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Part 1
"Ananya" Anita called for the umpteenth time until finally, Ananya practically rushed down the stairs. With her mobile placed on her ear and her bag hanging the other side, she literally stuffed the toast in her mouth and grabbed the coffee from the table and gulped it, trying hard to swallow the food down. The effort earned her a smack on the back from her mother and she promptly choked on the food and fell into a coughing fit. Anita hurriedly began patting her back and then lectured her on her bad food habits.
Sudhir kashyap ever so often peeked from the paper as he enjoyed the usual scene with his cup of green tea. Armaan as always sat on his seat, his head hidden behind a textbook. Sudhir fondly smiled at his family. After his retirement from the army all he had was his family& business. His daughter Ananya, a journalist, had to be ready at every beck and call. But nothing could ever get his daughter to wake up early. But she was a complete daddy's daughter and he was so proud of her. At 25 she was already acing at what she did. His son, was the more studious one and was planning to write his Medical entrance exam this year. Sudhir was sure he would get in. With Armaan's determination and zeal it was not hard. And his lovely wife who was so perfect in her role as a wife, a partner and a mother. He couldn't quite believe that it was their 27th anniversary today. He felt so blessed and at peace.
"When will we get a good morning without your mouth stuffed with food Ananya?" Sudhir teased his daughter.
"Not until Mom stops lecturing me. And papa-maa happy anniversary" Ananya said hugging her parents.
"Oye Armaan. How much will you torture yourself. Anyways, all who have plans this evening cancel it. We are having anniversary dinner at 'the place'. So I'll see you all in the evening. Bye love you. Ronnie's waiting for me." Ananya said in one breath as she rushed out of the house.
"I wonder how her in laws shall manage? If she'd have her way then they'd probably get breakfast at lunch. Well how will they get any. Ananya can't cook anything except Maggie and make rasna" Anita complained sitting beside her husband.
"Well then maybe we should search her a husband who can cook for the entire family or maybe he should hire a chef" Sudhir teased lovingly nudging his wife.
"Sudhir!!! You won't get it. I'm her mother. I should take care of all that. You've spoilt her anyway" Anita complained.
"Well I'm her father. And don't worry Ananya kashyap can do anything" Sudhir mimicked Ananya that earned him a laugh from Armaan and a smack from Anita.
Ananya hurriedly put on her blusher, praying continuously that the restaurant wouldn't shut down. Curse Manav sir, for holding her back with work. Kkn was a bundle of activities right now.
"So how do I look?" Ananya asked after getting ready in a knee length chiffon peach dress with a black belt and black boots and a peach clutch. Her face adorned minimal make-up and black studs highlighted her ears. Her hair gorgeously made as curls cascaded her shoulders.
"Beautiful as always." Sudhir complimented and Ananya kissed his cheeks.
"And you guys as always look gorgeous and so in sync." Ananya said looking at her parents dressed in black. Armaan wore a grey shirt with denims.
"Let's go people. We don't want the restaurant shutting down." Ananya half squealed-half yelled as she pushed them to the car.
After driving like a NASCAR racer, managing to give Anita a mini heart attack, Ananya managed to reach them in half the time. The regular 30 minutes road felt like less than 15 minutes. Ananya knew the restaurant possibly wouldn't shut down since the owner was their family friend and her dad's closest buddy. And even the menu was pre-decided. So probably they would wait for them. As they walked inside the almost deserted restaurant, a flush of embarrassment passed Ananya. There was one couple in the corner table getting up to leave. One of the staff upturned the sign which read opened to now closed. Pretty late. But the service was open to them.
As they were escorted to the table, Ananya took in the ambience of the place. She loved the soft music that played in the background .
Once they sat down they talked of the mundane things before the servers began serving the food. Until then Ananya who had been looking around the restaurant found a group of people sitting at the far end bar, all enjoying a beer. If Ananya wasn't wrong they were the staff. Few she recognised and few totally not familiar. Looked like the restaurant had hired new bunch of staff. One particular person caught her eyes. Wow, that guy is gorgeous, was her first thought. Then all of a sudden he was looking at her. She saw his eyes scan her and a little smile formed his face. They managed to hold their eye contact for longer than two minutes, until finally Ananya gave a little smirk and turned away.
She spooned herself some soup and the family laughed seeing her literally inhaling the food.
"What! I'm hungry" she quipped. Ananya's reply followed more laughs. After she finished her bowl of soup she served herself the biriyani.
Wow! What an aroma, she thought as the biriyani lurred her.
