Muggy Nights

Vanisha

Hey

How's it going?

Not bad, yourself?

I'm okay

Saw your IG story

You in town?

Just okay? Haha

Yeah arrived a couple of days ago

How long are you here for?

Till Sunday

You wanna meet up?

Sure!

When?

Friday?

Sorry

Going out with fam on Friday

Saturday?

Yup ok

Got a place in mind?

A rooftop club opened up recently close to my place

Heard it's cool

Sending you the link

Looks good.

Do you want me to come pick you up on Saturday?

Nah let's meet there.

Done

I'll tell my secretary to move my other meetings around

Haha sure

What have you been up to?

Since you got here

Nothing much.

Just been chilling

(...)

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I rocked up to the place at 7:30. Being summer, dusk still hadn't entirely given way to night. Three burly bouncers stood at the entrance, walkie-talkies and reservation list in hand. There was no way I was paying a stag entrance fee, so I waited outside. After twenty minutes, during which I shuffled about trying to avoid the stern yet mocking gaze of the bouncers, my phone buzzed.

*********************************************************************************

Vanisha

Will be there by half past 7

See you there

[Today]

Sorry sorry

Stuck in traffic

You there?

I know I drove through it

Yup waiting outside

Will be there in 10

At least that's what the Uber guy says

Peace

**********************************************************************************

It took them twenty minutes, actually. I saw Vee get out of the car and scan the parking lot. She flashed me a huge grin when our eyes met. I discreetly took her in as she made her way to me. She was wearing a low-cut crop top over a bralette with harness straps criss-crossing over her chest, paired with a denim skirt that - oddly enough - looked like it was a small towel wrapped around her thighs. Strappy dance shoes completed her outfit. She had her hair pulled back in a single ponytail which somehow made her front seem more exposed. Careful to not let my eyes linger too much, I smiled back and pulled her into a hug.

"So good to see you! It's been way too long." She said in my ear as we embraced.

"Same here Vee, same here." I replied, rubbing her back. Her luxuriant hair tickled my forearms.

She broke the hug after a couple more seconds and stepped back.

"Okay the uber I was in had a broken A/C and it was blazing hot the whole way but I couldn't roll the window down 'cuz it's super polluted outside so I really need a drink right now."

I don't know how she managed to say all that in a single breath, but I nodded and let her lead the way. The bouncers made a bit of a fuss about us not having reservations, but let us in. The club's way of attracting new and returning customers was hosting themed dance nights and posting photos of every hot girl that ventured onto the dance floor. Their patronage mostly comprised college-goers and young professionals, and no-one really minded being shot on camera and blasted across social media for the world to see. I already knew Vee was gonna make tonight's album.

The club had two levels, with a dining area on the terrace and a bar and dance floor on the level below. We settled in the latter, on a couple of bar stools. I straightaway ordered a bottle of Jameson. A friend had taught me how to mix it in a way that it went down smooth but without losing its punch. In our excitement, Vee and I surged through the few minutes of unlubricated conversation. But soon enough, the barman set down the bottle on the countertop, along with a bucket of ice and a couple of glasses. I listened to her describe her previous week as I made our drinks. I handed Vee her glass and raised mine.

"Cheers!" she said, touching the base of my glass with hers.

"Santé" I said. She rolled her eyes.

"Always learning a new language, aren't you?"

"Nah just flaunting the two or three words from the last one I tried to learn. Also," I took a sip, "I'm surprised you remember I took a language course back in college."

"Obviously. We were still classmates."

"No we weren't. We weren't even in the same faculty."

"Oh! Well... you must've mentioned it to me some or the other time. Or maybe you threw it around at parties back then, like you did just now."

"Me? Brag?"

We caught up with each other's lives and work since graduating from college. Vee had secured a job with a big e-tailer right after college, and had been a 'corpo' for a while before growing bored with the work and resigning. She then did an MBA course and had graduated only recently. She was currently looking for her next assignment and staying at her parents' place till she landed one.

