For You - VIII

PS: This is an episodic romantic story. Every week, a new episode will be published.

To read first part, click here.

To read second part, click here.

To read third part, click here.

To read fourth part, click here.

To read fifth part, click here. 

To read sixth part, click here. 

To read seventh part, click here.


Simmi was tired of waiting for Arpit. She was coming to the garden since last 4 days but Arpit was nowhere to be seen. Okay agreed it was her fault that they had a fight the last time they met but did he have to stretch the matter so far? Why couldn’t he just be here at the decided time? Yeah, he was mad, but so what? Sometimes she also got mad and stayed angry. But there’s a time limit to it, isn’t it? On one hand Simmi wanted to forget the whole thing and go home on time, and on the other, she wanted to meet Arpit and clarify certain things. Now as Arpit was not coming, she wasn’t sure what to do. Should she visit him at his home? But where was his home? Oh God, these conflicting thoughts were driving her crazy.

Giving a deep sigh of irritation, Simmi started moving toward the parking lot. As she was walking away, she noticed Arpit strolling toward the college building.

“Arpit! Arpit! Wait!” Simmi started running toward him. Although Simmi was yelling at the top of her voice, it seemed that Arpit didn’t listen to her. He continued to walk away. Seeing this, Simmi picked up her speed.

“Arpit!” Suddenly Arpit turned around and Simmi, who was going at full speed, crashed straight into him. With a thump, both of them fell down with Arpit at the bottom and Simmi at the top. Arpit was so stunned that he just remained there on the floor, looking disbelievingly at Simmi.

“Oh, I am so sorry. I didn’t mean to do it but….” Simmi was so embarrassed that she didn’t know what to say. So she just scrambled up and started to help Arpit up.

Seeing Simmi reaching for him, Arpit too got up quickly. As he wasn’t sure whether he should be amused or angry at Simmi, he resorted to safe topic. “So it seems you have missed me too much.”

“No….yes…ummm.”

“Eloquent as usual.” Arpit started moving away.

“Wait, where are you going?”

When Arpit just raised an eyebrow in response to Simmi’s question, Simmi started berating herself. Why did she have to sound so needy? Damn it.

“I mean, I want to talk to you. If you have time, that is.”

“Why do you want to talk to me? Last time we spoke you were on your high horse about lying and things like that. So I though you would be relieved if I left you alone. What has changed?”

Listening Arpit talking like that made Simmi ashamed of herself. She hadn’t meant to insult him but somehow everything had gone wrong. She wanted to apologize but didn’t know where to start.

“If you are going to stare at the floor, what’s the point of this conversation?” Arpit started moving away. Before he could go further, Simmi grabbed his arm. “Wait. Can we go somewhere else to talk?”

“Why? Why can’t you say whatever you want to right now?”

“Well….umm…..”

“Oh God! You are back to stammering.”

Although Arpit had the right to be angry, did he have to behave like a baboon? “Listen, I am sorry. Okay? I shouldn’t have been so harsh….”

“Harsh? Whom are you kidding Simmi? I don’t care if you are harsh or soft or whatever. I don’t want to talk to you. Period. Is that so difficult for you to understand?”

Simmi just had enough of Arpit’s attitude. Why should she put up with him? To hell with him. “Enough is enough. You don’t want to talk with me, then its okay. It’s my mistake that I tried to apologize but now I won’t ever do such mistake again. Good bye.” Saying this, she dashed away from there. Right now she was so angry that she was ready to shoot Arpit. Who the hell did he think he was? God’s gift to women race? He could rot in his own stew for all she cared.

As soon as she entered her home, Kamini called her in the kitchen. “Are you hungry beta? Want to have some snacks? How about some biscuits and coffee?”

“Nah Mom. I don’t want snacks but I would like to have that coffee. Have you already brewed it or shall I fix it?”

“You go and change. I will start brewing a hot cup for you. You will get refreshed.”

“Okay.”

As soon as Simmi reached her room, she burst into tears. How could Arpit be so rude to her? Couldn’t he gracefully accept her apology? It wasn’t as if he was Mr. Perfect Gentleman and she the shrew. In fact, he had been so rude to her in the past that in her place, any other girl would have lodged a formal complaint against him in the college. Arpit was a scumbag and she was never going to talk with him. Just thinking about him was giving her a headache. Deciding to let go of the matter, she just changed her clothes and joined her family.


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

Teek teek teek.

Simmi was so engrossed in reading her book that she didn’t notice the sound initially. Again there was this “teek teek teek.” Just when she thought that her ears were ringing, there was louder bang on the door. She got up to check if somebody was banging on her door but nobody was there when she opened her bedroom door. Thinking that the noise was indeed weird, Simmi was on the verge of starting an investigation under the bed for possible mouse when there was another bang; however, the noise came from the balcony. As soon as she opened the door of the balcony, Arpit barged into the room.

