There was a knock on the door. Vinod and Naina looked at the frowning person at the door step. "Andar aao Sameer", hearing her give permission, Sameer stepped it. Before he began what he was about to say he gave a stern glace towards Vinod and then faced Naina saying "Mujhe tumse kuch baat karni hai". She shrugged her shoulder saying "Toh karo". Sameer glaced at Vinod once again while saying "Akele mein". Understanding the cue, Vinod got up from his seat and quietly exited the room.

Sameer occupied the chair Vinod was sitting on and began his conversation. "Naina mujhe lagta hai humme aaj Swati ko yahan bulana chahiye." Naina's eye widened, "Abhi? Itni bhi kya jaldi." Unknowingly he drew his chair closer to her's, "Naina pata nahi kab Swati ka mann badal jaye, isiliye main chahte hoon ki woh jald se jald contract sign kar de." She thought over his statement and agreed with it. It had taken her enormous amount of courage to decide to merge with him and even that involved few oscillations between a yes and a no. Swati must be going through the same dilemma. What if with more time she would deny the offer? Maybe it was for the best if they lock the deal.

"Theek hai Sa-- Mr.Maheshwari, main call kar leti hoon usse. Par contract ke papers ek din main kaise...?", she shared her doubt. "Don't worry, ek hafte pehle he maine Srikant ko bata diya, do din pehle he sab ready ho gaya hai, bas signing he baaki hai", he cleared her confusion. "Tum call karke usse bula lena, abhi mujhe kuch kaam hai", he stood up from the chair and a smirk adored his face. She very well recognised that look, he was upto something that would annoy her. Just as she expected he opened the glass door and walked over to his cabin, turning back he winked at her before sitting on his chair and resuming his work. She had to do something about her current situation. Having just a transparent separation would cause a lot of nuisance, including but not limited to gawking, winking, smiling and knowing him very well she knew a flying kiss would follow soon.

As per plan, Swati had been called to Maheshwari office to sign the official contract. Naina had expected she would be reluctant to come over and she was right as Swati threw a tantrum over the phone. "Main nahi aaungi. Bas keh diya na. Tu shift karne keliye mann kyu gayi? Main agar aaungi toh woh wahan hoga. Nahi Naina, main nahi aa sakti. Tu...Tu iss contract to cancel karde." On the otherside of the call Naina sat clutching her head, "Theek hai mat aa, cancel karde contract aur sabko prove kardo ki Swati kamzor hai. Swati Munna se darti hai. Yahi chahti ho na?" Annoyed by Naina's statement Swati spat through the phone "Main kisise nahi darti." Sneering at the same thought Swati continued "Aur uss Munna se toh bilkul bhi nahi."

"Toh kya problem hai aane main. Tumhe kya lagta hai, yeh sab mere liye aasan hai. Nahi Swati lekin strong banna padta hai. Aur main hoon na tumhare saath. Itna aacha mauka mil raha hai tumhe apna career aage badhane, kyu isse miss karna chahti ho?", Naina tried to put some sense. Swati did find some sense in Naina's word, why should she miss an opportunity? And that too because of Munna? She wouldn't let Munna become the road block to her success. "Theek hai Naina, main aati hoon. Par main usse milna nahi chahti."

Unmindful of her own behaviour, Naina showed thumbs up to Sameer the moment Swati agreed. He too got thrilled seeing the positive response and showed his brightest smile. The realization of her slip-up hit her when she saw him mirroring her action and showing thumbs up back at her. "Jaldi aa jaa Swati, will be waiting for you." Naina cut the call and resumed her work as if nothing happened in the last few seconds. He looked over frowning at her sudden change of emotions. A minute ago she seemed excited and now she was back to her sulking self. 

Sameer laid back on his chair and sighed, something had to be done to bring his kitten even closer. Though they were separated by a thin layer of glass physically, there was a huge void in their relationship. He had to close that void as soon as possible with his undying love. The task was no less than moving a mountain, as he knew well about his kitten and her feral anger. He reminisced the post bet Naina, he had said more sorry in those two months than in the seventeen years of his life.  But he had to agree the reward for his relentless attempts to seek her forgiveness had bore some very sweet fruits.  

*

27th February 1991

His eyes were searching for her, his Naina, a petite blob of pink who had him wrapped in her little finger. His friends did not take a break from the continuous teases, calling him jhoru ka gulam, running behind her after receiving just one sign from her. But little did they know, his heart and soul belonged to her and he wasn't jhoru ka ghulam but Naina ka Sameer.  

"Sameer", his name from her sweet mouth broke his reverie. 

He turned around to face her, she was taking slow strides towards him, eyes glistened with tears. Tear? Why was she crying? Oh yes Pooja di's bidai would have made her emotional. Till he figured out the reason for those damn water beads that fell from her eyes, she had come close to him. 

