I wince in pain.

Deepak's fingers tighten around my arms.

"I'm fine. Let go," I vigorously shake to get out of his grasp. Deepak keeps his hold on my arms for a few seconds longer, on the pretext of steadying me, before letting go. I immediately take two steps back and sideways to get away from him.

"Sorry, I didn't see you," I mumble as I walk past him, not looking at him. Deepak leans sideways so that I accidentally brush past him. He snickers as he walks away. I rub my arms to rid the disgusting feel of his hand on me.

Automatically I look towards Jeet. He is dressed in his usual drab clothes, as if he came to work and not a picnic.

He looks back at me, his eyes glowing with such fierce anger, it would be any second before sparks start flying out of them. I notice his hands are holding the edge of table, tightly enough for his knuckles to turn white and his body has gone rigid. Does he think I actually did this on purpose? Does he blame me for what just happened?

The hell!! I indignantly stare back in anger, willing him to confront me.

"Taru come on yaar, what's taking you so long?" Purvi and group are already seated at a table. I tear my eyes away from Jeet's angry gaze and make my way to the table.

It's no use telling them what just happened. It could have been a genuine accident, although deducing from the way Deepak behaved, I am pretty sure he intentionally stepped in my way. If I tell my friends they would get upset, some of the boys may overreact and cause a scene and dampen the happy mood.

It is better to let it slide, for the sake of everyone's peace of mind.

The breakfast is tasty, and I was famished. I ate four idlis and one masala dosa.

Once breakfast is done, the group is ready to start the trek.

The hill is densely forested and from here looks pretty tall. I turn to Akshay, "how long is the trek going to be?" He shrugs, "Not sure, but I think about two hours."

Kavita chimes in, "Yeah, that seems to be right. There is a small waterfall halfway up the hill and a nice spot for picnic. We are heading there."

The day gets hotter and more humid as we trek up the hill, and I am so thankful to finally reach the picnic spot after an almost two hour climb which felt more like 5 hours. It has been a long time since I walked so long - my aching feet are proof of that.

"Woah!" Rohit whistles in appreciation. I must admit the picnic spot is spectacular. It is a large flat clearing in the hill, next to a waterfall, probably from a stream nearby. At this time of the year the waterfall is trickling gently down, but I can guess it will be a tumultuous, engorged cascade during the monsoon. Right now, the flowing water provides cool relief to the surrounding area, making it an ideal spot for picnics in summer.

Our group finds a shaded spot under a huge banyan tree and we set out our folding tables, chairs, mats and food. Some of the guys immediately run to the waterfall to play in the water. Some go around to explore the area, while some start preparing the ground in front for a game of cricket.

I plonk myself down against the tree, giving my aching back and feet a much needed respite. "Come Taru let's go for a swim," Purvi extends her hand expecting me to take it, so that she can haul me up.

I shake my head, "I need a break," I stubbornly keep my hand to my side.

"You are such a spoilsport." Purvi voiced grumpily. I smile sweetly to placate her, hoping to ease her mood, "I will join you soon. Just give me a couple of minutes okay?"

I watch as she heads towards the girls in the pool, when I notice Deepak coming towards me, passing Purvi. As they cross each other Deepak stops and turns to look at her and I can feel his eyes raking up and down her body. Yuck!

I almost call out to Purvi, so that she can beat the crap out of him, but I can't prove anything. Instead I send out angry glares at Deepak, wishing he would turn into a pile of ash right there. One of these days, I am going to pluck the courage to slap him myself.

Deepak turns around and to my bad luck sees me sitting alone under the tree. I curse my luck and avoid eye contact, looking around for an escape. I spot Akshay walking by, "Hey Akshay, wait!" I call out to him urgently. Akshay stops and turns to me, his hands full of cricket equipment, "Hey! What's up?"

"Uh.. umm.. I was wondering if you need help. You seem to have your hands full. I can help carry some stuff."

"Sure! why not?"

