“Hey, you were the one driving too damn fast, that too in a private driveway. I could have been seriously crushed under that monster you have there.” She had refused to back down.
He had raised an eyebrow. “But nothing happened, so what is the fuss all about then?” he had asked, shrugging his shoulders.
“That is such an irresponsible thing to say.”
“Lady, what is your problem? I can drive on this driveway blindfolded if I had to. I know it like the back of my hand. You were never in any danger.”
“I could definitely question your driving skills. In any case, this conversation is leading nowhere. So, I’d rather not waste my breath on you any longer.”
Raashi had seen him staring at her, his eyes flashing, clearly outraged by her last statement. What did she care anyway? Shedidn’t even know who he was. She had started to turn around, when she heard Sheena’s voice.
“Sameer, Hi,” Sheena had said excitedly. “It’s so good to see you again. I’m so glad that you’re back and for good.”
Sheena had given him a tight hug and said, “Kabier is waiting inside for you.”
Raashi hadn’t recognized him. This was Sameer Sehgal, Sheena’s cousin. She had never met him before, though she had seen pictures of him and heard a lot about him through Sheena. He had recently returned from London to take over the family real estate and hotel business. He had been operating primarily out of London, establishing a strong foothold in the European markets, but in the last few years he had slowly started taking over the Indian side of the business also. Sheena had mentioned that he had returned to set up his base in India permanently now.
Sheena had held onto his arm and spoke again, “Sameer, you met Keya last night. Well, this is my other best friend, Raashi.” Looking at Raashi, she had continued, “And Raashi, this is my cousin, Sameer.”
Raashi remembered how she had looked at him again. She had been so angry earlier that she hadn’t given his appearance a second glance. He was tall, really tall and she had to admit, Sheena’s cousin was extremely good looking and his clothes, though casual, screamed exclusive designer chic. She had looked back into his eyes again and realized he was smiling at her open appraisal of him.
“Hi,” she had greeted him coolly.
“Hello, Raashi! I guess an apology is due to you.”
She had frowned at him and Sheena had also looked up at him questioningly.
He had turned to Sheena, “I almost crashed into Raashi’s car as she was reversing.”
Raashi had been quite surprised by the apology, but hadn’t made much out of it then. She had left with Sheena almost immediately and hadn’t thought of him again.
Raashi turned to her side and thought how all those months ago their lives had suddenly become so entangled.
She had met him at a club a few weeks after their first meeting. She was out partying with Keya and some of their close friends, Rithwik and Aditya, when she had stepped out off the dance floor and felt someone watching her. She had turned around and found herself looking straight into Sameer’s eyes. He was with Sheena’s elder brother, Kabier. He had waved at her and she’d responded back. She had gone with Keya to meet them. Kabier, like Sameer, had also only recently returned to the country and had taken over the telecommunications and software arm of the Sehgal business and was Keya’s boss, then. They had spoken very briefly to the two men. And for the rest of the night, every time she looked at him, she’d found Sameer watching her. It had made her slightly uncomfortable, but, well, she had to admit she couldn’t get her eyes off him either. He was divine to look at and so attractive. But why of all the beautiful women she had heard he dated, would he be even mildly interested in her? Probably curiosity, she had concluded and brushed it all off.
Back in those days she had never made anything of the first few meetings with him. They were as casual as she supposed they ought to be. He was Sheena’s cousin and she was Sheena’s best friend. That was the only connection she had with him.
It was the third time that they had met, that changed the equation between them. They were on board Rajiv’s yacht, a few weeks before Sheena and Rajiv got married. It was a weekend party and though Sameer had come with a date, he hadn’t paid much attention to her. He had been more attentive to Raashi the whole time, talking to her, dancing with her. And she hadenjoyed the attention, and she’d liked being with him. He was funny, smart and oh, so charming!
It was late in the night when they all started playing a game that was the Tequila version of ‘Spin the Bottle’, you either drank a shot of Tequila or dared to accept a challenge.
The rules were simple yet naughty. If you chose to drink, you had to rub salt on a part of your challenger’s body and lick the salt from that very spot, before downing the tequila. Towards the end of the game, she was paired with Sameer and he had chosen to drink a shot. He had stood observing her silently from top to toe and she had felt herself go warm everywhere. He had taken a turn around her and then another one and stopped right behind her. Then before she knew it, he had moved her hair to one side and rubbed salt on the side of her neck, just above her bare shoulder.
Stunned, she had turned sideways in his direction to tell him, “No!”
And he had said, “The rules state that I choose which part of your body I get to lick the salt from and I choose this.” And then he had bent his head and sucked the salt off her neck.
Raashi still remembered the volatile impact of his lips and tongue on her neck. She still recalled, how he had continued to suck on her neck, a few seconds longer than needed. She had shuddered and she knew he had felt it. He knew because he had lifted his head, given her a mischievous wink and then gulped down his shot.
That was the very first time she had felt her heart beat at double the pace. That was when she realized that she was crazily attracted to him. That was the first night she had dreamt of him.
The next morning, she had been standing on the deck of the yacht, near the railing, observing the sea waves splashing gently, when Sameer had approached her and made his intentions clear. He had acknowledged that he was attracted to her and hadarrogantly told her that he was going to have her in his arms and his bed, very soon. She had brushed his declaration away and had continued to stay away from him as much as she could. She had no desire to sleep with him and be one of his many conquests.
She did not do casual relationships, especially because she was no expert on men. She had only ever exchanged a few not so memorable kisses with some of her very few boyfriends and she was sure, in fact, certain, that if she did let Sameer in her life, it would be volatile. He would sweep her away and she would lose herself and her heart in the process.
But, fate was such that she crossed paths with him more often than she wanted to. First, Sheena got married in Goa and then Keya married Sheena’s elder brother, Kabier in a whirlwind marriage.
All throughout, Sameer had pursued her with a single-minded determination. He was always near her, never straying far. At times he would whisper something in her ear when she least expected him to be near or touch her arm or caress her cheek or neck, whenever he could. And on other times he’d just have a normal conversation with her, talking about mundane things. He was breaking all the walls she had built around herself and despite knowing his intentions towards her, she had started accepting him in her life. He had slowly and steadily softened her heart and there was nothing that she could have done to prevent it. On the contrary, she had enjoyed his attention.
