TaAnu SS: Stranded- Shot One July 4

Hey guys! This is my very first try at a Short story for Taani-Anurag. Its a different concept and it's going to be pretty short. Please let me know if you want me to comtunue. The Prologue is just a blah, I know. But it will get interesting. Please do comment!

The swift gusts of wind were making her silky, straight tresses blow in the air. The salty, crust smell of the shore was refreshing and appeasing. Clouds were layered over the harsh rays on the sun while keeping the natural warmth intact. The soothing movement of the cruise over the glittering, cold water gave a relaxing feel. It was a feel which was rarely felt by her.

Dressed in a simple pink summer dress, stood a sulking Taani. There were a lot of things that were on her mind at that moment. First of which was the weird dress that she had on.It was a hot pink, thin strap, flax creep summer dress which hugged the upper part of her body and flew freely down from her waist to her knees. Second was the fact that her best friend seemed to have just ditched her. He was supposed to be here by 5:00 pm as the cruise was to take off by 6:30 pm. It was 6:15 now and there was still no sign of him. He had promised her that he would take her for a cruise ride.

The extra attention did irritate Taani a lot. But she also knew that she was just jealous of them all. Since the day they met each other, Taani had always claimed him as her and only her best friend. That belief strengthened when she found out about her marriage to him in childhood. Unknowingly, she had fallen in love with her best friend. Technically, she had loved him since they had been friends. But the realization had taken its own time. She didn't even know if her Mottu thought the same for her. When they were little, their friendship was made up of fights. But she knew that the "roothna manaana" was a basic for both. Even if either one of them stayed angry at each other for more then an hour then it was have been recorded in history. The maximum had always been around 15 minutes to 20 minutes. After that, they were best friends again. The love that they had formed as friends was something that she has lived up upon.

But now, the love that she felt for her Mottu was simply true love. A love that made her think of him as her other half, as the one who completes her. Taani knew that there was no match in their statuses. But his Maa and Baba have always thought of her as their own daughter. The friendship that her Baba shared with his father was a unique one. Their friendship had bound them together in childhood as man and wife. And till this day, Taani treasures the sacred gold and black beaded mangalsutra around her neck. It was the symbol for the love she had for her Mottu, her Onu, her best friend Anurag.

As the engine o the cruise roared and gave the signal of departure, Taani felt her heartbeats race. It was too late now. She wouldn't even have time to get off. And now, she was stuck on this stupid cruise all alone. The swift movements of the sailing cruise almost made her lose balance but she held onto the railings for supported.

With tear brimmed eyes, she watched the distance increase between land and the cruise. Foamy water glittered in her eyes and she decided that the day she had thought of being memorable was a day she would be dreading.

As the cruise whizzed through the cold waters, the force of the wind caught up. The chills ran through her body and Taani decided that it was time for her to go inside the massive hall.

The cruise that Anurag had booked for the two of them was humungous. It was a five star cruise which she knew that she would never ever see in her lifetime if it wasn't for him.

Coming from a simple, middle class family, she didn't find herself to fit into the crowd that surrounded her on the ship. Her mom had forced her to wear such a dress which she wasn't quite comfortable in. In fact, all the clothes that's he had brought for the five days stay were western'..which meant that they weren't a little too exposing her body.

But both of their families didn't mind. Their parents were the ones who had bounded them together. And as a married couple, as well as best friends, they were happy with the way Anurag and Taani's relationship was progressing. Taani, herself, didn't mind wearing these clothes for him.

The day they were married, she had promised to never accept their marriage as anything special. But everything changed when she discovered that she had fallen in love with him. Since the day she accepted to herself that she loved him, she has had her mangulsutra on her. She wanted to declare to the world that she belonged to her Mottu, and only her Mottu.

::

Degrade by the turn of events; Taani strolled down the side way lane that passed thought the beach chairs on the ship. But a single sight of him caught her eyes. He was here. Right here on this ship. Or was she seeing things. But her eyes could recognize him anywhere. A huge smile formed on her lips as she caught the full sight of his leaning on the railing. His smile made her heart flutter and butterflies flew in her stomach.

He looked too handsome in the fresh blue jeans and white, polo t-shirt. His hair was cut into a mature style and his slight stubble was still there. He looked fresh and happy. And she wanted was to run into his arms and drown into his misty, caramel eyes.

But was she hustled towards him, she found another girl wrap her arms around his neck and pose for a picture.

::

Taani stood frozen in her position. Her heart stopped breathing as she watched him pose with a smile and take a few pictures with her. And then the atyachar started.

Not just one, but a whole bunch of skimpy girl surround him to take pictures. A few of them even took the Titanic pose with him; their arms stretched out to their sides and a goofy smile on their faces. And during the whole photo session, Taani couldn't stop but glare at the girls. When a certain girl, who by the way need to where something over her bikini, got too close to her Mottu, she felt as if she was going to strangle her.

