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"She slept?" Sameer questioned Manik when he and Jeanette made their way to the balcony to greet their closest friends. They walked in only to find that Nandini was asleep with her head on Manik's shoulder.
"She was tired, I guess..." Manik passed a sheepish smile as he said that to them.
"I love that she has two wonderful jobs that she loves but it is too much for one tiny person." Jeanette spoke up which made Manik lift his eyebrows in surprise.
"Back to being her friend, are we?" Manik asked her with a slightly sarcastic smile. He was sure that Nandini is going let go of all the bad feelings, if at all any, the moment Jeanette walked up to her but he could not get himself to forget the way she had hurt Nandini. It might take him some time to forget all that, he thought to himself.
"Shut up, Manik! Also, Aliya is here and she's moving to Mumbai in a month so, why don't you go and talk to her?" Sameer urged Manik with a smile. He, obviously, had no idea of what a catastrophic thing he had done by inviting Aliya to be under the same roof as Manik and Nandini. He had done it with a pure intention to make his friend happy given the suspicion of Nandini dating someone else. He knew that Manik liked her and might be heartbroken by the fact that she was with some other person. Aliya was a good friend of his from Bangalore days so, he knew about her decision and he figured, it might be the best thing for Manik.
"YOU invited her?" Manik asked him in shock while ensuring that his voice would not wake Nandini up from her deep slumber.
"Yeah! You guys only broke up because you had to move here, right? Now that she wants to come here where you are, I figured, you'd want to get back together with her." Sameer explained his reasons behind inviting Aliya over.
"Thanks for looking out, man! But, no! I, for sure, do not want to start things up with her again. So, from next time, please, ask me before doing something like this." Manik did not mean to come off sarcastic but he did, anyway. He did not feel like hiding his perturbation over how things had turned out to be.
"Woah! Did something happen?" Jeanette quizzed, unable to hold back her curiosity.
"Kind of! W... I wanted to tell you guys about it, tonight but, this turned out to be a party so maybe, some other time. Just keep Aliya away from Nandini, please." Manik muttered to them not without, constantly, glancing side-ways at Nandini time to time.
"Why? Weren't they like super thick before you guys left?" Jeanette asked him as she recalled the story that Manik and Nandini had later told her about their past life, obviously, sparing all the details about their feelings for one another.
"That is a long story and I'm afraid now is not the time for it. Just know this... Aliya is one of the reasons why Nandini and me stopped being friends, five years ago." Manik informed her with a glum expression because every time that he had to say it out loud, he kept growing angrier on Aliya and himself for letting the connection go, easily.
"Sorry, man! I should not have invited her without asking you." Sameer apologized to Manik, feeling bad about the situation, genuinely.
"It is fine..." Manik was cut off, abruptly, by a screech from the living room. All of their eyes widened at the yelling and the source of it.
"Get out here, you son of bitch! Manik! Where are you?" Aliya was screaming on the top of her voice from inside. Nandini's jerked up at the sudden hullabaloo. Manik shut his eyes in defeat. He could see what was coming and he was not sure if he had the energy to deal with it.
"Stay put! She sounds pretty wasted. I'll deal with her and be right back." Manik prayed to all of his gods that Nandini agrees to him, just this once but he knew somehow that she would not let this one go.
"She is out there, hurling abuses at you and you want me to sit outside and just watch? I'll do that if you promise to do the same if our roles are reversed, ever." Nandini challenged him, getting up from the seat and Manik knew that he had already lost this one to her.
"You win! Let's go, outside." Manik surrendered to Nandini and then said to all three of them.
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"Can you believe it, y'all? The nerve of this guy to show up with this filthy man-stealing bitch..." Aliya screamed to everyone in the room as she caught the sight of Manik and Nandini walking into the house side-by-side, followed by two more people who she did not care about, in that moment.
"Aliya! DO NOT, okay?" Manik's tone was scary as he warned his ex-girlfriend for verbally abusing Nandini.
"Aliya, come on... Let's go someplace private and talk about this like adults." Nandini urged as she moved closer to help Aliya up from the couch that she was lying on.
