Naina tiptoed to the living room, weaving her way past many of the ladies sleeping on the floor, stretching her hand out for the phone, gingerly, lest she fell down and caused a commotion in the dark or worse the phone started ringing in between.

Sameer picked up the phone at the first ring-

"Naina. Itni der kyun laga di?" he complained

"Ghar mehmaanon se bhara hua hai. Usme bhi tumse baat kar rahi hoon. Woh kaafi nahi hai kya?" Naina whispered, closing the balcony door behind her

"Ohh. Toh risk liya jaa raha hai mere liye? Kyun?" Sameer propped up his head on a pillow

"Kyunki koi hai. Jise din mein chup ke mere ghar me aa ke chain nahi mili ki raat ko bhi mujhe tang kiye jaana hai"

"Accha. Tum isse tang karna keh rahi ho?Maine tumhe ab tak tang kiya hi kahan hai"

"Kar bhi nahi sakte" Naina stuck out her tongue, to no one in particular

"Main aa jaunga wahan" Sameer said, his tone lightly threatening

"Sameer. Jyada na hawa mein mat udo. Aur kal shaam ko mehendi hai. Pichli baar ki tarah yahan aane ki sochna bhi mat"

"Aur kaun rokega mujhe? Tum? Ya tumhara woh jailor rasoiya" Sameer made a face, thinking about the cook her family had hired

"Woh humare gaanv ka hai" Naina defended him

"Pehle hi pata chal jaana chahiye tha" Sameer murmured

"Kya?" Naina narrowed her eyes

"Arre. Main toh yeh keh raha tha ki ab toh aur intezaar nahi hota mujhse. Kab yeh sab khatam hoga aur tum mere paas aa jaogi." he said, keeping a hand under his head

"Itni riti-riwaz se shaadi hogi yeh toh maine socha tak nahin tha. Toh jo ho raha hai usse khush ho jao"

"Khush toh main tab ho jaunga jab kal tumse milne aaunga aur tumhare haaton mein mera naam dekhunga-"

"Acha ji. Toh tume yeh pata hai. Kaafi filmein dekhne lage ho" Naina chuckled, leaning against the balcony

"Jaankaari ikatthi kar raha tha na-"

"Toh yeh bhi jaan lo ki naam shaadi ke baad hi dekh sakte hain. Aur agar kal tum aaye na, toh dekh lena"

"Kya Naina. Tumhe dekhne ke liye hi toh aaunga na" Sameer said unhappily

"Sameer. Pakde gaye toh hungama ho jaayega"

"Toh tum mujhse nahi milogi?"

"Bilkul nahin"

"Theek hai. Tab main challenge karta hun ke kal shaam tak tum mujhe kiss karogi" he said, twirling the wire of the phone

"Kya? Hawai kile mat banao. Main aisa kuch nahi karne waali"

"Challenge ho jaaye" he said, excited to complete this one

"Han. Kar lo challenge. Haaroge toh tum hi" Naina said, cutting the phone

_____________________________________________

Naina held up a green embroidered dress against her, checking if it looked good on her-

"Chal chal. Mummy ke saath market jaana hai" Preeti came running to the room

"Tu bhi na. Kitna kaam pada hai aur tujhe abhi kharidaari karni hai. Pehle nahi bol sakti thi. Main nahin aa rahi" Naina said, keeping her hands on her waist

"Behen. Kharidaari na tere liye karni hai. Mummy aisa hi kuch keh rahi thi" Preeti pulled her along

"Agar aur sareeyan khareedi na, toh phir shaadi ke baad Sameer aur mujhko ek saree ki dukaan kholni padegi" Naina tried to dissuade her aunt from buying what was already in excess.

"Chal na Naina. Yeh zaroori hai. Tu baad mein samjhegi" her Chachi said, adding a in a whisper to Naina-
'Kuch aur cheezein bhi chahiye hoti hai ek shaadi-shuda aurat ko, samajh rahi hai na-"

"Mummy, mujhe bhi batao" Preeti jumped, trying to hear what her mother was whispering

"Dekho toh isse. Shaitan ki naani. Teri shaadi hogi na. Tab tujhe pata chal jayega. Ab Naina, jaldi kar beta" Chachiji pulled Preeti's ear, taking her out of the door, followed by a very confused Naina behind them

Sameer was waiting at a tea-stall near Naina's society, currently drowning his 10th cup, thinking of ways to go inside, when he saw her going out with her aunt-

"Yeh log itni subah subah kahan jaa rahe hai?" He thought, following them to the market, thinking of sneaking behind Naina, startling her. After all, she'd given him a challenge that he couldn't wait to win it

He saw them go inside a shady little store with delicate articles worn by females on display outside-

"Ouch" he barely missed hitting a pole after watching the scenario, stubbing his toe and could feel a bump growing on his head now

'Andar jaun..Na jaun' Sameer muttered under his breath, tearing the petals of a roadside flower in frenzy, letting it decide-

"Bhaad mein jaaye. Main toh jaa raha hun" he said, throwing away the stalk, tiptoeing inside
____________________________________________
*Naina's POV*

They entered the bustling market area, weaving their way through the narrow alleys, stopping at a small store tucked away in a corner

"Yeh! Chachiji iski mujhe koi zaroorat nahi hai" Naina retraced her steps, feeling embarrassed, with Preeti joining her

"Chal na andar. Kuch aur khareedna hai" her aunt held her hand, giving a tight smile

Once they were inside, Naina fidgeted continuosly, wondering what her aunt was upto, when she heard her whispering to the shopkeeper to show them some special night dresses-

"Acha. Aapke liye dikha du?" The man sized her aunt up and down

"Nahin bhaisahab. Yeh iske liye" her aunt brought her to the front, ignoring Naina's growing uneasiness

"Chachiji main yeh sab-"

"Inko small size hi aayega" the man said, oblivious to a young man hearing everything from a nearby pillar, thinking why his throat felt parched all of a sudden. The display of the colourful materials set fire to his already vivid imagination.

