“What are you wearing?” Aarohi asked, looking at Akshara on the video call.
“What?” Akshara looked down at the figure-hugging athletic t-shirt and leggings.
Aarohi laughed. “I have never seen you wear anything like this in all these years, and you look hot showing off your curves. Is the rock star around to admire them?”
Akshara rolled her eyes. “I have to wear form-fitting clothes, so it’s easy to dance. Not for him to admire.”
“So, no interesting developments? Do you dance with him?”
“Aarohi, why are we talking about him?” She faked annoyance at her friend constantly teasing her, although she secretly liked talking about him.
Aarohi laughed. “I am just messing with you.”
“Whatever.”
“So, I am curious what your dad thinks about the mash-ups and the dance.”
Akshara shook her head. “I told my parents about the mash-up, and about the dance, I have yet to tell them.”
“Do you think your dad will be upset?”
“Why are you asking me that question?” Akshara glared at her friend.
“Why are you getting so annoyed. It is very general question.”
“I don’t like that question because it makes my dad seem like a mean person who would oppose what I would like to do.”
She was annoyed that her best friend was also asking the question Abhimanyu had asked a few weeks ago.
“Okay, got it. So, does your dad know that you are singing and will be dancing with Abhimanyu?” Aarohi’s voice was soft.
“Not to that detail.”
“Why not?”
“Because it doesn’t matter.” Akshara felt a bit conflicted about the new things she was doing and not discussing them with her parents first.
“Akshara, what you are doing is amazing. I don’t want you to stop what you want to do.”
“I’m having so much fun, Aarohi,” she confessed.
“Yes, you are glowing like a light bulb.”
She blushed. “Enough with the exaggerated compliments.”
“Look at you blush. Is the rock star around?”
“No. But I need to go practice. I will call you later.” She ended the call, smiling.
Akshara sat on the stage, alone in the large conference room lost in thought. Her friend complimented on the new aspects of her life, and there was no denying she was enjoying it. Would she find what she did before the tour boring as a result of the change?
Her thoughts were interrupted, and her heart leaped with joy when she saw Abhimanyu walk in. He was in one of his business suits and was on the phone. He held up two fingers indicating that he needed some time. She nodded and kept her eyes on him.
“What the heck do you mean compliance? You are just making a mess out of this situation,” he barked into the phone.
He continued the conversation as he started stripping off his clothes. Akshara watched as he shrugged off his suit jacket and threw it over a chair. He loosened his tie and pulled it open, and his every movement was setting her body on fire. She remembered the time she saw him in a suit for the first time and fanned her heated face.
Abhimanyu kept issuing orders on the phone to someone, and she kept her eyes on him as her own body commanded her to do other things. All she could think about was unbuttoning his shirt and feel his hard muscle under the thin fabric. She wanted the beautiful dusting of hair to tickle her palms while they roamed his chest.
Every button he undid, she was becoming sweatier. She watched as he reached for his bag to pull out his t-shirt. He pressed his phone between his ear and shoulder and shrugged off his shirt. He was partially turned away from her, and she only wished she had the front-row view.
She bit her lip as her eyes took in the ‘V’ structure of his back and the breadth of his shoulders making him look like a warrior. When he suddenly turned to look in her direction, she was too lost in her observations that she didn’t have time to avert her eyes before being caught gawking at him.
“I’m almost ready. Sorry I got delayed due to the weather.” He left the dress pants he had on and swapped out his leather shoes with sneakers.
It was such a transition from the formal yet sexy look to a cool and casual look that appealed to her. It felt like she knew more about the man who wore the distressed jeans and t-shirt, but the man in the suit intrigued her.
“Where did you go?”
“I had a meeting.” He walked toward her looking at his phone.
“What do you do?” she asked curiously.
“Lady, where have you been? I am a singer in a band.” He laughed.
She rolled her eyes. “I know that, but you don’t sing in a suit.”
“I could sing in a suit if you think it is a good idea,” he mocked.
“If you don’t want to tell me, just say that and not digress.” She was becoming irritated.
He chuckled. “That was not my intention. Just trying to get back to the part of my life I care more about.”
“So, you don’t like what you do wearing a suit?”
