That bas***d would never come to his senses, thought Raman.
They had heard him, talking on the phone, booking a room, for god knows what!
"It must be an urgency!" , conveyed Ishita, her trust not wandering even for a second from her brother-in-law's undertaking.
"Urgency for what Ishita?" mocked Raman.
"Lets ask him."
"So that he can lie and get away with it? No, lets catch him red handed."
"Aaj kal badi jagga jasoosi sooj rahi hai aapko"
"Kya kare! Sangat ka asar hai."
Thus they ventured out to "The Taj", their arguments still not culminating.
"The Taj" as one might call it had no qualities whatsoever of The Taj, it was dingier and dirtier than The Holiday where Raman and Ishita had stayed for a night.
"Dekha! Romi ko sirf ek hi cheez aati hai, ullu banana. Aur tumhe toh ullu banane ki zaroorat hi nahi hai. Tum pehle se jo ho."
"Abhi kuch proove nahi hua hai. Kya saboot hai aapke paas ki wo kuch galat kaam karne aaya hai?"
"Madam ko saboot chahiye! Amma ke case ne tumhe wakil bana diya hai aur tumhari ye wakalat mere khilaf hi chalti hai!"
"Isse pehle the CEO ko koi The Taj mein dekh le, lets finish this."
To their surprise, the reception or rather the broken table that housed a register was vacant. Raman grabbed it and searched for the name Romi Bhalla.
"Aah Room No. 109, chalo"
"Theek se dekhiye ky-"
"Phir shuru ho gayi madrasan, chup chap chalo."
Yet again to their surprise the key stand that was clinging to the wall for its life had the key marked as 109.
"Yes wo abhi aaya nahi hai. Chalo hum chalte hain aur uska wait karte hain"
"Door kholke aap chabi yahan wapis rakh dena warna usse shak ho jaayega."
"Jagga jasoos back in action. Wakil Ishita mar gayi kya?", smirked Raman not leaving a chance to tease his wife.
Though the so called The Taj contained only 10 rooms but one could find room numbers ranging from 109 to 500. Finally the duo reached the room and unlocked the door. It was a sight that was pleasantly surprising, a bed in between and a mirror facing the side of the bed, one could tell that why someone would book this room. Though they had to admit that the cleanliness quotient of the room was higher than that in The Holiday and the reception. Raman kept the keys back and re-entered the room to find Ishita yawning on the bed.
"Raman ab toh bas wait hi karna hai. Come and sit"
"Come and sit aur phir tie tie phis. Red handed pakadna hai. Aarti leke swagat nahi karna hai."
"Toh phir kya kare?"
"Toh phirr" Raman wandered here and there and finally bent down and glanced below the bed. With an evil smile he grabbed Ishita's hand and shoved her under it.
"Raman ye kya-"
"Shhh!!!We have less time."
Quickly, he sat on the bed and looked at mirror to see if he could see Ishita below it. Nah, no angle would reflect their hiding place. He then went beside her and looked at the mirror. God bless the man who fixed it there as they could clearly see the pillows, only they had to duck their heads a little lower to have a clear view. Moreover the bed-sheet was dangling from both sides, protecting them underneath. Ishita was in fromt. Her back touching his chest.
"Hu na main genious"
"Yeh sab karne ki koi zaroo-"
Thats when the door creaked open and someone walked in. They could see a pair of male legs clad in jeans and a pair of female legs clad in nothing. Raman's angry look was enough to shut Ishita's protesting mouth. Everything became crystal clear when the man said in his deep voice, "I love you". The voice was nowhere near Romi's. Ishita looked at Raman with a winning smile while the girl's black short dress pooled on the floor.
"What the-" almost screamed Raman while Ishita placed her hand on his mouth. Instinctively Raman's hand went out to Ishita's waist and pulled her closer. God knows what would happen if the couple found another couple under their bed.
