180

"So, who's the girl?" Preethi asked Vikranth, sipping her drink.

"What girl?" Vikranth questioned, acting surprised.

"The girl that you like and want to show me. C'mon, you rarely attend your office parties. And on the rare occasions you do, you don't bring anyone. Unless you want them to know what a boring place you work at. You, the shabby guy, are neatly dressed, well groomed and dragged me to this party forcefully." Preethi smirked and said, "So, am asking you again, who's the girl?"

"Whoa! Stop reading my mind, Prof. X", Vikranth said and gave her a side hug. "See, this is why you are my best friend."

"Stop smooth talking me and show her to me", Preethi said.

"Ok, don't be very harsh with your criticisms. I kinda like this one." Vikranth said sternly.

"Fuckin' show her to me already", Preethi said, quite visibly irritated.

"Ok, there she is. In that black and blue dress. Talking to that bald guy." Vikranth told Preethi, pointing to a girl.

"Wow!! She looks beautiful. You have bettered yourself. I can't say this often about the girls you date, but, good choice." Preethi said.

"Thank you" Vikranth said and did a little bow.

"So what's the status?" Preethi asked.

"I think she knows I exist", Vikranth said and curled his lips.

"You haven't even spoken to her?" Preethi asked, surprised.

"I mean I have said 'hi' and 'bye', but that's it. She is from a different department. We don't bump into each other often. So..." Vikranth said.

"Then go talk to her now", Preethi said and gave Vikranth a little push.

"You mean, now?" Vikranth asked.

"Then when? Are you going to wait till she gets married to that bald guy? Go talk now." Preethi said.

"Hey! Pankaj is a good guy, and married. Also what if I go talk to her and she doesn't like me, or even worse, what if I don't like her?" Vikranth said, raising his brows.

"Stop guessing and go find out. Get your ass up there and talk to her. Or else I will go tell her that you love her." Preethi said.

"Ok, ok. I will go. But this one's on you. If something goes wrong, you're responsible." Vikranth said and started walking towards the girl, adjusting his clothes and hair.

Ten minutes later, Preethi stood there all alone, looking at Vikranth laughing and talking to that girl, being his charming self.

Six months later...

Preethi walked into the groom's dressing room. Vikranth was pacing around in the room quiet anxiously. He was wearing white silk shirt and veshti.

"Oh boy! You look like a million bucks." Preethi said.

"Only a million?" Vikranth said, smiled and hugged Preethi, "Thank god you are here."

"Why, whats the matter?" Preethi asked.

"I don't know. I don't know if I'm ready. Six months ago we didn't even know each other well and now we are here, going to be married. I know I love her, I do. But I'm not sure if I'm ready for this... marriage and responsibilities. This is so very stressful." Vikranth said and sighed.

"You will never be ready. No one is. You just take that leap of faith and let things fall into place. This is not an exam where you come prepared to answer a bunch of questions. You learn as you go, you live as you go." Preethi said.

"See? This is why I need you. What would I have done without you?" Vikranth said and hugged her.

"Ok, now stop being all sentimental and go to the dias. You have a bride to wed." Preethi said.

"Ok, be there on the dias beside me. I want someone to catch me if I faint", he said and smiled.

"I will be right behind you. You go now", she said.

Vikranth smiled and went to the door where his family members were waiting to take him to the dias.

Preethi went and stood among the crowd, some where behind. Preethi's elder sister came and stood beside her.

"So what next?" Preethi's sister asked.

"What, what next?" Preethi questioned, confused.

"Now that he is getting married to someone else, what are you going to do?" she asked.

"C'mon, don't talk rubbish. He's my best friend and that's it." Preethi said, looking miffed.

"Is that the lie you're telling yourself too?" her sister said and walked away while the wedding bells rang and Vikranth tied the knot. Once again, Preethi stood there, alone.

Six months later...

