It Started With a Friend Request (19 page)

He read the board next to a grocery shop which said ‘Shiravli Village’. It was a place near Panvel.

Tammy got down from the car and went to the shop. Deep feared something unexpected might happen and he thought of informing his friend about it, but things were happening so quickly that he couldn’t think straight. Tamanna returned with a plastic bag that she kept on the back seat. Deep tried to figure out what was in it but quickly couldn’t. As Tamanna started driving again, Deep looked outside the window trying to find out where they were going. The car stopped in front of a big gate which had a nameplate beside it.

‘Khanna cottage’. It looked like a farmhouse. Deep’s heartbeats increased and he crossed his fingers trying to guess what would happen next. He somehow kept calm as he wanted to make his point clear today anyhow. A caretaker opened the door and Tamanna parked the car inside. They got down from the car and she told him to follow her.

The sun had set and it was getting dark. The bizzare silence of the small village of Shiravli frightened both Deep and Tamanna. It made them more anxious and impatient, though for different reasons. After being ditched in Goa, Tamanna’s infatuation had increased even more. For Deep, it was like a nightmare from which he wanted to wake up at the earliest. They both went inside the farmhouse after parking the car in the lawn.

Once inside, Tammy took out bottles of whiskey and vodka from the plastic bag and placed them on the table.

‘Tammy, please explain what’s all this? It’s getting on my nerves now,’ Deep said asking for a clarification.

‘I wanted to tell you something from a long time but never got the chance to do so. I am sorry that I had to lie
to you, but I don’t have any wrong intentions. Please relax and settle down. Just give me some time to change, as I am feeling uncomfortable in these formal clothes. I’ll join you in 15 minutes,’ said Tamanna and went to change in the room.

Deep tried to act as normally as possible since he not only wanted to save his job but his dignity as well. He removed his handkerchief and wiped the sweat from his forehead. He was extremely nervous and had anticipated what was coming his way. He kept thinking of various ways to defend himself and save his job.

His family flashed in front of him and he kept thinking about being jobless. It was not that his financial condition was weak, he kept thinking about what his dad had to go through when his company shut down suddenly and he went into depression when the income flow stopped. That depression had become the very cause of his death, as he could never find employment again. However, those days were different and there were many new opportunities nowadays. This was one of the reasons why Deep was very professional in his work and never liked taking shortcuts to achieve professional success. He was extremely sincere in his work and never ever thought that one day he would have to face such a situation in his life where he would have to fight with his phobia to be loyal to his personal commitments. He couldn’t resist the temptation and served himself a drink, gulping it in one go. He had gathered courage to speak his heart out today and waited for Tamanna to join him.

He was making another glass for himself when Tamanna opened the door and came and stood next to the sofa. She
had changed into a pair of slacks and a loose green top. She walked towards the table and poured herself a drink. Deep was stunned to look at her behaviour. He was not only shocked but also surprised at her posture while she sat in front of him sipping the drink. She had a spark in her eyes which he had never seen before. She kept the glass on the table and gazed at him. Deep tried to take his eyes off her but couldn’t resist looking at her since she looked so alluring. Tamanna knew exactly what she had to do. She went closer to Deep and sat beside him. Deep moved away slightly but she covered the space by shifting slightly to his side.

‘Are you okay? I don’t think we should do this. We shouldn’t cross our limits of friendship,’ Deep muttered. She was inching closer to him and soon her lips almost met his. There was hardly any space between them.

‘Deep, why do you always think about imposing limits? Do I ever stop you from doing anything? I have been wanting to tell you something for a long time now,’ she said and relaxed on the sofa.

‘There is some string attached between us that brings me closer to you every time you smile at me. As we slowly got to know each other, I started daydreaming, thinking about us taking long walks, holding hands, kissing each other, and doing everything that lovers do—from gentle kisses to passionate moans. I have waited so long to express what I feel, but failed every time due to some or the other reason. I had planned to tell you everything in Goa too but you fell ill and I had to drop my plan. I’ll do whatever you want but accept me in your life. I never thought that I could love someone so much. Believe me when I say this, I can cross
any limits to make you mine. But Deep, no matter what happens, I’ll always love you until the end of time. Just touch me once and make me yours. Touch every part of my body and set it on fire. I need you. I need you for all the little things we do in life. Now that I’ve found you, will you be mine forever? Trust me Deep, I never knew love like this before,’ she said.

