It was late in the afternoon when the doorbell rang. "Open the door, Abeer," I murmured sleepily from the dining table where I was perched on the chair, staring blindly at my laptop screen, trying to make head and tail of the words blurring by.
"Why are you so sleepy today?" Abeer asked from the couch, shutting his file close as he got up to answer the door.
"Because its a Sunday and I cleaned the house yesterday and I have a ton of work to do which I don't want to do," I whined, stretching my arms in the air. He shook his head at my listlessness and strode ahead towards the door in his grey sweatpants and black t-shirt. I tilted my head, staring at his backside.
"Hmm...cute," I muttered appreciatively, leaning on the table as I continued to stare.
"Stop that," I heard him growl from up ahead, making me grin wickedly.
"And stop grinning," he said, his back facing me. The grin dropped from my face as I blinked, trying to figure out how did he figure that out. My drowsy head refused to co-operate in my quest of trying to figure out how did he know I was grinning behind his back, without once turning to see me.
"How did you do that?" I asked loudly.
"How did I do what?" He answered, his hand on the latch of the door.
"Know that I was staring and then grinning behind your back," I blinked again, trying hard to not fall flat on the table under me. He turned around and stared at me for a good minute, and then shook his head, exasperated.
"Just go to sleep. You won't get anything done, its useless to try," he muttered and swung open the door. "You are simply going to stare at the laptop screen and-" he stopped abruptly as he turned around to see the person at the door.
"Who is it? Abeer?" I called out to him sleepily, since he was standing at the door, blocking the entrance.
"What is he doing here?" A very angry, female shriek followed my query as I almost toppled over the chair.
"M...Mom?" I squeaked, stumbling out of the chair, the sleepiness evaporating in less than a minute. I almost ran to the door to see my parents with luggage bags in their hands, identical frowns and displeasure gracing their faces. I rubbed my eyes to get a better look at them. Yes, definitely my birth-givers.
"What is he doing here?" My mother asked again, her eyes not leaving Abeer's face. Abeer had resolved to look at the floor, finding the plain marble flooring particularly interesting than the conversation before him.
"He is my boyfriend, mom. We were just doing our own individual office work together," I sighed as my mother winced at the word 'boyfriend'.
"You can't do your individual work together. That defies the basis of the term 'individual work'", my father quipped, avoiding to look at Abeer's large form as far as possible. Irritation bubbled within me as I frowned lightly.
"We were doing our work. Together. Look inside if you want," I said, motioning to the house. "And it is possible to - wait, how does it matter what we were doing? The main question is, what are you doing here?" I asked, planting my hands on my waist as my frown deepened. Abeer looked up, curiosity in his eyes as he regarded my parents.
Satisfaction brimmed within me as embarrassment rose up their cheeks, and they looked almost sheepish. Almost. But the very next moment my mother snapped, her previous debating self back.
"Why, we can't come to meet our only daughter? Is this what we have been reduced to?" She raised her eyebrows, daring me to say something. Anything. It was one of her skills. Twisting any of my words to her desired result and making me the villain, and then getting the right to berate me left, right and center. I didn't reply anything, simply turning to my father who I knew wasn't prone to such theatrics as his wife.

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Once Upon A Mr. Goody Two Shoes
RomanceAashi Singhania. Stubborn, strong and obsessed with winning is dejected when she doesn't earn her coveted promotion at work, and angry at the guy who stole it from under her nose. She's determined to hate the new transfer from Kolkata, but is surpri...