Hello everyone... Here I am with the new chapter!! 😃

As I said my laptop is repaired and a lockdown in the city couldn't update soon... Upon that my health was quite unwell so the reason for the delay...

Anyways, here it is...!

Happy reading guys!

Part 11 - Celebrations of Love

"Okay guys listen... we both are in a relationship...! Hum... Hum pyar mei hai ek dusre ke...! And abhi bhi hum yaha pe sath mei aaye hai... I picked her up from her place so late ho gaye..." Shaheer said without any hesitation now and there was pin drop silence all of a sudden.

I and Shaheer saw each other's face bewildered with the silence that prevailed in the hall. I shrugged my shoulders conveying that I too wasn't aware of the reason.We both felt as if we were put under the spotlight for a crime that we've committed. Shaheer clearly seemed uncomfortable for the first time around his own buddies who were no less than his brothers. While we were engrossed in our thoughts suddenly everyone started laughing out loud.. whistling and clapping their hands as Rohit, Sakha and Sourav lifted up Shaheer high up on their shoulders hooting "Oh mere bhaii...!!" while others also joined them in screaming and teasing leaving us all shy and pink along with surprising us with their gesture.

Ridhi, Riya, Veebha and shafaq rushed to hug me while shaheer was getting almost thrashed by the boys falling on each other to tease him to no end.

"Aree bhai... Chodo mujhe...!" I could hear Shaheer scream trying to free himself from the straddling of his brothers. We girls had a hearty laugh seeing them behave just like kids who would fight over petty things.

"Kaise chode Arjun? Tu toh humari Panchali ko aaj bhi nahi choda...!" Sourav teased almost twisting Shaheer's hand playfully.

"Aaaaaouuuuu....!" Shaheer winced and looked at me as if asking me to help me while still struggling under the mighty Sourav and Vin who were sprawled over him.

"Haha ab chod bhi do tum log... Bechara dard ho raha hai usse..." I tried to extend my help but failing miserably as it was enough for me to get teased now.

"Oh Duppu! Already taking his side huh?" Vin smirked.
"Sakhi... Itna pyar luta rahi ho shaheer pe! Voh bhi hum sab ke samne? Hahaha..." Sakha also joined in teasing me while I blushed for a moment and got back to my composure with a soft smile.

"Voh sab chodo.. Aur Shaheer ko bhi... Vaise tum sab itne chup kyu ho gaye jab Shaheer ne bataya?" I cleverly diverted the topic as now Shaheer was released from the clutches of his boys.

He huffed and sat on the sofa next to me while Arpit nudged Shaheer's shoulder and smirked at Ahem as he said
"Rohit aur Saurabh ne actually pehle se hi bata diya tha tum dono ke bare mei... I think they guessed it because of your Thailand trip! "

Then Ahem continued to explain further,
"Aur... Jab se aaye ho dono itna weird behave kar rahe the toh obviously hum bachhe toh jau hai.. We all expected this coming from you both..."

"Pooja... And when I called you remember you said " We will be there in sometime instead of I will be there? Tabhi hume pata chal hi gaya tha ki tum dono sath aa rahe ho..." Veebha said gleefully while I lowered my eyes thinking of the blunder I had done.

"Aur suno... Rohit bhai ne toh tum dono ko dekh bhi liya tha car mei... He immediately texted all of us so confirm ho hi gaya before Shaheer told us..." Sourav said horrifying both me and Shaheer thinking whether Rohit had told everyone about our kiss also! Shaheer made an awful face for a moment at Rohit as if asking him about it and Rohit being the sweetest one shook his head in a "No" saving us from the embarrassment of everyone knowing that we kissed in the car before entering the house.

Shaheer mumbled a Thank you to Rohit softly audible only to him and looked at me with a smile assuring me but caught by an over excited Vin "Oh bhai...sirf Duppu ke sath nain matakka karna hai kya...? Aur bhi log hai yaha pe.. Humare sath bhi thoda karle...Hehehe...!"

Vin didn't leave any chance to tease us but in turn he earned a playful smack on his biceps from Shaheer and everyone laughed.

"Oh fo! Now stop you guys... See I bought the cake..." Rishi walked in with a cake that she baked saving us from further teasing.