As she put a spoon of it in her mouth, she caught herself from moaning out loud. That was so goood. Every molecule of rice felt flavoured. It was simply delicious. Ananya had always loved the food here, but today felt different. There was something different about each dish. Maybe the new staff was the reason. Staff yes, that guy. She casually, yet carefully managed to turn her neck to see the guy and abruptly turned her face away. He was still staring at her. Ananya felt rather blushy. He was seriously gorgeous. Suddenly the group was getting up and the music had changed. A few of them were moving to the tunes. They looked like a fun bunch of people. The guy, yes that gorgeous one was still staring at her. She blushed when one of his friend looked her direction and nudged the guy. The guy just smirked. The staring game continued for a while until the guy slowly got up and started walking towards her causing Ananya's eyes to widen. But thankfully the guy sat 4 tables adjacent theirs. Ananya stared at her plate and inhaled and exhaled through her mouth trying to lessen the red of her cheeks. She lifted her eyes to see her brother smirking smugly at her, apparently making clear that he knew what was going on. Ananya tried to revert him by narrowing her eyes, while Armaan just smilingly looked away. Ananya turned her attention back to the guy and he still somehow managed to hold the contact. His eyes...She swore he could eye f**k. By the time they finished their dinner, the owner, Mr.kapoor and his wife had joined them, chit chatting with her parents. Ananya was oblivious to all, as she and the guy were lost in their own world. Two of his friends joined him and kept constantly distracting him. When one of his friend pulled his ear to get his attention and the guy scowled at him, Ananya tried hard to not laugh. The friends seemed satisfied when they saw her controlling her laugh. Suddenly Mr.kapoor gained her attention as he called out loud to someone and her eyes almost popped out of her sockets when the same guy walked towards them, his eyes completely on hers.
"Sudheer. Meet him. Our new chef Kabir Sharma. All the credits to today's delicacies goes to him. He was here early today so that he could make time to cook for you guys. Kabir this is Sudhir kashyap and his family." Mr. Kapoor did the introductions. Ananya looked over the table at Armaan, who slowly gave a thumps up sign at her and she glared at him. Kabir, the guy who now had a name, shook his hands with her dad and joined his hands in a Namaste at her mom. He shook his hands with Armaan and gave a small nod with a knowing smile to Ananya. Ananya tried not to blush and gave a curt nod at him. Her dad complimented his cooking so did her mom and brother and Mr. Kapoor proudly began telling more about Kabir. Ananya just tried hard not to stare and nodded every time she felt necessary. Her attention kept wavering to something someone was telling and looking at Kabir and then the group of people who seemingly were having a great time.
"Thank you sir. I'm glad I could make you happy with my food." Kabir said smiling at her dad. Shit! Ananya swore internally. His voice was so sexy. She squeezed her thighs tight to control the reactions of her lower regions.
"You know what you should actually come to this party I'm hosting on 26th next month.You could even bring your staff. We'll be glad to have you there." Her dad was saying to Kabir.
"Oh...we don't want to cause you trouble.", Kabir said looking at her dad and then at her. What was wrong with this guy Ananya thought making a face at him.
"No no. Infact we would be so glad. Please come." Her mom said him sweetly. Kabir looked at Ananya and she blinked her eyes.
"Sure ma'am. We'll be happy to join you guys." He told finally and Ananya internally rejoiced. He briefly gave a smile to Ananya and excused himself making his way back to his friends
After a while her dad and Mr. Kapoor got up calling Armaan with them to have their business talk. Her mom and Mrs. Kapoor continued their chit-chat asking her pointers whenever they felt necessary. Whenever Mrs. Kapoor gushed about her son, Ananya and Anita shared brief looks. This also meant that the staring game was on. Kabir called out to a few of his female friends and Ananya narrowed her eyes when they giggled excitedly and nodded their heads. All of a sudden a flock of girls made their way to her table and began talking to her. Two of the five were waitresses, Tina and Kristi respectively and the other two Saima, Nia were the assistant chefs and Shreya the manager.
After a few pleasantries Ananya decided she liked Shreya the most.Tina insisted she joined them and others followed.
"No no. I don't want to interfere.." Ananya said hesitating to join them.
"Oh come on. Nobody's gonna mind. They all are a bunch of welcoming people." Shreya assured her. Ananya was still hesitant until her mom and Mrs. Kapoor nudged her to join them.