"... which is why I couldn't say no to them for dinner yesterday."

I had zoned out.

"Yeah I get it." I replied, rather too quickly.

The space had filled up considerably in the past half hour, and by now all the bar stools around us were occupied. I saw the DJ climb up on a small stage next to the dance floor and begin setting up his decks. The bottle of Jameson was half empty by now, and I'd hit the comfortable altitude inside my head where things started to blur around the edges. I saw Vee had been sipping slowly out of her glass, so when I refilled our drinks I reminded myself to take it easy as well and poured more soda than alcohol.

We were sitting next to each other, with me facing the counter and Vee turned towards me. I tried to keep my eyes on her face while she talked, and mostly succeeded. When there was a lull in the conversation the next time, I bowed my head and looked at my feet. Not for too long though, because Vee's legs - right within my field of view - had turned much shapelier since college. Her skirt's hem was high enough up her thighs so as to afford a great look at how they had filled out. I thought that was odd, because skirts didn't ride up that high without women self-consciously pulling them down, usually.

"- am I boring you already?"

I snapped my head up to see her peering at me. Had she noticed me leering at her legs? Then I caught the faint glint of mischief in her eyes.

"Actually, yeah. Cuz we're not dancing yet." I managed to say, surprisingly without stuttering.

Vee's eyes widened for a second before she was off her seat and throwing her drink back. Perfect timing too, as the DJ had only just spooled up his tracks. A small crowd had gathered on the dance floor but no one was dancing yet. Among the bopping heads and hands holding drinks, we found a relatively empty corner of the floor and started moving to the beat. While the DJ played his warm-up tracks, we faced the decks as we grooved. Twenty minutes in he started dropping some new Bollywood tracks I had never heard, but then I saw Vee's eyes light up - and so did her moves. I stuck to my basic club groove and watched her shimmy to the tunes. Vee mouthed the lyrics to me and I tried to mirror her. She laughed.

Another quarter-hour in, the DJ began to queue up some classics from our generation. Vee and I ran to the bar and downed a shot each, before getting back on the dance floor. This time I had to get in on the action, so I pulled out some moves I keep reserved for times when I really want to get down. This last chug of Jameson soon hit the both of us and we lost ourselves to the tracks. The floor was definitely getting more packed by the minute, and hands, elbows, and hips kept nudging into us and our space, but I was having too much fun to care. Vee and I now rocked to the tunes facing each other instead of the stage, and paying no mind to others.

On the chorus of next track she did a slow pirouette, and in the precious few seconds that her back was turned to me, my eyes roamed down to her ass. I remembered her being perky back in college, but now she was downright stunning. Her round, fleshy cheeks swayed hypnotically - and I don't know if it was the drink or not but I saw Vee push her hips a little towards me. As the chorus verse repeated, she swung around again, and once more I spotted her backing up into me. Trying to appear nonchalant, I danced through the next verse until it was time for the chorus again. This time as Vee turned, I closed the distance between us. Her ass lightly brushed against my crotch. When she swivelled to face me I saw her raise her eyebrows searchingly, but I wasn't about to give the game away yet. I pretended to be lost in the tunes and stood my ground.

Vee swung again, her upraised arms almost smacking me in the face. I leaned back a little, which made my hips jut forward. This time I felt the direct pressure from her butt thrusting towards my crotch. Vee didn't flinch a bit as she finished her pirouette. I watched as she came to face me again, with that coy, questioning look in her eyes. I grinned at her. The smirk that had been playing on her face broadened.

The next couple of tracks crescendo-ed into one with a big, energetic drop before a slightly less hectic one followed. Vee beckoned that she was gonna use the ladies' room. I nodded and watched as she walked away, gently parting the crowd. Her legs and back, covered with a faint sheen of sweat disappeared behind a wall of revelling bodies. I thought I'd use the opportunity to cool off and headed to the bar, where our drinks were miraculously still waiting. I poured myself a drink with a generous amount of ice, and sat fanning my shirt collar. My phone buzzed.