"Cake toh actually reunion ki khushi mei bake ki thi... Par ab khushi dugni ho gayi hai tum dono ki wajah se toh... The cake is for you both Pooja and Shaheer!" Riddhi being her sweet self exclaimed in glee while others also agreed to whatever she said though I and Shaheer denied to cut the cake as it was for the entire group.

"Pooja.... Shaheer, Karlo na... Cake hi toh hai.. We're all very happy for you two! Mei you bada khush hu ki meri show ki wajah se mere actors pyar mei padh gaye..!" Siddharth sir insisted while being happy about getting us to work together.

"Yeah... Hum sab bohath khush hai humare bhai ke liye.. Ki itni achi aur sulji huyi ladki mili hai uske liye.." Rohit averred making me smile.

"Sirf bhai ke liye nai... Even for you Pooja! But you have to handle all the mischief again with this idiot..." Sourav chuckled and Shaheer pouted with an annoyed expression making us giggle again.

I and Shaheer looked at each other and gave a warm smile through our eyes that spoke a million words that our lips couldn't. We were happy to see our loved ones happy about us... That's all what we were expecting from them and they gave us that happiness.

After some more teasing and laughs we cut the cake together and danced like maniacs.

The boys drank so much alcohol that they weren't in their senses anymore... Shaheer being a teetotaller danced along with us and made sure his brothers were fine. Amidst the madness he didn't forget to give time to me also... While I stood with the girls enjoying their mad antics he came and pulled me to dance with him. He twirled me, swayed holding my waist, ball danced with me like the prince charming from a fairly tale while everyone went awww seeing us do a romantic dance.

It was our first romantic dance so it felt special for both of us... We enjoyed being close to each other while we swayed, Shaheer dipped his head in the crook of my neck while he back hugged me and swayed to the slow beat, sending chills down my spine with the touch of his lips on my nape but we were actually cautious of not going too overboard with our romance as our friends were around. I wondered how would our dance be if were alone together and mentally planned to dance with him again some other time with nobody around except us.

************

I was indeed ecstatic with how my dear friends reacted to my relationship with Pooja. They are the best set of people anyone could ever have. Saurabh's wife Ridhhi was so courteous to offer the cake that she baked to be cut by us and Rohit bhai was sweet enough to not reveal about the kiss to everyone acknowledging our privacy.

Since everyone were so happy we danced till our feet ached and I loved the little romantic dance with Pooja. She was actually impacting me a lot while we danced so close to each other for the first time. It was hard for me to control myself from not going overboard with my PDA but still I managed to pull off a decent dance with her. Before we could end our dance hiding from everyone's eyes, I whispered in her ears in my husky voice "I wish I could dance the way I'm in my imagination sweetheart..."

"Hmm..." is all Pooja could utter perhaps due to our proximity and the way I almost nibbled on her ear lobe, her sweet spot as I had explored it earlier. I knew even she was going through the same plight as mine because my effect on her was visible when I held her close to my chest in a warm embrace to end our dance. Her flushed face and intense eyes gave away her feelings while I couldn't stop myself from pecking her forehead.

Everyone cheered for us, Vin and Sourav as usual teased me for doing so "oye hoye... Koi toh rokh lo...!"

"Chup kar..." I mumbled with a sheepish smile and let go off Pooja from me since the music was over. We chit chatted for some more time as I told them all about our Thailand trip, our event there and also how I proposed Pooja... Of course not revealing too much information about our personal moments considering our privacy.

While we enjoyed the party... At one moment, Pooja looked at me from a little far and raised her eye brows at a wine glass that was on the table as Sourav was offering her to drink. Pooja was courteous and humble enough to ask me if she could sip on some wine as she was used to drinking occasionally and she had told me about this before. But having a teetotaller boyfriend, may be she felt like asking me as it was the first time we were around alcohol after we got into relationship.

I smiled at her and shrugged my shoulders as I nodded in a "yes" that I didn't have any problem with her drinking wine. She smiled in response and took the wine glass and raised it towards me and mumbled a "Cheers" while I too did the same with my fruit punch glass with a wide smile.

We carried on enjoying few games and dancing to some bollywood music videos for some more time before we called it a night. We loved the time spent with each other and bid adieu doing some of our usual comical antics with my brothers.

I and Pooja thanked Saurabh and Ridhi for hosting our get together so well as we retired towards my car. While walking Pooja tripped a bit because of a stone on the way and clutched on to my arm as I squealed "Pooja...!!" and held her close to me.