Preethi heard a knock on her door. It was almost half past ten. She opened the door and looked at Vikranth standing there, leaning against the doorpost. He looked shabby, tired and completely lost. Vikranth walked past Preethi and went into the house.

"It's all over", he said and slumped into the couch.

"What's over? Why do you look like this? What happened?" Preethi asked, with no idea about anything.

"She left me... We had a fight two nights back; a bit nasty than the previous ones. She walked out angrily with her things. I thought she will come back after few days, like the last time. But today she sent the divorce papers. She wants me to sign them and send back to her as soon as possible. I tried pacifying her, apologised to her, but she wasn't ready to listen. And I couldn't argue." Vikranth said with his head down.

"So much happened and you didn't bother to tell me? And why did you guys fight? You both seemed very happy last time I met. How did it come to this?" Preethi asked.

"It was all downhill from the moment we returned from our honeymoon. In the beginning it was for silly things and we would get back in few hours after apologising to each other. But after a point each and everything led to a fight. We put on our smiling faces when we met family and friends. Acting like two people madly in love. But it was just that, acting. And I guess it reached the tipping point day before yesterday." said Vikranth in a very low voice.

"I'm so sorry, Vik. I didn't have any idea about what you were going through. I should have. And I'm sorry for that. I'm here for you now." Preethi said, sat beside him and put her hand around his shoulders.

"When did all this go wrong? It was all perfect, or atleast I thought so. Now, everything's so blur. I don't have any idea of what to do next. I'm lost, Preethu, completely lost", he said and leaned over her shoulder. She gently stroked his head, comforting him.

Six months later...

Vikranth heard his door bell ring. He opened and looked at Preethi standing there. Dressed beautifully and with a smile.

"Hello, there! Still living in a cave? Do you know there's a thing called razor that helps you in getting rid your facial hair? There's also shower, soap and other things to make you get rid of the repulsive smell." Preethi said while looking around the house littered with cigarette butts, empty alcohol bottles and pizza boxes, and waste of every other kind.

"Are you here to make fun of me?" Vikranth asked.

"No, I'm here to take you out. Out of this stink hole you call house", she said.

"I'm not coming out anywhere. I have got company", he said and pointed to the alcohol bottle.

"Well, I will make sure that your company is present where we are going. Now go take a shower and get ready. We leave in half an hour", she said and pushed him towards the bathroom.

An hour later they were at their favorite bar, their dugout. Preethi was her usual chirpy self; talking and laughing and trying to have a good time. But Vikranth was not how he used to be. He just kept drinking. Other than the occasional smile for Preethi's jokes, he didn't speak much.

"What are you doing? I brought you here so that you can forget the past and start living again. But it's like you are still sitting in your house and drinking all alone. Yes, I understand that you got divorced, you're heartbroken. But that doesn't mean you have to drink yourself to oblivion. Come out of it. I want the old Vik back. Not this sorry looking, zombie like person, who I do not know." Preethi said and sat up straight.

"Old Vik. Ha! The fool who got married to a person he didn't completely know. I'm heartbroken, yes, but I'm more saddened by the fact how idiotic I was. All this would have never happened if I hadn't rushed into things. Or if I had known her better. But I have always been a fool." Vikranth said and gulped down the drink.

He signaled for another drink and then continued, "Yes, where I was... yeah, a fool. I was always a fool. But you were the sensible one. You always knew what was right, what was good for me. And even you didn't stop me from falling into this. Why?"

"I thought you were happy with her", she said, empathetically.

"I guess we both were wrong. You know what... no one should get married to a person they don't really know. You must first get to know them, become friends, completely understand each other, then think about marriage." Vikranth said, his words now slurring.

"Are you saying friends should get married?" Preethi asked, smiling.

"Yeah, friends should get married. Friends, like us. Us... us... you and me... Why didn't I think of that before?" Vikranth said, kinda lost in his words.

"Think of what?" Preethi asked.

"Us getting married", he said

"Ok, you had had enough. Now it's the alcohol talking." Preethi said, pulling the drink away from Vikranth.

