TS: Jealousy

Part 1: Naina's Jealousy

"Naina Agarwal!" Sameer's voice was more of a command now, as he desperately tried to make Naina stop. But Naina was seething with anger. She continued to walk on rapidly as Sameer tried to catch up with her. "Naina...hum baakiyon se door ja rahe hain!" he shouted again, but to no avail. Sameer knew he'd signed up for trouble. The problem was he didn't know how! Finally, he sprinted and came right besides her. "Naina! Ruko toh! Kabse bula raha hun!" Sameer panted as he placed his hands on her shoulders in an attempt to stop her. Naina looked at him, her eyes breathing fire as she jerked herself free from his hold. "Mujhe kahin nahi jaana...tum kyun aa rahe ho piche...jao yahaan se!" she snapped. "Nahi jaunga tumhe chod ke...chalo wapis...bus nikal jayegi! Naina! Naina!" But his request fell on deaf ears. Sameer gave one last look at the bus in the distance, knowing it might start soon. And then at Naina, hell-bent on going the other way! "Girls! They are impossible!" Sameer shrugged to himself irritatedly as he ran behind Naina again. If they were going to miss the bus, he better be besides her.

After a while, Sameer again cornered Naina against a tree. "Ruko abhi! Bolo kya hua hai?" he enquired. Naina looked the other way, her hands crossed in her front. Sameer rolled his eyes. This girl could be as stubborn as her father and he hardly ever liked it when she reminded him of his to-be sasur. Over their 3 years of togetherness, Sameer had seen multiple shades of Naina's character. And needless to say, this one wasn't especially his favourite. But then he also knew how to tackle her when she was in a mood to bite. His lips broke into a seductive smile, as he looked at her intently, and tuck a lone strand of hair behind her ear. The sudden touch unsettled Naina. Satisfied, Sameer now traced his fingers against her cheek and lowered his face to kiss it. But sensing his intentions, Naina immediately slipped under from his hold. She wasn't going to let him off the hook so easily. She stood a few inches away, her focus apparently on the nails of her fingers, while she waited for Sameer's apology.

"It's not going to be easy this time," thought Sameer, "zyada hi naraaz hai!" He ambled over to her meaningfully and wrapped his arms around her from the back, and nuzzled his face against her neck. He sure knew the sweet spots of women. Naina didn't respond to his touch- at least apparently. Though she made no attempt to move away from him, she continued to remain interested in her hands. Sameer grabbed the hand she was eyeing and kissed it. "Jaanta hun...bahot khoobsurat hain tumhare haath...par kitna dekhogi inhe....ek nazar is deewane ko bhi to dekh lo...," he uttered flirtatiously. Naina again shrugged him off. "Jaanu...darling!' he called her. And then, "sama hai suhaana suhaana...nashe mein jahaan hain...kisi ko kisi ki khabar hi kahaan hai...," Sameer started singing much to her irritation. Sameer again went behind her and asked now as softly as he could, "kya hua jaanu? Dekho kitna acha mausam ho raha hai...hum dono akele hain...wo bhi Manali ke khoobsurat hill station mein! Aur tum aise naraaz...dekho bus bhi nikal gayi...chaho to abhi bhi bus pakad sakte hain...raat hone se pehle!" "Mujhe nahi pakadni bus vus! Tum jao," Naina replied tartly. "Aise kaise jaun apni Nainu ko chod ke...?" Sameer replied sweetly. "Chalo thoda ghum ke aate hain!" he said and without waiting for a response, grabbed her hand and led her towards the market area.

Dusk turned to twilight, when Sameer realized there was no hope left of catching up with their class today. He better find an accommodation to spend the night now. Sameer dragged Naina along with him to every hotel they went, but seeing the young couple, most of the hotel owners denied accommodation to them, sensing they were unmarried. Naina's aloofness didn't help matters anyhow. By now, Sameer was also getting irriated. After many failed attempts, the owner of a small inn relented, and gave them the only room available. Sameer thanked him heartily as he took the keys. Before Naina could start arguing again, he held her hand and ushered her inside the room.

Naina and Sameer forgot their fight as they looked at the room in astonishment. "What was this place? They call this a room?" Naina blurted out. There was a dilapidated bed in a corner of the room, covered with not so clean sheets. An aged wooden table was propped against the window, which had a glass pane or two cracked. As Sameer tried to turn on the bedside lamps, he found only one was working. Thankfully the washrooms were comparatively clean and in working order. The weird thing was, heaps of dried hay were piled into a corner of the room, covered by a tattered bedsheet. "Ye room hai ya tabela!" Sameer spoke helplessly as he propped himself onto the bed. "Tum jao apne room mein...mujhe tumse baat nahi karni!" Naina said, regaining her angry stance. "Wo actually kya hai na Naina madam....room ek hi hai...aur chahe aap gussa ho merese...par adjust kar lo yaar ek raat...ab bus bhi tumhari wajah se hi to miss huyi hai na...," Sameer replied coolly, not in a mood to placate her anymore. The thought of sharing a room with Sameer, all alone made Naina go pink in the cheeks. For the first time since evening, she was regretting that they'd missed the college picnic bus.