"Plan me thoda change hai didi, ghar aiye aap log. Yahi rukiye." Anju told Rita Ma. Rajiv had picked up the mother and son duo and brought them home before taking them to the guest house they were supposed to stay in.

"Ghar me? Teri nanad ghar rukne wali thi na?" Rita Ma asked her.

"Wo toh apne bahu-bete aur beti-damad ke sath aayi hain. 3 separate rooms mang rahi hai with separate bathrooms, kaha se ghar me ruk payenge wo log? Inhone hotel book kar diya unke liye." Anju replied.

"Acha. Lekin bhaisaab ne sare guests ke liye guest house book kiya tha na?" Rita Ma asked.

"Kya batau ab? Inki behen aur unke damad ko guest house pasand nahi aaya. Kehte hain space nahi hai." Anju made a pretty fed up face as she told them about the situation.

"Ek lauti beti ki shaadi hai, kisi ko shikayat ka mauka na mile soch kar humne hotel hi book kar diya unlogo ke liye." She added.

"Hmm. Bas abhi kuch din yahi socho ke beti ki shaadi ache se ho jaye aur apna mann kharab mat hone do, jhel lo thoda." Rita Ma replied, keeping her hand over Anju's.

"Han didi." Anju sighed, looked to her side to find Sidharth looking around.

"Mickey bahar gayi hai beta. Uski college ki friends aayi hain, unko guest house drop karne gayi hai." She told him and he simply nodded.

"Chai banwati hu. Ek toh cook kal se ayegi, lagbhag 10-12 logo ka khana him hi bana rahe hain kuch din se." Anju said, getting up and looking around.

"Sana, beta kidhar hai tu?" She called out, looking for Shehnaaz.

"Aunty aap hi ne naye bedsheets chadhane bola tha! Aur blankets nikal rahi thi mai purane almirah se." Shehnaaz emerged from the corner most room across the hallway.

"Aap log aa gaye?! Namaste aunty, mai Shehnaaz." She noticed Sidharth and his mother and was surprised how time went by. She got busy arranging the guest rooms for them.

"Abhi toh mile the tujhse! Bhooli nahi mai." Rita Ma chuckled, replying.

Shehnaaz smiled looking back and forth between Sidharth and his mother. Dressed up in a jacket today, he looked different and for a moment she felt underdressed in her casual salwar kameez. Now that there were so many people around for the wedding and the bad winter, Anju had suggested the girls not to wear shorts and go traditional for the time being. The mother didn't want anybody commenting upon them unnecessarily.

"Chai banati hu mai." She told them, excusing herself towards the kitchen.

"Rehne de beta. Khane ka time ho gaya hai, seedha kha lenge." Rita Ma replied, gesturing to her to join them.

"Aap logo ka saman? Montu beta, ja room me rakh de aur fresh ho le. Jao didi aap bhi." Anju suggested.

"Didi aap ka room yahi hai, mere room ke side me. Sabse aage wale me Montu ruk jayega." She informed them.

"Montu, meri behen ka beta hai uss room me. Tumlog room share kar loge? Nahi toh Chintu yaha-" Anju kept on saying.

"Aunty relax, bas aap batao sona kidhar hai. Mai kahi bhi adjust ho jaunga." Sidharth interjected.

Anju laughed and caressed his face lovingly. They weren't just good old neighbours, they were indeed a family. Back when Preeti was getting married almost two decades ago, lots of relatives arrived and stayed at Anju's place since there were not a lot of arrangements available for guests that a middle class family could afford while getting their daughter married. The same was the scenario when Neetu got married, Anju's place was occupied by Shukla's relatives again.

"Iss taraf." As if it was her cue, Shehnaaz led them towards the room. She walked over and grabbed a suitcase handle to help.

"Dekh lena, yadi Rajiv ko kuch kaam ho toh. Sath me chale jana unke." Rita Ma told her son, so that they could be of some help to the family.

"Ha, thik hai." He nodded, handing her the handbag and following Shehnaaz towards the other room.

"Hi." He whispered to her.

"Hi." She smiled as she replied.

"Toh ye arrangements dekh rahi thi?" He asked her.

"Ha. Sab thik toh lag raha hai, kuch chahiye ho batana mujhe." She replied, looking around the room one last time. She had provided the basic toiletries and quilts and everything he would need.

"Ha, mai bol dunga. Thanks." He nodded. She was right when she told him how busy she had been, she was basically running around the house to make it comfortable for the guests. She was so handful even before the actual ceremonies began.

