Seven Days to Woo Randhir Singh Shekhawat

Day One: Part II

Day One: Part II

"Wanna bet?"

Randhir turned his face around in a 180 degree angle, as if he was waiting for something. Sanyukta could feel her heart flutter as she closed her eyes and leaned closer to him to close the gap. She didn't know why she was feeling this pull towards him, but she made a challenge (albeit it being an impulsive one) and she couldn't lose. She had to prove that Randhir would enjoy kissing her more.

"Listen Sanyukta," she heard Randhir say, forcing her to open her eyes in shock. "I know you're trying to find excuses to kiss me, but I don't want to abuse my mouth with mouthwash again."

Sanyukta's mouth fell open. The guts on this guy. She looked in the mirror of the bike and noticed that he was smirking.

"Don't think so highly of yourself - you aren't even that good-looking," she replied, annoyed by his behaviour.

"Says the girl who is just dying to kiss me right now," he retorted.

"I am not!" she said defiantly.

"I can see that," he responded, starting the bike again.

As they drove, Sanyukta felt hesitant to wrap her arms around Randhir's abs again, so she let them fall to the side.

"If you fall off and get hurt, you'll have to go to the hospital and we'll get caught, so hold on to me," Randhir told her sarcastically.

She frowned and wrapped her arms around his waist, resting her hands on the top of his thighs, without even realizing what she was doing.

The bike stopped again.

"Sanyukta, what is your problem? Get your hands off!" he snapped, sounding slightly nervous.

Sanyukta's mouth dropped open, affronted by his action.

"First you tell me to hold on, and when I do you tell me to let go? Are you mad?" she yelled, removing her arms from him.

"You're the mad one - don't pretend you're so innocent," he responded through gritted teeth. "You're doing all of this on purpose aren't you?"

Sanyukta then got off the bike and glared at him.

"I don't know why you keep on insulting me Randhir!" she shrieked. "If you want me to get off so badly why did you bother bringing me here?"

"Right, as if someone wasn't clinging on to me in the lab and telling me 'Oh Randhir, get me food or you're going to have to bear my assaults'."

Sanyukta felt blood rushing to her face as her anger built up. She grabbed his collar from the ground beside him and pulled him close to her.

"I did not do anything okay!" she screamed.

He glanced down at her hands on his shirt and looked back at her, raising an eyebrow.

"You are doing the same thing, and now, in the open, in front of everyone," he told her, with a slight smirk.

Sanyukta let go of him.

"Ugh, you're incorrigible! And for your kind information, nobody is here!"

"No Sanyukta, why don't you put your hand where it was before and see what happens," he teased, this time his eyes glinting.

She had no idea what he was talking about, so she got back on the bike and wrapped her arms around his waist, the same way she had just been doing so.

"I didn't mean to actually do it!" Randhir yelled.

Sanyukta glared daggers at his back, wishing that she could burn him with her eyes. She didn't know what problem he could have with her resting her hands on his thighs - it wasn't like she was doing anything inappropriate... or was she? The colour drained from her face as she pulled her hand back immediately, finally realizing what Randhir meant... her hand wasn't only on his thigh.

"I... uh... it was an accident," she said, embarrassed. Her cheeks were red.

Randhir glared at her through the mirror.

"You should be put behind bars," he told her, "That was non-consensual!"

She blushed even harder, feeling her heart beat faster.

"Uh... food Randhir, can we please get food?" she asked awkwardly.

She was so nervous as he drove the bike that she tried to hide her face from the mirror. She pressed her face onto his shoulder to cover her eyes and not have to bear looking at him. He didn't say a word this time. Then she remembered that this was hisshoulder.

Why is it that everytime I want to avoid him, I end up subconsciously being pulled towards him? she asked herself, her heart hammering.

"We're here," he finally said, stopping the bike.

She looked up. They were outside a dhaba, a roadside restaurant.

Randhir turned off the engine and Sanyukta used his shoulders as an aid to get off the bike. They entered the dhaba together and they sat down on wooden chairs in front of each other. There was a small wooden table in between them.

"Have you been to a dhaba before?" Randhir asked her casually.

She shook her head. Her family always considered dhabas too low class for their taste, but she had always wanted to go to one. She wasn't going to tell Randhir about that though.

"I'm guessing you have?" she asked him curiously.

He looked down and smiled sadly, as if he was remembering something.

"The first time I came to one was with my mom when I was eight. She had to go to Delhi and dad wasn't able to take care of me so she took me with her... we had dinner here."

Sanyukta instinctively reached out to hold his hand, which was resting on the table. He looked up, as if he was surprised by what she was doing.

Sanyukta still couldn't forget how Randhir's parents divorce news had shattered him. She couldn't get the memory of a fragile, emotionally vulnerable Randhir, clinging on to her for support, out of her head.

