Every time she laughs
She hopes he's watching
Not so that he sees she's happy
but that maybe, just maybe
He'll fall for her smile
Just as hard as she fell for his..

Song of the chapter - Gazab ka hai din by Jubin Nautiyal.

***

I put on the seatbelt as the air hostess goes on with her explanation.

This is my first time in a plane and I'm damn excited. Hriday let me sit near the window too! He told me we'll reach in an hour or so to Jodhpur.

We're instructed to switch off our phones or put them on flight mode. I remove my new phone from my purse and switch it off. Aaj hi liya. One more thing which I have to pay him for.

I look at Hriday who's on his phone, furiously typing something.

"Switch off kijiye phone" I nudge him with my shoulder.

He doesn't look up and continues typing. The plane starts moving.

"Calm down. Jyada se jyada plane blast ho jaayega aur kuch nahi" he says and hits the send button.

I gasp and snatch his phone, quickly switching it off.

"Aapke ek stupid email ke wajah se kitne log marr jaate aaj" I say in horror.

"You really are stupid. It was a joke, Shravni" he says.

"I'm not accustomed to your jokes" I say giving him his phone back.

"We're about to takeoff. Look" he says ignoring my question and pointing towards the window.

I look out and the plane slowly lifts in the air as I get a sinking feeling in my stomach. Like you get on giant wheels. Oh my god!

I see in amazement as all the buildings become smaller and smaller before my eyes and then finally disappear below the clouds.

I smile and turn to look at Hriday who is already looking at me.

"Raat ko aur bhi achha view hota hai" he says.

"Thanks" I say. "I know you're very busy with work and stuff but fir bhi you agreed to this, I'm happy".

"Daadi" he says simply, shaking his head.

He then shifts his hand a little and that's when I realise that I'm holding his very tightly.

When the hell did this happen?

"Sorry" I say and look out again.

In just a few minutes I get bored of looking at the plain blue colour outside.

I turn to look at Hriday and he's reading some business magazine.

"I'm getting bored" I say pulling the sleeve of his shirt.

"So?" He asks without looking up.

"Let's play a game" I say excitedly.

"No. I'm taking a nap" he says and pushes his seat a little backwards and leans back after closing the magazine.

"Vo jo kuch kuch hota hai me hai. You know? Zindagi milegi na dobara me bhi. Let's play that one" I tell him.

"Didn't you hear what I just said?"

"I say a word and jo bhi aapke dimaag me usse related pehla word aayega, you say that quickly. No pauses. Like rapid fire. Okay?"

"God, you're so annoying" he sighs.

"Start kare?" I ask.

"Fine" he says and closes his eyes as I see a hint of a smile playing on his lips. I smile too.

"Family?"

"Life".

"Work?"

"Passion".

"Money?"

"Happiness".

I roll my eyes.

"Daadi?"

"Daadu".

"Bachpan"

"Ekansh".

"Shaadi?"

"Barbaadi" he smirks.

"Pyaar?"

He opens his eyes and stares directly at me.

"Jaldi! Pyaar?" I ask again.

"I- I don't know. Enough now let me sleep" he says.

"Pyaar ke time aap ruk gaye" I say stroking my chin and gasp loudly when a realisation hits me.

"Ab kya?" He asks.

"Jab humari shadi hui tab aapki koi aur girlfriend thi.. hai na? Aapka pyaar. Aur fir Ekansh ke wajah se aapko usse chhod ke mujhse shaadi karni padi".

This can be the truth. Tabhi toh he hates me so much. And waise bhi the possibility of him being single is very unlikely.

"Tum kisi hindi show drama ki script writer bann jaao. Bollywood ne tumhe pagal kar diya hai bilkul. Aisa kuch nahi hai" he says pushing my head away with his two fingers.

"Oh.. fir thik hai" I sigh in relief.

"Waise.. that day Devika asked you to go to a movie with her and you denied saying that you don't watch movies. But.. Ekansh aur tum har week me ek baar toh jaate hi the na movie dekhne. Fir kyu?" He asks.

