5:00pm, Bangalore-Goa Highway, near Karwar.

"Hey! What the hell are you doing?" Nandini screamed.

"What now?" I asked, annoyed.

I had been driving for a long time...but because of my injury, I had refrained from going too fast. Consequently, the driving time to Goa had increased-that meant spending even more time with Nandini, which I didn't know if I was happy or sad about.

"Why are you veering towards the right side? We have to take a left from this road!" She said.

"No! I think we have to take a right, so I'm taking a right!" I said. The left side looked like an abandoned and unkempt forest. There was no way that was the main road!

"Manik, we have to take a left! I've been to Goa before! I know the way!" She exclaimed.

"What? You think I haven't been there before? Fab Five's played there so many times." I replied.

"And may I ask, how did you get from Mumbai to Goa?" She asked sarcastically.

"On my dad's private jet..." I said guiltily.

"Exactly! You might have gone there multiple times but you don't know the way, do you? I've been to Goa before on a school trip and my class went by bus, so we used this route itself. Trust me! We have to take a left!" She said, irritated.

"Listen! I don't trust women's sense of direction...they're horrible drivers themselves and they're awful with directions too! Nope, there's absolutely no way I'm going into some dense forest just because you think you know the way!" I argued.

"Fine! You won't listen, right? Get ready to drive for a number of extra hours! Anyway, you don't care if your wound is infected, right? I thought we'd get some medicines after reaching Goa in the next few hours...but why would you listen to me?" She said angrily.

It felt good to see that she still cared about my well-being but I was upset with her because she questioned me about my father's death. How do I explain it to her? How do I tell her what a sociopath Nyonika is? Would someone as simple and innocent as her ever understand the dysfunctional nature of my family? No! It was better this way! The less she knew, the better.

I took a right turn at the fork, but within five minutes I regretted my decision. The road was narrow, untarred and didn't look like the main highway at all! Shit! I should have listened to her!

I still drove along maintaining a confident countenance, but all of a sudden I heard a loud sound and the car came to a screeching halt. I tried to restart the car, but it refused.

"Wow Mr. Malhotra mujhe nahin pata tha ki highway ka raasta itna achcha hota hain!" She chuckled. "I told you to take a left!"

I opened the car door and stepped outside to have a look at what had gone wrong.

"If you can't help out then don't talk! I don't need this right now! We are in enough of a pickle as it is!" I shouted at her.

I bent down to have a look at the tires and found all of them to be in perfect condition.

Shit! Don't tell me something has gone wrong with the engine!

As soon as I opened the bonnet of the car to check the engine, there was a huge cloud of smoke and I started coughing as a result. It looked like the engine was failing and I didn't have the first clue as to how to fix it.

Nandini came out of the car as she saw this and said, "Manik, let me have a look!"

What? What would she even do after looking at the engine? Even I was out of my depth here.

"Manik, I took an automobile engineering workshop in my second year of college! Let me have a look! Maybe I can fix it!" She said, managing to surprise me yet again. She knew about the internal mechanics of cars? She's so different from the dainty little dolls I've dated over the last few years!

She slid past me and immediately started inspecting the contents of the bonnet. She twisted her hair into a bun and started checking the individual parts separately. I stared at her silently as she continued her work. She had the sweat of exertion on her forehead as she bent down to check the battery. As she lunged forward, her crop top, rose upwards further exposing her milky-skinned waste. Her top clung to her body in all the right places enhancing her curves. A lock of hair fell over her face obstructing her view partially.

Until now, I had only noticed her beauty and sweetness. But after seeing Nandini like this I had to admit-she was hot! Watching any girl fix a car was intriguing, but if she was as attractive as Nandini, it was definitely a more pleasurable sight!

"Your battery is completely fried...we need to remove it and get a new one immediately, before it starts leaking." She said, bringing me out of my fantasy land.

"Well, how do we do that?" I asked, regaining my dignity.

