A/N - This two shot is for Geet ShreyaAholic who wanted me to write a new DaReya OS :) Honestly I never thought I would write a new DaReya story again but anyway here it is ;)
Reviews are love so keep them coming ;)
When Cupid Goes On A Vacation
Chapter 1
'Ye sach nahi hai Abhijeet. Shreya doesn't like me. I mean she likes me but as a friend.' said Daya.
'Pehle toh bolte the ki Shreya sirf colleague hai. Ab colleague se friend ban gayi. Achhi baat hai kuch improvement ho gayi hai' said Abhijeet smirking.
'Yaha sab log mere friends hai Abhijeet! Infact hum sab a family ki tarah hi hai CID me' said Daya.
'Nahi batana hai to mat batao. Lekin kam se kam mujhse toh jhooth mat bolo' said Abhijeet.
'Main jo bol raha hoon wohi sach hai Abhijeet. You know it!' said Daya.
When Abhijeet didn't answer, Daya asked, 'Waise ye subah se kya laga rakha hai tumne mere aur Shreya ke baare me?'
'Yaar maine na kal internet pe ek article padha. Wo padhte padhte mujhe ye realise hua ki Shreya aur tum usme barabar fit hote ho. Isliye bol raha hu tumhe' said Abhijeet.
'Kaunsa article?' asked Daya.
'Maine link bhej di hai tumhe tumhari email pe. Jaroor padhna. Phir hum kal baat karenge' said Abhijeet giving him a knowing smile.
'Abhi padhke bol deta hu tumhe' said Daya.
'Are yaar abhi mat padhna. ACP sir ko pata cha gaya na toh hum dono ko naukri se nikal denge' said Abhijeet.
'Sahi bol rahe ho boss. Waise Abhijeet, aaj Friday hai na?' asked Daya.
'Haan. Kyu?' asked Abhijeet.
'Mujhe aaj ek dost ki party me jaana tha. College ka friend hai mera. Abhi do mahine pehle Bombay shift hua hai. Pehle Ahmedabad me rehta tha' said Daya.
'Hmm. Party kis khushi me?' asked Abhijeet.
'Wedding anniversary ki party hai uski' said Daya. 'Waise toh mujhe jane ka bilkul bhi mann nahi hai'
'Kyu?'
'Hamesha dimag khata hai mera maine shaadi nahi ki na abhi tak isliye' said Daya.
Abhijeet laughed. 'Bata de usse jaldi hi shaadi ho jayegi'
'Abhijeet yaar... ab tu shuru mat hoja phirse.' said Daya.
'Thik hai. Main kuch nahi bolta' said Abhijeet.
O-o-o-o
Daya was so excited about the article which Abhijeet mentioned that he couldn't contain himself till he reached home. He gulped down his tea quickly and came upstairs to the bureau while others were still in the cafeteria.
The bureau was empty except one occupant - Shreya.
She was chatting with someone on the phone and smiled at Daya when she saw him coming.
Daya hastily turned on the computer and opened the link which Abhijeet had sent him.
"11 WAYS TO TELL WHETHER A GIRL LIKES YOU" the heading of then article said in all caps and bold.
'Iss article me tum aur Shreya barabar fir hote ho' he remembered Abhijeet saying to him in the morning.
Piqued with curiosity, he srcolled the page down and began to read...
1. She likes talking to you, always eager to have a conversation and stays engaged whenever you are indulged in one. Another important sign is she doesn't touch her phone when she is chatting with you.
Daya thought about this. It made sense. She liked talking to him. She made it a point to talk to him. In fact he liked talking to her as well.
'But lot of girls like to talk to me. Abhijeet as well. We can talk on any damn topic for hours. But it certainly doesn't mean that Abhijeet had romantic feelings for me!' thought Daya. 'Yikes! Abhijeet I am straight, thank you very much' said Daya to himself.
2. She laughs at your jokes no matter how lame they are.
'Does that mean my jokes are lame? Abhijeet, you are so screwed!' Daya muttered angrily to himself.
3. She acts as Damsel in Distress around you for example, pretending to be cold whenever you are around so you would offer her a jacket or pretending to be in lot of pain so that you would comfort her.
