Whew this took a whole day! Anyways guys you are the best I love you all! Everyone of you! Please read it! I was in a bad mood when I wrote most of it! okay now enjoy..and please leave a comment! Tell how'd you feel!

Leave? They wanted to leave and go home? I knew home wasn't home, home, but rather their hotel rooms that my boss Sanjay has booked for them for a night stay. Still, it meant that my time was up. Daya let me go, although I would have preferred he didn't. I was feeling a little dizzy.

"Itni jaldi?" he asked, fishing his phone out of his pocket, "Time kya hua hai, yaar sirf saare aath."

"Daya Ji…" Tom sighed exasperatedly, "Hum subah se ghum rahe hai kal bureau nehi jana, wese bhi Tarika or Purvi ko bhi to ghar jana hai na."

"Hum apna protect khud kar sakte hai!" Tarika interrupted smirked.

"Woh to mujhe pata hai Tarika madam par fir bhi, ap sab ki dhyan rakhna meri zimmedari hai na" Abhijeet commented with a shy look, Tarika blushed. "Acha?"
"Ji, bhot khayal karta hu main apka!" Abhijeet finished while gripping Tarika's hand. Tarika smiled teasingly.
"Aree ab tum dono bhi kiss karlo, mauka bhi sahi hai, bhot der se dekh raha hu! Ab bhot ho gaya nain mattakka!" Daya laughed, adjusting the cap on his head.

"Ha sar aj ka date CID ka valentines day ban jaiga fir to," Pankaj mused.

"Ha or kya" teased Abhijeet, his signature cheeky grin plastered across his face. He pulled Tarika slightly. She yelped.

"Aree Abhijeet! Kya hai? Chalo ghar nehi jana!" She blabbered, pushing her boyfriend without making any kind of eye contact. Her blush was so obvious.

The conversation dribbled on and, to be honest, I wasn't paying any attention to it whatsoever as our party gradually made our way out of the bowling alley. My head was wrapped up in thoughts. Thoughts about Daya, GlamGoss, Sanjay, my job, more so about keeping my job flitted through my head. I had a nasty suspicion that Sanjay wouldn't be too happy about keeping me around if I didn't get what he wanted me to. If I got fired, Nakul wouldn't stay at GlamGoss, and that would be both of us out of a job. How long we could stay afloat after that on savings I had no idea. We didn't have any qualifications really, we just finished our masters in Mass Communication and thought that we were invincible when GlamGoss took us under their wing. In reality, it was because no-one else would work for them and they would take whatever they could get their hands on. We wouldn't be able to survive on our own. This was the only way. I had to do this.

"Kya hua?" Nakul asked me later, while we were on our own. Daya and Tarika were arguing over their Forensic doctor and Pankaj, Abhijeet and Freddy were trying to reason who is the better driver in CID. From where I was watching I wasn't sure I'd get into a car with either of them.

"Nothing," I lied, watching as Kavin muttered 'sabke sab laraku gunde hai!' and tried to shove his team off the road due to all the arguments with an angry glare.

"Koi bhoot dekh liya kya Jhanvi, you look pale" Nakul pouted, looking concerned.

I sighed, if I didn't tell anyone I would no doubt explode. Besides, if I couldn't count on Nakul, I had no-one.

"I'm just... scared. I feel so bad," I muttered shaking my head.

"Tu koi khoon nehi karne wali hai yar," he assured me, "Log agar bina soche kisi ki jaan le sakte hai to yar yeh sab jo tu karne ja rahi hai yeh kuch bhi nehi hai. Look if you really don't want to do it, you don't have to. Hum Sanjay ko samjha..."

"Nehi," I interrupted him, "I'll be fine. I just need someone to tell me it'll all be fine."

