Three days later

"Finally my precious Sunday has arrived." Nandini smiled as she over dramatically threw herself on her bed. "I can sleep till late in the morning. Oh my precious sleep!" She rolled on the bed, grinning. That was when her eyes landed on her table where the capsule ingredients were safely placed. She remembered that she had to make a stronger dose of those capsules. Throughout the week, she had a hard time staying in a closed space with him even with the capsules that she consumed in the interval of every three to fours hours.

*Beep Beep*

Her phone beeped, making her tear her gaze from her table to her phone placed on the bedside table. She crawled on her bed and reached for her phone.

"Boss"

The name flashed on her phone screen and she pouted. "I think I should change his name. Boss sounds too distinct." she said to herself before picking up the call.

"Yes sir. How may I help you?" she said, lying down on her bed.

"Nandini I have told you so many times you can simply call me Manik. We are now friends and moreover we are already off duty." he said from the other side of the phone and that made her giggle.

"Sir but-"

"Shall I start calling you Miss Taylor again?" he sounded a bit irked, she wasn't if he was though but it only made her smile wider.

"So you finally realize how irritating it was for me when you called me Miss Taylor?"

Ever since the beach incident their bond had grown significantly. He didn't hold back his smiles anymore with her around but time and again he still tried to put up a strong front.

"No, not at all. It's not one bit irritating." he denied. "What's in the name anyway?"

"Is it sir?" she said pressurizing the word ' sir ' a bit more than needed. "Then you should be okay with me calling you sir right?"

"Okay fine. I realized it." he gave in, a little too earlier than she thought he would. "Now call me by my name."

"Wow someone sounds really desperate." she said in a teasing tone and he huffed. She could picture his frowning face in her mind and that just made her giggle.

"I am not, Miss Taylor. And let me tell you, you could address me any way you want and I wouldn't care."

"Are you sure you really wouldn't care-" she paused with a huge grin on her face before adding, "Manik?!" The phone line fell silent for a while and she knew he had been grinning like a fool after hearing her call his name.

"Nandini." he paused.

"What?!" her grin just got wider.

"What are you doing right now?"

"Nothing." she rolled to the other side of her bed.

"Uh umm if you are free then-" she could clearly sense the hesitation in his voice.

"Then?"

"then would you like to hang out with me?"

"Hang out?" she looked at her wrist watch and it was almost 7 pm. "Right now?"

"Yeah right now. Eh, I just want to show you something."

"Show me something? What could it possibly be?" she sat upright and plopped out of her bed.

"I can not tell you on the phone. I'll show it to you instead."

"It's not anything work related right?" she joked.

"So smart of you to figure it out. Yeah it is work related." he said from the other side of the phone and her expression dropped.

"Really?"

"No idiot. Now will you come?"

"Ummm okay." she gave in.

"Okay then come down after getting ready. I am waiting." he said, smiling cheekily.

"What? You are downstairs. You haven't left yet." she reached up to the balcony with her phone pressed to her ears.

"Yeah. Come down fast." Manik waved at her from downstairs with his one free hand.

"It's been an hour since you dropped me home. Were you there the whole time?" she asked.

"Sorry to burst your bubble but I wasn't. I told you I had some work near here. I just finished that and came back here."

"Really?" she wasn't fully convinced.

"I swear I am not lying." she could see him raise his three fingers up in the air as though to showcase the sincerity behind his words.

"Okay then I'll pretend to believe you." she said even though she was now convinced.

"I am telling you it's the truth." his voice was firm.

"And I am also telling you I'll pretend to believe you." she tilted her head slightly, her gaze never for once leaving him.

"Okay then I'll pretend to believe you are not pretending to believe me." he said and that made her laugh. "Now come down fast."

"Okay give me five minutes." she said in between her laughter before hanging up and going inside.

He leaned on his car, grinning to himself as he looked at her balcony. A few minutes later his phone rang.

' Reyes uncle ' the name flashed on his phone screen. He picked up the call. "Hello."

"Hello Manik."

"Yes uncle."

"Did anything happen to Sia on Wednesday after our lunch?"

"Well I am not sure. I had some business to handle outside. Why? What happened?" he asked, curious. Sia hadn't come to the office for two days now and moreover her dad never called him to ask about her doings or whereabouts.

"She isn't herself lately. She gets too easily anxious and she's even been watching those paranormal stuffs that she avoids watching. I mean that's fine but she's just too highly obsessed with it these days to such an extent that she even refused to get out of her room saying she needs to figure this thing out."

"Figure what out?" he asked, curious.

"I don't know. She just wouldn't tell me anything. She just says it's too dangerous and that I shouldn't get involved."

"Uncle don't worry. I'll come to visit her tomorrow and try to talk with her." he tried assuring him.

"Okay then."

"Don't worry too much. Have a goodnight uncle." he said before hanging up. He leaned on his car. He was suddenly reminded of the incident from the parking lot.

"Manik." Nandini's voice broke his trance. He looked at her, only to smile. She had been wearing an oversize hood with ripped jeans. She hadn't been wearing anything special but still he couldn't take his eyes off her.

"Stop staring at me like that." she said as she reached up to him.

"I am not staring at you. I am staring at that quote of your hoodie. Kill them with success and burn them with a smile." he shrugged.

"Yeah yeah I'll pretend to believe that." she paused, stuffing her hands inside her pocket. "So where are we going??"

"Patience my lady patience." he said in a dramatic tone as he opened the car door for her. She couldn't help but laugh softly as she got in the passenger seat.

-

"Wow!" Nandini exclaimed in pure astonishment, seeing the star filled sky. She adjusted her position on the bonnet of the car. "It sure looks really good from here and the sound of the calm waves just makes it even more enchanting."

"Stargazing from here was my mum's idea though." he smiled. "Now whenever I come here I would not only be reminded of my mum but also you."

"Me?" she turned her head towards him and he smiled at her. "Yeah you. Beside my mum you are the first person with whom I came here."

Her heart raced at those words of his and she couldn't help but smile. That moment she wasn't just captivated by his scent but also he himself. He looked so mesmerizing that she couldn't take her eyes off him. That moment she knew she was doomed. She knew she couldn't stay ' just friends ' with him. This is bad.