Sharing Space

"So you want to tell me what happened, Lailaji?" Rikki asked as he helped Laila into the apartment. He'd brought her to his apartment, the one he shared with Huffy Bhai. He frankly didn't know where Laila stayed, and his apartment had been close to the place where he'd found her. In fact, he'd been on his way home when he heard her calling out to him. Since Huffy Bhai was out of town for a deal, bringing Laila here had seemed like the best possible option available.

"Nice place, Saale. You stay here?" Laila ignored Rikki's question and took the chance to look around the place.

"I share it with Huffy Bhai, and stop trying to avoid the question."

She chose to ignore him again. "Not bad. I was expecting something closer to a jhopdi, you know, a hovel."

"I'm not some street thug. I got class. Besides, the future Shahenshah of Southall can't possibly live in a jhopdi."

"From Sultan to Shahenshah…in just a little time…quite an ambitious chikna, aren't you?"

"You remember." Rikki smiled as he remembered their first meeting. Then he remembered the rest of their conversation and his smile faded. "You're hurt. Let me get some medicine for those cuts and bruises."

Laila was glad for the distraction too. Damn…she'd spoken without thinking again. Saala, what was it about Rikki Thukral that made her speak without thinking? She was a prostitute. No attachments, no relations. She just had to keep on repeating that to herself, and she'd be okay. Hopefully.

"Here. If you sit down, I can tend to your wounds." Rikki reached out to take her hand.

Laila pulled away before he could touch her. "Are you sure you want to do that? I know Huffy Bhai is out of town, but the rate for touching is still pretty high."

"You want me to pay you to apply medicine?"

"Is that what people call it in Bhatinda nowadays? You don't have to pretend." She smiled and winked at him. "Hmm…maybe considering you did come to my rescue, I'll give you fifty percent discount. Final deal, Suwar."

"Fifty percent discount sounds like a great deal." Rikki took Laila's hand and pulled her closer.

See, he's no different from all those other men. Laila smiled, but she felt a little disappointed. She hadn't been expecting that kind of response from him.

"Only problem is, I'm not interested." He pulled away and motioned for Laila sit down on the couch. He then proceeded to apply the medicine on her bruised wrists and ankles, before bandaging them. "Nasty fellow, that har…piece of junk. No respect."

"In my profession there is no such thing as respect."

"So it is okay to be raped?" Rikki asked, obviously angry about something.

"I didn't say that…"

"For someone who was almost raped, you seem to be so casual about it. Like it's just a walk in the park for you."

Laila was taken aback by Rikki's anger. It hadn't been casual for her, but then, she wasn't one to cry over such things. She couldn't afford to show weakness. It just wasn't done. It wasn't allowed. She wouldn't allow it.

"I don't care you're a prostitute. I don't care why you chose your profession. Maybe you enjoy using your charms to make men act like fools. That is your business. Profession is profession, why you choose yours? It can be the same as why I chose mines. To feed ourselves, or maybe you just like to amuse yourself. Still, there are limits. Limits that can't be pushed, and need to be respected."

"Nice. Did you come up with that yourself or do you watch too many Hindi movies?" Laila tried to make light of the situation.

Rikki sighed. That wasn't exactly how he'd wanted her to take his advice. Still, at least she had a good sense of humor. "I was the hero in all the local plays. In apna Bhatinda, I was famous." He struck a heroic pose. "When compared to me, Hrithik and Shahrukh would get left behind. Forget even Tom Cruise, and who's that other Hollywood actor? Haan, Brad Pitt. It's just that I prefer selling movies to acting in them."

"Yeah. Wouldn't want you to miss out on the good piracy business."

"Yeah, and because I have a good heart."

"Aah, so you felt pity on all those saalas."

"Eggjactly." He smiled. "See I can even do remarkable comedy."

Laila smiled back. "So Rikki darling, tell me one thing." Laila gave him a mischievous smile. "Where am I bunking tonight?"

