The Folly of Love

|| 9 ||

Sameer idly looked around, wondering why he had struggled to stay in his room and headed here once he spotted her. She doesn't own this pool! I have every right to be here if I want to! He told himself sternly, not sure who he was justifying his actions to.

Naina on the other hand was wondering, Why is he sitting here if he doesn't want to talk? I hate these awkward silences! Her thoughts again wandered to his withdrawn behaviour from earlier. Is he still mad about the shopping??

Not able to bear his silence, she said in an accusatory tone "You shouldn't have bought those things if you didn't like them!" "What are you going on about?!" he was clearly confused.

"Just because I showed you around the market, there was no need for you to feel obliged to shop. I can understand that you are used to shopping all over the world. The wares in this small village were probably not up to your standards." she finished off sounding a little defensive.

He frowned "What made you think that I didn't like the stuff I bought this morning?" She muttered "You have been a little distracted since then, so I thought..."

Surprised by her perceptiveness, he looked at her intently for a few moments thinking, Lord knows, what you will do if you knew what I have been distracted by!

Sameer replied softly "Don't worry, I really liked all the artefacts and gifts." He pulled out one of the little gift bags from his short pockets and held it out to her.

When she looked on perplexed without taking it, he explained smiling "I got the choker with the black stones for you, seeing how much you seemed to liked it." Naina stuttered a little "Sameer... but why? And how can I take it? I can't possibly..."

He pulled forward her palm and tried to push the bag in it "Naina, it's just a small gift. You really helped me this morning. Believe me, I would have been absolutely lost trying to find all those gifts. I couldn't follow a word of what those vendors were saying! Consider this a small thank you." She still protested "Sameer, there is really no need for this. It's my job to help you with these sort of things!"

Shaking his head, he pulled out the necklace. Before she could react, leaning over, he placed it around her neck "There! It's yours now. Stop saying no."

Naina's fingers flitted over it, as she remembered being a little disappointed when he bought it earlier that day, wondering if he had decided to buy it for a girlfriend or some other special girl.

"Thank you so much. I did like it very much!" she admitted smiling shyly. His eyes darkened behind the sunglasses and his voice grew a little hoarse "I should have bought that waist chain also... you really liked that one too, right?" She rushed to assure him "Oh no... this is already too much!"

Though a part of him was pleased at not buying her the other ornament, thinking, In all likelihood I would have never seen her wear it. And some other lucky bastard would have had the pleasure of living my fantasies!

While he deliberated on how to ask her if she had a boyfriend, she provided him with the perfect opportunity.

Naina remarked coyly "I thought, maybe you got this for someone special. Do you have one? I mean a girlfriend..."

He smirked "No... I am very much single." For some odd reason, he felt compelled to share "Actually, we broke off a couple of months back."

Her features visibly tensing at the idea of some other girl holding a special place in his heart, she just managed to whisper a "Oh..."

Sameer did not miss the flicker of disappointment in her eyes, and instinctively tried to downplay that relationship "We just dated for a bit. It wasn't very serious, and there was no long-term commitment from either of us. We always knew that Izzy would go back once she finished her studies."