Chapter 17.
They got out in the parking and Aditi was again hit by the scent of Neelgiri...It was so soft, subtle, floating in the night breeze. She closed her eyes and filled her lungs with the cool night air.
'Di...have you fallen asleep?', asked Madhu rolling her eyes. Aditi gave her an irritated look and joined her family to enter the restaurent.
They found the Sharmas already there. Aditi went to sit next to Kanta chachi. People ate and chatted. The dance floor was crowded. Nehal and Vicki looked extremely happy, holding each other's hands, basking in the love and attention. Aditi smiled happily...
Shaurya watched her from afar...taking her in. She looked so beautiful today...just like his Mahek.
*****
After dinner, the dances continued and there was a lull in conversation. Shaurya was standing outside finishing a phonecall when he noticed Aditi at the edge of the car park fence, staring at the dark wood beyond.
'Ms Shekhawat...', he called striding towards her. 'What are you doing here?'
'You don't have an opening in this fence here Mr Khanna..', she sounded disappointed. Then she looked at her saree in frustration.
'Can you please tell me what's the matter?', he asked again.
'There's a Neelgiri tree in there somewhere...I noticed the scent the first time I came here...', she said ignoring him, staring at wood. 'If only I could cross this fence....'
He stared at her amused. 'What tree? I can only smell petrol and diesel here Ms Shekhawat...'
She gave him an irritated look. Turning her back on him she tucked pallo of her saree at her waist. Then she tucked a part of her saree plates. That freed her arms and legs a bit. She was about to start climbing the fence when Shaurya pulled her back.
'Are you mad? This is not the time to go into dark woods hunting for weird trees, Ms Shekhawat. Let's go inside..'. He sounded annoyed. Crazy girl...
She looked at him in frustration and tapping his hand away turned to the fence again.
'I don't need your permission Mr Khanna....' She started to climb the fence. If he can't help, he can go to hell...
She felt his strong arm on her waist and with a jerk, she was lifted away from the fence and plomped on the ground.
'You are coming inside this instant...', he thundered as he released her.
'How dare you...You are not my father Mr Khanna...let me go...', she protested angrily. But he wasn't listening. Holding her hand firmly he untucked her pallo and straightened her saree. Then he turned and dragged her to the restaurent. She followed him furiously, trying to extricate her hand, looking back at the dark wood behind her.
As they reached the steps of the restaurent, he released her and waited there, planting his feet firmly on the ground, blocking her way back. They stood there glaring at each other.
Then she stomped her foot in anger and stormed inside to sit near her parents.
*****
The party waned slowly. Some people were already leaving, some people still continued to dance. Shaurya came near Aditi.
'May I have a dance Ms Shekhawat?', he asked holding out his hand.
'No', she replied curtly, turning her head away. Go away....
She was seething with anger. How dare he treat her like a child...Arrogant...impudent devil....
Karuna suddenly appeared out of nowhere. 'Go dance beta..You haven't danced today at all...', she said to Aditi.
Aditi felt trapped. She didn't want to dance with him. She looked at her father who was watching their exchange. He gave her a slight nod.
Unwillingly, she took Shaurya's hand and followed him to the dance floor.
There were few couples left dancing. The music that was peppy at the beginning of the party had turned slow and sensual. The lights were dimmed to give the floor a romantic feel. Nehal and Vicki were dancing in each other's arms, lost in each other's eyes, twirling slowly with the soft music.
Shaurya pulled Aditi closer and they started. She kept her distance, planting her hand firmly on his shoulder, locking it at her elbow. Her movements were rigid and she refused to look at him. Her other hand touching his was unresponsive.
Shaurya sighed. 'Ms Shekhawat...'
She ignored him and kept her eyes averted. Her nostrils flared angrily as she chewed on her lower lip. He looked amused.
They moved around awkwardly, she almost stamping on his foot couple of times.
'Fine...', he gave up exasperated, 'I'm sorry. I'll take you to see that tree tomorrow.'
Her face whirled to him.
'You will?', she asked, excited.
'Yes, I will. We can have lunch here and try to find the tree afterwards. Or we can take a picnic into the wood if you want.', he offered.
Her eyes widened with delight as a huge smile lit up her face. Her joy was so infectious, his face broke too into a grin.
As they twirled to the music, her body relaxed and she began to enjoy the dance. They swayed together, their bodies moving in tandem until the music stopped and it was time to go.
'Until tomorrow...Ms Shekhawat...Don't be late...', he said as he released her finally.
***** *****
Edited by monalidp - 5 years ago