Chapter 15

Suha Brar

Sun rays hit my face. It's pretty irritating when I'm asleep otherwise I love being sun-kissed. I open my eyes slowly simultaneously stretching my hands. I give a yawn and rub my eyes.

When my eyes are wide open I realize that this isn't my room. This isn't my house! There is a glass wall in front of me which gives me a perfect view of Marine Drive. Near the glass wall is a chair kept on which a dress is kept. I've seen that dress somewhere... Wait a sec! Is that my dress?! I stood straight and looked at myself.

I am wearing a tank top and shorts which are shorter than shorts. That's when I start to worry. I screamed on top of my voice. Two figures appeared in my room. It was Vihaan and Charlie.

Did they spend the night together? Are they dating? But why do I care? Shut the fuck up Suha. That's none of your concern right now. You need to know what happened last night.

"Suha, calm down a bit," Vihaan said, sitting next to me. I shrug a bit. Did he undress me? I'm going to hate him forever if that's a yes.

"What happened last night," I asked, unsure whether I want to know or not.

"Oh you poor thing, don't you remember?" Charlie asked.

I shook my head. Vihaan gave a facepalm. Charlie giggled a bit. I hit him on the shoulder and asked, "Tell me what happened!" He laughed harder instead.

I got up from the bed in disappointment and took my dress heading to find the washroom. "What are you doing," he asked.

"Finding the washroom. I don't have a better reason to stay," I said.

"Suha," he said as he walked towards me and held my hand. His warm touch soothes me. "You were drunk last night. You gave an inspirational speech at Marine Drive. You sang a few songs. You also did a few signature steps from your favorite movies. Last night, you lived it. And I consider myself lucky to have got a chance to watch you live it."

"I'm sure I made a fool out of myself," I said and sat on the edge of the bed hiding my face in my palms.

"No, you didn't. You're nothing less than a 3-year-old kid when drunk. A kid who can talk properly but prefers mumbling. A kid who can walk but falls after every 2-3 steps. A kid who just can't stop talking. And also the one who loves ice-cream above everything." That made me smile.

"And my clothes?"

"That's when I had to call up Charlie. She changed them for you."

"Oh, gee. Thanks, Charlie," I told her.

"Anytime," she answered. "Well, the coffee is ready in the pot. Why don't you have it? I'm going to scoot away."

"So soon, Charles?" he asked, walking towards her.

"Yeah, I've got plans," she said.

"Okay. Thanks for coming through," he said.

She gave him a brief hug and said, "Of course. You don't have anyone but me," with a wink. "Bye Suha. Hope to meet you soon."

"Yeah bye," I barely whisper. My cheeks flush. This time of irritation. No, jealousy. Shut up Suha. You've already got your heartbroken. Don't play with it again.

He then turned towards me when Charlie left. "You're still sure she's not your girlfriend," I asked him.

"If she were my girlfriend then no business would be as important as staying at her boyfriend's house when he has a girl sitting in his bedroom. So trust me. She is not my girlfriend," he said. "Now let's have some coffee, shall we?"

"Sure," I said.

At the dining table, he asked, "Do you seriously don't remember anything that happened?"

I shook my head, "No".

"What did you have last night?"

"My cousin made me drink a lot of vodka. They said it was mixed in fruit juice but I guess the mixture was diluted, you know vodka gets you easily drunk when diluted. Plus it tasted yuck. I guess I'm not going to drink again."

"Ya bet," he grinned. "And if by chance you happen to drink again you can come over here and be my refugee. I'll guard you."

"Thank you for everything, Vihaan."

"You don't need to, Suha."

No matter how much I wanted to ask 'why', I don't. I finish my cup of coffee and we go out into the living room and sit on the couch in front of the tv. His house is pretty modern. It's in shades of white and silver and some black. Everything in his house is quite antique. There's also this lamp that I found really creative- it's a long thin semicircular rod which in the end has the bulb which is a perfect fit in his hall.

"What's up there?" I asked him. There's this metal ladder leading to another floor upstairs which apparently has no wall on the inward side. It seems like an attic of the house.

"I thought you'd never ask."

I smiled. "Come with me," he instructed as he led. "Usually no one's allowed to go up there but you're not just anyone."

That indeed makes me feel special. Upstairs when we reached I couldn't believe my eyes. The ceiling was painted neon with the theme of the galaxy which was in a conical shape. There's a queen-size bed. There's a bookshelf on the sidewall filled with so many novels just like mine. There was a small window on the opposite wall of the bookshelf which brought distinct sun rays in the room which hit the piano as if it was a spotlight. "This place is fantastic." I wonder how beautiful this place will look at night when the ceiling will shine in the dark.

"You're the only one after mom who has come here," he tells.

"Then I feel privileged," I said. "Now, play me something."

"Now?"

"Yes."

"Okay," he said and sat down in front of the keys. His fingers fidgeting in the air may be wondering what to play. When he once started I was left speechless. He has this flow and sense of classical music which he displays very well. His eyes closed whenever he changed the tune taking in every sound he created. There's something behind his features that tells me he is not content.

"You know what?" I tell him while he is playing, "You teach me how to play on keys and I'll teach you how to sing."

"Okay."

God alone knows how long we sat there. We giggled and joked. I tried my best to make him sing but he just wasn't ready to let his voice come out of his throat.

He is an excellent teacher though. I feel more comfortable with the keys to his guidelines. We then ended up singing 'A Thousand Years' with extra emotions proving that we are non-perfect jerks fooling around.

When we were done, we slept on the opposite ends of the bed. "Do you know which is my favorite novel," he asked. I raised my brow at him. "That one," he points at a rack that holds my book. I smiled at his answer.

"Did you even read it, Vihaan?"

"What do you think we did the rest of the night after you slept?" he asked. "Though not the complete novel, I read over 150 pages. And I love it. It's a well-written story. You're indeed gonna be a great writer."

"Thank you."

"So, Suha, how many places have you visited in Mumbai? And apart from Marine Drive which one is your favorite?"

"To be honest, I've been to only 2 places in Mumbai. One is Marine's and the other Kalaghoda which is only because of the annual art fest," I answered.

"You're kidding me!"

"I'm honest as ever."

"Unbelievable! You know what? I have a day off from shooting. That's today. I'll show you around. What do you say?"

"Umm. You will?" Why would he waste his offshoot day to show me around?

"Of course! Why not?" As long as he is willing to, I don't need an answer.

"Cool then!"

"Great, go get a shower. I'll change in the meantime."

"But what will I wear?"

"Umm... Good question!" he says thinking for a while. "Today we will start off from Linking Road. We'll shop for you!"