Chapter 7: Four Seasons to Cloud Nine - It Started With a Friend Request

Tamanna had reached the party venue while Deep was in the lobby downstairs. The party was at the Four Seasons hotel in Worli. The venue was the Aer lounge located on the 34^th floor. Deep was escorted to the elevator which went straight up to the 33^rd floor of the hotel. Once he was out of the elevator, he climbed another floor through the glittering stairway with small mirrors on the walls that lead to the lounge. It was an open roof lounge with the most beautiful view of the city—including Haji Ali, Mahalaxmi Racecourse, and the Bandra-Worli Sea link. Deep went towards the sea facing side where the cool breeze from the Arabian Sea greeted him. His jaw almost dropped looking at the amazing view. He then searched for his teammates and Tamanna. They were sitting on the opposite side with drinks already served on the table.

Deep took his seat after greeting everyone.

‘What will you have?’ Tamanna asked.

‘I’ll take prawns and a cocktail.’

Tamanna placed the order and offered him a cigarette. Deep couldn’t deny the offer due to corporate table manners and took one cigarette from the pack. It would have been a different story altogether if he was a non-smoker. However, everyone from the team knew he smoked. Thus, he couldn’t refuse and lit a cigarette. He somewhere felt that he was encouraging Tamanna to come close to him and get more personal. He hated that fact but felt completely helpless about it.

After dinner, Deep got up from his seat and moved towards the sea facing side of the lounge asking aloud if anyone wanted to join him. Tamanna readily agreed to join him and got up from her seat. Deep gave a sarcastic smile as she straightened her dress and started walking alongside. She was heavily drunk but Deep ignored this fact. They reached the edge of the rooftop which had a long glass boundary. Tamanna had been silent all through the walk and didn’t even look at Deep. He sensed something coming his way after the long silence. He had almost finished his cigarette and still Tamanna hadn’t uttered a word. She was too drunk to be in her senses.

‘Are you okay? Deep enquired. Her long silence was making him uncomfortable.

‘Can I ask you something?’ Tamanna said staring at Deep. She was finding it difficult to even stand on her feet.

Deep held her hands and made her sit on the nearby couch. A smile popped on Tamanna’s face. She held his hands so tightly that Deep could hardly move his fingers. He was shocked with Tamanna’s strange behaviour. He hadn’t expected something like this to happen. He tried to free his hand from her clutches but failed to do so.

Deep gave up eventually and said, ‘Tammy, You should leave. You are drunk and it’s getting late.’

‘No. I am not drunk. I am okay. Deep, you are really very cute. You always take care of everyone and I love you for that… You should…’ she muttered but Deep interrupted her by making her stand and signalling to one of his teammates to help him out. When everyone saw her condition, they made her sit on the couch and tried ways to make her regain normalcy so that she could at least reach home safely. However, she was in no mood to listen. She closed her eyes and rested her head on the couch. Everyone asked Deep to take her home safely since she was not in a state to go alone.

Deep knew what could be the consequences if he went alone with her. He was already scared and shocked with what had happened a few minutes back. Nevertheless, he did not have any other option. There were two managers requesting him to do the honour and Tamanna continuously muttered his name when they asked her who they should get in touch with to help her reach home safely. Deep took her bag and they both walked down the staircase. Tamanna took the support of his shoulders to walk. She kept on muttering Deep’s name until they reached the lobby. Deep made her sit in the lobby and asked the gaurd to call for a taxi for them. She held Deep’s hand and walked towards the taxi. He made her sit on the backseat of the taxi and was about to close the door and move towards the front seat when Tamanna whispered:

‘Please don’t sit in the front. Sit beside me. I am scared and I need you. Please Deep, it’s a request.’

She was almost pleading with him. Deep thought for a moment and decided to sit at the back with her. Looking at her condition, he knew it would have been too harsh if he had sat in the front.

‘Bhaiya, Churchgate chalo,’ Deep told the taxi driver and shut the back door of the taxi.

