It was nearing September now and the rains were few and far in between. It had been 2 weeks after the 'window' incident and Naina hadn't seen Sameer after that. His window was now permanently closed after that night, and the memories of that incident always brought a flush to her face at how brainless she'd been.
But his beloved motorcycle was still there parked outside of the colony, so that gave her an assurance that he was very much there, though not in sight. Maybe his work timings had changed

It was Sunday and she was on one of her weekend calls with her sister, who seemed to be a little worried

"Behen, tu na Dusshere pe Ghar mat aa"

"Par kyun?"

"Tere liye rishta leke aayi thi Taiji. Ghar pe aake chai-wai peeke gaye hai woh namune. Bol rahe the ki Navratri ke baad hi Roka karwa denge"

"Aise kaise Roka karwa denge? Main toh uss chuchundar ki aisi khabar lungi ki dobara mudkar nahi dekhega"

"Par teri photo uss Sharad ko pasand aa gayi hai. Mud ke dekhne ka pata nahi par ghoor ghoor ke zaroor dekh raha tha teri woh college farewell wali photo ko" -

Preeti was worried about her sister getting married to that male chauvinist. He'd stifle her sister's ambitions for sure, the type of person that he was.

"Uss ki haddiyan na tod du main-" Naina was hell angry now

"Behen, main toh kehti hun ki wahi kisi handsome se ladke ko patake shaadi kar le. Koi nahi hai kya aisa wahan?"

Suddenly, Sameer's face flashed before her eyes in an instant, his smile, the way he kicked his bike when it wouldn't start, the smirk which he gave her some weeks back at his window while she was mortified at her stupidity...
She immediately shook her head to clear her thoughts-
"Jyada na filme na dekha kar. Aur mujhe abhi koi shaadi-wadi nahi karni. Apna future banana hai. Chachaji ka naam roshan karna hai"
"Naina Devi tera kuch nahi ho sakta. Dhanya hai tu aur dhanya hai mere papa jo unhe aisi aagyakari beti mili.
Chal ab rakhti hun."-
Preeti laughed as she cut the call.
_____________________________________________
Sameer was having samosas with his friend Pandit from his favorite vendor near his colony, when he saw Naina coming back towards her hostel. He choked on his samosa and immediately turned his back to her so that she couldn't see him

"Bhai, kya ho gaya achanak se. Le le pani pi"-
Pandit offered water to a coughing Sameer, who started drinking water hurriedly, turning his back to the cart

"Bhai tu udhar kyun dekh raha hai. Samose idhar hai. Udhaar liya hua hai ya kisi se panga hua hai kya? Par yahan toh woh schoolteacher ko chod ke koi nahi dikh raha"-

Pandit started looking out for the person Sameer was avoiding, most probably.

Sameer immediately turned back, and saw that Naina was well inside the hostel and sighed a breath of relief.
He remembered Pandit's words and queried him-

"Tujhe kaise pata ki woh school teacher hai?"

He was sure his friend was talking about that girl only as the street was deserted otherwise
"Arre yeh pichle mahine hi aayi hai na. Apne Ahmedabad ki hi hai. Mere school me hi thi. Hum sab milke use Naina Devi bulate the" Pandit chuckled
"Ek minute. Toh uska naam Naina Devi hai?"
*Yeh toh ladki kam kisi Ashram ka Naam jyada lag raha hai*-Sameer thought

"Nahi re. Uska naam Naina Agrawal hai. Par isne hume itne dande padwaye the isiliye hum sab ne iska Devi, Masterni aur pata nahi kya kya namkaran kar diya tha. Ab dekh sachmuch ki Masterni bann gayi hai.Aur iska baap- baap re baap-"

"Toh Naina..hmmm" Sameer was lost in her thoughts

"Tera iske saath panga toh nahi ho gaya na?"
Pandit was curious now.

"Bohot lambi kahani hai. Phir kabhi bataunga"

Sameer patted his friend's back, who'd unknowingly given away the information which he was seeking in the deep recesses of his heart..her name.
_____________________________________________
It was late at night and the rains were pouring on incessantly since the evening, flooding the streets. Naina was standing at the bus stop near her school, her hands full of groceries, waiting for the bus. But there was no sight of it since half an hour.

"Pata nahi ghar kaise jaungi. Itni tez baarish ho rahi hai. Inki wajah se late ho gaya"
She glared at the poor grocery items in her hands and sighed sadly looking for other means of transport.

Suddenly there was a power cut in the area and the whole bus stop plunged into darkness and it started feeling desolate now

"Lo. Ab yahi hona baaki tha. Aur kuch hai toh woh bhi kar do. Mere saath hi aisa kyun hota hai?"
Naina complained as she sat down on the benches inside the stop.
"Madam, main aapko ghar chod deta hu. Meri taxi paas mein hi hai. Half rate mein chod dunga"
A man approached her out of nowhere offering her a ride home, pointing to his white coloured taxi nearby.
Naina was in a dilemma whether to accept his offer as usually she was suspicious of such offers, but today she was exhausted.
"Chalo tab"
She was about to get up when a hand pulled her down.
"Arre Naina tum yahan kya kar rahi ho? Kabse dhoond raha tha. Ab chalo, ghar nahi chalna kya."

Naina looked over to see it was Sameer who was holding her hand firmly, signalling her to go with him through his eyes

"Huh?" - was all she could manage from the shock, sudden surprise of seeing him after 2 weeks and the knowledge that he was holding her hand.

"Ji aap Kaun? Madam ne kaha woh meri taxi mein jayegi" the 'taxi driver' protested

"Abbey oye, Biwi hai meri. Tujhe kya? Naina, chalo na" he almost pulled her to his bike
"Biwi??? Kab aur kaise?" she whispered to him, shocked

"Sawal mat karo. Aur chalo yahan se" Sameer was losing his patience now.

"Par ye toh aapke saath nahi jaana chahti" the driver said, suspicious of him being the husband seeing Naina's confused looks.

"Tu yahan akele mein pitega ya aur logon ko bulwaun?" Sameer rolled his sleeves with a menacing glance, gesturing through his eyes not to mess with him now.

The man scampered away immediately after seeing his new avatar while Naina stood aside, being in awe of it.

"Ab ishtehar chapwana padega ya aap khud chalengi mere saath?" Sameer put on his helmet as he looked sideways towards Naina

"Tum mera peecha kar rahe the kya? Aur tumhe mera naam kaise pata chala?"

"Yeh sab baatein hum baad mein kare? Andhera ho raha hai. Ab aur thodi der karta na toh tumhare naam kal ke akhbar mein aata.Ab khud baithogi ya.. ?"

"Baith rahi hu, baba. Saaman toh rakh lu pehle. Aur thanks, mujhe aise hi kisi ke saath nahi chale jana chahiye tha..."

"Shukr hai, aur thanks ki koi zaroorat nahi hai. Ab iske aage aur kuch mat kehna warna hum ghar jaane se rahe"

Naina sat gingerly behind him, careful not to touch him in anyway. Their clothes were fully drenched now as the bike took up speed. She could feel the heat coming off his body as she shuffled closer to him

He could feel the first clutch of hers on his shoulder as they came to a turning. And it seemed to fill him with a warmth which nobody could provide him in this bleak city.
He smiled looking at her through the rearview mirror as he whizzed towards their destination
An unknown, unspoken bond had been forged that day between them, concealed in their hearts

I suck at writing romantic scenes😅. This update seems longer and may be boring and cliche😶
Please vote if you like and comment if you want something else in the story.