MaNan: Breaking Free

22|Jumbled up

"Get lost." Manik pushes the guy back and he quickly runs off. He didn't say he is not my boyfriend!

"You can't stay out of trouble even for five minutes." He whines, sitting down.

"What the hell? I didn't do anything." I complain like a child.

"Yeah, right. Guys have been staring at you lecherously all evening and you haven't noticed a thing. How can you be so ignorant? Do you have no sense of self preservation at all?" He looks damn frustrated.

I gape at him for a moment. Is he actually worried about me? And going all protective over me? Does he really care?

"Is that why you are angry?" I ask. Say yes!

"Um..no." He stammers and starts looking around. It's evident he was worried. Why can't he just say it?

"You know what, just forget it." I say angrily and look away.

Just then, I hear a familiar voice call out Manik's name.

"Manik? Is that you?" Alia Saxena asks, coming to our table.

"Hi." He smiles at her.

"So you must be the new hot guy every girl is talking about." She winks and sits down.

"I have no idea." He looks wary.

"What are you doing here? I thought this event was only meant for the businessmen?"

"He is here with me." I snap at her. She looks at me once and then back at him.

"By the way, I just met your friend. He is really charming."

"Who are you talking about?" He asks, confused.

"Your friend, Abhimanyu Thakkar. You didn't know he was here?" She looks around and points at him. "There he is. I recognised him from earlier and we chatted for a while. I even got his number for Mukti." She winks.

Standing in the far corner is a tall, attractive guy. Manik looks at him briefly and they nod at each other.

"I am really impressed with your friend. Looking after Thakkar industries at the age of 23 is not a joke. He really must be good, for his dad to allow him to take over the Mumbai branch." Alia rambles on.

"Yeah, he is very talented." Manik says blankly.

Manik is friends with the son of a rich businessman? Strange.

"There you are, Al. I have been looking for you everywhere." Harshad appears out of nowhere. Wow! This party is just getting better and better!

"Hi, Nandini. I just met your dad. He is so wonderful!" He smiles at me and then turns to smirk at Manik. Manik looks like he wants to slice Harshad into pieces.

"Yeah, he indeed is wonderful." I give Harshad a fake smile.

"Let's dance, Nandini." He says and pulls me to the dance floor before I can stop him. My eyes automatically fly to Manik. He looks furious.

Slow music is playing and Harshad places his hand on my waist. He pulls me uncomfortably close. All I want to do right now is kick him in the man area and go back, but I don't want to create a scene.

After about ten minutes, I feel someone place a hand on my shoulder. Harshad looks at whoever it is and glares. I turn around to see an angry Manik looking at me.

"Let's go. It's late." He says in a shaky voice.

"No, it's not. And we are having fun." Harshad barks at him, tightening his grip on my waist. What the fuck!

"Yes, it is." Manik pulls me forcefully and my body presses against his. A jolt of wild desire runs through me. His cologne invades my nostrils and my breathing races. He looks down at me with intense eyes, before turning us around and walking out.

"What the hell is wrong with you? Why were you dancing with him?" He shouts angrily as soon as we start driving.

"Why the fuck do you care?" I shout back.

"How many times do I need to warn you? Harshad is an asshole. You are so stupid." He glares at me.

"Shut up! Why are you so complicated, Manik? One moment, you say mean things to me and the next moment, you get all worked up when a guy comes close to me."

He continues to glare in my direction.

"Speak up, will you?" He still doesn't say anything. So I decided to spike him further.

"I was actually having a lovely time with Harshad, until you interrupted." I seethe.

"No, you weren't."

"Oh yes, I was."

He stops the car abruptly, gets down and pulls me out, coming to my side.

"What the fuck, Nandini. You say I am complicated. Have you ever seen yourself? You are so frustrating!" He yells.

"What is your problem?" I retort, equally angry.

"You were enjoying Harshad's company, really? Why did you look so uncomfortable, then? Stop saying stuff when you don't mean it, just to piss me off." He barks.

"Why are you pissed off? Why do you even care?" I yell.

"Because..." He yells and pulls me closer to himself. My chest forcefully presses against his and his grip tightens on my upper arm. And, I feel the wild desire again, this time, even stronger. My stomach seems to be full of butterflies. His scent hits me hard and completely overwhelms me.

"Because..." Is all I can manage to say. The sexual tension, that magnetic pull is so damn strong between us I am sure he can feel it too.

He places his right arm around my waist and starts tailing his other hand up my arm, leaving goosebumps behind. My breath hitches in my throat and his eyes darken with lust. His hand continues feeling my bare shoulder up until it reaches my face. I am hypnotised, unable to move. My head is fuzzy and heart is going berserk. His eyes fix on my mouth, sending a shiver down my spine. My legs feel like jelly.

He softly runs his thumb over my lower lip. He flips our position so that I am pressed up against the car and he is hovering over me. His face is dangerously close to mine. His hot breath is hitting my face and pushing me out of my senses. He leans further down and I close my eyes. His lips lightly brush against mine and my body goes crazy. Just then, a car comes by, honking like crazy. His eyes fly open and he immediately pulls back.

We stare at each other in silence. He looks totally lost.

"What was that?" I mutter hoarsely. He seems to be deep in thought, trying to figure out the answer.

"A mistake." He whispers, looking down.

As soon as the words leave his mouth, I feel my insides sinking.

"Yeah, right. It was a mistake." I glare at him and get into the car. He gets in after a minute and we start driving.

"I am sorry, Nandini." He says as I get down on reaching home. I ignore him completely and walk away, wiping off the lone tear that escaped my eye.
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