He was starting to feel like a creep, hence pretended to choose some other things from their opposite end, his eyes darting frequently to the other side though
_____________________________________________

"Pani puri" Preeti shouted, running at full speed towards the vendor with her mother hitting her head, following her.
Naina was about to go towards them when she was dragged by someone, till they reached a curve leading to a blind alley-

"Bachao" Naina screamed, when the person turned and she saw Sameer looking at her, a smug look on his face

"Sameer. Chodo mujhe. Jaane do" she struggled, but his grip was firm at her shoulders

"Kyun jaane dun? Challenge lagaya tha? Bhul gayi" he said, dipping his head towards her, while she gripped the packet in nervousness-

The scrunching sound of the packet had his attention, and he had it in his hands in no time-

"Isse pehle dekh toh loon meri jaan ne mere liye kya tohfa liya hai" he said, as if unaware of its contents

"Tumhare liye nahi hai" Naina tried to snatch it

"Pakka?" Naina's face flushed at this

"Yeh na..woh.. Haan! Tohfon ko pack karne ke liye Chachiji ne wrappers liye hai. Wahi hai"

"Ohhh. Toh gift-wrap ke liye saaman hai?" Sameer asked, giving a lopsided smirk

"Haan baba. Keh rahi hoon na. Wapas karo. Chachiji dhoond rahi hogi"

"Waise iska colour konsa hai?"

"Ab ek toh nahi lungi na. 3-4 colours the"

"Lace waali hai?"

"Haan. Saamne lagi hai-" Naina immediately shut up, then gave a look to Sameer

"Toh tum andar the." It wasn't a question

"Pink waali pehenna" Sameer whispered, raking her up and down, adding

"Waise galat nahi kaha tumne, wrapping paper hi toh hai yeh" and added naughtily, "-aur meri gift toh tum ho hi"

"Aur tum bilkul Besharam" Naina said, burying her face in his chest
_____________________________________________

*Mehendi Night*

Naina looked around her, having a strange feeling of Sameer's presence somewhere near her, amid the music and noises of people around her-

"Jijaji ko mat dhoondh. Woh toh apne ghar mein alag function mein hai" Kamya, her friend from schooldays, teased her

"Aur nahin toh kya?" Preeti said, admiring the mehendi design on her sister's hand

"Main Sameer ko nahi dhoond rahi thi" Naina said in her defence

"Chal Preeti. Bechari ko apne Romeo se mila hi dete hai" Kamya laughed

"Kaise?-" Naina asked, curiously then schooled herself-

"Mera matlab tha Sameer yahan aaya hai kya?"

"Hum chatt pe jaa rahe hai Mummy. Naina ko thandi-thandi hawa chahiye, ghutan ho rahi hai isse" Preeti hollered out to her mother, emphasizing on the thandi-thandi hawa

"Theek hai" Chachiji agreed as the function was almost over

They dragged Naina to the roof, with Naina trying to slow down as to not show her enthusiasm

"Chal. Ja mil le" Preeti giggled, closing the terrace door behind her

Naina slowly walked towards the figure, who had his back turned to her-

"Aagayi tum?" He said, without turning

"Tumhe kaise pata chala?" Naina gently turned him towards herself by her elbows

"Tumhare kadmon ki ek-ek chaal pehchaanta hu main." He admired her, his gaze dropping to her mehendi clad hand

"Mera naam? Dekhne nahi dogi?" He traced her arm, playing with the numerous bangles adorning her wrists

"Dekhne deti. Par ap-shagun hota hai" Naina said sadly

"Agar main bina dekhe dhoond nikalu toh? Mera challenge poora karne dogi?"

"Bina dekhe kaise nikaloge? Antaryami toh nahi lagte" Naina chuckled

"Sabr karo" saying this he closed his eyes, taking her hands in his, tracing the dried lines of henna, trying to single out his name-

"Mil gaya!" He said in triumph with a secretly beaming Naina who said-

"Maan gaye Mister"

"Ab mera inaam?"

Naina went on her toes, kissing his cheek, smiling on-

"Khush?"

He angled his face, giving her a peck-

"Ab kya har baar karke batana padega? Yeh bhi koi kiss hoti-" His words were drowned by her lips, his eyes widening with her each smooch, until she pulled away-

"Ab tumhe koi challenge haarne kaise deti?" She gave a wink, before opening the door with a smiling Sameer walking behind her

Sorry for not updating for a long time. I tried to make it as my take on the best pink lace waali🤭🤭🤭
Can contain many mistakes🌚
Do vote if you like it