The function was over by then. It was a friend’s reception party. Everyone enjoyed a lot. Kirti was very happy. She also had enjoyed a lot and was damn tired. Her eyes were searching for a place where she could rest her head on.
“Hey! Kirti”, she heard a very familiar voice from behind.
It was of Sachin, her childhood friend.
“Go, get ready, we are going for a bike ride”, he continued.
All her tiredness went for a toss. She genuinely wanted to go.
“Give me 10 minutes”, she replied with a very pretty smile on her face.
It had been 10 minutes and Sachin could still watch Kirti wandering here and there.
“You haven’t changed yet!” – Sachin exclaimed.
“Where all the girls are” – she shouted. He tried to calm her down and asked her what happened.
“I want to change and I need help, where all the girls are” – she replied, this time politely.
Sachin looked at her. She was looking like a princess in a pink-colored traditional Indian outfit. He could make out that she needed help to open the knot of her blouse, take off certain safety pins and get rid of those irritating jewelry. He took her to a room, stood behind her and gently pulled off the knot of her blouse. Kirti was shocked. She didn’t know how to react. She turned towards him but before even she could say something Sachin put his finger on her lips and started taking off the safety pins, her earrings, necklace and stuff. All this while, Kirti kept on looking at him. He quietly kept them all on the dressing table and left the room asking to get ready in 5 odd minutes.
Kirti was in a dilemma. She could not believe what had just happened. But she didn’t have any time to think about it. She changed her clothes and came out. All her friends were waiting for her with their scooties and bikes geared up.
“Where shall I sit?” – she asked.
“Wherever you want” – a friend of her answered. As she was about to go to a friend’s scooty, she noticed Sachin. He was signalling her by his hand to his backseat with his eyes saying “Sit here..”. Kirti changed her way from the scooty towards Sachin’s bike and sat behind him.
He started the bike which headed with a jerk. She anyhow managed to not touch him.
And the ride began! Kirti had always wanted this. She could feel the breeze on her face. She was all engorged analysing the sky, the stars, the moon, the vehicles bypassing, trees and all…
And all of a sudden, there came a speed breaker and Sachin applied brakes. Kirti’s imagination came to a halt and this time she could not escape from holding Sachin’s shoulder.
“Sorry” – she apologized.
“कोई नहीं… कम से कम इसी बहाने तुमने छुआ तो (No problem… At least you touched me because of this)” – he said in a notorious voice.
She could not stop blushing. She didn’t know what to say and remained silent. She was really tired. She really needed a place to rest her head on and there she found Sachin’s shoulder. She bent her head on his back and asked him to say if he feels uncomfortable.
“तुम्हे तो ठीक से सोना भी नहीं आता (You don’t even know to sleep properly)” – he whispered.
Once again she had no clue about what to reply.
She tried being naughty and asked, “तो तुम ही बता दो… (Then you only tell me…)”.
This time, he was silent. And in a few minutes, she wrapped him with her arms. She felt an adrenaline rush in her body. Oxytocin levels went high. It seemed as if entire world was there in her arms. She could feel his heartbeats from behind.
“थोड़ा धीरे चलो ना (Please ride slowly)” – she requested him.
“Are you scared of speed?” – he exclaimed.
“No, I don’t want this ride to end soon. Let me live it. Please be slow.” – she answered.
She started chanting bollywood romantic songs. Sachin didn’t know many lyrics but he too joined her. Kirti was on cloud 9. The world had never seemed so beautiful to her as then. One part of her wanted the time to stop and the other part kept on reminding her that this moment would never come again. The road was clear. They were driving slowly and there was no other vehicle. As always, Sachin was not wearing a helmet. She asked him to turn around and kissed his cheeks. He was surprised but before they could talk, Kirti’s home had arrived. She got off the bike. She could not face him. She waved bye to him and while she was heading towards her door, Sachin held her hand and said gently in her ears “Thanks for the kiss….”