"Yaha kuch laga hai." He pointed a little over her wrist. What it looked like was a thick brownish line and redness around that long mark.

"Arey yeh, bas sabji banate banate kadhai touch ho gayi thi." She replied, caressing her wound.

"Kuch lagaya uske upar?" He asked, taking her hand to have a quick review.

"Nahi, kya zarurat hai? Itni bhi nahi lagi hai. Sookh gaya vaise bhi." She shook her head.

"Ouch! Sidharth!?" She winced when he unexpectedly and suddenly pressed his thumb against the wound. She immediately pushed him and swatted his hand away, wondering what was wrong with him.

"Mai bas dekh raha tha, kitni lagi hai." He shrugged and she was just furiously staring at him.

"Acha sorry. But you should put something on it." He added gently.

"I will." She mumbled, now worrying why it hurt so much and that the burn mark was going to sustain for a while now.

"And your hands are so soft. Kya lagati ho?" He complimented, forwarding his hand to her.

"Acha. Pehle itni zor se daba do uske baad aise bolo." She rolled her eyes at him, crossing her arms against her chest and walking out.

"Kaha ja rahi ho?" He asked.

"Khane ka time ho raha hai, bohot kaam hai mujhe." She replied.

"Mai aaya, aur tum ja rahi ho?" He asked as he leaned against the wall slowly.

She smiled, she really wanted to like, sit down, chat with him and flirt with him more but she was really looking after a lot of things to spare some time for him at the moment.

"Filhal toh kitchen tak ja rahi hu, meri yaad aaye toh awaz de dena." She replied, walking out.

"Shehnaaz." He said.

"Ha?" She turned back and was kind of confused when he didn't reply.

"Tumhi ne kaha tha, awaz de dena." He shrugged and oh so casually that she laughed at it.

"Sana!!" Anju called her.

"Aayi aunty!" She replied, leaving the room hurriedly.

"Uncle kaha ja rahe hain?" Sidharth asked Rajiv, noticing the car keys in his hands.

"Ek baar catering wale se baat karni hai, kal se unlog khana banane wale hai." Rajiv replied.

"Mai bhi chalta hu sath me." Sidharth suggested, asking for the keys.

"Chal." Rajiv smiled, passing the keys to the boy with a smile and letting him drive while he gave the directions.

There were two families, one was Anju's sister's family and another was Rajiv's sister's. The elderly had dinner together while discussing the functions that would begin from the other day while their children served them.

"Montu, I'm so glad tu time pe aa gaya. Humne kal hi dance practice chalu ki hai, zyada steps nahi hai. Tu bhi seekh jayega." Sheena told Sidharth, once they sat together to have dinner.

"Mai dance-vance nahi karne wala." He replied, focusing on his food.

"Please bhaiya, humare dance me pairs complete nahi ho pa rahe hain." One of Sheena's cousins, Dipti, requested.

"Mai kar leta, lekin mujhe bilkul dance karna nahi aata. Mujhe mat bolo, baad me tumlog khud embarrass ho jaoge." He chuckled as he replied.

"I think he's right. Isko rehne dete hai." Sheena agreed.

"I was in class 4th-5th I guess, colony ke kisi function me mai apna school wala dance karke dikha rahi thi.." she began to narrate a story from her childhood.

"Ganesh chaturthi pe." Sidharth chipped in, the way she began the story he just knew what she was talking about. He remembered that incident very well.

"Ha! Ha, Ganesh chaturthi thi. I was dancing, ghaghra pehen ke rajasthani song pe dance karne ka plan kiya tha maine. Isko, Montu ko, ek kaam bola tha wo bhi nahi hua isse ache se." She started telling them.

"Kya karna tha?" Shehnaaz asked.

"Ek badi si thaal pe, edges pe pao rakh ke dance karte hain na. Wo karne wali thi mai! Maine isko bola tha, thaal la kar beech me rakh dena. Aur mai jab uske upar se dance karke hat jaungi, toh le jana." Sheena replied.

"Aye! Tune wapas leke jane nahi bola tha." Sidharth countered.

"Bola tha maine. Mujhe yaad hai." She argued.

"Kal kya khaya wo toh yaad nahi rehta, itni purani baat yaad hai tujhe?!" He mocked her, his statement made some of her cousins giggle.

"Toh tujhe sab yaad hai? Aaya bada! Sana, ye thaali ko rakh kar chala gaya. Mujhe isi jagah me gulal uda kar dance karna tha, maine gulal udhaya aur step karte huye aage gayi. Thaali pe gulal gira tha, mujhe dikha nahi aur mai uspe fisal ke gir gayi. Sab hass rahe the mere pe." Sheena finished narrating her part and even now people around her laughed it off.

