Contd... from prev chap

The guy takes off his helmet and...

"Huh?"

"Hey! I'm back. Surprise suprise!"

Vineet grins at Ruhana making her blood boil. Okay she loves him, she does but right now what she feels towards him is pure anger-

Oblivious, he parks his bike and comes to greet her.

"Hey!-"

He attempts to touch her cheek but she steps back.

"You... what? Why?"

"Thodi der pehle aaya tha. Socha tume surprise karlu..."

"Surprise?!!"

Her voice comes out as a shocked grunt and he knows something is wrong.

"Hey, suno Ruu, don't be mad- I was only trying to-"

"Wo sab baad mei! Pehle pitega tu!"

Ruhana begins to slap and punch on his shoulders, chest. First he lets her but then as the intensity of punches increases, he steps away, almost running-

"You stupid dumb idiot! Donkey! Monkey! Kutte- Kameen-"

"Arey bas karo yar.. Aur gaali mat do... not the k word please!"

Ruhana chases him and tries to grab his shirt n hit him, he dodges, moving a little further..

"You deserve it!"

She picks up a nearby object- what looks like an old, dried up dustbin and hurls that at him-

"Dustbin?? Shaant hoja meri maa.... Haat gande hogaye dekho!"

Vineet steps aside. Ruhana is frustrated for missing her target.

"Mann karraha hai tujhe kachre k dibbe se nahi, kachre ke dibbe mei phenk duu... aaj nahi bachega.."

Ruhana shouts angrily, she looks around for something solid so that she can beat him into pulp- ahaan! Found it! An old broken cricket bat!

"Arey yar... please! Please shaanti!"

"Vinu k bacche..."

The chase begins again and Vineet finds himself facing a dead end and when he turns around there's an enraged Ruhana, bat in her hands. She tucks her dupatta around her waist and gets into battle mode.

"Arey yar! Hone wale pati ko maarogi kya?"

"Jaan nahi lungi. Sirf pitayi karungi.. Ok?"

"Not interested. Sorry... baksh de yar!"

"Tumne Abhijeet sir se jhoot bulwaya? Abhijeet sir se? Aur itne din kaha the tum? Tumhe pata hai main kitni pareshan thi? Na ek phone, na koi message. Aur wapis aate hi nautanki!"

"Arey, please yar.. Wo.. kya karta main tumhe suddenly surprise karna tha toh, sir se kehdiya ki wo tume phone kare-"

"Isey daraana kehte hai..."

Ruhana tights her grip in her hands.

"Kaisi inspector ho... darpok kahiki.. Itni si baat se dar gayi?"

Vineet doesn't know he just poked the tigress in the eye.

"Mujhe darpok kaha? Get ready to face a woman's wrath Mr. Vineet Kumar!!"

She shouts and then she's upon him, hitting him with the bat- she hits his legs first, and then bends him a little almost doing the 'dhobi aasan' on his back-

"Ow!!" Vineet yelps in pain-

Her hits weren't lethal or anything. They just hurt a little bit... maybe for an ordinary person. But to a cop like him, they're totally painless... he knew it, she wasn't really gonna hit him hard. But just how much did he hurt her that she is pushed to this edge?

"Ow! Ahh maar diya re..."

He continues his act and let her hit him, hoping that his cries would calm down her anger-

He scrunches further down but nothing comes-

Ruhana throws the bat aside, holding back a sob and sits on the ground, looking thoroughly shaken-

When Vineet finds her in this state, he's devastated... maybe he went a little extreme with his surprise plan.

"Ruhana.."

He gently calls her out by her name n crouches down before her.

"I'm mad!" Ruhana yells at him, "super mad! I was already so worried and when Abhi sir ne kaha ki tum gayab hogaye! Meri saans ruk gayi thi.... Aur wo bike pe... mujhe laga.. Someone was gonna attack!!-"

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry Ruu... I'm a fool... I'm really..."

"I'll never forgive you... never!!"

She begins hitting him on his shoulders again and he lets her. Then she buries her head in his chest and he hugs her as silent tears stream down her face.