"I know it's the alcohol talking, but it is true nonetheless. And I have never been more certain of anything else...", he said and got down from his seat. He then pulled the ring out of his left ring finger, got on his knees and said, "Preethu, my darling, will you take me as your husband?"

Preethi stood there, speechless, not able to move while all the other people looked at them, amused, and some cheering.

Six months later...

Vikranth knocked on the door. Preethi's sister came and answered it.

"You're not supposed to be here", she said and smiled.

"I'm here to talk to my best friend", he said and smiled back.

"Best friend?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Always", he said.

"Ok. You guys make it quick. There's only little time left for the muhurtam", she said, let him in and left the room.

Preethi was sitting in front of the mirror, giving finishing touches to her makeup. She turned around and got up as soon as she saw Vikranth's reflection in the mirror.

"So, how do I look?" she asked, smiled, and winked at him.

"Like a billion bucks", he said.

She ran into his arms and they hugged.

"So, are you ready this time?" Preethi asked Vikranth, lifting up her head.

"I don't know. But if something goes wrong, I know I got my best friend beside me and she will always be there for me." Vikranth said and kissed her on the forehead.

"You know, you are supposed to act a little shy", he said, joking.

"Why should I? I'm getting married to my best friend", she said.

"Not even when we look at each other completely naked?" Vikranth said and winked.

"Shameless fellow." Preethi said and mock punched him on his chest.

They hugged and stood there, in the comfort of each other.

Valentine's day.

Akhil looked at the 16GB of HD porn he had downloaded and the box of tissues. He left out a huge sigh. It was Valentine's eve. He made plans to spend the night with his girlfriend of 2 yrs. But as fate would have it his girlfriend had to go on a business trip to another city. And she was to return only after a week. Akhil played the video and pulled out few tissues from the box. A few moments later as the video started to pick up the heat, he heard the door bell ring.

"C'mon!" he exclaimed.

He paused the video and put the tissues on the table and walked to the door to answer it. When he opened the door he was shocked to find Nisha, his girlfriend, standing there.

"Aren't you going to let me in?" Nisha asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Sorry. Come in. I'm just surprised. You were supposed to be out of town. What happened?" Akhil asked, while still looking puzzled.

"Well, it got cancelled. And I thought I would surprise you", Nisha said and walked in. "Why? Aren't you happy to see me?" Nisha asked and smiled.

"No, no!! I'm very happy. Just that this is very unexpected and I'm really surprised", Akhil said.

"That's alright, honey. I understand. And you're in for lot more surprises", Nisha said and started walking towards the bedroom.

Akhil then remembered the frozen naked women on his laptop screen.

"No, don't go inside the bedroom", Akhil said and tried to stop Nisha.

"Why? Are you trying to hide your other girlfriend in there? Is she naked on the bed?" Nisha said, laughed, and went in anyway. She looked at the laptop screen and the tissues. "Ooh!! This is why you didn't want me to come in here. Naughty boy. Although I don't think you will be needing this tonight" Nisha said and winked at Akhil, who was standing at the doorway. Akhil looked embarrassed although relieved.

"Why don't you take a shower and freshen up while I heat the pasta that I have got and set up the dinner table. I hope you are hungry" Nisha said and ruffled Akhil's hair and walked towards the kitchen. Akhil, still flummoxed, wondered how his night turned around from being pathetic to fantastic, in such a short span of time. Akhil wasn't complaining though, he was more than grateful for such an amazing girlfriend. He went into the bathroom to take a shower.

When Akhil came out after the shower the apartment was almost dark except for few low lit lights. And in that dimly lit apartment he saw Nisha, standing near the door, wearing a gorgeous black gown that only reached a little below her thighs. She looked sensuous as ever and the low light made the contours of her curves look ravishing. He was spellbound and his jaws dropped.

"Hello, there! Are you ready for dinner?" asked Nisha, in a sexy tone.

Akhil gulped down the saliva in his mouth and managed to mutter, "yes".

