HUMDUM- Laiba & Fahad

16| Dawat

[ROOM]
Fahad sat on the couch glancing at his phone while Laiba set up the bed.
She looked towards him.
'Suno..'
'Hmm?'

'Thank you..'
'Kis liye?' He asked keeping his phone aside.
'Aaj meray saath aane ke liye..aur hospital mein mera saath dene ke liye'

'Waise aap itne bure bhi nahi hai jitna maine socha tha.'
she said changing the pillow cover.

'Aap? AAP??' He said dramatically walking towards her.

'Matlab mohabbat ho gayi?'  he whispered taking the pillow from her hands.

'Aisa kuch nahi hai.'
Main bas yeh keh rahi thi ki aap..ek acche insaan hai.

'Hmmmm'  he sighed.
Waise yeh all of a sudden 'aap' kyun?
He questioned with a little smirk.

'Woh..ehsaas ho gaya hai mujhay'

'Kaisa ehsaas?'
'Ke aap umar mein mujhse itne bade hai aur bado ko izzat deni chahiye.'

Fahad slightly annoyed raised his eyebrows.
'Suno.
Yeh aap keh ne ki koi zarurat nahi hai..'tum' keh ke bhi bula sakti ho'

'Lekin kyuunn?' She asked teasingly.
'Bas keh diya' he said walking into the closet while Laiba chuckled.

[Malik House] 10 days later
Laiba
Amma baba had invited us on a dawat since a lot had happened during Eid and both the families couldn't meet. Baba was feeling a little better now but I was still angry because I had told them to not do so many preparations. But nobody listens to me in this house.

We exchange warm greetings as we enter the living room.
I went to Amma to help her with the kitchen.
The dining table was adorned with an array of dishes.We all sat down talking and enjoying the feast.

[LAIBA'S ROOM]
Fahad stood there looking at one of the books kept at the shelf.

'Tumhe andar aane ki ijazat kisne di?' He turned to look at Laiba standing at the door.

'Apni biwi ka kamra hai..aa sakta hoon'

She gave him a look.
'Amma bula rahi hai..neeche aao'
'Mujhay? Kyun?'

'Kheer banayi hai unhone! Apne ek laute damad ke liye. Aur jab tak aap aake nahi kha lete tab tak mujhay bhi nahi milegi! Isliye jaldi aao!'
He smiled.

[HALL]
Everyone sat in the hall as Zahra and Laiba served the kheer. Laiba notices Fahad continuously smiling at her. She takes a bowl from the tray to hand it to him.
His smile was annoying her as if he found something amusing about her serving him kheer.

'Lijiye' she said with a fake smile.
'Thank you' he said in the most appealing way his eyes still on her while she rolled her eyes.

JIYA
Bhabhi's house had this strange cozy feeling. Every corner seemed to have been carefully adorned with elements that radiated warmth and comfort. The soft hues of the walls, combined with the gentle lighting, created a soothing ambiance. My eyes were drawn to the photo frames put up on the wall near a table.
I looked at Zayd in those pictures.

'Yaar koi itna handsome kaise ho sakta hai?' I blurted to myself.
'Hello' I hear a voice form behind startling me. I turned back to see him standing in front of me. My eyes widened as he greeted me with a smile.

'Hi! I said trying not to look weird hoping that he didn't hear what I just said. I placed my hand nervously on the table accidently knocking over a vase.
It didn't break thank god. But I tried to keep it back in place.
God why are you so clumsy Jiya. I thought and smiled back. He tried to leave.

'Ghar bohot..acchha hai aapka' I said looking around trying to keep the conversation going.
He smiled.
'apka kamra kahan hai?'
Wait- Did I just say that out loud?? What was I even thinking??

'Huh?' he looked at me confused.
' bhabhi!!!..mera matlab bhabhi ka kamra kahan hai..woh..mil nahi rahi..kabse'

'Woh uh Laiba kitchen mein hai shayad'

'Thank you' I said leaving from there.
Why is it that every time he's in front of me I forget how to breathe and do stupid things?!

TIME SKIP (7 days)

LAIBA
I stepped into the room after a stroll at the garden. Fahad was immersed in his workout.
I went towards the closet to take out my clothes.

I kept it on the bed and looked at him. He was only in an undershirt.
This man has some good features. the chiseled arms, the broad shoulders, and the defined chest. I tried hard to not look at him.

'Dekh sakti ho waise' he said with a grin as he caught me. Shit.

'Main bas yeh soch rahi thi ke aaj itnaa workout kyun kar rahe ho?'
Kisse impress karne ki koshish ki jaa rahi hai?
I asked my arms folded.

'Apni wife ko' he said keeping the weights down.

'Please. That's- not - gonna- happen!'

'We'll see about that'
He said taking his towel.

'Oh hello? Kahan?.

'Shower?' He responded going towards the walk-in and I blocked his way.

'main jaa rahi hoon'

'Laiba yaar mujhay office ke liye late ho jayega'

'Toh tumhe kisne kahan tha workout karne ko?
Ab tum jao kamre se bahar. Mujhay jaana hai'
I said walking inside.

I felt his arms wrapped around my waist and my feet were above the ground. He lifted me effortlessly carrying me out of the closet.

'Fahad!!!!! Yeh kya harkat hai?! Utaro!
I shouted struggling to get down.

He smirked closing the door.
The audacity of this man! I hate him so muchh. Pagal. Besharam. Ughhh.

——————————————-

[DINING]
Laiba entered the dining talking to Jiya. She saw Fahad and glared at him remembering the early incident.
He looked at her while talking to Insia.

'Toh wapis kab aaoge?' Insia asked Fahad.
'Bhai kahin jaa rahe hai?' Jiya questioned.

'Haan agle hafte Islamabad jaa raha hai'
Laiba looked towards him as she serves herself breakfast.

'Fahad..tum Laiba ko saath le jao' Insia suggested.

'Shadi ke baad tum dono kahin bahir ghumne nahi jaa sake. You know it'll be like a honeymoon trip?'

They looked at each other awkwardly.
'Ammi-'
'Woh..' Laiba interrupted Fahad
Fahad wahan kaam ke liye jaa rahe hai..woh busy honge toh hum kabhi aur chale jayenge..

'Haan ammi Laiba theek keh rahi hai..'

'Theek hai..tum dono ko jab mann ho tum jao..' Insia agreed.
'Bhai aap dono Pakistan se kahin bahar jao honeymoon ke liye.'
Laiba sat there looking uncomfortable with the conversation.