"You? An adult? Are you kidding me? You've pulled off the most high-school move ever possible by taking away your former bestfriend's guy and you get to lecture me about maturity? No way! Get your disgusting paws, off of me, you bitch!" Aliya slurred when she stood up on her feet and pushed Nandini away from herself.
"Aliya..." Manik's anger grew by every nanosecond that he had to watch and hear Aliya.
"Fine! I won't touch you! Walk by yourself and to that bedroom. And no, I'm not letting Manik help you if you don't want my help." Nandini was stern as she said that making Manik smile at her. Why was he even worried? She was brilliant when put in a crisis and he was sure that she'd handle this better than anyone there.
"It would be ideal to ask you to drop her at home but I don't think I have the strength to be that generous. Call her brother and ask him to pick her up from here, can you?" Nandini asked Manik as Aliya began tracing her steps towards the guest bedroom. Manik nodded in affirmation and fished out his phone to make the damned phonecall.
"Sorry for the ruckus! We did not mean to ruin your party for you. I'll handle her and make sure that there's no more of that nuisance. You should attend to your guests." Nandini apologized to Sameer and Jeanette who still were trying to absorb everything that happened in a fraction of seconds.
"Shut up, Nandi! This wouldn't have happened if Sam had just asked Manik whether or not to invite his ex-girlfriend. If anything, I'm sorry for what you have to deal with because of his stupid idea." Jeanette dismissed her apology and gave one herself on behalf of Sameer. Nandini did not have the time to celebrate her friend's coming around after days of tension between them because she had her boyfriend's crazy ex-girlfriend to deal with. So, she passed her a small smile before excusing herself from there with Manik right behind on her trail.
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"We meet again, you bi...." Aliya greeted Nandini as she and Manik walked inside the bedroom and shut the door behind them only to be cut off by none other than Nandini, herself.
"That's enough! I'm not here to tolerate your bullshit, Aliya. I do not care that you are wasted and out of your mind, at the moment, so stop hurling abuses." Nandini deadpanned as she sat on the chair, across the bed where Aliya was sitting.
"Whatever... I don't wanna talk to you anyway." Aliya mumbled and rolled her eyes at Nandini.
"Manik! I wanna talk to YOU! Why... Why were you with me for five fucking years if it was that easy for you to forget me? I... I was dying every moment that you weren't there, after you left and here you were, happily, hooking up with whatever was your second best option after me? Why? Did you not miss me at all? That can't be true, right?" Aliya stumbled as she walked towards Manik and ended up grabbing hold of his collars.
Manik's eyes shot up in Nandini's direction who chose to look away from them as if wanting to give them some privacy. He had no idea how the hell was Nandini holding up in such situations. He was sure that he would have lost control of himself was back if he had to be in her shoes.
Manik sighed in defeat and attempted to free himself from Aliya's hold yet making sure that she doesn't fall from the force. "You are wasted, Aliya! You are going to regret all of this in the morning." Manik told her as he dragged her to sit on the bed again. Once, she was back on the mattress, he stepped away, immediately.
"Don't speak for me! I am drunk but I know what I'm saying, okay?" Aliya spat with anger.
"When will her brother be here?" Nandini decided to ignore Aliya and thus, asked Manik with slight desperation in her tone. She wanted this night to end as soon as possible. She was at capacity and she did not think that her mind can take any more of this drama.
"In half an hour, maybe." Manik replied. His body language screamed that he was tired too. Nandini felt immense sympathy for him, at the moment because it was a fact that he was worn out- both mentally and physically.
Manik walked towards where Nandini was seated and then, bent down to place a long yet soothing kiss on the top of her head. "I think it'd be best if I put myself out of this situation. I don't want her to be pulling that crap again and if I stay here, that is exactly what she'd do... Will it be okay or do you want me to stay here with you?" Manik asked Nandini in a whispering tone.
"End this misery for both of us, please! Be gone! I'd rather hear her abuses for me than look at her throwing herself on you. It's physically repulsing for me!" Nandini agreed to him in a jiffy making him chuckle, slightly. Their minds did think alike in instances like these and the resemblance was uncanny. He was thankful for it though and so decided to step away from there.
