Rahul sat on the sofa in the drawing room and waited for Jaya to join him. The room was dark, he couldn't see anything except a faint silhouette of the most sensuous woman he had ever known. Jaya was doing something which he couldn't make out and she whispered, "I will be with you in a moment". Rahul was anxiously waiting. His heart was almost in his mouth and his limbs trembling slightly in anticipation of what was yet to come. Suddenly, the room was bathed in a bright light and Rahul had to shield his eyes from the glare. Slowly he opened his eyes and saw Jaya standing few feet away from him.

"Hi Rahul, looks like you were in a great hurry to get here." She teased

"Actually it was already 11.00 and I have an early train to catch tomorrow for Chennai." He offered by way of explanation.

Meanwhile, Rahul had been looking at jaya without taking his eyes away even for a moment. She was wearing a pink nighty made of silk draped tightly around her shapely body. He could see every curve, every contour of her body and was completely lost in her. "What are you looking at?" she asked.. Rahul didn't notice her question and she asked again, "Hello, anybody there?" Suddenly, Rahul came back to the present and thought that it is for real, Jaya is in front of him and looking absolutely ravishing.

"I am looking at you." He replied simply.

"Ohh and what do you see?" she asked with a mischief in her voice.

"I am looking at the most beautiful woman standing here in front of me." He replied with as much confidence as he could muster.

"That is soooo sweet honey." She replied.

It was getting difficult for rahul to control his emotions and as usual, he started blushing and his ears turned crimson. He could feel blood rushing to his cheeks and coloring his face pink with embarrassment. Jaya was a smart woman who noticed this change in him and laughed mischievously. Rahul was feeling very shy and couldn't do much except smile.

"So, how about some coffee? I think I owe you one. Infact when you said that you are coming over, I put some coffee to brew and I guess it must be ready by now. Is that ok with you?" She rattled away quickly and before he could say yes, she was in her kitchen.

Rahul waited for her to come back and kept looking at his watch every few seconds. He must have looked at his watch 15 times in the 5 minutes she was away from him. He was eagerly waiting for some action.hoping that this would surely be his lucky day. The thought about Jaya's attire and remembered that she was wearing a very sexy nighty which accentuated her figure marvelously. He fantasized about every curve of her body and the way nighty was draped around her, he imagined that the nighty was nothing but yet another layer of skin over her beautifully sculpted body. Jaya came in with a tray laden with coffee and some biscuits. Rahul looked at every move she made. Her hips swayed gently as she walked and rahul sat motionless, unable to speak anything. He saw the nighty ending just a tad below her knees and he could see her milky white legs. He imagined how would it feel to touch her silky legs.

Jaya kept the tray on the table in front of rahul and he could see cleavage clearly. "How much sugar?" she asked. "One spoon" he sputtered. She proceeded to put one spoon of sugar in his cup and was stirring the coffee slowly. The only sound was the clink of spoon touching the sides of the cup. The air was thick with anticipation and rahul was worried about how is he going to handle this. His heart went 'Thump, thump, thump ...' and he was afraid Jaya might hear his heartbeats and tease him.

She sat on the opposite sofa and crossed one leg over the other. Rahul caught a slight glimpse of her black panty and closed his eyes for a moment. Her nighty moved up and exposed a part of her thigh which was looking all the more sexy. All this happened so quickly for rahul that he didn't have the time to notice that he felt a tightness between his legs and wanted to shift his position and get a little comfortable. Jaya noticed his discomfort but didn't say anything. Instead, asked him "How is the coffee?" "it is great" said rahul without even tasting it. He realized his folly and looked at the coffee for some inspiration, finding none, he took a big sip without noticing that it was hot and scalded his tongue and throat badly. Jaya could see his discomfort and said "Oh rahul, be a little careful the coffee is very hot". Rahul almost had tears in his eyes as the coffee burnt it's way down his gullet. Jaya left her cup and rushed next to rahul and sat down. "Open your mouth, I want to see if everything is allright". Rahul opened his mouth and said "Aaaah". "Dear, I am not a doctor, I just want to see if the coffee has burnt your tongue" said Jaya jokingly.

