||~ AsYa TS: The Lion's Way of Romancing ~|| Ch2, pg 14(28/9) - Page 8

Zoya got out of the car and locked stormed a few feet away from Asad, while he locked the car. Asad shoved his hands into his pockets and casually walked towards her, as she stared at the building, feigning ignorance. Asad stood beside her and cleared his throat as he tried to grab her attention. Asad knew she was still pretty much messed up after what had transpired between them, before they left for the party. Zoya turned her head, slightly to his direction. "The party is about to begin, we need to go.", he informed. Zoya marched off, in front of Asad, just to show that she didn't give a hoot about his damned party. Asad rolled his eyes at her insensible behavior and followed behind her. The party was taking place in a huge hotel, with many of his clients, invited. He didn't want to look like he'd got an angry cat, in the place of a wife. Just before they entered the building, Asad grabbed Zoya by her elbow and pulled her back a little. Zoya glowered at him, but he tightened his grip around her arm and explained, "Zoya, for heaven's sake, let's keep our arguments for later, but at the moment, we're in a public place, where nearly all my clients are present, let's not make this look awkward. Just...just behave normal, ok?" Zoya cheeks flushed in anger, as she hissed at him, "Oh, so I'm not normal enough for you? And let's set the record straight mister. Firstly, I never asked you to take me to any sort of party, secondly, I'll behave how I want and when I want, you'll just have to stick it and thirdly, if you've got a problem with my behavior, maybe you should start doing things which I asked, for a change. You think I'm like one of those typical house wives, who dance to whatever their husbands say? Well, then you're obviously wrong. I asked you to take me for a film, what like one and a half weeks ago? And did you? A very clear no. Learn to respect your wife, before you demand things from her." Asad sighed and held up an arm in defeat, "Ok, I'm sorry. I promise, I'll listen to you from now on wards, but for the time being, can you please not scream at me in front of everyone?" Zoya turned herself away and waited for him to walk ahead. Asad sighed and walked, as she followed him closely. She muttered to herself, "I'll show him how normal I can be."

Zoya smiled at the guests politely, as Asad introduced her and to them. One of Asad's clients, Mr. Gupta, asked, "How long has it been since you got married, then?" "Six months.", Zoya replied indifferently. He smiled at her and asked casually, "A pretty boring husband, huh?" Zoya grinned at him, suddenly gaining interest. Asad glared at him, only to go unnoticed by both. Zoya enthusiastically replied, "Yes! Work' is all he ever does." Mr. Gupta chuckled at her, as he stroked his bald head, "I remember, my wife used to say the same thing when we were just a young couple, like you and Asad, but what to do? Only, we poor lads know how much work we have on our shoulders." Zoya sighed and crossed her hands against her chest and replied, "But Mr. Gupta, if all you business tycoons, keep ignoring your wives due to what you call your extremely hectic work', we can't do anything but slop around at home, especially when we have a husband who is like, "You can't be out after 7pm.", "You aren't allowed to go to a cricket match, unless I come with you.", "I need this ready by the evening, it's extremely important.". Mr. Gupta smiled at her, he replied, "I can pretty much understand what you're saying. I've known Asad's family since a long time and I've always seen him as a perfectionist. He puts his duty before everything else. I think his childhood molded him in a certain way, which is why he is an extremely successful businessman, today." Asad looked away, as Zoya turned to look at him. He usually preferred to stay out of these type of conversations, where people kept turning their heads to look at him. Zoya felt a tiny prick at her heart. She knew exactly what kind of a childhood Asad had experienced. Even if she was angry with him, she couldn't help but feel proud of his achievements. Mr. Gupta spoke again, "Well then. Enjoy yourselves." Mr. Gupta smiled at them, while they smiled back. Both Asad and Zoya turned their heads to look at each other, at the same moment. Zoya passed him an encouraging smile and he reciprocated her. After a few seconds, one of Asad's friends walked up to him and asked, "Hey Asad! Why don't you go for the dance? Your wife is with you." Asad gulped down nervously and stared at his friend's face, he waved his hand in front of him, calling out, "Hellooo! Where are you lost?" Asad snapped out and studied his surroundings, trying to find some kind of an excuse to slip him out of the situation, but the only thing possibly interesting he found was, Zoya's angry face. He gulped once again, knowing that he was stuck. If he refused, Zoya would be upset with him and his jackass friend would go spreading rumors about his strange' relationship with his wife, he couldn't risk that. He reluctantly nodded his head and held his hand out for Zoya to take. Zoya's expression immediately turned into a grin, showcasing her perfectly adorable dimple. He smiled back at her, a she gave him her hand, more than willingly. They walked towards the stage, where several other couples were dancing. Asad took a deep breath and murmured to himself, "God, save me."

