by Ashritha N
“Would you like one?” Brian asked me as he crunched on his KFC chicken crisps.
“Do you keep forgetting that I am a vegetarian?” I sighed.
“Oh yes, I remember the silly Beenu who quit meat because her ex-boyfriend Vipul was a veggie.” Brian laughed at my hypocrisy. He was right; it was true that I hadn’t had chicken past six years. Along with my feelings, my meat cravings too had gone away with that relationship.
“I didn’t like meat much anyway, Brian, but I request you not to bring up that jerk’s name,” I pleaded.
“Alright Beenu, forget it. We are here for our project. Before we start what do you want to eat?”
“Maggi. Do we get it anywhere here?”
“Well, my place, five minutes from here. I can prepare Maggi if you don’t mind. And I have some red wine too,” said Brian, with a wink.
“What about the project?”
“Let’s do it at my place. I can get help from the boys.”
“Boys,” I sounded skeptical.
“Don’t worry Beenu, they are my roomies.”
“Can we do it here? I am not really hungry. Anyway, I also have to leave soon,” I lied.
“Are you scared?” he asked, noting my discomfort. “Come on Beenu, stop being such a baby. Let’s go home.” Brian pulled me even before I could protest.
“Hold tight, I am new to bikes.” he warned me.
Memories flooded my brain as I hesitantly clutched Brian’s shirt. Vipul’s Kawasaki Ninja, his Ray Ban sunglasses, his expensive fragrance from Ferragamo, the exhilarating bike rides, late night parties, hangovers, eat outs, cafes, theatres, parks.
“Damn!” Brian said as he halted his bike.
“What happened?”
“I don’t have the keys,” he said flatly.
He took me to a small restaurant and made quick calls asking for keys. He ordered roti and paneer to sate my hunger.
“Sorry to keep you hungry, Beenu. Do you need more?”
“It’s okay, I am through.” I looked at him gratefully as I ate the last piece of paneer.
With sleepy eyes, I dragged myself to climb up to his fourth floored house. He announced he wouldn’t have the keys for next half an hour and directed me towards the roof top. “Careful,” he warned as I stepped on the delicate ladder. Amidst heat and weariness I sat in the shadows of solar panels. Brian sat next to me, engrossed in his phone.
“How many girlfriends do you have?”
“None,” he replied with eyes fixed on his phone.
“Let me rephrase. Do you have a girlfriend?”
A mischievous smile spread on his face. “You know, just flings. I never dated anyone seriously. Why do you ask?”
“Hmmm, I see you texting all the time.”
“It’s just about the keys. I don’t want my pretty guest to be tanning in the sun for long.”
“Yeah, that’s sweet. Make it fast. I am sleepy.”
“Sleepy? Sameer will kick our asses if we don’t submit the project tomorrow for presentation.”
“I know, Brian. I just want to sleep for a while. I can stay till we finish the project.”
Brian was my mentor, a colleague who had helped me learn the ropes quickly as a fresher. We worked as a team to meet hectic schedules and crazy deadlines. As my working hours increased, Vipul’s baseless suspicions had grown stronger. His insecurities consumed him. He accused me of having an affair with Brian. Finally, I had to put an end to that ugly relationship. When Brian learnt about my breakup, he had laughed at Vipul’s irrationality. Brian had helped me overcome my sorrow. Since then, the office had been my home and Brian, my family.
“Beenu, wake up. You can sleep at home.” With my half-opened eyes I saw Brian kneeling in front of me holding the keys. I wondered when I had fallen asleep.
His place was smaller and dirtier than I had expected. Dust and cobwebs layered the furniture in the living room. Towels, trousers and shirts were hung on the edges of the room doors. I recognized Brian’s clothes and moved forward.
“Yeah, that’s my room,” he said, pushing a carton box filled with empty beer bottles out of the way.
“Can I get some water?” I asked, wading between wrappers, bottles and plastic bags lying on the floor.
There were two single mattresses, with neatly spread printed sheets of Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse. Except his room, everything in his house was messed up. I had half a mind to pick up a broom and clean his place.
“Donald or Mickey?” I asked, taking the water bottle from him.