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Vanisha

Will be there in 10

At least that's what the Uber guy says

Peace

Are you even gonna try to save some for me?

Huh?

Am I being spied on?

Maybe

Not that I mind

But tell me if you need a break

I'll make you a glass

I do

But not from spying on you

What then?

From you pretending you haven't been checking me out

From the instant I got out of the car

I don't know what you're talking about

Oh I think you do, mister

Your drink's waiting!

But not for too long

**********************************************************************************

Vee materialised in a moment. I handed her her glass. She settled on the stool and stared at me through narrowed eyelids as she sipped the cocktail. I stared back with an expression of mock incredulity. Finally, she rolled her eyes and looked away. The corners of her mouth curved up in a dismissive smile.

I gulped the last dregs from my glass and stood up. I motioned to the floor and offered Vee my hand. She threw her drink back in a single gulp and grabbed it. I lead her to the floor, where the energy was at an all time high. We found a niche among the sea of gyrating bodies and basically lost the next ten or so tracks to drunk dancing. We sang along, pumped our fists, bumped into random people, laughed when they bumped back into us, tried to fit choreographies from old bangers to new... and the next time there was a dip in the BPM, collapsed into each other's arms.

Panting, we held on to each other. Vee's cheek was pressed up against my chest, arms around my neck. My own arms encircled her waist. I felt sure she could hear the pounding of my heart against my ribcage. Vee rubbed her forehead on my shirt and looked up at me. Stray locks of sweat-matted hair clung to the sides of her temple. Her eyes were dusky, mouth curved in a dreamy smile. One of the straps of her top hung off her shoulder. When my brain was coherent enough, I noticed - with slight alarm - the tent in my pants.

I laughed to hide my awkwardness. Vee's arms left my neck and she took a step back. My hands trailed around the small of her back before falling to my sides. I watched as she turned around and walked off the floor. Her smile had gradually dissipated in the couple of seconds between her backing away from me and disappearing into the crowd.

Shit.

I stood there dumbly for a couple of seconds and walked back to the bar counter. Not bothering with the glasses, this time I took a swig straight from the bottle. I grimaced at the unadulterated taste. I looked around but couldn't spot Vee. I sat there for a minute, thinking about how I might've scared her off.

I almost didn't notice the flashing notification light on my phone.

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Vanisha

Oh I think you do, mister

Your drink's waiting!

But not for too long

You look like a wreck

You're still here?

Of course

Where did you think I'd go?

Idk

Thought I'd scared you off

I'm not scared of you

I like you

I wouldn't have come here tonight if I didn't

Especially through all the weekend traffic? You kidding me?

Haha okay I'm convinced

And relieved

Why don't you come back to the bar?

We'll order some food

I will

But only if you admit you were checking me out earlier

This again?

Alright I'll admit

... To Nothing!

>:(

Unless I see you first

Oh really???

In that case

Meet me in the stairwell behind the smoking lounge

**********************************************************************************

I pushed open the door to the tube-lit stairwell, accompanied by cigarette and vape smoke wafting in from the lounge behind me. I glanced at the first downstairs landing and found it vacant.

"Up here." Came Vee's voice from above me. I craned my neck up to spot her leaning over the stairway railing one flight up. I climbed up to where she was standing.

"Nice place you've got here." I said, looking around at the dusty steps and random bits of construction material laying strewn around. "Although I get the feeling that an asthma attack is bubbling up inside me. Can we head out?"

I started climbing the steps leading up to what I presumed was the door to the terrace before Vee's retort came.

"It's locked."

I sighed and came back down. Vee went up a couple of steps so that her face was level with mine. She crossed her arms and cocked an eyebrow.

"Spit it out." She ordered. I sighed and clasped my hands behind my back. Grinning, I looked into her eyes and said

"Alright. I was checking you out."

