Espresso Love (SanDhir)

Chapter 23 - Dead Eye

Hey guys!  I'm super sorry for such a long delay.  I hope I can make up for that with this update :)  I'll try to be more regular now that midterms are over!  So without further ado, here's the next part: Hope you enjoy it :D

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I could feel his fingers digging through my skin as he held my arms tightly. He looked at me dead in the eye, making me shift nervously under the scrutiny. It was as if he was prodding me; daring me to utter a word. But I couldn't. "What happened Ms. Agarwal? Cat's got your tongue?" he smirked, letting go of me at that very instant. I wanted to retort - to say something at the least - but all that came out was a string of incoherent syllables which sounded nothing short of gibberish.

By this time, he was leaning against the wall - arms crossed and one foot tapping the floor. "Back in the office, you were ready to pounce. What happened now?" he cocked an eyebrow. "I... I didn't... it wasn't me who..." but he didn't let me finish. Coming dangerously close to me again, he whispered cautiously, "Leave me alone Sanyukta! The more you'll force me, the longer it'll take."

But instead of feeling warned, I smiled at his threat. I had evidently caught him off-guard with that reaction. "Why are you smiling? This isn't one of our stupid college fights," but he bit back the last word - though a little too late. I was grinning by now; it was my turn to take charge now, I thought to myself.

Instead of pushing away from him, I grabbed his forearms and pulled him closer to me... Closer than he already was.

"So Mr. Shekawat, you still remember those huh? And the more I'll force you, the longer what will take?" I asked, cocking my eyebrow back in response to him. "Because from what I can tell, it's already working!" I said nonchalantly, biting back the smile that was threatening to escape. I knew I was pushing it, but his words had made me believe there was hope after all.

I saw his fists curling, standing quietly in front of me with baited breath. I let go and copied his previous stature as I leaned against the wall.

"Don't do this to me Sanyukta..." he said in a low voice, barely audible but filled with despair. I knew he was right, and so I backed off. In that moment, I had forgotten that things had changed. We had changed...

"I'm sorry Randhir, I really am! I don't want to force you, in fact I tried to tell Mr. Solanki that it wasn't a good idea for me to accompany the two of you, but he seemed adamant. I promise I won't try to talk to you until you feel ready!"

—

—

I could see the sincerity of her words in her eyes. She really meant what she said. But I just didn't know how to get my head wrapped around this situation.

"What was the point of the letter then? Why aren't you giving me the one thing I'm asking for?"

"But I am Randhir! I am giving you time! I told you in the letter, I don't want you to feel obliged to listen to me. I won't blame you if you decide never to hear me out either, but I had to try. I want to tell you my past. I want you to know why I did what I did. But if you don't want to hear it, I will respect it. I may be a coward, maybe even selfish, but you know this more than I that I have never ever wanted to hurt you. And if my being around you hurts you this much, maybe I shouldn't even be here," her voice broken off by the end.

The elevator opened in the next moment, and she got off - despite it not being her floor. She turned around, "I'm sorry!" she cried out softly as the doors closed.

I grunted and punched the wall, trying to vent out my frustration. I don't know what I was feeling, but I knew I couldn't let her go again. Not this time. Not again. I took out my phone and sent her a quick message. *Stay back tonight, we're going out for dinner. To talk...*