"So what do you want to order?" she quickly said, trying to change the subject. "I don't know what they have here... you can order for me."

"Alright," Randhir said, holding his hand up and signalling a waiter to come and take their order. "Bhaiya, two plates of chole bhature."

The waiter nodded and walked away from the duo.

"I'm starving," Sanyukta informed him, her belly rumbling.

"You aren't the only one Sanyukta," Randhir retorted, irritation evident in his voice. "Food's coming, calm down."

"So tell me," she said, trying to divert their focus from hunger, "Why do I affect you so much?"

"You have no shame do you?" Randhir asked, his eyes boring into hers. "Behave like a woman!"

"You MCP, you're such a hypocrite!" Sanyukta argued, frustrated.

"This is why I call you farzi. Girls don't talk about this stuff, but I'm a guy, I can talk to my hearts extent and nobody will judge me," he said, rolling his eyes and leaning back in his chair.

Before she could respond, the waiter brought their chole bhature, and Sanyukta completely forgot about what they were talking about. She wanted to gobble all of it down at once.

They both began to eat in silence, and when they were done Sanyukta frowned. "I want more!" she exclaimed, still starving.

Randhir, who seemed to agree, called the waiter again and asked for two more plates. Once they were done their second plate, they sat back, feeling full.

"Should we head back?" Sanyukta asked him.

"And sneak past the guards again?" Randhir questioned. "Listen, there are a few hours until morning and then the security will be gone too. Let's not risk it."

She looked down at her watch. It was 1:30 in the morning.

"What will we do?" she asked him, yawning. "I'm tired Randhir."

Randhir just ignored her and looked around for the waiter.

"Bhaiya, two cups of tea please," Randhir instructed to the waiter, who had come to pick up their plates.

He came out carrying two cups of tea immediately before setting the clay cups down on their table and disappearing to another room. Other than Randhir and Sanyukta, nobody else was in the dhaba anymore.

Sanyukta sipped her tea quietly. She was really tired, and they would need to wake up early in the morning to continue working on their project too.

The sound of clay hitting the floor startled her and jerked her out of her thoughts. Randhir had spilled his tea.

"Oh my god, are you okay?" she asked, running towards him and making sure the tea didn't spill all over him.

He nodded. "I'm fine, go back and finish your tea."

"Don't tell me what to do," she argued, folding her arms. "Get yourself another cup of tea, I don't want you to fall asleep while driving me back."

"Give me yours," he said with a smirk.

"What?" she asked, confused. "Why? Can't you order another one?"

"What can I say, I'm in the mood to share," he said, naughtily.

Sanyukta suddenly got a strange feeling that Randhir dropped his cup on purpose. Butshare? Why did he even want to share with her?

"Why?" she asked sternly.

"Not every question has an answer Sanyukta, now come and sit beside me," he said.

She was too tired to argue, so she just obeyed. She got up and tried to move her chair, but it was too heavy for her to carry.

"These chairs don't move," she told him, trying to hide the fact that she was too weak to carry it. "Guess I can't come there."

"You can sit here Sanyukta," Randhir told her, pointing at his lap.

Her mouth dropped open this time.

"Randhir I have standards... and sitting on your lap, in public - NO!"

"You will in private?" he smirked, "Then come on, sit down. Nobody's here."

She could feel a strong blush take over her face. She didn't know why she wanted to sit on his lap, but she felt pulled towards it. Gulping nervously, she walked over to him, and just as she was about to sit on his lap, he pushed the chair back, causing her to fall on the ground.

"Ouch!"

She saw Randhir sneering from over her. Her hands balled into fists. Why did she even expect anything from him! She got up angrily and grabbed his shirt again - she didn't know what her fascination was with grabbing his shirt, but it was her immediate reaction every single time she got angry at him.

"You bloody MCP!" she yelled.

Randhir grabbed her arm with one hand and covered her mouth with the other one before glancing towards the room where the waiter had disappeared.

"Shush farzi, someone will hear," he whispered into her ear, causing her to shiver.

She looked into his eyes, suddenly feeling herself get lost. Her knees felt weak, he was so close to her. The feeling of his hand against her lips had goosebumps erupt all over her body.

He let go of her as quickly as he had held her, causing her to stumble back. She didn't know what was happening to her. Suddenly, she remembered that she had to make him fall for her. She nearly slapped herself with frustration - she had completely forgotten that she had to execute her plan.

She sat back down and was about to sip her tea when she remembered something that she had heard - if a boy and a girl ate from the same dish, then love would blossom. Of course, Sanyukta was already protected from the love bug, because she knew about her plan, but Randhir didn't.

She stood up again and walked over to him. "Randhir... I feel bad for arguing with you," she apologized, not meaning a word of it.

He raised his eyebrow at her, clearly she was not convincing enough.