She came closer to him, so close that she almost fell on him, and said, ‘Please Deep, say something. I want to know what you feel about me. For God’s sake, don’t be quiet. I want to hear you say ‘I love you Tammy’. Deep, I beg of you. Don’t you love me? Don’t you feel that I am beautiful? Look at me. Look at every inch of my body. Isn’t it curvy and sexy enough to turn you on? If yes, then let me hear you say that. Every day I dream of you saying those words but today I want to hear it for real…’ She went on and on until Deep sealed her lips. Not with his lips but with his fingers. She moaned slightly as his fingers touched her wet lips.

‘Listen carefully. I need to tell you something extremely important which can shatter both our lives, but I have to,’ Deep muttered and got up from the sofa and walked towards the window with the glass of drink in his hand. It scared Tammy to such an extent that she sat emotionless observing each of his movements.

‘Tammy, it’s not possible. I mean are you getting what I am saying?’ He moved towards her and continued, ‘I lost my dad at early age. I am the only son in my family and I can’t mix my professional and personal life. I know you feel it’s weird for me to think in such a way but yes, I can’t go
beyond our friendship and be your life partner. I don’t want people talking about us in office or pointing out fingers at me, the way they do with Kajal. People are too narrow-minded when it comes to such relationships. They don’t understand the depth of any relationship. They just need some hot topic to discuss and I don’t want to be the topic of such discussion. Therefore, I think we should stop here. Moreover, I knew what you were upto. You had already expressed your feelings towards me in the taxi when you were drunk. I don’t think you remember because you were not in your senses. Thus, I tried to keep some distance whenever you tried to open up your heart to me. But it’s high time now and I don’t want to raise your hopes. I never combine my personal and professional life. I have always maintained a gap between the two and never shared anything with you about my personal commitments. I don’t know if you will believe me or not but I am already committed. It’s been more than six months now and I can’t betray her and break her trust by doing such things with you. I love her a lot, so much so that whenever I am not engrossed in official work, I am either with her or thinking about her. No one else can be on my mind apart from her. I am madly in love with her. I should have told you this long before when I came to know about your intentions, but I never got the chance. The couple of times I did get an opportunity, I chickened out for unknown reasons. I hope you understand my position. We are friends and will continue to be so. However, please don’t act like this. It will force me to break friendship with you.’ He sat on the sofa and gulped another glass of drink. He closed his eyes and relaxed for a bit as he
had finally managed to clear things with Tammy without the fear of losing his job.

Tamanna couldn’t believe what she had heard. She stood there completely numb as a wave of terror swept over her. All her dreams had shattered in a few minutes. She felt fear creeping over her.

‘Deep you can’t do this. Do you even know how much I love you,’ she said moving closer to Deep. Alcohol had completely taken over her. She was becoming a bit aggressive now in trying to force him to change his mind.

‘From day one, it has just been you. Do I look like a slut to you? I have never ever allowed anyone to touch me because I have always dreamt to be with you. I want you to touch me first and no one after that can even dare to do it again. You just can’t walk away shattering all my dreams and wishes! I can’t let you go. Not so easily. I know even you lust for my body and desire my love. You just don’t want to accept the reality. You want to run away from it to your dream world where you sleep with that bitch. Move on Deep, come close to me…feel me…feel my body… Please don’t break my heart today. I have waited for so long… not now,’ she said and hugged him tightly.

‘Tammy, stop it! Are you out of your mind? I’ve already told you I don’t love you. I am committed,’ Deep said raising his voice, but Tamanna barely moved an inch. She rested her head on his chest.