They were both sitting very close to each other now. She could smell the manly scent of brut and she closed her eyes and whispered "mmmmmm you remembered that I like brut". "Yes I did" he said quietly. He was going with the flow. "Even you smell really great." They were so close to each other that Rahul could feel the heat of her body. It seemed as if she was completely on fire and her body was screaming to be ravaged by him. He couldn't bring himself to even touch her because he was still in two minds about what was all this leading to. Suddenly Jaya put her hand inside his T-shirt pocket and play fully extracted his cellphone. Rahul snapped out of his reverie and tried to take it back since it contained some really raunchy messages from his friends which he didn't want her to see. She clutched the mobile hard and wouldn't give it to him. She was laughing with gay abandon. Their hands touched many times. Rahul held her hand and wouldn't let go he wanted the mobile back at any cost. Their bodies were close and they were touching each other and rahul started enjoying himself immensely. Suddenly Jaya lay flat on the sofa and rahul was on top of her. Her nighty had moved up and her thighs were completely exposed. Both of them were breathing heavily and rahul was completely aroused looking at Jaya lying below him. Her chest was heaving up and down and he could see her breasts moving in tandem with her breathing. Rahul felt as if he had died and gone to heaven. This was the closest he had ever come to a woman and he was enjoying every moment of their forced union.

"Rahul, please get off me, you are hurting me." She whimpered. "Oh I am sorry" he said and stood up immediately. He was throbbing with pleasure and was sure that he would have soiled his jeans had he stayed in that position for a few moments more. They both went back to their respective places and sat quietly. She picked up her cup of coffee and rahul also followed suit. He was thinking why doesn't this woman come out in the open with her feelings. Why does she keep playing these small games with him so very often.

"what are you thinking about?" she asked in the same teasing tone.

"Nothing" he said nonchalantly.

"Don't lie to me." She said jokingly.

Rahul decided that enough was enough and said " I was thinking about the little game we played. Thank god that you brought me back to reality otherwise I would have spoilt my favorite jeans."

Jaya smiled and said "Why would you have spoilt your jeans?"

"Well, I have never been this close to a woman before and I was really excited so there could have been a small accident." Replied rahul boldly.

"Ohh and what kind of an accident would that be?" she asked teasingly.

"You know what I am talking about"

"No, I don't know, please tell me." She acted innocent.

Now there was no stopping rahul "well if we have that little game again, I will show you what kind of accident."

"Oh so you want to play that little game again? You naughty boy." She said sexily and added, "if you want to play that game again, you have to come and sit next to me."

Rahul did exactly as he was told and sat about 2 feet away from Jaya. "Come a little closer" she said. He moved about 6 inches. "A little more", another 6 inches. "Come close enough so that we can atleast touch each other". Finally Rahul went and sat right next to jaya and his body was rubbing against hers. She turned to face him and said "Now tell me what game were you talking about?"

Rahul put his arm around her waist and pulled her closer. "Ohh you bad boy..". He sealed her lips with his and smooched her rather clumsily. He took her in his arms and started groping for her like a small kid clutching a new toy. "Rahul, relax" she said, "I am not going away anywhere. You can do anything you want with me." Hearing this, rahul's excitement reached a peak and he continued with whatever he was doing. Suddenly he felt exquisite pleasure and and within moments, his first sexual encounter was suddenly over. He felt something warm, wet and sticky inside his jeans and realized what had just happened. Even Jaya could sense his discomfiture and started laughing. "This is what happens when you go so fast" she said.

"This is what I meant by an accident" Rahul said by way of explanation and smiled weakly. "It's ok" she said "better luck next time". It all ended as quickly as it had started and Rahul was rather disappointed with his first experience. It was a complete damp squib, an anticlimax for him. Jaya seemed to be enjoying this situation and didn't say anything except giggle every now and then. "Looks like you are a virgin" she said. "Yes I am. And this was my first ever experience with a woman." Rahul explained meekly. After some small talk, rahul saw the time and realized he must go he looked at his watch a couple of times and took permission to leave. Jaya kissed him goodnight on his cheek and he went home with mixed feelings. At home, he freshened up and went to sleep. He remembered the whole incident again and was full of shame. He felt guilty for having done something like this with a married woman and couldn't sleep. Mentally he decided that he will never go to her place again. Was it because he wasn't able to perform or was it because suddenly his conscience woke up? There was no easy answer and he went into a deep dreamless sleep. Next few days he avoided going to Rajesh's office lest he bump into Jaya. He had decided that he will never go to Jaya again and if she ever confronts him, he is going to tell her that he is really sorry for whatever happened and will never go to her place again. Even when Jaya called to speak with him, he would avoid her and cut short the conversation. As luck would have it, he had to deliver some important papers to Rajesh's office and there was no way he could avoid that. He went there but Rajesh wasn't in the office and was expected after 3-4 hours. Jaya was sitting there all alone. Looking as sexy as ever in a tight fitting Punjabi suit. All of Rahuls resolve melted away in a moment but he made an effort to tell her what he thought about that night.