Nakul smiled.
"It'll be fine."
We again took two cabs. Purvi and Tarika were adviced to take the ride as they live far off the city. Our taxi ride meanwhile was unusually quiet, considering in whose company we were in. Daya hadn't spoken to me since the kiss. Was that a good or bad thing? Was he just embarrassed, or was he... I have no idea. My head's so fucked up right now. I think about things way too hard, when right now I really don't need to think about anything. Daya and Abhijeet were whispering to each other only using one or two words a sentence. I was quite enthralled by the fact they seemed to understand each other with the minimal use of words. I decided that it must have been a thing you get with your bestest best friend after spending seventeen years with that best friend. Nakul, who was sitting beside me this time was offering advice to me in a whisper. Occasionally he would say something that shocked even me and I would gasp and tell him to shut up before remembering that I was in a confined space with four other people and would have to apologise to them while Nakul rocked in silent laughter in his seat. To be fair, the duo's were just as bad, several times during the ride Daya would gasp and hit his best friend around the head.
"Yar yeh khus phus band karoge?!" Freddy snapped eventually, "Main pagal ho jaunga."

"You're just jealous no-one's whispering in your ear," taunted Nakul, "Agar aitraaz na ho to main apke kano me gunguna sakta hu."

Silence. The duo's, Kavin and Pankaj stared at Nakul like he was insane. I had to admit, out of the five he'd picked the worst one to tease. There was an excruciatingly long pause.

"Hotel dikh jai to jaga dena, me so raha hu" Freddy muttered gruffly, turning his attention back out the window. After that, everyone was silent again. Even Nakul surprisingly, who normally couldn't shut his mouth.

I had everything planned out in my head, so that I would know what to do when the taxi came to a halt at their hotel.

"Mujhe bhukh lagi hai," moaned Daya suddenly, "Kuch nashta karne chale?"

"Sir apko to humesha bhukh lagti hai," Pankaj chuckled.
"Firse wahi baat? Chup reh yaar!" Daya snarled.
"Daya hum hotel pochne wale hai, you can order room service," Abhijeet sighed, his tone reminiscent of how you would talk to a small child. Daya made a disgusted sound.

"Hotel ka khana bhot hi stale hai yar. Kahi bahar chalte hai."

"Ap logo ke hotel ke samne ek acha sa restro hai waha acha khana milta hai," Nakul piped up, "24/7 wala restro hai. You could go there."

Daya sat up straight suddenly looking interested.
"That sounds nice," he mused.

It was barely a few seconds later when Nakul nudged me in the ribs, and I caught onto the point I had missed by a mile.

"Ha woh bhot hi achi..jagah hai," I chirped, to which Daya responded with a smile in my direction.

"Main to sone jar aha hu or mujhe room service se koi problem nehi hai," muttered Freddy, still staring out the window.

"Haan yar," yawned Abhijeet, pulling his cap down over his eyes, "Main to bhot hi thak gaya hu, sone ja rha hu."
"Main bhi!" Kavin rubbed his eyes while nodding.
"Main bhi ghar chala jaunga," Nakul sighed, "Saari energy khatam. Or shayad guests ka abhi time khatam ho gaya hai, haina?"

Polite people would usually try and put up a protest at this point, but everyone in the car remained silent. Poor Nakul, it seems his overpowering personality had indeed gotten the better of the men from CID.

"Wese bhuk to mujhe bhi lagi Sir," Pankaj interjected.

"Nehiiii!" the best friends cried in perfect unison.

"Panka tu mere saath chal. Movie dekhenge ek saath haina!" Abhijeet muttered. Pankaj looked over at him, then at Daya and rolled his eyes.

"Chalo koi nehi."

"Bache hum dono," I said to Daya, "Mujhe to strict instructions mila hai apne boss se ki ap ke saath sara time spend karu ajka, jab tak ap sab hotel nehi poch jate."

"Jesi apki marzi ma'am," he laughed.

We left the others off at the hotel, with Nakul volunteering to walk home. I knew the secret behind this though, he was only going to the room Sanjay had given him so he could get pictures of Daya and I together. I was reluctant to let Nakul go, seeing as he was my safety net. Suddenly everything didn't feel so easy now I was on my own.

As promised, the little place was only a few minutes walk from the hotel. The night was considerably pleasant for January. There was nothing worth note in our conversation, I think we even talked about the weather at one point. I was pretty sure this wasn't how one night stands were usually landed.

It was around ten at night when we took our seats in one of the little booth's that wouldn't have looked out of place in a classic bollywood movie. It didn't look completely melodious, but it wouldn't have looked out of place either way. We both ordered a few grilled sandwiches and coffee. It seemed that we did at least have something in common; Our love of caffeine.