"I am serious," she told him, trying to sound as genuine as possible. "I want you to know that I won't bother you anymore... anything you ask me to do for the task, I will, because you're the most intelligent after all."

He still looked like he didn't believe her.

She picked up her tea and held it out for him.

"Please have this," she told him, trying to sound apologetic.

He looked scared of the tea.

"I'll get my own if you want me to stay awake," he told her, clearly suspecting her.

"No Randhir! Please have it. I hate wasting and I'm so full, I can't take anymore!"

He got up from the table and took out his wallet. He placed a thousand rupee note on the table.

"Come on, let's go then," he said, grabbing her arm.

She gulped down the rest of her tea and put the cup down on the table. So much for her plan.

He lead her outside and glared at her suspiciously.

"What were your intentions?" he asked her.

Sanyukta put on her most innocent face.

"N - nothing Randhir! I had no intentions. Are we going back to FITE now?" she said, trying to change the topic.

He continued to look at her suspiciously.

"No... we have three hours to kill. Come on, let's go for a walk," he told her and grabbed her hand, as if it was normal for him to do so.

She pulled her hand away and walked beside him, suddenly finding his behaviour very suspicious.

"Why are you behaving strangely?" she asked him, unable to help herself. "I mean, you just held my hand!"

"Coming from the girl who was ready to kiss me and sit on my lap," Randhir retorted. "Farzi, understand that I have no interest in you."

He didn't have any interest in her? Why did that make her feel bad? Wait... this was the point of the seven days, to make him fall for her. She smirked to herself. Randhir Singh Shekhawat, just wait... the next seven days will change the entire way you look at me.

"I have no interest in you either," she replied quickly.

He ignored her and they continued to walk in silence for a while. But it wasn't an awkward silence, it was a rather comfortable one.

"Why did you push that chair back?" she suddenly asked, breaking the silence between them.

He glanced at her, looking amused.

"You told me that the chairs were stuck to the ground. What could be a more fun way to prove you wrong?" he answered. "Besides... I didn't think you were seriously going to come and sit on my lap. Why did you?"

She looked forward again and continued to blush, unsure of why she was always so drawn to this guy.

"I told you, I'd listen to anything you'd say," she replied, trying to justify herself with a lie.

If she could portray herself as a sweet girl who would listen to everything he said, then perhaps he would fall for her more quickly. After all, Randhir was a chauvinist and this was what chauvinists liked.

Randhir stopped walking and turned around to face her, suddenly looking angry.

"You're serious?" he asked her, grabbing her arms, fury in his eyes.

She didn't know why he got angry all of a sudden. She gulped, her hands starting to get sweaty.

"Yes, anything," she breathed out, unable to talk properly with him holding her like this.

"Kiss me," he commanded.

Her jaw dropped. Just because she said she would do anything, didn't mean that he would actually ask her to do anything!

"No!" she replied violently, and shrugged her arms off him.

He smirked, as if that was what he was expecting all along. Then he continued to walk forward as she followed him.

He was a man of mysteries. He confused her sometimes. When she tried to be the kind of girl a typical chauvinist would like, he would get angry, and when she behaved normally... he would still get angry at her. She didn't know what it was he wanted.

"Randhir," Sanyukta said, after a few moments, deciding that she had no option left. "What type of girl do you like?"

"Why do you want to know?" he asked, clearly wondering what she was up to next.

Randhir made his way towards a bench in an empty park and sat down on it, Sanyukta following his lead. The moon shone above in the night sky and crickets chirped. Other than that, the only sound that could be heard was Randhir and Sanyukta's breathing.

"I was just wondering," she replied, "I wanted to know what kind of girls MCP's liked."

Randhir turned his body towards her and Sanyukta turned hers towards his. Both of them were sitting really close to each other.

Sanyukta almost didn't even notice Randhir brush his fingers on her lap, and she wouldn't have if her body hadn't reacted in a way that craved for more.

"I like girls who make an effort to look nice, who are soft-spoken, and who do not argue," he replied, his voice barely audible.

Was he feeling the same way she was feeling?

"Oh, so the opposite of me?" she replied, trying to sound normal, but her breathing was getting heavier.

Dammit, was this what attraction was? She had felt this towards Randhir for a long time, and it frustrated her because she wanted to make him fall for her, and she didn't want the plan to backfire on herself. Wait, backfire? Of course not. She had no feelings for Randhir Singh Shekhawat and she had to make sure it stayed that way.

She glanced down at his lips. They looked so soft, so kissable, and this force was pulling her towards them, but she was trying to hold herself back. Why was her whole body filled with desire? Why did she want to kiss him? Memories of the kiss from the previous year flooded her mind, and it wasn't making any of this better.

He flattened his hand on her thigh and gently moved it upwards, causing her to inhale sharply. What was going on?

Her hand reached out and rested over his chest as both of them closed their eyes and leaned forward.