"Jaya, I am sorry about that night" he began.

"It's ok, it happens with everybody on their first experience" she said understandingly.

"That's not what I meant, I meant that whatever happened shouldn't have happened at all." He said a little unsure of himself.

"Why?" she asked genuinely surprised.

"Well, you are married and have 2 kids to look after and if people found out, your reputation would be ruined." Actually he was more worried about his reputation since his father was a well known figure around the town and Rahul wouldn't want anything to malign his father's position in the society.

"Well, no one will know anything if we are careful." Added jaya.

"That's not it. I really think we should stop meeting." Said rahul, a little too harshly.

"Well, we'll see about that." She challenged.

Rahul was a little scared of her tone. He thought she is going to blackmail him or something. But since the topic had ended there, rahul didn't want to stretch it further by saying anything. He left it at that and went home. At home, he didn't have any peace. He kept on thinking about Jaya and his experience with her on that night. He might have dozed off to sleep and suddenly his mobile rang. It was jaya.

"Hi honey, how are you?" she asked sweetly.

"I am fine. What about you?" asked rahul.

"Well nothing much, my kids have gone to our family friend's place for staying over and I am alone at home." She stressed on the word 'alone'.

"Ok." Said rahul.

"What about you? What are you doing ?" she asked

"I almost fell asleep when you called."

"So early? Its only 10:00" she said.

"I know, but I am tired and want to rest."

"Why don't you come to my place and relax? I promise I wont eat you." She added jokingly.

"I don't think that's a very good idea." Said rahul, his resolve weakening already.

"I promise I wont touch you. I am feeling bored and need some company and you are the only friend I have." Said jaya, using her EB (emotional blackmail) skills very effectively.

Rahul heard himself saying "Ok, I will give you a missed called when I reach your apartment and you can keep the door open like last time." He went for her sob story and within minutes was kicking his motorcycle to life. He reached there in a record 10 minutes and called her mobile. She called him back, a signal that it was ok to go upstairs.

He went and repeated the drill of last time. This time, Jaya wasn't wearing a nighty. She was in a pair of shorts and a very tight t-shirt. Rahul's mouth went dry. His blood left his brain and went below the abdomen. All he wanted to do was, repeat the game they played the other day. He was staring at her with his mouth open. She knew that she had him by his hair. And I don't mean the hair on his head.

This time the game was repeated exactly as it was played the last time. The only difference being, this time they shed all their clothes and Rahul lost control just after he penetrated. Again the good-byes were said and he went home. Was it guilt? Shame? Morals? Conscience? The whole cycle was repeated once more. The only difference was, Rahul was completely hooked on to this woman and would do anything to be with her.

He would go to Rajesh's office with no apparent reason and sit there for hours together. At one point, even Rajesh got annoyed but told him jokingly, "Rahul, if you don't go and take care of your business, soon there wont be any business left to run." Rahul knew that Rajesh was right but what could he do? He was completely hooked and there was nothing he could do to control his urges.

Rahul had started visiting Jaya's apartment almost 2-3 times a week and each visit taught him new things about a woman's body and how to satisfy her.

Rahul had really neglected his business for the past few weeks and the results were telling. His father got complaints about his carelessness and he reprimanded him sharply. Things improved a bit but then rahul had his heart and mind elsewhere.

One night, after a typically steamy session, Jaya came and sat next to him and she looked quiet tense about something.

"What happened? Why do you look so tense today?"

"Nothing dear, it's just that my parent's are not well and I need to send them some money."

"How much?"

"25,000. But I don't have that kind of money. I don't know what I am going to do."

"Is there something I could do to help you?" Asked rahul with genuine concern.

"Can you get me a loan from someone? I promise I will pay it back in 2 months." Said Jaya.

"Well I think I have that much money in my account and nobody knows about it. So it's ok if you use it for a couple of months."

"Would you do that for me? Ohh you are sooo sweet." She said and gave him a very wet kiss on his lips. Again blood rushed below his abdomen and they made passionate love.

A couple of weeks later, the same story repeated but this time, it was her kids' school fees and she needed 15,000 this time. Rahul had that as well and gave it to her without a second thought.

