Hello, sweethearts! Thank you so much for your likes and feedback on the first chapter! I left personalized feedback for everyone in previous posts. :) Chapter two is below!
Also, if you would like to receive updates, can you please let me know in a comment or in a PM? Sorry, I just don't want to bother people with updates if they don't specifically want a PM. Thank you. :)---
previous chapters: ch 1Chapter TwoGeet breathed in a sigh of happiness as she snuggled with Maan on his sofa in front of his enormous television. The simplest activities with him gave her pleasure -- sharing an ice cream cone, taking a walk, or watching a movie like they were now. She inhaled his masculine scent. How much she loved him couldn't be put into words.
Distracted, Maan was absentmindedly stroking Geet's hair. He had no idea what was going on in the film and couldn't care less. He was still bushed from the late night he had put in yesterday. On top of that, he couldn't help replaying the scene from breakfast this morning, when Geet had literally turned her back to him once he brought up marriage. The memory pricked at him like a nest of needles.
Suddenly, Maan's cell phone alerted him. Shifting slightly so that he could reach for it, Maan checked the screen. It was from Adi, a loyal friend and diligent member of Khurana Construction. Why was he calling so late?
"One sec, sweetheart," said Maan, extracting himself from Geet and pushing himself up from the sofa.
*Hurry back,* Geet pleaded in her head as she watched Maan's lean form walk away. She missed his touch already.
"Adi?" Maan answered, once he had enough distance from the blaring television. "What's going on? Everything okay with you? With Pinky?" Pinky, who also worked at Khurana Construction, was Adi's girlfriend. Maan and Geet often double dated with Adi and Pinky, and they all had shared several memorable trips and outings together as a group.
"Sorry for the late call, Maan," Adi replied enthusiastically. "I just had to give you the news."
"What news?"
"I'm getting married! To Pinky, of course. I asked her over dinner tonight and she said yes."
"Is -- is that right?" said Maan, his cell phone slipping slightly from his grip. A strange, unpleasant emotion began to wash over him. Was it . . . was it jealousy? No, it couldn't be that, could it? Maan Singh Khurana envied no one.
"Yes, that's right," Adi replied. Maan could almost hear his friend smiling through the phone. "I actually put the ring in a piece of cheesecake, her favorite. She, uh, well -- well, she actually almost ate it, but I stopped her just in time. Anyway, that's beside the point. Pinky was so happy, Maan. She started crying -- tears of joy, she promised -- and said that she had been waiting for this moment since she was a little girl. Everyone in the restaurant started clapping and everything. It was amazing."
Maan cleared his throat and forced himself to speak. "That is great, Adi. My heartiest congratulations to you both."
"Thanks, Maan," Adi replied, his voice louder and more cheerful than Maan had ever heard. "I was actually thinking that you, Geet, Pinky, and me should all go on a holiday trip. You know, to celebrate the engagement."
"A trip?" Maan said uneasily. "I don't know . . . . Work schedules and all . . . ." Even Maan knew that work wasn't the issue, though. It was that he'd have to watch his friend swooning over his bride-to-be, while Geet had obviously placed him in the not-husband-material camp.
"Just think about it and let me know when you get a chance," Adi said easily. He was obviously too elated to notice Maan's lack of enthusiasm. "I'll talk to you later. Gotta get back to my fiancee. I can't believe I get to say that now! My *fiancee.*"
At that, Maan could no longer deny that he was jealous.
After ending the call, Maan placed his palm on the island counter and stared into space. He was happy for his friend, he really was. Adi and Pinky made a wonderful pair. He couldn't help but recalling, however, that Adi and Pinky's courtship had begun *after* Maan and Geet had entered into a relationship. . . .
Geet was looking up at Maan expectantly when he returned to the sofa. He settled back into the cushions and pulled her into his arms. "Adi and Pinky are getting married, honey," he said.
Her mouth dropping open slightly, Geet took a moment to react. "Really? Wow! I know Pinky has been waiting a long time to get married."
*So have I,* Maan thought.
"What do you . . . what do you think about them getting married?" asked Maan, studying her carefully.
Geet bit her lip before responding. "I'm . . . I'm happy if they are happy. Now, I thought I heard you say something about a trip on the phone?" She hoped to stave Maan off from dragging her into a conversation about marriage. Didn't he see that she loved him too much to tie the knot with him?
Indeed, it was when relationships were fragile and unbound that two people remained committed -- when they walked the extra mile to keep a smile on the other person's face. Marriage only encouraged complacency, laziness, and taking the other person for granted. Just ask the four ex-husbands of her mother. Or just ask her father (wherever he was), who had obviously found marriage so unbearable that he had left Geet's mother even before Geet's birth. And it was not as if Maan and Geet had been dating for several years. What was the rush?
"Yes, well, Adi and Pinky want us to take a trip with them in celebration of their engagement." Maan spoke curtly, irritated at Geet redirecting the subject of marriage -- as she always did.
Geet sat up and clapped her hands together. "Oh, Maan Sir, we just *have* to go!" she cried.
"I told him I didn't know." Maan closed his eyes, feeling the height of fatigue. "Not sure if we can re-arrange work appointments and meetings on short notice."
"Oh, Maan Sir, please? It will be so much fun. I'm sure you can reschedule everything. You run the whole company, Maan Sir. Please?"
Maan opened his eyes to see a pout about to form on Geet's face. Usually, he would have been putty in her hands at that look. This time . . . .
Stealing a glance at the large grandfather clock in the foyer, Maan stood up. "I'll drive you home now. It's late." Geet's face fell into disappointment as she lifted herself up from her seat.
Grabbing Geet's cardigan from an oak coat rack, Maan slipped the sweater over her shoulders.
"Thank you, Maan Sir," Geet said politely, standing on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek. "You . . . you do want to go, don't you? On the trip?"
"To do what, celebrate someone else's engagement instead of my own?" Maan snapped. He immediately bit his tongue. He hadn't meant to answer so sharply. At least, not out loud.
Geet jumped slightly and then lowered her eyes to the ground. *Please, please, not another argument . . .* she wished in her heart. She absolutely loathed confrontation, especially with the man she loved.
Maan sighed and opened the heavy front doors. "Let's go, Geet," he said, leading them out to one his vehicles. Another long drive to Geet's apartment, another day of not being good enough to legally make her his own.
How long would Maan allow this to go on?
---
Thank you very much for reading! :)
Also, if you would like to receive updates, can you please let me know
in a comment or in a PM? I just don't want to bother anyone with an update unless they actually want to receive PMs. Thank you!
Edited by kumari3 - 10 years ago
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