Tamanna stuck her head out of the window and shut her eyes, letting the breeze hit her face. It was not very cold outside but Tamanna was drunk and the breeze made her feel drowsier. Deep shut his eyes and felt that he should have avoided this party to stay away from all the chaos. He wondered what the managers might have thought when Tamanna repeated his name continuously in front of them. He didn’t want it to be this way. He wanted to stay away from office gossip and not be a part of it. To make things worse, Tamanna held his hand again, but with more passion this time. She almost fell on him when the driver took a right turn. Deep couldn’t believe what was happening.

‘Bhaiya, aaraam se,’ Deep requested the taxi driver as he knew it was no use requesting Tamanna.

Tamanna was still holding onto his hand firmly. She opened her eyes slightly and turned her head towards Deep. He didn’t notice her as he was looking outside the window. Tamanna kept gazing at him while the taxi cruised towards Churchgate. She finally broke the silence between them and said, ‘Deep, don’t leave me alone. Stay by me always. I know you think of me as just a friend and that I’m crossing the line here. But I have to say it today, I can’t take it anymore. I can’t stand next to you without wanting to hold you. I can’t look into your eyes without feeling that longing you only read about in trashy romance novels. I can’t talk to you without wanting to express my love for everything you are. I don’t love you like bubbly college girls but I love you as the plant that never blossoms but carries the light of hidden flowers in itself. I have seen dreams where I kiss you…’

Her words not only shocked Deep but also raised various questions in his mind. Deep interrupted her but she was in no mood to stop and continued, ‘…and I have spent lonely nights when I miss you. It’s been so long since I have kept these feelings hidden from you, but I feel like telling you everything that is inside me, I want you. I want you to be mine forever. I’ve never felt this way before meeting you and my feelings for you increased during your training sessions. I have never had the opportunity to tell you or anyone else about these feelings. And if bringing it to light means we can’t hang out any more, then that would hurt me. I don’t know what the next moment will bring, but you will always see your picture in my eyes. I love you…’

Deep was stunned to hear all of this. He was clueless on how to react. He somewhere knew that Tamanna had feelings for him, but never thought it was more like an obsession. He always treated Tamanna as a manager and from the past few days, as a friend. It was not that he did not believe in love but he wanted his professional life to remain simply professional. His office hours were dedicated just to his work and work alone. The irony of the situation was that Tamanna was not even in her senses when she was expressing her love. Maybe the next day she won’t event remember all this, thought Deep.

She continued, ‘…where is my Tab, Deep? I have written so many things about you in it. Please let me read it.’

Deep immediately took the Tab which was kept on the seat beside her but Tamanna snatched it from his hand. She opened a saved folder and tried to read out the lines.

Jaane woh meri bekarari ko samajhta kyun nahi,

Jo mujhe mehsoos hota hai, woh use mehsoos hota kyun nahi?

Apne pyaar se seechti aayi hoon main is phool ko,

Mere pyaar ka yeh phool uske dil me khilta kyun nahi?

Har pal uske pyaar ki galiyon mein bhatakti hoon,

Na jane woh bhule se bhi wahan se guzarta kyun nahi?

Maar chuki hoon har ehsaas ko uske pyaar mein,

Ichhaon ka yeh aashiyana fir bhi bikharta kyun nahin?

Click play to listen song

The taxi halted near Tamanna’s apartment. Though he was in shock, he helped Tamanna get out of the car and looked around to make sure no one was watching him. She somehow managed to walk to the gate.

Deep was unable to catch much sleep that night. The biggest question that kept him awake all through the night was ‘What next?’ Should he forget his principles and take a step forward thinking of all the luxuries that would be provided to him, or should he act as if nothing had happened that night? Though he wanted to call it an end and quit his job, he knew practically he couldn’t take that step as he had responsibilities on his head. To fulfil the same responsibilities, should he jump in an ocean of greed by killing his self-respect or respect the dreams that he once saw with his dream girl?