"Nai--", he began.

But she shushed him with her index finger placed against his lips. She did not place her finger hard over his lips, but slightest touch was enough to spark his heart and eyes. But his brows furrowed, when he observed the water pooling again in her eyes.

"Naina ro mat please, Pooja di tumse bohot dur todhi na jaa rahi hai, yahin Ahmedabad mein he rahegi. Tum jab chaho unse mil lene."

Her heart swelled up hearing his concerned voice and his eyes that tried to gauge the reason of her tears. A smile curved over her lips realising that those beads that fell from her eyes had pained him. 

Confusion sprung up in him when he saw her smiling yet the tears did not stop from forming. He so badly wanted to place his hands over her cheeks and wipe those drops, but he controlled his urge and fished out a handkerchief from his pocket and offered it to her. 

She took it from his hands and instead of wiping her tear stained eyes, she folded the piece of cloth in half and held his right hand. She then tied a knot around his index finger using one corner of the cloth and took the other end and offered it to him along with raising her left hand, indicating him to do the same. 

He quietly obeyed her although he was absolutely clueless at her behaviour. She walked towards the now empty mandap, where Pooja di and Varun had married. The guests had left and even her family members would have retreated to their house but here she was directing him towards that very mandap and he following her without a word. He did not need the tied cloth for him to walk behind her, even in it's absence we would have followed her till the end of the world. 

She stopped before the extinguished havan kund and looked at him and slowly sat down and he too sat beside her. Moments passed by and she kept looking at him. He recognised the emotion within her eyes, it was love, love for him!

"Sameer, jaante ho tum mere liye kya ho? Meri khushi ho tum Sameer, Meri jaan ho. Bohot takleef di na maine tumhe. Tum naukrao jaise kaam kar rahe the aur main pagal sab kuch dekte hue bhi undekha kar di. Tum bohot acche ho Sameer, tumhara dil ekdum saaf hai. Par main bohot buri hoon, tumhe ek baar safai dena ka mauka bhi nahi dia". 

"Nahi Naina, tum toh bohot acchi ho, meri pari ho. Mujhe hasna sikhya aur pya--", he looked at her intensely. He tried to form words, he tried to control his emotions and let the words slip out of his mouth. But the paining lump did not allow him to do so. "I... I..."

"I love you Sameer", she fulfilled not only his sentence but his dream.

The block in his throat suddenly lifted and words rolled out almost immediately "I love you Naina, saccha wala." 

She leaned forward and joined her forehead with his. "Mujhe tumpe aur tumhare pyaar pe pura bharosa hai". 

She drew back and tugged at kerchief, "Utho." 

Without any question he did so. To his surprise she started walking, taking slow but steady steps around the havan. "I promise you Sameer, meri aakhri saans tak main sirf aur sirf tumse pyaar karoongi.' 

"I promise you Naina, tumhe meri jaan se bhi zyaada pyaar karoonga". 

Before she could take the third round he stopped. She looked at him with questioning eyes. 

"Baaki ke paanch phere hum tabhi lenge jab main aunga safed ghode par tumhe apni dulhan banake le jaane", he pinched her nose and she blushed, her mind racing up to imagine herself in red lehenga and mehendi, waiting for him. 

*

"Sameer...", Munna had to shout to bring him back to the real world. God alone knew where his friend kept drifting off to recently. He had to raise his voice by few decibels to gain his attention. 

"Munna. Tu?", panic rose in Sameer. "Tujhe toh factory mein hona chahiye tha, tu yahan kya kar raha hai? Jao aur factory ka kaam dekho". Munna's presence meant, he would come face to face with Swati. Yes, he did want that but not in the very moment Swati would step in the office, he had imagined the process to be gradual.  

"Woh sab Deepak sambhal raha hai, toh mere liye koi kaam nahi toh main aa gaya", he was perplexed seeing Sameer's odd behaviour. It seemed like he wanted to push him away from his office. The possible reason struck his mind, "Accha main samajh gaya. Tu nahi chahta hai main yahan rahoon, kyuki tumhe pata hai agar main yahan rahoonga toh tu Naina ke paas nahi jaa payega."

The panic in him grew by folds when Munna declared that he knew the reason, but it reduced when Munna found an alternate meaning to his behaviour. "Nahi, aisa kuch nahi". He knew it very well that if he dissuades the statement then Munna will be more confident over his deduction, so be it. 

"Mujhe pata hai, yahi wajah hoga." Taking a glace towards his side he observed Naina engrossed in her work. "Dekh Sameer, usse koi farq nahi padta. Woh bas apna kaam kar rahi hai. Woh aage badh chuki hai Sameer, tu bhi usse bhool jaa aur apne kaam par dhyaan de." He did not understand why Sameer's mind and heart was fixed over her. If someone doesn't trust you and gives you nothing but pain, then it is best to move past them instead of wounding an already broken heart. 