Daya chose to smother some chatni over his sandwich, to which I laughed. Wierd taste! I Know.

"Okay, ab meri bari," Daya said out of the blue when we were sitting down at the table.

"Kis cheez ke liye?" I asked, shooting him a strange glance.

"Ab meri baari tumhara interview lene ka, har kisi ko mauka milna chahiye" he smiled, pausing to take a sip of his drink, "I think it's only fair. You've been interviewing me all day."

"That's because it's my job," I laughed in response.

"Favourite flavour of ice cream?"

"Yeh kesa sawal hai?"

"Jawab do," he giggled.

"Fine, chocolate," I replied, thinking that there was absolutely no point in the question.

"Koi crush ya boyfriend?"

"Ap," I retorted before I realised what I'd said. I immediately wanted to take it back as he cocked his head to the side and shot me a peculiar look.

"Kya?"

"Next question," I muttered hastily, stuffing more food into my mouth.

"Kesa laga?"

I dropped my fork and began to choke on my food.

"Kya?!" I coughed out.

"The.. Sandwich..." he mumbled, his cheeks burning red, "Is the... Sandwich nice?"

"Oh..." I managed, "Yes... it's lovely."

"Tumhe kya laga?" he asked softly.

I paused, trying to figure out my next move. I knew what I should say. I should tell him the truth and get him all flustered, but I couldn't.
"...next question," I mumbled keeping my eyes down.

"Ap Glamgoss me kabse kaam kar rhi hai?"

I looked up at him and knew with the shy yet slightly apprehensive look in his eyes this was his way of seeing if he's figuring something out.

"Is February me do saal ho jainge hum dono ko," I replied slowly.

"Dono ko?"

"Nakul," I chuckled, giving him a sly glance.

"Oh acha," he nodded.

"Wese log kehte hai ki ap or Abhijeet sir same to same ho, par mujhe to ap dono bhot different lagte ho!" I mused speaking my thoughts out loud.

"Different? Woh kaise?"

"Woh bhot open hai, sab kuch muh pe bol dete hai.. Or ap..." I trailed off trying to think of the best and least offensive way to say what I was going to say.

"Daravna?" he offered.

"Ji..!" I half agreed.

"Ha. Ha. Ha." he muttered, straightening up in his chair and pretending to look offended.

"Main mazak kar rhi thi!"

"Pata hai."

"Apki koi girlfriend hai?"

"Next question," he smirked before taking another sip of his coffee.

And that was pretty much how our conversation went. It was just little innocent flirts, nothing that would suggest he wanted to toss under the sheets with me. Perhaps it was my own fault. I should have been more forward, but for me that wasn't natural and was therefore difficult. I was very old fashioned, believing that the boy should make the movies while the girl stood and swooned at his side.

Nevertheless, time passed quickly and before I knew it, we were back in the hotel, standing in the lift, on the way back to his room.

"Ap shaant ho gayi? Kya baat hai?" he looked slightly worried.

"I'm just tired," I smiled in reply, glancing up at him, "Subah se chakkar laga rahe hai."

"Yeh to kuch bhi nehi, hume bureau me reh reh kar ese schedule ki aadat par chuki hai!" he breathed as the door slid open and we walked into the hall.

"Main yaha pehle a chuki hu shayad!" I noted, recognising the corridor from this morning. My heart began to hammer relentlessly in my chest as we walked slowly down to his room at the end.

"Wese... it's been a pleasure to be interviewed by you Jhanvi ji," Daya said with a secretive smile as he opened the door with his card key, "Yeh din mujhe humesha yaad rahega. It was fun."

"Thanks for the compliment," I laughed, "I'm sure mere boss ap sabse milne ko kehenge firse. Ap sab bhot ache ho!"

Daya smiled sweetly. We both stood in awkward silence for a few moments, then both of us spoke at the same time. I had to ask him to repeat himself.

"Agar apko koi aitraaz na ho to, kya hum firse kabhi coffee ke liye mil sakte hai?" he asked timidly.
It took a few instants for my brain to process what he'd actually said.

"Sure, kyu nehi!" I chirped, taking my pen out of my pocket and scribbling my number down on the back of his offered hand. I didn't think he'd ever call me, not if things went my way. Daya looked down at the number and smiled.

