Samaira sat in her car and ignited the engine, but her mind was wandering back to the words, Aarush said.
He was the last boy she would have ever wanted to see after her engagement. Destiny has proved to be cruel to them, but time has been good to him. He still had those glittering brown eyes, cute dimples that showed up every time he was happy, and the way his lips used to curve upwards in a sexy smirk that made her heartbeat two times faster is still the same.
But his body has developed even more muscles, his shoulders are broad, and he looks more mature than before, even though he still has that silly Aarush hidden in him, that just requires the right person to emerge out in front of.
She drove outside the basement of the building, taking a glance she left. Samaira's thoughts were chaotic and she wanted to clear them, so she went on a long drive with herself. Alone time with her own self, an empty road, slow music, is what she loves to do when everything seems to be a mess.
Aarush might be her boss soon, but him being her boss will create havoc in her life. Things were tangled before but now everything will be beyond repair.
It was peaceful to drive alone where no one could stop her from overthinking. Except for a phone call of course and to ruin her time, she got a call from Tarun, her fiancé.
"Dude, where are you?" he enquired as soon as she picked the call. "On a deserted Island about to be eaten by the hungry bears," she said with a sour mood. "Oops, I interrupted your so-called 'my time'." He mocks her knowing well she hates his nonsense comments.
"Chill, my lady, I was just worried about you and called you to check." Tarun said and Samaira took a deep sigh before speaking, "My interview went worse."
"It's okay, go home and rest for a while. We will talk about this in more detail later." But he even knew how much his words comforted her. "Okay then I am heading home, will talk to you tomorrow." Samaira smiled to herself after replying.
"Take care, talk later," he ended the call, he is indeed an outstanding friend anyone can ask for.
She turned the car toward her apartment, deciding to take a long stress relieving shower, and then bingeing on Netflix with a cup of hot chocolate and snacks to go with.
Everything was fine but her mind was still not ready to forget Aarush. Cursing herself a little for thinking about him, she opened the door of her apartment.
Having a kitchen near the door had its perks, Samaira saw a shadow in the kitchen, for such situations she always kept a bat handy behind the door.
She turned to grab it ready to attack whoever it was but heard the noise of the footsteps coming her way. She clenched the bat and lifted it up to hit the person but her attack was stopped. She opened her eyes to find Tarun grabbing the other end of the bat with a raised eyebrow and a smirk plastered on his face.
"You? what the hell are you doing here?" Samaira questioned him about keeping the bat back to its place. "Me? I was searching for food, but I forgot I came to your apartment how can you have a packed fridge, it will always be as empty as your brain," He mocked her.
"Hey, want me to beat the shit out of you?" she glared at him as she kept her bag on the couch, "With what? That shitty bat of yours which is in a condition to be used for washing clothes?" He passed her a sneaky comment.
"Gosh! you can't even leave a simple bat from your insults," she shook her head dropping herself on the couch. "Miss, I am giving you just an hour to freshen up." He changed his tone from playful to a stern one.
"Why?" she furrowed her eyebrows at him. "We are going out for dinner because I am hungry and your fridge has nothing except ice in it.", and he was back.
"NOOO!!! I don't want to," she whined trying to stop him from dragging her anywhere. "Your yes or no doesn't matter to me. Go get ready, shoo." He pulled her up pushing her into the room. "FINE!!" His chuckles were heard, and she smiled to herself.
Samaira took a much-needed relaxing shower and then chose a nude pink off-shoulder dress matching it with cute little diamond earrings and a pair of nude heels. She grabbed her phone and a small go-to bag and left her room.
"Oh! someone looks hot!" Tarun teased her and then gave her a side hug but she rewarded him with a punch in his stomach. "Oh please, can we leave I am hungry,"
"Oh yes my lady, let's go," he said and walked ahead.
They left the house and sat in the car. "Where are we heading to by the way?" Samaira asked him as curiosity rose in her. "Just keep your mouth shut and enjoy the ride," Tarun commented.
"Oh please, I will enjoy the drive if I know you aren't taking me to a cave to kill me and dig my grave there itself," she rolled her eyes.
"You are way too into thrillers and that murder mysteries, give your mind a brief break and sit back, I won't kill you." She chuckled and rested back on the seat, looking out of the window as the cool breeze gave a calm feeling.
"We'll be there in like 20 minutes," he replied after a few minutes.
"Hmm," she answered him, keeping her eyes closed.
"I love you, Sam." saying this he pulled her towards him placing his soft lips on hers, taking her to heaven. She lost her first kiss and to Aarush, what a dream come true.
"Stop dreaming about your love, Sam, we are here," Samaira opened her eyes to realize that everything she just felt was just a freaking dream!?
"Oh yeah! Yeah, I am awake." She took a deep breath leaving the car to follow Tarun. "Oh! We are in Dine-in and Dine-out? I just love their food, Tarun" Samaira exclaimed as they stood in front of the restaurant.
"I knew it, that's why I just wanted to give you a brief break from the shitty interview of yours," he and his snarky comments. Samaira shook his head
"That's so sweet of you but I still want to let it out," she said as they took the elevator for the terrace. "I know so keep speaking, I am listening," he said smiling at her as they reached their destination.
"Hello, ma'am and sir, is your seat reserved?" one waiter asked them as they reached inside. "Yes, under the name of Tarun," Tarun answered as the server guided them to their seats.
Their seat was at a far end, away from the crowd giving us a little privacy. "Give us a little time, we'll let you know our orders," Tarun told him as the server left.
