Dear all,
This is my first post in Fan fictions!! The below story is written as a birthday gift to one of my forum friends. Sharing it with fellow readers/writers here.
The game of smiles!!
Parking her car beside HIS, she sadly glanced at the time before turning the engine off. "Too late to catch him," ruefully sighing, she stepped out and the Georgette Sari pleats smoothly glided down kissing her feet. "I shouldn't have volunteered to buy these," picking up the heavy bags from back seat, she cursed herself. "..else I wouldn't have missed HIM". She started towards the elevator trying to speculate what caused her more restless - she missing seeing him or He missing seeing her in Sari, for the first time ever. Crossing past his Sedan, she glimpsed at its rear - to the right, beside the fuel tank - a tiny winy scratch not visible unless keenly seen.
"Why doesn't he get it painted?" she wondered as she always did and also recollected the day she first met the black beauty - a shining black Jaguar, to be precise. One and half month ago, one fateful morning, when she happened to arrive at work a little late than usual, she carelessly ran her scooty into the backing up Jaguar. "Oh my God!!" her heart raced at jet speed seeing the scratch her handle carved on the spotless black beauty. "Men and cars!! OMG!! What a blunder I committed!!" she gasped in fear. "Damn!! Bloody heck..." she heard the owner's rage pouring out from opened window. She gasped harder!!
She saw HIM furiously walking towards her with his slashing gaze pinned on her. "OMG!!" she gasped again as she noticed two immediate striking truths - He's breathtakingly handsome and breathtakingly outrageous - Ironically, the second breathtaking isn't quite positive. Looking at his ferocious gait, she anticipated him to do that literally - taking away her breath. "Do you see?" he snapped his fingers before her helmet. "Huh?" in utter bafflement, she nodded sideways not realizing she's nodding in wrong direction.
"I KNEW it!!" he scoffed and turned back to check his car. And she discerned what he KNEW. "I'm not blind," removing the helmet, she quickly got off the scooty. "I didn't expect your car to back up, I applied brakes.. but was a little late", her explanation halted when he sharply looked back. His gaze hovered over her face a little longer and she triumphantly smiled within. She knew this is bound to happen!! A single glance at her face and any man had to melt down.
"It'd have been better if you lied you're blind" with no change in his tone or gaze he gave a head turn and her face fell. "Her charm had no effect on him?!!" anger began stirring in her. Ignoring her presence, he splayed his fingers on the scratch, sighed and started moving ahead. "I'm so sorry!!" too adamant to give up, she apologized in sweetest of the voice that could melt a rock. He stopped in his tracks and turned back. She didn't know why she smiled, but she did. "I understand how it feels, I'm once again sorry.. I'm ready to pay for..",
"Clear your scooty off the way, I've to go!!" he curtly waved his forefinger as if her apology didn't reach his ears. Gritting under breath, she moved her vehicle aside rebuking herself for uttering an apology. "No smile, no gentleness, no manners.. how arrogant!!" her curses muffled in the sound of his car engine. As she stood aside bewildered, he reversed the vehicle and then he's gone. Little known that it was only the beginning of a luscious torture, she spent the day chiding the man and his arrogance.
In days that followed, she met him couple of times in the parking or in the elevator. The first time she saw him after the awful incident, she expected him to react in some way- if not smile, at least scoff or in the minimum give her a known glance. But, to her irk, he did nothing!!
The second time when she saw him in the elevator, she faintly smiled and greeted with a Hi. And the response she got was a curt nod. "Who's he? What's his problem? Why can't he smile?" she wondered. The other day she got answer for her first question when she showed his car to her colleague friend and asked about its owner. "I too see it only recently here!! Let me find out!!" the investigative pal took a day and came up with the answer. "He's the MD of ASR Enterprises that opened up in 11th floor recently. Name.. some Raizada!! I didn't understand the first name in the security guard's slang!!"
"MD of a company!!" her nose wrinkled. "So what?!! Don't MDs smile?" she gritted under breath. In passing days, she saw him talking to his associates but not once she saw him smile; and it stirred her curiosity manifold. "I'll make him smile!!" she challenged to herself and almost immediately set into action - in the encounters that followed she treated him with sweetest of smiles, gentlest of greetings and when nothing worked, she played reverse. "May be if I'm serious, he'll begin to smile!!" she thought and put it to implementation. Alas!! He remained as serious as he had always been. The adamancy to win the challenge grew so stronger that she failed realizing when his thoughts evaded into her personal space. She didn't notice when she began adjusting her routine to his schedule. His car entered the parking every day sharply at nine and so did she!! If she got delayed for some reason and missed him, she felt her day incomplete.
Today again is one such day!! Allotted with buying flowers and decoration stuff task to celebrate Diwali at office, she got late to work. "Oops!!" seeing the elevator doors closing, she hurriedly ran to obstruct the doors with her feet. To her relief, the nearly closed doors opened and when she looked up to find a place in the crowded cabin she saw HIM gazing at her from the right corner, HIS hand retreating from the button panel. "O.. he's here!!" a bright smile unknowingly glistened her face.