"I have my phone on me. Call me if you need any help. I'll come in when her brother arrives. Okay?" Manik instructed. Nandini nodded in agreement and then watched him walk out leaving her with a blabbering mess of a heavily drunk Aliya. By now, she had lost even the last bit of her senses. She was lying on her back while mumbling something to herself and it looked like she was on the verge of passing out.
Nandini groaned, mutely before getting up from her place. She pushed Aliya's legs up on the bed not before removing her stilettos. She then, covered her up with the blanket. In the end, when Nandini caught a glimpse of Aliya's face, she could not help but feel extremely bad for her. She might have even felt a little guilt for causing so much grief to her former friend. Aliya was clearly in pain about losing Manik and her current state only made it harder for Nandini to feel angry about whatever she had spoken a few minutes ago.
One thing that Nandini felt grateful for was that she was a much more mature person now because she was sure that had this been happening a few years ago, she would have happily stepped away from Manik just so that she does not hurt Aliya even if it meant that she and Manik were both hurt in the end. She could never bring herself to do something as stupid as that now given how deep her feelings for Manik were.
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Manik's outfit
3 days later...
Manik kept tapping his foot, rigorously yet making no sound while scratching the top of that coffee table. This was a clear-cut sign that he was nervous and he had reasons to be, as well. On the top of his head, the fact that his current girlfriend had no idea of his meeting with his ex-girlfriend, was one of the great reasons behind his anxiety.
After that chaotic evening at Sameer's party, two days ago, Aliya had texted him and begged him to meet with her once before she would take off to Bangalore the very same day. He wanted to turn her down but deep down, he felt like he might owe one last meet-up with her given that she had been such a big part of his life in the past. If there was even a slight chance that he could leave things on a good note then he'd grab onto it. He was a people-pleaser and he had never regretted that about himself as much as he was regretting it in that moment while he waited for Aliya to show up in that café.
It was not like he wanted to hide this from Nandini but he did not know what to tell her after the way Aliya had behaved in the party. Manik was utterly confused about what he should do and in the end, he decided to meet with her for one last time. He will figure out what to say to Nandini once they were done talking. He'd probably have an answer for himself as to why he was doing this in the first place.
"Sorry for keeping you waiting, Manik. I had to take a work call so...." Manik heard Aliya from his back as she walked towards the table, he was seated on.
"That's okay." Manik muttered and watched her take a seat across him. Had she dressed up for this? Or was she always this fancy with her clothes and accessories? He, mentally, chided himself for never taking an interest in all this while they were dating. If she'd ask him right now about how she used to dress-up during that time, he would be scrambling for words and she might end up killing him.
"I know that I am pretty but isn't it rude to stare at anyone else when you have a girlfriend?" Aliya asked him in a tone of amusement.
"You wish! My girlfriend has passed on this annoying habit of zoning out to me which is exactly what happened..." Manik felt no shame in admitting that Nandini was rubbing off on him and especially to shut Aliya up.
"Yeah! Of course, how can I forget that you feel nothing for me, anymore." Aliya muttered with disappointment setting in on her features.
"That is true but please, understand that it isn't because of you, okay? I just...." Manik did not know how to describe it in words as to why was it so easy for him to move on from their relationship. He did not want to say the wrong thing and end up upsetting her again.
"Just forget it... I just wanted to apologize to you about the way I behaved and about all the things I said to you, that night. It wasn't fair for me to unload all of my emotional frustration out on you like that and in public, no less. It was crappy of me so, I'm really sorry." Aliya ended up saying the things that she had been rehearsing on her way here. She did feel awful for the way she treated him and she felt like she owed him a heartfelt apology.
"No hard feelings here, Aliya but don't you think you owe a proper apology to Nandini because you said some pretty bad things to her which she did not deserve. I have hurt you so, I can take your frustration but Nandini has been a great friend to you even after you meddled to break my six-year-long friendship with her." Manik frowned as he spoke that because she had not even mentioned anything about her misdemeanor with Nandini.
"Honestly, I do not feel so, Manik. One of the rules of friendship is that you do not date your friend's potential partners, relatives and exes. She did not care about that so, I don't think that I need to care about her, now." Aliya's indifference made Manik regret his decision to come here, instantly. Nandini did not deserve this and as her boyfriend it would be wrong on his part if he did not defend her honor.
