Part 50--Scoop of Life---Consensus

February 14th 2011
5 ish PM Onwards
Malviya Nagar-East of Kailash--Saket

Rad: Its a VW today? (smiling at the silver, convertible). OK I need to know what your Dad does for a living (laughs) These things cost a fortune. I am saving up to buy myself a BMW convertible by the time I am... (stops doesnt say "30")
He held the door open for her, the black tarp like roof was in place...
Just as he was used to have her chatter endlessly, he waited.....
She put her voluminous leather satchels and laptop bags in the back, he tilted and slid the passenger seat forward for her..............
Rad: When we went to Mauritius a year or two ago, Rit rented  a Mazda Miata. I ABSOLUTELY loved it. Papa ne mujhe chalaane nahi diya. Ma was OK. I had gotten my license a year ago, phir bhi.......
He sat down and just stared at her......
A lock of hair fell repeatedly on his left eyebrow, he gently pushed it back with his long tapering fingers..... the action told her he must do that a lot........
That and pushing his glasses on the bridge of his nose..........
"Tum busy nahi the aaj?" she asked smiling suggestively
He looked confused....
"OMG! Tumhe yaad bhi nahi?"
"Kya?" he asked still lost some where in her face
"Aaaj Valentines day hai" (smug)
"Hmm" he acknowledged
His first two girlfriends "made" him do all the cliched routine associated with the day........ he was more keen on what ever he got at night..... it was O.K. he thought...........
Radhika paused and wondered "So he has NO clue? I must have hurt him by asking like that. Koi girlfriend rahi nahi hogi iski...... kabhi"
"When I was in high school we used to have competitions over heart shaped chocolate boxes and pink stuffed bears............. ughhhhhhhhhhhhhh 11th mein mujhe 7 mila.... I was second best"
He smiled............
"Tum hamesha kam bolte ho? Ya main kuch zyaada bolti hoon?" she giggled
He smiled "The first" he said softly
Mere kisi friends ko yakeen nahi hai I am seeing a guy that speaks 1 sentence when I speak 100. My ex used to compete with me in talking department" she said derisively
"I would rather compete....... elsewhere" he thought.....
The traffic was heavy behind a huge pile up near South Ex
She circled the nose ring with her index finger repeatedly..... he noticed, while she talked on the phone.......... "It must hurt!" he thought........

"Hamey, Panchseel se aana chahiye tha nahi?" "Papa jab bhi yeh road lete hain koi na koi jan rehta hai, I have to tell him there is one more person on the list" she laughed
He turned and looked at her " She does look exactly like him. They share the same eyes and smile" he concluded
She told him about her favorite PVR, her favorite grilled cheese place, her favorite spa, he favorite.....
She was too busy talking, she could only spare her arms for giving directions, she texted and answered a couple of calls as well..............
His phone didnt ring once, Nayana was texting him asking about tonite...........
The East of Kailash Branch Office was a bungalow converted in B Block...... the guard was reading a newspaper, the gates were shut............ it was past 6:30
She got out of the car, and he locked up and followed......... she spoke to the guy at the gate and waited for him
Raghav walked up to her............ "In shoes mein main tumhaari jitni tall hoon? Nahi?" she asked proudly
Her three inch heels made her appear 6 feet tall, still she came short by 5 or so inches, he smiled teasingly, as she measured herself on the drive way........ shoulder to shoulder, as she pressed down on his, hoping to squish him..............
:)
They walked into the lobby as she explained what the office was for "Dutch donors, Execs, multinational "prospect" donors etc" "Yeh hamara front end hai" "Worker bees like me are at the back end" "That dumpy office is where the real plans and real program charter is drafted, paani hum lekar aate hain,in logon ko bus photo opp chahiye bottle ke saath" firm and purposeful, she sounded very ambitious and driven........
The interiors were plush and well furnished, lots of laminated pictures of past and present projects adorned the walls, a guy sat at the reception wearing the same secirity company's uniform
He pushed a binder with Visitor Regn on it, she showed him her badged, he sulked and tapped the binder "Is par likh do madam"
She wrote, in neat handwriting............ aur yeh saab?" he asked suspiciously
"Mere friend hain" she said confidently
"ANTRY kar do madam" he raised his voice" "Aur gaadi ka number bhi aur mobile number bhi"
"I lied!" she declared "This is actually the vault of a Swiss Bank" she hissed
He smiled and took a pen and wrote, the "K" on his Kapoor entangled with the P on the Tripathi..........sending a strange shock wave through her.............. the enmeshed letters were sending her thoughts haywire...... she smiled secretly at her fantasy......... "I have a gutter mind!" "This guy will have a seizure if he hears my fantasies" she presumed.

She gave him a "Visitor" sticker and walked towards the stairs.......... "Mujhe Records room mein kaam hai Bhayya" she had said to the lobby guard
He had given her the keys.......... she unlocked hit the lights of what appeared to be a huge study converted into a library of sorts............ she logged on to a sleeping PC and looked up papers and docx.......... he leaned on the closed door and just watched, she called Poonam a couple times and answered Arin's call.......... the room echoed despite being closed in with a million books and files.
She grabbed some USB drives and some CDs and some paper files, got a another box of USB drives and leaned on the table sifting through them..........
She could hear him approach........ "Bus abhi 10 min?" "Ek 2007, ek 2009 ke do projects dhoond rahi hoon" searched the huge plastic bix of neatly marked media.
She patted and soothed her nose flesh he noticed............ "It must throb when she bends" he worried

"Why didnt you respond to my text" he asked..........
"Because I was hoping you would show up" she bit her lower lip to hide a clever smile as that thot formed in her mind
She urned around as the scent of the aftershave drew near.
She had a bunch of USBs in both her hands........he was an inch from her..........
"Does your nose hurt?" he asked softly.......... he brought an index finger and touched her sparkly stud.....
She sucked her breath in audibly, completely not prepared for the casual concern, she let go of the USBs and clutched the table with one hand.............
"Mujhe laga you missed a spot while shaving" she teased staring at his tuft below his lower lip.......
"Its called a soul patch" he educated her softly, his finger somewhere on her face............ face that was quickly glowing pink and scorching............
"It looks bristly" she declared hoarsely staring at the soul patch.......as she found his other hand on her waist.......... as all the USBs in her right hand cluttered to the floor.........
"Its not!" he said..........as his lips grazed hers ..............at first moist....cool........and full........
"You are right "Its not" she agreed in her mind..........floating some where in the stratosphere......."I am dead thats why I see stars!" she thought....