Anuj felt his mouth go dry as he stepped inside the shah house. True to its theme, the entire hall was oozing brightness, lanterns and lots of shiny wall hangings.
Lost in his soliloquy, he failed to notice Samar who chirped at his sight and dragged him inside, as he kept the cap on his head and went onto tie the kerchiefs around his wrist.
Anuj looked at his hands and then looked around the house,and then heard the low tunes as Samar checked the music system.
'Chand mera dil....chandni ho tum....'
Anuj coughed while Samar swiftly changed the song. He was kind of scared now. The leash of his 'satisfaction' had started to slip since he had noticed that Anupama was noticing him too. And if his heart was left to his devices, he was sure that at the first sight of Anupama today, he would drop on his knees and sing 'Tumhe jo maine dekha, tumhe jo maine chaha'.
In short, this very romantic setup was a ticking time bomb to his sanity. Clearing his throat again, Anuj excused himself as he made his way to kitchen. He needed water. And since everyone was occupied, he decided to get it himself.
Stepping into the kitchen, he walked to the refrigerator,opened the door and started to gulp down water, like a camel.
Anupama dropped by the kitchen too, her hands occupied with a kadhai filled with gravy. Minding her own business, she decided to step pastAnuj when he jumped, suddenly.
The instant she had stepped in his space, her scent had hit him like a truck, and with the water still lodged in his mouth, Anuj turned around sharply and collided into her.
Horrified, Anupama looked at the now half empty kadhai, because it was her clothes and his, smeared by the rest of it.
Eyes wide in disbelief, she glared at Anuj who had realized the mess he had made. But he still had his cheeks puffed with water, having forgotten to gulp it down now that she was in front of him.
"Ye kya kia aapne?" She scolded him as he shook his head in negative while she gave him a puzzled look. To his ballooned cheeks precisely.
"Ek toh pehle ye paani pee lijiye!" She remarked and now it dawned on Anuj, that his mouth was full. Half choking and half spilling, he somehow downed the water and had barely sighed when he saw her give him a stern look, her lips parting to dish out scolding.
"Main nanha munha raahi hu!"he interrupted her as the anger dissipated into an expression of pure bizarre as Anupama furrowed her brows.
"Kya?!"
"I mean chandni mera dil,chand ho tum"
Another look of disbelief later Anuj realized the slip of his tongue and briefly closed his eyes,mentally kicking himself. Way to go,idiot!
"I mean, T-tum achanak se aai..and main..wo..I..sorry!" He put his foot down finally, making a puppy face at her.
Shaking her head at his antiques, she kept the kadhai on counter top and took simultaneous looks at their dresses.
"Aap kurta change kar lijiye"
"Main theek hu" Anuj replied pat, wanting to avoid further embarrassment that was sure to come his way.
"Anuuj! Chaliye!" She gave him one look and nodding like a petulant child,he followed after her as she asked Samar to lend him some decent clothes.
As Samar's eyes darted to his mother's spoiled saree and Anuj's curried kurta, his eyes glimmered with mischief and as soon as he saw his mother turn the corner of hall, he called Nandini over and whispered something in her ears as her face broke into a grin too and both hi fived.
*********
"Nandini, ye saree main fir kabhi daal lungi", Anupama tried to reason but Nandu refused to budge. Anupama breathed out a long sigh and looked in the mirror then, the saree was a black 3/4th sleeve blouse with a dark pink silk drape. It was a bit too......different. She had never worn such kind of sarees before.
Before she could try to reason with Nandini again, Samar barged into the room.
"Mummy wo Anuj..."
Anupama faced away from the mirror at the mention of Anuj and turned her attention to Samar.
"Kya hua Anuj ko?"
'Kuch hua toh nahi hai par ab zaroor hoga', Samar smiled internally as he admired his mother, looking so regal and bewitching at the same time.
"Samar?" Anupama repeated,her tone gaining an edge and as Samar shook out of his reverie, he just made a troubled expression.
"Aap bas chaliye" And as Anupama sped out of the room, Samar turned around and winked at Nandini.
Halfway through the corridor, samar excused himself citing some work and Anupama made her way to his room.
Walking over to his room,she found the doors closed, and gently pushed against them stepping inside.
