Burning Moon

Expectations

If that wasn't love, Tara didn't know what was. No way, she couldn't get the images of her dark and twisty boss out of her head; of Mr. Malik, carrying her through the cold, unlit streets of Mumbai, crying that she should please wake up, open her eyes and not leave him alone in this dog-eat-dog world.

Tara Seghal didn't claim to be a know-it-all, but she could tell that wasn't part of her employment contract, and it was not a mere humanitarian gesture. If he hadn't cried and called her name over and over with a lot of something she was fixated on, it could have passed for that. 

But he did, and now she knew her boss was in love with her. No one could blame a girl for thinking that. 

"Mr. Malik is definitely in love with me. Why does he try to act like he isn't?" Look, the annoying man hadn't even come to see her once after their return from the hospital. He had firmly sat in the car as Arjun and Ananya helped her down, dark sunshades over his eyes, his beautiful lips whispering something she didn't know.

Tara wondered if he was whispering her name. Perhaps, he didn't want to see her go? She tried to suppress the corners of her lips from rising but they refused to obey. Her smile came out so laden with self-serving happiness that she pressed her palms to her face and squealed like a five-year-old girl.

"He is in love with me."

Tara giggled while adjusting her form on the bed, her brown eyes fixated on the room parapet. There were butterflies in her stomach, joy everlasting at the thought that the man who had suddenly rocked her world with his gruffness and every shade of antisocial had actually been fronting for something so delicate as love. It was like a sixth-grade bully who vied for the attention of his crush. 

She was that crush. And she didn't necessarily hate it. In fact, one could say that she frankly welcomed it. Tara felt extremely desirable and fuzzy all at once, thoughts of Mr. Malik's smoldering, intense gaze and his infectious smile seeping into the corners of her heart.

That gaze and smile that was reserved only for her. Made and meant only for her. It excited her, just the thought that Mr. Malik would smile more at her, his eyes would follow her more openly than he did now. 

The more that Tara thought, the more she felt a rush of feeling course through her. There was a high possibility that the man thought of her more than he let on. Was he thinking of her right now? Was he wondering if she was okay, if she had eaten? Did he wonder if she thought of him too?

Tara wished he could appear in front of her so that she could reach out and touch his face with her fingers, palm caress his cheek and tell him that it was okay for his gaze to follow her and to smile at her if he desired to. This was the first time she was feeling this way and she knew what she was feeling. Tara could tell when her heart was soaring fast and heat and blood rushing to her cheeks and body when she thought of him.

She grabbed a pillow and pressed her face to it, inhaled the cottony scent. It couldn't compare to the Pour Homme cologne that Mr. Malik doused himself with, likely for her. Tara had spent all night asking Arjun and Raunak about the trail that he had left in his suit.

"Mr. Malik. My Mr. Dark and Twisty," she whispered, breathless, "I wish the moon quickly goes away. I want to meet you soon."

****************************************

Two other people watched her form from the doorway before quietly shutting it. 

After, Ananya turned to Arjun who had a thoughtful expression, no one knowing what he was thinking.

"You saw that right?"

"Hmm." Why he replied in the monosyllable was not something Ananya could answer. She needed more.

"Tara has feelings for Mr. Malik, not for you."

Her words must have reached the young man because he sighed and plopped onto an armchair by the door, fingers raking brown hair packed in a ponytail. His features were very handsome and at present, were a mix between relief and regret.

"Yes, I can tell Ananya. I guess it's better this way after all."

The younger woman shook her head and patted his shoulder.

"It is, Arjun. You are just too focused on your humanitarian aid in Yemen and you know that Tara doesn't need that type of life. You cannot give her what she wants."

"Yeah," he sighed again, "Besides, it seems that Mr. Malik isn't a bad choice at all."

"You are complimenting your competitor."

Arjun laughed, shaking his head.

"There is no competition here. I am half-hearted about commitment at best and can't prioritize Tara. Why am I competing? And besides," he slowly stood up, "he is good."

"Yeah."

"Looks good and tough enough to handle that Raunak."

"Ugh, don't tell me about it. You cannot do that."

"Alas, I don't have a spine."

His smile was so heartbroken that Ananya couldn't bear to watch it. She linked her arm with his and pulled him along.

"Okay, let's dead this and go to the kitchen for some food. The chef is cooking something up for your return."

"Oh, really? I hope there is a lot of fish."

"Of course. Tara prepared so much for you."

"Of course, she did." There's nothing that my Tara cannot do.

But he didn't say the latter part out loud. Would a man who had decided to renounce his feelings do such a thing?