Chapter 12: Go Goa - It Started With a Friend Request

Dabolim Airport, Goa, January 3, 2012

It was a sunny yet pleasant morning in Goa. Deep and Tamanna had landed at their destination along with Mr Verma and Kajal. Tamanna secretly hoped that being in a relaxing and romantic place like Goa would help bring Deep closer to her. Who knows, he may even develop feelings for her, bringing a new spark in her otherwise dull life. Their conference was scheduled at 11 am and they still had some time to relax in the beach town. They were going to stay at the Whispering Palms Beach Resort near Candolim Beach.

‘What are your plans after the conference?’ Kajal asked Tamanna who was sitting beside her in the cab on their way to the hotel.

‘Not decided yet … I think we will…’

Tamanna was about to say something but was cut short by Deep.

‘I think we should unwind and rest,’ Deep said and looked at both the girls sitting in the back seat. Mr Verma was busy talking to someone on his phone.

Though Tamanna harboured feelings towards Deep, no one else in office had a hint about it. Tamanna wanted to make this trip memorable by expressing her feelings towards Deep once and for all. Deep on the other hand had finally decided not to think too much about Tamanna and her behaviour, even though the thought had haunted his mind from the day this trip had been announced. He had taken his decision and had something extremely serious to share with Tamanna which would put a full stop to all her thoughts and could even break all her dreams.

Both Mr Verma and Kajal were having a secret sexual affair, each for their personal benefit. Kajal gave him sexual pleasure and in the process satisfied her own financial and official needs. She had planned to cross all limits in the next couple of days and expected a heavy increment after this trip. Mr Verma, on the other hand, was a married man who knew how to take full advantage of the situation, and didn’t mind giving her official benefits in return for fulfilling his desires.

How strange was the journey and how contradictory were their thoughts and relationships! As the car accelerated, all of them looked outside at the beautiful structures of Vasco. Goa was the place where everyone hoped to achieve what they desired in the next couple of days, but no one knew what could come their way. The next couple of days could answer many questions and leave their minds either clueless or take them to new heights of achievements, success, passion, and love.

The cab halted outside the hotel premises and everyone looked at each other, exchanging familiar plastic smiles. They then moved towards their rooms with their luggage.

Tamanna relaxed as soon as she entered her Mediterranean-style room. She tied her hair into a knot and went outside to stand in the room’s balcony. She was amazed to see the poolside view and imagined herself with Deep in the pool. She had decided to express her feelings to Deep that very night. The mere thought of it excited her since she was getting to spend quality time with Deep, away from the mad rush of the city.

‘Are you going in for a bath?’ Kajal asked Tamanna who was busy unpacking. Both of them were sharing the same room.

‘You carry on. I will have my breakfast first. I am starving,’ Tamanna replied. She picked up the menu card kept on the side table, ordered breakfast, and lied down on the bed, deeply immersed in thoughts.

She had never imagined that she would ever have such intense feelings for Deep whom she had trained some time back. She believed that Deep was financially unstable which was primarily restricting him from taking the first step towards her. Every man needs a woman when his life is in a mess. After all, life is just like a game of chess. The queen always protects the king. Tamanna had already appointed herself as the queen in Deep’s life.

* * *

After their meeting in the conference hall of the hotel got over, they all had lunch together. Then they went back to their rooms to change into casuals since the plan was to explore the beaches of Goa.

Both the girls changed into short skirts and casual tops. Kajal was exposing for Mr Verma while Tamanna wanted to gain Deep’s attention, as it was probably the first time Deep was going to see her exposed skin.

Deep had worn a white body fit T-shirt with Bermuda shorts which forced Tamanna to stare harder at his toned, muscular body. Mr Verma on the other hand had worn full-length track pants and a casual T-shirt in an attempt to look thinner.

‘You look so sexy,’ said Mr Verma holding Kajal by her waist as they walked outside the hotel premises.

Looking at them stroll like two lovebirds made Tamanna feel a bit jealous but nonetheless she was excited because she knew she just had to wait for a few more hours. They got into the cab and headed towards Baga beach.

‘Tamanna, I have told the receptionist to book our tickets for the overnight casino cruise. So do not schedule anything after evening,’ Mr Verma told Tamanna who was busy drinking a Bacardi breezer.

She had something different planned for the night. But she agreed to tag along as she felt proposing on a cruise accompanied by Goan music in the backdrop would be more romantic. Deep seemed disturbed by their idea of going on the cruise but he didn’t utter a word. As they reached Baga beach, everyone ran towards the shore.

Deep relaxed on the shore with a beer bottle. Soon Tamanna too joined him. She was keeping an eye on Kajal and Mr Verma, observing their actions closely. She wanted to be in Deep’s arms but he hardly cast a glance at her. She was sitting right next to him, trying her best to get close to him, but he kept looking straight at the horizon. She even deliberately moved her skirt up exposing her thigh to seduce Deep but all in vain. It irritated Tamanna but she didn’t want to break down in front of him. More than him, it was Kajal and Mr Verma’s public display of affection that irritated her. Kajal was trying her best to seduce him and Mr Verma was lusting after her. Tamanna almost turned her face with disgust when she saw Mr Verma smooching Kajal in public! Their PDA was getting out of control!

