Chapter 316

He said, "I know you are not going to let me off the hook that easily so let me see... Well, the date was not a planned one, but yep it was a date. Well..... I took her out to a club cum restaurant and we watched a show, had dinner and both of us went our separate ways". Carissa was mad so she yelled at him,"Hey! I know that and do not give me the typical guy answer. Just be a bit narrative. Let me give you an example. You took her to the show, she was probably sitting next to you, maybe at some point you held her hand and she looked at you... so here I want to know what did you see in her eyes and what did you fell... Got it! Now lets start from the beginning." Akshar said, "What have I got myself into? You know I can disconnect the phone, if you continue to ask me all these things... I don't know...You can't explain these things..." She said, "First of all, if you hang up on me I will call you and haunt you forever. And, I know you too well so definitely you will not hang up on me. You are a very sweet guy and even though you refuse to accept, you really like her. You probably wouldn't have kissed if the moment wasn't right and you know for a fact that she would be okay with it. You have romanced me so many times when we were together, you have never planned on it and you are not good at planning. It is always an impulse for you and that is why women like you in general." He didn't say anything for a couple of minutes then started talking,” We were watching a show about a Chinese princess whose ice cold heart melts for a Prince. She poses three riddles and he answers all of them correctly but she doesn't want to marry him. It was a very nice show. Very intense I should say and the key artists were excellent. They brought the story to life on the stage. In course of the show, neither of us realized it and when the Prince kissed her is when I kissed her on her forehead and she looked at me. I looked into her eyes and I kissed her." Carissa said, "Ohh.. That is so romantic." Akshar continued, "Before leaving I kissed her good night. It doesn't matter anyway. When I called her back later I said some stupid things and probably she is not going to go out with me anymore."

"Hey!" Carissa said, "What happened? I don't think so." Akshar continued, "No. That was stupid. I didn't mean it but probably she got the wrong idea. That is something you say after a first date." She said, "Maybe I can help you. I can probably tell you how she would think. Tell me what happened in detail. What did you say?" He gave out a big sigh and said, " We were talking about the tings we like and I said if I knew what her vacation spot was, I would love to take her there sometime for a romantic vacation." Carissa said, "That's no so bad. You were being sweet." Akshar said, "I think I also said... maybe we can have some wine and a dance on the beach.... Forget it." "Hold On. Let me get this straight. You were talking about the things you like and somewhere in the conversation, you said this... So it is not wrong at all. You didn't imply anything. She had known you for a year or so I guess now?" said Carissa. "I suppose" said Akshar. Carissa said,” She definitely knows that you are a gentleman and a very nice guy. So I am pretty sure she would probably take in in the right sense and will not mistake you. So don't worry about it sweetheart. Call her and she will definitely go out with you again." Akshar sighed, "I hope so. She seems nice." Carissa continued, "Now I know why you really called me? For a minute I though you were thinking about me. I am glad I could help." Akshar defended by saying,” I was thinking about you. I saw you on TV." Carissa snapped,” Don’t bluff. If you were thinking about two women at the same time... that is not good.. and laughed. He laughed too. Carissa said, "Anything you need, anytime, give me a haul and I will be there for you. You know I will do anything for you. I love you very much." Akshar said, "I know you do." He sensed that she was a bit emotional. So he asked, "Are you okay? You seem a little..." Carissa replied, "I am fine. I am very happy." There was a long pause they both didn't say anything for a couple of minutes just held the phone in their hands. Finally Carissa broke the silence and said, "I think you should hang up now. It is probably quiet late over there. Get some sleep. Take care." Akshar said, "Ya. Take care" Carissa said, "I love you." Akshar replied “I love you too" and hung up. He got up and went to bed.

