As the days passed by, there was undeniably a growing attraction between Neil and Avni. The duo hated to admit it, but subconsciously both knew that the effect that the other was having was immense. The party was only a day away and Neil had been working hard towards executing his mastermind plan which he felt would destroy the very foundation of Vidyut and Juhi's relationship. While they sat to eat breakfast, the doorbell rang. Avni wondered who it could be, this early in the morning. She presumed it could be Mr. and Mrs. Chopra who might have been back from their trip. Neil walked ahead to address the bell, seeming like he was anticipating someone to be here. As soon as he opened the door, the shrill scream of a lady "Neilllllll..I'm hereeeee...", made Avni stop eating and look up towards the door. "Kanishaaaa..Oh it's so good to see you" said Neil engulfing the girl in a warm hug. Seeing him hug her, Avni's eyes widened and her face fell. Involuntarily, she was squeezing the paratha in her hand so hard that all the potato chunks inside the paratha oozed out. A young girl with a bubbly face and slim figure in a knee-length dress, mostly appearing as though she was in her early twenties walked behind Neil, as he ushered her in. She sat beside Neil, and he began the introductions. "Kanisha this is Avni. She is the friend I mentioned about the other day. And Avni this is Kanisha. My school friend and one of my close friends here in Mumbai along with DD. She just returned from the UK last week." "The other day? How long has he been meeting with this bimbo?"- her frustrated and annoyed mind was overthinking. "Why the bloody hell do all your close friends have to be girls?" she muttered under her breath annoyed as she squeezed the paratha some more. "Huhhh What?..Did you say something Avni?" questioned Neil unable to comprehend what she actually muttered. " No no.. n..n..nothing..Neil" lied Avni. "Hi Avni" said Kanisha offering her hand for a shake. "Hi" said Avni feigning a fake smile and gesturing her oily hands indicating that she wasn't interested in shaking hands with her. Though the actual reason being the extreme jealousy that was screaming from every inch of her on seeing this random girl seated beside Neil. She rolled her eyes in annoyance as she heard them talking about their past. Unable to overcome the frustration, she was biting the paratha that she was eating with her teeth so hard. "What would you like to have? I have made some parathas for breakfast. Please help yourself to some" said Neil smiling at Kanisha. She kindly refused saying "No Neil. I already had breakfast at home. I would love to go out for dinner with you sometime" she said beaming. Avni's eyes were covered in fury and her heart was burning inside. The more she tried to prevent silly thoughts from coming into her mind, the more she couldn't avoid them. "Most definitely. I will plan a dinner date for the two of us sometime. " he replied winking at her. On hearing the word "date" Avni's blood boiled. "Will you atleast have some tea/coffee?" asked Neil. "Okay fine. I shall have some coffee" said Kanisha. Avni realized she couldn't sit amidst them anymore, because with time she was slowly losing her patience and sanity, and would at any moment end up pulling out the girl's hair in anger. "I...I'll make it for you. I am anyway headed toward the kitchen; I shall make it. You guys can resume your stories" she said and hurriedly tried to walk away from there. "Are you sure Avni?" asked Neil as she was walking. She turned slightly and shook her head in a yes. She added the milk and coffee powder and allowed it to boil for a while. Meanwhile she could hear the laughing voices of the duo at the table."Let me see how much you laugh after drinking this..Arrgggghhh" she exclaimed in a fit of rage and pulled out the salt bottle and poured a spoonful into the coffee. She served it to Kanisha. Kanisha immediately spat it out after having the first sip. "What happened Kanisha?" asked Neil, alarmed at seeing her reaction, while Avni's heart leapt in joy and a victorious smirk reigned her face. "N..n..nothing Neil. I realized I'm just not in the mood for coffee. So let it be. I'm really sorry Avni. I made you go through the trouble of making it." said Kanisha. Avni's sane mind slapped back at her for overreacting and making the situation go entirely out of hand. She could have chosen not to react, but she did. Why was she experiencing these emotions? Was she really jealous of Kanisha? Was she really that affected by that hug and the closeness of the duo? She had so many questions but no answers. "It's fine" said Avni, grabbed the cup and marched towards the kitchen. "Neil so you wanted to discuss about tomorrow, right?" asked Kanisha after Avni had left. "Yes I do, but not here. Let's go out somewhere" suggested Neil. "Ok" she nodded in agreement and the couple walked out the door. As Avni saw them leaving together, a strong knot formed in her stomach. Tears involuntarily made their way down her face.