"Wow! Are you fucking serious? She's been nothing but sweet to you irrespective of how you have treated her and this is what you have to say in return for her, your former best friend? I cannot believe you, Aliya. And, she does not need to care about those stupid rules because clearly, you are no friend of hers. She can do whatever... or I should say, whoever the fuck she wants to... Shit, man! Why did I even decide to come here?" Manik rambled and buried his face in his hands by the end of his speech.
"Regardless of the circumstances, she stopped being friends with you as well for five fucking years. She just accepted what I asked her to do when she could have fought for your friendship but did she..." Aliya began grumbling when Manik cut her off.
"Because she thought she was doing the right thing as your friend. You know what?.... This is a lost cause. I haven seen a thankless person such as yourself. I do not wish to talk to anyone who cannot respect my girlfriend. I am out of here!" Manik got up from the table, abruptly, only to be held back by his wrists.
"I'm sorry! Please don't storm off, Manik. I made the stupid decision to move here, next month and there's no one in this city that I can call my friend other than you. I don't want to make things bitter with you. So, please, can we just talk?" Aliya almost begged him to stay back but even though he wanted to leave, he could not because he did not wish to create a scene. He withdrew his hand from her grasp and sat back not before pushing his chair further away from the table. Boundaries needed to be established. Period.
"I cannot be friends with you the way you want me to be because of obvious reasons. Can we just find a way to end things on a not-so-bitter note, for old times sake?" Manik wanted to make it clear that he did not wish to continue having any sort of association with her. There was too much bad blood, already, for that to happen.
"Please, don't say that! I... I do not have anyone other than you. My life has been revolving around you and work for the last five years. You have no idea how awful I have been, ever since you left. Now, I... I'll make peace with the fact that you are with someone else but please, just be in my life as a friend!" Aliya pleaded and tried fighting her tears.
"I cannot make promises, Aliya. We can try this once you move back to the city, for real. Besides, I have to ask Nandini if she will be comfortable with this. I cannot expect this much from her when I myself do not feel comfortable with what you want from me." Manik told her, bluntly.
"I'll text you once I move here. You can make a decision by then?" Aliya suggested with a hopeful glimmer in her eyes. She, obviously, knew the man and she knew that he was not the one to break anyone's heart. She did feel bad to be using that to her advantage but then according to her, desperate times called for desperate measures.
"Sure..." Manik muttered in despair.
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Nandini's outfit
"I brought special dinner for my hard-working man!" Nandini announced while entering Manik's house after her shift, that same night. Manik had told her in the morning that he had back-to-back meetings which was partially true given that his first meeting was with his ex-girlfriend which was followed by his work commitments.
"My little ball of energy! How are you so up and about after working on your designs since 7am and that tedious shift at ROB?" Manik questioned her, genuinely intrigued about her source of energy. He pulled her close not before placing her bags on the coffee table. She wrapped her small hands under his arms and placed it on his back while welcoming a soothing kiss on the top of her head with closed eyes.
"I was tired out of my mind but then the minute, I parked my car down at the parking, I got all pumped up just at the thought of getting to see you. I tell you everyday but still... I missed you." Nandini told him and pouted only to earn a peck on it from Manik, simply, because he could not resist her cuteness.
"Keep telling me that everyday because I love it when you tell me every little thing that you feel for me. It just makes me wanna do this more..." Manik trailed off as he cupped her face in his hands and pressed his lips down on hers for a sweet kiss.
"Go, freshen up and in the meantime I'll put your special dinner out on plates for us." Manik told her, softly after pulling away from the kiss.
"Okay!" Nandini squeaked, happily and went away towards his bedroom. Manik kept looking in her direction and thought about how discussing Aliya can ruin Nandini's perfectly good mood. He loved seeing her happy and he hated the fact that he was going to ruin it. He had no other choice though because hiding this from her was not an option for him.