In the six months that Rahul had been with her, he had blown up more than a couple of Lacs on giving money and expensive gifts to jaya. He borrowed from friends and when they refused, he took cash advance against his credit card which brought him deeper in debt but as long as his darling jaya was happy, he was ready to do anything.

After sometime, Jaya started avoiding Rahul. He was getting desperate but he couldn't do anything since he was crazy about her. Rahul had come to realize long back that it was nothing but lust on his side and need for money on Jaya's. He really felt cheap about what he was doing but he couldn't stop. He had reached a point of no return and was willing to do anything to be with jaya.

After 2 weeks of forced celibacy, he went to her house without informing her. He rang her mobile hoping that she will give him a green signal to come inside. He waited for 30 minutes and kept pacing. Smoking one cigarette after another. He was like a drug addict who has been denied his daily fix. He had gone absolutely crazy by now. After a good 45 minutes, he got a message on his cell "NOT TONITE. UNCLE HERE". He went home disgusted at himself and resolved never to meet her again. As usual, his resolve weakened after a couple of days and he called Jaya.

"Hi, How are you?"

"I'm fine." She replied dryly.

"Is your uncle still here?"

"Yes. He is going to stay almost a month so please don't come to my house" she warned him.

"Relax baby, I wont come to your house unless you want me to."

"Look Rahul, let me be very honest with you." She said with a tone of authority in her voice which rahul didn't like at all.

"Yes tell me." Said Rahul meekly.

"I got friendly with you thinking that you are very rich and successful. I am a smart, beautiful and an intelligent woman. I know what I am capable of." She said. Rahul was listening to all this without understanding where this is leading to. " On the other hand, you a weakling who doesn't know how to satisfy a woman physically, emotionally or financially."

WHAM!!!!!! That hit rahul right between his legs and all his illusions about being a great lover vanished into thin air.

"What do you mean?" He asked totally unsure of himself. He couldn't hide the tremble in his voice. Jaya was quick to react to that "Don't you understand what I mean? I am through with you. Don't you dare call me or try to meet me. I will lodge a complaint against you in the police station and then you can see your life becoming miserable."

Rahul disconnected the call and let the whole thing sink in. After a couple of minutes, he wept like never before. He cried from the bottom of his heart, from the depth of his soul and when his tears dried up, he cried even more. He had lost everything that he had built up over the years. His self-esteem, his business, his friends-everything had gone for a toss. Even his best friend Rajesh started avoiding him since Rahul would narrate his sob story (about the financial mess he was in) every other day and would ask for money to bail him out. He was neck-deep in debt and struggled to meet his family's expenses.

The only respite was that he had saved up some money without the knowledge of his parents and used that to pay back his debt and was left with nothing.

About 6 months passed and Rahul's life had just about limped back to normalcy. He was trying to keep himself busy by reading and involving himself in things other than work. He had stopped going to Rajesh's place altogether since he couldn't face nasty stares of Jaya. He would meet Rajesh outside his office but their relationship had also grown cold with nothing much left in common. Actually Rajesh had conveniently chosen to forget what rahul did for him when Rajesh was neck deep in trouble.

Life came to a full circle when one night Rahul saw Rajesh loitering around Jaya's apartment block looking at his mobile every few seconds.....

Rahul had a very disturbed sleep that night. He couldn't calm himself enough to sleep soundly. He kept on thinking about what lay ahead of him the next day. He dreamt that he was with Jaya in his secret place enjoying her company. They were completely alone, sitting close to each other and talking, laughing, sharing good the good times. He saw a car approaching them. He couldn't figure out the colour or the make of car as everything was hazy. The car stopped and someone came out.

He felt himself being shaken..who was it.who is coming out of the car he was scared thinking if someone sees him here like this, what would his family say.what would his friend think. He was literally shaking with fear and his breathing was laboured. He thought he would choke to death.

Suddenly he woke up and realized that it was just a dream and nothing more. He could hear his mom yelling at him to wake up as it was 10 am already. "Ohhh shit, jaya must be waiting for me" he said to himself.

He grabbed his mobile and saw 2 missed calls from Jaya. He cursed himself loudly for keeping his phone on silent mode. He called Jaya's number but there was no response. He went to the bathroom and after a quick shower and shave, put his (and jaya's) favorite deo. He wore his favorite light blue denim shirt and a well worn jeans which gave him a rugged, handsome look. He had a quick breakfast and told his mom that he would be late since he was going to meet couple of friends. He had been trying to reach Jaya but this time on, she wasn't taking his calls. He must've called atleast 4 times before giving up.

