Standing under the shower was one of the best ways of relieving stress. The last few days had been very challenging mentally and emotionally and the chase was not yet over. But I was still smiling. It was a smile of anticipation and I was literally counting in my head 5...4...3...2..
And before I could finish my count, the door was forced open and Manik stood right in front of me. His eyes gave away the same expressions of annoyance from last night. Actually that expression was somewhat stuck on his face from quite some time. He was hissing in rage, his eyes bulged extra large to scare me and my smile broadened as I saw him like that. My teeth were literally dying to peep through my lips. In a fraction of a second some nerve in my brain chided the other to behave and say what I had practiced some time back.
"What the hell Manik!!..Tum aandar kaise aaye..like seriously..please get out", I said trying to cover myself with both hands and glaring at him with double the intensity of his.
"Really!!! Khud hi door khula chod ke you are asking me this", Manik managed to speak amidst his fury.
"Wh..what ..what are you talking about..main aaise kyun karungi..I must have forgotten..maine jaan bujh ke nahi kia", I fumbled thrice before blurting the whole sentence.
"Right..That's why tum towel pehanke naha rahi thi..hai na??" he asked sarcastically
I slid my hands down by my side and stood straight. I realized I was caught but it's okay I anyways wanted to be caught. I was trying to find an excuse when he barked at me roughly.
"Kya bola tumne Dad se???"
Well I was waiting for him to come to the main point of barging in to the bathroom and he was finally there.
"I didn't say anything...about us..we just spoke about regular stuff", I fidgeted with my wet hair strands.
"Don't try to act smart with me..I can't believe tumne meri chugli ki unse..he was blasting me like anything..I know tumne ye sab purposely kia hai.. you are such a..", he clawed his palm like a tiger to pounce on me but then stopped as he saw me draw back in fear.
"What could I do?? He asked me and I couldn't lie.." I was afraid at his action but then also satisfied to have hit the bull's eye.
He didn't let me finish and grabbed me by the arms and pushed me against the wall behind the shower. Now it was his turn to get wet. It felt like deja vu. That exact moment reminded me of the time of our last shower encounter. There was so much desire and want for each other then, well the want was still there it's just that now it is masked with hatred. I couldn't help my palms reaching his cheek. He flinched the moment I touched him. His eyes didn't leave mine even for a second, the running water failed miserably to break our gaze. I touched his other cheek with my other hand and his eyes softened and that gave me hope. I stood on my toes to reach his lips but he was tall and I cursed my height for the first time. He didn't cooperate and just blatantly enjoyed seeing me struggle to reach my target and I gave up and thought of something else. I slowly reached his engaged hand on my arm and released it and placed it on the knot of my towel tucked neatly on my cleavage. He looked into my eyes engagingly. After giving me a ray of hope he gave away a crooked smile and jerked me backwards and walked out grinning at his victory. Honestly I felt like crying. He had never refused to kiss me in fact he was the one dying for it all the time and now his behavior made me feel cheap and disgusted about myself. I was trying to gather all my confidence and strength which was being washed away under the shower.
***
Cabir called me as I was getting ready for office. He informed that we i.e. me and Manik had a meeting with Soha Dhanrajgir at her farm house in Karjat. Manik had very conveniently hidden the information and Cabir was pretty sure about it. Manik was such a kid he knew very well that I would be needed for the meeting but he chose to drop me out of it to suit his mood. Suddenly all his focus was to despise me and his work, AURA, the deal everything else was secondary. Cabir had already sent over the trial designs which we had to get approved by the bride. I received them and packed them while Manik took his time under the shower. I sneaked out before him and waited for him to come down. Manik came down quite confidently assuming that I had left for AURA. The moment he took the driver's seat and was about the start, I opened the other front door and hopped in like a rabbit with 4 bags equivalent to my own weight and tossed them properly to the rear seat.
"What the!!!", his eyes widened in shock as if he had seen a ghost in broad day light.
"Listen ..please no arguments..I would be needed for the meeting and stop being so childish Manik", I was actually annoyed at his idiosyncratic behavior.
Strangely Manik did not utter a word further and vroomed the car back and turned towards our destination. An awkward silence prevailed as we drove past the city through the highway. I rolled down the window sheets for the fresh breeze.
"In case you didn't realize AC chal raha hai", he said turning the thing off.
"I know but mujhe ye zyada pasand hai", I replied with an intake of lung full of breeze, "Waise bhi you won't bother that I am hungry so I guess hawa kha k hi pet bharna hai", I muttered looking out side.
He pulled in front of a sort of a small shop by the highway.
"Go get whatever you want", his whole concentration was at battling with the dash board to open it.
"Ohhh..so that I get down and to vanish with the car leaving me stranded here..smart plan Mr. Malhotra but I am not buying it", I cringed by brows and pouted cutely.
"Yeah Rite!!! I have better things to do in life than playing these childish games with you", he raised his hands and whacked them on the steering wheel in annoyance.