"I'm not ready for this discussion right now" I say and look away.

"Achhaa? Mujhse sab ugalwa leti ho aur khud ki baari aaye tab palat jaati ho. Wah!" He says.

I look at him and sigh. "It's not the movies that I enjoyed the most. It's the company of Ekansh. He used to laugh with me, whistle on the hero's entry, pass comments during stupid scenes and cry when there was an emotional one. Movies dekhne me ab kya maza jab vohi saath nahi".

I suddenly get a feeling that I should show him the letter that is right now neatly folded and kept inside my purse. By now I know it word to word and I can't wait for the other one.

But I guess Hriday will feel heartbroken because his brother left me a letter instead of him.

I decide to keep it to myself for a few more days.

***

"Is this where the wedding is happening?" I look at the massive building before me as some helpers come to take our luggage.

This was just 10 minutes from the airport. And wedding wala maahol bhi nahi lag raha yaha. It's 9pm toh itne jaldi sab so toh nahi gaye honge obviously.

"No not here. Yaha se kaafi dur hai so we'll go there tomorrow early morning. Here just for an overnight stay" he tells me as we walk inside the hotel named Royal Mahal.

He goes towards the reception. My eyes fall on something more interesting so I go there.

Such a huge fish tank. I bend down to look at the colourful fishes closely.

"Ma'am sir has asked me to show you to your room. He'll be up after all the verification is done" the bellboy says and I nod following him inside the lift.

When we reach the third floor an old woman walks out with a stick and I give her a smile. She has a huge bag in her hand and I can see she's having trouble lifting it.

"Can you please go and help her with the bags. I'll take the luggage myself".

"Sure ma'am. I'll just call someone else to take this" he says.

"No no. Room yahi floor pe hai na. I'll go by myself. And luggage trolley hi toh hai. It's fine" I reassure him.

"Ma'am-"

"Go" I say a little more sternly and he rushes to help the lady after giving me the key.

I look at the door beside me. 3C is written on it. Ours is 3A so I'm close.

While I'm looking at the door, I don't realise that someone is in the front and I accidentally push him with the trolley and he falls down.

The first thing I feel like doing is laugh. I can control my laughter at all times, but jab koi girr jaata hai tab bilkul nahi hota mujhse control.

Instead of doing that I rush towards the middle aged man to help him get up.

"I'm so so so sorry" I tell him and he glares at me looking down his long beard. It's longer than most people's hair.

"What sorry? Are you blind" he shouts at me as he touches his knee.

His voice is like Farhan Akhtar but with a ten times more kharaash. "Dekho khoon bhi aa gaya!"

There is not even a drop of blood. Not even a scratch.

"I'm really sorry uncle. I was-"

"UNCLE?" I'm younger than you woman! Tumhe koi tameez hai ke nahi baat karne ki. Bewkoof ladki" he shouts.

"Excuse me! Apni zabaan sambhal ke baat kijiye. If my husband sees you raising your voice on me like that, he'll beat you into a pulp" I tell him and at that same time Hriday walks in.

I smirk at that petu uncle's face when I see him gulp. Hah!

"What's going on" he asks.

"Aapki biwi ne ye badi trolley almost mujhpe chadhaa di. My knee is bleeding. I just had an operation. And she doesn't have the decency to apologise" he shouts.

"I said sorry so many times, uncle! What is your problem?" I glare at him.

"My wife is a little clumsy. Please forgive her" Hriday says to him and my glare gets directed towards him.

"I don't need his forgiveness. Kaise insaan hai ye mujhe toh-"

Hriday presses his hand on my mouth. "Sab ko uthaaogi kya. Room me chalo tum" he says and pushes me ahead.

I struggle against him but he doesn't leave me.

"Good. Take your stupid, psycho wife away from me. Pata nahi kaha kaha se log aa jaate hai aisi achhi jagah pe. Aukaat toh hai nahi aur-"

He falls on the floor again. Not because of the trolley but because of the punch that Hriday just threw at his face.

I grin widely which soon fades away when I see the staff approaching us. That petu uncle's nose has started bleeding.

