~ No inspiration board created, owing to the lack of time. I apologize.~
CHAPTER SEVEN
It was one of those uncommon weekdays where Twinkle and Yuvi both had a manageable work load, thanks to Thanksgiving and the duo were currently lounging on the plush sofa of their living room. Twinkle was continuously typing away on her laptop, silently and efficiently. Yuvi was doing the same-not to silently and neither effectively. He slammed down on his keys a little too hard every now and them and of course he had to let out a gurgling groan whenever he was slightly inconvenienced by one of the questions asked on the homework.
"Can you not?" Twinkle spoke with clenched teeth.
"Can I not what?"
"Can you not do that?" she asked again.
"Can I not do what?" He remained clueless and retaliated.
"YUVI!"
"TWINKLE?" He yelled her name with such a tone that it had her startled for a bit, but then her mind processed the lingering question on the tone, making her wash all her irritations down the drain.
She couldn't help but break down in a smile. Nodding her head from side to side, she asked "Problem kya hai teri?" She doesn't think a two-page homework could have him that aggravated.
He shrugs, gives her a goofy smile and replies. "Bhookh lahi hai yaar."
Twinkle doesn't think she could physically roll her eyes any further back inside her head. How was this man, a hog of a man, perpetually hungry despite stuffing his face with food every half an hour and yet be hungry? She decided to smack her hand against his tummy, a gentle punch to remind him of the flabs his abdomen might have turned into. "Itna khaye gat oh aisa mota hi reh jayega!" Twinkle said, just a micro second before her fist came in contact with his - rigid abs. Instantly her eyes were lifted to meet his, questioningly.
"Two words, Ms. Twinkle Taneja, Fab Abs" he says in a no non-sense tone, lifting his tee up to give her a view of his rock-hard muscle biscuits. Of course she shamelessly ogles his torso, her mouth suddenly gone dry and her eyes viciously raking down those dangerously defined obliques' cutting the side of his hips and disappearing down the waist band of his pants.
"10 on 10 would bang" Twinkle says before she can even filter her words. And scarlet immediately taints her cheeks. She mentally smacks herself for objectifying him so. Was she seriously ogling Yuvi?!
"But only one of them can." He cheekily supplies. That smugness was enough to bring Twinkle down from her La La Land, earning him yet another smack, only this time a hard one on his shoulder. "Ouchh! Twinkle yaar!"
"Laga?" she asks all sweet and sarcastic.
"Nahi, toh." He supplies back sarcastically as well. This only earned him another punch in the shoulder, because according to her it didn't hurt enough the first time as he said and gets back to her work.
"Twiiinnnkkkllleee."
And again, Twinkle had to restrain herself from rolling her eyes. Her name was brutally chopped off into 3 syllables, each being stretched further like bubble gum.
"Bore ho raha hai yaar! Aur bhook bhi lagi hai."
"Toh?"
"Toh chalna break lete hai..." He literally begs. The once reason Twinkle agrees to his petty little man-child whines is because he was jumping on the sofa like a kid, flailing his arms around, it was quite disturbing. Also because he bribed her by telling her that he would show her his soulmates picture among other details.
That was exactly why, the duo was sitting on the little kitchen island, munching on grilled chicken cheese sandwiches. Yuvi booted up his laptop. He opened a file on his desktop titled Jaan' and that little sight had melted Twinkle's ice-cream heart into goop.
"Twinkle Taneja, I introduce you to Mahi Mazrani." He announced with all the love and adoration in the world.
Twinkle swore she was the most beautiful girl she has ever seen. And that was saying a lot. Mahi Mazrani was voluptuous women with dark wavy tresses, and brown almond eyes. She had small cute little piggy nose and perched on that piggy freckled nose was a set of set specs. She looked exactly like the architect she was studying to be.
"She is beautiful." She admits it out aloud.
"Haina?! And that is why I am the luckiest man alive."
Twinkle couldn't take her eyes off the monitor screen, as Yuvi kept narrating the story behind each picture. The way he talked about her, the veneration in his voice, the reverence, the love, it was making Twinkle fall in love with their love story. It sounded crazy even to her but she was in love with their love.
And the way her eyes were glued to the screen didn't go unnoticed by Yuvraj. "Baat karna chahegi?" he asks her in a soft tone.
It surprises her and bewilders her at the same time because while she wanted to say yes, she also wanted to say no. She doesn't want Mahi to develop any misunderstanding regarding them. Moreover she wasn't sure how Mahi would react seeing Yuvi live with another woman. Twinkle knows how it feels to have the love of your life, stay with someone else. And Twinkle wouldn't wish that pain on anyone, let alone the soulmate of her new best friend. So, she shakes her head in the negative.
Apparently Yuvi caught on her train of thoughts. "Don't worry." He reassures her. "She isn't like any other. Who humare baare mein kuch misunderstand nahi karegi." Saying so, he switches app and gives Jaan' a videocall.
