The Balcony

Chapter 22

"So I'll meet you at the club at eight?"

Kajal nodded and then realized she was on the phone. She said, "Yes. Eight it is. See you then."

Naina wanted to go out and this club was really close to her office. She would be done with work by then. She smiled thinking about meeting her little sister again. It had been a while. She had moved back to the hostel and she hadn't seen her in a week.

At ten past eight, Kajal was sitting at the bar waiting with a glass of water in front of her. She exhaled and picked up her phone to text Naina. She got back a quick reply, "Soooorrry...Traffic! Be there in a jiffy!"

She set the phone down and slid her gaze on the table to see a worn out copy of one of her favourite books lying there with a silver bookmark popping out of it. She drew the book towards herself and flipped it open. She was well into the first chapter when she heard a voice next to her.

"I hope you're enjoying the book."

Without looking up, she replied, "Quite so."

The voice said, "Well I'm glad considering it's mine."

She blinked and looked up at the person sitting next to her. He was one of the more attractive guys she had seen lately. Dressed in a plain black biker jacket, white t-shirt and black jeans, he had sharp features and an even sharper gaze. She smiled at him apologetically and pushed the book towards him to say, "I'm sorry. I didn't know. I just saw it lying there and I was bored. Here you go."

He held up a hand in response and said, "No, no of course not! Please don't apologize. Readers are rare enough. A person who reads the same books as I is even rarer."

She smiled widely and said, "It is one of my favourites! Have you read his other books? This one's a whole series."

His eyes widened with joy as he said, "You don't say! No I didn't know. I picked this one up today at the airport. Are they all just as good?"

She nodded and replied, "Even better. This one honestly is not even his best."

He smiled directly at her and she felt a little uneasy. There was something really familiar about that smile. She asked uncertainly, "Have we met before?"

He took a sip of his drink and replied, "I don't think I would forget you. This is certainly our first encounter."

She turned and looked at the glass of water in front of her. He broke her train of thought and asked, "May I buy you a drink?"

She knew she shouldn't but she thought it was just one drink so she nodded sweetly. He looked at her drink and asked, "What are you having there?"

She giggled and answered, "Water."

He went, "Wow! You're all hardcore aren't you?"

She laughed and said, "I'm waiting for someone actually."

He ventured a guess, "Date?"

She placed her chin on her hands daintily and replied, "With my sister."

He flashed a grin at that and said, "Allow me to entertain you till then. What will you have?"

"Glass of white wine."

She thought to herself about what she was doing. She never entertained guys. Why was she doing this? He seemed interesting and he read the same books as her. That was not enough. Then she shut herself up by saying it was only a drink and she could easily say thank you very much and get out when Naina came. He probably wasn't from this city. There was no harm in having a polite conversation with a polite albeit attractive stranger.

She cracked a joke about the traffic and he started laughing. He then put a hand on the table and asked, "I am sorry. I have been rude. I didn't even introduce myself. I am Samrat. And you are?"

She was about to say her name when someone behind them did it for her instead. They both looked around and saw Vikramaditya standing there in his classic white shirt-black trousers and jacket get-up, frowning.

She gave him a nod and looked back at Samrat. He seemed to have a strange look of shock and utter amusement on his face. She frowned at him and asked, "What? Why are you looking at me like that? Kajal is not that uncommon a name, you know?"

He burst into laughter at that. She looked up at Vikramaditya in great confusion and tried to get an answer out of him. Being the mask of mysteries, he didn't offer any. She got irritated, poked Samrat in the arm and asked, "What is it?"

He resurfaced after the last bout of laughter and asked, "What are the odds of this happening, I ask?"

She pursed her lips and replied dryly, "I am unable to answer that as I don't know what the odds or the situation are."

With a big grin, he looked at Vikramaditya, gestured at her and questioned, "This is her, isn't it?"

She asked Samrat, "You know Vikramaditya?"

Samrat looped an arm around Vikramaditya's shoulders and said happily, "He's my brother."

She shook her head and looked heavenward. Why does she have to keep running into Thapar men? Was one not good enough that now there were two looking back at her, one with great amusement and one who looked like he had just downed a lemon?

Vikramaditya finally spoke, "Samrat, I suggest you go find us a table."

Samrat chuckled and Kajal realised why she found his smile similar. Both brothers had the exact same smile. He jumped off the stool and took a few steps before turning and coming back to stand in front of Kajal. He held out a hand and said, "I apologize for hitting on you. I didn't know you were "the Kajal.""

She shook his hand and flicked a look at Vikramaditya. She saw him rubbing his forehead with the tips of his fingers and muttering, "Samrat, the table will not find itself. Go make yourself useful."

He looked at her once more and said, "Lovely to finally meet you, Kajal." With great stress on the word "finally" and walked away, a permanent smile plastered on his face.

She leaned on the counter and looked at Vikramaditya who was now busy staring at the menu. She asked, "I assume my name has come up in conversation?"

He replied to the menu, "You can assume my brother is a world class idiot. You wouldn't be wrong."

She smiled, her stomach filled with unwanted butterflies knowing that she had made an impact for him to mention her to his brother. But she knew better than to trust these little joys. She picked up her glass and hopped off the stool. He asked her abruptly, "Where are you going?"

She looked at him and replied shortly, "I have to meet someone."

He looked at her with a kind of intensity in his dark eyes that she hadn't seen before. She walked away and waved at Samrat who was seated at one of the prime tables. He smiled the same grin that seemed to have implanted itself in her memory and refused to leave. She turned back to see Vikramaditya one last time and saw him sitting on the stool facing her. His eyes followed her as she walked over and hugged Naina who had just walked in. As she sat at the table, she sneaked another glance at him. He took a deep breath, removed his jacket and walked over to his brother.

Naina asked, "Who's the hottie?"

She smiled and shook her head to say, "No one."

Author's Note: Hello my lovely readers! I am back with one of my favourite chapters till date. You can probably see why. Spoiler alert: Chapter 23 is my favourite too! :P :) - S