"Aisa tumhe lagta hai, aur shayad usse bhi. Par main jaanta hoon, usse farq padta hai." The need to prove him wrong motivated him to lay out the next action. Sameer laid back on his chair, his hands over his head as he whistled to grab her attention. The very next moment his motive succeeded when Naina stilled, kept her pen down and viewed him with her peripheral vision before completely turning her head and giving him an snarl. Using the opportunity, he pouted his lips and closed his eyes and blew a kiss to her. 

Her eyes and lips widened simultaneously, she then fluttered her eyelids multiple times before a scarlet glow covered her cheeks. She turned her head back to the paper on her desk. A triumphant laugh erupted from Sameer as he looked towards Munna and raised his eyebrows. "Dekha, farq hai!"

How could he just play with her in this manner. He blew a kiss! A KISS! That too in front Munna. No, the point is not that he blew a kiss in front of someone, the point is he had the audacity to blow a kiss to her. She was taken by surprise, that's why she reacted in that way, otherwise hell would have broken loose for his indecency. He had to be given an earful for his behaviour. She had to wait till Munna left his office to give him a very well needed dose for all the antics he had been doing in the past few days. 

As soon as Munna left his room, she marched towards his office, her pace picking up with each step. He stood with his back facing her and she neared him with all the anger inside her to release it over him. But as well as she recognised and expected his behaviours, she did not expect his next move.

Sameer who heard the blaring footsteps near him turned around swiftly and immeditaly a weight bumped against him and involuntarily his hands wound around her waist to steady her. 

Yet again she was engulfed in a familiar warmth, her body pressed against his broad torso, his hand around her waist adding more pressure on her and pulling her towards him. Her hands moved on their own accord to grip his back. Her eyes fixated upon his and an intoxicating fragrance wrapped them up. He cupped her face and inched closer to her lips, his breath mingled with hers and she closed her eyes, awaiting the touch of his lips over hers. But his lips did not touch the destination her heart wished instead whispered faintly over her ear. 

"Main toh bus ishara kar raha tha, tum toh khud mere bahoon mein aa gayi, mujhe kiss karne". Her eyes opened up instantly and realized the reason why she was in his cabin but embarrassment took over her features as she had succumbed to the moment. She put the much required distance between them and unable to bear his vehement gaze over her, turned to leave at once. But he was in no mood to leave her, before she could take a step away from him, he held her hand and stood behind her back and dipped his head near her ear to whisper, " Munna ke jaane ka intezar kyu kar rahi thi? Ek baar bol deti, main aa jaata tumhare paas. Pehle toh mujhe dekhte he attack kar deti thi na tum. Kahi tum kiss karna bhool toh nahi gayi? Hmm... nahi, kaise bhoologi, pehli baar he acche se seekha di na maine. Yaad hai, humara first kiss."

*

28th March 1994

"Sameer yahan kyu laaye mujhe, bahar sab dhoondh rahe honge humme". He had literally dragged her by her arm to a quiet corner behind the backyard away from his friends and Nanu. 

"Taki aaram se tumhe anpe pyaar ke rang mein rang saku."

"Accha? Bahar bhi toh yahi kar rahe the, sabko mana kar diya mujhe laal rang lagane se. Tumhe pata hai kitna embarrassing tha, Nanu kya soch rahe honge humare baare mein?"

"Sochenge ki main unke upar gaya hoon ekdum romantic." Taking the colour from his cheeks onto his fingers, he transfered it over her cheeks. "Happy Holi Naina. Par mujhe yeh ruka sukha holi pasand nahi hai."

"Aree maina kaha na, paani use nahi karenge. Humme pani ko bacchana hai, waste nahi. "

"Main pani ki nahi, aag ki baat kar raha tha meri jaan", his husky voice left her intoxicated with his love.

Before she could defipher his words he bent and slid his cheek over hers. Pleasure shot up her body feeling his cheek over her's. Her hands clutched the lapels of his kurta tight as a soft sound emerged from her lips. She recognised that she had uttered his name in a soft sultry voice seconds after regaining control over her heart. 

Withdrawing from her cheeks he eyed her lips, the rosiness inviting him to plunge upon them. Probably it was the bhang that he had gulped down hiding from Nanu acting upon him but he did not find any self control. He bent forward to taste the essence of her lips. Her lips were just milimeteres apart when he glanced up at her. Her eyelids fluttered and she had eyes fixed over his. He smirked and drew back reluctantly, he couldn't do it to his Naina. She had to feel the same intensity before they shared a kiss, instead he dropped a light peck over her nose. 

