Stars | completed

36. Home Again

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name: Home Again
word count: 3200 words
published on: 28th Jan, 2020

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N A N D I N I

God.

I bit my lower lip, trying not to stare at Manik's back that faced me. When I'd seen Manik five years ago, he was still amongst the tall and muscular men, but now, he was more toned. He had put up at the right places and his torso was more built– okay, I need to stop.

Manik staying over was a horrible idea.

I mean, I definitely needed the assurance of safety after what happened and I am relaxed only now after knowing I wasn't alone, being haunted by the ghost of my best friend. And not to forget, when Manik was around, it was difficult to concentrate on anything except him.

So all the tension and fear just evaporated.

But, what made this a horrible idea was how good he looked. I had met him days ago, but it was only now that I could actually stare at everything that had changed in him.

His hair was a little longer than he used to maintain it.

His clean shave now has a stubble.

His definitely looked more stronger in the way you could see the veins on his arms popping out prominently.

And not to forget, the biceps he had made. Damn, they were every girl's weakness.

Not that I wanted Manik's biceps to be every girl's weakness, but if every girl knew him, they'd definitely be every girl's weakness. Not that I'd like every girl knowing Manik. Just hypothetically.

And, to add to everything, there was a certain tension between us.

Not the kind of tension that gives you stress or anxiety, but the one that rises butterflies in my stomach every time he looks at me with a half smile, or when he makes a smug expression or when he winks, or leave it all alone... everytime he just looks at me.

Dare I call it sexual tension, but that was exactly what it was.

Okay, I need to seriously stop.

I tried to bury those thoughts before they find a permanent place in my head. I and Manik had a long way to go.

Just starting afresh didn't mean everything was fine between us. We had to learn to take small steps towards each other and trust each other again. Just love is not enough to work a relationship. And, we were not in a relationship.

This was more like a promise of commitment.

We had both been through terrible things. Only listening about what happened to Inaaya– God, everytime I think about her, I feel a void inside me. An empty space, exactly how I felt when I lost Abhi, which I hated feeling. So, I wanted to avoid her death we much as I could, and I tried not housing those thoughts in mind.

"You're lost today, more than usual," I heard Manik say and I realised he was done cooking whatever he was in the kitchen as he walked towards me.

I quickly pulled out a small smile, nodding negatively, "Just thinking about... stuff."

"The last time I checked, my name is notstuff," he smirked.

"Yes," I smile back, "Because I was not thinking about you."