Yours Accidentally by Madhur Nevatia Page B

girl
aroused conflicting emotions in him as Sameera did.
    Someone was
knocking loudly on the door. Caught in his thoughts, Gautam tried to ignore it
but the knocking continued vehemently. He cursed under his breath, grabbed a
towel and wrapped it impatiently around his waist, still dripping wet.
    His
thoughts, it seemed, had come alive. Sameera stood at the door, a plate of food
in her hands. She calmly handed it to him and left, her high heels clicking on
the marble floor.
    Gautam felt
violated. She should have announced herself. While he stood there, half naked
and dripping wet, his mouth open, looking physically and metaphorically like a
fish out of water, she had taken the moral high ground. And—she even shook her
head at him.
    For a second
he thought he was dreaming but the heady mixture of Sameera’s fragrance and the
aroma of the choicest of Punjabi sin food— samosa, gulaab jamun and chole bhatoore —was all too real. He stood dumbfounded with the plate in his
hand and his heart in his mouth. Another wave of outrage ran through him. What
does she think of herself? He put the plate down on the table and sat on
the bed. Any other girl would have been embarrassed and apologetic, but not
this one. Supercilious freak. He shook his head in disgust. Damn. To
think I was attracted to this butterfly, ice maiden, rather. Serves me right. He
dipped a samosa in green chutney and a smile spread over his face. His
mobile rang and for the next few hours Gautam was engrossed in work.
    At about
five-thirty in the evening, there was another knock on his door. Once bitten, and
still in his towel, he did not dare open the door without further information.
    “Who is it?”
he yelled.
    “Open the
damn door, you @#$%. Have you come here to lock yourself in your room?”
    Gautam
opened the door to a red-faced Sanjay.
    “Oh. So your
laptop’s on too. Excellent, Mr. Highflier. Here you are, slogging your ass off
on a one-day leave while useless people like me waste time getting married.”
Sanjay poured himself a glass of water. “You know what, buddy? I would give an
arm and a leg to get someone as dedicated as you to work for me.”
    “You won’t
be able to afford me bugger,” Gautam laughed heartily. “Just cool down, champ.
Your penchant for theatrics has not reduced over the years. I’ll be finished in
two minutes and then am all yours for the rest of the evening.” Gautam looked
at his friend fondly. “On a more serious note, I thought you would be busy with
your cute fiancée. Why would you want me breathing down your necks?”
    “What
rubbish, yaar ,” exclaimed Sanjay. “I am so glad you could come.”
    Gautam
beamed at his friend. “I would not miss this for anything. The end of your
freedom. Now just put your feet up while I save my files.”
    “Dude,
what’s with the towel? Where are your clothes? I heard Sameera say something
about this.”
    Gautam
stiffened. “What did she say?”
    “That she
had asked you to change into something more appropriate for the engagement, but
a towel was definitely not what she had in mind. Anyway, she’s
pleasantly surprised by your minimalistic style. Your daring fashion
sense has just earned you your first brownie points from her. Witty woman.”
    The humor
was lost on Gautam; he flushed a deep red.
    “Don’t take
it personally, dude.”
    “What else
did she say?”
    “Nothing
much. Just that a couple of kilos less would not be that bad on you, a more
toned look, you see?” Sanjay smiled.
    Gautam was
livid. “This is being outright rude. She is arrogant, not witty.” He got up,
agitated, trying to wrap up his work. “By the way, buddy, what if Tanya is just
as high handed as Sameera? It may be late in the day but definitely not too
late to avoid ending up as a hen-pecked husband.”
    Sanjay
guffawed. “Did she say anything nasty to you?”
    “No, she didn’t
say a word.”
    “Then why
are you so mad at her?”
    “Because she
irritates me.”
    “Hmm. So
Sameera