And the guts of this guy. How the hell did he even get on when she came an hour early before the departure and waited or him to arrive? And then this. Was he out of his mind?

::

He watched her coming towards him with a smile. But before he knew it, a few girls decided to flirt with him and take pictures with him. Of course his popularity had increased after he had been the Winner of the World Track Championship Competition. This much attention was expected and to over come this fan following, he had decided for this break with his lovely wife. Boy did that last long.

From the corner of his eyes, he watched the fuming expressions on her face and he couldn't help but chuckle at her. Gosh she looked beautiful when she was jealous. Jealously was always a good thing. It reminded him of the fact that she felt possessive of him.

He went along with the romantic poses with random girls who were going goo-goo and gaa-gaa over him. Anurag couldn't understand how these girls could be this way. First of all, they need some clothes to be put on them. Secondly, they had no shame in sticking to a random guy. And thirdly, they seemed so idiotic to him that the smile was actually a mocking laugh at them.

But as they left, he was surprised to be given multiple hugs. Each hug had shown a shocked expression on his innocent face. And as Anurag glanced over at Taani, he was sure that he would have a hell to pay to pacify her.

::

"Aree'Taani. Suno toh?" Anurag said as he chased her down the stairs that led to the corridors of the cruise. But Taani was abundant on going away from him.

What does he think of himself? And who told him to stick to those sticky girl?Aur aab Taani yaad aayi. She thought as she walked past the crowd of people enjoying their time on the cruise.

Anurag could only smile at her and follow behind as swiftly as possible. But from time to time, a girl or two would stop him and congratulate him for his achievements. Huh. He thought. So much for getting away from all this attention.

He followed her all the way to her room. His was only next door to her. Their stay had been reserved by Anurag a few days ago on the Royal Caribbean Cruise Ship, the best of its kind.

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdHjY59BWHc&feature=player_embedded#!

He watched as she opened the door to her room and walked in. In his attempt to step in the room, he was greeted with a slammed door, flat in his face.

Looking away while rubbing his red nose, he could only grin.

Sorry Taani. Lekin mujhe nahi paata tha ke tum aaj bhi mujhe inta pyaar karti ho ke meri kissi aur ke karib jaane se tumhe inti taleef hogi. He whispered to himself and glanced at the closed door.

::

"Idiot! Gadha! Bander kahi ka!" Taani muttered as she fell on her bed and let out the frustration.

But as she lay there, she could feel his presence around her. She took a couple of minutes to settle herself down. Letting out a slight huff, she got up, straightened her dress, and went over to open the door.

As expected, Mottu ji was leaning on the opposite side of the wall and smirking at her.

::

She watched him with no expressions on her face. She had nothing to say. In fact, she was waiting for an explanation. How did he get on board without her noticing? Since the boarding on the ship started, she had stood by the side and looked for him. And she was sure that she didn't miss him.

As if reading what she had in mind, he gave his little explanation.

"Main subhe char baje se yaha khada hu. Aur inti jadli iss liye kyunki mai tumhe dekna chata tha. Akele...." Anurag answered innocently. He watched her let out a slight gape and he moved closer to her. She was surprised to get this as an answer.

As he leaned against the side of the door, with her on the inside of the room and him on the outside, he spoke with a gentle smile.

"Pata hai, pure do ghaante tak tume dekta raha aur yeh soch ta raha ke'.." He stopped and his eyes grew intense as he explored her beauty. Apart from his face, he was mesmerized by the beauty with which she carried on her summer dress. She looked beautiful in it and his fingers itched to feel the skin that was left exposed.

As his steps approached her, she felt severe nervousness creep up on her and she fumbled back on her steps.

"Tu'tum..soch te rahe ke'?" Taani tried to get the rest of the sentence out from him and distract him from approaching her. Like that was possible for him? He thought.

"Main soch ta raha ke'.?" He whispered as the distance between was barely there. He felt her hit the wall behind her. A smile formed on his face noticing her nervousness. He hadn't thought that his closeness could have such an effect on her.

"Soch te rahe keh?" Her voice was barely audible but he heard her. As his intense gaze seeped into her dark chocolate eyes, her breathing literally stopped. He was not touching her at all, but the warmth that radiated off from his body made her feel his touch.

And finally his hands came up to hold her soft cheeks so that he could let his heart out.

"Main tumhe dekte dekte yeh sochta raha ke tum inti khoobsurat kaise ho sakti ho, tum inti acchi kaise ho sakti ho, aur mujhe itna pyaar kaise kar sakti ho?" He whispered to her.

She could swear that she saw his eyes glitter. And it wasn't just mire glittering. They were tears. The same tears that she had in her eyes. They weren't tears of sorrow or pain. They were tears of looking into the eyes of the person you loved so much that it squeezed your heart in a good way.

What he said instantly brought a smile onto her face and before she knew it, she engulfed him into a tight hug. He hugged her back equally tight and simply felt her close to him.