Free Just the Way You Are by Sanjeev Ranjan Page B

across her collarbone. I wondered why so many girls here showed off their undergarments. Was it an open invitation to men? But I couldn’t risk ruining Mayank’s mood again by asking him this. Also, I didn’t want to lose my own chance with this pretty girl. She wore heavy make-up that highlighted her cheekbones and her lips were painted deep red. Her large, expressive eyes were lined with mascara, and she had mid-length straight hair. Her arms and legs were waxed and glowed in the dim, changing light. She must have taken hours to dress up and would have spent her entire afternoon in the parlour. What else did girls do here except spend their time and money in the parlour. Though guys too spent half their day in the gym.
    The girl extended her hands towards Mayank and I could see an ornate ring glinting on her middle finger. She almost stole my breath away and I felt my chest getting heavy.
    I looked at Mayank. His eyes sparkled.
    ‘Hey, Aleena,’ and he shook her hand. ‘What a pleasant surprise! After a long time.’ It was a pleasant shock for me as well.
    ‘Mayank knows her? What the hell! How does he know such a sexy girl? He doesn’t even look all that great.’
    My reverie broke when Mayank introduced her to me.
    ‘Aleena, this is my friend Sameer.’
    She smiled her killer smile and extended her hand.
    ‘Hi, Sam.’
    ‘Sam’? Whoa, that was fast. But it felt nice. In fact, every word she uttered felt like honey flowing from her lips. I had to secure my chance before the moment passed. I grabbed her hands. I suddenly thought of Gaurav as his ghost hovered in front of my eyes against the walls of the bar. He seemed to smile and I felt his words turning into reality. Beautiful girls in beautiful pubs! Her hands were soft and I could, in that moment, drown myself in her eyes. I immediately started thinking of the future. We would be married and have twenty kids and she would still look as ravishing as now. Though our handshake had lasted not more than five seconds, I had already devised plans with her for eternity. She demurely pulled out of my grip and smiled mischievously. I smiled back meekly and felt like a physics experiment gone wrong.
    ‘Hi Aleena.’ And the conversation stopped there itself while I pondered on what to say further. My mouth went dry. She stroked my shoulders and went and sat near Mayank. They were soon engaged in their own chit-chat and I stood there helplessly.
    What do I do now? How do I carry forward the conversation? Should I ask her to dance? Would that do any good? I thought I was going crazy. But I had never learnt how to dance. What would I do with her? I felt like a fool and as if the wires to my brain were cut midway. I was embarrassed and shrunk within myself like a mole.
    Gaurav, fuck you, man! You just told me to groom myself and go to a pub but never told me what to do after that, how to introduce myself to a girl and what to say beyond a ‘hi’. I was stranded midway. Perhaps Gaurav wasn’t confident that I would be able to pass through the test of entering a pub and meeting a sexy girl. I was busy contemplating on my disabilities and cursing Gaurav under my breath and didn’t even realize that my dreams breaking up just in front of me. Aleena was joined by another muscled hunk, whose shirt, it seemed, would tear any moment if he flexed his arms. She told Mayank that he was her new boyfriend and that they had met just a week back. I felt the same balloon puncturing itself with a small swoosh somewhere deep inside. I felt like running away and escaping into the woodwork and never coming out of it. I felt like a failure.
    As usual, nothing else happened after that in the pub. I felt morose and couldn’t say a single word. It was midnight and I had nothing to do. On reaching home, I looked at myself in the mirror and scanned as many defects I could locate on my face, from the oddly placed mole to the jagged vein running down my jaw. And then, when I grew tired of my