He reached Jaya's apartment block hoping that she would see the missed calls and call him back. After loitering around for about 15 minutes he got frustrated since the shopkeeper and children playing there were giving him strange looks. He moved away from there and went to his secret place hoping to hear from her. He spent about 2 hours waiting endlessly, biting his nails, looking at his cellphone, reading all the messages in his inbox over and over again. The heat was taking it's toll and Rahul finally decided to go home and sleep. He was absolutely furious. There is nothing that could've described his anger and frustration.

In the evening, he went to Rajesh's place to catch up with the past couple of weeks. He was tempted to share whatever happened with him during these days but he decided against taking such a stupid step. For all you know, it could be just a figment of Rahul's imagination that Jaya was interested in him.

Finally when Rahul was once again alone in his room, Jaya called.

"Hi Rahul, how was your day?" She asked.

Rahul was seething with anger. "It was simply wonderful! I caught up with a couple of friends and spent the morning lazing around at home."

"I called you this morning, but you didn't pick up the phone." Jaya said.

"Yes I saw that, and called you back may be half a million times but you never replied." Said Rahul with sarcasm evident in his voice.

"I am sorry Rahul, but my uncle dropped in unexpectedly and I couldn't reply to your phone calls."

"You should've told me that we can't meet today. I was worried about you." Said Rahul, obviously lying.

"Ohhh that is so sweet of you dear. I am really sorry, it wont happen again." Said Jaya in a very soft, sensuous and inviting voice. "So tell me what did you wear today?"

"Nothing.." And before Rahul could say anything, "ohhh you naughty boy!!! You didn't wear anything?" Teased jaya.

"Noo baba, I was going to say nothing special, just my old faded jeans and a denim shirt."

"And what about brut?" she asked

"Of course. I don't go out without spraying that."

"Hmmmmm, I wish we could meet today." She sighed.

Rahul was getting excited with all this talk. He also got bold and asked her "So tell me what did YOU wear today?"

"Well..whole day I was wearing saree since my uncle was home and now since I am alone, I can't tell you what I am wearing."

It was getting impossible for rahul to control his feelings and emotions. He was getting desperate. He gathered all his courage and asked her "Tell me, don't you feel the need to be with a man?"

"What do you mean?" she asked with irritation in her voice.

"Please don't act so innocent. You know what I mean."

Rahul's heart was beating really fast now. His breathing was shallow, his mouth went dry. He knew that the next few minutes would seal his fate.

"Why don't you tell me exactly what you mean." She challenged him.

"Nothing. Let us forget it." He chickened out.

"Well, if you feel so shy speaking about it on the phone, what would you do if we were together right now." She teased.

This was getting way out of hand for Rahul. He hands started trembling but he knew that this was his only chance to find out what Jaya wants.

"Well, if you want to find out what I would do if we were alone, why don't we meet?"

"Now?"

"Yes. Right now."

"Sorry not possible, it's too late. I can't go out right now." She said.

"Who is asking you to go out? I can come to your place."

"Are you serious?" She asked in a surprised tone.

"Yes I am."

"All right. Come to my place asap. But don't ring the bell. Just give a missed call on my mobile and I'll open the door. I am waiting for you dear." She said in her sweet honey-like voice.

Rahul wore his clothes and rushed out of his house. When his mom asked him where are you going so late, he lied about going to the railway station to drop a friend who had to catch a late night train."

He reached Jaya's place and did as he was told. After waiting for about 10 minutes, he thought this is another of jaya's pranks and decided to find out. But he would have barely walked about 10 steps towards the apartment building and he got an SMS "Come up."

He went to Jaya's floor and saw that main door of her flat was slightly open. He went inside and she was right there, waiting for him in the darkness. She closed the main door quietly and joined him in the drawing room.

To be continued

Rahul contemplated who he should speak with about this sensitive issue. Normally, he would've discussed it with Rajesh but since Jaya was his employee, he decided against it. His cousins and other friends were simply out of the question since they would condemn him for his thoughts. But what to do, he only had enough blood in his body to for one of his organs i.e. either brain or dick and right now, all the blood supply was directed towards his dick. His brain had stopped working since he could see only one thing. His nights were spent fantasizing about Jaya and releasing his sexual urges and days were spent dreaming about her. He knew he had to get a grip on his life since his work was suffering and couldn't let this continue. He thought he would first 'conquer' her and think about the consequences later.