Both of them knew that it was bad to spy on someone 's privacy like this but still their eyes were hooked to the mirror. She was naked, the girl and was now in process of undressing her man. It was too wild to not look. Fortunately the girl was dipping low in the mattress so that they knew she was naked yet could not see her properly. The young man was yanking, biting, nipping as if there was no tomorrow. Raman looked at them, the whole act arousing his primal instincts. Involuntarily, he caressed Ishita's waist and inched his face directly into her hair, not wanting to look anymore. He knew that if he saw all of it unfolding in front of him, his control would wander away for good. Moreover the couple shouldn't even get the slightest inkling of them under their bed.
While Raman had given in, Ishita's eyes had not drifted even for a second. Until now she had a look of disgust for the young couple banging on but then she discovered what she least expected to discover. The girl turned her head sideways and Ishita could see it now, the sindoor marking her head, the mangalsutra dangling up and down on her collarbone. It would be wrong to call her a girl, she was a woman, being completed by her man. Coming to that, Ishita could see the care in his aggression, the love in his belligerence. They were going to unite soon, the man raised himself a bit, Ishita was relieved that their legs hid his manhood from her, though she could not see it but she could tell from the woman's face how it was affecting her when he was sliding inside.
Fulfillment.
How Ishita wished that she was at that woman's place, with the only difference that her man was on top of her. It made her feel so wanting...was she forgetting something? Wasn't her man right beside her?
The satisfaction of this realization made her turn and grab his face. His closed lids opened slightly and his hand on her waist stirred.
"Raman..." and then she kissed him. A gentle kiss, tasting his lips with her tongue; his chin, his jaw, his cheeks. Whilst at that, she took hold of his hand and placed it on her bosom involuntarily. He was so overcome with emotions to respond coherently. It was their moment, only theirs and they were thankful to have it.
"Aah baby, I love you. We should do this more often" laughed the woman.
"You and your mood swings. You have to control your wildness in later months of your pregnancy. Everyone at home thinks we are off to grab an ice-cream."
"Hahaha well the Taj is not that bad, we can come here when the whole family assembles at home."
They heard the couple getting up and dressing. Maybe they were in a hurry since they left as it is without locking the door.
Raman and Ishita emerged out of their hiding place, awkwardness filling the atmosphere. What was it that happened? Did they kiss? Or was it a dream?
Maybe not, thought Raman looking at Ishita's blush. It gave him the confidence to say his next line, "Maybe we should come here more often too."
Was he implying... Ishita was too flustered to answer or even to think...them on this bed. It was so embarrassing because she was the one who initiated it and he was clearly indicating her actions under the bed.
Yeh maine kya kar diya...Aiyooo!!!
Finally, he took pity on her and said, "Romi. Yaad hai? Hum yahan Romi ko pakadne aaye the. Par ab hame chalna chahiye."
Quietly they walked down. The so called reception now had an old man sitting or rather snoring there. Ishita picked the register lying there and exclaimed, "Romi booked 208 not 108. Maine kaha tha aapse check karne ko. Kitna ego hai. Kabhi raasta nahi poochte kabhi theek se dobara check nahi karte. I the one who is penalized."
"Penalized? By this adventure? How? May I know?"
Oh God! Why is he steering the conversation back to that incident! At that instant Ishita wanted the Earth to swallow her completely. But maybe god had listened to her pleas and decided to grant them in some other form as a boy came up to them and said,"Raman Bhai aap! Romi ne mere liye room book kiya. Kahan ki koi kami nahi hone dega aur seedha aapko bhej diya."
"Sid, Romi ne kyu-"
"Areey wo bhai, gharwalon ne nikal diya. Aise samay pe dost hi kaam aate hai na."
"Ek Romi kam tha jo dusra aa gaya. Chalo Ishita."
"At least wo khud kuch galat nahi kar raha."
"Aur hamne jo kiya uska kya?"
"Aap tabse kehna kya chahte hai-"
"Zyada bakwass ki toh wahi, ussi room mein wapas le jaaunga."
How she wished! Ishita looked out of the window knowing that it would be a long time till they would discuss this incident openly and she eagerly waited for that day to come soon.
First kiss under the bed, Raman couldn't help smiling and thinking, Who knew under the bed could be so much fun!
Hindi TV Shows
9