Now and Forever

7. Calls

Three days later

"Finally my precious Sunday has arrived." Nandini smiled as she over dramatically threw herself on her bed. "I can sleep till late in the morning. Oh my precious sleep!" She rolled on the bed, grinning. That was when her eyes landed on her table where the capsule ingredients were safely placed. She remembered that she had to make a stronger dose of those capsules. Throughout the week, she had a hard time staying in a closed space with him even with the capsules that she consumed in the interval of every three to fours hours.

*Beep Beep*

Her phone beeped, making her tear her gaze from her table to her phone placed on the bedside table. She crawled on her bed and reached for her phone.

"Boss"

The name flashed on her phone screen and she pouted. "I think I should change his name. Boss sounds too distinct." she said to herself before picking up the call.

"Yes sir. How may I help you?" she said, lying down on her bed.

"Nandini I have told you so many times you can simply call me Manik. We are now friends and moreover we are already off duty." he said from the other side of the phone and that made her giggle.

"Sir but-"

"Shall I start calling you Miss Taylor again?" he sounded a bit irked, she wasn't if he was though but it only made her smile wider.

"So you finally realize how irritating it was for me when you called me Miss Taylor?"

Ever since the beach incident their bond had grown significantly. He didn't hold back his smiles anymore with her around but time and again he still tried to put up a strong front.

"No, not at all. It's not one bit irritating." he denied. "What's in the name anyway?"

"Is it sir?" she said pressurizing the word ' sir ' a bit more than needed. "Then you should be okay with me calling you sir right?"

"Okay fine. I realized it." he gave in, a little too earlier than she thought he would. "Now call me by my name."

"Wow someone sounds really desperate." she said in a teasing tone and he huffed. She could picture his frowning face in her mind and that just made her giggle.

"I am not, Miss Taylor. And let me tell you, you could address me any way you want and I wouldn't care."

"Are you sure you really wouldn't care-" she paused with a huge grin on her face before adding, "Manik?!" The phone line fell silent for a while and she knew he had been grinning like a fool after hearing her call his name.

"Nandini." he paused.

"What?!" her grin just got wider.

"What are you doing right now?"

"Nothing." she rolled to the other side of her bed.

"Uh umm if you are free then-" she could clearly sense the hesitation in his voice.

"Then?"

"then would you like to hang out with me?"

"Hang out?" she looked at her wrist watch and it was almost 7 pm. "Right now?"

"Yeah right now. Eh, I just want to show you something."

"Show me something? What could it possibly be?" she sat upright and plopped out of her bed.