Chapter 315

Akshar kicked back and relaxed on the bed and said to himself, "Hope I didn't make a fool out of myself. What did I just say to her? Take her out on a vacation with some wine and on a beach.... Oh my God. I hope she doesn't take it the wrong way. I was just trying to be... Man... That was stupid...She is probably thinking I am a moron. What was I thinking? We had just been on one date and I said all these things. She is probably going to think all I am after is sex and I have no genuine interest in her. Shit! How could I be so so stupid......All i wanted to say was that she was pretty and I had a great time and would like to spend more time with her? What happened to me? Why did I end up saying all these and make a fool out of myself. She hardly knows me... Well! Not really. She has met my family and my friends and my ex-girlfriends...Oh oh! That doesn't sound so great when I say out loud..." He threw a pillow that he was holding in his hand over the opposite wall and said, "I can't take back what I said and the damage is done. She probably is not gonna talk to me any soon... Maybe she will return my call after a few days. I hope she does return my call...I do like her. She is nice and lively.. But I just hope she doesn't take it the wrong way. You know what i should watch something to take my mind off of this.." He walked out and settled on the couch and grabbed the remote and turned it on. He flipped a few channels and settled on some celebrity charity events hoping that would distract him. There were many children suffering from malnutrition and they were talking about celebrities who had contributed for the welfare of the children and were showing the celebrities who visited those places and what they did etc... He felt very bad about that and all the kids that were suffering without food and here there were surplus and doctors are complaining about obesity rate going up. He starred at the television for a moment. It was her, in a very simple and casual outfit sitting with other children and helping them along with the volunteers. The camera was focused on her and the narrator was talking about her.

He leaped forward and grabbed the phone that was on the coffee table and dialed her number. It went to the answering machine. He disconnected without leaving any message. It the next couple of minutes his phone rang. He picked it up right away and she said on the other end, "Sorry I couldn't get to the phone right away. I would never miss a call from you". Akshar said, "I just saw you on TV on celebrity charity." She said,” Really! I am glad you found a reason to call me. So how are you?" He said, "I think I should be asking you that? How is your health? Looks like you are doing good as you seem to be quiet busy nowadays?" She laughed and said,” I am doing good. You were there when I needed you the most. So yes, I am so much better than I have been and now that I am talking to you, couldn't ask for more. You mean a lot to me." She paused for a minute and said, "Enough about me. Did you finally ask her out? What's her name.. I forgot?" Akshar said, "It's Diya. Yes I did." She continued, "Great! Did you charm her with you smile or she did the charm on you?" and she laughed. "It was nice. Had a good time" said Akshar. "That's not enough. Tell me all about it. Where did you take her? Did you dance? Did you kiss her? What was she wearing?" she said. Akshar was struggling with all these questions that were coming towards him. He said, "Hold on! Don't ask me all these questions, slow down. I don't know. It was just nice. I had a great time. Maybe I will ask her out again. But what's up with you? Why do you want to know all these things? I am a little confused. I would guess you would probably not want to know what happened but you on the other hand want to know every single detail. I don't get it?". She said,” Just because I was your fiance in the past and I still love you doesn't mean I don't want you to be happy. I love you very much. Yes. And I always will. That will never change. But I also know we have different lives now. I want you to be happy. And I think you really like her. I saw the way you looked at her when I was there. So don't dodge the question and close your eyes and tell me everything" she said. "God. Carissa. I just don't get it... but you know what.. I will tell you what I can remember."

