| Hawaaon Ke Paighaam | Messages Of The Wind

| The GrapeVine |

Need you more than I want to,

need you more than I want to...

Leena's heels click-clacked on the marble floor as she walked across the lobby of her boyfriend's hotel, the tail of her Givenchy gown swishing behind her and grace in her every step. Boyfriend seemed too tame a word; lover might do but did that imply love? Leena wasn't sure, about both the implication of the word and the factor of love in their equation. It was a whirlwind, it was fiery and it took her breath away; and it was enough. For now. She entered the lift, turning her body around to face the lobby as the doors slid shut.

It seemed like Meerab was playing hide and seek, so Leena was out seeking. The giddy thrill she had gotten from playing Cupid had been heady as she'd watched the Captain and the object of his very obvious desire set the dance floor quite literally on fire; there were singe marks to prove it somewhere, she was sure. The music had drawn to a smooth close, the silk drapes had been risen dramatically and then just a second after the lights had brightened, the room had been swathed in complete darkness. The lights had come back on the very next second, but that was all it had taken for Meerab to go from being folded in Murtasim's arms to walking out of the door of the ballroom.

Leena had waited a second, seeing if Murtasim would follow her, but he'd looked at the tantalising design on the back of her outfit until she'd disappeared from view, before turning away and unbuttoning his jacket, looking the picture of relaxation.

The lift chimed and opened onto Meerab's floor, and within twenty seconds, Leena was knocking on Meerab's door, two mini raspberry and strawberry cheesecakes in one hand. The door opened to reveal a very different Meerab than the one who'd left.

Gone was the exquisite emerald ensemble and in its place was a soft, white robe. Her hair was mussed a little and her make up still on, but she looked a little drained and quite done with the day. The strange thing about her was that her earrings, about as big as the rock of Gibraltar, still hung from her ears. Leena raised an eyebrow, lifting her hand up in the air.

"You forgot something." she joked wryly, nodding to the cheesecakes.

Meerab's face scrunched into a disbelieving expression as she looked from Leena to the cheesecakes.

"You brought a bribe?"

"I have come to know you well, friend." Leena retorted, her lips tugging into a mysterious smile.

The two made their way inside, with Meerab snuggling up on the bed and Leena walking around the room, her forehead wrinkled in an inquisitive frown. Hands on her hips, she scanned the discarded emerald blouse and silk skirt on the plush, carpeted floor, just next to the towering emerald silk and crystal heels. The matching clutch lay on the arm chair by the window. She turned around to her friend, curled up on the bed with a pillow pressed to her stomach.

"My period. It's finally here, thank God." Meerab mumbled absentmindedly in pain, answering the question in Leena's eyes.

Leena frowned, nodding slowly.

"Your dance looked interesting." She said lightly, her cheeks rounding as she kept her growing grin in check.

Meerab was silent.

"The Sheikh of Abu Dhabi was actually red in the face. I'm surprised he didn't start reading two rakats of astaghfaar right there, next to the dance floor."

Meerab peered up, a small, intimate smile tugging at her lips.

"You know, if I didn't know, I would've said the looks you were giving each other were very, very specific looks. Like very specific and very, very limited to couples indulging in things you currently aren't indulging in. I actually feel sorry the poor Sheikh, he was very uncomfortable." Leena announced to the room.