"I saw a tool box in the boot of the car. Get it...it must have a wrench which can help me remove the nuts and bolts." She said in an authoritative voice.

I immediately ran to the back and got the toolbox for her. As soon as she opened the box, and took out the appropriate wrench, I let out a gasp of shock.

The wrench was so large, that its length was almost half of her height. She struggled to pick it up due to its weight. There was no way in hell I was going to let her use that! What if she dropped it and hurt herself?

"Nandini, give me the wrench and tell me how to unscrew it! It's too heavy for you!" I said, giving her a hand with the tool.

"Manik, leave it! I've got this! Have you ever done any chores before? No, right? Then just let me handle it!" She shouted.

"Nandini, you can barely hold this thing up! If you end up hurting yourself, you'll just create more problems for me!" I screamed back as I attempted to pull the wrench towards myself.

"Excuse me, Mr. Manik Malhotra! You're the problem and I'm your solution, so let me help you!" She said and yanked the wrench towards her side.

Neither of us gave up on our mission to possess the wrench resulting in a tug-of-war match between us! After a few seconds, she pulled the wrench in such a direction, that I lost my balance, falling straight into a pool of wet mud, at the side of the road.

All my clothes were ruined and my entire lower body was covered with muck. I looked up to see her having a hearty laugh at my current situation.

"Aaww Manik, lagi toh nahin na?" She asked chuckling.

"You think this is funny?" I asked, in anger. I absolutely hated being laughed at!

"Haan...obviously!" She said and continued to laugh keeping the wrench on the ground.

Suddenly a cunning idea popped into my head, to teach her a lesson.

"Listen, instead of laughing at least you can help me up! The mud is too sticky!" I said, trying to sound distressed.

"For the first time the Manik Malhotra is asking for help, so how can I refuse?" She said, in a proud voice.

She came close to me and bent down extending a hand to me.

I immediately got hold of her hand and pulled her into the mud along with me! To say that she was shocked, would be an understatement! I immediately flipped our positions so that she was entirely trapped below me. I immediately took some mud and rubbed it on her face laughing cheekily.

"Manik! What are you doing?!" She screamed.

But I wasn't going to let her off that easy! I continued to apply mud on her arms when she decided to retaliate. She picked up some muck with her hands and flicked it at my cheek. This caused me to make a countermove yet again by throwing some mud on her neck. We continued fighting like juveniles for several minutes before I finally got a hold of her hands.

As she struggled to get free, she slowly realized the compromising position that we were in. I was caging her under me, and I could feel every curve of her body pressed to mine. There was definitely some electricity between us. As I stared at her, I could see her lower her eyes, as a soft blush spread over her cheeks. Did I affect her in the same way she affected me?

Without thinking, I instinctively let go of her palms and moved my hands upwards caressing every inch of her exposed arm, applying mud on it. I gradually moved my hand further and removed the lock of hair that prevented me from getting the whole view of her beautiful face. I then slid my other hand under her, touching her exposed back. I could feel her stiffen at my touch, but she didn't object. In fact, she seemed to savour it, and she closed her eyes in anticipation. Her plump, rosy lips were pressed together and I all I could think of was claiming them as mine. As I began to close the gap between our lips, by leaning forward, I felt a drop of water at the back of my head. I withdrew to a certain extent, feeling yet another drop on my scalp.

Slowly, Nandini opened her eyes as I saw water drops on her forehead. It took us both a few seconds to realize that it was drizzling. She immediately gave me a smile as she saw the rain, and stretched out her palm to feel the rain water. Her smile was so beautiful and infectious that, before I knew it, I was smiling too!

Suddenly, her smile turned playful and she sprinkled a fistful of water at me blocking my vision. I immediately sat upright to clean my eyes and she was successful in getting out of my hold. She got up and laughed mockingly, and then made a dash for the middle of the road.