Chapter 314

“Home in bed I suppose?” he said. “Ya. It’s way past mid night. How about you?” she said. “Yep. Quiet comfortable in my PJ’s. Just called to make sure you reached home okay” he said. She smiled to herself, paused for a second and said, “Thanks. I am fine. I hope you are wearing cats and dogs on them” and laughed. He said defending himself, “Hey! Well. I do have some pictures but are not dogs and cats.” She laughed and said, “What are they?” and giggled. “Well this is very embarrassing. It has a race car in back probably what a teenager would wear” he said. Before he could finish Diya started to laugh at the other end and struggling to control her laughter. He didn’t say anything but waited for her to get a hold of herself. Then he said, “You know this is really not a good way to impress a girl. Especially the one I just kissed an hour ago. It felt like it was the magical moment I have been waiting for. I lost myself for a moment when your eyes closed and let go of yourself in my arms.” She was blushing. She couldn’t utter a word and was turning red and was glad that he was not right there to see her blush. She couldn’t help smiling. He paused for a minute and said, ”I know you were not dressed up but I guess as you have a natural radiance that lightens up wherever you go you looked very hot. You know what I enjoyed the most, holding you in my arms, the look in your eyes when I was just about to kiss you and more than anything else, just being with you; spending time with you. You are a very special person and I admire you; I like you very much. Even though our planned first date didn’t work out, but this day turned out to be wonderful. I hope you feel the same way I do.” She felt butterflies in her stomach; her heart was beating very fast and now not just her cheeks, her whole face had turned pink. She rolled over and hugged the pillow next to her very tightly and bit her lower lips and smiled. He continued and said, “I guess I have been holding you up for long. I will say good night before you say Shut up.”

Struggling to recover and not wanting to let go of him she said, “mmm.. Hey! I had a nice time too. Thanks for you compliments.” He said, “Anytime. You deserve such compliments. You are wonderful. I hope I can take you on a date that we actually plan with no unexpected interruptions. Maybe I can take you out to a nice dinner, maybe a dance later?” She said, ”I would love that.” He continued, “Maybe we can talk about many things, you goals in life, the movies we like – well maybe not all movies romantic movies, don’t want to spoil the moment” She laughed and said, “Maybe we can talk about something funny like…..” He said, “Parakeet training, coupons”. They both laughed and then she said, “I have got one, How about the white pants that got a blue patch? They laughed again and he said, “Something silly like what kind of wall calendar you're planning on buying for the next year or maybe the correct amount of time to soak dried beans or even about the average lifespan of an ant.” She said, “How about some of the craziest things we have ever done and ….” He said, “I was thinking about how amazing it is to be so moved to the point where your heart flutters. It's like your passion just builds and you feel so intensely in your heart. I would be curious to know what makes your heart flutter.” She didn’t expect that and was totally stunned by his question. She didn’t know how to react and realized if her were there he would have probably kissed her and she would have been completely flattered and hopelessly fallen for his flattery. He continued and said, “Maybe if I knew what your favorite getaway would be I can take you sometime there for a romantic vacation. A nice wine and you in my arms dancing on a beach …. I guess I am going overboard. I guess I shall say good night now.” Completely in a trans she jumped on the bed and hugged the pillow and kissed it as if it was him that she was kissing.

Chapter 313

The silence was broken with a great applause and the two of them stood up and clapped for the extraordinary performance by the cast. They both left the building along with a few others and when they got out it was a bit chili. They were holding hands when they walked out. She had her coat on and looked very relaxed. It was obvious that she was happy even though she was not smiling. His eyes on the other hand had compassion and affection towards her when he looked at her every time. They walked over to their car as it was a bit of a walk and as it was late at night she took her hands away from him and rubbed her hands to warm herself up and held it tight around her chest to keep herself warm. Noticing that she was feeling cold, Akshar drew her closer and hugged her rubbing her back gently helping her warm up. She looked up and smiled at him; he kissed her on her cheek and continued to walk. Before they knew it they had reached their car. She looked at him said before getting into the car, “Thanks for a nice evening. That was an excellent show.” He smiled and said,”Indeed it was. Especially watching with you. I am glad you had a good time. So did I. I guess you should get into the car, I don’t want you to be freezing out here. She gave a big smiled and leaned towards him and kissed him on his cheek and said, “Good night.” He grabbed her by her waist and kissed her on her lips. She felt his tongue and closed her eyes and gently ran her hands around his neck with her bag hanging from her hand on his back. He tightened his grip and kissed her more fiercely. He let her go after a few really long seconds with her still in his arms and said, “See that how I say good night.” He let her go and she got into the car and he said, “Drive safely”. She let go of his hand what she was holding and said, “You too” and took off. He got into his car and drove off.