"He too got late today?" scooting to a side, she puzzled unbeknown that HE was neither late nor he arrived just then. If only she knew how restlessly HE kept looking down to the entrance gate from his cabin window in 11th floor waiting for her car or scooty to show up. And once it did, he came down to parking only to have glimpse of her. The moment he saw her running towards elevator, he concluded the wait was worth it!! Decked in a beautiful sari, carrying loads in both hands, she appeared like a cute angel. He noticed the gleam in her eyes when they spotted him and he only knew how hard he struggled to pose a stoic face, like he always did!!
It was a secret!! HIS sweet, vengeful secret!! Day one, when she tried to sell her charm with her cute apologetic smile, he indeed fell for it. But then, he also noticed the triumphant, confident, mischievous tug at corner of her lips. "Oh!! She's too confident of her charms!! This is interesting!!" he naughtily thought and decided to pretend unaffected. All along, though he discerned her strenuous efforts to earn his smile, he strictly stuck to his part of game. My, my!! How much he enjoyed this game- The game of smiles!!
He's so involved in the game that he failed realizing when she began invading his thoughts. He altered his schedule to arrive sharply at nine and when he missed her for some reason, he felt his day incomplete.
"Is it her birthday?" gazing at her sensuous back, he speculated the reason behind Sari.
"Did he notice my Sari?" she wondered, trying hard not to turn back and glimpse him.
The elevator stopped at second floor, with a few stepping out, few more stepping in, thus resulting in swapping of positions of people inside the elevator. Few moments later, she felt something uncomfortable in her position. "Not the heavy bags or the noisy crowd", she tried reasoning. "Someone is staring at my back," she discerned and slightly tipped her head checking on the man behind her. It was HIM- staring at her without a blink. "God!!" she gasped at the heat in his eyes. Not in a position to cover the steep neck blouse with pallu, she swayed her head so that the free hair splayed wider on her back. Yet, she couldn't help feeling the heat of his gaze piercing through her hair into her skin. As a reflex, her shoulders coiled in unease. She stood like a statue not flinching an inch silently praying for the elevator to soon reach eighth floor - the floor where she worked.
"Munni badnaam huyi darling tere liye!!" The sensuous item song buzzed loud in the noisy elevator bringing the crowd's talks to immediate halt. "Oh my God!!" she quivered in terror and stopped breathing. "Munni badnaam huyi darling tere liye.." the line repeated. Dropping the bags down, she hurriedly fished into her handbag. "Ouch!!" In an attempt to dash her mobile out, her hand kicked on the butt of the man standing before her and she immediately flinched back stepping on the man behind her. Her back collided with HIM and her heart disarticulated two inches down.
"What a fateful day!!" he laughed within.
"What an awful day!!" she squirmed within.
All the heads that were interestingly watching her, turned in all possible directions to hide the mushy grins. "I'm sorry!!" standing straight, she embarrassingly apologized the man before her and turned to do the same to HIM just when the song continued with its next line. "Munni ke gaal gulabi, nain sharabi, chaal nawabi re.. Munni badnaam hui darling tere liye.." Mentally smacking her head for competing with her wicked colleague in setting up lewdest possible ringtone, she pressed the silent button with all her might!!
"Sorry!!" she looked back abashed. Irking her to the core, he gave his usual curt nod. As soon as the elevator stopped at eighth floor, she dashed out with her bags admonishing her fate and his piquing nods. "Next time he nods, I'll bang my bag on his face", while she was busy swearing under breath, she heard him from behind. "Ms Munni!!" he called loud and she froze.
"Ms Munni!!" he called again walking towards her and she ferociously turned back. "Your kerchief!! You dropped it when you dropped the bags down," his hand forwarded with a mischievous glint in his eyes.
"Thank you!!" she seriously accepted. "My name is not Munni," her brows formed a frown.
"Is it?" he feigned surprised. "I thought it had to be your name!!" he made a questioning face. "Then how come those words perfectly suited you?"
"Which words?" she looked utterly confused.
"This line..", he closed in lowly humming. "Munni ke gaal gulabi, nain sharabi, chaal nawabi re!!"
Flabbergasted, her mouth wide opened and at that awesome moment... HE SMILED!! A PENETRATING, INTOXICATING SMILE IT WAS!! And she felt doused!!
Two months later, fondly splaying her fingers on the scratch of HIS car, she asked. "Why don't you get it painted?"
"I WILL NOT!!" he answered scooping his arm round her waist. "It's your sweet signature. How will I erase it?" he smiled to her eyes. Dousing in his love, she rose on her toes to seal HIS SMILE as per the game rule.
A few days before, when HE proposed HER, he also changed the rules of Game Of Smiles - Earlier, she smiled and he sealed it behind HIS LIPS. Now he would smile and she has to seal it - of course, with HER LIPS.
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Another OS: If God Wills!!
Itti Si Khushi Sab TV
Bade Achhe Lagte Hain
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
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