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When Neil and Kanisha reached the coffee shop, Neil just ordered a snack. After all they could not afford to just sit there chitchatting by not ordering anything. "So, Neil. You are in love with Avni right?" said Kanisha smiling. Neil looked up at her, shock and a horrified expression writ on his face. "What?? N..n..No..nothing of the sort Kanisha" stammered Neil. "Well either you love her or she loves you. But there's definitely something between you two" teased Kanisha winking at Neil. "What makes you say that?" Neil questioned back. "Wellll.. I could definitely observe uneasiness around when I was at your place" said Kanisha. "No, you are mistaken. She loves Vidyut. The same guy whom Juhi has married. And the same guy against whom I shall be executing my final plan tomorrow with your help" said Neil with a smirk. "Neil I'm always ready to help you out. But are you really sure you want to do this? Give it some thought. I know you are a highly sensible guy. So taking revenge on someone doesn't seem like you" replied Kanisha, hopeful he would give it some thought. "No Kanisha. He can't remain happy by snatching away my happiness" replied Neil in anger. After he had narrated the sequence of events that had led him to stay with Avni, Kanisha was still not convinced with his motive. But just to be a supportive friend, she agreed to his plan. "I shall sneak you in at the party tomorrow. Just be ready by 7:30 PM. I shall pick you up from the Purple Orchid hotel lounge" suggested Neil to which she nodded her head in a yes. After having a long discussion, the duo left towards their respective homes.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When he arrived home, he saw Avni engrossed in reading a book. He was in an extremely happy mood as he was looking forward to the party the next day. The one chance where he will get to dance with Juhi. He swung into her room pulled her from the bed suddenly, alarming her and making her drop the book. "Avniiii" he said and lifted her in his arms and swung her around. Unable to comprehend the sudden sequence of events and his sudden advance, she held onto his collar tightly as he twirled her around in his arms. After his moment of glory, he gradually let her down. "Neil what's wrong with you?" she asked annoyed. "The day that we both have been looking forward is finally here Avni" he said as he grabbed her shoulders tightly shaking her. She pushed his hands off her shoulder roughly and said "So what? In fact, you are so busy with Kanisha that you may even forget that we have a party to attend tomorrow" she said in a miffed tone. "What are you talking about?" asked Neil unable to understand why she reacted the way she did. "How dare you tell her about me? Who is she to know about my life and Vidyut? I'm sure you have told her everything." yelled Avni. "Listen Avni. She is a good friend of mine. I trust her and so I told her. Moreover, she's coming to the party tomorrow with us" he said smirking. Her angry grew boundlessly. "Why why why should she be there? How long have you been meeting this bimbo?" the words came out uncontrollably. He held her tightly in his arms and said "She is coming with us and you better deal with it. Since when do you care whom I go out with? And moreover, she's here to help us out so that we can get out of here as soon as possible" replied Neil fiercely. "If I go out with a friend of mine you have a problem and make a big scene out of it, but I should be alright with whomever you meet and share my life story with. Right? Hypocrite" she yelled back at Neil. He held her tighter and pulled her closer. "Listen carefully Avni. Tomorrow is a very important day for me, if not for you. So whatever mood-swings you have, please ensure that you get rid of them today. I do not want any tantrums tomorrow whatsoever." Saying so, he walked away leaving a tear-stricken Avni behind. She made up her mind firmly to focus on the party and Vidyut, and ignore Neil's harsh words. Though she was trying her best to ignore the subconscious feelings, it did resurface from time to time and she had absolutely no control over them.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The day of the party was finally here. At around 6:00 PM as Avni stepped out of the parlour and was heading back home, she received a call from Neil. "Where are you Avni?" his voice boomed from the other end. "I am getting back home from the parlour. I shall be ready in half an hour. Where are you, Neil?" questioned Avni. "I am here to pick up my suit. Please be ready by 7:00. I shall be back home by then" he said and hung up. When she entered the house, she noticed that Neil wasn't back yet. She walked towards her closet and pulled out the red dress. The hairstylist had done a great job. The soft curls look would complement well with the gorgeous red gown. She slipped into the dress, but after a couple of minutes she ended up struggling with the