The spotlight turned towards them, turning most of the attention towards their side. The music came on and a few of the people watching, cheered and whistled. Asad twirled Zoya and she landed lightly on his chest, her back resting on him. He grasped both her hands and turned her around in one swift move. His forehead gently touched hers, as she looked down, timidly. He caught hold of one of her hands and entwined his fingers with hers, as the other hand wrapped around her waist. Zoya snaked her free arm around his neck, as he took her in for a slow dance. Asad slowly forgot that there were people watching them, he twirled her once again and caught her, midway. Her body was gently bent, her back facing the floor, while Asad's arm was tightly wrapped around her waist. Asad gazed at her lovingly as she melted into his deep orbs. Asad's eyes darted over to her lips, which were coated in a beautiful shade of a mixed combination of light pink and peach. Asad bent over, a little more, thrusting her upwards. His lowered his head, getting close to her lips. Zoya who had been staring at him, intently, seemed to realize what he was thinking and quickly pushed back and stood up straight. Asad was broken out of his trance as he stared, blankly at everyone clapping and cheering. Zoya's cheeks had turned a shade of crimson red when Asad had leaned closer to her. She turned her head and looked at him, he whispered to her, still facing the audience, "I'll get you later."

The rest of the party went past in a blink and soon, many of the guests were starting to leave. Being the sponsor of the party, Asad decided to stay behind until all the guests left, dragging an extremely bored Zoya along with him. After an hour, or so, all the guests had left, leaving only Asad and Zoya behind. Zoya faked an extremely sweet smile at him and asked, "So can we leave now? It is 8.30 already, phuppi and Najma must be getting worried." Asad smiled at her lopsidedly and said, "No, we're going somewhere else, I've already informed ammi." Zoya scrunched up her eyebrows and asked him bewildered, "Where?" "You'll see.", he replied, shrugging his shoulders. He started heading towards the exit and Zoya followed him. He suddenly stopped and turned towards Zoya, perplexing her once again, he looked at her smugly and asked, "I'm not done with you, yet." Zoya was getting more and more puzzled. Asad pulled her close, wrapping both his arms tightly around her petite waist and eyed her lips intently. It took Zoya a while to realize what was going on, before she reacted, she pummeled her fists on his chest, in attempt to push him away and she obviously, she wasn't anywhere close to succeeding. He leaned forward a little, making her squirm and struggle, more. After struggling for at least a couple of minutes, she finally decided to give in and stop struggling. She grabbed the edge of Asad's lapels and squeezed her eyes shut, anticipating what was gonna come next. He felt his thumb tilt her head up, she slowly opened her eyes, to be faced by his warm eyes, making her go weak in her knees. He leaned in closer, until his lips were just an inch away from hers. Zoya shut her eyes again, gripping his lapels tighter. Asad tilted his head a little sideways and planted a soft kiss on the corner of her lips, he let his lips linger onto her silky skin for a little longer, before pulling himself away. Zoya's eyes sprung open, as she watched him fold his arms across his chest, smirking at her, he said, "We're getting late, we should be going." With that, he marched off, leaving a completely flustered Zoya, cursing him, behind.

"Oh, so this was your little surprise, was it? You thought that I would be all over you if you took me for a film, when I didn't know?" Asad's face fell, he'd thought she would cheer up, if he surprises her by taking her for a film, but Zoya, being Zoya, obviously didn't think so, she said, "You can give me the best puppy face a 28 year old man can give, I'm not gonna melt. I asked you around two weeks ago, to take for a film and you didn't and just because you had time on your hands today, due to your wrecked party, you thought that we could go for a film, right?" You might think that Asad is all tough and macho, which I guess is true, but in the inside, he is as sensitive as a kid, but the only difference is, he shouts, instead of crying, "Suit yourself, then! I tried to make you happy, but you very obviously are not interested. So why bother? Let's just go home." Zoya tried hard to keep a straight face, she bit her lips, to prevent showing that huge smile that was starting come up. Asad started walking away, but Zoya grabbed him by his wrist and stopped him, erupting into a spurt of laughter. Asad turned back around and glared at her, "Oh, do you think it's funny to irritate me?" Zoya held her stomach and replied, "Common Mr. Macho Ahmed Khan! I was just trying to have some fun! You're so funny when you get angry!" Asad scowled at her, making Zoya chuckle again, she smiled at him and said, "But honestly, that was really sweet of you!" Asad soon found a huge smile playing upon his lips, he asked, "Really?", Zoya nodded her head, enthusiastically. "So, what film do you wanna go for then?", asked Asad. "Prisoners!", Zoya squealed. Asad raised an eyebrow, distastefully, "Prisoners? Are you kidding me?" "No, I'm not!, Zoya exclaimed, "Believe me, Hugh Jackman is awesome! You should have seen him in Real Steel, he was so damn cool! That stuff he did with those rob-" Asad cleared his throat, stopping her from her rambling, "Are everyone from New York, this weird?" Zoya glared at him and replied, "Of course not! Maybe, you just can't appreciate Hollywood." Asad rolled his eyes and shrugged, "Whatever. Now, be serious. Do you really wanna go for that film?" "Yes!", she jumped. Asad was a little disappointed, he'd thought she would ask for some romantic film, but here she was, showing excitement on a film which barely showed any sort of romance, whatsoever. "Fine. I'll go get the tickets, you wait here." Zoya nodded, happily, on the contrary to Asad's thoughts. He muttered to himself, "Next time, I should get the tickets before I tell her that we're going for a film."