On Saturday, Rajesh came back and was happy to see that there were no major mishaps during his absence. Since he was tired after a long journey, he went home early leaving the office under jaya's charge. Rahul came by during the evening and saw Rajesh is not there in his cabin. Secretly he was happy but he feigned disappointment about not meeting his friend. "Hi Jaya, where is Rajesh?"

"Sir went home early since he was tired and wanted to rest at home"

"Ohh.that's a pity, I specially came to meet him today. There are so many things I wanted to discuss with him"

"You look sad that Sir isn't here. Aren't you happy to see that I am here?" she quipped.

"That's not what I meant, even I am happy to meet you it's just that I wanted to discuss something important."

"Ohhh...looks like something serious" her eyebrow went up and he could see mischief in her eyes.

Meanwhile, it had started raining heavily and she asked him "How about a hot cup of coffee with me?" Rahul was taken aback slightly he thought she is asking him out. As if to clarify herself, she said "I will call for some coffee in the office itself". "That's fine by me" he replied. Rahul picked up a newspaper and pretended to read it while waiting for the coffee. He wanted to lift his eyes from the newspaper and look at Jaya but then he wasn't sure how she would react. Very gingerly he took his eyes off from the newspaper and looked towards Jaya and that very moment, their eyes locked. She was looking at him with such longing that his face turned crimson. But this time he also decided to keep looking into her eyes and see where this was going. The little boy with a kettle and couple of empty cups came in and said "Saab Coffee" and Rahul almost jumped out of his skin. Looking at Rahul's reaction, Jaya started laughing. Rahul also smiled and they sipped coffee quietly lost in their respective thoughts.

Once he finished his coffee, Rahul rose to leave. Jaya said "Rahul, please wait for me, I have to close the office and since it is raining, I am feeling a little scared." "Ok sure, take your time" he replied happily. He was in no hurry to leave and the rains gave him an opportunity to be with her for a little longer. She quickly finished her work, locked the file cabinets and checked everything one last time before locking the office door. They both came down the steps and saw that it was raining cats and dogs. Jaya whipped out her umbrella wished Rahul goodbye and proceeded towards the bus stop which was about 300 metres away from the office building. Rahul mumbled his goodbye and stood there looking like a complete idiot. Since it was still raining, Rahul waited for the downpour to stop before he could go home on his motorbike. It seemed there was no way the rains were going to stop so soon. Rahul kicked his motorcycle to life and proceeded towards home which was in the opposite direction of the bus stop. Something came to his mind and he took a U turn after going some distance and went in the direction Jaya had taken. When he reached the bus stop, he saw jaya standing alone over there and offered to give her lift till home. Reluctantly Jaya accepted his offer since there was no sign of bus and it was getting darker by the minute. It wouldn't be safe for her to stand alone like that. Inspite of her umbrella, she was completely drenched and her clothes were clinging to her body. Jaya sat behind Rahul but it was difficult for her to balance with an umbrella in her hand. She was groping for a handle or something to steady herself but there was nothing she could hold on to. Rahul realized her predicament and asked her to hold him or else she might fall. Somehow, they managed to complete the journey without any accident and reached her apartment. It was still raining heavily and courtesy demanded that Jaya invite Rahul for a cup of tea and ask him to wait till the rain stops.

Jaya did precisely the opposite. She said "Rahul thanks a lot for the lift. I wanted you to come to my place for a cup of tea but then since I live here alone with my kids, I have to be careful about what my neighbours think and with the court case still pending, I can't be making any mistakes."

Wham!!!!!!! That felt like a huge anvil crashing down on his dick. He said something about understanding her situation, kicked his bike to life whizzed away from there in apparent fury. He didn't go home. He went straight to his secret place, parked his bike and stood there getting drenched in the rain. He let streams of water trickle down his body as he stood there thinking about what had just happened. Suddenly something happened to him and he started laughing out loudly at his situation. Since there was no one around, he could laugh all he wanted and nobody would have seen anything. After few minutes he realized that he was feeling cold and decided to go home and ask his mom to give him some hot soup with couple of cheese sandwiches, his favorite snack in this type of weather.

