She woke up, startled. She was not sure whether it was a dream or she had really heard some noise. She checked the time in her phone. It was 3:30 am. It must have been a dream, she convinced herself and settled back in bed. She heard it again, louder this time. Someone was throwing stones at her window. She jumped out of bed and rushed towards the window and she saw her boyfriend standing on the street and looking up towards her window. He waved at her when he saw her. He straightened his jacket and then rubbed his hands together to generate heat.
She rushed to the living room and rang him in. She put on a robe and opened the main door. The moment she did she saw him step out of the elevator. She let him inside the house. He took off his jacket, thankful to be inside her warm house.
“What took you so long to come to the window? It’s freezing outside!” he said as he sat on the couch.
“Yes, it is freezing outside and that’s why everyone is in their house, keeping themselves warm.” She said. “What are you doing here anyways? I told you I do not want to talk to you, I need time.” She added after remembering their fight of couple of days ago, he had been trying to get in touch with her since then – calling her incessantly. Finally, she had blocked his number and now here he was – in her house. He knew very well that she would not leave him stranded on the street, not in this weather.
“Look, I am sorry. I should have not lost my temper and acted out. Give me a chance to explain.” He pleaded.
“Stop it. Stop harassing me like this. You cannot come to my house at 3:30 and start explaining yourself. Just leave.” She said.
“It’s freezing cold…” he said gesturing towards the windows in the living room. “And it’s started raining now plus I do not have a car.” He said and stood up. She stepped back.
“What do you mean you do not have a car?” She asked.
“Meaning – I did not drive here. I walked.” He clarified.
“You walked all the way over here?” She asked surprised.
“I was in a nearby bar.” He confessed. She rolled her eyes.
“Take my car but just leave.” She said but her voice was lost in the loud thundering. Both of them looked towards the window. It had started to rain heavily. She knew it was not safe to drive and he knew she knew.
“Fine. Sleep on the couch. Leave when it stops raining. Do not bother to wake me up.” She said and started to walk towards the bedroom to bring him an extra blanket and pillow.
That’s when she remembered there was a man in her bed!
---
They were best friends in college. She and her. They connected immediately when they met for the first time. Everyone said they were soul sisters. Her friend was often misunderstood because of her i-care-a-damn attitude. “Girls are jealous because they cannot be like me and guys are jealous because they cannot get into my pants.” She told her.
It was she who had introduced her to the man who was now sleeping in her bed.
They soon became a group. Partied together, went out camping together, studied together and watched movies together.
“Don’t fall in love with him” her friend told her often.
“No, I won’t. I do not want to ruin what we have!” she always replied to her friend.
“Cool! Let’s go, he is waiting for us.” Her friend said putting her arm around her.
It was she who had introduced her to the man who was now sleeping in her bed.
They soon became a group. Partied together, went out camping together, studied together and watched movies together.
“Don’t fall in love with him” her friend told her often.
“No, I won’t. I do not want to ruin what we have!” she always replied to her friend.
“Cool! Let’s go, he is waiting for us.” Her friend said putting her arm around her.
The fact was – each time she told herself that she was not supposed to fall in love with him; she found herself getting attracted to him. Every morning she left her house reminding herself that he was their common friend. The attraction she felt towards him was wrong and she had to put an end to it. However, each day when she saw him she forgot her resolve. As he put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer, her heart skipped a beat. He shared her sandwich as they waited together for their friend in the college canteen.
Sometimes, when her friend had an extra class, he and she would go for a ride on his bike. She wrapped her arms around his waist and sat closer to him as he rode fast. Sometimes she worried that he would hear her heart beating fast inside her chest as she sat with her breasts pressed against his back. She loved being close to him.
They’d return before the extra classes got over and then the three of them would study together in the library.
Maybe her face gave away her secret or maybe her friend said it casually like she always said “Do not fall in love with him.”
“No. Absolutely not” she told her friend, feeling her heartbeat in her throat.
“It was too late” she knew.
She had to tell him how she felt before it became too much to bear. She had already started losing her sleep over him. She thought about him all the time, she dreamt about him, she fantasized about him. The next bite she took after he had taken a bite of her sandwich she visualized him kissing her on the mouth, she actually smelled his breath and tasted his saliva as she ate the sandwich. She wrote about it in her diary and it sounded gross even to her as she read what she had written. She had to tell him. She had to.
She had made up her mind to tell him; she called him one evening and decided to meet. “Café coffee day” sharp 5 pm.” She told him. He said he would be there. She had spent hours getting ready for the ‘date’.
She reached the café before him. She was tempted to call him when she realized he was late but she stopped herself. “Don’t be so desperate.” She told herself.
Half an hour had passed when she finally saw him entering the café. He was not alone. She was with him, holding hands. Their friend. Her soul sister.
“Do not fall in love with him” the words echoed in her mind. How was she supposed to tell him that she loved him in front of her? Why had he brought her with him?
Then, it dawned upon her. All of it.
“Do not fall in love with him.” There was a hidden warning behind those words … “Do not fall in love with him because he is mine.”
She put on a calm face even though she was scattered from within. She had seen it happen to other girls, she had seen it in movies. She thought she could handle being friend-zoned until it happened to her.
They joined her at the table. A knowing smile on her soul sister's face. She knew. She knew why she was here and she had chosen this moment to come out in open. They had ruined her moment. How long had this been going on? She wondered. Perhaps long before she came into the picture. It was her friend who had introduced her to him. She should have known.
They were still holding hands. “Tell her.” Her friend said and she looked at him. He smiled. “We are getting married.” He said, straight to the point and then she kissed him on the lips, right there in the café, in front of her and others. People turned to look towards them. She felt embarrassed. They did not bother that people were watching them. He put his hands around her waist and she ran her fingers through his hair. Sitting there in front of them like a fool, she could visualise their tongues doing the dance and then the vision blurred. She excused herself and ran out of the café. They followed a moment later, not because they wanted to join her; they walked out because the café coffee day staff had asked them to leave.
They called out her name as she continued walking without looking back. She never looked back. That was the last time she saw them. She avoided them in college. She did not attend their calls. The college had almost ended. Just a few months more and then they would be out of her sight, she told herself.
They gave up trying. They let her be. She had promised herself that she would not give up on their friendship if he did not accept her proposal; but this, this was different. She did not want to tag along as they exchanged saliva. She feared she would bang their heads against each other’s as they came closer to kiss. This was way different than just being friend-zoned. They had done this to her on purpose.
She heard rumours later that her friend was pregnant. Then, she heard her friend had undergone abortion. People came to her with news, as if they were doing her a favour by giving her the updates of their lives. They asked what had happened between the three of them. Was it a threesome gone wrong? Someone had asked her and sniggered.
It was too much to bear but she underwent all the torture because she had to finish college. Once she did, she moved on with her life. Until…
... Story 80 (sequel to Story 79)
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