"It's alright. Go on Ananya. I'm sure we're gonna take some time." Anita told her reassuringly. Ananya very well knew why her mom was being so adamant. They were probably gonna discuss a suitable prospective groom for her. After a hesitant second Ananya joined the girls.
"I'm glad you joined us. He'd be really sad if you hadn't." Shreya told her in a low voice, pointing out at Kabir and Ananya gave a small blushing smile.
As the girls giggled and took her to the group, Ananya saw Kabir's smile widen. Ananya swore her heart just thumped. He was definitely the most handsome guy she'd ever seen. The group rushed to greet her. Anil, Raj, Anshi, Vivek, Carl, Rohan, Annie and...kabir, Ananya made a mental note trying to remember every name. She greeted everyone, her eyes locking with Kabir's every minute. She had to agree they were seriously fun bunch of people. The guys flirting made her rather blushy and it worsened when Kabir glared at them.
"Well now it's time to meet our head. You know someone who's quite desperate and has been glaring holes at us for keeping you. Ananya meet Kabir. Kabir, Ananya." Vivek she recognized one of the guys who had been sitting with Kabir finally introduced them. The two individuals just looked at each other for a brief minute and shook out of their stupor when the others started clearing their throat.
"Hi" Ananya barely whispered forwarding her hand for a shake.
"Hey." Kabir said as if dazed and took her hand for a handshake. Ananya swore she felt a current pass her hand. When she saw Kabir look at their joined hands she was sure he felt it too.
"That's it???Hi and hello. With the way you guys were eye-f**king each other I thought you guys may jump each other on first sight." Annie told loudly earning a bunch of laughs. Ananya thought she'd never been so embarrassed in her entire life. Kabir too looked embarrassed as he awkwardly cleared his throat.
"Aahh...drink?" He asked her and the others hooted and clapped.
"Come on guys leave them alone now. Whose joining me for the next dance" Shreya's chirpy voice finally managed to take their attention away from them.
"Sure." Ananya said smiling and he guided her to the counter. They quietly sat on the stools beside each other and Ananya asked for a champagne, whereas Kabir settled for a beer.
Once with their drinks they fell into an easy conversation. Ananya told him about her job and family and Kabir filled her in about his. Kabir was supposedly an UK return, though he said he'd travelled the world.
"So England or India?" Ananya asked him sipping her champagne.
"Hmmm...I've not been in India long enough to say that yet. My parents along me and my elder brother moved to UK when I was three. So I've never really lived in India. And its just been two months since I've arrived and all I've done is work. I've barely had time for sight seeing. So for now...it would be England." He told her honestly.
"Have you been to England?" He asked her and she shook her head.
"I've been to the States, Australia too but I never had an opportunity to visit England. But I do have a few relatives living there. So hopefully lets see. But I love India. In the beginning my job demanded a lot of travelling. So I've been to most parts in India." She told him smiling.
"You should visit England. It's a beautiful country. Actually you know what I could be your tour guide to England and you could be mine for Mumbai." He told her grinning.
"Infact I'm free on the weekends. How about you show me around Mumbai. You know if you're not busy?" He added as an after thought and saw her thinking, before she shrugged.
"I don't mind. But Saturday's not possible. Would Sunday do?" She asked him sipping the last of her champagne.
"Perfect. Sunday it is then. What time should I pick you up?" He asked keeping his excitement in check as he refilled her glass.
"Oh don't take the trouble. Meet me at juhu beach. We can meet up there and head to other places." She told him taking her glass from him. Another glass of champagne, Ananya felt rather flushed. She found herself giggling at every little detail he was sharing. Their slight touches got flirty, but neither minded. Ananya found herself growing further attracted to him. He was charming, of course. But his honesty was sexy. His eyes actually spoke. He was not at all into flattery and she found that refreshing. She felt not wanting the night to end and rather wanted to keep talking to him. Their talks grew rather intimate as they began sharing opinions and aspirations. She felt as if she'd known him forever. His friends too seemed really nice and warm and made her feel completely welcomed. But as they say all good things had to come to an end, the night too ended when Armaan called her saying they were done and were waiting for her outside. Ananya bade her good byes to each one in the group. The girls hugged her and chatted with her for a few minutes finally leaving her behind with Kabir.
Kabir and Ananya just stood looking everywhere but each other not knowing what to say. Finally Ananya decided to break the silence.
"So I'll see you on Sunday. Sharp 10 A.M" Ananya told him slowly.