"Careful no Pooji... Chot lagi kya?" I asked her with concern.
"No no Shaheer... I'm fine. Just because of the stone.. I didn't see it..." Pooja justified walking along with me.

"Wine kuch zyada toh chad ni gayi...?" I smirked with a sly smile on my face.

"Oh please... Itna bhi nai peeti mei..." Pooja said making a pout seemingly annoyed at what I said and I was quick enough to pull her more closer to my side by her waist... I rubbed my nose gently on her temples and said "Awe... I was kidding... Sorry! Vaise... You need not ask my permission to do anything you wish to Pooja... Aaj tumne wine peene se pehle kyu pucha mujhse? Jab mei nahi tha tumhare sath toh you wouldn't have asked anyone before you do what you want to right? I don't wish to change any of your habits pooji... Unless it's something harmful..."

"Thank you Sheikh saab par alcohol toh harmful hai... Issiliye toh tum nai peete?" Pooja shot back quickly, wrapping her left arm around my waist as we walked further.

"Nai... I've read wine is good for health specially for glowing skin like yours..." I nuzzled down her nape inhaling her scent and she didn't stop me from doing so as I continued to say further...

"Aur rahi baat meri naa peene ki... It's just that I never felt like drinking. Reasons may be many... Like it's not good for health or it's perhaps written in the holy Quran that alcohol is not a good thing to include in life or may be I don't want to drink those sour liquids. So, that doesn't mean I'll stop you from doing what you like baby" I said pinning her against the car as we reached it.

"Hmm... Deep thoughts Sheikhu baba... Tussi vadiya gallaan karde oh..." Pooja said with her wide smile snaking her arms around my neck in her cute punjabi that meant I speak good words. I loved when she spoke in Punjabi... Because she looked super cute mumbling those sweet words in her language and made me feel owned by her as it showed her comfort with me.

I leaned forward and kissed her cheek cupping her face in my palms as I let my lips stay on her cheek a little longer. I could sense her smile while I did so as she slid her arms from my neck and clutched my shirt tightly in her fists expressing that she enjoyed what I did to her... After few seconds Pooja pecked on my cheek quickly and pushed me back gently... With a shy smile she mumbled "Ab chale? We're late..."

I nodded rubbing the back of my head and opened the car door for her to get in. Then we drove towards her house in a stoic silence except for listening to the soft melody songs that played on the stereo while we occasionally looked towards each other and smiled. This feeling of being with the love of my life in the mid night on the empty roads of Mumbai felt serene and peaceful. Pooja had bought a certain steadiness and bliss in my life by just being with me. I loved my car more now that she was present in it next to me, I loved the silence that prevailed as it spoke a thousand words that we conveyed each other just by glancing into our eyes.

Pooja held my palm that rested on the gear and smiled softly as if she read what was going on my mind... We reached her house around 2:30 in the mid night. I drove into the parking and stopped the car. I looked at the drowsy eyes of Pooja while she unbuckled the seat belt.

"Sleepy already?" I asked unbuckling my own seat belt.
"Naah... Just a bit tired may be" Pooja averred nonchalantly.

"Go get some good sleep... You'll be fine" I said caressing her cheek with my palm.

"What do you mean go get sleep? Aren't you coming up?" She enquired with a surprised expression on her face.

"Hmm it's already late so I was thinking I'll better get home" I said pursing my lips in.

"Shaheer... It's almost 3 in the night baby. I thought you will spend tonight here at my place..." Pooja said coolly as if me staying over at her place wasn't a big deal for her. I kept staring at her without responding so she shook my shoulder "Shaheer... I said something"
"Huh... Ya ya... No... Actually... You want me to stay?" I asked hesitantly to which she smiled and said "Dumbo...! if I didn't want to then why would I think that you will stay over? " Pooja blinked her eyes comically.

"Umm... Pooja actually, What would your neighbours think...? I mean if anyone sees me staying over at your house won't it be a problem for you?" I expressed my concern.

"Shaheer... We aren't doing any mistake. We're a couple and what we do shouldn't be a problem to anyone as long as we aren't troubling them...waise bhi humare sath rehne se kisko problem hogi? Agar hogi bhi toh...Kuch toh log kahenge, logon ka kaam hai kehna..." Pooja sang the song dramatically bringing a smile on my worried face. She very well knew how to lighten up my mood with her calm words and her mature thinking.

