Perfect Mismatch

Ch 14 - Finding a middle ground

"Yaar... Siddharth, toh tu mujhpe kyun chilla raha hai yaar. Mujhe kya pata tha ki log aise bedding match kar lenge?" Sana clarified.

"Toh dimaag nahi laga pati ho toh tum khud se cheezein mat kara karo na. Bina tik yok daale kuch ho jata tumhe?..." He was mad, really mad.

"Siddharth, tu na aise behave kar raha hai jaise maine jana ke dala video...", she was now getting hurt due to his tone.

"Maine aisa kaha tumse?...yaar mera na dimag sadd raha hai abhi..please abhi bina pooche tum koi bhi video ya picture ghar se nahi daalogi", he warned her, still pressing his temples. His head was aching out of stress.

"Siddharth...chalo abhi breakfast karo... Baad me sochna. Chalo Sana...", his mother came to get them back to the untouched food.

"Maa...please aap isko le jao abhi. Mujhe abhi bhook nahi hai aur kuch urgent calls karne hain..." he dismissed them both.

"Ba.. Siddharth", she.quickly held herself back from calling him him 'baby' in front of his mother .

"Kuch nahi hota ...tu...", she tried clarifying

"I don't want to be made a spectacle of Shehnaaz! I don't want people to notice articles in my bedroom or comment about mai kiske sath hun aur kahan hun...", He was still yelling.

"Sana...abhi please jao. Mummy please...",

His mother knew the tone of finality which he had used and nodded at Shehnaaz.

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"Haye Aunty... Maine kis ghadi wo video daal dia..par mujhe kya pata tha ki hanare fans itne pagal niklenge...", she told his mother as they sat in the dining table, having the parathas.

"Baccha.. dekh, tum logon ka profession mamla hai toh. Ain kuch nahi bolungi, butye sab bohot chhoti baatein hain...kuch nahi hota in sab se...tum bacche log kya kehtee ho... Chill... Chill karo bas", Aunty said very cutely making Sana laugh.

"Aunty ye chillata hai na mere upar, toh itna darr lagta hai mujhe", she expressed genuinely.

"Arre woh pyaar hota hai uska... Friends ho na tum log bohot acche..." Aunty quickly added the latter part of the sentence to sound neutral.

Sana smiled sadly.

"Chal... Main batati hun usko manaane ka sabse aasan tareeka", Aunty smiled at her.

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"Aunty..." , she looked at Aunty in uncertainty and hope.

"Jaa na bacche, maan jaayega...acche se baithke baat karo tum dono. Main apne room me hun, preeti ko video call karti hun. Aaraam se apna time lo, jhagda suljhao okay?" , she kissed Sana's forehead, giving her some strength. She knew her son was a tough nut to crack but this jattni had everything it took to do that.

She knocked twice and then entered his room. He had been lying down with his pillow on his head.

"Sir dard ho raha hai iske...", she realised.

He opened his eyes as he heard footsteps approach him. His mouth opened to say something but seeing the mango shake in her hand he stopped.

She noticed that and bit her cheeks to stop herself from smiling. Aunty knew him like the back of her hand.

He sat down and mumbled a thank you. She did not acknowledge his words and went straight to the bathroom only to come out with his hairoil bottle.

"Neeche baith ja...tel laga dungi", she said with a straight face.

"Nahi...its ok..." he said reluctantly

"Siddharth. Abhi naatak maat kar, mujhe pata hai tere sarr me dard ho rahi hai...neeche baith ja bebu", the last bit came out very softly and he wordlessly sat down on the floor.

Shw got herself a clean towel which she spread on her kurta and placed her legs on his shoulders, placing his head between them. Her hands worked magic on his aching head and once the low grunts erupted out of his closed lips, she knew, things were going to fall back into place.

She massaged his head with all her might today, knowing that he was achy and stressed but for the first time, he held her hands and stopped her after a while - " ruk ja... Tere haath thak gaye honge"

This was a side to him which he had never shown her before. He was caring in his own ways but she felt more girlfriend-y today.

"Tujhpe gussa nahin hun...mujhe bas itna invasion of privacy pasand nahi hai...", He confessed, gently rubbing her hands between his palms to ease them.

"Jaanti hun", she told him but said no more. Retracting her hands back from his, she massaged again.

"Mango shakes itnaa apsand hai tujhko? Mujhe pata hota toh sala bigg boss ke ghar me ham roz mango shake banake rakhte", she quiped.

He did not reply to her but smiled at her antics to normalise his mood.

But he was worried in his head.

He did not want people to know that they were living together. He did not want people to comment on her character, which he knew, they may very easily get to, upon a very easy pitch. But also, because he did not want the world to know that he was in love in a woman who was 13 years younger to him and while for time being trying to impress his mother, was very much capable of being wooed away by men of her own age group. Also, he was skeptical about making him selfish enough to put his own happiness before his mother's needs?

"Baby?..." He was shaken out of his thoughts by her pull. As she bent down to gently kiss his forehead, she closed his eyes ans let her presence sink in.

"Hmm...", He held his hand above his head and getly pulled her closer by her kurta to place a warm and soft kiss on her lips, which she reciprocated as softly.

He might have a lot of reasons to be unsure about them, but everyday when he chose to live in the moment and surrender himself to the magical feeling which enveloped him due to her presence in his life, it just seemed right.