A Night To Remember

Saat Phere

"Aap kya soch rahe ho, AVM?"

Ishqi's soft voice broke his thoughts. He turned his gaze from the full moon that was shining bright in the sky to Ishqi, who was sitting on his left at the poolside. They both have their ankles in the water. 
For a moment, he was tempted to shrug off her question, but her eyebrows scrunched together in a quizzical expression that made his insides buckle--as had every expression he'd seen cross her lovely features since he first laid eyes on her that day when she asked him for a lift--and he could not deny her an answer any more than he'd been able to deny her a ride on his car.

"Kuch nahi. Bas….uss raat ko yaad kar raha tha."

"Konsi raat?" She asked. "Uss party wale raat ki baat kar rahe ho aap? Mujhe toh kuch bhi yaad nahi hain."

He smiled and shook his head a little at the irony. "Kitna ajeeb hai na! Tumhe kuch yaad nahi hain, aur main chah ke bhi uss raat ko bhula nahi pata. Main bhulna bhi nahi chahta. Kyunki woh raat mere zindagi ka sabse khubsurat raat tha."

"Sacchi?" She asked, surprised. "Aisa kyu?"

"Kyunki uss raat mujhe ehsaas hua ki hum dono ke beech maine jo connection mehsoos kiya hain woh mera kalpana nahi hain. Balki sach hain, aur tumne bhi mehsoos kiya hain. Yaha, issi jagah tumne kaha tha ki mujhe dekh ke tumhara dil kirmich ke ball ki tarah tapse tappa khake uchal jata hain."

Ishqi blinked wide eyes at him, "maine sachme aisa bola?"

"Haan. Sirf itna hi nahi, tumne ye bhi kaha tha ki tum chahti ho tumhari shaadi mujhse ho, Mayank se nahi. Aur waha-" pointing to a spot nearby. Ishqi's brown eyes followed his direction. "Tumne mujhe hug kiya tha." 

She had tried to kiss him too but he didn't tell her that, so as not to make her uncomfortable. He had been the one to stop her from kissing him--it took every ounce of his self restraint to do so--partly because she was drunk and it would've been grossly wrong had he kissed her then. But if the circumstance was different, had she not been drunk, then he knew he wouldn't have stopped her and they would have kissed, despite the fact that she was his best friend's fiancee. That self realisation has forced him to face his feelings that he was trying hard to deny for a long time. At that moment, he couldn't deny it anymore, not to himself, that he had fallen in love with the very woman who annoys him the most.

Her eyes found his, and for a moment he lost himself in the sea of emotion in her eyes. "Isliye woh raat aapke liye itna khaas hain, kyunki maine apne dil ki baat aapse kahi thi?"

He nodded. He took her hand in his, lacing his fingers around hers. "Uss raat maine jo mehsoos kiya tumhare liye, woh pehle kabhi kisi ke liye bhi nahi kiya. Rhea ke liye bhi nahi." He brought her hand up to his lips and kissed it. "Janti ho, mujhe lagta tha ki agar mujhe kabhi pyaar aur parivaar ke beech kisi ek ko chunna pade toh main apne parivaar ko hi chununga. Mere liye mera parivaar hi sab kuch hain. Pyaar ka kya hai, aaj hain, kal nahi." He paused briefly, then went on. "Sab kitna asan lagta tha, lekin uss raat ke baad sab badal gaya."

"Kya badal gaya?"

"Pyaar ho gaya mujhe tumse. Mera dil, jo sirf mere family ke liye dhadakta tha, ab woh dil pyaar liye bhi dhadakne laga hain aur main chah ke bhi tumhe apne dil se nahi nikal sakta, kyunki ishq-" he leaned toward her conspiratorially, his grin widened when she inclined her head toward him in like fashion, "miss Ishqi khiski ki tarah bahut ziddi hain." He gently touched the tip of her nose.

He laughed when she frowned in mock displeasure. "Main khiski hoon?"

"Aur nahi toh kya." He teased her. "Apni harkatein dekhi hain? Khud kand karti ho aur mujh pe ilzam dal deti ho, kabhi meri girlfriend hone ka natak karti ho, toh kabhi mere bacche ki maa hone ka. Tumhari jaisi khiski ladki maine aaj tak nahi dekhi."