Posting this update in a hurry now since I know you all have been waiting for this (and cursing me for ending it on such a high point 😆 )...will respond to all your comments for sure tomorrow in my reserved post below.
Hope you like this part...hope you it lives up to everyone's expectations...it was the best I could do...dunno if i should have added more or subtracted a little...lol.
This chapter needed a song since there is a dance in it...but I couldnt find anything suitable...so my very good friend Hana helped me out with the music selection...I troubled her a lot...lol! All credit to her for this song...Its a musical piece by Jesse Cook...its just music but it fits the whole part perfectly...was listening to it while writing and editing this chapter...I wish...I REALLY wish to see KW and SA dance on this...now that would be something!
The title is in Spanish which means full moon.
Her breath hitched in her chest as she noted the almost zero distance between them...
She willed herself to move back but it seemed as if her feet were glued to the ground.
He hadnt left...he had been there the whole time she had been sulking to herself...
'You always assume the wrong things, dont you Shilpa?'
She had no answer to that...and she couldnt reply right now even if she wanted to...
His nearness...
His bewitching gaze...
The enchanting ambiance around them...
Everything was teaming up to steal her voice away.
If she hadnt been so caught up in trying to deal with her emotions, she would have noticed that she wasnt the only one affected...she would have seen how captivated he was with her as she stood before him, another vision in white...so unlike the one he had seen a few moments back...a small flower tucked behind one of her ears, her long tresses flowing down her back and glinting in the moonlight, her smooth skin tempting him to reach forward and caress her cheeks.
But, more than that, it was the unrequited, or so Shilpa thought, hope shining in her eyes that was drawing him towards her like a moth to a flame.
He wasnt offended by a single word she had said to him...rather it had made him realize that he had been a fool to overlook something so precious all these years.
Her ears perked up as soft strains of music permeated the air around them.
He glanced pensively in the direction of the party...
'Any minute now', she thought, 'any minute he was going to excuse himself and head back to the party.'
His gaze returned to hers and she braced herself for the words that she knew were going to come.
"May I have this dance?"
He extended his hand and took one of hers in his.
Dance?
He wanted to dance with her?...rather than making the most of this opportunity by going to Riddhima, he wanted to stay here in this secluded spot and dance with her?
She searched deeply in his gaze and saw something...something that still difficult to understand and yet it assured that this wasnt a pretense...it wasnt a duty, it wasnt a responsibility...it was heartfelt and real.
Her gaze darted between her hand in his and his eyes...
And then she realized one more thing...
...that she didnt care...she didnt care if this was reality or a dream. She would seize any chance she got...no matter even if it was for a short time.
Her fingers tightened on his and she watched how the corners of his lips curved into a slow smile. Placing her hand on his shoulder, he took a hold of her other hand...warm tingles shot through her as he placed his free hand on her waist.
Feeling extremely conscious and nervous, she didnt even realize when he started to lead them.
Her apprehension melted away as they began to sway slowly to the music and she was surprised, yet again, to discover how synchronized their movements were...as if they had danced before.
And because her senses were so heightened , she observed every detail between them...the ease with which their bodies moved around each other, the familiarity with which he held her...
His touch gentle, his hold firm, his voice silent but his eyes telling her...something...something that was still an unresolved mystery.
The way he was looking at her...it made her breathless with each passing second...her chest felt constricted and yet heart wanted to fly...his gaze made her want to run away and hide...because it felt as if he could see and read everything in her eyes... everything that she wanted to hide from him.
After a point, the intensity, between them, became too much for her to bear, so she looked away, her eyes randomly staring at a point behind him.
Suddenly, she felt scared and unknowingly, she tightened her hold on his shoulder...because she had, never in her life, felt so strongly and deeply for anyone...she had never felt her emotions overwhelm her with this intensity...
She was scared of his ability to make her feel things she had never known she could...
But most importantly, she was scared that she could actually 'feel' again...that someone had actually broken down the barriers around her heart and had made it come alive again.
Her mind was skeptical but her heart strangely felt at peace. It assured her that whatever was happening was right...that this was the moment she had, unknowingly, been waiting for since a long time.
The music picked up and her heartbeats raced in a frenzy as he pulled her closer to him by her waist...leaving her with no choice but to look back at him.
His gaze was still fixed on her...contentment shined in his eyes as he slowly spun her out, twirled her around, never losing contact with her eyes, and brought her back to him.
Her lips curved into a small smile and her heart soared as he answered with one of his own.
By this time, she had lost awareness of everything around them...except him and the warmth of his arms.
For the first time, someone had actually made her feel beautiful...desired...cherished.
She didnt know how long they had been swaying but she wished the music never ended.
She wished they could stay with each other like this for a long time without either of them letting go...
Maybe it was the music, the way they were flowing along with it or the way she was feeling or the way he held her...
Something stripped away the last of her inhibitions...and moving slightly forward, she laid her head on his shoulder...a single lone tear escaping her eyes and falling on her softly smiling lips as she felt his arms, around her, tighten even more, pulling her closer.
