Comforting Kiss

1. First Meeting

It was a chilly December evening in Mumbai and most sensible people in this world would either be staying home watching some late-night TV shows or spending time with his/her family. But it was neither for Priya Sharma. She was at her apartment, alone, working on her official sheets. She was the head of one of the sales team at her workplace and as a responsible employee she always gave priority to her work, but it was also a way for her to keep herself busy.

Priya was a lonely lady. She had recently lost both her parents in a terrible car accident. She didn't know whose fault was it, whether it was the driver fault or whether something had gone wrong with the vehicle. She couldn't even blame the driver as he too had lost his life in the accident. As far she was aware he was living with his wife and 2 sons and he was the sole bread earner of the family. She felt miserable thinking about how the family would have been surviving without him. Same was the case with her. She sometimes blamed herself for the accident, had she not revealed the secret to her parents about her ex-husband, about the abuse, they would have been alive.

After her parents' death, the bubbly Priya had forgotten how to smile. She always kept herself busy in her work. She was tired of her life; she was tired of being greeted with sympathy. She wanted to go away in a place where no-one knew her, where no-one recognised her and knew about her pains and that was the reason why she had moved out of her hometown Delhi and settled herself in the busy-city Mumbai. She got herself a cosy little apartment and also found herself a job. Her qualification was high, had some years of work experience and so she didn't find any difficulty in finding a decent job with good pay.

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The next day, she was in her office sipping a cup of hot coffee with her best friends Vikram and Neha. She was friendly with everyone in the office but she was more comfortable being around them both. They gave her a sense of security, and she trusted them with her secrets. Priya had some doubt regarding their relationship. She had also asked them several times if they were secretly dating but they had laughed and denied the rumour.

"Guys, let's go to the pub tonight" Neha suggested.

"Yeah, that sounds like a great idea" added Vikram.

"I don't want to go. You guys carry on without me. "Priya stated. When she saw them sigh, she added "Please. You know I don't like pubs anyway."

"You don't like anything," Neha said in an annoyed and angry tone.

"Come on Priya, don't make us beg. Please "Vikram tried convincing her "Please, for us" he added.

Priya sighed looking at them, they were her best friends, they were her family now. She couldn't see them upset because of her. Come on, it's just for some hours. She said in her head.

"Okay. Okay "Priya finally agreed "But if I get bored there, I'll leave okay,"

Neha cheered. She could see how happy they were. She smiled and got back to her coffee.

That same night, Vikram brought them to a pub that was inaugurated recently. It was close to their office and they had heard a lot about it from their colleagues.

Vikram opened the door for the ladies and let them pass through. Priya was relieved when she saw the sight in front of her. There were minimum people, it was cosy and was playing a beautiful guitar acoustic instead of loud upbeat music.

The trio sat at a table and ordered their drinks. They started discussing their hectic week, how their boss was throwing tantrums daily. While trolling her head around to scan the place, Priya spotted some hopelessly romantic couples getting cosy at some quiet corners. She checked Neha and Vikram, they were both engrossed in their talks.