Thooriga

Saby bro, stops the other guards a few feet before the gym and escorts me until the door.

"Don't let anyone inside, bro," I murmured to him

"Sure bro, En mobile la flashlight irukku pudichitu nikuren," I giggled at his meaning and walked into the gym.

I don't find Raj near any of the equipment but hear the sound of groaning and punching. I walk more into the gym and I find Raj in an open room to my right, hitting the punching bag.

He has removed his shirt, coat and other guarding tools. He hasn't noticed my presence and keeps punching hard, maybe letting out his steam. I'm not sure for how long he has been punching the bag but his brief is drenched with sweat and sticking to his body like a second skin.

Don't get distracted, Thooriga, concentrate.

I walk in the MMA practice room but suddenly, Raj gives a heavy blow and the punching bag swings in the air in my direction.

"Shit," He curses panicked as he found the punching bag swinging my way. I immediately jumped to flip in the air and kicked the bag before it hit me. I safely landed on the floor to find him holding the bag.

"Nee... neenga inga enna panringa, Heiress," He used a formal tone, still being angry with me. He left before I finished the last part but he is angry with me and I'm here for peace. (What are you doing here, Heiress?)

"Athu naan ketka vendiya kelvi, Mr Bodyguard. Ennoda mansion, naan enga venum naalum poovem," I'm not going to let him walk over me with his anger. (I should ask that question, Mr Bodyguard. This is my mansion and I can go everywhere, I wish.)

Raj raises an eyebrow, "Sorry, Heiress, I should have asked your permission..." I unzipped my hoodie and he stopped mid sentence. I don't let him finish as he yet again misinterpreted my words. "Naan sema kovathula iruken, mood la illa," he warned me.

Un Aasai "Naan iruken ye, workout panra mood la," I turn and throw my hoodie behind me and it lands on his face. The gym walls are fitted with mirrors and I can watch him clearly. He balls my hoodie but places it with his things instead of throwing it.

I wait for him to choose a machine to exercise while I pretend to think which exercise to do. He goes to sit on the Hammer strength row machine and start doing his exercise. There is a Techno beat playing in the gym and I connect my mobile to the sound system. I play a song of my liking and take the kettlebells as the music plays.

Nee Ammu Ammu Sollayile

Podaatiyaa Poorikkiren

Saami En Sami

I go to stand before him, turn the other way and hinge protruding my butt to do the kettlebell swings as the song starts.

Naa Saami Saami Solla Nee

Yen Purushanaana Feeling U Than

Saami En Saami

Raj watches at me and stops doing his exercise, "Gym la podra song ah ithu?" (Will anyone play this song in the gym?)

Nee Yedhira Yedhira Nadakkayilaa

Nee Yedhira Yedhira Nadakkayilaa

Yezhumalayaan Darisanam Da Saami

"Avan avan romantic songs ye potutu workout pandran, naan peppy number thaan ye potu iruken," I continued doing my swings. (There are many people who play romantic songs while doing workout, I'm just playing a peppy number.)

Nee Pakkam Pakkam Ninna Andha

Parameswaran Polo Thona Saami

Raj tightens his hold on the handles and his pecs stretch and contracts as he continues his workout.

Nee Illaama Naan Pogum Paadhai

Kallum Mullum Kuththudhuda

Saami En Saami

His eyes fixated on my back and I hinged more as I swung. I made a mistake by wearing yoga pants, I should have worn boy shorts. It would have been more fun to tease him.

En Saami Vaayya Saami

Manmadha Saami Mandhira Saami

Pokkiri Saami

"Paathu Mr Bodyguard sulika poguthu," I lock my eyes with him when he looks up at the mirror. (Be careful, Mr Bodyguard, don't sprain yourself.)

En Saami Vaayya Saami

Manmadha Saami Mandhira Saami

Pokkiri Saami

Raj stops doing exercise and pats his hands. He walks to the music system and stops the music. I continue with my own exercise without turning to look at him but watching him throw the mirrors.

He goes to cable crossover and adjusts the weight. I place the kettlebell down and do stretches. There is a pullup bar next to the cable crossover machine and I smiled to myself as an idea cooks up in my mind.

I walk to the spot, without looking up doing bicep stretches and lift my arms to hold the pullup bar. Once I have a hold on it, I pull myself up and look in the mirror. I pretend to be shocked and turn to look at his face close to mine.

He glares at me as a muscle ticks in his sharp jaw. "Sorry height difference la unga kai kum pull up bar kum confuse agiten," I jumped down releasing my hold on his biceps. (Sorry, I got confused between your arms and the pull up bar because of the height difference.)

I miss the balance but he holds me leaving one of the strings. "Bar cold ah llama hawt ah irukum pothe doubt vanthuchu..." he drops me and I fall on the floor. (I had the doubt when the bar was hot instead of being cold ...)

It was not a big fall and I didn't get hurt but I writhe in pain as if I got sprained in my back. Raj crouched next to me, concerned "Enna aachu?" (What happened?)

So you care only when I'm hurt?

"My hip got sprained from the fall and my back got hit against the weights."

"Shit," he gets up and takes a step away from me.

Did he find out I'm faking?

"Where are you going?"

"To get the first aid kit."

"You are going to treat me here?"

"What's wrong with that?" He is worried and tense but if he treats me here, my plan won't work.

"Take me to my room, there is a first aid box too," I look around and he follows my eyes to the cameras. He lifts me in his arms in a swift motion and walks to the door.

"What happened boss," Saby bro asked Raj.

"She got sprained," Saby bro looks at me and I winked at him, "get our things to the Heiress suite."

Raj descends down to the first floor and takes to my suite. He asked me to unlock the door and when we entered, Saby bro followed in with us.

Why is he entering?

