Sameer swerved the bike towards the bus stop as saw the familiar purple umbrella from a distance. So she must be here- he thought.
The rain had reduced to a drizzle now as the bus stop emptied slowly from people who'd come there to save themselves from the downpour. Sameer made sure there were minimum people as he made his way towards Naina.

"Mujhe toh iska naam bhi nahi pata. Baat kaise shuru karu? Aur thoda sensitive topic bhi hai.."-
He thought as he took in her appearance.

Her dark maroon saree was draped around her fully, perhaps to prevent herself from getting wet. She wore no jewellery except gold studs; a wristwatch completed the attire. Her black bindi gave her the look of cute, innocent schoolgirl in a woman's body.

Well she was a fine specimen of a woman, didn't he know that? Well, that knowledge did keep him up late for the last couple of nights for sure. Shaking his head to clear off the vivid images, he approached her, with caution though.

She clutched her handbag tightly on instinct and swiped her hair back nervously as she saw Sameer come towards her. The violent rhythm of her heart beats didn't help her.

"Yeh idhar kyun aa raha hai? Aur ye mujhe dekhke aise muskura kyun raha hai?-"

She thought as Sameer smiled at her. She too fake smiled back and turned the other way.
"Toh tum yahan pas wale hostel mein rehti ho"
He said as-a-matter of fact, thinking how to start a conversation
Naina raised her eyebrow, thinking about his sudden interest in her whereabouts

"Tumse matlab?" -she feigned disinterest, taking in his appearance, with a side glance. He sure looked dapper in formals

"Nahi, pados mein hi rehti ho, toh socha halchal puch lu. I'm Sameer and you?"

"Uss hostel mein aur 30 ladkiyan rehti hai. Sabse aise hi halchal puchte ho kya?-"

Naina was wary now. She couldn't trust strangers these days, however good-looking they might be.

Sameer got angry for a moment as she was insinuating him as a flirt. He calmed himself down and said-
"Oh hello. Dekho, main koi aisa waisa ladka nahi hu. Aur naa hi mujhe tumse koi behes karni hai"

"Toh baat kya hai?"

"Mujhe bas itna kehna hai ki apne khidki...aur darwaze band rakha karo. Aur ankh kaan khuli" -
he tried to say it with a straight face as much as possible, evading her eyes.

"Kyun? Chowkidar ki naukri mili hai tumhe? Aise baat kar rahe ho jaise roz mere room mein koi daaka dalne aata hai! Humara hostel bohot safe hai. Tumhe meri chinta karne ki zaroorat nahi"

"Mujhe meri chinta ho rahi hai" Sameer muttered under his breath

"Kya??"

"Kuch nahi. Tumse acche se baat karo toh katne daudti ho. Chodo. Bhul jao maine tumse kuch bhi kaha. Main toh acche padosi hone ka farz nibha raha tha"

"Farz?? Kaisa farz" Naina was confused now.

"Aaj 8:00 baje apne khidki ke bahar dekhna. Samajh jaogi" -and he drove away.

"Yeh ladka meri samajh ke bahar hai" Naina sighed as she alighted the bus, wondering what he meant.
_____________________________________________

Naina saw her roommate enter with a stumble as she was making tea for the evening.
"Arre Leena, aagayi tum. Chai bana du?" She said
"Please no. Mujhe sona hai bas. Disturb mat karna. Aur warden aaye toh bolna bimar hai. Baat nahi kar sakti" Leena said, the sharp smell of alcohol pervading the atmosphere.

"Tumne pi rakhi hai. Hey Bhagwan!?" Naina was shocked. She had always objected to her night-outs but this was heights.

"Please ab yeh drama mat start karo. Aur apna muh band rakhna. Waise bhi main aur Kunal jaldi hi bhagne wale hai. Phir rehna aaram se yahan" and went off to sleep

Naina was shocked at the stark depravity. She felt sorry for her parents who'd entrusted her to pursue her higher studies. But here was a totally different scenario.

She sat near the window with her favourite novel which she'd re-read multiple times.
But today she was seriously thinking about shifting to a different room.

"Maa baap kitne armaano ke saath bacchon Ko yahan bhejte hai. Par ye-chiii" she felt bile rise up her throat as she turned the pages, absentmindedly.
_____________________________________________

Naina got off from the chair near her window, ready to go down for dinner. She looked at the clock to check if it was time. It was some minutes past 8 and she suddenly remembered Sameer's words and looked outside, straight. And what she saw caught her breath.

He was looking straight at her through the window. He looked more handsome in the open collar and rolled up sleeves.
Then suddenly her eyes rounded as he started unbuttoning his shirt, this time looking away.

'Yeh kya kar raha hai. Shirt kyun utar raha hai? Usse toh pata hai na main dekh rahi hu. Pagal wagal toh nahi ho gaya na?'

She muttered, shocked, fascinated and embarrassed at the same time, and tried to look away. Then from the corner of her eye, she saw him stop and then point at him then her,

"Yeh kaisa ishaara tha?" She was confused now.

Then he made signals to her to draw the curtains..and her topper brain finally picked up what he wanted to say. Her eyes widened instantly as the realisation sunk in.

'Jab commonsense bantt raha tha, tab shayad mai bhains chara rahi thi. Hey bhagwaan..pata nahi kya kya dekh liya isne-"

She hit herself on the head, snapped the window shut and drew the curtains hurriedly.
_____________________________________________

"Toh madam itni bewakoof bhi nahi hai jitna main samajh raha tha. Chalo aaj acchi neend aayegi." Sameer said settling himself in his bed.

He looked towards the window which was now shut and smiled to himself. He'll surely miss that window being open in the near future.

This is my longest update ever 😂. Please tell if you like it or vote it if you do☺️
Suggestions are welcome if you find anything amiss