He put a hand inside his jeans pocket to take his mobile and speak with his mom to keep the soup and sandwiches ready since he didn't want to wait once he reached home. The mobile wasn't there. He checked all his pockets but his cell phone wasn't to be found. He thought he had lost it. But suddenly it dawned on him that he had given it Jaya to keep it in her purse when he gave her the lift. "Shitt!!! Now what should I go to her place and take it back? She obviously didn't want me at her place.but what the heck, I have forgotten my mobile and I need it back." He started his bike and proceeded towards Jaya's place. The rain had reduced to a drizzle but there was a strong wind which made him shiver slightly. When he reached her place he was shivering and his teeth were chattering. He pressed the bell and Jaya's voice rang out "Who is it ?" "its me, Rahul". He could hear a series of clicks and Jaya opened the door. "What is it ?" she asked rather dryly. "Jaya, it seems I have forgotten my mobile. You had put it in your purse before I dropped you here." She checked her purse and she found the mobile inside. She returned it to him and said "Looks like you are shaking like a leaf, why don't you come inside and have a hot cup of coffee with me and warm yourself up a bit? You might catch cold." The offer was very tempting for him but he refused and said "I really would love to but my mother must be waiting for dinner and must be worried sick by now. I guess I'll have that coffee some other time. He went home, had his favorite soup and sandwiches and curled up with the latest bestseller.

When he was deeply engrossed in his book, his mobile rang..

"Hello"

"Hi Rahul, Its me Jaya"

"Oh Hi! What a pleasant surprise, tell me"

"I am sorry. But I think you felt humiliated by my behavior today."

"Nothing of that sort, please don't think like that. Its absolutely allright. Anyone in your situation would have reacted the way you did." Said our hero.always a bloddy gentleman.

"Ohhh Rahul thank you sooo much. You don't know how relieved I feel. I really love your company and wanted to spend time with you. I think you are the sweetest and the nicest guy I have ever met."

"Please don't shower so many compliments I wont be able to take it" said Rahul shyly.

"What are you doing tomorrow?"

"Nothing much will probably go and meet Rajesh since it's been a very long time and we need to catch up on the past few days. Why? Anything special?"

"My kids are going for their school picnic tomorrow and I will be free the whole day so I thought may be if we could go out together"

"Yes sure. That would be lovely. Give me a call tomorrow." Same thing happened. His heart started thumping wildly, his mouth went dry and blood rushed to his loins.

"hmmm.I really look forward to meeting you tomorrow. Please make sure that you put on Brut. I love the scent"

"Sure". Thump..Thump.Thump. He was afraid that she would hear his heartbeats.

They said their goodnights and Rahul went berserk with desire. Had she been there at that time, he would have ripped her clothes apart.

...Continued

Next afternoon Rahul went to Rajesh's office and went straight to his friend's cabin after giving a curt nod to Jaya. She was surprised by his attitude but didn't say anything. She was quietly doing her work and kept glancing in his direction but saw that Rahul was least interested in looking at her and was furiously making some notes in his diary. Rahul's mind was in a complete turmoil and to try and make some sense of the situation, he decided that he will avoid Jaya altogether. He liked the attention he was getting from her but he was still not sure about what Jaya wanted. He finished his work and went to his office

Meanwhile, Jaya was intrigued about his behavior and decided to find out what was plaguing Rahul. She called his cell phone but their conversation was very short and devoid of any emotions.

"Hi Rahul How are you?" she asked.

"I am fine"

"What happened today, why did you leave in such a hurry?"

"Nothing, I was expecting a couple of important customers so had to leave early"

"Oh!! Ok. I hope everything went well"

"Yes everything was good. Jaya, I have to go to the hospital to see my friend so I'm in a bit of a hurry, I will talk to you later. Please don't mind"

She said "Oh, that's fine, please carry on. We will talk later"

They said their byes and hung up. Rahul's heart was again thumping wildly..he was breathing heavily and couldn't understand why speaking to Jaya was causing him to react like this. He couldn't concentrate on his work and decided to go and spend some time at his secret place. His secret place was a small, secluded bridge about 7-8 kms away from the city where he would go with a bottle of beer whenever he wanted to unwind or introspect.

Sitting there, he remembered his childhood when he used to spend time during the monsoons tossing pebbles in the stream below. He drank his beer in a few gulps and smoked a couple of cigarettes and let the alcohol take effect. He felt a little tipsy and thought "Why do I feel like this whenever Jaya talks to me or looks at me?" "Is it love or lust?" "Does she have any amorous feelings towards me?" "How should I find out?". With no answers to his own questions, he proceeded home, had his dinner and quietly went to sleep. But as usual, sleep eluded him and he was torn apart from within. He finally decided to let the situation chart its own course. If Jaya was interested in furthering their relationship, he didn't have a problem and decided to play along with whatever she was doing.