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"I should, probably, keep some of my clothes here just the way you have kept it at my place." Nandini mused, walking back to the living room in one of Manik's t-shirts which looked like a dress on her. She walked closer to the chair he was seated on and sat down on his lap with her legs on one side. He, swiftly, wrapped his hand around her waist and as a reflex she rested her hands around his neck.
"Sorry! I did not feel like wearing the same clothes after showering so I borrowed one of your t-shirts. Hope you don't mind." Nandini apologized for taking it from his closet without asking him. He grazed his fingers on her thighs while she spoke making her gulp an imaginary lump.
"On second thoughts, you won't need them because you look ravishing in my clothes. Absolutely irresistible! And besides, I prefer it when you have nothing on you so..." Manik trailed off because she pressed her lips down on his for a, painfully, slow kiss. He could taste the raspberry-flavored lip-balm on her mouth which he guessed that she might have applied after getting out of the shower. She, leisurely, grinded on his lap making him bite her lips out of sheer pleasure. She winced slightly but did not dare break away from the kiss. His hand on her waist drew patterns on her back to which she responded with soft moans while still indulged in their kiss.
After a few more minutes of reveling in their heated make-out, they pulled away from each other. Nandini dropped a wet kiss below his ears before getting up from his lap which, obviously made him groan.
"We should eat, don't you think?" Nandini's voice was laced in teases for him which he did not miss. She sat down on a chair adjacent to his chair and picked up a spoon to eat the biryani that Manik had served for them on two plates.
"Sure! I might need a minute, though. Thanks to you!" Manik pressed his lips after saying that and he pointed at his erection, covered by his tracksuit. Nandini chuckled at the state she, gladly, put him in and continued to eat like it was none of her concern.
"You will pay for this..." Manik threatened her after he felt himself go back to normal.
"Can't wait!" Nandini exclaimed making him nod his head at her shamelessness.
"I think we should talk about Aliya and what...." Manik began saying after a couple of moments passed between them where they ate a bunch of morsels of food.
"Can we, please, not talk about that? That week was too much for both of us and I think I need a detox from Aliya." Nandini cut him mid-way and pled him to not bring up Aliya's subject.
"But I need to..." Manik began saying something again but she stopped him again and this time by placing one of her hand on his knee.
"Please, Manik! She has already ruined our two nights in a row. I am in a good mood today and I do not want to spoil it by talking about your ex-girlfriend." Nandini interrupted him again.
"Fine! We'll not talk about her. But we cannot always avoid this topic, we'll have to talk about it someday." Manik surrendered with a sigh.
"That will be that day's problem. Right now, let's eat this good food and worry about what are we going to watch today." Nandini shrugged and added.
"Oh! Believe me, we are not going to be watching anything after the little stunt you just pulled. It's straight to the bed after food, my beloved." Manik smirked as he said that because he was serious about it. Watching a movie on Netflix or anything else would not even be the last thought on their to-do list for the night as compared to what he had on his mind for them.
"Beloved? Don't talk like an old man if you wanna get laid, Manik. That's flirting 101." Nandini teased with a good laugh.
"It's mighty of you to think that I still need to flirt to get down with you. You're too smitten by my charm to refuse my carnal advances." Manik traced his finger on the outline of her jaw with a cheeky grin.
"Good luck getting laid tonight, mister!" Nandini wished him sarcastically and turned her head away making him chuckle at her attitude. It was always a turn-on for him whenever she was pissed or angry. She was undeniably irresistible during such times.
At the end of the night, however, Manik got his way around with her and they ended up doing exactly what Nandini said that they would not. And, just like that, their night ended with Manik not telling her about his extravagant meeting with Aliya. How was that going to end for them? Only time would tell....
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Rate the chapter between 1-10.
Do you think Jeanette and Sameer would become a problem for Manik and Nandini? Why do you feel so?
Do you think it's important that Manik tells nandini about this meet-up with Aliya?
Some of you have issues with Manik and Nandini's active sex life which I have made sure to not be explicit. I hope you understand that it's been just a month to them beginning their relationship which is obviously a honeymoon phase. There is drama happening in their lives but they also have to give in to the urges they've had over the years and the attraction between them.
Let me know here if you understand what I'm saying and agree with it. I'd be happy to address your other questions on the matter.