The roughened boards of the floor rose to meet her. She landed on her butt with a dull thud & squeak of surprise.
As if I haven't been humiliated enough.

With a groan of exasperation, she struggled to get her feet underneath her. Both men extended a hand to help her up.
Sanskar- Swara...! Are you hurt?
Sanskar loomed over her. His broad shoulders bolted out the rest of the room.

Swara- I might be dying...out of embarrassment.
A streak of pain jabbed into her backside as she scrambled to recover her dignity.
Swara- & I think my butt will be broken.

Her confession was rewarded with the burst of laughter from Sanskar.😂😂😅😅😄😄

Sanskar- Girl, you are officially cut off.
The warmth in his eyes brought a rueful smile on her lips. She slipped her hand into his, let her pull her up from floor & dust of her backside like an errant child. If Sameer was still there, she didn't notice.
With the back of his hand, Sanskar stroked her cheeks & smiled.
Sanskar- If he ever bothers you, you let me know.
The unexpectedness of his gallantry made her bottom lip quiver.

Tears Again? Seriously?
She swallowed back the feeling with a shudder & bowed her head so that he wouldn't see her vulnerability. She feared that more than nothing.

The emotional turmoil & excessive liquor of the evening had finally taken their toll. Her knees quivered & she slumped against him, her forehead falling against his chest.
Swara- I need to go home.
She murmured into his chest & took a deep breath of the fabric softener in his shirt.
Sanskar- Want me to call a cab for you?
She heaved a grateful sigh of relief, that the drama might be over, if only for the night.

The cab lurched forward in a cloud of blue smoke & the squeal of tires b4 it disappeared around the next corner. A mangy black cat sprinted across the street in front of Sanskar & dissolved in the shadows of dark & deserted area. The street light overhead flickered & extinguished leaving him alone in the darkness. The only sound came from the bass drum inside the building, dull & muffled like a pulse through the thick brick walls.

Long after the taxi disappeared, Sanskar stood on the sidewalk, mulling over the novel sensation of defeat.
How long it had been since a female left him standing at the curb?
Her absolute disinterest in him left him scratching his head. When he had pressed her body against the wall in the back hallway, he could have sworn that she wanted him just as much as he wanted her. The moans of pleasure when he cupped her b*a*sts still echoed in his ears & the pent-up passion behind the heat of her kisses left a residual of gooseflesh on his forearms.

Maybe he'd lost his edge. The fingers of his right hand twitched over the b*e*st pocket of his shirt in search of cigarettes. He wasn't exactly a kid anymore. At his age he should be settled into a home with a wife & kids. Instead he slept on the fold-out sofa in his best friend's apartment, drinking himself into oblivion with a different nameless, faceless girl every night. The notion brought weariness to his body, deep & penetrating.
Prithvi- Are you going to stand here all night or what?
Prithvi poked his head out of the door with the look of proprietary parent.
Sanskar- Got any cigarettes? I could use a smoke?
Prithvi patted down his pockets, came up with the crumpled pack of Marlboro's, & tossed them in Sanskar's direction.
Prithvi- I thought u quit.
Sanskar- Since when did you become my babysitter anyway?
He glared at his buddy, lit the cigarette,& took a long soothing pull on the filter.
Prithvi- Right about the same time I became your damn secretary.
Prithvi said. With his right hand, he dug deep into his front jeans pocket, withdrew a crumpled piece of paper,& smoothed it-out with a thick blunt fingers.
Prithvi- 11 times she'd called, man.& that's just today.
He smashed the piece of paper against Sanskar's chest.
Prithvi- I guess you didn't take her phone call either?
Sanskar shook his head & Prithvi scowled again.
Prithvi- I'm telling you Sanskar...you need to deal with this.
Sanskar- Why?
Sanskar flicked away the ashes from his cigarette with a practiced hand.
Sanskar- She'll get bored & go away. She always does.
Prithvi- I don't think so, not this time. You've rained on her parade & she's not going to take it lying down.
Prithvi shook a cigarette out of the pack for himself as two drunken patrons scrambled out of the door behind, laughing. One of them unzipped his fly & leaned a hand on the brick of wall to urinate. Prithvi cleared his throat & the guy hastily zipped up.
Prithvi- Does this like a toilet to you? The owner doesn't take kindly to people pissing on his building.
He sniffed & inhaled in a way that made him smell to even larger portions.
Boys- Sorry.
The two boy hastily backed away.
Boys- We don't want any trouble.
Sanskar- You guys aren't driving are you?
Sanskar eyed them up & down. He had a strict rule about letting patrons drive home drunk, going so far as to call cabs or arrange for sober drivers when necessary. Most taxies avoided that side of town, but he'd made a deal with one of the cab companies to service the bar patrons & gave them a cut of the door in busy nights.
Boy 1- Hell, no.
Said the shortest of the pair.
Boy 1- We walked here.
Sanskar- Good. Then get out of here.
Sanskar turned his attention back to Prithvi.
Maybe we should think about getting a van to cart some of these people home.
Prithvi-That's good idea, but don't think you can change the subject.
Prithvi took a long draw on his cigarette, the end glowing cherry red in the darkness.
Sanskar- Look I appreciate your concern, but I don't need you busting my balls over Kamini.
Sanskar threw the cigarette to the ground with more force than necessary & ground it out with his booted toe.
Sanskar- She & I are history. End of story. I have no desire to start up a sequel.

He rounded on Prithvi, feeling a twinge of misdirected anger.
Sanskar- I seem to recall that you were the one pushing me to let her go. Make up your mind, dude.
Prithvi- Don't get all shitty with me. I don't give a rat's ass one way or the other. I'm just saying the longer you put her off the worse it's going to be.
Prithvi tossed his cigarette to the pavement as well, black eyes flashing. He had the personality of black hair, quick to anger, although he didn't show it very often.
Prithvi- & as I recall, I was the one who had to haul your drunken ass out of jail the last time you two hooked up. My wallet can't afford any more tender reunions like that.
Sanskar- Quit your bitching.
Sanskar said. His good humor returning.
Sanskar- I paid you back & I have bailed you twice since then.
Prithvi- Oh, Yeah. Right.
They both laughed then fell silent, lost in separate misusing.

Deep inside, Sanskar knew that Prithvi was right. Evasion would solve nothing; only exacerbate his already miserable situation.
Prithvi- What do you think she wants?
Prithvi was the one to break silence.
Sanskar- Who the hell knows...a place to crash? More money?
The very notion that anyone wanted Sanskar's money brought a hearty laugh from them both, given Sanskar's current state of destitution. That seemed the most likely explanation, although it could be any number of things. The girl wasn't exactly in her right mind most of the time.

I'll not ask for votes & comments...do if you want otherwise I don't care...
I'm sorry if I sounded rude...😔😔