Nisha held his hand and walked him to the dinner table which was ready with the hot pasta, two glasses of wine and lit with candles.

"Wow!!" Akhil exclaimed.

"Anything for my baby", Nisha said.

She sat him down at the table and then settled down on the chair opposite to him. She served him the pasta and helped herself to some. They raised their glasses and clinked them.

"Here's to our relationship and many more years of it to come", Nisha said.

"Cheers!!" they said.

Akhil put some of the pasta into his mount. "Hmmm!! That's the best pasta that I have ever had", he said.

"I made it, what else do you expect?" she said and smiled.

They finished their pasta while gulping down two more glasses of wine and cheerful banter.

"You know, I thought this night was heading for a disaster. With us both being so far apart. But it turned out to be wonderful. Thanks for making it so beautiful and amazing. I love you", Akhil said holding Nisha's hand from across the table.

"Aww!! I love you too", Nisha said making a cute puppy face.

Akhil got up from his chair and moved near Nisha. He lifted her chin and gently planted a kiss on her lips.

Nisha smiled and said, "Wow, I like that."

"Then you're gonna love what's coming next", Akhil said and pulled her from the chair and closer to him. He lifted and put her on his waist, with her legs wrapping around his back. They looked each other in the eye. He then planted another long passionate kiss. She ran her hands through his hair and clenched them tightly.

"I wonder how you restrained yourself for so long", she said.

"The wait makes it even more worthy", he replied.

They both smiled and started devouring each other. He walked into the bedroom while still carrying her on his waist. He threw her on to the bed and jumped in. They started undressing each other, almost ripping off each other's clothes. They made love like there was no tomorrow. Their bodies entwined, perspiration cooled the friction, sheets crumbled and bodies rolled the length and breadth of the bed. And at the end of it, both of them were exhausted.

"Boy!! That was amazing!" Nisha said as she gasped for breath.

"I totally agree", Akhil said, panting and sweat rolling down his body.

They both looked at each other and laughed. They kissed again. Nisha put her head on his shoulder and wrapped her arms around his chest. Their heart rate came down to normal and they started breathing more softly. Akhil caressed her hair while Nisha slowly drifted to sleep. Akhil then suddenly felt an urge to smoke. He checked and Nisha was fast asleep. He slowly rolled her to one side of the bed. He got out of the bed and searched for his clothes on the floor in the dark. He put on his pants and searched for the pack of cigarettes in his pocket. He couldn't find them. He searched for them in his draw, silently. He couldn't find them there either. Akhil decided to go out for the smoke. He took his phone and slowly made way through the dark house with the screen light, so as to not wake her up.

Akhil went to a make shift vendor on a pushcart selling tea and cigarettes. The only place he can get cigarettes at that time of the night. He smiled to himself thinking about things that happened over the night. He finished the cigarette, paid the vendor and returned to his apartment. That is when he realised that he didn't bring the keys to the apartment and the door was locked from inside.

"Shit!!" he said to himself.

With no other way, he took out his phone and called Nisha. The ring went on but she wasn't picking up.

"I hope she didn't put her phone on silent", he thought and dialed her again.

After few rings Nisha picked up the call.

"Oh, thank god! I'm so sorry, Nisha. I just went out to get some air and I locked myself out of the apartment. Could you please open the door." Akhil said on the phone.

"What?!? What are you talking about, Akhil? Are you drunk?" Nisha said from the other end, flabbergasted.

"Hey, c'mon. Stop joking and open the door, please. I can't stand here all night." Akhil said.

"Ok, you listen up, asshole. It's Valentine's day and I'm in this god-awful city, working my ass off so late in the night. And you, my boyfriend, call me at such late hour, fully drunk, and do not even wish me, while talking nonsense and shit. When I get back, you better be ready with some good excuse. I have had enough..." Nisha kept shouting.

Akhil slowly lowered the phone as Nisha's voice faded on the phone and stood there staring at the door.