She held his face before he could move away from her. With a trembling thumb she brushed his lips, she could feel chillness over her body with just that minimal contact. Closing her eyes she offered her lips to him, allowing him to claim it with his. She had shook him with her move and despite his raging emotions, he couldn't kiss her due to the shock. When she did not feel his lips over her's, she closed the unbearable gap between then and pressed her lips over his. He closed his eyes immediately and held her more close to him. The pressure loosened and they broke apart, Naina laid her head over his chest. 

"I love you Sameer", she spoke in her usual soft voice while confessing to him.

His hands caressed her hair, a wide smile adorning his lips. His Naina had taken a step forward in their relationship.

Pulling her away from his chest he sealed his lips with hers. Taking those petals between his. He started slow, nibbling at her lower lip. He took his own time to enjoy her lips. Applying gentle yet firm pressure, much like his love for her. Handling her ever so gently but loving her fiercely with all his heart. A sudden strong bite at her lip caused a gasp to form over her throat and he invaded her mouth to taste her essence. The slow pressure over her lips and tongue brought all kinds of pleasure to her body. Her toes curled up as he continued his ministrations over her lips, sucking all the love out of them.

He drew back only to grab fresh air. Meanwhile he observed her reaction, eyes closed, flushed cheeks, a shy smile. Those were the normal reactions to all his attempts but what stood out was her quivering and swollen lips, her chest rising and dropping with each breath and the glow on her face; it was different.

He took her face in his hands and she opened her eyes. Placing her hands over his, she smiled contently and forwarded her lips again, surrendering yet again to his love. This girl never failed to surprise him.

When she did not feel his soft lips on her needy ones she voiced her concern, "Sameer tumhe aacha nahi laga kya? Main bhi pagal hoon, tumhe aacha kaise lagega, maine toh kuch kiya bhi nahi."

"Nahi nahi", his reply rolled out with urgency. "Naina main bata nahi sakta mujhe kaise laga. Pehle kabhi aisa mehsoos he nahi kiya."

"Pehle kabhi matlab? Tumne kissi aur ladki ko bhi... Woh Nainital wali?", she couldn't bear the thought of some other girl being at the receiving end of such pleasure love from him.

It took him a few seconds to register that Naina had taken a wrong assumption of his answer.

"Jitna yeh tumhara first kiss tha, utna he mera bhi tha. Sameer Maheshwari par sirf aur sirf Naina ka haq hai."

She blushed but recovered from his lovable lines and asked yet another concern, 'Toh woh Nainital wali girlfriend?"

"Konsi girlfriend?"

"Wahi jisne tumhe mouth organ gift kiya."

"Ohhh... Tum Madhu ki baat kar rahi ho. Woh bus meri dost thi, usse zyaada kuch nahi. Haan woh mere kareeb aane ki koshish karti thi lekin main usse zyaada bhav nahi deta tha".

Still seeing the miffed expression on her face he bend to gently brush his lips with her's. "Sameer ka dil sirf ek ladki keliye dhadhakta hai aur woh tum ho Naina."

It worked and brought a smile onto her face. "Madhu ho ya koi aur madhu makhi, main share nahi karne wali tumhe kissi ke saath. Tum sirf mere ho Sameer aur main sirf tumhari."

These words were sealed with a firm kiss. Locking their lips together she tried to imitate his actions and tenderly licked his lips. He enjoyed his Naina exploring just like he had and let her continue with her sweet strokes.

She left his lips and drew back with a smile, but soon the smile changed to a loud moan as he left scorching urgent kisses over her neck, down till the neckline of her dress. The deep V cut provided him a wide expanse to shower her skin with pecks. All she could do was moan and whimper when he touched all the sentive spots of her neck.

*

Naina shuddered at the thought, his breath over her nape wasn't of much help, in fact it added to her flustered self. Her teeth tugged at her lip to prevent any inappropriate sounds from erupting within her, yet she heard a mild groan. A second later she realised the sound did not belong to her but it had emerged from the man behind her whose sole focus was on her lip within the grasp of her teeth. She instantly released it knowing the effect it would have on the man behind her.  She had fallen victim to wild but thrilling assults from those lips because of this very act.

Before he could proceed with the thought of tasting those lips again after two damn years, a voice interrupted them. "Swati aa chuki hai", Vinod stated, looking at the patterns on the floor rather than the couple in front. He had opened Sameer's cabin without even a knock and immediately mortified seeing him close to Naina with minimal gap between them. If he hadn't cleared his throat he was sure Sameer would have made a move on her.

They distanced themselves, Naina tugged her hair behind her ears whereas Sameer shoved his hands into his pockets and examined some random file on his desk. While the three were busy avoiding eye contact and trying to escape the room, they failed to notice a deep crimson mark over Sameer's shirt.

***********************

Thank you for bearing with my break. I hope you read this chapter and enjoyed it. As most of you wanted to read about Samaina's first kiss I have included it in this chapter.  Swati's and Munna's face off will be in the next one.

Now waiting for your comments...