“Lie down on Mickey, it’s mine,” I dumped my bag in the corner and sat on his futon.
“Where are the boys?”
“They won’t be here till later. Sleep now.”
It was almost 4PM. I dozed off after calculating how much time I could sleep for if we needed to finish the project tonight.
“……Whenever, wherever
We’re meant to be together
I’ll be there and you’ll be near
And that’s the deal, my dear…..”
I pulled the phone from my jeans pocket and silenced it. Brian was sleeping on the floor next to the mattress. The phone call had woken him up too. By then the sun was going down and a soft glow was beaming into his room.
“You look beautiful today,” he said, softly brushing my hair aside from my temple.
“Only today?” I giggled.
“Yes, only today,” he replied with his cool voice. “Who called you?”
“Sameer, I will call him later.”
“I am sure he wants to know the status of the project.”
“Damn him. I am imagining his fat ass dancing to Shakira’s tune.” I said. We laughed, visualizing Sameer’s grossed out dance.
A little later Brian rolled himself up on the mattress. It felt strange when he came beside me. I felt like his Minnie confined against the wall. “It was freezing,” he explained. Unable to comprehend his thoughts I looked into his mysterious eyes. He looked into mine with his mind elsewhere.
“Can I ask you something?” I asked.
“Sure.”
“Why Mickey?”
“No reason, I just like them. I have Tom and Jerry in the other room.”
“Can I ask you something?” he asked, imitating me.
“Go ahead.”
I found his lips discovering mine. He guided but I hesitated. I didn’t want to be his fling. He continued to kiss me. I found myself responding to him. I kissed him back slowly. My fears faded as he held me boldly. He perfected my kisses and bit my lip for fun. Soon I found myself glued to him. He caressed my soft body while I held his sturdy muscles. The slow passion flared into rage. Finally I melted completely into his powerful body.
“Brian,” I called. He gave me his worried look.
“What do you think we were doing?” I questioned him.
“Beenu, I don’t know what’s right or wrong. You looked so sexy. I got carried away.”
“Carried away,” I repeated.
“Don’t be mad, I’ll make it up to you.”
He was already on top of me kissing more hurriedly than before. He replaced his gentle moves by his wilder instincts. This time I got carried away by the different version of Brian I was experiencing. This new intimacy was my guilty pleasure. It had been a formal gesture when we hugged on usual days, but today I felt secure in his arms. This feeling felt like “love” but I wasn’t ready for another commitment. I was sure Brian felt the same.
His phone rang in a distance. It was Sameer. It was the millionth time I damned him.
“Yes Sameer,” “Project is good,” “It is almost ready,” “Beenu left long ago,” “I’m working on formatting,” Brain coaxed our manager. He gave me a smile as he spoke.
“Having spent the evening, let’s start with project.”
“You’re right.”
We busied ourselves over the next two hours. Brian had opened the Sula wine bottle. The dizziness from romance and work had kicked in. He played his romantic music collection to distract me. I closed the laptop after completing half the project. Brian looked at me with his quizzical eyes.
“I’ll finish it in the morning,” I replied.
He set his laptop aside, stood up and started to sway to the music. I joined him, the wine inside me dictating the moves. The beats ended soon but our kissing continued. The fascination had amplified into obsession. Carnal desire intensified within me but luckily he took no notice of that. I could easily blame it on the wine if he had asked me about it.
Remembering that he’d promised me Maggi, he chopped and sautéed onions with scrambled egg to make his version of Maggi.
“It’s delicious,” I complimented, spooning down mouthfuls.
“Bachelors like me survive on these…”
“Next time, I will cook for you and the boys.”
“That’s a great idea. The boys will be here now. Can you?”
“No, I have to leave before it’s late,” I said, getting up to wash the bowl.
His arms wedged against my waist resting his chin on my shoulder. “Stay,” he whispered.
“The boys will be here,” I reminded him.
“They won’t disturb us. Please stay.”
“Why?” I asked, looking into his pleading eyes.
“Because I love you.”
I was surprised that I didn’t hesitate before replying, “I love you too.” Even as my head warned me against it, I felt ready to commit again, this time with a new hope.
Small turns in between the story and portrayal of moments is something interesting.
Good Luck Ashritha