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It was the third and final day at Goa. Amit was packing his bags getting ready to reach the airport. He had a nice refreshing change from Delhi roaming around the beaches and by lanes of Goa for the past three days.
The last night was a completely different experience for him. Was it also for Naina, Amit wondered?
The last item on the itinerary was the awards function which was happening at that very moment. Amit didn’t want to cheer for the silly awards that were being distributed. So he packed his carry on and moved to the hotel reception area to check-out. He didn’t want to miss the bus to the airport. He sat down on the couch waiting for others to join in.
Suddenly he heard his and Naina’s name being announced over the public address system at the awards ceremony downstairs. He heard others cheering and howling. Did he really hear his name? He thought he was imagining things. How could it be?
The awards ceremony ended and he saw large groups of people pouring towards the reception area. He saw Naina moving towards him with two trophies in her hand.
She saw Amit and ran towards him waving both trophies frantically. Amit got up and almost collided with Naina.
Mindless, Naina hugged Amit and planting a kiss on both his cheeks shouted, “We won, we won.”
The guests at the check-out area were gawking at such a sudden public display of affection, which is quite a rare sight in India. Amit’s colleagues were watching in amusement.
“And you idiot, why didn’t you come for the awards ceremony?” Naina asked, still beside herself with joy.
“Actually I was packing my bags and getting ready,” Amit said sheepishly.
“Anyways, here is your trophy,” Naina said handing him over the trophy.
“And what exactly is this for?” Amit asked.
“Last night we were noted as the most enthusiastic dancing couple,” said Naina.
“Really?” said Amit and a smile creased his lips.
“We did it. We were the only ones who won an award from the Delhi office,” said Naina squealing and hugging Amit tightly again. He hugged her back.
“We are so proud of both of you. You guys saved the reputation of the Delhi office,” others commented.
“Thanks,” both Amit and Naina said together with a big smile. They couldn’t help to notice Smriti’s frowns but gave that a royal ignore.
“By the way I took pictures of both of you dancing together last night,” said Jitender, a colleague of Amit and Naina.
“Really? Show it to me,” said Amit.
“Yah. Show it to me also,” said Naina.
Jitender took out his laptop and showed the pictures he had clicked last night. Both Amit and Naina thought that the pictures were beautiful and well composed. There was one weird thing, however. Amit noticed that in all those pictures both of them were constantly staring at each other. There was deep passion and intensity in both their eyes.
“You like dancing with him. That’s why you couldn’t take your eyes off him,” teased Jitender.
Naina hit him on the back gently. Amit noticed that her face turned red. Her hand involuntarily moved to cover her mouth. God, she was blushing!
Amit thought that was very cute. He was familiar with the “bold Naina” but now he was seeing her shy, coy side. Her shyness brought a smile to his face.
The bus had arrived and everyone was asked to move inside the bus without any delay. Amit too got in. He kept his baggage on the overhead bin and took a seat. Naina moved in, put her bag in the overhead compartment and sat next to Amit.
“You really are one hell of a cool dancer,” said Naina with a wide smile.
“Thanks. But I really don’t know any dancing. I was just following your footsteps,” said Amit.
“You are actually very talented. I think you should take formal dance lessons,” said Naina.
Amit smiled.
Priyansha took a seat behind them. “Ohoh, we all thought Amit was such a shy guy. We are slowly discovering his hidden talents. Guess what? We may have discovered a treasure beneath the surface,” said Priyansha.
“I agree. He is a very deep personality. It is quite exciting to discover him slowly,” smiled Naina mischievously.
Amit blushed. He had become the centre of attention without doing anything. Or at least this is what he thought. His dance last night had suddenly increased his popularity by a hundred fold.
“Ah, you were actually fun to dance with,” commented Naina.
“Thanks. You too danced with a lot of energy,” said Amit.
“Oh thanks,” said Naina laughing, “I enjoy dancing.”
“Have you learnt dancing formally?” Amit couldn’t help asking.
“Yah. In college. I took Salsa classes,” said Naina.
“Wow,” said Amit.
“I loved dancing. It really de-stresses me,” said Naina.
She looked at him and then continued, “Oh by the way I discovered the secret to a happier self. Thank you so much.”
“Oh, and what’s that?” Amit asked.
“It’s not punching bags,” said Naina.
“Huh?” grunted Amit and then remembered the unsolicited advice he had given to Naina that stormy morning some two months back.
“It’s dance. Last night I completely forgot about my worries. I think the next time I am stressed out I will use dance only to relieve my suppressed emotions,” said Naina.
“Yes, I agree. Dancing too can be very soothing. It is in any case a very artistic form of expression and may help you in calming down,” admitted Amit.
“And Mr. Know-all, how the hell do you know that?” asked Naina.
“Because I experienced it last night myself. In any case, pursuing art has always made me happy. I used to do plays in my university days, and those used to be the best moments of my life,” said Amit.
“Really? Wow,” commented Naina.
“I also won two awards,” said Amit.
“Amazing. You have got so much within you. I think I barely know you,” said Naina.
“What are your other hobbies?” asked Naina.
Amit felt a little uncomfortable. He felt as if she was grilling him. Or trying to explore him as if he were some rare kind of a fish in an aquarium. He paused and then gave in:
“I like exercising, travelling, writing,” said Amit.
“Wow, I share the first two hobbies with you. I love travelling too. Spain is my favourite country,” said Naina.
“What is your favourite hobby?” asked Amit.
“I love studying fashion,” said Naina.
“I should have guessed it,” Amit smiled.
Both continued to chat. It took almost one and a half hour for the bus to reach the airport. Both checked-in together and took a flight back to Delhi sitting next to each other. It was so heavenly.
March was round the corner. It was appraisal time. Everyone would be busy trying to please their bosses and putting their best feet forward. After all their annual increments and bonuses depended on that.
It was that part of the year where the stress levels were going to simply peak, to stratospheric levels.