Oh no! Are we in trouble now?

"Excuse me sir? Kya ho raha hai yaha?"

"This man just punched me in front of you aur aap puch rahe ho kya ho raha hai?" Uncle groans.

"This man was harassing and abusing my wife. You better shut the fuck up right now and get back to your room before I call the police and get you in jail. And trust me when I say this, maine agar tumhe andar karwaya toh tumhara bahar nikalna bahot mushkil ho jaayega" Hriday says.

I feel turned on.

Nobody speaks a word.

Uncle gets up and goes inside his room. One of the bellboy takes the luggage in our room and then we're left alone.

I look at Hriday for a long long time. He does the same.

And then I burst out laughing. I clutch my stomach as my knees give away and I fall down.

"Shravni!"

"Did you see his face?!" I say between my laughs.

"I could see nothing behind that beard. It was like I was talking to a huge mass of hair" he says shaking his head and I laugh more loudly. This time tears come out of my eyes.

"Petlaa Dumbledore" I laugh and Hriday's face breaks into a beautiful, breathtakingly gorgeous smile and he starts laughing too.

"Petlaa Dumbledore?" He laughs. It's not a oh-my-god-I-can't-breathe wala loud laugh but oh what a laugh it is.

He's never even smiled in front of me and today I've managed to get a laugh out of him. Chachi ko impress karne ke khushi se bhi jyada khushi mujhe ab ho rahi hai. Bahot jyada.

And damn those eyes. They're glowing light brown and crinkled at the end. Even his teeth are perfect. And it's like the room becomes a little brighter.

Toh aisa hota hai jab dil me guitar bajjti hai. Because I swear I can feel it.

"You have like the best smile in the world. You should smile more often" I say and he stops.

"Thanks" he says scratching the back of his neck.

I clear my throat. What the hell is happening? Whatever I said was what I truly meant and wanted to say to him. Fir bhi I feel embarrassed and shy and.. good.

"Khana order kare? Kya khaaogi tum?"

***

When I'm taking a pillow from the bed, Hriday comes out of the bathroom in just a towel and I get a sense of deja vu.

Just like Surat.

The hotness quotient a little higher this time.

When is he going to learn to take his clothes inside? Hriday, just in a towel, should be banned by law. Mere sehat ke liye achha nahi hai.

I sometimes sound cringy and desperate to my own self. Kya tha ye ugh!

I lie down on the couch and Hriday turns off the light.

I shuffle here and there to find a comfortable position. This couch is a little too soft. Puri andar ghuss rahi hu mai.

"Should I ask them for a bed" I hear his voice in the darkness.

"No no. I'm fine" I tell him.

There is a pause. "Do you want to sleep here? I'll sleep on the couch" he says.

I bite my lip. "No. I'm okay here. Go to sleep" I tell him.

There is longer pause.

"You can sleep here if you want. Ye bed bahot bada hai" he says and I smile in the darkness pressing my face into the pillow.

"You mean we should share a bed? And sleep together?" I tease.

"Yes. I mean no. Not like that. Chhodo tum couch pe hi sahi ho" he says and I chuckle.

"Waise bed kaafi bada toh hai" I say and he sits up.

"Will you shut up. I didn't mean anything like that" He says in irritation.

"Like what?" I ask innocently.

"I'll kick you out of the room ha" he warns me and I laugh but then keep my mouth shut.

"Ulti ho ke so jaao yaha. Like your legs this side" he says patting the space next to him.

I ponder for a few seconds and then get up.

He shifts to the right side and I slowly lie down like he told me to.

In the same bed but not.. sharing it. Smart.

"I hope you keep your legs to yourself" he says and I hear him yawn.

"I can't promise you that. Good night" I whisper into the darkness.

"Good night Shravni".

And in like the first time in forever, I fall into a peaceful slumber.

***

Kitne cute hai yaar ye dono. Loving them together like this. I'm enjoying writing it and hope you're enjoying reading it too. Do vote and comment. Next chapter will probably be Hriday's POV. Ily :)