"Firse mulakat hogi, I hope!" he said as he opened his door and began to go in. This was my last chance and it was more than clear I was going to have to do all the work. I just had to swallow my convictions and get on with my job.

"Daya?" I managed to call after him with the ji. Every cell in my body was screaming at me to kiss him as he turned around and looked at me with those molten chocolate eyes of his. It was what I had to do. It was that I was going to do.

So I did.

I almost flung myself at him by accident, so it was understandable I suppose that he froze on the spot. I brought my face up to meet his and pressed my lips against his, waiting for some kind of response. After a moment, much to my relief, I felt him relax and he began to kiss me back. The taste on his tongue was sweet, like the candy that we'd been offered by the restaurant after the diner, what seemed only a minute ago. The gently rhythm of our mouths seemed so natural, like we had kissed a hundred times before.

We could have been there for hours but the time seemed to slip away so fast.

"Jhanvi," he breathed when we finally parted.

Deliberately, I glanced over his shoulder, looking at the room behind him. I bit down on my swollen lip and raised my eyes to meet his.

"Kya..main andar..a sakti hu?"

It took all my strength to say those few words. This wasn't me, but the real Jhanvi had to remain hidden from now on. No this was the new Jhanvi, one I didn't like but she was there to stay, at least for the next few hours.

He didn't grasp what I meant immediately, but when he caught on his face fell. My heart felt as though it had dropped out the bottom of my chest.

"Oh," he mumbled as he lowered his eyes to stare at his shoes.
"Jhanvi...I don't... main... yeh sab...itni jaldi nehi. I'm sorry."

With those words it was game over for me. I admitted defeat and let go of him.

"It's okay," I smiled with good nature, "See you around."

I took a deep breath to calm myself and turned away. I'd have to call Nakul, explain what had happened, although if his view was as good as Sanjay had assured us he'd probably seen what had happened through the lens of his camera. I wasn't sure how I felt about the whole affair, truth be I was kind of void of emotion. I felt numb.

"Jhanvi?"

I looked over my shoulder, surprised to see him still standing there.

"Ajao..andar..please...main tumse dur nehi reh sakta..please?" he stuttered.

My heart would get no rest tonight it appeared as it jumped back to life and began to beat ten times harder.

I smiled. Walking back towards him, he stood out of the doorway, ushering me in.

This was it. I'd won.

So why didn't I feel any better?

As I walked past him through the polished hotel door, I could feel the nerves radiating off him like heat from the sun. I wondered how someone who could make criminals pee their pants by just showing them his infamous glare could be nervous in front of one person, in front of plain boring old me.

"Kya tum…kuch logi…something," he croaked. There was an undercurrent of a shake in his voice and I knew then that he wasn't lying when he said he didn't do this sort of thing.

I considered his offer for a brief moment and decided that there wasn't the soft drink in the room's little drink cabinet for me to get trashed on, besides, a little liquid courage would ebb the guilt that I was trying unsuccessfully to suppress.

"That sounds nice, thanks" I replied with a small smile.

"Pespi?"

"Kuch bhi chalega."

"Okay…I'll… be back in a second," Daya said as he emptied his phone, Gun, wallet and whatever else he had in his pockets onto the little dresser at the side of the door before disappearing. I took the opportunity to look around the room. It was, naturally, very classy and upmarket. Of course I had been in this room before, when Daya was loading theirguns, but I hadn't taken that opportunity to look around. The room was coloured with burnt yellows and burgundy colours. Stealing a glance over at the bed, I looked at the maroon covers and took a deep breath. There were big glass doors at the end of the room, leading out onto a very small balcony. I paused and looked across the road at the travel inn on the other side of the road. I found it very amusing that they would build one opposite one of the most up market hotels in Mumbai. I scanned my eyes across the rows and rows of windows, some lit, some in darkness looking, I supposed, in vain for Nakul. A small white blink caught my eye in one of the dark rooms and I knew in that instant that's where he was. He'd set off the flash off on his camera, to let me know he was there. The quelling of my nerves from that little sign was short lived as Daya came back into the room carrying two glasses.

"Sorry, bas yehi tha mini fridge me," he apologised, as he came over and handed me the glass of yellowish liquid, looks like a juice, "It's only orange juice…"

I put it to my lips and took a small sip.
"Koi baat nehi" I corrected him, "Ap itna polite mat bano Mr. Cop? Koi khas wajah?"