'This was ridiculous!' thought Daya. 'Removing a bullet from that ghastly wound would have obviously been painful for her when she had been shot in Ahmedabad.'
And Daya was sure that she was certainly not acting as "Damsel in Distress" when she had been hurt during investigation of Matheran murder case.
4. She blushes around you or plays with her hair. This could be an unconscious sign that she's imagining you playing with her hair.
'That blushing does happen quite a lot of times' thought Daya.
'That happens all the time' his conscience voiced eagerly.
'She imagines me playing with her hair?!' Daya's eyes widened in shock. That's a bit too intimate and personal... though he wouldn't mind running his hands through her silky locks...
He gulped and continued reading:
5. She talks about doing something in future with you. She hints that she would like to catch up a movie or a simple dinner and indirectly hints at what she likes.
Dr Salunkhe's face popped in front of him after reading the fourth sign. Wait a minute - Dr Salunkhe?! It was that day when the CID team was brainstorming about how to cheer Dr Salunkhe up. It had something to do with his girlfriend's birthday... what exactly, he couldn't remember. But then Shreya had pulled out an amazing soulution out of thin air - 'Sir aap unhe candlelight dinner ke liye le jayein. Phir dekhiye unki narazgi kaise chutkiyo me door ho jayegi'
And Daya was sure she had looked pointedly at him while saying that. She had blushed a lot too.
So she had been dropping a hint at that time that she would like to go out for candlelight dinner with him! But why did she have to be so ambigious? How was he supposed to deduce from her expressions that he ought to take her for candlelight dinner? Urgh! Women!
6. She smiles at you whenever she catches your eye. It not at all fake but a genuine smile.
'This was just plain stupid' thought Daya. Aren't you suppose to smile at a person you know when he catches your eye? It would be so rude if you didn't! Besides he had read somewhere that smiling and being happy is good for health too.
7. She is nervous and shy around you. She looks away when you catch her looking at you.
'Hmm... main ye abhi try kar sakta hoon' thought Daya.
Shreya didn't realise she was staring at Daya for so long. He was typing something on the computer while she stared shamelessly at him.
Oh, how she loved his stubble! Those muscular arms, his manly looks and - Daya's head turned and he caught her eye.
It was a simple look in the beginning but then he did a double take and looked at her again.
Shreya's face turned to a deep shade of red and she began to complete her vase report hastily.
The corners of his mouth twitched in surprised smile. 'Was the article stating the truth?' he wondered. He turned his attention back to the computer screen and checked the next point eagerly.
8. Your friends or colleagues think that you two are more than friends.
Daya agreed totally on this point but it was because of a misunderstanding created by Abhijeet. 'Ye sab to Abhijeet ki karname hai. Usne hi chalu kiya hai ye sab' thought Daya. He remembered his and Abhijeet's conversation a few days back...
'Tumne Shreya ke liye kuch liya ki nahi?' asked Abhijeet.
'Shreya ke liye kyu? Uske birthday ko to kafi waqt hai' he said.
"Ohhh accha! Birthday kab hai wo yaad hai!' said Abhijeet.
"Abhijeet jaisa tum soch rahe ho. waisa kuch bhi nahi hai', he said.
'Maine kab kaha waisa kuch hai!' said Abhijeet.
O-o-o-o
'Iss Abhijeet ko toh main chodunga nahi. Uksiwajah se mere juniors me mujhe taane marne lage hai aaj kal.' Daya whispered to himself remembering Freddy's indirect taunt very clearly...
'Kitne sanyog ki baat hai na sir. Aap aur Daya sir ki dosti ke saath saath ek aur cheez common hai', said Freddy to Abhijeet.
'Kounsi?' asked Abhijeet.
'Ek Shreya aap ke liye khaas hai. Aur ek Shreya Daya sir ke liye khaas hai', said Freddy glancing at dareya.
'Sahi keh rahe ho!' said Abhijeet laughing heartily.
O-o-o-o
9. She touches you - she lightly hits you are touches your clothing. Also, if your normal innocent touches like accidental brushing of fingertips or shoulders make her all tense and shy - she is totally into you!
Daya hadn't really observed her expressions during such inmocent accidental touches and Shreya hadn't touched his clothes anytime.
He imagined how it would feel if she would fix his tie sometime or howher soft hand would feel on his chest sliding over his shirt...
