My lips are pressed against his skin..I can smell his cologne and body odor. He smells like mint and lavender. He's frozen in his place but his hold against my hand tightens. His skin feels so soft and cold against my warm lips. The moment my mind registers what my body did...I start to panic. I abruptly move away from him. His eyes open in an instant and he's tugging me back again. Slowly he cradles my face with both of his hands...his palms resting against my cheeks. The wind blows slowly sending chills down my spine...he leans forward and attaches our foreheads together. Unknowingly we both close our eyes and a sigh escapes from both of our mouths. His warm breath is fanning my lips while my lashes are kissing his closed eyes. My face breaks into one of the rarest smiles...and I don't have to open my eyes to know he's sporting one too.
After a few minutes of just being in each other's space we both decide that it's time to get back in the car since the temperature is dropping. He starts driving again and this time I know we're entering the city. I drift my attention toward the scenic scenery that's passing by...humming my favorite song and just enjoying myself. Randhir stops the car in the corner of a service road. The road is not that busy also there's few food stalls here and there. Before I think of asking him what we're doing here I find a Gobi stall nearby.
"There's a Gobi stall there. Let's go!" I say excitedly.
"There? Are you sure it's hygienic?"
Rolling my eyes at his very obvious reply I say "Shut up and follow me. I'll make you try the world's best chowmein!" excitedly.
He chuckles and follows me.
We order chowmein and mushroom manchoorian. He hesitates before taking a bite but one bite in and he's already loving it. After paying we leave the stall.
"Ok that was amazing but that's not why I bought you here" he exclaims.
"Really? I thought you read my inner thoughts and realized I was craving chowmein! You're not so smart after all "
"Pardon me ma'am. I'll do better next time. But for now I've brought you here so we could go for a walk down the lane"
I chuckle at his antics and we proceed to take that walk. It's an open field lawn of somebody which is devoid of people at this time. I remove my heels and walk on the grass with my bare feet. The feel of grass blades on your skin is to die for.
"So how's this going to be? The project we are paired with? " I ask.
"I'd be lying if I said it's a normal project. It'll be extremely challenging and.....I think it'll be more difficult because everyone will try to give us a hard time "
"Because you chose me as your partner" I say matter of factly.
"Yes that but there's more to it--" he pauses and looks ahead. He takes my hand in his and gives it a squeeze..
"As you already know- my college...it's different. I know it may seem like all the hate is right now directed towards your side but...all of us are extremely competitive. You know 'I'll do anything to be on the top' type of competitiveness. Right from the first year, I had to strive really hard to make my mark. And I'm not just talking about the hard work in studying....but also in every aspect of college. It was not easy to make it to the top--"
"Simply put...whatever all of you are going through right now is just a miniscule of what I went through...what me and many like me went through"
"What--what do you mean?"
"This is a maze Sakshi. I...I worked so hard to get in here but once I got in I quickly realized this whole journey is going to be a new kind of struggle all together. It was hard...at first to even be noticeable. And no...I'm not talking about being popular or anything. It was difficult to even be noticeable academically. You see Sakshi, this place is filled with people who belong to affluent backgrounds and most of my classmates have their siblings as seniors here. Their whole families have studied here. So you can imagine how it was to deal with seniors who favored their siblings and stand there without any support from anybody."
His words shock me to the core. I never thought this way. I know he's not explaining clearly but it's not difficult to fill in the gaps.
"When I first stepped in, the place was filled with schemes, manipulations and they were so unwelcoming to newcomers. My...my self esteem hit a new low. There was a time when I looked into the mirror and didn't even recognize who was standing in front of me. It's not just newcomers Sakshi...everybody! Everybody in our batch has went through something..even our seniors couldn't protect their siblings for too long. That is one of the reason why everyone from our side don't know how to be nice. Coz nobody has shown them how to be nice."
"I'm not saying this to justify their actions Sakshi. I know you hate what they did and you also hate my silence when they do such things. But the problem is more deep rooted. In order to be what I'm today, I had to bear so much. I worked twice as hard, dodged all their schemes...I turned myself cold and emotionless to gain respect and tge reputation I have today. They are not bad people Sakshi...it's just that they are all too hungry. Hungry for power, status, top place.....that is one of the reason why I don't associate myself with any of them. I just keep a platonic relationship with them.."
"I'm telling you all this because I want you to know me....and also understand what we will be getting into from tomorrow. They won't go easy on us Sakshi. They'll try every means to bring us down...mainly because they want to knock me down from my position. Me choosing you today has already brought u under their radar. I doubt anyone from my side will choose anyone from yours as their partner. It's too risky for them...to trust someone new with this..no matter how good they are. Also another fact that I've never been seen with any girl on my side in the last five years...and suddenly i chose you to be my date today. That is meant to spark some more curiosity. So inevitably all attention will be on us...from both the sides..coz we'll be the only pair working together who belong to 2 different sides."
"I'm giving you an out Sakshi. I- I should have told you all this before taking your name like that today. But....but I wanted to do it. I..I wanted you as my partner. I couldn't let them take that away from me. But I want you chose this for yourself. It's not too late...if you chose to back away I'll make sure it's done very smoothly. There will be no complications at all. I'll still be happy that atleast I got to go on a date with you" he finishes.
"You still didn't answer my question Randhir. As far as I know you don't know if I'm even good at my studies. So it's clear you didn't choose me because I'm good in my field. So why?"
He chuckles before bringing me closer to him. His places his hands on my shoulder before saying--
"To be honest, I chose you just because I want to spend more time with you. I know it's selfish of me to say this....but I..I don't give a damn about this project Sakshi. Yes, the course is important but I don't care if I gain the 1st place or not.
I don't even care if we lose this...I..I just want to be with you. That is all."
He continues "But that doesn't mean I'll ruin this for you Sakshi. If this is important for you...nobody will stop us from being at the top. But I want you to know that I will be whatever you want me to be...if at all you choose to do this with me"
I take a moment before replying, "This is really important to me Randhir...if not I wouldn't be enduring all the things your side is doing till now. I would've packed my bags on the very first day if this was not important. I want to win this Randhir...it means a lot to me. And don't worry..I'm pretty good at what I do. Also I have a feeling that we'll rock this if we work together. So...deal?"
"Wait....does this-- does this mean you're okay with being my partner?" He's so happy right now...
"Yes...as long as we work to give our best" I say
He fist bumps the air and caresses my cheek..."let's do this then. You and me"
"You and me" I agree.
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