He went pink.
"No…no I just… mai bhot..maine kabhi kisi larki ke saath.. raat nehi guzari..you know," he mumbled shyly.

"I'm kidding," I managed with a small laugh.

He relaxed into a grin before taking a drink from his own glass. Silence ensued as we both racked our brains for something to say but failed. Finally, as the quite became unbearable I blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

"It's a nice room. Apne boss ko thank you bol dena!" He mentioned while eying texture.

"Mhm," I nodded.

"I think this room is about half the size of my entire apartment," I laughed, before knocking more orange down my dry throat.

"Oh," breathed Daya, his mind clearly elsewhere as he stared out the window. I looked up at his face and could see the fear in his eyes. Well, perhaps fear is not the best word for the emotion I could see. A combination of nerves, apprehension, fear, and excitement merged into one complicated and confusing emotion.

"I..like you," he said suddenly, turning to lock his eyes with mine.

"Would I be here if I didn't feel the same?" I replied, hoping he couldn't hear the tremor in my voice. It wasn't a lie either, I did like him. I liked him a lot. And there was no argument that I wanted him. But did I want him like this? Of course not, but beggars can't be choosers. If I hadn't been asked to do this we would never have met, never have done anything.

With a clink he set his half drunken glass down, still not breaking eye contact with me. My already giddy heart took a leap as he closed the gap between us in one stride and put his arms around me. My still swollen lips found his and were once again locked. The familiar feeling of light headedness that I found I got when he kissed me once again took over and I reached out to set my glass down, feeling it better I hold onto him with both hands for fear of falling over. However, I missed the table and the glass landed with a thud on the carpet, the contents soaking into what was probably the most expensive carpet I'd ever stood on.

"Sorry," I breathed, breaking away for a second to do so.

"Mera carpet to nehi hai," he mumbled quickly before kissing me again. He was clearly nervous and eager as his style slipped away slightly and I found my mouth was reminiscent of a washing machine. 'Slow down' I tried to tell him without words. If I was going to be crippled by guilt in the days to come, I was going to make sure the here and now was something spectacular.

I shrugged my arms out of my jacket, letting it fall to the floor at my feet. In response, Daya rested his hands on the small of my back, his fingers touching the bare flesh through the slits in the material of my t-shirt. It felt as though each on of his fingers had a low electric current pulsing through it as my skin tingled at his touch.

He broke away.
"Kya tum apne glasses ke bina kuch dekh sakti ho?"

"Nehi," I replied, slightly out of breath from his intoxicating presence.

"Oh," he said, "Hold on a moment."
He placed his hands on my temples and slid my glasses from my face. My world became cloudy and unfocused and I couldn't ignore the slight feeling of unease at my loss of clear vision. But I didn't need my sight. Gently he pushed my t-shirt up over my torso, his hands still electrifying me. I raised my arms to the ceiling and he pulled it over the top of my head and tossed it to one side. Then, he placed my glasses back on my face.

"Main bhot nervous. hu.. kabhi nehi kiya yeh sab" he mumbled, his breathing slightly uneven.

"It's okay," I replied, "That makes two of us."

He didn't say another word, just smiled at me, those eyes of his boring through me, making me want him even more than I thought possible. I placed my arms around his neck and kissed him deeply, the stud in his tongue sliding gently against my own tongue. All thoughts of Nakul, Sanjay and GlamGoss evaporated. The only thing that mattered now was him. I was a different person; all the guilt and shame disappeared to be replaced by an insatiable greed for my own satisfaction. His hands moved higher, and true to Nakul word, he seemed to be past caring that my chest was not spilling out over the top of my bra.
Moving across the room we made our way to the bed, where he sort of collapsed on top of me, his legs straddled around my thighs, still deeply engrossed in our game of tonsil tennis. He was still fully clothed, but I was soon to remedy that. We broke just for long enough for me to pull his tight fitted maroon designer top off.

He moved his mouth away from mine and began to kiss my neck. The feeling of his warm lips brushing against my skin felt as though I was going I was going to spontaneously burst into flames at any minute. I ran my fingers over his chest, savouring the touch of his soft pale skin. Something caught my eye and I turned my head slowly.