The ring goes for a while understandably. It was 1:00am in Paris.
"Bonjour Jaan." A sleepy voice comes. Twinkle notices how the voice was thick like honey, laced with sleep.
"Bonjour lazybones." Yuvi indulges in a terrible French accent before tones like train tracks, "Uth, there is someone I'd like you to meet."
"At...one? Must be the ever-lovely Twinkle of yours." Mahi yet hadn't showed her face, so Twinkle couldn't exactly say if the tone Mahi used was supposed to be a compliment or not. But as soon as Twinkle thinks so, the white screen, tilts a couple of times before up comes Mahi's face. She looked cute even with her bed hair, and crumpled shirt.
There was nothing ambiguous about the smile Mahi gave. It was genuine and it was sweet.
"Twinkle this is Mahi Mazrani. Mahi this is Twinle Taneja." Yuvi butts in to provide the necessary introduction.
"We know." Both the girls end up exasperating at the same time.
Both the girls found their sync hilarious when Yuvi found it horrifying. Girl power was never good news for guys!
"Aaannnd, I already regret introducing you both to each other." Yuvi admits, jumping out of the video frame. "Tum log baat karo, main kuch khaane ko le kar aata hoon."
"That's his post dinner, dinner." Twinkle divulges earning a hearty chuckle from Mahi.
"Don't tell me he yet does that!"
"Wait he used to do that before too?"
"Yup."
It was astonishingly easy talking to Mahi, almost as if they were long time buddies. What was it about these two? They made everything so easy and simple.
"Toh Twinkle, how's college going?" Mahi asks just to keep conversation going. And it worked. Because by the time Yuvi had returned with his Banana split sundae, the girls were laughing their heads off on how Twinkle had scared and scarred Yuvi with the Manjulika incident.
"Great! Just great!" Yuvi plops down on his seat next to Twinkle slightly slumped on how his masculinity was ridiculed in front of two fine ladies. "You both are never allowed to talk to each other ever again!"
The girls giggled for a while more before Twinkle bid Mahi goodbye to give the love birds a bit of privacy.
Twinkle stayed up late that night, wondering why ever did the little detail of Kunj staying with Maya bothered her so much. She rationales that initially it hurt because he considered her an option, a second priority while he was always her only choice. He knew, he knew how she had for a long time dreamt about attending NYU with him. She had talked about it since she was 15! They both even got their acceptance letters. But Kunj decided to go with Maya to Mumbai a week before they were supposed to fly to NY.
She hadn't talked to him for a month, following the day when he sat her down and told her he wanted to study in Mumbai. She laughed it off because she thought that he was only kidding. But nope! I want to study in Mumbai-with Maya'. He completed his sentence and that sealed the whole situation for her. She was an option for him. A second option.
But for the past few weeks, she has noted a difference in her thoughts. She was no longer bothered about the relation Kunj and Maya shared. She no longer cared that her soulmate was living with his soulmate. And it was scary and relieving at the same time.
Is this what moving on feels like?' she thinks to herself. Before the thought can even develop itself, she shuns it. There is no moving on from a soulmate. He is the one and only. And no one moves on from a one and only.
Satisfied, Twinkle pulls her black fleece duvet over her head and shuts her eyes waiting for slumber to consume her.
Slumber however, decided to play hide and seek and instead of dreams Twinkle's mind was plagued with what it's really like to move on. After about an hour of seeking slumber, she huffs a frustrated breath, gives a glance at her bedside clock and boots up her laptop.
Signs of moving on' she types on Google's search bar. She clicks the first site.
Step one: You don't think about them first thing in the morning anymore.
Check.
Step Two: You finally don't think about them when you're with someone else.
Check.
Step Three: You deleted the text messages.
Uncheck.
She reads further through the list, checking and unchecking steps. Results: She had 84% moved on.
Her stomach bubbles effervescently either in fear or in joy, uncertain.
~
"So, what's the deal with Twinkle?" Mahi asks once Twinkle retreated to her room.
"It's complicated"
"How so?"
"He is her soulmate, but she isn't his..." Yuvi admits, running a hand down his face. He honestly wished better for Twinkle. She was such a lively and loving girl and to have something as such happen to her was a punch to his guts too.
"Oh! Shiz man! That's tough."
"Yea..."
"Cheer her up!" She screams suddenly. It heavily startles Yuvi.
"Umm, Kyu?"
"Kyuki I accidently asked her about her soulmate and now she looks all sad, and I feel utterly guilty!"
"Oho! Yeh acha hai, guilty feel tu karre, aur cheer usse main karu? Yeh kaha ka hisaab hai, jaan?"
Mahi enticingly licks her lips at that, making Yuvi gulp heavily. "Yeh pyaar ka hisaab hai, jaan." Her voice is husky in all the wrong ways.