I am grateful for the chance to escape and I engage Akshay in some useless conversation, very pointedly ignoring Deepak as we pass him.

To prove my point, I fake a laugh at a not-really-that-funny anecdote Akshay was narrating and playfully punch his arm, as though I was thoroughly involved in our conversation, while all I was thinking was to get away from there as soon as possible. I heave a sigh of relief when we reach the makeshift pitch and away from Deepak.

I never noticed a pair of caramel eyes following my every move!

Rohit and the other boys are setting up the stumps, removing stones and flattening the ground for the pitch. I set down the bats and leg pads I was carrying and move towards the group of girls already wading in the small, shallow, natural pool created by the waterfall.

"The water feels wonderfully cool," Purvi calls out, "Come on in."

I shake my head. "I haven't carried an extra pair of clothes. I will just sit here on the rock and dip my legs."

"Suit yourself. Just be careful around the rocks, it is quite slippery," Purvi warns before she turns to gracefully swim in the water.

The water is wonderfully relaxing just as Purvi had said. I wish I had carried an extra pair of clothes so that I could jump in too, but that's not gonna happen. I spot an unoccupied rock, close to the pool, low enough to allow my feet to soak in the water.

Oh bliss. The cool water is just what I needed for my aching feet.

"Is this spot taken?" Gosh! one of these days I will turn into a puddle at the sound of that husky voice. "No," is all I managed to squeak out. Jeet seats himself on the far side of the rock, putting his feet up. Both of us look ahead at the water.

We sit in awkward silence for a few minutes. 'Say something,' inner voice nudges, but I have nothing to say, I mentally argue back. Besides I am still pissed at him for thinking I deliberately bumped into Deepak.

"Having a good time?" he asks, breaking my train of thought.

"So far, so good," I shrug nonchalantly, looking ahead at the motley group of people splashing around in the pool.

I feel his eyes on me and I cannot resist turning to look at him. His caramel eyes, shine bright in the sparkling reflection of the pool. He vigorously rubs his hand across his face and back of his neck, before he looks at me again with piercing eyes.

"Just be careful around Deepak. OK? I saw what he did out there to you. Next time I will punch him, if you don't," he declares. His eyes are flashing with such fierce intensity, it seems like he wants to pull me in his arms. In that instant, the air between us changed, crackling with charged desire. My body in automatic response, starts heating up, my mouth going dry. Jeet eyes drops to my lips as I moisten them. He sucks in a quick breath, before abruptly getting up and walking away.

Bewilderment doesn't start to describe how I feel. All this time I thought he was pissed at me, but it seems he was angry at Deepak and protective of me. So, does this mean he cares for me more than a colleague? Then why does he act all cold and distant? And why the hell do I care? Do I want him to like me? Aargh, this is all so frustrating!!!

The girls have had their fill of playing in the water and changed into dry clothes in the restroom of the restaurant nearby. They call to me to join them in a game of badminton. Although I would love to sit near the pool longer, I cannot resist the temptation to play badminton. Besides, I need something to distract my mind off Jeet's thoughts.

Lunch was a rather boisterous affair. Most of us carried some food for the picnic, so there was an eclectic mix of sandwiches, pasta, pizzas, kebabs, various types of chaat. The men as usual, attacked the food as soon as it was laid out.

Except for Jeet. He stayed behind, patiently waiting his turn and then took a small amount of food. "Very decent of him," inner voice observed with an appreciative nod.

I want to slap my inner voice.

Antakshari, post lunch, was great fun. It was a close call, but eventually our team won, in some part due to the fact that between Akshay and me, we had an endless knowledge bank of old hindi songs. Jeet was in our team, but as usual remained aloof.

"Aww shucks!! Look at the time!" Kavita exclaims looking at her watch. "It is past 5:30 already. We better hurry back before it gets dark. Who's taking the resort bus to the train station?" Kavita asks in the general direction of the crowd. I, along with the four people from accounts who we met at Karjat station, confirm.