"I'm still mad..." she says as he hugs her tight.

"I know... but I'm not letting you go."

"I- did i hit you hard?"

He laughs at the sudden concern in her voice.

"No... just a little?"

They part the hug and Vineet helps her to her feet.

"I'm sorry. Wo actually I didn't think you would freak out so much... I'm sorry..."

He reaches out to wipe her stray tears with his thumb and smiles sadly...

Ruhana gives him a small smile. She suddenly feels sheepish. He's right... she freaked out a little much. Maybe because she was just a girl desperately in love back then, not a cop on duty!

"Anyways... I'll make it up to you. I'm the one who made you cry. Now I'll not rest until that smile is restored..."

Those genuine words, full of love touch her heart but she hides her smile.

"What? Aren't you gonna promise me something? Like main aisa kabhi nahi karunga?"

"Nahi.. because it only sounds like an excuse. I'll show it to you... just how much I love you.... I'll show you... ki aisi galti main kabhi nahi karunga..."

Ruhana feels herself melting a little. She sniffs, wiping her eyes with a kerchief he offers.

"Wo bike dekhi hai? Plan ye tha ki hum drive pe chalein. Ek longg drive? Tum aaogi?"

Ruhana is tempted to take the hand he offers but turns her head the other way.

"What?"

"I wanna take a walk!"

Ruhana begins to walk away, huffing and he follows her.

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They walk in silence to his bike.

"Ab kaha chalei?" Vineet asks softly.

Maybe a quiet dinner would have been great for both of them. V-Day is over but he wanted to spend the evening with her. And now...

"Ghar.. aur kaha?"

She turns around, walking. He sighs, following her while pushing his bike along...

"Hey! Tum bike nahi chalaoge?"

"Nahi.. tum nahi chalrahi ho na... so..."

Vinu shrugs. She finds herself smiling a little.

Few mins pass and they aproach the beach road.

"Chalo bhi na yar... main road pe aise nahi chal sakte. Please."

Huffing again, she agrees to hitch a ride on his bike.

"Let me tell you, mere pair dhuk rahe hai isliye maan gayi main."

"OK baba..."

They get on the bike and the ride begins. The night breeze and the glow of neon lights strangely calms her down.

She finds herself relaxing, closing her eyes. When she opens.. She finds that they aren't heading towards her home.... Then where?

"Kaha lejaarahe ho?"

"Ride pe..."

"Arey par maine kaha ki.."

"Just trust me Ruhana, this is gonna be the best ride you ever went on-"

"Hmm..."

She leans a little, resting her head on his back. As her hands wrap around his waist, he smiles feeling relieved.

"Thank you, love..."

"What?"

Ruhana is confused.

"I said thanks..."

"Haan par kyu? Shouldn't you say sorry..."

"Wo toh main bolchuka hu... par koi na, I'll tell you a hundred times more. Par thank you bhi kahunga. Because... for a moment, I felt lost. I felt ki... what if you break up with me? What if you leave me forever? Main bohot dar gaya tha..."

That feeling.... Ruhana muses, it's the same she underwent.

"Silly," she wraps her arms tighter around him, "wo toh nahi honewala... mujhe jhelte rahoge tum haan!"

He laughs, "thanks I want that!"

"Haha... but lemme tell you, I'm still mad..."

"OK OK.. manaauga ji... dekhti raho... I'll win you over again...!!"

"Try harder mister!"

They laugh and the ride goes on on the natinal highway.

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AN: ok.. Kaisa laga chap! Thank you everyone for your votes n comments. Means so much.

N Roo, dear, I'm glad u liked it... well you all wanted to beat him up, so pit gaya Vinu... bas thoda sa. haha. Ab mujhe mat maaro ok..!? Lol

NXT PART:

Where does Vinu take her? What surprises await Ruhana?

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Stay tuned! :)

Maybe there will be two more parts to wrap up the story. Sorry. I'm writing after so long.. Bas itna hi hua.. Aaj...

:)

Thank you!