She spread her arms out, and began turning slowly, soaking in every drop of the rain with glee. She looked absolutely heavenly. She had the most serene expression on her face and she looked doubly alluring drenched in the rain. Her wet top stuck to her body and her hair had come undone, flying about in an unruly manner due to the breeze. Her skirt lifted slightly as she twirled, exposing her legs intermittently.

I could hold myself back no longer. I got up, and took a few steps, until I was right behind her. I slowly placed my hands on her waist steadying her, and bent my face downwards to inhale the lovely scent of her hair. I could feel her breath hitch as I swept her hair to the side and rubbed the nape of her neck with my thumb. Slowly, I dug my face into the side her neck and placed a soft kiss there. I could hear her heartbeat quicken as I continued to place gentle kisses on her shoulder and her back. I turned her around with a jerk to face me.

Her gaze was lowered and her eyes didn't meet mine. It seemed like she was really nervous. Her shyness made her even more attractive. I had never been so attracted to any other girl before. Yes! I'd dated quite a few of them...but this spark between Nandini and I was something I had never experienced before.

I caressed her cheek to make her feel more comfortable, and she finally raised her eyes to meet mine. I could see a hint of desire and longing in them, a dimmer reflection of the feelings in my own. All of a sudden her expression changed to that of worry and before I knew it, she was side hugging me.

At first I thought that it was her bashfulness that made her do this, but then I realized what was on her mind. She was covering the side of my body where the police man had slashed me! She was trying to save my dressing from getting wet! This small gesture of hers touched my very soul! No one had shown me as much care as she had in the last few hours.

She dispelled the darkness within me. She shone....just like a star. My star!

I couldn't control my emotions any longer. I turned sideways, lifted her chin up and immediately fused my lips with hers. At first she seemed too shocked to respond, but gradually she gave in to the sensation, and kissed me back. I explored every nook of her mouth, as she surrendered herself to me. With time, we became more passionate, and as our tongues entwined, I poured all my suppressed feelings into the kiss. She raised her hands to the caress my neck in affection, inviting me to explore her mouth further.

When I finally felt her running out of breath, I withdrew slightly and rested my forehead against hers. When I opened my eyes to look at her, I could see that her eyes were still shut, but she was smiling in contentment. It didn't seem like she regretted what happened between us. Did she feel for me, what I felt for her?

Fuck! Manik, what the hell did you just do? It doesn't matter if you like her or not! You've kidnapped her! She's someone's fiancée for crying out loud! Even if her fiancee's a jerk like Madhyam, there's no way anything can happen between you and her! She should stay far away from you and your screwed up family! You're not worthy of her!

Shit, by kissing her, I gave her the absolutely opposite message! I've to push her away immediately- in order to save her from getting further hurt in the future!

After thinking through my next move thoroughly, I let her go with an abrupt jerk and turned around, since we were still locked in each other's embrace.

I cleared the lump in my throat because of what I was about to do and said in an angry voice. "Get in the car!"

"Manik? What happened? Did I do something wrong?" She asked in an unsteady voice.

She was so innocent! "No!" I wanted to scream...and tell her what the kiss meant to me, but I couldn't. It was for her own good!

"Manik, kuch toh bolo..." she said, in a sad voice.

"What? What do you want me to say? What happened just now...it's just hormones! Do you get that? So don't get any ideas!" I screamed, with a heavy heart.

"So what happened between us....meant nothing to you?" she asked in a choked voice.

"No!" I continued to lie through my teeth. "Now get in the car, and wait till the rain stops, else you'll catch a cold. After that you can remove the battery and we can go in search of a mechanic!" I said in a neutral voice.

She seemed dumbfounded for a few moments. I hated myself for doing this to her...but it was necessary.

"Are you deaf?" I screamed.

She recoiled at the sound, and her eyes were filled with sorrow.

Slowly, her expression hardened as she said. "Fine! I'll get in the car."

She walked towards the car and opened the door. I glanced sideways to look at her face. I don't know if I imagined it, but in the midst of the rain, I could have sworn that a lone tear drop left her eyes and made its way down her cheek, piercing a hole in my heart.