Four Seasons to Cloud Nine
Tamanna had reached the party venue while Deep was in the lobby downstairs.
The party was at the Four Seasons hotel in Worli. The venue was the Aer lounge located
on the 34th floor. Deep was escorted to the elevator which went straight up to the 33rd
floor of the hotel. Once he was out of the elevator, he climbed another floor through the
glittering stairway with small mirrors on the walls that lead to the lounge. It was an open
roof lounge with the most beautiful view of the city—including Haji Ali, Mahalaxmi
Racecourse, and the Bandra-Worli Sea link. Deep went towards the sea facing side
where the cool breeze from the Arabian Sea greeted him. His jaw almost dropped
looking at the amazing view. He then searched for his teammates and Tamanna. They
were sitting on the opposite side with drinks already served on the table.
Deep took his seat after greeting everyone.
‘What will you have?’ Tamanna asked.
‘I’ll take prawns and a cocktail.’
Tamanna placed the order and offered him a cigarette. Deep couldn’t deny the offer
due to corporate table manners and took one cigarette from the pack. It would have been
a different story altogether if he was a non-smoker. However, everyone from the team
knew he smoked. Thus, he couldn’t refuse and lit a cigarette. He somewhere felt that he
was encouraging Tamanna to come close to him and get more personal. He hated that fact
but felt completely helpless about it.
After dinner, Deep got up from his seat and moved towards the sea facing side of the
lounge asking aloud if anyone wanted to join him. Tamanna readily agreed to join him
and got up from her seat. Deep gave a sarcastic smile as she straightened her dress and
started walking alongside. She was heavily drunk but Deep ignored this fact. They
reached the edge of the rooftop which had a long glass boundary. Tamanna had been
silent all through the walk and didn’t even look at Deep. He sensed something coming
his way after the long silence. He had almost finished his cigarette and still Tamanna
hadn’t uttered a word. She was too drunk to be in her senses.
‘Are you okay? Deep enquired. Her long silence was making him uncomfortable.
‘Can I ask you something?’ Tamanna said staring at Deep. She was finding it difficult
to even stand on her feet.
Deep held her hands and made her sit on the nearby couch. A smile popped on
Tamanna’s face. She held his hands so tightly that Deep could hardly move his fingers.
He was shocked with Tamanna’s strange behaviour. He hadn’t expected something like
this to happen. He tried to free his hand from her clutches but failed to do so.
Deep gave up eventually and said, ‘Tammy, You should leave. You are drunk and it’s
getting late.’
‘No. I am not drunk. I am okay. Deep, you are really very cute. You always take care
of everyone and I love you for that… You should…’ she muttered but Deep interrupted
her by making her stand and signalling to one of his teammates to help him out. When
everyone saw her condition, they made her sit on the couch and tried ways to make her
regain normalcy so that she could at least reach home safely. However, she was in no
mood to listen. She closed her eyes and rested her head on the couch. Everyone asked
Deep to take her home safely since she was not in a state to go alone.
Deep knew what could be the consequences if he went alone with her. He was
already scared and shocked with what had happened a few minutes back. Nevertheless,
he did not have any other option. There were two managers requesting him to do the
honour and Tamanna continuously muttered his name when they asked her who they
should get in touch with to help her reach home safely. Deep took her bag and they both
walked down the staircase. Tamanna took the support of his shoulders to walk. She kept
on muttering Deep’s name until they reached the lobby. Deep made her sit in the lobby
and asked the gaurd to call for a taxi for them. She held Deep’s hand and walked
towards the taxi. He made her sit on the backseat of the taxi and was about to close the
door and move towards the front seat when Tamanna whispered:
‘Please don’t sit in the front. Sit beside me. I am scared and I need you. Please Deep,
it’s a request.’
She was almost pleading with him. Deep thought for a moment and decided to sit at
the back with her. Looking at her condition, he knew it would have been too harsh if he
had sat in the front.
‘Bhaiya, Churchgate chalo,’ Deep told the taxi driver and shut the back door of the
taxi. Tamanna stuck her head out of the window and shut her eyes, letting the breeze hit her
face. It was not very cold outside but Tamanna was drunk and the breeze made her feel
drowsier. Deep shut his eyes and felt that he should have avoided this party to stay away
from all the chaos. He wondered what the managers might have thought when Tamanna
repeated his name continuously in front of them. He didn’t want it to be this way. He
wanted to stay away from office gossip and not be a part of it. To make things worse,
Tamanna held his hand again, but with more passion this time. She almost fell on him
when the driver took a right turn. Deep couldn’t believe what was happening.
‘Bhaiya, aaraam se,’ Deep requested the taxi driver as he knew it was no use
requesting Tamanna.
Tamanna was still holding onto his hand firmly. She opened her eyes slightly and
turned her head towards Deep. He didn’t notice her as he was looking outside the
window. Tamanna kept gazing at him while the taxi cruised towards Churchgate. She
finally broke the silence between them and said, ‘Deep, don’t leave me alone. Stay by
me always. I know you think of me as just a friend and that I’m crossing the line here.
But I have to say it today, I can’t take it anymore. I can’t stand next to you without
wanting to hold you. I can’t look into your eyes without feeling that longing you only
read about in trashy romance novels. I can’t talk to you without wanting to express my
love for everything you are. I don’t love you like bubbly college girls but I love you as
the plant that never blossoms but carries the light of hidden flowers in itself. I have seen
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