She wondered if he had planned everything that had happened that night. The place, the food, the show it all felt like he knew all along and had planned this. But she had called him, it was a last minute call and he had then taken her there. It was so confusing as it had been wonderful even though that had completely unplanned. The show was so intense, the actors, especially the ones who played Turandot and Calaf. They brought the emotion to life in everyone in the room. She felt it, what Turandot felt and she knew he felt what Calf felt. The events of the evening played over in her head. All the women she ran into who knew him all too well and were very friendly towards him and Liz who made the strange remark about him. She realized that she hardly knew anything about him, he was the first guy that she really liked and went out with, even kissed and know nothing about. She didn’t know where exactly he worked but she knew what he does for a living, well she met him in a business seminar. She had met his family, at least his sister if not anyone else. She felt a bit confused if she knew something about him or not. The fact that he had so many women in his life was a bit unsettling and felt like she had to compete with them even though she knew she was not. It felt so right and was so romantic when he kissed her exactly at the climax of the story when Turandot and Calaf kissed. She wondered “Who is he and why am I so interested in him. Damn. I really like him. He is a very good kisser. Too good.” She was already home and she came in and it was one fifteen in the morning and she wondered she wasn’t feeling sleepy even thought she had had such a long day and had hardly slept the previous night. She decided that she would change and drink a warm glass of milk and maybe she will fall asleep. In just minutes she was in bed but was just a little tempted to call Akshar to see if he reached home safely. As if someone read her mind her phone rang and it was him and she picked it up with extreme excitement.

Chapter 312

The king said, "You have won the hand of the Princess. You shall marry her as per the law." The king was very happy that there was a brave and smart man who has met the conditions and was extremely delighted that his daughter was finally getting married. Turandot turned towards her father,” No. I will not. I do not want to marry him father." The king said,” He risked his life and met your conditions. He has answered all the riddles correctly. As per your wish it has been made law that who ever answer your questions shall marry you. So you will marry him." She walked towards Calaf and stood before him and asked "Will you marry me against my wishes?" Calaf looked into her eyes and said, "Princess I shall not marry you against your wishes. I answered all your three riddles correctly. You asked "What is born each night and dies each dawn?" I answered "Hope" and I have hope that I can change your mind. Then you asked "What flickers red and warm like a flame, but is not fire?" I answered "Blood" and now my blood is burning with passion for you. You last riddle was "What is like ice, but burns like fire?" The answer I gave you is "Turandot!". "My lips and my heart murmur your name and the blood that flows through my body is kept warm by your thoughts and I have hope that I will win your heart. So I again tell you Princess that I shall not marry you against your wish."

But I have only one question for you to answer. If you answer it, you are free to do as you please. I shall walk away and never come back again." Turandot look at him. She hesitated for a minute and then nodded in agreement. The king was worried. He knew his daughter so well. Calaf said, "I will be back here tomorrow at dawn and all you have to do is find out who I am, tell me my name and you are free to do as you wish. I shall never bother you again." She stood there watching him leave. The room was filled with silence just as Turandot stood there in silence. Her expression was priceless conveying her confusion, defeat and admiration for the stranger. Diya was leaning on Akshar and had her fingers interlocked on his hand that was around her waist. The screens changed and it was dawn. Calaf was standing in front of the Princess. She looked at him, now her face looked different, not ice cold, but beautiful, just simple delicately beautiful. She looked at Calaf and said,” I knew you were different than the others. Stranger please give me my freedom and tell me who you are." Calaf looked at her with hope in his eyes that were slowly dissipating. "I will tell you who I am. What you choose to do is your choice Princess. You can make a heaven out of it or you can condemn and destroy us both." He paused for a minute and said, "I am Calaf, son of King Timur. Now without a kingdom." He stood there with his face down. Trumpets screamed and the King and his men came in. The king sat on his throne and said, "Turandot. Do you know this stranger's name?"

