Night Jasmine

Untitled Part 55

By the time Sanyukta woke up the next morning she noticed that Randhir had already left, with a message on her phone about needing to get to the campus early. She could still feel the euphoria after their nightly encounter but the soreness between her legs was a reminder that they still had a long way to go before comfort set in. Besides that she was feeling tired, they had hardly slept during the night. She showered quickly, had a hasty breakfast and managed to reach college just in time for her practicals. 

She had long days on campus, mornings were occupied with practicals, then a break for lunch and lectures until five in the evening. Today after a long gap she had to oblige YoYo by helping him out with a private party in the suburbs close to her place, so she left college on YoYo's bike. She noted that she had no word from Randhir after the morning, he usually let her know if he was coming home for dinner.

She was lucky to be working with someone as trustworthy as YoYo. He had introduced her to his best friend Jignesh or Jiggy who was a CA, and who for a small fee filed her tax returns and gave her invaluable advice on opening a demat account and systematically investing her funds. Being close to YoYo had been helpful, after she had done a couple of events for him he realised that she was quite reliable and a loyal team member. He quickly took her under his wing and gave her practical training in bar work and mixology, a basic requisite in managing cocktail parties. 

She learnt skills that she would not ever pick up in the simulated classroom training in college during her senior year. YoYo was an ace party spotter with the right contacts and enough insider information about the choicest shindigs. He was so reputed at his work that regular customers insisted on his service at their lavish homes and even for hotel parties where hoteliers were not rigid about imposing their own bar staff.  He played safe, taking on only clean events and never any drug-infused raves, keeping on the right side of the law, always insisting that a day license be obtained for serving alcohol. 

 The exposure during events helped Sanyukta gain perspective of the glitzy, fast-paced world of the air-kissing glamour circuit of cosmopolitan Mumbai where social climbers aspired to rub shoulders with the bigwigs of the business, corporate and political inner circles. Initially she would be surprised to see the lascivious side of well-known faces, seeing aspiring models and actresses trading favours for work, couples deeply mired in swinger parties and high profile prostitution. 

Gradually she got used to the atmosphere with its mood lighting and music, along with the shallow and arrogant but often insecure bunch.  Under YoYo's tutelage Sanyukta learnt how to be professional and discreet, how to observe without being caught looking, how to keep a straight face and one's mouth shut in the light of frequent PDAs and indecency that was an open secret, especially during a celebrity do. She liked being at corporate events where people were less likely to get completely drunk and exhibit risque behaviour publicly.

Mercifully, today's party was quite respectable. It was demanding work where after setting the bar when service began their hands were constantly busy mixing and blending drinks. Sometimes if the host asked for it YoYo would even put on a performance with flair bartending but today it was just serious work with a few orders for flamed cocktails. After they were done with serving orders they did the closing and left after being paid for the job. YoYo offered to drop Sanyukta but she declined telling him that she lived close by and it was easy to get home by an autorickshaw. 

She had never introduced her life as Yasmeen to anyone else, wanting to keep it a secret. After YoYo was on his way she waited by the kerbside for a ride to show up when suddenly a car drove up and screeched to a halt. She noticed the driver  and turned white as a sheet, it was too late to reach for her stole to cover her face with and she stood rooted to the spot as the young man got out of the car and walked toward her. 

"Sanyukta Agarwal? It is you! Imagine bumping into you here, small world, really!" Randhir Singh Shekhawat had a bright smile on his face as he greeted the girl from next door, while she just blurted out a hello, not knowing what to say next. "Do you live close by, can I drop you somewhere?" he asked cheerfully. "Oh, I'm ok, thank you." she replied trying hard to think a way out of the situation. 

"Tell you what, I live just nearby, you have to come by and meet my girlfriend, I am sure she'll be home by now. Wait, let me call Vidushi so you can speak to her." With that he rang Vidushi who picked up the phone on the first ring. "Hi Sis, guess who I just bumped into here, speak to her yourself." Saying that he handed Sanyukta the phone and literally pushed her into the car and they were off the next minute as Sanyukta pretended to speak to Vidushi as if they had drifted away from each other during the past year.

As they reached he led her upstairs to the barsaati while she was trying to put on an appearance of being a first time visitor to the place that had been her home for the past year. He opened the door and led her in, switching on the lights, offering her a seat. He tried calling Yasmeen to see why she had been held up, thankfully Sanyukta had managed to switch off her phone in the car. Getting no response from Yasmeen he turned to her offering her some cola. She quietly took the glass as he chatted on with her telling her about his life at IITB and how he had come close to Yasmeen. 

She listened without uttering a word, not knowing what to tell him and what to keep from him. Lost in thought, she heard him say the words, "Bahut bhook lagi hai, kuch banao na!" As a reflex she rose saying "Abhi banati hu" as she reached out toward the kitchen counter to get on with her usual chores. Like a pouncing tiger Randhir leaped before her and trapped her between himself and the kitchen wall staring deep into her eyes as his hands cupped her face she heard him address her.

"Ek saal se mujhe bewakoof kyun banati rahi? Jawab do mujhey, sab bata do aaj Yasmeen." Feeling cornered she tried to come to terms with the reality that her cover was blown even as his hands gripped her firmly. Not knowing where to start the dam broke and her pale cheeks were streaked with her tears as they flowed freely. If her lover was waiting to chastise her he must have changed his mind because he picked her up swiftly in his arms and placed her gently on their bed, drawing her in his embrace as she continued to sob till he calmed her down in a while.

" I love you, Randhir,  I have always loved you ever since you planted the jasmine tree for me while we were just kids. I did not want to lose you. Three years ago you just walked away from me. Mai kya karti bolo? My parents wanted to marry me off to a stranger. I ran away from home to Mumbai to be close to you. You found me and followed me here. You know the rest of my story." No sooner had the words escaped her he pulled her in for a deep kiss and she responded eagerly. He then made her stand on her feet as he cupped her face and spoke softly to her while wiping her tears dry.

"Sanyukta Agarwal, will you agree to go out on a first date with me? I know we are working backward, we first made love and now I'm asking you out to dinner. Looks like we have to start from scratch here. But we've never followed social convention with each other, so do you say aye or nay? Please say yes, I'm actually quite hungry, we'll do the rest of the talking during dinner!" He did not need to hear a yes from her, she spontaneously flung herself at him entwining her slender legs around him tightly while he held her steady by her waist and her hips as she closed her mouth over his, experiencing the bliss of true love in their first ever intimate moments as Randhir and Sanyukta.