Sameer hit the punching bag in anger, a habit which he'd left since his college days, resurfacing again-

"Shaant ho jaa Bhai" Munna tried to placate him

"Samajhti kya hai woh khud ko? Yeh ladkiyon ko poori baat kyun nahi sun ni hoti kabhi? Control. Itna bada shabd. Aise kini aasani se bol diya.."

"Lagta hai naye-naye pyaar ke haseen baadal ab bijli bann ke kadak rahe hai" Munna muttered under his breath

"Kal se meri awaz par phone kaat de rahi hai. Arre uska woh khadus baap bhi meri situation samajh raha hai..par beti hai ki.."

"Kyaaa? Woh khadoos? Safari suit?" Munna said, astonished

"Haan. Par iss baar main kamzor nahi padunga. Usse aana hoga. Maafi mangne. Pata bhi hai use, kitni thes pohunchi hai mujhe?" He said, giving a last punch to the poor bag

"Aur woh kyun aayegi? Biwiyan bohot tedhi cheez hoti hai bhai. Experience se bata raha hoon. Sulah kar le"

"Kabhi nahi"
_____________________________________________

Munna reluctantly dialled Naina's number, his heart not at all agreeing to his friend's plan-

'Ae mori Mayya, kaise kaise din dekhne pad rahe hai. School mein toh humesha jhoot pakad leti thi, ab nahi pakdegi iski kaun si guarantee hai?"

"Tu bindaas phone laga. 2 din se itna tadpaya hai mujhe. Ab woh bhi toh thoda tadap mehsoos kare" Sameer said, biting on an apple

Munna signalled Sameer to keep his voice down as he heard Naina's voice-

"Sameer. Mujhe tumse koi baat nahi karni-"

"Arre. Bhabhi main Munna-"

"Accha. Ab woh tumhare through apni baatein pohchane lag gaya?"

"Nahi. Woh bechara toh kabse na kuch kha raha tha na pi raha tha. Aisi kamzori mein mera bike leke nikal gaya. Aise mein accident hona laazmi tha na-"

"Ek minute. Accident! Kaisa accident? Kahan hai woh? Aur tumne use apni bike kyun di?-" Naina felt the world crash around her at the news

"Bohot zidd kar raha tha. Aur aapko toh pata hai na kitna ziddi hai wo-"

"Bhaad mein gayi uski zidd. Aur kaise dost ho tum? Sameer ka accident ho gaya aur tum itne aaram se baat kar rahe ho? Kahan hai woh? Milna hai mujhe. Abhi." Naina's voice seemed as if she'd cry any moment now

"Idhar hi hai-" Munna looked at Sameer, imitating a punch towards him

"Tum uska khayal rakhna. Main aa rahi hun" and the line went dead

"Ab khush toh bohot hoga na tu?" Munna said, folding his arms angrily

"Ab dekhna kaise meri baahon mein daudti hui aayegi"

"Haan. Zaroor. Uske baad tujhe iss poore ghar mein na daudaya na. Toh dekh lena. Pitne waala hai tu" Munna warned him as Sameer cut up some beetroots
_____________________________________________

Hearing the doorbell ring, Sameer dived under the covers, adjusting the bandage on his head while Munna placed a bowl of water with some strips of cloth beside him-

"Abbey gadhe. Accident hua hai mera. Bukhaar nahi" Sameer tried to drop the bowl.

"Par ghav se infection aur uske baad bukhaar bhi toh aa sakta hai na?" Munna wouldn't admit he'd goofed up

"Arre waah. Tujhe toh dukaan pe nahi, clinic mein doctor ke chair par hona chahiye tha. Hata isse abhi"

Naina came running inside his room, ushered by Ramdhari, who got shocked seeing bandages on him, as he was fine just a while ago-

"Arre Sameer bhaiya, yeh chot-" he was prevented from saying anything further as Munna dragged him out of the room

"Aahh. Bohot dukh raha hai-" Sameer acted as doubling up in pain, with Naina beside him-

"I'm sorry. Yeh sab meri wajah se hua hai. Mujhe iss tarah se tumse jhagadna nahi chahiye tha." Naina now let her tears flow, half-hugging him, lest he might be hurt anywhere

'Uh oh. Yeh toh ro rahi hai yaar' he patted her hair as he didn't want this in lieu of an apology

"Tum hi toh bina meri baat sune hi bhadak gayi- pata nahi kya-kya bol diya mujhe. Itna bura hoon main? Isse accha toh main marr hi gaya hota-" he said slowly

"Ek aur shabd iske aage mat bolna- aur- marne ke baare mein toh bilkul nahi-" Naina immediately put a finger to his lips

Sameer explained about his job offer seeing the chance and added-

"Main toh bus humare future ke baare mein soch raha tha. Par agar tum Mumbai wapas jaana chahti ho- toh mera bhi wahi faisla hoga"

"Tumne pehle kyun nahi bataya? Aur tum yeh job offer le lo. Kal ki chinta baad mein karte hai. Haan?" Naina said, smoothing his hair over the bandage

"Sacchi?" Sameer asked

"Arre haan. Aur main tumhare liye soup bana ke laati hun. Acchi lagegi"

"Soup. Aur tum banaogi? Rehne do-" Sameer made a face and pulled her, so she fell on his lap

"Kya kar rahe ho? Chot lagi hai na tumhe?" Naina struggled to get off him, while Sameer slid his hands over her waist, keeping her in place

"Mujhe tumhari zaroorat hai..tumhari soup ki nahi-" he said, nuzzling her neck, while Naina was astonished by his actions.