Asad folded his arms and glared at the huge screen in front of him, obviously unhappy with his wife, who was munching on her popcorn, her eyes fixed on the screen, completely engrossed in the film. Asad slumped down on his seat and stared at the screen, disinterestedly. He felt his eyes drooping down and soon, sleep engulfed him. It was when Zoya whacked him on his head, that he got up. He looked around, trying to acknowledge his surroundings, looking like someone who'd just recovered from coma. He finally caught Zoya's eyes, which were shooting fire at him. "What?", he asked, innocently. "The film ended!", she snapped. "What film?", he asked, dumbly. "Allah miyan! What's wrong with you?", Zoya cried, exasperatedly. Asad looked around and he finally realization dawned upon his blank head. "Oh, right.", he mumbled, only to earn another whack from Zoya, right on the centre of his skull. He rubbed his head and looked at Zoya quizzically, he didn't know why she was making such a big deal out of it, when he himself was overjoyed that he didn't have to sit through the film, by just scowling at the screen. "You missed nearly the whole film!", she hissed, whacking him again, on his arm. Asad knew she'd have his head, if he didn't pretend to be pretty upset about it, so he decided to play along, "Urgh! I'm such an idiot! I'll watch the film, first thing, when the CD comes out." "You better! The film was A.W.E.S.O.M.E, awesome!", yelled Zoya, excitedly. Asad managed a tight smile, he got up and stretched a little, being extremely conscious of the people around him. Zoya shook her head and got up. Once Zoya had gone a little ahead of him, Asad murmured to himself, "Stupid girl." "I heard that!"

Zoya looked at Asad and sighed. It had been half an hour since they'd headed for home and Asad had not said a word. He was keen on keeping his eyes fixed on the road, not once did they waver in direction. It was becoming increasing difficult for her to maintain the silence. She fidgeted with pallu of her saari and after a good five minutes of changing positions, constantly, she finally decided to get him to speak, "So, did you like the film, then?" She noticed his expression change into something like, "Is she mad, or what?". She realized her folly and hastily said, "Oh yeah, you were sleeping." Asad rolled his eyes, she glared at him, she wasn't able to understand why he was being so quiet, he would have teased her, on any normal day. Asad, on the other hand, was gripping onto his steering wheel, tightly, praying that she wouldn't bring up a topic, that would end up with showcasing Zoya's karate skills', on him. She took a deep breath in and sorted her mind, she then asked, "So Asad, when we have kids, would you like a boy, or a girl?" Asad smiled and replied, "I would be equally overjoyed, regardless of that matter, but I would love a baby girl, who's as beautiful as my wife." Zoya blushed a little, but before she could reply, Asad asked, "You never told me you were already planning for kids." Zoya's jaw dropped, as she saw that lopsided smile appear on his lips, she whacked him on his arm, lightly, with her handbag, to which Asad chuckled. She asked him, "When did you become so...umm...you know..." "Ever since we got married.", came his reply. Zoya smiled, she stared at the stars in the sky, through the windscreen and sighed, she dreamily said, "You know, if this was a year ago and someone had told me that this who you will be in the future, I would have laughed my head off. It's so hard to believe that you've actually come so far from Akdu Ahmed Khan." Asad shrugged, "It happens when you're around someone who's dead nuts." "I'm not nuts!", she yelled. Asad smiled, he gotten used to her extremely cute childishness. Sometimes, he wondered how he'd ever fallen in love with her, someone who was the exact opposite to him, but he had. He'd promised himself that he'd never fall in love, but the one from above, had obviously had different plans for him. He asked, "By the way, have I ever told you, that my wife has very attractive lips?" Zoya's eyes nearly popped out, she yelled at him, "You flirt!" "That's me.", he replied, adding a tiny hint of mischief to his tone. She turned her head away and stared at her foot instead, trying hard to ignore the heat creeping up on her cheeks. She looked up and was about to turn her head away, when something caught her eye. "Rain!", she shrieked. Asad turned his head to her, alarmed, "What?" "Its raining!", she squealed. She looked at Asad, her eyes twinkling, she yelled, "Asad! Please, please, please stop the car for five minutes! I badly wanna go out!" "For what? Getting drenched?", he asked, exasperatedly. "Yes!", she exclaimed. Asad groaned and replied, "Zoya, please. Don't be so childish, you'll fall sick." "No, I won't! I've got wet in the rain so many times, in New York! Please, just two minutes, Asad!" Asad turned his head towards the road and turned it back to Zoya, unable to resist that pleading look in her eyes, he finally gave in, halting the car, "Alright. But only two minutes, I'll wait inside the car." Zoya grinned and threw her arms around Asad and gave him a quick hug, "You're the best husband ever!" She quickly clambered off him and jumped out of the car. Asad mumbled to himself, "She'll be saying exactly the opposite in an hour."