Raman and Ishita stood at two different corners of the party venue, staring at each other. He had come alone for the Energy drink launch party while she had come there with Mani, who had to leave soon after receiving an urgent call.
She was aware of Raman's icy glares and did not wish to be there as she might feel more hurt or might say harsh words in return for his, making her heart race and her pillows wet at night. Her emotions ran high, eyes became moist and it triggered an unexpected cough. He was across the room making small talk with an acquaintance when he heard her cough. He turned her way again this time with concern. He saw her moving towards a waiter who was carrying a tray with drinks and knew he had to stop her. He excused himself and rushed in time to snatch the glass from her hand. She was shocked and irritated at the same time and before she could react he ran to the bar and brought her a glass of water. She pushed his hand away as she was still mad at him.
"Why are you doing this Raman, why pretend like you care?" she asked and moved to get her own glass of water.
"Dimaag hai? kis se pooch raha hoon. Ankhen toh hai na? Arey because the glass you picked had alcohol in it, koi ganne ka juice nahi."
"So why do you care Mr.Raman Bhalla? Kis haq se bol rahe ho aap? I don't need you to tell me what I should and shouldn't be drinking. Leave me alone". With that she snapped her fingers at him and moved away to pick a glass of wine from a table nearby. She gulped it down all at once while looking at him. Next she went and chatted with a group of ladies and took her second glass of wine with them after shouting cheers loudly so he could hear her. She was enjoying the music playing in the background and was moving her body to the rhythm. When she walked away swaying to pick her third glass, he came behind her and stopped her but she was having too much fun and wouldn't listen to him.
"This party totally rocks...woohoo..I need a pic..take my pic..uh-un let's take a selfie instead..we never do that ...kya hua? Not interested? Koi baat nahi you do what you always do na..gussa aa raha hoga na..toh karo gussa..come on ek glass toh break karna banta hai..."
"Ishita stop it and listen to me"
"Haan haan come on some more gussa..keep trying haan don't leave..mera kya hai... itne log hai yahan mere saath photo lene ke liye..hey guys who wants a pic with me???"
She had a bunch of people surrounding her and she started to dance to the song photo meri keech with them. It was a nightmare for him to watch her doing this. He was getting very mad and jealous watching her dance in public and that too with strangers. Everytime a guy came too close to her, he would push him away and try to grab her arm and take her, much to her protests. When she was done dancing she picked up another drink. This time he snatched it from her and banged it on the table, not realizing the glass broke.
"You broke the glass Raman..haaww you lost ...mujhe dekho no hungama only soft voice no ladaai..totally in control standing straight and look at you jab bhi tum peete ho ladte ho...you lost I won...woohoo"she went on at the top of her voice.
"Bas karo Ishita kya kar rahe ho sabke saamne..bahot bol liya, bahot pee liya and bahot dance bhi hogaya..ab chalo" he said and dragged her from the party.
He didn't think he could take her out of the hotel without a scene..so he spoke to the Hotel Manager for a room for him and his wife in the same hotel and took her there promising her that he is taking her to get her more drinks. The Manager seeing Ishita's condition gave the wrong room key in a hurry sending them to a newly wed couple's room. They were greeted by floral decorations and scented candles.
"Wow what a room. So beautiful" she exclaimed.
"You like the room right? Good now sleep on this bed no more talking" he said making her sit on the bed and turned to leave the room.
"Nooo..where are you going? You can't leave now. The party just started. You said you'll drink with me. Look there's the bottle of champagineee..hehe"
"Madrassan bas ab no more drinks..chup chaap so jao"
"Areyy..I'm fine..see and learn how to be steady after drinking..ankhen toh hai na.." she said and started walking while he looked at her staggered walk, suppressing his laugh. He couldn't help checking her out. She was looking prettier than ever in her light pink saree..he loved this color on her. The entire time after her return, he was busy being angry that he had forgotten how beautiful she was. He had always found her very cute and entertaining after she consumed alcohol and loved to handle her when she was in that state. He loved seeing his bold carefree jhansi ki rani break loose from her usual well behaved controlled avatar. Meri talli biwi he thought to himself and mentally smacked himself for the thought, given the current situation. He found himself losing control and decided it would be best for him to leave but saw her trying to grab the champagne bottle so he went quickly and snatched it from her.
"Bas karo Madrassan...kyun peete ho daru jab hazam nahi hoti hai. Chup chaap so jao. I'm leaving and taking the bottle with me"
"Ok gooo..I thought I will share this bottle with you.. you go and I will walk straight just the way I did just now all the way down to the bar and grab another bottle. One bottle just by myself..yayy!!"
That's it. Now he just couldn't just leave her after that threat.
"What are you thinking? U go... buddhe ho gaye ho..darr the ho..darpok kumar...raavan kumar toh tum ho hi..but no self control like me after drinking"
"Acha?"
"Haan if you disagree, prove it by drinking and being steady..if you are scared to accept the challenge, you can leave" she said and started pulling the bottle from him.
"Stop it yaar Madrassan..why are you troubling chalo now I'll accept the challenge u leave the bottle" he said and removed his jacket.
He had been in tension at the party all evening and felt he needed to drink too to relax for a bit. He opened and drank directly from the bottle. She kept giggling and once she saw he was done drinking she brought some ice and put it in his shirt saying "Pee liya? Now chill...just chill chill just chill..hehe". She started dancing again, while he yelled out her name. He removed his shirt as it was full of ice while she was busying dancing. He brought some ice and put it inside her pallu laughing aloud saying "now you also chill". She jumped and stomped her feet trying to get the ice out. She removed her pallu and let the ice cubes fall down. He looked at her and could stop himself from staring. She noticed him looking and also realized he was standing bare-chested. She tried to look away and turned to adjust her pallu and while she did that, she tripped on the ice cubes on the floor. He moved swiftly to catch her in his arms. He stayed in the same position holding her tight, looking into her eyes and caught her searching for something in his eyes. They were both feeling dizzy yet completely enjoying this moment. He looked at her pink lips, moving slightly calling his name, softly. Her pallu was still off and their bodies were very close to each other. And he noticed how her breathing became heavy. Her chest was heaving to the rhythm of his heartbeat which was all he could hear in that quiet room. He now paid attention to his hands that were holding her waist. As he became conscious he moved his hand slightly making her close her eyes. She breathed in hard and slow taking in the scent of his cologne. She smiled thinking how much she had missed the scent. He couldn't help but notice her smile and it made him smile too. He noticed that she had fallen asleep in his arms and so he lifted her in his arms and carried her to the bed and placed her on the pillow. Scenes from their past played in his mind. First it was moments from holi when he carried her to the bed and kissed her forehead and then he remembered night they had consummated for the first time in a hotel room just like this one. He was in the same position next to her on the bed, moving his hand on her face to tuck the strand of hair that blocked his view. He bent down and kissed her forehead first, then her cheeks and then he brought his lip on hers. His lips fixed on hers perfectly like the last piece of a jigsaw puzzle. He felt his blood rushing down and all of a sudden his desire to kiss her everywhere increased and his body was more eager than ever to join hers. He jerked back suddenly breathing heavily. He got up after settling her back down and went to the restroom. He splashed water on his face and looked up at his image on the mirror and it asked him many questions. What was happening to him? What was he about to do? Why did it feel right? What happened to his anger and determination? He splashed water on his face again and walked out without wanting to think about anything.
He proceeded towards the door and stopped just once to look at her...
7