I get tense but he leaves after placing our thing on the coffee table at the office of Raj. I showed Raj the unlocked door and moved back for me to lock the door from inside.

He kicks the lounge room and bedroom door to enter and lays me on the bed. He goes inside my closet to search for the first aid kit and I sit up on the bed.

He comes out, opens the box and takes out the pain relief spray, "En ukanthutu iruka?" (Why are you sitting?)

"My hands won't reach if I lie on bed," I continue to pretend to be in pain.

"I'll apply, you lie down," he comes to help me.

"The weights hit against just below shoulder blades, so I might need to remove the bra," I look the other way, pouting a little.

"As if I haven't seen anything before," he comes to pull up my sports bra over my head and I stop him.

"Notorious Playboy ku sports bra eppadi kalatutathu nu therila ya?" I insert my right arm into the strap and instruct him to push it over my head and then pull it down my left arm. (How does the notorious Playboy don't know how to remove a sports bra?)

"Do you really want to know the details of how I removed the bra of the others?" I sneer at him and turn my face away. My nipples turned hard with the immediate release from being constrained and he adjusted his throat, "Now lie down."

Raj helps me to lie down on my belly and a few seconds later, I feel a cold metal touching my lower back and recognise it as the spray cane.

Ohh sir ennai thooda kooda maatenga? Irudi ennum one minute kula nee ennai thoda poora paaru. (Ohh sir, wouldn't even touch me? Just wait a minute dear, you are going to touch me soon.)

"Tell me where it is paining," he moves the cane and I tell him a random spot.

I heard him open the cap of the cane but I don't feel any pain relief liquid is being sprayed. I heard his grunts, I crossed my fingers below the pillow and let out a silent prayer.

"This spray is not working. I'll apply pain relief ointment," He closes the spray cane and I release the breath I was holding, "Okay."

Spring iruntha thaan ye thambi spray work aagum. (Only if there is spring inside the cane, the spray will work.)

Before leaving the room, I removed the spring from the spray cane and placed a pen inside it. Thankfully, he didn't open the cane to check.

Raj applies the ointment on my lower back at the spot where I mentioned. I moan and his movement stops before continuing. "Shoulder pakathula enga?" I tell him another random spot but near the curve of my breast. (Where is it near your shoulder?)

He applies there and I decide to start talking about why he left before I finished but my heart speaks up instead of my mind, "En enakku ethachum hurt aana thaan enkita pesura ilana kovama irukka?" (Why are you talking with me only when I'm hurt or else you are staying angry with me?)

"Appo ivlo naal una hurt pani mattum thaan pesi irukan ah?" His voice is a bit hard and I turn to look at him. (So all these days I have been talking with you only when you are hurt?)

"Court la irunthu nee appadi thaan panitura," He looks me up and down before throwing away the ointment. (From court you are behaving like this.)

"Paravalaye commercials la vara mathiri one minute la sprain seri ayidichu," He gets off the bed and walks to the door (Wow!! Your sprain has gotten well within a minute like they show in commercials.)

"Nee intha vishayathula kovama irukum poothu unna eppadi pesa vaikurathu therila?" I called out behind him. (I didn't know how to start a conversation with you when you are angry with this situation.)

"Nee pesanum nu soli vanthu surrounding situation seri ah iruntha pesa pooren. Neethaan Thooriga nu therinja apo pesunen thaane? Unakku share panna friends irukanga, enakku share panna-vo kochika-vo care pandrathukum unna vitta vera yaaru irukku," Tears flow down my eyes as he walks out of the room, closing the door behind him. (If you come to talk with me and the surrounding situation is good, I'm going to respond. Didn't I talk when I found out that you are Thooriga? You have your friends to share your feelings but who do I have other than you to show my care, anger and share my feelings.)

I pull the duvet over my body and let the tears flow down for a while. Instead of making it better, why I'm fucking things up more and hurting him more. I'm not sure what's wrong with me since yesterday. It hurts to see him hurt. I wipe my face and decide to take a bath. I undress and get under the shower. I can't fake pain to make him talk with me, I should go in his way to make him talk with me properly.

What does he like more?

Suddenly, an idea appears and I run out of the bathroom after turning off the shower. I went to my room and searched for my mobile but I couldn't find it.

Argh!! Where did it go?

I remember Saby bro keeping our things on the coffee table at Raj's office. I take a towel from my closet, tie around my body and run to the lounge room. I open the door to peek out and check whether the main door to the suite is still locked. I enter Raj's office and take my phone and water bottle. I turn to run back into my room but get bumped against Raj as he comes out of his room and my towel drops down from my body. Our eyes go wide, I place my phone and bottle back on the table before I bend down to take my towel and wrap it around my body again.

He is dressed in a pair of sweatshirt and track pants as it's almost dinner time. "What the fuck are you doing here in a towel?" He asks me, looking the other way.

"Ohh really, now you are not even going to look at me with your anger?" I asked him, crossing my arms against my chest and holding the hem of my towel, not letting it fall again.

"I just wanted to give you privacy," He inserts his hands in his pockets.

"Seriously? Privacy between us? Then what were you doing yesterday in my closet after we returned from the hospital?" He stays quiet without replying, looking down at his footwears. I take my phone and bottle, "I came to take these."

"Can't you get them after getting dressed? What if someone has entered when you are in the towel or when it dropped?"

"I checked whether the main door was locked before coming out of the lounge room," I stomp into my room and place the water bottle with a thud on the bedside table. I throw my mobile on the bed and walk into the closet to change into a PJs and a t-shirt.

Onnu eppo paaru murungakai sapta maari iruka vendiyathu illa vedhalam murunga maram erika vendiya

I take a deep breath and take my phone to make a call.

Just wait and watch mama, tomorrow by this time you are going to keep running behind me.