His hand glided from her waist, journeying upward, as his fingers rested there, teasing her curves, smooching her madly, as if she'd disappear if he left her

Naina let out a whimper, feeling his hands on her, trying to decide between letting him continue or swatting his hand away. She arched towards him, not able to take his invasive fingers' onslaught. Feeling that they could breach their boundaries any moment now, she gently removed his hand, and taking his other injured hand, kissed it-

"Tum jahan bhi jaoge, tumhare peeche-peeche aaungi, chahe kuch bhi ho jaaye. Iss baat pe koi shak mat rakhna-"
she said, sliding her hand under his shirt, when her hand touched some staining liquid-

"Ah. Sameer. Tumhare wahan se khoon nikal raha hai. Hatao iss shirt ko" she unbuttoned him swiftly, trying to trace the wound when she found none

"Naina. Ab mujhe chot lagi hai aur tum ho ki meri shirt utar rahi ho" he tried to pull on the shirt back

"Ek minute. Yeh tumhara khoon gulabi kyun lag raha hai?" Naina said suspiciously, looking at the liquid that stained his white shirt

"Beetroot hai. Salad bana doon?" Sameer said sheepishly, knowing that his game was up

"Sameer ke bacche! Salad toh main abb tumhara banaungi" Naina tried to get off from him and accidentally kneed him between his legs

"Aahh. Naina. Ab aisi harkatein karogi toh mere bacche toh aane se rahe" Sameer let out a scream and then looked at a glaring Naina-

"Dekho baaton baaton mein chai ka time ho gaya. Chai piyogi? Ramdhari bohot acche pakode banata hai" Sameer said meekly, trying to escape now
_____________________________________________

*Next Day*

Sameer looked around the house as Chachiji went inside to boil some tea. There were many pictures of Naina, Preeti along with her Chacha-Chachi while her father conspicuously remained absent in most of them
He smiled, blowing off dust from one of the photo frames, wondering how Naina's smile hadn't changed even a bit since her childhood-
His attention went to a the cupboard where trophies of different sizes were displayed, proudly bearing Naina- and only Naina's name-

'Madam toh kaafi talented hai. Kabhi bataya nahi mujhe-'

he thought, taking out the trophies, tracing his fingers through them, as if trying to absorb the exhilaration she must have felt while receiving them.
He saw most were for some quizzes- maths and science, which included a gold medal certificate from the University

"Arre daamadji. Ye lijiye aapki chai" Bela handed over the cup to him, breaking his thoughts

"Aap please mujhe Sameer kahiye. Main toh aapke bete jaisa hi hun na" Sameer was embarassed by the title given to him

"Theek hai Sameer beta" she said happily, then added-

"Yeh saari trophies Naina ki hai. Bachpan se jitne bhi jit te aayi hai, sab sambhal ke rakhe hai maine" she had a proud tinge to her voice

"Wahi main dekh raha hun. Toh usse sachme Mumbai jaake teacher ban na tha?"

"Nahin. Woh toh aur padhna chahti thi. Par tum toh jaan chuke hoge ab tak- bhaisahab ne jaldbaazi mein uska rishta pakka kar diya tha. Toh usne chupke se apni bua ke yahan jaake interviews de di. Jo naukri use mili- wahi le liya"

"Toh yeh baat hai.." Sameer sighed

"Haan. Aur main bohot khush hoon. Kyunki tumhe uski yeh naukri se koi dikkat nahi hai" Chachiji beamed at him

Naina came outside of her room and stopped in her tracks seeing Sameer sitting quietly on the sofa, deep in thought-

"Sameer. Tum kab aaye?"

"Baat karni hai" he said, sounding serious
_____________________________________________

Sameer pulled out a chair for Naina, with Naina being curious what he had to say-

"Naina. Tumhe toh pata hi hoga maine ye sheher kyun choda tha"

"Haan"

"Main yeh sapne mein bhi nahi soch sakta tha..ki jo duniya main chod ke gaya tha..aaj ussi mein rehne ka itna mann karega" he admitted

"Main samajh sakti hun. Aur main tumhare saath hun. Humesha"

"Aur tumhare sapnon ka kya? Tumhari job-"

"Yahan kya schools nahi hai? Apply karti hun na. Itni bhi buri teacher nahi hun main-" Naina raised her imaginary collars

"Par Mumbai ek samundar hai. Wahan hum jo honge apne dum pe honge. Kaam ki wahan hume koi kami nahin hogi. Bas shuru ke dinon mein struggle likha hai-"

"Samundar hai..isiliye kho jaane ka chance bhi hai. Tum itni acchi job ko aise jaane mat do"

"Toh kya main kho jaane ke darr se niklunga hi nahi. Maine aajtak jo paaya hai sab sifarish se hi hai. Iss baar main apne se kuch haasil karna chahta hun. Kya tum isme mera saath dogi?" He held out his hand

"Par Sameer-" Naina looked doubtfully at him

"Aur Madam, acche colleges se apne Masters karogi tabhi toh naam aur shaan hoga na" he teased

"Masters..par tumhe kaise-" she was not expecting this

"Toh chalo. Jahan se humari story ki shuruaat hui, wahin waapas chalte hai. Wahan mujhe tum mili ab baaki ki cheezein bhi mil hi jaayengi" he said firmly, with Naina looking on in adoration, knowing he did all this..for her

Phew. Nearing 2000 words. The 40th chapter of this story🥰🥰.
Tried to give a longer update. Do vote if u like😇