The 'Un' Attached String

Chapter - 6 [Past]

[ Past ]

After reaching the hotel, Maahir and Bela both went to their suites and freshened up and Maahir planned to have dinner with Bela and for that after getting ready he went straight to her suite. He rang the bell but Bela didn't respond which made him confuse and thought that she might like some privacy and so he decided to have his dinner alone in the restaurant. With a bit of heavy heart, when Maahir came out in the lobby, he found Bela had already grabbed a table and was checking the menu. Maahir was very happy on seeing her and a curve formed on his face as his fingers travelled through his hair and he walked towards her and cleared his throat to grab her attention. Bela looked towards that direction and on seeing him gave a smile and said,"Arey Captain aap?? Aaiye aaiye bethiye vaise bhi akele khaana mujhe achcha nehi lagta hai." Maahir took his seat just opposite of her and hen said,"Mera to jab flights hota hai, tab Anu ke saath kha leta hu varna mere paas akele khaane ke alava koi aur option bhi nehi hai." Bela casually asked,"Kyu aapki family bahaar rehti hai?" Maahir nodded his head and replied,"Nehi mere parents ki kuch saalo pehle ek accident mein death ho gayi aur shaadi abhi tak maine ki nehi hai. So...no option right!!" Bela felt very bad on hearing about Maahir and said,"Iam sorry captain!!" Maahir smiled and said,"Don't be!! Abhi actually mujhe aadat ho gayi hai." Bela playfully said, "To phir aap shaadi kyu nehi kar lete hai captain? I mean aap good looking hai, itni achchi set job hai aur aapki to bohot achchi reputation bhi hai." Bela used her last sentence very meaningfully and Maahir understood that but he didn't get the point and gave her a 'What-do-you-mean-look' and Bela tilted her head a bit and pointed towards her left and Maahir followed that direction and found that the airhostesses were sitting there and stealing glances at him. Maahir gave a very shy look to Bela and his cheeks turned red. Bela smiled on seeing him blush and said,"Oh my god!! Captain aap blush kar rahe hai? That's so cute!! You know captain agar itna cute mera koi boyfriend hota na I would have kissed him right now!!" Maahir was drinking water and he choked on hearing Bela's words. He put the glass back and asked,"What?" Bela, without any hesitation replied,"Of course!! But don't think ke main aap par line maar rahi hu. Mujhe bas aise cute se larke bare pasand hai khaaskar blush karne par jinke gaalo mein aise dimples aate hai." Maahir muttered to himself,"Kya baat hai Maahir Sehgal, tune to paani maanga tha yaha to baarish ho rahi hai, aaj to teri sahi mein lottery lag gayi hai yaar." Bela asked,"Kuch kaha aapne?" Maahir smiled and replied,"Nehi kuch nehi!! Main to aise hi kabhi bhi apne aap se baate kar leta hu, meri aadat hai." Bela smiled back and said,"Main to order de rahi hu, mujhe bohot bhukh lagi hai. Agar aapko kuch order karna hai to aap abhi kar sakte hai." She then called a waiter and said,"Mere liye one rice, two naan, one daal makhni, one kadhai paneer aur last mein ice cream aur ha papad bhi dena masaale waali. Captain aapko kuch chahiye?" Maahir swallowed the lump formed in his throat on hearing the order given by Bela and then almost in a scared tone asked the waiter,"Bhai khichdi milegi?" Bela made a face like a cartoon and then asked,"Kyu Captain aapka pet kharaab hai?" The waiter took the order and left from there and then Maahir replied,"Aapke orders sunke achche achcho ka pet kharaab ho jaayega par ha agar aapne itna sab khaaya na to kal se aapko bhi khichdi hi khaani paregi." Bela gave a broad smile and then replied,"Main Punjabi hu, desi ghee kha kar bari hui hu, mujhe kuch nehi hoga. Hamaare ghar mein mamma khaana banaati hai aur vo bhi asli ghee mein. Main aapko ek baat batau? Aap na jaldi se ek Punjabi soni kudi dhundh kar shaadi kar lijiye phir aapki biwi aapko Punjabi khaane bana kar khilaayegi aur phir aapka kabhi pet kharaab nehi hoga." After sometime, while they were talking, the order was served and Bela said to Maahir,"Aap chahe to mujhse share kar sakte hai. I won't mind." Maahir though was very hungry but was scared to eat so much of the food and on seeing his hesitation, Bela put a spoonful of the paneer on his plate where Maahir already had put his khichdi. She herself put at first the rice on her plate and then put 2-3 spoonful of the lentil and paneer on her dish and then broke the papad soundfully and sprinkled it over the rice and then started having her food with her bare hand. Maahir was about to have his own food but stopped on seeing how Bela was eating her food by licking her hand. When Bela found that Maahir was staring at her, she said,"What?? Ye dal bohot achchi bani hai aur daal chawal mujhse chammach se nehi khaaya jaata." Maahir was about to put a spoonful of his own food inside his mouth when Bela broke another papad and sprinkled it over his plate and looked at him with her brows raised and excited and pointed at his plate and so Maahir then tasted his own khichdi and he really found that to be very delicious with the blend of that sprinkled papad on it and he too raised his brows in appreciation. In response to his appreciation, Bela shook her shoulder. After finishing their foods, Maahir said,"Aajtak maine invitation ko chor kar sirf Anu aur Kuhu ke saath khaana khaaya hai. Lekin aaj lagta hai ke...akele ghar mein beth kar khaana khaana...shaayad abhi aur achcha nehi lage aur sahi batau to aapke saath khaana kha kar itna bura bhi nehi laga." Maahir gave a meaningful smile to Bela but she didn't understand the hidden meaning behind it and so she agreed and said,"Yes the only thing matters is that you should have a good companion." Maahir took a deep breath and replied,"Indeed!" Just then Bela's ice cream was served and she started having her ice cream and Maahir continued staring at her.