"So, what do you want to eat?" "Umm... I want to have Italian today. What about you?" She answered Tarun while looking at the menu. "I will have the same," he answered, calling the server.
"Yes sir?" The server spoke and Tarun nodded before speaking. "Get us two Italian platters."
"Sure sir," the server took their orders and left. "So, miss, speak up and let it out." Samaira took a deep breath and started.
"It was my worst interview ever; you know how horribly I answered? Even to the simplest question, I was acting like a dumb." She told him everything, "And? there is something more to it."
He smirked a little knowing she was hiding something. "Find! the person who took my interview is the same person I... I umm..." she rolled my eyes looking at the other side leaving the statement hanging.
"Oh, that's something spicy to hear. Why are you afraid? Did you confess your feelings to him or something?" He was in the mood of teasing her today. "No, you dumbhead, but I couldn't answer the questions because of him, I will fail this interview too."
She pressed her lips together. "It's okay if you can join my company, I guess there is an empty place of a peon for a while, it will suit you best."
Samaira arched her eyebrow at his stupid humor. "Wow! so funny Mr. Saxena," Sarcasm flowed from her mouth. "Indeed, it was, wasn't it? Okay, jokes apart, stress little, we will figure out something soon." He said lifting her mood.
"Hmm, I hope too, I don't want to return to Delhi, it just doesn't feel right," Samaira whined.
"Don't worry Sam, everything will be right on track as every day passes," Tarun said as he placed his hand on hers, calming her down. Soon the server served the dinner and the entire night went in a swift moment. It was refreshing to have a little time with your friend, it feels like everything is back to normal and nothing is wrong.
Even though their parents pushed us into a relationship they both don't approve of their feelings never changed and thinking about Tarun other than a friend was almost impossible for Samaira.
He has always been like a brother to her since they met in the first year of college.
Friday went off in the cleaning, putting up stuff, arranging every room, and arranging clothes, bingeing on Netflix. But on the morning of Saturday, while she was making breakfast for herself, along with a cup of hot coffee, she received a call.
It was weird for her to get a call so early in the morning. It was just 9 in the morning but she took the call.
"Hello, Am I talking to Miss Samaira Malhotra?" The other person asked. "Yes, I am Samaira, who is it?"
"I am Tara, Aarush sir's assistant, I called up to inform you that we selected you for the position of CMO in our company. We request you to join us from Monday morning sharp at 8 in the morning. Congratulations," she said in a monotone.
"T-thank you, B-bye" Samaira hung the call with a shock. It was a surprise that she got selected. It took time to recover, and she made the first call to Tarun. "TARUN!!!!" she yelled as soon as he picked the phone.
"What the hell? why are you shouting in my fucking ear you stupid," and the banter started.
"I don't care, I got selected. Right now, you are talking to a CMO, dude!!!" she said in response.
"Oh!! that's a piece of great news, see I told you to be patient, and all the best for your upcoming days with your LOVER," she closed her eyes in frustration as he stressed the word lover.
"Dude, don't ruin my mood, so early in the morning." she requested.
"Fine, Fine enjoy your day and organize yourself for your upcoming life."
"Thanks, well I am going to have breakfast, I will talk later."
"Yeah bye!!"
She took a deep breath thanking her stars. "I hope everything goes well," she whispered to herself sitting down on the couch to have her breakfast which was now looking more delicious than ever.
Then comes how she was going to spend her weekend because in Delhi her friends always surrounded her. She was here all alone.
Of course, Netflix and popcorn seemed perfect for the weekend but when you are alone it becomes boring AF.
She has spent her entire childhood on beaches and Marine drive which are the famous attractions of Mumbai.
It came in handy when she hopped on the bed and scrolled through the internet.
She had decided how she will spend her wonderful weekend.
Saturday, as it was, she took her Starbucks coffee and headed to Sanjay Gandhi National Park. It was a very tiring ride but worth it. She loves spending time in the wild, and reminds her about this beautiful world humans are destroying.
She reached there and took a guide for some company.
They saw the Cat family first, the pride of the jungle. It was so amazing to see cubs cuddling with their mom. "Aww, that's so sweet," She remarked. "They are five months old. Two females and one is male." the guide said to me. They were a perfect family. Her career had always driven her inner desire of becoming an independent woman however somewhere deep down she always wanted to be the mother of adorable kids.
Weird but yes that's her. The idea of having her own kids now seems to be many lightyears away.
She sighed and looked away, closed her eyes, and tried to absorb the surroundings. She pushed all the ideas away and went to the canteen for lunch.
Mini trail, boating, and many more things were yet to be explored by her. The rest of the day flew in nature and she had the best me-time ever.
She was looking forward to Sunday because it was going to be a hundred times more fun than today.
Shopping, beaches, and food were a perfect trio for Sunday.
She had a very peaceful sleep and woke up without being grumpy.
She was soaked in water when she got a call from Anjali.
"Hey, what's up gal?" she exclaimed. "Nothing, just getting ready. I have a fabulous Sunday planned." Samaira exclaimed.
"Right, I just called you to open your Facebook and see what I posted." and by the tone of her, it's something which will annoy Sam.
Samaira hung up the phone after talking to her a bit. She got dressed up and checked Facebook.
When she saw her post, she was dumbstruck. It had all the couples who were dancing on the dance floor 7 years ago at their farewell party and in the very center of it was Aarush and Samaira. They looked so perfect together.
All the memories flowed in her mind and now within the second, he filled up her mind again.
Her excitement crumbled and sadness bloomed. One picture ruined her perfect Sunday. She ordered her favorite lunch and dinner and stayed in bed the whole day swooning over the moments she had with Aarush.