"Haan tum theek bol rahi ho... Then chalo... Shayad hume cuddle karke sona hi likha hai aaj..." I hit her shoulder with mine playfully making her blush a bit but she tried to hide her smile by hitting me back.

We got down the car and headed towards her house in the lift. Since it was midnight and nobody around we were alone in the lift so we got the chance to stand close to each other in our arms till the elevator reached 7th floor. Pooja walked in front of me holding the keys while I ogled her gait from behind.

"Baby... Stop checking me out" Pooja chuckled while I wondered how she got to know. "You look so hot sweetheart... Itni hot lagogi toh kaise roku khudko" I mumbled lazily walking behind her.

"Haww... Tumne mujhe hot bola?" Pooja turned back to ask me simultaneously unlocking the door.

"Yup! Kyu? Shouldn't I?" I shot back as he entered inside the house and turned on the lights.

"Of course you can... Bas pehli baar bola na toh...toh..." She fumbled to speak further and knowing how shy she felt I walked closer to her and she kept walking back.

"Toh.... Toh... Kya?" I said walking further until she hit her back to the wall and I left no time in caging her between my hands on the wall.

Pooja lowered her eyes, her cheeks turned crimson as she tried to move right and left to get out of my cage but failed as I was successful in holding her firm. I liked this sometimes shy Pooja with me... Within few days I had seen so many shades of her that I loved her in all ways... She was bold sometimes and showed her feminine shyness too whenever she genuinely felt so. I was elated to see the way she reacted to me being close to her.

I smiled to myself and lifted her chin to meet her eyes... "Pooja... Tum aise sharmati ho na... Dil ki dhadkane tez ho jati hai... Sansein tez ho jati hai... Maarne ka irada hai kya?" I whispered in a hoarse voice making her turn red all the more but Pooja being Pooja snapped out of her shy self and said "Yeh humare ITV shows ke dialogues kyu bol rahe ho...?"

"Uff... Aisa koi bolta hai kya jab boyfriend romantic baatein kare toh?" I snickered taking off my hands from the wall.

"Mr Sheikh... Khud ke romantic lines bolte toh shayad nai bolti... Hahaha" Pooja chuckled sitting on the sofa.

"Ha ha ha... Very funny... Bohat hassi ayi..." I faked a laugh sarcastically making her get up from the sofa and walk to me. She wound her arms around my waist and rested her head on my chest... "Dhadkane toh abhi bhi tez hai... Par zinda kyu ho?"

And she burst out into a hysteric laugh making me also join her in laughing. I hugged her back and we stayed in our embrace for few minutes before we went to change into our casual clothes to sleep.

"Umm so... So... Where shall I sleep?" I asked a bit hesitant as I didn't want Pooja to think that I was someone who'd always cling on to her and not respect her space. Since it was the first time I was staying over at her place it seemed a bit awkward for me.

"Of course mere room mei... Mere sath...!" Pooja said coolly startling me a bit... She was back to being her sassy self shedding the shyness that she displayed minutes ago.

"Hmm fine then... Chalo..." I said happily holding her hand and dragging her to the room.

We sprawled ourselves on the bed the minute we entered the room and I went through a myriad of emotions that point of time as the realisation of me lying on my lady's bed sinked in as I saw her adjusting herself quite comfortably snuggling closer to me.

I felt happy and content to have Pooja in my arms without being stressed about anything... Just the two of us... Felt like heaven as I wrapped her in my arms while she smiled and closed her eyes to sleep resting her head on my chest and wounding her hand around my torso.

There wasn't a feel of any sexual tension between us though we were so close and our bodies entwined to seem as one. The feeling of lust wasn't there yet as we both perhaps felt the need to take our relationship first to understand each other by heart and then surrender our everything to each other.

The moment felt complete and beautiful as I basked in the warmth my dearest girl radiated in my arms. I mentally thanked God for blessing me with her.

I kissed on her forehead and whispered "Good night baby..." and I also drifted to sleep peacefully.

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And that's a wrap! Thanks for patiently waiting ❤ and reading this story...

Please do vote and comment if you have liked the story so far...

Would love to hear more from you guys..

Love,
Avni