Rikki paused for a second and looked around. Huffy Bhai's room was a mess as usual, so that was out of the question. "Hmm…We can…I mean, you can sleep in my room upstairs. I can take the floor."

Laila smiled and moved closer to him. "You mean I'll take the bed and you'll take the floor? I'm afraid that won't do." She poked a finger at his chest and fingered the fabric of his shirt lightly. "How can I sleep knowing you're uncomfortable? I've slept with men before so I don't have a problem."

Rikki scooted backward a little. "Yeah, and meri izzat? I'll be even more uncomfortable with you in my bed."

"Really? But I don't bite." Laila was jesting, but the possibility of sharing the same space with Rikki did cause a discomforting yet strangely pleasant flutter in her chest.

"As tempting an offer as that is, I'll take my chances with the floor." Rikki stood up. "Now, there's only one little problem. We have to get you upstairs. Can you stand up?"

"What do you take me for? Of course I can stand up!" Laila moved to get up, but a sharp pain in her ankle stopped her. Right…She had sprained her ankles because of those darned high heels. How was she going to get upstairs, let alone off the couch?

Rikki smirked. "Here. I'll help you up." Rikki held out his hand, and Laila took it. Gingerly, he helped her to her feet.

She limped her way towards the stairs but the pain had escalated from her walk to his apartment. The medicines hadn't taken their effect yet, either. Laila winced as she accidentally put too much pressure on one foot. "Hmm. I guess you'll have to carry me. For a hero like you it shouldn't be a problem."

"Carry you?"

Laila nodded helplessly and held out her arms. Rikki sighed, then took her arms and placed them around his neck, from behind. He then used his back to support and lift her.

"Too heavy for you?" Laila asked as she pressed her cheek against Rikki's neck, quite enjoying the feeling.

Rikki shook his head. "Tsk. Heavy? You? I've lifted twice your weight before." He smiled as Laila's gentle breath tickled the back of his neck, her soothing yet fresh scent lingering in his senses every time he inhaled.

When they were upstairs in the attic, where Rikki slept, he threw some loose shirts of his in her direction. "Here, you can get comfortable."

"Usually when a man says that to me, he means entirely something else."

"Well then I guess I'm not your usual man." Rikki said as he set up camp on the floor.

"Yeah…about that… Suwar, now that you mentioned it, it makes sense. You don't happen to swing the other way do you? Into men?"

Rikki shot Laila a mock glare. "Funny. I'm a seedha gentleman."

"A little too seedha." Laila muttered under her breath as she changed into one of Rikki's shirts and settled into the small bed. "Thanks for your kindness."

"Anytime you need it. It's available. Huffy Bhai has a spare key, lying around somewhere, in case you ever need a place to crash in the future. These doors are always open for you."

Rikki tried to convince himself that he was only offering her permanent access to his apartment because Huffy Bhai would have wanted him to, but he couldn't deny that something else had prompted him to do so, as well. What that something else was, he couldn't really pinpoint. Maybe it was the sheer shock that Laila had almost been raped just an hour ago. He'd wanted to tear Haath Safaai apart then…

Laila was still having a hard time believing that Rikki would offer so much so freely without expecting anything in kind. Not many people did that. Especially not strangers from Bhatinda. "So what is this generous help of yours going to cost me? Since you're not willing to take the payment I offered you."

Rikki was silent, and for a moment Laila thought he might have gone to sleep. She turned towards his direction, and saw that he was awake.

He finally spoke, "A hand in friendship. You think you can afford it, Lailaji?" He turned towards her and smiled.

"We'll see." She turned around and pretended to sleep, but she was thinking about Rikki's offer. It sounded like a pleasant deal, but would she be able to handle that kind of attachment? She pulled the sheets around her and took a deep breath. She could smell Rikki's comforting earthy scent in his shirt and sheets. It enveloped her, providing her with the warmth she often felt in Rikki's presence. Laila smiled into her pillow and pulled the sheets closer. Maybe accepting his offer wouldn't be such a bad idea, after all.