But she missed the look of awe and serenity that had sparked in his eyes the moment her head had touched his shoulder.
He couldnt even have explained what he was feeling then...or how much he wanted this feeling to last...for as long as it was possible...this feeling of bliss and the extreme rush of nerves mixed together.
Her eyes closed as she realised that she had finally found the missing part of herself, that she been searching for, since her parents had died.
It was just a moment...that would end soon.
But if only for that moment...she was his and he was hers.
No barriers...no pretenses.
In that moment, she knew she had lost herself to him forever.
In that moment, she knew that no matter where she went, she would always belong to him...whether he belonged to her or not.
In that moment, she knew...that she loved him.
It was the simple truth.
Her realization didnt come crashing down upon her like a huge thundering wave... rather it slowly and gently danced upon her awareness, nudging her, teasing her...making her feel as if she was slowly rising, rising...until finally she felt as if she was floating in mid air...
Her heart had known it for a long time but her mind had insisted upon denying it...but not anymore.
Her heart and mind were finally at peace with one another.
The music finally drew to a close...but they kept swaying to a rhythm only they could hear...it was only moments later that they realized that there was silence around them.
Shilpa was the first to come out of her trance...love?
She was in love with him...no amount of denial could help anymore.
He couldnt know...but he would if he looked into her eyes.
Raising her head , she moved back, trying to take a step behind...away from him...
She had only managed to straighten herself...when she was stopped by the firm hold of his hand at her waist.
Looking at him , she realized that he had no intentions of letting her go any time soon...
She wished he would stop doing that...stop looking into her eyes like that...as if they held all his answers...it certainly wasnt makings things easy for her...
But little did she know...that he just couldnt help himself...for after what felt like a long time, he felt like he could stop running...he could stop searching...for he finally knew now that he was home...
His hands traveled up her arms, over her neck and upwards until they were lost in the soft waves of her hair.
By now , her body had rendered itself immobile thanks to his actions.
She watched his gaze roam over her face, her eyes and finally down to her lips...
...his gaze stopped at the lone tear, that had escaped her eye a few seconds back, and had nestled in the corner of her lips.
She watched with bated breath as something shifted in his eyes and they darkened.
His face neared hers until finally only an inch was left between them.
Seconds passed where she was sure that he could hear the wild beats of her heart...
Her eyes shut slowly just as his lips touched the corner of her lips...
Tremors shot through her whole body and her pulse hammered in her chest with that one single contact...
It wasnt a kiss...not what she had thought he was going to do...but it touched her heart and made it soar more than a kiss could have done.
It was just a light caress, a slight graze of his lips with her skin and yet it was the most soul-stirring touch she have ever received in her life...
This moment, she knew, had bounded her to him forever...no one would ever make her feel like this ever...only him.
Only Sid.
A few beats later, he moved back, only a few inches and looked in her eyes.
His thumb stroked the skin below her ears making all the blood rush to her face. She watched his eyes light up as the blush on her cheeks became obvious.
Removing one hand from her, he ran his knuckles lightly over one of her warm cheeks...involuntarily she leaned into his warm touch, wishing he would never move his hand away.
And then...just then...
"SHILPAAA???!!!"
They jerked apart as someone's voice rung loudly around them.
The bubble around them broke and they look at each other with wide eyes.
"SHILPA??!!"
Naina...it was Naina calling her...
Shilpa looked around but couldnt see her friend anywhere...she felt relieved. For a moment, she had assumed that Naina had seen everything.
Her gaze shot back to Sid who was looking at her quietly.
And it was then that she properly realized just what had happened a few moments back...it finally began to sink in.
"Sid...", she whispered.
"There you are!!", Naina's voice called out from her left.
Shilpa turned to see Naina hurriedly coming towards her followed by Yuvi.
"Do you have any idea how freaked I was?? Why did you disappear like that? I thought you had got lost in the woods and were probably being attacked by an animal!"
Shilpa glanced at Sid not really having any answers for Naina's questions.
"Sid", Yuvi said," I didnt even notice when you had left the party...I thought you had gone home."
"No", Sid said, " I was looking for Shilpa...same as you..."
"See?", Naina poked her arm with her finger, "How many people were worried about you...you just dont go about disappearing like that...now come along , food is being served and all that dancing had made me hungry!"
And with that, Naina dragged her along, towards the party.
She wanted to stop her...she wanted to go back to Sid...
But , she remained quiet...she knew that magical moment was gone...it wouldnt return even if she went back to him...
But, even as Naina lead her away, she turned back to look at Sid ...and found him looking at her intently in the same way he had been when Naina had interrupted them.
He didnt even realize that Yuvi was staring pensively at him and then Shilpa.
It was only when she had disappeared from his sight that he realized Yuvi was watching him.
"You okay, mate?", he asked.
Sid nodded slowly and shrugged. "Absolutely..."
"Lets head back?"
"Yeah..."
And both friends headed back to the party, with one lost in his own world and the other's curiosity growing by the minute.
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Indias Got Talent 11
Cricket
Anupamaa
193