In that instant the spell was broken. The reflection in the mirrors on the outside of the wardrobe showed two people, yet I only recognised one. I was a stranger to myself. Then, all the guilt hit me like a train and instead of the heat of passion, I felt a nausea creep up into my stomach. I wouldn't ever be able to look at myself in the mirror again, to live with myself knowing that I played the key role in destroying the life and reputation of a perfectly innocent and decent guy.

I couldn't do it.

"Daya," I gasped suddenly, "Daya please stop."

He halted his kisses and straightened so he was looking down at me, his brown eyes confused and concerned.
"Kya hua, maine kuch galat kiya kya?" he asked.

He was searching my face for an answer. Words caught up in my throat.
"I...I'm sorry," I managed to croak out, "I can't do this."

He looked at me and after a moment gave me a small and sympathetic smile.
"Main samajh sakta hu," he whispered softly, "Main bhi itna forward nehi hu. I am so sorry!"

I should have bitten my tongue, swallowed the words down but I found them come up like vomit.
"You don't understand," I exclaimed suddenly. He looked at me strangely.

"Kya hua fir?"

There were many things I should have done at that moment in time, for one, I should have left having kept my mouth shut. It would have been so much simpler if I had just put my t-shirt back on and left the room, keeping him ignorant. However, that's not the way events unfolded. I wasn't sure if I was stupid or just naive but I found myself compelled to listen to the little voice in the back of my head that was whispering to me, convincing me that everything would work out for the best if I told the truth, if I confessed to him. After all, honesty is the best policy. Right?

"Daya," I began, the words catching in my throat, "Main..."

Every part of me was shaking.

"Mujhe paise...diye gaye hai..yeh sab karne ke liye," I blurted suddenly, unaware of where the words had come from. All emotion left his face as my words sank in. Daya, who up until now had been on his hands and knees above me, crawled backwards to the end of the bed where he sat up over his heels, his eyes never leaving mine.

"Kya?"

I let out a long breath before starting the explanation.
"The interview," I panted, my furiously beating heart leaving me short of breath, "It's fake. Sab kuch fake, mujhe tumhare saath sone ke liye paise diye gaye hai, tumhe badnam karne ke liye."

His face darkened with pain and anguish.

"I'm sorry," I breathed, the look on his face breaking my heart.

He remained silent, no longer looking at me. Slowly he got off the bed, to his feet and walked over to the window. He stared out of it for what seemed like an age.
"Or Nakul?" he finally asked.

"T...taking photos... from the hotel across the street, sa..sabit karne liye, magazine me!" I stuttered against the cold that I suddenly felt, his warm and soft body now painfully far from mine.

"Daya..." I began, trying to make sense of everything in my head, "Main yeh bilkul nehi chahti thi... I..."

I stopped as he held up a hand to silence me. Turning from the window, the look on his face cut through me like a thousand knives. The warmth and compassion that I'd seen in them all day were gone, to be replaced with ice cold, angry eyes.

"Get out," he hissed.

It took more than a moment for his words to sink into me.

"What?" I stammered, confused at his response. I had told him the truth, did that count for nothing?

"Maine kaha na," he gritted his teeth, "Take your things and get out."

This was all wrong; in my head I had imagined something completely different, imagined a compassionate, understanding response. I had not anticipated anger. Was he overlooking the vital fact that I hadn't actually betrayed him? I hadn't actually gone through with it, so why was he so mad?

"Daya," I managed, "Mujhe samjhane to do."
I was desperate now, he didn't understand, and I had to make him understand.
"Ab reh kya gaya hai?" he snapped picking up his t-shirt from the floor and pulling it down over his head roughly.

"Daya, please," I begged, "I didn't want to hurt you! I..."
"Or kya tumne to bilkul hurt nehi kiya," he barked, the sarcasm on his words razor sharp, picking up my top from where it had landed and hurling it at me.
"Yar ek baar… bas ek bar maine apne dil ki suni or tumse pyar kar baitha... and you come in and fuck everything up."

"Daya, my editor, you don't know what he's like! I'm probably going to lose my job because I didn't… I didn't…"

"Didn't fuck me?"

I nodded, slowly putting my arms and head through my t-shirt.