"And it only took me two hours to get you to say that!"

"I would've said it earlier if I didn't think you were gonna give me attitude! Also, there's this tiny little fact that you're in a relationship."

I could tell Vee hadn't seen this coming. Her mouth gaped open for a second before she replied.

"I'm not giving you attitude. Trust me, this isn't anywhere close to the level of attitude I can hit you with." She said, leaning in and wagging a finger at me.

"Well you don't seem very happy about it."

"I'm not! I mean... not about the attitude bit."

"I'm sorry."

"Who do you think you are? My mom?! Are you gonna lecture me about my attitude? On how to act polite and be respectful? I'm not sixteen anymore! I'll act how I want, when I want!"

"Alright!" I tried to placate her, while holding back a laugh at the same time.

"I've got two degrees now. I've held a high-paying white-collar job. I can fend for myself." She jabbed a finger at her chest. "I don't need instructions on how to do things anymore. I don't need anyone's protection. And I certainly don't need people telling me that talking back to them is showing attitude."

I could see this was going in a very different direction. Still wearing a dumb, conciliatory smile on my face, I raised my hands slowly - palms open, fingers outstretched - to show surrender.

"Okay." I said quietly. "Okay."

Vanisha pursed her lips and looked away. With the same deliberate slowness, I put my hands on her waist.

"I was kidding." I began. "About you showing attitude. How long have we known each other?"

Vee didn't say anything.

"Vanisha."

She looked at me.

"How long?"

Looking at the floor, she mumbled something.

"What's that?"

"Six years."

"And in six years you, more than most, should've come to understand that I fuck around sometimes. Most of the times, in fact. Especially, to diffuse situations that might be awkward."

Vee took a deep breath and let it out.

"I know you know that I was kidding. And I even apologized immediately. I think you just wanted to make my life a little hard for a minute, didn't you?"

She turned her face away again, but I caught the hint of a smile playing on her lips.

"I mean, the evening was going great so far. We were having fun. A lot of fun. More than I've had in a long while. The conversation was flowing. The dancing was great. You look stunning. You almost got me to admit that, before you invited me here, in this quiet and secluded stairway. And then I looked straight in your eyes and told you what you wanted to hear, and you just wanted to play me a little bit longer, before..." I trailed off.

Vee looked at me.

"Before?"

"Before..." I leaned in till our lips were almost touching. I let her close the distance.

We kissed twice, thrice - each longer than the one before, till our mouths parted and our tongues met. I inhaled deeply and let my hands follow the curve of her hips down the side and to the back. I grabbed her ass and lifted her onto me, and she wrapped her legs around my waist. Vee moaned and ground her hips into me. I broke the kiss.

"Aren't you forgetting something?"

"Suraj and I are on a break."

"Oh. Okay."

Our mouths latched onto each other again. I turned around and pressed her up against the wall. Pinning her with my weight, I freed one of my hands and slid it up her thigh. When my fingertips reached under the hem of her skirt, I was surprised to find a cloth panel obstructing my way. Having noticed me fumbling around, Vee pulled away. I looked at her quizzically. Grinning, she said

"It's a skort, silly."

"A what?"

"I'll explain later."

She kissed me deeply and continued

"First, take your shirt off."

I set her down and started unbuttoning. She watched, panting, once going over to look over the railing to see if anyone was coming up. When she looked back at me, my shirt was on the landing floor. Vee walked back to me and ran her hands appreciatively over my chest.

"I've been meaning to feel them up ever since we hugged on the floor."

She playfully flicked a nipple. I grunted. She grinned and kissed the top of my pecs.

"Mmm... you've gotten bigger since college for sure."

She kissed down my sternum while her fingertips grazed my torso and sides. I groaned as she slowly slid down to a squat. Her lips locked on top of my belly button. Vee looked up at me and gave me a playful couple of licks with the tip of her tongue. One of her hands fished for my discarded shirt, and on finding it, placed it underneath her. She then knelt on it.