Chapter 5 Opening the room door, he was amazed by the interior. A large king sized bed with white fluffy looking bedspreads, and the various pillows of contrasting creams and maroons, that all worked with the cream and ruby red interior of the room. There was a large French window that opened out onto a terrace, and to the side of it had a chaise lounge and an adjoining bathroom.
"Saloni--"
"I don't remember giving you the right to call me by my first name!" she huffed.
"Ma'am. You'll sleep on the bed, I'll sleep here on this chaise lounge. Happy? Don't worry…I won't bite" he put his hands up in front him as he spoke.
Turning her face to the side a bit, she agreed with a slight flick of her head, and then walked into the bathroom.
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Sighing she locked the door behind her. She realized she didn't have clothes, but noticed that there were knee-length fluffy robes in the bathroom, the blue marine logo embossed on the breast pocket. Groaning, she peeled of her wet clothes, and got into the shower. She turned on the hot water and just de-stressed and tried to stabilize her mind until he heard Nahar grumbling loudly about freezing to death or catching pneumonia and then grumbling she got out, wrapped herself tightly in the robe and came out, drying out her hair and walking straight past him to stand before the dresser. He couldn't help but stare at her in the robe and then, realizing what he was doing, he quickly ran into the shower and did the same she did, coming out in the male robe and moving towards the lounge.
There was a still silence in the room as she brushed her hair, feeling very conscious of herself, trapped in a room with a stranger, with nothing but a bathrobe on. Great! Couldn't anything else go wrong?! She screamed in her mind, then bit her tongue saying that she didn't mean that.
"Uh…" She didn't want to talk to him, but since he knew this place better than her, she had no choice. "Naharji?"
"Uff…nahar "ji"? Do I look like some old man?" he groaned, looking up at her. Her back was still to him.
"Sorry, Nahar, is there like, a gift shop or clothes store or something where we could get a change of clothes? This is really uncomfortable for me" she muttered.
"Oh…uh…I think there's a boutique here somewhere… let me call room service and find out" he got up, and picked up the phone in the room. Dialed the reception number and after a few minutes of conversation he turned to Saloni.
"Uh, ji?" he didn't know what to call her, so he opted for her "ji" thing. In response, she just stopped brushing out her long hair, and listened. Shrugging her continued.
"They said right now it's impossible to get to the boutique, but they can get our stuff dry cleaned right now. It's the best they can offer" he said.
She cringed at the thought of sleeping in her Prada outfit, but just nodded. Nahar called the reception again and a couple of seconds later, a bell boy came to their room to collect their stuff. While they waited for their clothes to be returned to them, Nahar attempted to break her stuffy silence.
"Are you always this unfriendly?" he asked. That did the trick. She dropped the brush and rounded on him.
"I'm very friendly mind you…I just don't fraternize with rivals" she huffed, glaring at him, hands on her hips. He thought she looked very cute, but refrained from saying so.
"Hey…we can change that rival thing you know...i'm trying, and that's something I rarely do, so why can't u give it a shot?" he asked again.
"Why are you even interested in friendship?" she asked again, trying hard to keep her temper in check.
"I'm interest in more than friendship" he mumbled.
"Pardon?"
"Oh Uh…be-because I just am! If we have to spend a night in one room together, we might as well talk civilly to each other! I can stay in a room with someone who's as quiet as the walls!" he said exasperatedly.
"Oh…well then…uff…fine…look it's not easy for me to just start talking to you as if you're an old friend or something…it'll take time" she gave up and turned back to the mirror to resume brushing her brushed out hair. He reclined on the lounge grinning broadly, looking out the window to the pouring rains outside.
As they waited for their stuff to be returned, Saloni gave up her act of brushing her hair, and went on the side of the large bed, furthest from his hunched 6"2 figure on the lounge. She was feeling a bit guilty. She could easily fit comfortably on that lounge, and he would be more comfortable here. Sighing, she spoke up, stopping his soft whistling.
"UM…suniye?" she called out softly…
"Ji, kahiye?" he replied, turning his neck awkwardly to face her.
"You sleep on the bed, you'll be more comfortable there…I'll sleep on the lounge chair…I can actually fit on it properly" she smiled lightly. He refused, telling her that he's fine and she should stay on the bed, but she finally convinced him to let her stay on the lounge. They switched places, and now Nahar was happy that she was at least being nice to him.
After that friendly move by her, it was easier for him to engage in small talk with her, finding out that she was not really a socialite like her family members. She'd rather be at home with her parents, or do something to help people, rather than attend those boring old page 3 parties and fraternize with stuffy old ladies who have nothing better to do than brag about their husbands bank account. That made Nahar laugh, and be convinced that she was a unique find, and something he'd definitely want to keep for himself.
He also shared that he was a bit of a party boy, enjoyed those parties because of the girls and what not, which earned him a distasteful look from Saloni, but then he got her to laugh by making fun of the girls and their mother show were always chasing him down for marriage proposals…she also guessed that despite his playboy nature, he was a very respectable person, and adored his family as much as she did hers. She also warmed up to him even more as he shared stories about him and his nephew, Ishaan, with whom he would team up with and play pranks on all the family members. She couldn't help but start falling for his boyish charms the more they spoke.
Nearly an hour later, a lady returned with separate parcels, saying that they managed to get some night stuff for them. Thankfully Saloni went to change first, pulling on a white cotton pajama suit that was given to her…and then Nahar too came out, but only in silk pajama bottoms in a royal blue colour. He was complaining to the lady, who had waited to see if the stuff fit, that the shirt piece was too tight, and if she could get a bigger one for him. Saloni who was bowled over seeing him come out in just silk bottoms was gaping like a fool from her perch on the lounge chair. She tried her best not to stare at his muscular body but, it was useless…she was becoming more attracted to him by the passing second, though she didn't realize it yet.
As he plopped down on the bed, waiting for the lady to get him a new shirt, he admired Saloni's petite frame as she lay facing the window, back to him. She was looking like a kid in those PJs but she looked too adorable. He wanted to scoop her up and just cuddle with her, right there on that lounge. He was broken out of his dream by the knocking on the door. It was the same lady returning to say they couldn't possibly find a bigger size right now and she apologized, taking leave from the room. Shrugging, he fell into the bed shirtless, receiving hard stares from Saloni, who then "humph-ed", then flipped over and made herself comfortable on the lounge, while he grinned to himself, looking at his muscles, silently playing macho, then turning on his side, and closing his eyes.
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Somewhere around 2 am
There was a loud bang, and a couple of bolts of lightening forking through the inky black sky, coupled with the downpour of rain and fierce winds which banged the windows open, scaring Saloni and causing her to scream, jump up from her spot blindly and dive into the nearest comfort zone, the bed. Nahar woke up with a start, saw her hunched in the corner of the bed, gave one understanding look at the weather outside, and doing the first thing that came to mind, he rolled over and placed a comforting arm around her trembling shoulders. In her semi conscious state that felt like the most reassuring thing ever, and instantly she snuggled closer to him, making herself comfortable in his arms, unknowingly and falling back into sleep. Nahar, taken a bit by surprise, didn't know what to do, but since she was so comfortable already, and the window and closed itself in the same manner it had opened, he had no reason to wake her up…or stay awake any longer, so draping one hand lightly over her waist, he too fell asleep.
Okay folks…stay tuned for the morning dhamaka!!! sorry for any errors made..i ahd to finish it up in a rush!! hope u guys enjoyed...hahaha now stay tuned to see the damage fter the storm!! hehehehe😆Edited by TiaMaria93 - 18 years ago
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