You are my Theme for a Dream

Chapter 1

Shalu was an 18 year old girl, etched with kindness & beauty with intelligence as the cherry on the top. She was a girl with such a tender, loving heart & her beauty so fragrant like that of a blooming rose. Perfection was the only thing atone would say if they had a look at her but she never had an ounce of attitude for the beauty she was blessed with, a down to earth girl.
She belonged to a rich & affluent family but her mother was highly strict towards her. And she always remained sad & felt lonely cause of so many restrictions imposed on her mother. She was like an arid riverbank before Rahul came in her life all of a sudden. And then he came like a monsoon season & he revived her life with rain & thunder & became her river.
Confined in the walls of the prison cell she reminisced about that first glance, the first time they met & how it eventually ended up with that sweet feeling in the heart, & a heartwarming good love story.
It was a glorious, colorful autumn afternoon.
She had just left the coffee shop & Rahul was entering. She wanted him the second she looked into his hazel brown eyes. Rahul smiled at her & ran a thumb over his full bottom lip as he looked her up & down. That day, Shalu had transformed herself from a serious looking girl into a romance writer, like some pulp fiction super heroine. Glasses off, wild, curly hair down & blood red lipstick. And Rahul in his charcoal wind cheater, his crisp white shirt, & the platinum glint of a wristwatch dial.
And that was love at first sight.
The next day same time, same venue she again visited. At the doorstep itself, Rahul already inside, giggled at her & pulled her inside, saying,
"C'mon, let's be basic & get some cold coffee together.
" I don't like cold coffee, I never had" murmured Shalu. But when Rahul handed her the take away tumbler, looked into her eyes, while she tried, it was the best thing she had ever tasted.
Her hand still tingled where he had grabbed it.
An unfamiliar song came on the jukebox inside the cafe......... some Arabic-lounge groove with strong, heavy drums.
Her heart felt against her rib cage. She turned back into the cafe & moved into the crowd. She kept on smiling. So did he.
" Hi." he murmured in a voice so low, she could hardly hear his words. Because he was tall, he had to tilt his face & his deep hazel eyes down to look at Shalu.
She shook her head dramatically & clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth. " You don't seem like a man who would come to a cafe like this."
" I don't," ha eyes glittered & teased. They were such a gorgeous hue that pepped against his long, dark lashes. He wasn't the most handsome guy she'd ever seen, but he radiated confidence & sensuality. His features—-high cheekbones, a slight big nose, a strong jaw—-wouldn't have stood out on their own, but the combination was irresistibly masculine & intriguing.
" No. And I've never seen you here before"
A salacious grin crept on his face.
Shalu tilted her head & a grin, the size of the Everglades stretched across her face. It was impossible not to react to his sexy grin.
" There's so much of noise over here. Come on let's go to the park adjoining the cafe," suggested Rahul & signalled her to accompany him.
As they walked through the park, with their drinks, a light drizzle started. Shalu pulled out an umbrella from her bag. He pulled up his hood of the wind cheater & hunched his shoulders.
" Don't be silly," Shalu giggled, pulling him under the umbrella with her. Rahul couldn't help, but laughed too.
As the sun started to shine again she pulled him down to sit on a bench. He beamed down at her, & she gazed back adoringly.
"So, what you do as a hobby?" asked Rahul just to start the conversation.
" I'm a writer but I certainly downplay as one especially as I've had no formal training" replied Shalu looking straight into his eyes.
" And what do you write about?" asked Rahul inquisitively.
" Well, nothing special, no particular topics. I do not over-intellectualise the production process. I try to keep it simple. Tell the damned story. Otherwise, I write romance stories & although I want it to be a beautiful work of art & i am afraid I'll live in the story I create in my mind. It's all in my mind, I know, but sometimes the romance becomes too ideal & realistic that I soon fall for the hero that was just a product of my imagination," Shalu laughed narrating her mode & feelings to Rahul.
And Rahul too laughed at her narrations.
" But don't you think, writing is like sex. First you do it for love & pleasure, then you do it for your friends, & then for money "
They both laughed, & then Rahul held up one finger & opened his mouth.
" Who said that? Do you know? Only I know"
Enjoying the banter, Shalu answered right away. " It was Hungarian playwright Ferene Molnar"
" Wow!! I'm impressed " said Rahul surprised.
The edges of his eyes crinkled, & he took a sip of the amber liquid from his glass.
The smirk on his face mesmerised Shalu as she wanted to kiss it away.
" I noticed everything about you" Rahul spoke out laughing.
" You are the only girl here who is not in cargo pants & flannel. I like your dress" he continued.
Shalu was wearing a red vintage dress with a sweetheart neckline & a full skirt.
Rahul's eyes flashed to her chest, then raised to her mouth, then slowly skipped to her eyes.
Shalu thought that it was already obvious that this guy had mastered these skills of probing into a woman's personality.
" And how about you? Does your hubby or boyfriend know you are here at the coffee shop"
So blatant & clever his way of asking Shalu, if she was single.
She beamed wide.
" No boyfriend, no hubby. And even if I had one, or both— they wouldn't tell me where & when or with whom I should come out for coffee"
He grinned, tilted his head, & cocked his eyebrows " Oh really?"
" Yes, really," Shalu paused to watch him.
His bottom lip was slightly fuller than his top, & the sides of his mouth curled up. Little half circle lines hugged the corners, as if he had smiled a lot in his life.
She liked that, but couldn't decide if he looked adorable or arrogant when he smirked. The combination, though, made her heart race in a way it hadn't been a long time.
Then he narrated a joke which she had already heard before.
" I've already heard this twice before " said Shalu laughing at him.
He looked straight into her eyes while holding her hand firmly. His hand was large & swallowed her hand. She felt her face get hot.
" So, what will you read to me this evening, Shalu?"
The way Rahul drew out the syllables in her name made her hyper aware of how her heart was going haywire.
Their hands held each other in midair, sparks passing back & forth. He nodded slowly, & his smile faded to something more serious, something feral——- a hungry hard look.
"I've chosen you to be my life partner " he whispered in her ear.
" You have good taste," Shalu murmured, smiling & dropping his hand.
" Oh!—& will your girl friend or wife mind if you sit with a girl to enjoy your coffee."
A low suggestive laugh erupted from his chest.
" No girl friend, no wife. And if I had one, I wouldn't have been here enjoying my coffee with you."
He sounded sincere & sounded single.
" Oh!! really?" she flirted.
Rahul paused for a beat.
" No, if I'd a girl friend or wife, I'd make her kiss me voluptuously. And now since I've chosen you to be my would be wife & a girl friend, I expect the same from you" Rahul said looking deep into her eyes getting serious.
Shalu grinned stupidly thinking about how incredible his big hands would feel on her & how his lips would feel over her sensuous lips. How his tongue would torment her. Her skin sparked just thinking about it.
He slowly licked the corner of his mouth, as if he could read her mind.
A rush of liquid heat went straight into her core & she rested her fingers on the back of the bench to calm her nerves.
" Dint you think, you are getting too fast on this aspect?" stammered Shalu blushing in her face.
" How fast?" Rahul replied back with a sexy grin, showing his pearly white teeth.
Shalu bent her neck with shame & embarrassment.
" Okay! Okay! don't take my words seriously" came out Rahul. " I got a habit of joking "
By then, it was already six'o' clock in the evening. Shalu got up from the bench hurriedly.
" Oh! I should go by now, otherwise, my Mom will chide at me for staying out so late"
With a heavy heart, they parted their ways with a promise to meet daily here at the same hour.