AASHIQUI : chain bhi..dard bhi

Chapter 26

The dress Shivi gave me is so short it virtually flashes my freshly waxed hot parts to whoever's in the near vicinity every time I move.

Zain—who's sitting next to me at the VIP table Shivi reserved—leans over. "Do you want a drink?"

I eye the three empty glasses in front of him. For someone who doesn't drink, homeboy is racking them up tonight.

Then again, it is his birthday. "Can't," I say above the music. "Sober companion, remember?"

Instinctively, I glance across the table at Faisu. I'm pleased—and relieved—to see he isn't drinking either. That relief is short lived, though, when Faiz returns from the bathroom...with four gorgeous girls.

Our half-moon table in the corner takes up a decent portion of the VIP section, but it's not big enough to squeeze in so many people.

Shivi—who looks extra stunning in a short white backless dress with a plunging neckline—looks up from her phone. "We need to take a group photo for PR."

The guys groan, but the girls Faiz brought perk up like flowers in the springtime.

Taking charge, Shivi makes everyone stand and then proceeds to position the guys for the photo. Next, she turns to the girls. She instructs two of them to sit on opposite sides of Faiz and the other two to sit next to Faisu I can't help but notice how she didn't give Mohsin a girl. Not that it matters. His eyes have been glued to her all night.

"Come here, Jannu." Without warning, she takes hold of my hand and escorts me over to Zain. "Since it's such a tight squeeze, you'll need to sit on his lap."

I'm about to decline, but zain grabs my hand and places me on his knee. Shivi snaps a few photos and the moment she's done, Faiz takes off with two of the girls, freeing up the table.

I'm about to get up, but zain's hold on me constricts. "Stay." He gives me a dopey grin. "After all, you're my birthday present."

I stay put because...it's his birthday.

"You have no idea how much I like you." Sweeping my hair to one side—hair that took Shivi a full hour to create silk straight in given the length—his fingers skim the span of my arm. "We're so good together."

Movement at the other end of the table snags my attention. When I glance up, I see Faisu rubbing his jaw, looking highly amused.

Until his gaze descends and he notices zain's hand creeping up my thigh. Then he looks downright murderousl.

Zain presses his lips to my shoulder blade. Liquid courage has made him awfully bold tonight. "You're my girl, right?"

I'm a girl...not his or anyone else's.

"It's a shame our kiss got interrupted." His hand travels higher. So high I have to clutch the bottom of my dress for dear life. "But we'll make up for that tonight."

Fuck my life. Hard.

The empty glasses on the table rattle, and I see Faisu get up in my peripheral. My gaze locks on his retreating back as he leaves the VIP section and walks up the stairs, disappearing onto the crowded dance floor. The two girls that were sitting beside him share a co-conspiratorial look before they chase after him.

Let him go.

Yet a second later, I'm climbing off Zain's lap. "I'm sorry. I need to keep him out of trouble."

"Faisu is a big boy," he argues.

"It's my job," I remind him before I take off.

My heart pounds like a drum as I climb the steep steps leading to the balcony in a pair of stilettos Shivi was willing to part with after she saw my limited shoe inventory.