Next morning went to Rajesh's office and saw that Jaya was wearing a yellow saree and was looking absolutely ravishing. He cheerfully wished her "Good morning". She gave him a very sexy smile and returned his greeting equally enthusiastically.

"How is your friend?" she asked

"Rajesh is fine I just spoke with him this morning. He is returning this Saturday."

"I'm not talking about sir, I am talking about your friend in the hospital"

"Oh him!!! He is fine" suddenly remembering about the lie he spoke yesterday. The way she looked at him, he knew he was caught but chose not to react.

He went to Rajesh's cabin and started working as usual. This time, it was his turn to stare at her since she was busy sending payment reminders to their customers. Jaya had long hair which ended just above her waist and today, she had kept it open. Jaya had an absolutely stunning figure which could make any guy lust for her. Poor Rahul was now completely hooked and decided that he is going to have her come what may!!

He went out and sat next to her, pretending to see what she was doing. He wanted to start a conversation but wasn't sure what to ask. He was sitting there tongue tied and thought it was better if he moved away otherwise she may suspect something. She could sense his discomfiture and broke the ice since she was more experienced of the two.

"Rahul please help me with this new version of accounting package since I don't know how to make entries."

The computer screen was turned towards Jaya and he couldn't see anything from where he was. Rahul had to lean a little closer to Jaya to be able to see what she was doing. He was intently looking at the screen trying to understand where she was stuck and suddenly she remarked.

" Hmmmmm Brut"

"I beg your pardon" He said.

"I love the scent of Brut, it is so manly"

"Ohhh even I like it so I use it regularly" Finally realization dawned on him that she was talking about his deodorant.

Suddenly the software was forgotten and he also noticed the sweet scent of the light jasmine perfume she was wearing. He was caught in a whirlwind of emotions and wanted to hold her tight. She was looking at him intently, smiling inwardly at his predicament but made no move to encourage or discourage him. He was in suspended animation, waiting for some reaction from her but she was too smart and mature enough not to let her emotions get the better of her.

Suddenly he broke the silence and asked her to give him the demo CD which came with the software so that he could help her. Very innocently she inserted the CD in her computer and Rahul started clearing her doubts about the software. Couple of times, Rahul felt that she was not interested in what he was saying and had to ask her if she was paying attention to what he had to say.

She didn't say anything much but he could see that she was looking very upset about something and he could feel that she wanted to burst forth and cry but she was holding herself back. Gently he said "Jaya you don't look ok to me. Please tell me what is the matter." "Nothing" came back the reply. But he was persistent "Look I know you are upset about something. Please be honest with me, if I have hurt you in any way, please let me know because I think we are friends and we should be honest with each other"

"It's not you." She said.

"Then who? What is making you so upset?" He asked with genuine concern.

"Nothing, I just remembered my past with my husband and was shaken by the thoughts of what I have suffered so far. I still wake up in the middle of the night with my body covered in sweat because of the nightmares. He was a brute.would beat me black and blue at the slightest pretext."

Rahul heard this and was filled with loathing for the man. How could someone be so cruel specially since she was the one supporting the family financially. He was a good for nothing bum who couldn't hold on to one job for more than 6 months due to his nature and bad habits. He asked her "So what is the status now? Has the divorce been finalized?"

"No the case is pending before the family court and they have given him an ultimatum to improve his ways and start contributing towards the upbringing of our children. But he has not given a single penny and I am managing everything myself. I hope this ordeal ends soon. I am going mad" saying this she started crying softly. Unsure of what to do, Rahul quietly told her "Don't worry, everything will be allright. You are smart, hardworking and focused towards your goal so everything will be fine." Saying that, he closed the topic tactfully. To cheer her up, he told her a stupid blonde joke and she started laughing uncontrollably.

Once she was done laughing, she smiled at him sweetly, took his hand in hers and said "Rahul you are such a sweet guy. I am glad you heard me out, it really helped me."

As usual, Rahuls brain went numb, he couldn't react and stood there like an idiot. He murmured his thanks and tried to take his hand away..she gave a slight squeeze and let it go.

Rahul was electrified by her touch. A warm tingling sensation ran down his spine and he had a funny feeling in the pit of his stomach, the kind you feel when the plane takes off or your are hurtling down in a roller coaster at break neck speed. He seriously couldn't understand what she wanted. Was it just a friendly squeeze or there was something more to it? He was really confused and desperately wanted to talk to someone about his situation...

To Be continued.