Azmaish-e-Ishq

Ch. 33: Stargazing

He gently pushed me down in front of the coffee table, "Sit."

"Maanti hoon ke tumhare saath sleepovers fun hai, balki bohat bohat fun hai, ab tum meri baat maan jao aur chalo sone!" I called after him while he walked over to the coat closet.
(I accept sleepovers with you are fun, rather they're very very fun, now you listen to me and let's go sleep!)

He returned with a game, the operation one where you have to pick out little objects from crevices using tweezers while making sure not to touch the sides of the holes. "I got this new one. I think it'll be fun. Do you have a steady hand?"

"You're not going to listen to me, are you?"

"Did you say something, love?" he smirked.

I sighed, shaking my head with a defeated smile. "Don't complain if I dump a bucket of water on you in the morning when you're struggling to wake up."

He took my hand and pressed a kiss to it before opening the box, "I won't."

We spent the next few hours playing several rounds of the game along with a few other games he bought. One was about solving a mystery and another a 100-piece puzzle. We also ate our pizza. All the while, we had other films playing in the background.

Salaar had returned with a glass of his favorite vanilla cold brew after washing the dishes.

I stared at the nearly complete puzzle. It was a picture of a fruit basket. There were only three more spots left to be filled. "Uh. Sally. Are you sure there were 100 pieces in the box?" I looked down at my hand, "I only have these two."

"What do you mean?"

"Where's the third piece?"

He placed himself next to me, "Are you sure you're not sitting on it?"

I moved to the side and we both checked. My shoulders deflated, "All this for nothing."

"Not for nothing, love. It was every bit worthwhile if we both enjoyed. And I definitely had a great time seeing how you were trying to jab some of the pieces together because you were convinced they fit when they clearly did not," he laughed.

I laughed sarcastically, mocking him before pouting. "They looked like they did. It's not my fault they made all the pieces look so similar."

"If they actually fit, then they would click together easily like this," he took my hand and intertwined our fingers. "You wouldn't have to force them."

My cheeks couldn't help but turn pink. "You're right," I murmured.

"I know I am," he shrugged cheekily before taking a sip of his drink.

I rolled my eyes playfully. I then fought a yawn. It was just about 4 AM. "Can I have some? I'm falling asleep," I giggled softly.

"Of course, baby," he handed the glass tumbler to me.

"Mmm, it's better than mine, Sally."

"And my name is Rihan. What a lie, love," he shook his head while pressing the two pieces into the puzzle.

"I'm not lying! It's really good."

"Say it as much as you want. I'm not doing your makeup again, if that's your intention," he said while searching the puzzle box.

I pushed him while we both chuckled. He really didn't know how to take a compliment.

"Here it is. The last piece," he plucked it out of the box. "It was stuck under the instructions paper."

"Maybe the makers put it there on purpose to make people read the instructions because we didn't," I giggled.

"Could be."