"Well I'm sorry about that," Daya continued, "Par main isme tumhari koi madad nehi kar paunga. You don't deserve any sympathy!"

The hot feeling began to rise in my cheeks and I could feel the burning of threatening tears behind my eyes. He was right, I didn't deserve his sympathy, I was just a common tramp. I wasn't any better than a whore, after all, they got money for sleeping with men, how was I different? Brushing myself down I stood up, and dared to look at him once more.

"Tum jese aurato ke wajah se me humesha pyaar se dur bhagta hu," he snarled at me. . I wept my eyes with the back of my left hand, my mascara smeared all over. I was paying attention to him, his rage making me choke.

"Get out!"

I turned around and walked towards the door, knowing my place was no longer here. I wasn't going to stick around and have him yell at me anymore, I wasn't sure I could cope with much more of it.
The door slammed shut behind me with an almighty bang and I was sure half the hotel had heard it as it continued to echo in my head. Then, the waterworks started. Silent streams of tears ran down my cheeks, dropping to the floor as I stared at the carpeted hall, unable to move anywhere.

So, here we are, full circle, this is where I started my story, standing outside Daya's hotel room an emotional wreck. It was certainly the most eventful day of my life, but it was also quite possibly the worst. There was nothing that could be salvaged here and I was ready to go home, to begin the process of forgetting. I'd like to say that this was the end of my story, that I went home with Nakul and never saw or heard from Daya again and that Sanjay understood what I'd been through and let me keep my job no questions asked. It turned out quite differently.

The grip of panic pounced on me as I realised that I'd left my jacket in Daya's room. I was clueless as to what to do. There was no way that I could knock on his door again, no way I could face him. But there was also no way that I could leave without my jacket. My phone, my notebook with everything about the stories I had been working on, and my favourite pen and quite a lot of money were in it. Confused and feeling so alone, I leant up against the wall outside his room and slid to the ground.

A door opened further up the hall and I glanced up quickly. It was the kindest friend of his, Abhijeet. For a moment I hoped he wouldn't see me, that I'd the laws of physics had taken pity on me and spared me the torment of having to face another member of CID tonight by turning me invisible. That, however, wasn't the case.

"Jhanvi?" he asked curiously as he spotted me, approaching me from the room he'd just left, "Tum ro kyu rahi ho… kya hua."

I wanted to explain to him everything, or at least make up a convincing enough lie as to why I was outside his best friend's room in floods of tears, but the words jammed in my throat and all I managed was an embarrassing sob.

"Hey!" he cried softly, quickening his pace before stopping in front of me and crouching down, "Hey, ro mat. Tell me kya hua," he soothed.

I couldn't take these extremes. One of them was being, deservedly, horrible while the other was treating me with sympathy and compassion that I really didn't merit.

"Oh…" he breathed suddenly, "Daya ne kuch kiya."

Glancing up at him, I managed a frown. How could he possibly know what had happened?

"Jhanvi, mai yar… Daya bhot sharamila hai. Woh tumhe bhot pasand karta hai. Tum chinta mat karo mai use baat karunga. Fir to koi problem nehi hoga na. Tum fikar mat karo, woh bhi tumhe utna hi pasand karta hai."

Of course he didn't understand. Yet with every word he spoke I felt worse and worse. Just then, the door to the room that I'd been so mercilessly kicked out of only minutes later opened and I sprang to my feet, almost knocking into Abhijeet as I did so. Daya stood, his face still like thunder, my coat in his arms. A small part of me was relieved of course, but I was more concerned with the prospect of another shouting match occurring.

"Yeh coat," he hissed, throwing it at me, "You left this."

I caught my jacket and hugged it tightly against my body.

"Daya…" Abhijeet asked hesitantly, "Kya… hua?"

I begged silently that he wouldn't tell his friend, I didn't think I could survive if someone else hated me.

"Hume gumrah kiya gaya hai Abhijeet," Daya began. Of course he would tell him, they were best friends.
"There is no interview. She and her friend have been collaborating for pictures and a first hand experience of what I'm like in a bed."

"Kya?" Abhijeet blurted, whirling his face around, stricken with confusion, to look at me. Then, his eyes narrowed and his face bore the same emotion as his friend.