"Jaan. Not fair! You can't play the sexy card every time you want to win!" he whines. Always! Always, this woman and her conniving ways!
"You love me anyway." She sings, reading his thoughts clear as day.
"And you love me too." He mumbles back.
"Goodnight, jaan."
~
The next morning was unusually quiet. For one, Yuvi wasn't blasting Rock music on the stereo, nor was he late for breakfast. Instead, he was preparing toast and their coffee. "Good morning." He chirps.
"Morning." She says and pour the steaming coffee out into 2 mugs.
They settle with their plates by the window in the living room, watching the slight drizzle. "Toh aaj ka kya plan?" Yuvi starts, remembering the orders given to him by Mahi.
Twinkle shrugs. "Homeworks toh sare complete ho gaye. Assignments bhi due nahi hai..toh."
"Toh ghumne chale?"
Twinkle purses her lips in thought. "Okay. Par kaha?"
"It's a surprise. And please thoda ladkiyo jaisa dress up ho."
"Arey par!" she revolts only for it to fall on deaf ears. "Par hum jaa kaha rahe hai?" she asks as he gathers their dirty dishes in the sink but doesn't answer.
Twinkle gives up after a while and rummages for clothes that are girly-ier. She pulls out a cardinal blue dress but decides against it. It was slightly chilly outside and a dress wouldn't do her any good. She instead opts for her favorite pair of leather pants and pairs it up with a red velvet blouse.
Hair curled and eyes smoky, she puts on her black pumps and smears a little red gloss across her lips to complete her look. Yuvi better find me girly enough' she tells herself.
Turns out Yuvi did if the look of utter surprise on his face was anything to go by. "So?" she asks him, twirling around to give him a good look of her ensemble. "Girly enough?"
"Bruh! You look gorgeous bruh!" He says awestruck.
"Thanks bruh!"
~
Well Yuvi's big plan for the evening was going to a pub.
Of course Twinkle was dubious about it, but Yuvi had mastered the art of stupidity, bad decisions and manipulation so it wasn't a task at all to convince Twinkle to go.
It wasn't a high-end club, there was no loud music and neither was there any dirty dancing going on, on the dance floor. Instead it was a rustic, karaoke dive bar. They take their seats in the middle booth.
"So, what's it going to be? Vodka, Scotch, Cosmo?" Yuvi asks her.
There is a mischievous glint in Twinkle's eyes and that was exactly what Yuvi hoped to see in those eyes. And he knew he would by the end of the night, but seeing this soon was unexpected and rather a pleasant surprise.
"How about Tequila shots and a game?" she asks.
"Game on, baby!"
So, that is exactly why the duo had 7 shot glasses lined up in front of them. Lime and salt on the ready. The game was simple, the other person will ask a question, failure to answer the said question means you had to take a shot and confess a secret. Simple and spicy.
Twinkle goes first. "Have you lusted over anyone other than Mahi?"
"Ofcourse NO! That girl is my jaan" Twinkle smiles at that. Her love and respect for them increasing multifold. "Okay, my turn. Have you ever watched a R rated movie?"
Twinkle cutely scrunches her nose at that. "Yes. ONCE! Only Once! I was curious!"
"Haww! Naughty girl!"
"Shut up! Meri baari. Did you ever steal money from your dad's wallet?"
"Main tujhe kya gunda lagta hoon. Ajjebo gareeb sawal pooch rahi hai!"
"Haan ya naa?" Twinkle pushes.
"Naa."
The game continues past the first round of shots, questions were asked, some answers were given, shots were taken, confessions were made and salt was licked.
Of course Twinkle had to scrunch her face every time she had to drink. But by the end of the first round she was a pro at it. It was at the end of their 3rd round when Twinkle was beyond tipsy. She giggled at almost every question he asked and gave the most honest to god, hilarious answers.
It was only when her words were slurred and her sentences made little to no sense that Yuvi decided to call it a night. He placed the proper amount of the bill on the table and picked up a stumbling Twinkle. She leaned her head against his shoulder and walked in a zig zag pattern. The walk back to their apartment was the single most longest and excruciatingly hilarious walk of his life.
By the time that they had mercifully reached their apartment, Yuvi was supporting most of Twinkle's weight. Yuvi carefully walked them to her bedroom and unceremoniously dumped her on the plush bed. He was just about to walk out, when Twinkle grabbed him by his wrist and beckoned him closer.
"Kya?" He questioned, with a raise of a single brow.
"It's a confession" she says in a hushed tone, gesturing him to bring his ear closer to her mouth. "I think I am in love with you both."
"BOTH?!" Yuvi screams. He immediately pulls himself away from her, shocked but Twinkle had already dozed off.
Twinkle was in love with him?!
He knows he screwed up big time! This is definitely not what Mahi meant by cheering her up!!
TO BE CONTINUED...
Drop in your comments and likes, please. Also if you are kind enough, let me know what aspect of the chapter did you like or dislike.
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