Khushboo and Purvi had left earlier, immediately after lunch. Khushboo had to get back home before dinner and since she is not familiar with train travel, Purvi accompanied her. I wanted to leave along with them, but then Rohit, Akshay and Kavita convinced me to stay back for Antakshari.

"The next bus from the resort to the station leaves at 7:30, those who want to take that bus, have to hurry," chimes in Ashok. "It won't take as long as it did to climb up, so you should make it to the bus just in time. If you miss it, the last bus leaves at 9:00," he adds.

The boys are staying back a while longer to continue their game of cricket and play in the pool. They had agreed to take the last bus.

"Hey, did Purvi and Khushboo reach by now?" Kavita asks. We are nearly halfway down the hill, hurrying to reach the resort before it gets too dark to see the path.

"I haven't heard from them. Let me check if they sent any message," I dig in the pocket of my bag to grab my phone. I find nothing. I check the other pockets of my bag and clothes. It's not there either.

"Your phone is switched off," Kavita frowns, calling from her phone. I try to recall the last time I used it. "The last I remember is that I clicked some photos near the waterfall."

And then it clicked. I cover my mouth with my hands in shock and disappointment as I realize what happened. "Oh crap!! I kept it on a rock near the pool." I open my mouth to say I was with Jeet, but I snap it shut. I don't want to explain how the encounter with Jeet disconcerted me, and I completely forgot about the phone.

"What am I to do now? I hope it is still there."

It was a recent purchase and quite extravagant for me. "I have to go back and look for it," I look around the group hoping someone will accompany me.

"You know we may miss the 7:30 bus if we go back now. If we take the next one, we will not reach home before midnight," Kavita answers. "I will call Rohit and ask him to see if he can find it," she pulls out her phone. I doubt Rohit will know where to look.

"Its fine. You guys carry on and take the bus. I will go back up and search for the phone. I can always take the next bus with Rohit."

"Are you sure?" Kavita asks hesitatingly. I can see the dilemma on her face, part of her not wanting to leave me alone and but also not wanting to miss the transport.

"Yes! definitely sure," I say with more bravado than I feel. "The rest of the group are up there, so I should be fine. I will come back with them."

"OK great! That's settled. Let's go, we can't afford to delay anymore, if we need to catch the bus," one of the girls declares, already heading downhill.

Reassured, Kavita leaves with the rest of the group while I trudge up the hill, hoping against hope that I find my phone. The light is quickly fading, becoming increasingly difficult to see ahead. I thought I lost my way till I hear the whooshing sounds of the waterfall.

"What? Oh no!" I look around in despair. I expected to see my colleagues playing cricket, but the place is vacant. No one from my office is around. I look from one end to the other, but I cannot see any familiar face. There are a few couples behind the trees taking the opportunity of the darkness and making out, blissfully unaware of their surroundings.

I inquire with the nearby tea stall owner who informs me that the men left a few minutes ago and took another route back to the resort.

"Dang it!!!" muttering under my breath I make my way towards the rocks. I will just have a quick look for my phone and leave quickly.

There is no sign of my phone, just as I half expected. Forgetting my earlier resolve of taking a quick peek, I look into every nook and crevice under the rocks, still holding on to hope that it may have slipped in somewhere. Nada!!

I resign myself to accepting that my phone is lost forever. I hope my luck is enjoying its vacation wherever it is!!

Dejected, I absent-mindedly step on a moss covered rock...

Oh goooshhh!..

My leg slips on the wet rock and before I have time to react, I am tumbling down the hill.

Thwack, crack, wham, whump, smack!!! I roll downhill seemingly into a dark abyss.

This is it!.. This is how I die. All alone, and no one will even know. My body may not be found for days.

Thump! A few seconds later I have stopped rolling. I find myself cradled at the foot of a large tree, which thankfully broke my free fall into certain catastrophe.

I scramble to get back on my feet.

Holy shit.

I wince in pain.