“Wh-what are you doing here?”

“How much time does it take for you to open the door? I thought I would have to wait until morning for you to open it.”

Simmi was so stunned to see Arpit in her bedroom in the middle of the night that she was didn’t know what to do.

“Now are you going to just stand over there or will you come here and sit beside me?” Arpit asked Simmi patting on the space beside him on the bed.

“No. I am not. What are you doing here? Are you crazy? Do you know what time it is?”

“Of course I know it’s 11 pm. You should be happy to see me, not so scared and worried. Alas, you called me here.”

“I? When did I call you?” A pounding headache had started behind Simmi’s eyes. She was sure that her head was going to blow off anytime.

“Well, when you came to meet me at the college. You did say that you wanted to speak to me and so here I am. Let’s talk.”

“Arpit, I am not sure whether you are really dumb or you are pretending to be the one. It’s middle of the night and I can’t talk to you right now. You have to leave. Now. If my parents come to know that you are here in my bedroom at this ungodly hour, all hell will break loose. Just go away.” Simmi was barely controlling herself from yelling at him.

“First you want to talk and then you don’t want. Woman, first decide what you want!”

“Keep your voice down. You don’t need to advertise that you are here. Just go.”

“Okay, okay. I am going. But when do you want to meet?”

“I don’t want to meet you. You said it yourself that we don’t have anything left to say to each other. You be on your way and I will be on my.”

“Well, now I am saying it different. We have got plenty to speak. So let’s start now.”

“I said no. Go away. Please.”

When Arpit didn’t get up from the bed, Simmi marched to him and tried to pull him off. Instead of pulling Arpit from the bed, she fell on him and both of them ended on the bed horizontal. When Simmi saw Arpit’s eyes on close quarters, she got a weird feeling that Arpit’s eyes were glazed.

“Are you okay? Why do your eyes look different?”

“Yeah, I am fine. Just little bit high.”

“High? Means what?”

“Don’t be such a dumbo. By high I mean, I just had a snort of LSD.”

“What is LSD? And what do you mean you had a snort?”

“Well, LSD is a cool drug that makes you feel happy whenever you decide to party with it. I just partied little bit with it couple of hours back. Anyway, where were we?”

“You were going out of the balcony to start for your home.”

“Oh no, baby! I am not drunk. I know what we were talking about. We were talking about you coming to meet me other time. If you don’t want to, I guess this bed is fine to discuss things. Btw, how did you like kissing me? I wonder if I was your first one or have you been kissed by someone else before.”

Simmi didn’t know how the talk turned toward kissing but she wasn’t interested in discussing that. She just wanted to get rid of Arpit before anybody else realized that he was actually in her bedroom.

“Arpit, please just go away. I am not kidding. If anyone suspects that you were here, I will be dead. Please, I beg you. Just go away.”

“Okay. I will go away. But when will we meet next?”

“Tomorrow. At the campus’ garden. Now go.”

As Simmi agreed to meet him later on, Arpit felt quite happy. Alas, he will again get to spend time with her tomorrow. He had missed her in last few days. He just hoped that they didn’t have another fight. He didn’t want to argue with Simmi. It was better to kiss her and make out.

“Ok. I am going but won’t you at least kiss me good night.”

By now Simmi was distraught. So instead of replying him, she started pushing him out of the door. Arpit, although on the leaner side, wasn’t so easy to be pushed around. Standing up, he looked down at Simmi with amusement. It was fun to see her trying to physically throw him out of her room. After few minutes, Arpit started getting bored and he decided to leave on his own volition. But before that, he needed to do something. Taking the struggling Simi in his arms, he tipped her face up to his and kissed her. Long and hard. He was hungry for her and he wasn’t going to hide his hunger for her.

Simmi didn’t know what hit her. One minute she was trying to get Arpit out of her, and the other, she was being soundly kissed. And this kiss was nothing like that day’s kiss. That had been a gentle meeting of lips but this one was nearly brutal. And then something happened that she never imagined would happen to her. She started tingling. She lost her sense of time and place. Arpit’s arms became her world and his kiss became the barometer of time.

All of a sudden, she found herself being pushed into bed.

“I should go before I completely lose it. I will see you tomorrow.” Taking deep breaths, Arpit walked to the balcony and jumped down into the garden. He didn’t know what happened but he knew one thing: he was happy. After a long, long time. Maybe he should take more of LSD. Or was it Simmi who was making him happy? He was confused. Maybe he should kiss her properly when he hasn’t partied.

In the bedroom, Simmi started praying that the drugs had the same effect as alcohol. She didn’t want Arpit to remember his trip over here because she was not going to meet him again. Ever.