Hello friends! I decided that if I posted this next part on my earlier thread, then it'd probably begin to reach 150 pages, but I don't want it to be closed. So here's a fresh new thread for you guys (:
Index:
Thread 1
Part 29
Part 30
Part 31
Part 32
Part 33
Part 34
Part 35
Okay I know this part is a bit short, but I really don't know if I'll have the time the next few days, so I'll just post this first!
Mangalpur Madness: Part 29
A cool breeze blew, making Zoya shiver involuntarily. Asad frowned as Zoya shook in the cold, and quickly jumped at the opportunity to change the subject. He turned away from Zoya and crossed his arms.
"Fine, we'll discuss this, but later. For now, I think we ought to dry ourselves a little before the cold gets to us," Asad instructed, and then closed his eyes in anticipation of her response. He heard a loud sigh, and knew immediately that she had given in. But just to confirm this, he took a small glimpse at her. She had turned away from him and had begun fanning her hair out. He had planned on just checking whether she'd let the topic go for now and then turning back, but knowing that she wasn't aware he was staring at her made him pause and continue staring.
Zoya shrugged off Asad's leather jacket and hung it on the railing, arranging it properly. She knew how particular Asad could be about stuff like this, even if they were stuck and lost in some jungle. Satisfied that the jacket was placed neatly enough, she then tilted her head slightly and moved all her hair over her right shoulder. She twisted her hair around her index finger and then used her palm to squeeze her hair dry as much as possible. Then she let go of it and swung her hair to the left, repeating the steps as before.
Asad watched silently, as Zoya gathered her hair to a side, exposing half of her back. Her sari blouse didn't cover all that much, but her pallu had been draped in such a way that it still covered a lot of her skin. Asad knew that he should've looked away from the beginning, but the more Zoya ran her fingers through her hair, the more Asad couldn't tear his eyes away from her.
He watched as Zoya finally let go of her hair and flung it back to its original position, covering up her back for good. Asad was just about to turn back when Zoya took hold of her pallu and pulled it off her shoulder, twisting it to squeeze out some water. Some embroidery on her edge of her pallu cloth got stuck on the top dori of her blouse as she pulled it off her shoulder, causing it to come undone.Her back was truly exposed now.
At this point, Asad knew it was no longer appropriate for him to continue staring at her, and he quickly whirled back. Pretty sure that Zoya was occupied with drying her sari and definitely not facing him, he removed his shirt and began wringing it dry as well. He closed his eyes and thought about the events from earlier, about how it led up to the kiss... or kisses actually. He remembered how Zoya brought up his father when he tried to distance himself from her. How did she know him this well? So well that she even managed to point out his biggest insecurity, without him saying a word about it?
"Um, Miss Farooqui? Woh, um, actually, um, aapko kaise pata, um, woh, um, mere abbu ke baare mein?" Asad asked, unable to contain his curiosity. Zoya smiled to herself as soon as Asad finished fumbling out his question. She bet he didn't even realize that he had referred to Mr Rashid Ahmed Khan as his abbu.
"Kyunki main aapke baare mein sab jaanti hoon Mr Khan!" Zoya replied brightly, as she turned around to face him. She gasped softly when she realized he had removed his shirt, and she was greeted with an eyeful of his muscular back. Surprisingly, her usual immediate instinct to turn away whenever he stripped no longer struck her. His muscles clenched as he continued wringing his wet shirt, and Zoya snapped out of her reverie to continue what she was going to say.
"Mera matlab hai, you know main kitni smart hoon. So I naturally know everything about you, like even the fact that up until a moment ago, you were staring at me," Zoya announced, pretty sure that she was right. She had heard a sharp noise coming from his direction when she tugged her pallu off her shoulder just now, and her only logical conclusion was that he was staring at her. Besides, she could always somehow sense it when his eyes were on her, it's like her body would burn with awareness. She already felt victorious when she noticed that Asad had frozen at the completion of her statement, his muscles ceasing movement.
"Accha? You mean just like how you're staring at me now?" Asad replied calmly, without turning around. He continued wringing his shirt casually, as he slowly turned around to face her. Just as he had expected, Zoya was so taken aback by his intuition that she hadn't even found the time to gather her wits and explain herself before Asad turned back. Asad smiled at a gaping Zoya triumphantly and crossed his arms again. Two can play at this game!
XXX
More to come in the weekend, promise!!
Cricket
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