𝘉𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘴

• 24 II •

This is a compensation for making you guys wait for so long.

Go on!
______________________________________________

It was past 11:30 yet the roads were as busy and active as it was evening. The whole city was illuminated with lights all over and the energy of people forged an alive atmosphere. Naina had only heard about Mumbai being named as the 'City that never sleeps' but had never gotten a chance to explore it and now she was out at this hour of the night with Sameer. This whole situation bubbled a sort of zing inside her.

Sameer glanced beside him at her. She sat gazing outside the window with a serene expression on her face. Right from when she had gotten to know about the internship, her face had been gleaming. She looked happy, her smile was literally reaching her eyes for the first time. Though she wasn't expressing it, he could tell how delighted she was.

"Kahan chalna hai?" He asked cutting the silence.

"Aap bataiye...mujhe toh thik se pata hi nahi hai yahan ki jagahon ke baare mein..." She replied looking at him.

"Bohot jagah hain...kuch chaat wagarah khaani hai toh batao, ya fir ice-cream bhi khaa sakte hain, or if you don't want to eat anything, uske liye bhi kaafi options hain..." He asked switching the gear.

"Umm...ice-cream khaane jaa sakte hain...?" It came out more as a question resulting in him creasing his brows, "Mujhse kya puchh rahi ho? Tum batao."

"Nahi agar aapko pasand nahi hai toh fir hum kahin aur chalenge..." She said in a soft voice.

He pursed his lips and spoke after a minute, "Hum yahan kiski wajah se aaye hain?"

She saw the car being pulled over to the side of the road and presumed he was angry. Adding more to the anxiety, he turned his gaze towards her with a blank expression on his face.

"Internship ki wajah se..." She answered in a hesitant tone. "Kiski?" He asked.

She nervously pointed at her herself. His expression eased, "Toh mujhse kyun pucha fir?" Not waiting for her reply, he continued, "Naina, hum friends hai na...tum jab chahe mujhse bina jhijhak ke kuch bhi keh sakti ho...kitni baar bola hai tumse." Her gaze remained still at her lap.

"Ab jab tak tum khud nahi bologi ki kahan jana hai...hum yahin baithenge..." He crossed his hands against his chest and looked at her through the corner of his vision.

The way he turned a blind eye to her ran a shudder down through her body. She got worried and instantly spoke, "Aap naraz mat hoiye...hum ice-cream khaane chalte hain..." Her naive tone made him drop his hands and she saw a smile breaking on his face. "Dekha, itna easy hota hai bolna...tum hi bina matlab ki tension leti ho. Ab chalo."

"Kahan?" Came her prompt reply.

"Ice-cream khaane." He shrugged. A frown appeared on her face as she looked outside to find any ice-cream parlor or vendor but none came into her vision except for a few shops and pedestrians. It was a local alley where further cars had been parked. Through the windshield, she found him already out of the car. "Bahar aao." He mouthed and she followed. Coming out, she asked, "Yahan toh koi ice cream wala nahi hai?"

He began to walk not before locking the car and replied, "I know. Yahan se thoda aage jaake ek bohot famous ice-cream parlor hai, but wahan parking ka kaafi problem rehta hai, isliye thoda walk karna padega."

She nodded and they both resumed walking in silence. His expressionless face made her presume his mood was still sore. Taking quick strides to match with his pace, she voiced out, "Aap abhi bhi gussa hain kya? I promise main aage se dhyan rakhungi." A smile broke onto his face at her naivety.