“I don’t enjoy it as much as what I do on stage.” He smirked.
“Then why do you do it?” The words had left her mouth before she could think.
He looked at her for a long moment. “I do it for my family. It’s a business my mother and father started together.”
“Oh. That’s very nice.”
“It’s what most of us do. Like how you chose devotional music over something else.”
“What?” She was shocked to hear his words.
“Your choice to go into devotional music probably had a family goal or something tied to it.” His voice was softer.
“How… how can you say that I don’t enjoy singing devotional music.”
He shook his head, smiling. “I didn’t say that. I only said singing modern music seems to excite you more than what you sang before the tour.”
She took a deep breath to calm her raging heart. The reason behind her choosing to be a classical and devotional music singer was a choice she made to make her father happy. It was not like she was giving up anything she wanted, and it gave her joy doing something that made her parents and family proud. There was no denying the fact that she had fun singing the new style of music. She found the tunes to be exhilarating, and it excited her to the core.
She had not shared the newfound passion with anyone, not with
Vansh nor with Aarohi.
“How can you say that?”
He looked into her eyes for a long moment.
“I could be completely wrong about my observation, but your eyes, they don’t lie. The first day you performed the mash-up, they sparkled like diamonds. From that day, they have been smiling perpetually like you are having the best time of your life.”
The empty conference room started to spin around her, and she closed her eyes, unable to bear the intensity of the moment. It felt like he had reached out and touched her soul. She could not deny the spikes of happiness she experienced the past few weeks and the energy burst that gave her the confidence she needed to consider dancing on stage for the first time.
She opened her eyes but took a long moment to look into his eyes to find him looking at her.
“I need a minute. I’ll be right back.”
“Sure. I’ll be here.”
She walked to the powder room that was right next to the conference room and shut the door, leaning her back against it. She looked at herself in the mirror and saw how her fitting clothes hugged her every curve. She had considered herself to be a conservative, not because of her family but because of her own comfort. And there she was looking at a woman she didn’t recognize anymore.
Did she adapt for the sake of the tour or was she changing? Was she changing to please him?
“Akshara, you okay?”
“Yes.” Her voice was a sob.
“Open up.” His voice held endearment, and she turned and opened the door. To her surprise, he stepped into the small room.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
“No. It’s not…”
He stepped closer to her. “You are a beautiful singer with an amazing voice, and you can do anything you wish to do. You can sing in any genre you like, but I can’t do that, so I have to work two jobs.”
She looked up at him to find him smiling. “You asked me what I did in a suit? I’m the Chief Executive Officer of Lekha Group of Hotels.”
She looked away from him but met his eyes in the mirror. “You could have just said that, and we could have started the dance practice ten minutes ago.”
“True.” He chuckled.
“I love what I do, Abhimanyu. The mash-up songs, the fast music is a novelty, it’s like being on vacation, but you have to go back home at some point. I know what home is for me, do you?”
He looked at her as a flash of shock passed through his eyes, and he smiled in response.
“I don’t know yet, and I would love to continue this conversation with you but preferably not in a bathroom.”
She laughed, grabbing a few tissues, and followed him out of the small space.
“Seriously, why did you prolong this conversation?”
He turned slightly as he walked ahead of her. “How else will I know more about you? To build a rapport with my dance partner.”
“So, you knew what you said would upset me?” she almost growled.
“I didn’t know, but now I do. I also know how you react and how you hide your feelings when you are unhappy about something.”
She rolled her eyes. “You couldn’t just have a normal conversation with me about that, maybe over dinner?”
“We could do that, too. Do you want to go grab dinner at the roof garden restaurant?”
She panicked about being alone with him. “Shouldn’t we be practicing?”
“I’m sure you practiced enough. We can start tomorrow. Let’s go get dinner,” he insisted.
“I need to change,” she said, almost unsure about going with him.
“Okay, how about we meet in say… thirty minutes?”
She smiled. “That works. See you.”
Akshara walked away from him with a mix of excitement and anxiety about being with him by herself. The past few weeks she had spent a lot of time with Abhimanyu but never in a setting like they were going to be in that evening.
Nervous excitement was what she was feeling.
Love
Janus