𝘉𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘴

• 10 •

"....right Mr Maheshwari?"

Sameer came out of daze after hearing his name and just nodded in agreement not even bothering to know what he agreed for. He just knew that it was something to do with the share market. He was really exhausted and somehow stifling his yawns. At this point, he just wanted to go back home, change into his comfy and hit his bed to fall asleep, but he couldn't just leave this party abruptly, he needed a solid reason for that. That is why he made up an excuse of not feeling well and thanks to his stars, no one suspected it.

His driver Mohan pulled up the car in front of his house. Sameer came out of the car and asked Mohan to park the car in the garage and return to his quarters. He stepped towards the front door and was about to knock when he heard faint music followed by some jingling sounds of what seemed like bells. His eyes furrowed in confusion, 'Itni raat ko ghar mein koun naach gaana kar raha hai?'.

For a moment, he thought to check if it was his house only but the jingling sounds distracted him. Curiosity got better of him and using the spare keys, he unlocked the door. He stepped inside to see what was happening but froze at the sight in front of him.

All in her glory, Naina was dancing, her eyes closed, hands forming patterns which he couldn't decipher the meaning of, the bells tied at her ankles creating jingling sounds with her every foot movement, her hair flowing whenever she spun. Overall the sight was mesmerizing. The need for intruding her felt stupid to him as he watched her dancing without even caring about the world around her.

He didn't know for how long he stood there but immediately came out of the trance as the music stopped followed by Naina. As if sensing his presence, she turned instantly to see him. Her eyes met with his. They both were too stunned to say anything.

Naina's feet refused to move. God, for how long had he been standing there? Her eyes reflected nervousness while his, admiration. What? Admiration? Just when the thought passed through her mind, his demeanour changed welcoming back his cold gaze.

She felt embarrassed and moved her gaze to her feet. Both of them didn't know what to say. Sameer awkwardly cleared his throat and without saying anything, went upstairs in a haste.

Naina stood there watching him going upstairs and moved only after the sound of the door of his room being shut, fell into her ears. She heaved a deep breath and untied her Ghungroos. It wasn't like she had expected him to say anything but the awkwardness spreading around them was tough to deal with.

'Kar liya dance? Aur karo tension dur. Pata nahi kya soch rahe honge mere baare mein. Yahi ki kuchh din huye nhi aaye aur naach gana shuru kar diya...' She cursed herself although she was feeling relieved. She knew it was going to be much more difficult to face him tomorrow. Unplugging her phone from the music system, she went to check the kitchen once before switching off the lights and returned to her room.

Sameer was still in a daze of what happened downstairs and shook his head in an attempt to clear his mind only to rethink about it. Her dances moves were swirling in his mind in a slow-motion.

He had watched classical dance before in some cultural events or in TV and today was a whole new experience for him. Those which he had seen were professional dancers wearing heavy clothing and face full of makeup, but after watching her today, he could tell she looked much more fascinating as compared to them. She looked beautiful.

'Sameerrrrr get a grip on yourself. Dance hi toh tha bas' He mentally scolded himself for thinking too much about what he saw but failed. It wasn't like he felt attracted to her, but there was something, a sensation, even if it was for a second, which he couldn't comprehend.