"10 A.M. Cool. I'll see you." He told her and cleared his throat. They attempted for an awkward hug, until finally, Ananya boldly put her hands around him and lightly hugged him. A surprised Kabir put his hands around her and pulled her closer. They stood silently enjoying the embrace. Ananya sucked in a harsh breath when she felt Kabir's breath on her ears. His lips gently touched the shell of her ear, dropping to her earlobe before he huskily whispered.
"Good night Ananya." He parted away from her and Ananya just stood dazed and nodded her head, not even trying to reply knowing she'd probably embarrass herself if she opened her mouth. They briefly walked out of the restaurant and Ananya joined her family. Her dad decided to drive the car looking at Ananya who looked seriously hazy. They bid everyone goodbye and finally drove away.
Kabir's eyes followed the car even after it was out of his vision.
"Kabir. The car's gone." He heard Shreya tell him and broke out of his stupor and looked at her embarrassed. His gang wolf whistled.
"Well I have something for you?" Shreya told him.
"What?" Kabir quizzed her.
"Something that you want but do not have." She said building the suspense further.
"Tell me." He demanded curiously.
"I will. If you promise me to make me that chocolate pudding of yours." She told him naughtily smiling.
"No I won't. Just tell me what it is." He said negligent.
"Okay. You'll regret anyway. I thought I'll be a good girl and give you Ananya's number in exchange of your dessert. But forget it now." She told him in a sad tone shrugging her shoulders.
"Wait you have Ananya's number?" He asked his eyes wide.
"What Ananya's number? Who said anything about number?" She told him playing dumb.
"Shreya don't play. Just give it to me." He literally begged her.
"You sound desperate. You seriously like her. Wow." Annie gushed earning several laughs.
"I will. But promise me the dessert and since you disagreed the first time as your punishment I also want that yummy mango salad." She told him smugly and Kabir internally groaned.
"Done" he said earning another bunch of laughter.
"Okay desperate boy. Here you go. Enjoy." She teased handing him the note, Ananya had given her.
' Since you didn't ask...
9XXX '
Kabir grinned reading the note. He quickly saved the number to his phone. He decided against a call and thought to text her instead. But when all of his friends peeked to his phone, he thought it had to wait for later.
As Kabir finally lied down on his bed he took out his phone.
Should I call her?
No what if she's sleeping?
What if she doesn't like it?
Come on man, she was the one who gave you the number.
Man up.
Maybe I should text her, just to be safe.
Finally after debating with himself he slowly typed a message.
Kabir : Hey. This is Kabir. Are you sleeping?
Ananya looked up from her novel as her phone buzzed. She picked her phone wondering who was texting her at this hour. When she read that it was his message she couldn't hold back her smile.
Ananya : Hey. Nope I'm not. Just reading. What are you doing?
Kabir : Thinking about you.
Ananya blushed. But she liked that he'd told her.
Ananya : Oh really? I hope good stuff.
Kabir : Ossom stuff. It actually slipped off my mind to ask your number. I'm glad you remembered.
Ananya : Huh. You should thank me.
Kabir : Thank you. But it costed me quite heavily. I need to feed Shreya my chocolate pudding and mango salad.
Ananya : Oh poor you. I hope its worth it.
Kabir : Totally worth. How did you like my food?
Ananya : I'm glad. I totally loved your food. If it wouldn't have been for decorum I would have moaned out loud. You're biriyani trust me could end wars.
Kabir : Thank you. I'm glad I could make you moan.
Ananya blushed reading his reply. That actually sounded like he'd made her... ...okay.
Ananya : hmmm. Will you be joining us for the party?
Kabir : I guess yes. If anything else doesn't come up at the last minute then definetely.
Ananya : You should come.
Kabir : Will you be disappointed if I didn't?
Ananya : my parents will be really disappointed.
Kabir : And...
Ananya : even Armaan too
Kabir : and...
Ananya : even Mr. Kapoor too.
Kabir : and what about you???
Ananya : maybe.
Kabir : I like maybe.
Ananya : I'm glad. Anyways I'll see you on Sunday. Good night chef.
Kabir : cya. Good night Ms. Reporter.
Kabir as he slept, thought about the smart and beautiful journalist with curls who involuntarily had made her entry into his heart.
Tada!!! Look who wrote a ss! This girl!! Okay okay this is not a long one. I've updated the 1/5 part of it. And don't worry about sooner updates. I've already written 3/5 of the parts. So now tell me how you found it through your likes and comments!!!!
INDEX:
PART 1 : Above
PART 2 : Page 3
PART 3 : Page 7
PART 4 : Page 7
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