Turandot stood there in silence and then spoke with tears in her eyes. His name is "LOVE" and ran towards Calaf holding her long robes in her hand. She tripped and when she was about to fall on the floor, Calaf caught her in his arms. Akshar gently kissed Diya's forehead. She looked up starring into his eyes. There was so much intensity in both their eyes. He gently kissed her on her lips. He kissed her again on her lips. She closed her eyes. He delicately and gently grabbed her lower lip within his and closed his eyes.

Chapter 311

He held her firmly and the acrobats continued. He kept blowing fire out of his mouth and it was amazing to watch. He threw the fire stick in the air and did a somersault and caught ir right back when he landed. There was a huge applause. Right at that moment the waitress came over and cleared their table and seizing the opportunity he jumped on their table and continued to perform on the table. Diya was leaning on Akshar's shoulder and was looking up. So was everyone when one of the gorgeous women joined him. She did a triple jump and rolled over the floor and leaned on the table and jumped on and landed on his shoulder. There was nothing but silence as everyone was watching them perform. Some were amazed and some were scared. She stood on his shoulders and in such beautiful co-ordination both started blowing fire. When he did it on the left she did it on the right and it was beautiful to see them. One of employees came closer and handed her a couple of rings which she took gracefully while standing on his shoulders and him still blowing fire and balancing her weight on his shoulders. She started circling the rings and gently slid in on to her chest and kept balancing it and continued with the next one. In a couple of minutes she had both rings one on her waist and the other around her chest and fire in her mouth, everything on his shoulders. There were four such pair’s, couple on top of a table and couple on the floor. There was pin drop silence and a single clap broke the silence. It was joined by many others and everyone stood up and continued to clap giving them a standing ovation when the performers finished up with a bow turning in all directions. Diya wondered looking at the female performer, "Wow, she is so strong and yet graceful. Look at her muscles and the strength they have. She probably must have been training from a very young age." As if Akshar had heard her thoughts he said, "Look at their strength, I wouldn't go anywhere near these guys, well the girls too, with one kick I guess I would be in the hospital for weeks." Diya couldn't help herself but laugh.


They all took a seat as the lights came up and the announcer stepped it and said, "Now for the concluding part of Princess Turandot" and he stepped away. The lights dimmed and the spot light was focused on the stage. Princess Turandot was standing there with her face still covered and Prince Calaf stood in front of her at a distance. The king asked "Are you ready my boy? You know what you fate will be if you fail?" Prince Calaf looked up and said "Yes. I do". The princess asked the first riddle and without any hesitation the Prince gave the answer as "Hope". The Princess looked up for the very first time completely revealing her face and with the spotlight. From the scroll in which she wrote the answer, her assistants said, "He is right". The king smiled. Then she continued with the second riddle. It was interesting and everybody wanted him to answer correctly even though it was an act. There were a couple sitting on the edge holding their hands very tight, another praying. The show had such an effect everyone was in a kind of a trans. So were Diya and Akshar. They were sitting much closer to each other than they were in the beginning. Akshar had his arms around her and neither of them realized it. Calaf took a moment and then gave his answer. Immediately her assistants said "He is right. He is right again". The king was happy, but was worried that he might get the third one wrong. He looked at his daughter. The expression on the Princess was starting to change, very slowly. She demonstrated that she was an excellent artist and her voice modulation was superb. The authority in her voice that she had been showing through the story was slowly starting to change into fear for she didn't wish to marry and was scared that he might answer the third one correct. And as per her wish, that was made into a law she has to marry him. She walked closer to him and the third riddle. Calaf looked into her eyes and fell into his feet. He said, "Princess thy beauty is worth dying and your heart is pure as white as the snow." Diya was leaning on Akshar's shoulder and he was resting his head on hers. He had his arms around her and hers around his. The Princess said, “Stranger, do answer my question and not stall by talking to me about my beauty”. He looked up and looked into her eyes and said, “The answer is”. He paused and said, “Turandot”. The expression on Princess Turandot’s face changed.” Her assistants screamed,”He is right. Right. Right”