"Don't worry I don't know how to drive so you can take your chances", I shrugged my shoulders and leaned on his side to open the door.
He gave me a look as if he wanted to eat me alive and got down dejected.
***
He came back after sometime and swung the biscuits and sandwich on my direction and seated himself on the driver's seat.
"What the F!!! Who are these people???", he eyes dazed on the rear view mirror and his neck snapped towards the back seat which had a cute old couple.
"These is Feroz uncle and Delnaz aunty", I tried to relieve Manik from the shock as he was about to throw them out , "They are also going to Karjat and just missed their bus so..", I made a puppy face flickering my eyelids more than usual to cajole him to help them. Manik was already having a hard time dealing with me and now my philanthropic nature was getting on to his nerves. He gave me a deadly glare gritting his jaws together and helplessly started the ignition.
"Arey beta lagta hai tumhare pati ko achha nahi laga", the aunty sounded a little tensed.
Manik's head sprung in a blink to me at the mention of the word "PATI". He muttered to himself in anger and I saw his fist clenching the steering wheel.
"PATI huh!!, ye kya nonsense hai Nandini", thankfully he whispered in between his jaws. I gleed cheerfully at him and turned to the couple.
"Nahi nahi aunty aaisi koi baat nahi hai...wo thode gusse wale hain bas...kyun ji", I deliberately gave a loving look at my so called PATI dev. Manik made an alien face to my Kyun ji. He looked around to find something to stab me with, I suppose.
"Arey dikra kitni chokas wife che tamaro..fir itna gussa kis liye", Feroz uncle spoke in an adorable parsian accent. Manik just managed to give a plastic smile hiding his anger.
"Bacche kitne hai tum dono k??", Delnaz aunty was leaving no stone unturned to embarrass Manik whose face had turned red by then. I didn't know if the color depicted his embarrassment or anger I guess both.
"Do - ek girl aur ek boy ", I replied in an excited tone glancing at Manik with the corner of my eye.
Now Manik was literally burning. I knew the moment the couple would step down at their destination, Manik would rip me apart but it was so much fun to see him like that I couldn't just stop myself. I really missed Cabir presence in the leg pulling session. It was always them doing it and I was the prey but now the tables had turned.
"But you guys are so young isi mein do bachhe..??", their questions were getting naughtier.
"Wo Aunty Manik ko babies bahut pasand hai ..in fact use to football team banani hai", I acted shy.
Aunty gave a cozy look to uncle remembering their own days.
"Arey dikra good going haan..par tum bhi toh kuch bolo itne chup chap kyun ho", Now she wanted to bug Manik directly.
"Achha hi hai husbands jitna chup rahen utna hi acha hai ab mujhe hi dekho dikra tumhari aunty ne mujhe last 25 years mein kuch bolne hi nahi dia", aunty lowered her glasses on the tip of her nose and gave a dirty look at uncle.
"Wo uncle actually babies ke wajah se main Manik ko time nahi de pati hun isiliye moo phoola k baitha hai..ab aap hi batayiye main kya karun", I replied with flawless confidence.
"Toh abhi bachhe kahan hain",they had so much to know.
"Mamma ke paas ..isiliye to hum ghoomne nikle hain par dekho na abhi bhi gussa hai mujhse", I complained them as if it would be of any help.
"Dikra roothna toh biwion ka kaam hota hai ur manana hamara..ab mujhe hi dekhlo last 25 years se wo roothti hai aur main manata hun." Uncle cutely pointed to her dear beloved wife. They looked so cute together. I was in awe with their endearing love for each other.
Manik nodded his head with a fake smile to agree and I wanted to laugh out loud looking at him. He just wanted to get rid of them and more than them ME. He pulled in the fourth gear to quicken the span of madness. We reached Karjat in the next 20 minutes by which the couple asked all the possible questions they could about us. I happily answered all of them and Manik made ridiculous faces at every second question and gave even more awful glares at me on my answers. Finally we dropped the couple at their required destination and they happily bid goodbye to us wishing us a blissful family life.
I wished I could fix my head on the opposite direction and wouldn't have to meet his eyes. I was waiting for him to erupt at me like a volcano. I slowly turned and looked down but Manik didn't utter anything. When I looked up to meet his eyes I knew all was not well.
"Manik chalen..we are getting late", I said in a very soft tone.
"Lying has become second nature to you..how conveniently you lie and cook up stories..I am soo freaking amazed and then you want me to believe you huh!!!"
His reaction really annoyed me like hell. He really didn't have a funny bone in him. He had the capability to see the worst in the best. I only intended to lighten the mood and have some fun but no he had to pick on me at every given moment.
"Toh bol dete na..if you had so many problems why did you let it continue you should have told them the truth", I said in an irritated manner.
Manik looked at me straight to take a note of my annoyance while i frowned and then started the car with a jerk and vroomed to our destination.