She was upset by the fact that Deep had completely ignored her despite her sexy outfit. Each moment seemed like ages to her. As they travelled back to their rooms, Tamanna caught him looking at her which brought a smile on her face. Whatever be the reason, she loved it when he looked at her. He faked a smile wondering how he could avoid the cruise that night.

* * *

‘What do you observe first in girls?’ Mr Verma questioned Deep holding a glass of beer while having dinner at Tito’s.

Tito’s Courtyard was an informal, open-air dining restaurant.

‘Now that depends on whether a girl is walking towards you or away from you,’ Deep replied, half-drunk. They laughed at his statement and raised a toast.

‘What you feel about Kajal?’ Mr Verma asked him, putting his hand around Kajal’s shoulder and getting closer.

‘Sorry sir, I don’t believe in shortcuts and relationships which are only for mutual benefit. I prefer to stay away from them,’ Deep said looking at Kajal.

‘Oh come on. Grow up. You should live life king size,’ Mr Verma yelled.

Kajal stared at Deep as she knew Mr Verma had dismissed their relationship as mere enjoyment and nothing else. It was like a slap on her face. He hardly cared for her and continued to eat his food. All this while, Tamanna kept looking secretly at Deep and his last statement made her nervous.

After dinner, they decided to spend some more time on the beach before boarding the cruise.

‘I am feeling unwell. I will rest in my hotel room for a while so that I can join you all on the cruise later. Otherwise I will feel uneasy on the cruise and will miss all the fun,’ Deep exclaimed when they cleared the bill and came out of Tito’s.

‘Are you sure? I don’t want you to miss the cruise Deep,’ Tamanna said visibly concerned. After all she had planned a special night on the cruise for him.

He nodded but Tamanna insisted he stay back with them and not to go back to the hotel. Her continuous pampering was getting on his nerves.

‘Don’t worry Tammy. I will reach on time. Trust me. We will spend some good time together,’ Deep told her in a sweet tone and gave her a seductive smile. Tammy told him to come on time.

Deep pretended that he was feeling uneasy due to the drinks he had consumed and left for the day. He ordered couple more bottles of beer in the room after taking a bath. He checked his mobile and saw 11 missed calls from Tammy. He wasn’t shocked as it was quite typical of her. He ignored them and switched off his cell phone so that he could drink chilled beer sitting in the balcony of his room and enjoy Goa’s weather.

After some drinks, he closed his eyes thinking about what would be the aftereffects of his decision to cancel the cruise plan. Even he wanted to talk about his life with Tamanna in all seriousness, but he felt that the cruise was not the right pace to do so. Goa was the right opportunity to tell Tamanna how he really felt but he never got a chance to be alone with Tammy anywhere. Thinking about the various probabilities, he dozed off on the chair in the balcony itself.

Meanwhile, the others were waiting for Deep to return so that they could board the cruise together.

Tamanna tried calling Deep a number of times but his phone was switched off. She was worried about him and cursed herself for allowing him to go back to the room.

‘His cell is switched off. Should we go back to the room and check?’ Tamanna asked Mr Verma.

‘Leave it. He may not be feeling well. If we check on him now, we will miss our cruise,’ Mr Verma said advising the girls to board the cruise.

Tamanna started walking towards the cruise with a heavy heart. She turned to look back every few seconds, hoping she would spot Deep running towards her. However, with each step she took, her dream seemed to evaporate in thin air. Deep was nowhere to be seen. Tamanna wanted to cry aloud as all her plans had shattered in a fraction of a second.

‘Don’t worry Tammy. I will reach on time. Trust me. We will spend some good quality time together.’ His mesmerizing voice still reverberated in her head. A tear tolled down her eye and she couldn’t believe it was for real. She was all alone in the midst of a crowd that seemed to be enjoying each other’s company.

Kajal and Mr Verma were making the most of their time on the cruise. She looked gorgeous in her black one-piece dress and Mr Verma looked totally smitten by her as they danced to Goan music. Kajal had managed to fulfil her motive behind the Goa trip and even Mr Verma had not been left disappointed. However, for Tamanna the love game had now suddenly changed into an obsession. She had to achieve her love at any cost now. The intensity of Kajal and Mr Verma’s love made her obsess more deeply about Deep. The night passed thinking about him but Tamanna decided to keep mum and not to react to Deep’s betrayal.

The next morning when they left for the airport, Deep tried to talk to Tammy several times, but she kept ignoring him as his behaviour had made her even more upset. She tried to make him feel guilty for the previous night by avoiding him completely. Deep tried to convince her and explain the reason for his absence, but his half-hearted attempts failed to impress Tamanna. On the other hand, Kajal and Mr Verma had a satisfied look on their faces while returning back to Mumbai.

The Goa trip had ended on an ugly note for Deep and Tamanna and created rifts between them. Deep failed to share with her what was going on in his head. However it was getting difficult for Tamanna to ignore the feelings she had for Deep. The question was: How far would this obsession of hers take her?