Chapter 310

She was nibbling on the nuts and was starting to feel hungry. Prince Calaf hit the gong and came forth to take up the challenge. The lights came on and the curtains were drawn announcing an intermission. Akshar asked her what she would like to eat and she looked at the menu trying to figure out what to eat. He excused himself and went to get a drink as she nodded that she was fine and didn't need any. He walked up to the bar at the right end. She decided that she will have some pasta as she was quiet hungry and felt that it would fill her up. She looked up and saw him coming back with a drink in his hand. Right at that moment, a young blonde walked over to him and gave him a hug and a kiss. She seemed very happy to see him and he was equally happy but surprised to see her too. She was holding a drink in her left hand and ran her right hand across his waist and murmured something in his ear. He smiled and nodded. From where she was sitting it looked like he was quiet flattered and was sort of blushing and was saying "No Thanks." The blonde had an blood red lipstick and was wearing a top with maximum cleavage with a bright red pendant perfectly sitting in the middle distracting everyone even not for long definitely at least for a minute to look into her cleavage. Such a huge amount of cleavage looked quiet good on her as she had the right proportions. Her busts were almost brushing against him and she didn't seem to care. After a few exchange of words even though she didn't intend to kiss him on his cheek, as he delicately avoided letting it land on his cheek instead of his lips. As he walked towards their table, Diya tuned away looking into the menu as if she didn't notice what had happened. When he was just about to sit down, another brunette walked over and said, "Oh my god. Is that you Akshar?" in a heavy British accent. Akshar looked up and with a smile in just a moment they both hugged each other. He said, "It is always a delight to see you. How have you been?" She smiled and said, "Good. Very happy, now that I have seen you" and she hugged again. He turned towards Diya and introduced her as Liz. Liz said, "Actually it’s Elizabeth Murphy, soon to be" Akshar turned around with a surprised look in his face and she showed her ring indicating that she was engaged. She looked at Diya and said, "If you are dating him - Bloody Hell, You are in for a rough ride" and laughed. With a meek smile Diya said, "Congratulations on you engagement".

A guy with a mustache arrived and kissed Liz on her cheek. Liz introduced him as, "This is my fiancé Chris." They all shook hands and Chris looked at Liz and said, "Honey I think we should get something to eat before the next session starts" They all agreed and Liz and Chris walked away. The waitress stopped by and Diya and Akshar placed their order. Couple of more women said hello to Akshar in the mean time. When the food arrived they announced that there will be a special fire breathing performance while they enjoy their meal and the announcer went on talking about something introducing the performance and the origin of how this art was practiced. Diya looked at Akshar and said, "You seem to know quiet a few around here. Do you come here often?" He smiled and said, "Ya. I guess" She paused for a minute. She had expected a much better explanation from him so she continued and said,” It was quiet funny what Liz said. You probably must have given her tough time or something?" He laughed again and said, "Well, we used to date. We mostly partied all the time. You know early twenties how you are. Then we broke up and again after a couple of years, we sort of dated again and broke up and a couple more times. Nothing serious. So she always jokes about it. I guess I can say that she has seen me evolve from a boy to a man, but she still believes I am still a boy." Diya didn't say anything and they both looked at the stage while eating their food. Two black guys, tall and muscular with bare chest revealing their muscles walked on the stage. The next moment in unison from the audience, mainly from the women there was woo admiring their masculinity. The music played in the background and the two of them blew fire from the mouth. When they started, couple of more men and four more women showed up. All the women were in a tribal outfit covering the essentials and revealing their gymnastic figure and this time the woo came from the men in the room. Their performance was wonderful and they did acrobatics with fire and then slowly started going in all directions covering almost all the tables so that they can have a good view of the performance. One of them came towards Diya and Akshar's table. It was a spectacular performance and in just at that moment one of the flames almost touched Diya and she leaned towards Akshar seeking refuge in his arms with her face rubbing against his.