zip. She tried her best to reach out her hands at the back, but in vain. She smacked her head as she remembered that while shopping too it was Sunehri who had helped her with the zip. She couldn't call Mrs. Chopra for help as she knew the couple were not in town. "Oh God..What will I do now?" she said panicking. She decided to call Sunehri to find out if she could help her, but to add to her woes, Sunehri didn't attend the call. "She must be busy. Oh Good Lord. What the hell am I gonna do now? Neil may be here any minute. Why did I not think about this situation?" she said to herself worrying further. She tried her best to hold the dress in place with her hand, but since it was not zipped, the shoulder straps kept slipping away from the sides. Her eyes widened in horror when she heard the door click open. Neil entered in and knocked on her room door. "Avni are you ready?" he yelled from outside. "N..N..Neil almost. Just give me a m..m..minute" she fumbled. Finally she opened the door and walked backwards, her back facing the mirror. Neil walked in slowly and the sight he saw left him completely mesmerized. There she stood in the gorgeous red beaded gown, with light make up adorning her pretty face and the soft curls falling casually on her milky white shoulder. He felt like an angel from up above had descended down on earth. His heartbeat was erratic now and he couldn't take his eyes off her. He was so lost in her that he failed to notice her discomfort with holding the gown. He slowly advanced towards her as if he were in a trance. Her eyes remained downcast the whole time. "You're beautiful" he whispered. She finally raised her eyes to meet his and had a look of him. He was dressed in a black and white tuxedo with a wine color blazer. His handsomely chiseled face and deep brown eyes melted her insides. "You look very handsome too" she whispered back hoarsely. "Shall we?" he said extending his hand towards her. "Ummm...errmmm..I have a small problem. I can't come to the party" said Avni slowly. "What are you saying? Why not?" shot back Neil slowly, trying his best to calm himself down. Moreover, the seductress was looking so gorgeous that he didn't even have the heart to yell at her. "Neil this dress..It's.." dragged Avni. "What is wrong with the dress? It's perfectly fine to me" replied Neil trying hard to sound relaxed. "Neil I'm unable to zip up this dress. While buying I had Sunehri. I'm such a fool I didn't realize this while buying the dress" cried Avni. "My dear tomato. This is why someone of medium size shouldn't try and fit into a small dress. Couldn't you have decently purchased one size bigger?" Neil teased her. "Neillll please" she spoke back helplessly. "Ok ok ok. I will stop teasing you. Do you mind me helping you out? Since Mrs. Chopra isn't here, we have no other choice. So, may I?" he asked her softly. "Hmmmm" she nodded her head in agreement. He held her by the shoulders and slowly turned her around, to make her face the mirror. He pushed all her soft curl locks to one side of her shoulder. He caught sight of her creamy white soft back. He had to take a deep breadth to stop himself from not doing anything silly at that moment. Her heartbeats were increasing rapidly. He held the two ends of the zip together and tried pulling them together, but it was not working. He placed one of his hands halfway inside her dress to make the two ends of the zipper visible on his hand and tried zipping it up, but he failed. The minute she felt his hands on her bare skin, she held onto her gown tightly at the sides. It seemed like the stopper holding the zipper together needed some tightening. He made her sit down on the chair in front of the mirror, and kneeled down till his face levelled with the position of the zip. He used his teeth to tighten the stop so that it could hold on to both edges of the zip. His lips brushed against her skin and she shut her eyes tightly unable to bear the sensations overpowering her. Her skin beneath his lips burned and goosebumps erupted on her supple and soft skin. Once he managed to tighten it, he slowly pulled up the zip upwards in place. He carefully hooked her dress, resisting the urge to plant kisses on her perfectly soft creamy white back. When he was done, he made her stand, looked at her in the mirror, his chin almost resting over the one-strap shoulder "Mission successful Ms. Cleopatra" he whispered softly into her ears. She blushed hard and unable to meet his gaze in the mirror looked downward. "I'm waiting for you outside" he said and walked away from there.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Hello Dear Readers😃 Thank You for the replies. I was contemplating if I should continue, as it had been very long since I last updated.🤔 But seeing the overwhelming response I have decided to continue.😃 Also sorry if I have not replied to the comments, but please keep them coming as it inspires me to write more.👍 Let me know your thoughts about the storyline and the AvNeil scenes.❤