and stood..
"On your knees Reyaansh Singhannia .. " She commanded .. "Now what were you saying ?" she asked with a mischievous glint in her eyes ..
He knelt on his knees .. "I love you .. Will you marry me ?" he asked solemnly looking at her ..
She couldn't believe he would simply do what she asked him to .. Suddenly she melted .. Overwhelmed with emotions she brought him up holding his shoulders .." I will " and she hugged him ..
He embraced her gently in his arms "I knew , this Moti would be mine one day " he chuckled as she frowned and then there was no talking for a long time as Rey bent and trailed warm feathery kisses across her brow, along the side of her face and to the corners of her lips ..to soothe her , lull her .. as both dreamt about their future with each other ..
******
I thought it was crap after writing it .. but I just had to write it .. :-(
Regards,
Amy
