"Manik please-" i cried.
"I said just leave before i hurt you even more." he shouted turning his back on me.
I knew that i had to make a choice
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NANDINI
I did what i was supposed to do, i stayed. Even though it was a scary option but what was even more scarier was the thought of leaving this man alone when he was not even in his right senses. He could hurt me if it makes him better. He could tame me with his anger but i won't bulge.
With my scared hands i tried moving closer to him. He was by on the floor again shivering too hard on a memory that i wanted him to share with me but i would never force him to. He can take as much time as he want to and i would wait for him. My hands were surprisingly still even after such horrific scenario as i clutched his hand with mine. He looked up at once with his blood shot eyes with warm tears streaming down his cheek.
"Don't stay." he pleaded me for my own good, i was blantly aware of that but this was not about me. It was about him here.
"I am not going to ask you anything. You don't have to share anything with me right now. Just let me hold you please." i spoke to him softly as his brown orbs pierced through mine.
With an affirmative nod he held my hand tighter this time scooting closer and keeping his head on my lap. This felt good. He felt like a boat stuck at a bad storm and i was his anchor, trying to get him stable and sail through it.
"I can't do this again." he finally spoke in between his silent sobs.
"If you don't want to then you don't have to." i stroked his hair. I was falling in love and it was dangerous but i was falling for him.
"How can she just walk back like nothing happened." he held me tighter almost stopping my bloodflow. My heart skipped a beat, he was surely talking about a women here, but who?
"Sometimes our past never stops haunting us." i smiled thinking about my own dark times.
"But i want it to stop now. I have everything. I have money, power, just everything but i want to live." he looked at my face with hurt and pain that my heart ached.
"And you will. Do you trust me?" I asked him. His answer meant so much to me.
"Yes." he smiled a sad one though.
"Then get up cause we're going to live today." i helped him up to which he got utterly confused. I held out my hand to him, "There was once when you asked me if i trusted you and i gave you my hand. It's your turn now. Just trust me."
He interwined our fingers giving it a light squeeze implying that he trusted me with wherever i would take him to. It was then that i realised that we never actually required words or sentences to explain our desires and feelings. These small gestures between us were more than enough to get us through thick and thin.
At once i let him in before and i was doing it again now. I took him to a place that was the closest to my heart since, well since everything came crashing down in my life. The entire ride Manik spoke nothing, just looked out of the window still not over with what happened with him before. I stopped my car at a dead end and he gave me a quizzled look.
'Where are we?" he asked me.
"somewhere you could forget who you are." i smiled and got out of the car moving at the very end of the mountain cliff. This was my favourite place since i was a kid. My foster parents used to get me here whenever i cried or missed my real parents. This was where i celebrated even the smallest of my life ocassions and below it was a sea adjacent to which at a distance was the beach.
"So you're gonna kill me now for whatever i had done to you?" Manik smirked as he took his place beside me. And he was back to being a jerk.
"And the cocky Manik is back." i rolled my eyes.
"Missed me much?" he laughed.
"maybe a little." i smiled to him.
"Okay seriously why are we even here?" he asked me being confused of this location.
"Told you, it's where you could forget who you are." i shrugged.
"wierd" he laughed, "just like you." he side glanced me.
"Okay let me show you then." i turned towards him cross-legged on the ground. "Hi my name's Amber. Nice to meet you." i held out my hand for him to shake At first me gave me a puzzled look but then quikc caught up on the act.
"Hi it's Jesse." he shook my hand with a flirtatious smile like always. Duh Jerk.
"So Jesse what do you do for a living." i asked with my eyebrows raised.
"I have my own compa-, no no. I am a bike messenger. I deliver parcels." he smiled, "And you?"
"Well i am a tarot card reader and an adventurer." i spoke with pride in my voice to which he chuckled.
"A tarot card reader, seriously." he laughed, his laugh was practically music to ears. But this wasn't supposed to be funny so i glared standing up from my place.
"Okay Okay. I'll be serious now. So what adventure sport are you good at." he asked me to which i smirked.
"This" pulling over my cardigan top, i jumped from the cliff and into the sea water.
'What the fuck Nandini." Manik shouted from the tall still not able to process what i did.
The water was surprisingly warm than what i thought it would be. My body pulled me down deep inside the sea and then i pushed myself back up coming closer to the surface. As soon as i came out i saw relief take over Manik's face.
'You scared the shit out of me women." he shouted.
"Stop being a whimp and just jump." i called out to him.
"What?" he asked being shocked.
"I said take off your shirt and jump." i shrugged and he did exactly that. And turns out i was an idiot to tell him to remove his shirt off because as soon as he came up on the sea surface, we were practically glued together as he pulled me closer. Heat radiating off his body and i held his shoulders for support.
He looked me deep into my eyes before leaning down to mark my lips his again while the sun setted perfectly in the background. I wish i had a photographer with us to capture this moment.
This is what we want.
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MANIK
I dropped Nandini a block away from her apartment just incase her friends were around. I mean we can't go around breaking our rules and definitely not get our friends involved beacuse for sure there were going to be no feels. Were they?
She smiled at me and kissed me on my cheek making her way out of my car. The soft touch was still lingering and i know for sure that i looked like a stupid teenage kid grinning at her until she turned to the left for her apartment. I drove back home knowing that whatever's gonna happen tomorrow can't steal the memories of this day from me, cause for once i felt like i was living again.
Parking my car on the front porch, i handed my keys to my driver who took it to the garage. I walked inside the supposed mansion that never felt home, until this one guy that was currently sitting in my couch came because after that it was my home.
Cabir sat on the counch totally engrossed the Fortnite game , not even caring about my presence so i had to caugh up a little bit.
"Oh so you're back. great. Want a game of Fortnite." he spoke without even peeling his eyes from the screen.
'Ofcourse" i replied as i joined him on the couch.
"By the way where were you?" he asked me andling me the remote.
"Nowhere, just trying to calm my self." i hate lying to him but i had no choice.
"Well we can do something to calm you down rather than some stupid walk." he passed me a can of coke.
"And what that could be?" i asked pausing the game for a few seconds.
"Booze and Girls. Your two favourite things." he casually answered to which my friends i choked on my coke.
"what?" i asked being shocked. Well the mention made me realised that i haven't thought of either of the things much after the whole Nandini deal.
"Uh i know you're scared cause you lost your charm but i can be your wingman dude. The best wingman ever." he patted my back as he took the controller back from my hand.
"I'm taking you to a party tonight." he spoke as a matter of fact.
Damn Cabir being my wingman while Nandini was in the picture. New girl and Nandini in one picture. God save my soul.
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NANDINI
I unlocked my apartment door only to be welcomed by a delicious smell from the kitchen. Navya's mac and cheese.
"Is it what i think it is?" i smiled as Navya walked out holding the container and Mukti tagged along with soda's in her hand.
"Definitely that. cause i missed you both." Navya smiled as she sat down beside Mukti.
"Aww i did too and specially your mac and cheese." i grabbed my seat smelling the delicious dish on the table.
"I really missed our outings." Navya replied .
"And those parties and blind dates." Mukti nudged in as we each grabbed a plate to devour the dish.
" No more blind dates for me now though." Navya stated the fact and why not, she was in a happy and healthy relationship now.
"Damn! So now it's just Nandini that i can put up for blind dates for." Mukti sighed and my mind said red alert.
"Nandini needs no man." Navya defended me.
"yes but she definitely needs some fun. We all do. Nandini i'll be your best wingman baby." Mukti winked at me and the red alert just turned my entire mind to a Danger room and al i could think was, abort mission.