Anuj stared at his reflection in disbelief. Anupama had clearly asked of Samar to lend Anuj a decent kurta. But this one he was wearing, was not remotely decent. It was a black see through kurta and was a bit too clingy to his form. If he was to waltz into the function looking like this, he was sure to be kicked out. This clothing seemed more apt to another type of situation, and he shook his head as his imagination ran south.
"Kapde aise pehne hai toh khayal bhi aise hi aa rahe hai!" Anuj chided himself and turned to look at the closed door. He had to close it lest ladies of the house were to walk in. He didn't want to be termed exhibitionist!
"Kaha reh gaya ye Samar! Keh raha tha abhi aa raha hu aur gayab hi ho gaya", Anuj complained looking at his watch, but as he heard the door creaking, he raised himself from the bed and turned to the door.
"Samar yaar tu—
Anuj halted his words then,and his breathing got stuck on its own and lodged itself in his throat, as his heart rate slowed down into loud drumbeats.
'Suraj hua maddham, chaand jalne laga'
Those dark kohled eyes and that jhumka.
'Aasma ye haye,kyu pighalne laga'
Where was this music coming from? Wait, were his ears ringing?
'Main thehra raha zameen chalne lagi'
It has to be a dream right?But it felt real. Wait, was this real? Can't be! How could his wildest imagination materialize in a matter of seconds?
He looked down at his kurta and then at her saree. Weren't they kind of twining?
Awestruck, he stared at Anupama unabashed as she looked at him too.
Wow! She was carrying the look so effortlessly while he was struggling to even think. And her hair!What he wouldn't give to get one chance to glide his fingers over the length of them.
And then his breath hitched as his eyes slid over her form in a slow motion. He could make out every curve of hers without even trying.
Something throbbed and Anuj closed his eyes, his heart beat drumming in his ears now. Opening his eyes to look at her again, this time his eyes stopped at her shoulders as the blouse was wide necked compared to her usuals, and he could see her collar bone. He was such a goner!
Stepping inside the room,her worries disappeared into thin air as her gaze swept over Anuj. What was he wearing?! She could see everything! Her eyes could easily make out his tanned skin under the see through and then there was the neck of his kurta. Oh god! It was too low and far too wide to be termed proper for family occasion. Not only was his cleavage on display,the hairs on his chest were peeking out too.
A shiver coursed through Anupama's spine and goosebumps spread over her flesh. Jolted awake by the current, Anupama colored as she realized her eyes had fixed themselves at a place they shouldn't have.
"Anuj!" She called out to him on realizing that his eyes were placed somewhere else too.
Breaking out of the trance,his zoned out self, transitioned into reality as he met her eyes, and noticed her flushed cheeks.
'Oh!' Anuj coloured up too and quickly turned away from her. He had shown her too much!
Anupama found herself staring at his back this time and her eyes traced the outline of his shoulder blade
"Vo..sorry..mujhe laga samar..par tum.." Anuj stammered flustered making Anupama's eyes widen in shock, as she turned away too.
What was she doing? Staring at him so openly!
"Ye aapne kya pehna hai?!"She asked, embarrassed, while Anuj snuck a glance over his shoulder to find her facing away.
"I...ye..samar ne mujhe diya...I told him not to but...he ran away!" Anuj replied in his defense, having turned fully now.
Anupama turned too and instantly, clapped hand over her eyes. "Why don't you ever wear a vest?!"
Anuj who had his hands comically crossed in front of his chest in a very poor attempt to shield his body deepened to a shade of crimson as he heard her. "Main..wo.." Anuj paused then, something clicking with him.
She hadn't asked him a question.It was a remark. It was a remark!
"Tumhe kese pata that I don't wear a vest?" Anuj asked baffled and Anupama replied pat, "Main aapko notice karti hoon na. I can always make out the outline of your ni—
Eyes changing into saucers,Anupama realized what she was about to say and zipped her lips shut.
Pursing her lips, she walked over to Samar's wardrobe and threw it open. "M-Main aapko abhi kuch aur de deti hoon" While she rummaged through the dresses, Anuj came up behind her, his dark eyes fixated on her head. What was she talking about? What could she see?