‘Deep, don’t stop yourself. I’ll give you whatever you want. But don’t leave me like this. I need you. I love you and I can’t even imagine my life without you. Please Deep… I want…’

‘Fuck off… you have lost it,’ he shouted and pushed Tamanna so hard that she fell on the sofa. He continued, ‘How many times should I tell you that I don’t feel anything for you? I love my girlfriend too much. I think you won’t understand like this. Let me show you our pictures.’

He went closer to Tamanna and took out his cell phone from his shirt pocket. He opened his mobile’s gallery and showed her various pictures of of him with his girlfriend. The pictures left Tamanna speechless. They were of no one else but ALEESHA! She was the girl Deep was dating! She looked at the pictures carefully and then at Deep. Before she could speak, Deep screamed at her, ‘You know her, right? Now do you believe what I said or should I bring her in front of you? We are completely in love with each other and no third person can come between us. Neither you nor my profession. I never let your hopes go up, but the way you are behaving is disgusting. There is a limit to everything and you have crossed all limits. Do whatever you want, but I am going. I can’t stay here even for a minute.’

He took his bag and started walking towards the main door. Tamanna got up and tried to stop him but he was too strong for her. He didn’t even look at her and left the place, leaving her heartbroken, disillusioned, and dejected. She had lost the battle of love. She couldn’t control her temper and threw the glass in anger. She even broke some of the showpieces kept in the living room and screamed loudly, sobbing in pain.

She was in complete shock, and kept on gulping glasses of alcohol and inhaling drugs. She couldn’t take this loss. Deep had turned her fears into reality and ripped her heart
into pieces. Her smile vanished and deep melancholy took over her. She lost herself when she lost him. She realized that their paths were different and they could never meet again.

‘You just played with my emotions and now it’s all over. You left without even looking at me and without even thinking of my pain once. You swept me out of your life like dust on the floor. I gave you all that you wanted but you didn’t even care once. You walked away and didn’t even turn back. Should I think that you just used me? Or was I a fool to support you when you didn’t even speak a word to me? If such is the case, then one day you will be sorry for what you have done to me. I’ll not let you go away so easily. If you can’t be mine, then I’ll make sure you can’t be with anyone else. I’ll make you beg for my love. I’ll make sure you lose everything you have and come back to me so that I can give you everything you want…’

She took out her cell phone from her purse. She looked at the screen and saw an unread message. She ignored it and called Deep but he didn’t answer. After several calls, his phone became unreachable. This irritated her and she screamed out loudly.

‘If you can’t be mine then I’ll make sure you can’t be with anyone else either. I’ll make you beg for my love. I’ll make sure you lose everything you have and come back to me so that I can give you everything you want…’

She kept on repeating those words. She was unaware of what she was doing, and every second, the intake of drinks was killing her from within. She scrolled her contacts list and saw Aleesha’s name on top. She thought for a moment
and then called her. It was too late but she kept on calling her until she picked up.

‘Hi Tammy di, how are you? Why are you calling me so late at night?’ Aleesha asked.

‘So I shouldn’t call you at this hour? Or you are making out with your boyfriend?’ Tamanna shouted.

‘What? Are you drunk? How dare you…’

‘Shut up! How dare you… You didn’t even think once how I would feel? Not even once? I helped you so much when Mumbai was an alien city for you. You forgot everything and played dirty games on me?’ she screamed.

‘What are you saying Tammy di? I am…’

‘Don’t dare to open your mouth, you bitch. If I had known that you were a slut, I would have… And you think your boyfriend will keep you happy? You think he won’t ever ditch you? Your boyfriend has left me alone… You might not know that he worked with me in my office. But today, he tried to force me to be physical with him. When I didn’t agree, he tried to force himself upon me. Somehow, I managed to protect myself… these guys won’t ever understand us and will continue to play with our emotions. I am warning you to stay away… the rest is up to you. You decide whether to trust me who supported you every time, or trust a guy who has just come in your life and is pretending to be loyal to you. He is a big time cheat who loves playing with the emotions of girls and misuses them as mere toys.’