MaNan- 5 Years Later...

24• |Irksome abode|

Manik-"First of all, congratulations for winning the worst roommate. (Nandini frowned at that comment. She could never understand why all the other friends in her life disliked Jeanette who was her best friend.) Secondly, I'm sure that it's just a minor sprain. If I put some spray or ointment, I'll be fine by tomorrow morning."

Nandini- "Okay! I'll get you those things from the pharmacy. You want me to pick some dinner for you?"

Manik- "I'll order something. Just get me the first aid."

Nandini-"Hang in there. I'll be there, soon."

Nandini hung up the call and texted her parents that she was back home, safe and sound. She did not want to worry them. She then texted Jeanette that she's going out to pick up dinner and asked her to take the suitcase inside from the hallway, where Nandini was leaving it, close to their door.

------

"My saviour!" Manik exclaimed as Nandini walked into his house with a small brown bag in her hand after shutting the door behind her.

"There's no need to get dramatic, Manik." Nandini chided him. He passed her a sheepish grin and watched her sit closer to his legs that were up on the couch.

"The swelling is not that much so that's a good sign." Nandini remarked, once she examined his injured foot.

"Yeah! It'll recover by tomorrow." Manik said and pointed at the bag that she put on the coffee table.

"Before that, let me just get you an ice pack. Put that on this for a while then we can use the spray and band-aid." Nandini instructed him.

"Don't! You must be tired too. It was a long drive. I will be okay, trust me." Manik declined her offer by tugging on her wrist when she got up to get ice from the fridge.

"First you send me a flattering text to ask for my help and now you're being this formal prick. I gotta say, I am hating your guts, more than ever." Nandini complained.

"You are super creative, you know? I don't think I've ever heard someone use the phrase 'formal prick' before." Manik did this always. He loved pushing her buttons further when he'd register that he was already getting on her nerves.

"Care to leave my hand?" Nandini pressed her lips after asking him that in a rhetorical manner.

"I kinda prefer it this way, sweetheart." Manik flirted with a stupid grin and to up his game even more, he kissed the back of her hand, sending jitters down her spine. She wasn't expecting him to do that so she did not have the time to hide her instant reaction to his gestures.

She has to put an end to this. How could she let him get away with this every time? Now, it was his turn to be flushed by what was coming his way- Nandini decided.

Nandini sat down closer to his chest and gazed into his eyes. Her actions made him lose his grip over her hand and gulp an imaginary lump at the non-existent gap between the two of them. What was this woman up to?

"You want this, right?" Nandini quizzed in a hoarse voice while linking her both arms around his neck. This kind of closeness was new to both of them and thus both of their heartbeats quickened up. Nandini knew that she was doing this to mess with him but she could not ignore the jitters, she felt when her hands brushed against the bare skin of his neck.

'Yeah!'- A voice in Manik's head screamed that to him, in response to her question, numbing all the other senses of his mind and body. Did he want this? The answer would be 'heck, yeah' if she had asked him this, years ago, when he was not afraid to pursue his emotions and feelings. But now, they had drifted down separate ways for years together and there was too much between them that needed to be bridged. He wasn't the one to be afraid to fool around with anyone but this was Nandini and Manik was certain that if they ever crossed the line of their friendship then he will not want that to be a one-time-thing. He'd be in it for the long run and he would want both of them to go all in.