Married To Mr. Malhotra #1 ✓ (2016)

Chapter-15: Deadly Dares

Manik was slightly surprised to see me still roaming around in the club parking. It had been over thirty minutes since he sent me off, but he didn't seem agitated or irritated in any way. I looked away quickly, holding Navya to balance her. His gaze lingered on his jacket, that I was wearing. Being stared down by any man made me somewhat self-conscious but it being Manik threw my jitters like glitter in the air. I pulled the jacket taut, to cover myself. He pressed his smile and stood before her, flashing his teeth.

"Navya, hey." He waved and she smiled faintly. She tried to stand straight but tumbled into my arms. Manik rushed towards us and held her. My eyes traveled to his hand, scowling at him. "Tum yahan kya kar rahi ho? Chalo andhar. Humare saath party nahi karna hai? Chalo chalo." (What are you doing here? Come inside. Don't you want to party with us? Come come.) He managed to convince her and she was beyond happy to rely on him instead of me. He held her hand with one hand and the other was on her waist, constantly smirking at me for having his ways.

Maybe he knew I wouldn't leave if Navya wasn't coming. A possible theory could be that he wanted to hang out with me and Navya was one of his easy tricks to do that. So through her, he tried to coax me into staying with his group. I didn't want to be part of that group though; I wasn't ready to be bullied for 'wanting' to break into Fab 5, the losers.

I held her arm back. "She isn't coming anywhere. We need to go back home." I snapped and turned her towards the car but she pushed me away, and fell on another car. Then she fell on the tar underneath. 

"Nahi. Hume party karni hai. Tum jao. Amma wait kar rahi hogi." (No. I want to party. You go. Mother must be waiting.) She slurred, supporting herself with the car. Her eyes were shutting. God, how hammered was she? I looked at Navya's condition and then at Manik, whose expressions changed to portray his victory.

"Haan Nandini, Amma wait kar rahi hogi na tumhare liye? You go, no worries. I'll take care of her." (Yes Nandini. Amma must be waiting for you right?) His evil grin was apprehensive to perceive. What exactly were his intentions? By then I knew whether or not I was there wouldn't make a difference to him. 

I clicked my lips sadly. "I really wouldn't mind if it was concerning me. But agar Navya nahi aayegi mere saath, toh Amma daantegi." (But if Navya won't come with me, Amma will scold me.) Navya snapped her lips in dismay, agreeing to what I said. Manik's face fell.

"What's up, girls? Wanna play with us?" Cabir appeared from behind and I shook my head negatively. Given the location we were at, the parking lot, the last thing it looked like we wanted was to stay. "Come on. It's just Truth Or Dare." 

"Nahi khelna hume koi game. Navya, chalo na?" (We don't want to play any kinds of games. Come Navya.) I turned to open the car. Manik smirked and held my hand from the back. He locked it right above my butt and the length of his arm brushed my wounded back, earning a wince from me. Manik's grip loosened with concern. 

His smile remained evil. As he pulled me into him, he knew I would turn around to protect my back from anymore trauma. "Khelna toh hai hi, Miss. Murthy." (You gotta play, Miss. Murthy.) He murmured, closing his eyes as my palm rested rested on his heart. It became a sensual moment of some sort, with Manik hiding us from his friends. They were then at a fair distance away from us. 

Navya, too, lost her balance but Cabir came to her rescue. She put her arms around his neck and they had a moment of their own. 

Manik wrapped his arm around my waist, warming me up around that area while the other held my fingers. He ran his thumb over my knuckles, that felt soft to his touch. My eyes were open, studying his face up close as our foreheads met. "You know, you look... nice in... my clothes." His breath smelled like alcohol; I couldn't tell which one but I didn't like the scent. How drunk was he? Drunk enough to see the good in me or drunk enough to be seduced by me? We shared a tiny dance of our own, swaying from side to side. Nice? I looked... nice in his clothes?