"Isse pehle ki or kuch bura ho tumhare saath chali jao yaha se," Daya suggested, his face still thunderous.

"Agar...Tumne," spluttered Abhijeet, trying to keep himself from totally exploding, "us badsurat insaan ne …"

It was then I snapped. I would take blow after blow as long as it was directed at me, but no-one was going to slag off my friends, no matter what they had done.

"Mere dost ko dur rakho is sab se!" I yelled, with more force than I'd imagined myself capable of, "You can say whatever the hell you want about me but don't you dare insult my friend you bastard!"

Had Daya not pre-empted his best friends next move and grabbed onto his arm, I was sure that Abhijeet would have leapt at me then and there. He took a few deep breaths through his nose, his nostrils flaring as he tried to control himself.

"Agar tum yaw oh jo bhi tumhara dost hai humare as pas bhi aye, I'll arrest you myself!" Abhijeet growled.

I had outstayed my welcome by far, so I was more than happy to leave. I turned away, the image of both angry faces seared onto my brain as their eyes burned hatred into my back. I walked to the end of the corridor and made my way straight for the stairs, I wasn't going to hang around and wait for a lift with them still watching me. Adrenalin coursed through my veins. I was so many things at once that I was surprised my small body could cope with it all. One stair after another, I was on auto pilot, not really thinking about anything other than getting myself as far away them as possible.

When I reached the bottom of the stairs and walked into the lobby, I felt my knees almost buckle with relief as I spotted the person who I most wanted in the world right now. Nakul, who was dripping wet from what must have been rain, ran over and threw his arms around me, pulling me into a hug. The floodgates opened once more and I let out a few pent up sobs into his shoulder.

"Ro mat yaar," he soothed, patting me on the back, "It's okay. Let's get you home. Everything's going to be fine."

He made me stay where I was and went back out into what I could now see in the orange streetlamps was a downpour of rain to hail a cab for us both. I had had enough of Taxi's today and almost considered walking home in the rain, but Nakul insisted, knowing that I would catch hypothermia or something of the like.

The journey was silent, and I spent it with my face buried into Nakul's shoulder. I had cried all the tears that I could and my eyes felt as though they would explode at any moment. He didn't say anything to me, just put his arm around me every so often and squeeze a little. Nakul, despite the presumption that gay guys were more in touch with their feelings, was very secretive about his. He would cry openly at sad movies or something like that, but when he was feeling real anger or sorrow, for something in his own life, he would lock himself in the bathroom for a few hours. That only happened every so often.

When we got back to the apartment I wanted to go straight to bed, but he insisted that we talk first so I settled myself down on the sofa, kicking off my shoes and hugging my knees close for comfort. He appeared moments later with some ice cream to settle my mood.

"I left the room as soon as I saw things heading south," Nakul explained, offering me out a spoon, "Kya hua wese?"

So I explained ever little detail to him. Every so often I would burst into tears and he would give me a hug. Recalling how Daya, and later Abhijeet, had freaked out still cut me deep. I felt sick, and it wasn't entirely the fault of the rich chocolaty ice cream either. When my mouth was dry from speaking and my head hammering from all the crying I closed my eyes. Out like a light, I awoke a few hours later with the sun streaming through the French doors in our flat, stinging my red raw eyes. Nakul was no-where to be found. I sat up and stretched, the blanket I assumed he had covered me in when I fell asleep falling off onto the floor. It was only 8am, meaning that I had barely slept five hours, and I definitely could feel it. I was shattered.

Then, out of one of the side rooms, Nakul appeared, a brown envelope in his hands. He had showered and changed since last night. Sitting down on the sofa, he let out a heavy sigh.

"Ye le," he muttered, putting the envelope into my hands.

Confused, I lifted up the flap and shook the contents out. Glossy bits of paper tumbled out onto my lap. Picking them up, I examined them. It only took a few minutes for me to realise what they were. Two figures, almost crystal clear despite the distance, stood talking in the photo. The next one showed the same two people kissing, the next undressing, and the fourth one showed them lying on the bed, hands roaming. Needless to say it was myself and Daya.

"Tu uski dhaiya ab bhi ura sakti hai," Nakul whispered even though there was no-one to overhear.
"Sabak sikhana chahti hai to sikha."