MaNan - Always & Forever "Just Me & U"

27

Nandini's POV

"Nandini! Flowers lene gayi thi ya ugaane?"

"Aayi.."

I huffed as I tried carrying the basket of flowers all by myself, when two muscular arms came from behind me lifting it from my hands. I shot Manik a grateful smile as I made my way towards other arrangements.
Time flew by like wind, and its already Mukti's eighth month (almost ninth month) of pregnancy. And Alya's seventh month. So they decided to have their baby shower together. Hence, the commotion.

Well, about Manik and I, we've become closer than before. We went on a few more dates, be it movies or a simple takeaway dinner with movie at home, I loved it as long as we could spend time together.
We are not official yet but we both know our feelings towards each other, so there's no need to give it any tag. But to be honest, a little part of me still nags behind, about becoming official. Come on, every girl likes to call him as hers in front of others..

Moving on, everything's going fine. Our project has been finished and Mr. Sinclair was really happy with our work. Abhi bhai has temporarily taken leave, so everything was on my shoulders but I was really ecstatic to see the proud look on his face when we nailed this project.

"Bhaiya, wo dekho wahan balloons theek se nahi lage hain, and please hurry up we don't have all day.." I told one of the workers and moved to check on the caterers.

After checking that all the dishes are perfect in taste, I did a double check with other decorations. Feeling satisfied, I went to the dining area and drank some water, when a plate of food slid in front of me. I looked up and met with a certain pair of chocolate brown eyes, that I always feel myself drowning into.

"Sit," He said as he gently made me sit on a chair and took a seat next to mine, "And now eat." He took out a spoonful of rice and fed me. I smiled at him, but felt myself frowning as I saw his face.

I gently caressed his cheek, "Mani, you okay? You're looking tired." He did look tired. He had bags under his eyes and his eyes were a bit red like he hasn't slept in days.

"Nothing much, Nandu. Don't worry!" He replied and I shook my head.

"Manik, tell me. I hardly see you these days and you look tired as hell like you haven't slept in days!" I said voicing my thoughts.

"I'm sorry, we aren't able to meet these days. It's just, workload bohot hai. Dad has also gone to Chicago, toh saara kaam mujhe hi karna pad raha hai.." He finally told me and sighed, after feeding me my last morsel.

I moved my chair a bit closer, "It's okay Mani. Sab theek ho jayega. I know you can manage, but promise me you won't stress more. And raat ko toh bilkul kaam mat kiya karo. Take care of yourself tabhi toh you can take care of your company!" I told him and rubbed soothing circles on the back of his hands.

He smiled back in reply, "You always know the right thing to say na?" I nodded grinning and he chuckled. He kissed my temple and went to the kitchen, with me following behind. "Achha you go and get ready, guests would be here anytime. I'll manage here." He playfully pushed me out of the kitchen, while I fake glared at him. I stuck my tongue out and semi-jogged to my room.

Hmm, now the bigger problem! What to wear?! Uff, why can't we just attend a function in sweatpants and Tshirt! Now don't get me wrong, I love dressing up but sometimes you just wanna throw on the first thing you see. I finally decided on a cropped lehenga blouse with a peach coloured ghagra. I curled my hair and applied a bit of mascara and kohl. Done!

I descended downstairs and saw that the guests had started arriving. I went and sat next to Mukti and Alya who were both looking gorgeous in there outfits.
A few minutes later, all our relatives and friends had arrived. So we started the pooja.