Daya shook his head casting the awkward thoughts away. This damned article was making him think all this stupid things. She is just a friend. Just a friend... he kept repeating it over and over to himself.
10. She gets jealous when she sees you with another girl. She may het mad at you or simply make an abrupt exit if she doesn't want to see you with someone else. She will try to make you jealous by flirting with other guys whenever you are around .
Daya snorted. Jealous? Shreya had never exactly been mad at him when he spoke with others girls. And he had never felt himself getting jealous whenever Shreya hung out with Sachin or Pankaj or any other colleague for that matter. 'Abhijeet iss article ke chakkar me mujhe phasa raha hai' thought Daya.
11. She kisses you.
Daya stared at the sentence in bewilderment. He scrolled down and at the end of the page the writer of the article one last sentence -
... what explanation are you still searching for, dunderhead? SHE KISSES YOU. Isn't that self explanatory enough?
'Huh!' Daya huffed and clicked the "X" sign.
'Darn the article!' he muttered just as he heard his colleagues coming up. He tried to convince himself that the article was clearly a dud though he couldn't help realising that most of the things it said were true. Apart from kissing, getting jealous and touching everything else was... he looked at Shreya. She was hurrying towards the exit.
'Aaj jaldi nikal rahi ho, Shreya?' he called.
'Haan sir. Actually mujhe ek party me jana hai' she said. 'Bas ACP sir ne bataya hua report khatam ho gaya toh ab nikal rahi hu'
'Oh! Mujhe bhi mere ek dost ke party me jana hai aaj. Main toh bhul hi gaya tha.' he said.
He saw her smile falter a bit. 'Umm.. kaun dost? Matlab Abhijeet sir bhi jaa rahe hai kya?' she asked.
'Abhijeet nahi jaanta usse' said Daya.
'Oh!' she said and then after a moment's pause she asked, 'College friend?'
'Haan, bohot purani dosti hai hamari' he said. 'Waise itne sawal kyu puch rahi ho mujhe?' he asked.
'Nahi aisi koi baat nahi hai sir!' she said smiling sheepishly. 'Anywaybye sir. Main chalti hu. Kal milte hai bureau me. Enjoy your party' she said.
'You too' said Daya and waved to her just as Abhijeet entered the bureau.
'Oh, toh Shreya ke saath akele me waqt bitana tha isliye itni jaldi ho rahi thi upar jaane ki?' said Abhijeet.
'Bakwaas band kar yaar Abhijeet. Aisa kuch bhi nahi hai. Waise main wo article padhne aaya tha' said Daya.
'Kya baat hai! Itni jaldi ho gayi jaane ki!' said Abhjieet.
'Abhijeet-' Daya began in a warning tone but Abhijeet said, 'Okay okay. Main kuch nahi bolunga. Lekin tu bata kya laga tujhe article padhne ke baad. Main jo keh raha tha tujhe subah wo sach hai na?'
'Kuch bhi sach nahi hai! Aur ainda aise bekar ke links mujhe mat bhejo. Ye sab to college ke ladke padhte hai Abhijeet hasi majak me. Aisa kuch sach nahi hota' said Daya.
'Arey ye kya baat hui? Dekho agar tum manne le liye tayar hi nahi ho toh phir baat karne me koi matlab hi nahi hai. Aur ye article fake nahi hai. Wo uska writer bohot hi famous love and relationshio expert hai. Usne radio pe bohot sare programmes bhi kiye hai' said Abhijeet.
'Accha? Tujhe bohot pata hai uske baare me?' said Daya.
'Yaar tu mujhe beech me mat le aa ab. Bureau me sab ko pata hai ki tumhare aur Shreya ke beech dosti se badhkar bhi kuch aur hai. Lekin tum ho ki manne ke liye tayar hi nahi ho. Tum wo points padho aur situation yaad karo. Thoda jor daalo apne dimag pe.' said Abhijeet.
'Aisa kuch hai hi nahi toh main kyu maanu tumhari baat? Aur mujhe iss sab baaton ke liye abhi time nahi hai. Mujhe party me jaana hai. Already late ho gaya hoon main' said Daya.
'Yaar Daya par meri baat to suno -'
'Bye Abhijeet. Kal milte hai'