"Aww mera cutie. Lagi thi tujhe?" Shehnaaz asked, hugging her best from the side and laughing at the same time.

"Ha lagi thi, kamar toot gayi thi meri." Sheena replied.

"Chal jhooti. Ek din baad school ke sports day ke race me participate ki thi." Sidharth was there to contradict her words again.

"Shehnaaz, she came 2nd in the race. Kisi ko sach me lagi hoti toh wo nahi daud pata!? Haina?" He asked.

"Ha." Shehnaaz nodded.

"Ab iski baat maan rahi hai tu?!" Sheena warned her best friend.

"Nahi, nahi. Mai wo nahi bol rahi." Shehnaaz changed her statement immediately.

"Toh kya teri baat maane? Koi logic hi nahi iski baat me? Tu giri, usse mere dance ka kya lena dena tha?" He asked Sheena.

"Lena dena hai! Tujhe dance me help karna bhi nahi aata, tu dance kya karega?!" She challengingly asked him.

"Arey bhai?! Kaha ki baat kaha ja rahi hai?! Koi bhi mil jayega dance ke liye." Shehnaaz intervened, having enough of their argument.

"Thik hai. Thik hai. Sabne kha liya na? Thodi der me aa jana terrace pe." Sheena announced as all of them began to get up.

"Montu, humara song merge kar dena. Mai tujhe gaane bhejti hu." She told him.

"Jaise mere pass aur koi kaam nahi hai?" Sidharth continued to walk away.

"Sana, laptop de usko apna." She told Shehnaaz.

"Wo abhi mana kar ke gaye." Shehnaaz replied, in case her friend didn't get what just happened.

"Tch. Kar dega wo. Bhao khata rheta hai bas. Apna laptop dede usko." Sheena explained, gesturing her friend to get going.

"Okay." Shehnaaz nodded, made her way towards her bedroom to grab her laptop and then began to look for him when she didn't find him in the room that was given to him.

While she was going to the lawn again, she smelt something off putting, probably a cigarette and made her way towards the spot that led her to the corner of the parking lot. There they were, Sidharth and Chintu, smoking.

"Ahem." She cleared her throat to make her presence obvious.

"Ah- didi!? Aap idhar? Awaz de dete, mai aa jata?!" Chintu, Sheena's Masi's son went pale because he was caught red handed.

"Kya raha hai tu?" She asked him, eyeing the cigarette in Sidharth's hands.

"Bhaiya se baat kar raha tha bas." Chintu shrugged, slowly slipping out of the scene.

"Mummy bula rahi hai shayad mujhe." He mumbled, excusing himself. The other two looked at him and tried not to laugh.

"Kamre me dhund rahi thi mai." She told Sidharth, once it was just them.

"Ha, bolo." He nodded, taking a deep breath in and letting out a huge puff.

"Yaha, aise hi utna pollution hai. Alag se peene ki zarurat nahi padti." She commented and he chuckled, nodding and getting rid of the stick.

"Do." He wiped his hands over his jeans and asked for the laptop.

They sat on the nearby park bench, he worked on their song while she just sat there, accompanying him.

"Bohot thand hai yaar." He pushed his hands into his jacket's pocket while the song was under editing.

"Aaj toh phir bhi thik hai, 7-8° hai. Parso barish hui thi, hawa chal rahi thi toh 3° tha temperature." She told him.

"Bapre!" He was just taken aback with the information. Also, it surprised him how she was used to this temperature whereas he didn't feel better until he had a cigarette.

"Dikhao." She giggled, shifting closer, grabbing his palms and rubbing them against hers to warm them up for him.

He looked at their hands and let her lead, rub and hold them together. Her palm was so soft, fair and small against his big one.

"Look at that." He chuckled, comparing their hands together.

"Hehe. My baby hands." She chuckled as well, taking the liberty to hold his hand.

"What are you doing?" He asked her,not being able to take how her hands felt against his. It felt insanely hot and much needed for the moment.

As if she had the similar notion, her hands that were working on her own accord came to a stop and stared at them silently while realizing that she shouldn't have grabbed his hands like that.

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Hello there.. I'm very sorry about the delay.. I was in the middle of something..

Ye Chapter likh-likh ke delete karti rahi mai.. wasn't getting good ideas until now ..

Anyways now enjoy! Lemme know the best part,?!!