Naina stepped inside the apartment, avoiding eye contact with Sameer as he closed the door behind them. A shiver ran through her as soon as she heard the thud of the closing door.

"Naina, tum toh kaanp rahi ho. Aur ho bhi kyun na, poora bheeg jo chuki ho. Ruko."

Sameer was concerned seeing her shiver and immediately switched off the fan, oblivious to the fact that she was shivering due to something else entirely.
He handed her a towel, trying not to be distracted by her slightly damp hair or the fact that her wet clothes were sticking to her body like a second skin.

'Naina ki bacchi, himmat karke andar toh aa gayi, par aise kand ke baare mein agar tere gharwalon ko khabar bhi lagi na teri shadi ke hall ki booking pakki-' Naina murmured to herself

"Naina, please main nahi chahta tum uncomfortable feel karo. Kisi cheez ki zaroorat ho toh mujhe bol sakti ho-"Sameer said after he saw her lost in her thoughts.

"Main ek phone kar sakti hun? Mere Chachaji har raat iss time hostel mein phone karte hain. Unhe abhi kuch bol ke rokna padega warna meri poori family kal mujhe lene aa jayegi" Naina said wrapping the towel around her.

"Haan kyu nahi?" Sameer handed the cordless to her while Naina was formulating the lies she'd to tell to her Chachaji. She felt guilty of lying to the man who trusted her the most. But she had no choice left
_____________________________________________

"Naina...umm..tum jao aur fresh hoke kapde change kar lo. Sardi lag jayegi aise-" Sameer said, pointing to the bathroom after she was done with the call.

"Par bheeg toh tum bhi gaye ho. Pehle tum jao"

'Ye ladki kuch samajhti kyun nahi...Bheeg ye gayi hai aur fisal main raha hoon-' Sameer thought, controlling himself from looking at her.

"Jao na. Kahan kho gaye. Main theek hun idhar" Naina egged him to go

'Aur main toh ashram se nikla hua Brahmachari hun-'

He felt his eyes slipping frequently to the water droplets which had accumulated near the mole on her neck.

"Tum aaj meri mehmaan ho na. Toh tum pehle jaogi" he said, switching on the TV, as a distraction. His self control was on the edge now

'Accha toh janab Ko TV dekhna tha' Naina thought as she pulled out her clothes from her luggage.
_____________________________________________

"Sameeer. Yahan aao abhi" Naina yelled from the bathroom

'Iss ladki ke gale mein loudspeaker fit hai kya? Kisi din mere kaan ke parde fatt jayenge-' Sameer muttered as he stood outside the bathroom

"Kya hai Naina? Chilla kyun rahi ho?"

"Iss bathroom ki kundi toh andar se lagti hi nahi hai" Naina complained turning the latch, which was broken

"Ab main akela rehta hun toh iss baat pe kabhi dhyan hi nahi diya" Sameer said, coming inside and examining the latch, as if seeing it for the first time

"Par aise kaise hoga phir?" Naina said, suddenly conscious that they were both inside the bathroom

"Tumhe gaana gana aata hai?"

"Kyu tumhe abhi antakshari khelni hai?"

"Ab dekho. Jab tak tum andar ho zor zor se koi gana gaa dena taki mujhe pata chal jaye ki koi hai. Isme tumhe koi problem nahi honi chahiye I think-" 

Sameer said and added in a low tone.

"chillane mein PHD jo kar li hai"

"Kya matlab?" Naina narrowed her eyes

"Ab yahan khade hoke beemar hona hai kya. Jaldi karo. Aur gaana mat bhulna" Sameer said, stepping out from the bathroom
_____________________________________________

Naina stared strangely at the adjacent door as shrill noises sounding to the tunes of Mere Rang Mein Rangne Wali started coming out of the bathroom

'Kitna besura gaata hai yeh' She thought as she wiped her wet hair.

'Par jo bhi hai bohot accha hai' her heart whispered further.

The door opened and Sameer came out whistling, only in a towel. He was about to cross the threshold when he almost slipped due to a loud scream

"Pagal ladki, fisal jaata na abhi" He somehow regained his balance and glared at Naina, who had turned away from him in shock

"Aise kaise bahar aa rahe ho. Tameez naam ki cheez hai bhi ya nahi?" Naina said, her back turned from him

"Uh-oh" Sameer looked at his half-naked state, realisation dawning on him and rushed to the bedroom, locking it shut.

"Chalo, der aaye durust aaye" Naina released the breath she was holding as she flopped down on the sofa. The day seemed to be never-ending now along with the rains which had started it all.
_____________________________________________

Sameer gave a forced smile to Naina as he kicked himself internally for coming out like that. He looked at her all curled up in the sofa in her baby blue nightsuit. She looked like a baby who needed to be protected from harsh realities of this world. She just seemed to..fit in his home somehow

"Naina tum andar ja ke so jao. Main idhar adjust kar loonga" he said bringing out a pillow.

"Sameer main idhar hi theek hu. Tum andar jao"Naina said, taking the pillow

"Oh hello, yeh meri pillow hai. Iske bina mujhe neend nahi aati" Sameer said, almost snatching the pillow. He had often imagined Naina in place of the pillow, but he couldn't tell her that.

"Acha, aisi kya khaas baat hai iss pillow mein?"

"Tum ho"

"Huh?"

"Mera matlab hai..tumhari bhi toh koi favourite pillow hogi na?"

"Meri behen thi na, meri favourite pillow. Hum ek doosre se koi baat chupate nahi the. Ab toh sabse itne jhoot bole hai ki kuch accha nahi lag raha"

Sameer felt her sadness and put a palm on her shoulder, on impulse, which sent chills down Naina's body. She looked at him, fondly, as he told her to go inside again.

"Sameer main tumhe aur pareshan nahi karna chahti. Ab andar jaoge bhi ya phir idhar mere saath maths ke sawal banaoge?" Naina said, bringing out a copy from her bag

"Paagal ho gayi ho! Badi mushkil se maths se peecha choota hai, ab sawal solve karun?"

"Han kyun nahi? Teacher se pala pada hai tumhara, mister. Ab sawal toh banane padenge" Naina smirked, handing the pen to him

"Jaa raha hun na andar. Good night" Sameer took the pillow and was out of the room in seconds

'One piece hai yeh-' Naina said adjusting herself in the sofa

On the other side, Sameer couldn't believe that he had the woman he dreamt about often, just separated by a door. The woman, who trusted him enough to stay with him, even though her beliefs didn't quite allow her to do so.

'Ye agar sapna hai toh mujhe haqeeqat mein jeena hi nahi' He thought as he drifted off to sleep.

Hi all. This update wasn't so good as ideas hi nahi aa rahe the😂😂😅
Do tell if you want family conversations in the story as I have not written them. Please vote if you liked the part😃