A Date With A Bollywood Star. Riya Lakhani

she took a cold mouthful from the mug and spat it back in shock. She paused to reread what she had written and her hand went to her mouth as she bit her lip.

      ‘My God, this looks like I fancy him,’ she said out loud as her eyes darted along the lines of her story. She frantically created a new file and began rewriting it. She was conscious of the time now and knew that at any moment her office would call demanding she file the story. Her fingers furiously darted across the keys, making sure that this time it didn’t sound as if she had fallen in love with him! When she felt happy she wrote a quick email and attached the document; it flew from her fingers and away to the office.

      Rani slumped back in her chair and put her hands to her face. She felt hot; her cheeks were burning. What was that? The anxiety of having to meet the deadline? No, she’d been up against those many times before. Perhaps it was meeting a megastar that she’d had a girlish crush on? Perhaps. Or was it what she had originally written about him? She clicked on her documents file and pulled out the first draft and began rereading it. The burning in her cheeks grew as she went over the words again. Rani could feel the heat move to her chest. She pulled her dressing gown apart and saw the tell-tale red flush across her breasts and quickly closed it, embarrassed by her own intense feelings. She got up from the computer and walked around the apartment in an effort to cool down.

      ‘Thank God I changed it,’ she said to the empty flat. ‘I need more tea,’ and then, ‘Why am I talking to myself?’ she continued as she paced to and fro around the boiling kettle. Clearly the legendary film star had got to her in a way she didn’t think either of them had thought possible. The ringing of the phone stopped Rani contemplating her emotions any further. This time she managed to answer it.

      ‘Great stuff with Omar Khan, Rani!’ It was Tony. ‘Really good quotes and a very nice turn of phrase. I’ve just finished looking at it and it’s off to lay-up now so we’ll get it in for tomorrow.’

      ‘Thanks, Tony, it was quite a day,’ Rani replied cautiously.

      ‘Sounds like it! Really, it’s great work, you’ve obviously thrown yourself into it and I loved the bit about the broken mobile.’ He began to chuckle. ‘But do me a favour, please, Rani—get yourself a back-up phone next time. Getting hold of you was like raising the dead! Any way I’ve gotta go, thanks again, you’ve got us out of a jam. Have a good weekend.’ And he was gone as quickly as he’d begun his call.

      Rani was a little taken aback. She’d never had so much praise from her boss before. She went back to her tea making and then headed to bed. She was worn out, physically and emotionally; it really had been quite a day.

      It was the singing that finally woke Rani the following morning. She thought she’d been dreaming it but it wouldn’t go away and eventually, begrudgingly, she got out of bed to see who it was.

      ‘I’m coming, I’m coming,’ she said as she trudged towards the door, her ankle still giving her some pain, although it was much better today—probably due to those peas, she thought with a wry smile. She could hear voices on the other side. It was her best friends Sunita and Shilpa and they were singing ‘Happy Birthday’ to her.

      ‘Come on, let us in, birthday girl,’ said Sunita.

      ‘Yes, hurry up, Rani!’ added Shilpa.

      ‘What is it? Has Armani launched a range of designer kameez?’ Rani retorted as she opened the door. Her two friends were grinning like Cheshire cats.

      ‘Happy birthday, Rani. What have you got to say for yourself, young lady?’ Sunita questioned. She was waving a copy of the morning’s London Review. Shilpa was clutching a bag of presents. Rani looked and felt bemused.

      ‘What are you on about?’ she asked with genuine concern. Shilpa and Sunita looked at each other, shrugged their shoulders and then looked back at Rani.

      ‘You, you minx! Gushing all over Omar Khan. I’m surprised you didn’t ask him to marry you!’ said Shilpa. The penny dropped and Rani finally understood what they were going on about.

      ‘My interview, I see, very funny, ha, ha,’ she said. ‘It wasn’t that bad.’ The girls looked at each other again and Sunita began to quote from the paper she held.

       ‘“I was weak with excitement as he touched my hand, this handsome hunk of a man, this demigod, and here was I breathing the air that he had exhaled.”’

      ‘Need I go on?’ asked Sunita.

      ‘Oh, my God, they’ve printed the wrong version!’ Rani exclaimed. She went bright red and her heart raced and her fingers went into her mouth. She turned from her friends and ran back into her flat to her computer. Frantically she began searching through her sent emails and then let out a little gasp in shock. She’d attached the original draft, not her rewritten one!

      ‘Rani, Rani, what is it, didi?’ Sunita said as she followed her friend into the living room.

      Sunita put a comforting arm around her friend’s shoulders.

      ‘There, there, it will be OK,’ she said, not knowing what else to say.

      ‘She doesn’t remember what she’s written—that’s an age thing, that is. Don’t worry. We’ve all known you’ve fancied him for years and now you’ve told him—a bold move, I must say!’ exclaimed Shilpa as she stood at the doorway. Sunita waved her hand, shooing her away.

      ‘You don’t understand,’ Rani cried in a muffled voice.

      ‘Don’t understand what? That you fancy a Bollywood hunk? What’s not to understand? You go for it!’ Shilpa said, she couldn’t help herself, but, realising she’d overstepped the mark, she backed away. Sunita put her head next to Rani’s.

      ‘What won’t we understand?’ she said in a caring voice. Rani continued to sob.

      ‘Shilpa’s right, I’ve fancied him for years and look what happens when I meet him. I twist my ankle and gush like a stupid girl!’ She paused, turning her head to her friend. The crying had made her eyes red and the tears were still flowing down her cheeks.

      ‘It may sound really stupid,’ she continued in a stuttering voice, ‘it sounds stupid to me as I’m saying it, but I felt a connection between us.’ She paused for a moment. ‘Like, like when I met David.’

      That was a name none of them had spoken for several years and it was enough to stop the clocks from ticking.

      ‘Tea, anyone?’ Shilpa put her head round the door from the kitchen and peered in. Sorry, she mouthed at Rani. Rani nodded her acceptance of the apology and took the tea.

      ‘That’s a great idea,’ said Sunita, trying to lighten the mood a little more, ‘and then you can tell us all about it. You’ve started now so you have to!’

      They sat on the sofas in the living room, each nursing a mug of tea, and Rani began recounting the events of the previous twenty-four hours. Sunita and Shilpa weren’t bystanders and kept interrupting her.

      ‘When he picked you up from the pavement, how did it feel?’ asked Shilpa, her eyes wide with excitement.

      ‘Like I’d been plugged into an electric socket! I felt completely weak all over my body, like I was going to pass out or something.’

      ‘Tell us about his eyes,’ questioned Sunita.

      ‘Oh, yes, yes, Rani, what were his eyes like? Are they really as deep and green as they seem on the screen?’ Shilpa added her request, anxious to know every little detail. Rani nodded.

      ‘Greener and more stunning than you can imagine. I thought I would drown in them. They were as crystal clear, as rich as the finest Sri Lankan emeralds.’ Rani began to lay it on for the benefit of her friends. But inside she was reliving the moments as she retold the story and as she spoke she felt warm from the inside of her body to the surface of her skin.

      ‘He was everything you would want him to be,’ she added, but stopped, unsure of what