All Strings Attached

Chapter Twenty Eight

I feel him kiss my hair. "Nuvvu cheppav kada, manam cheddham," he promises. [You've said it, so now we'll do it.]

I look up at Dhushyanth, feeling my heart flip within my chest.

Beautiful, beautiful man.

"Repu poddhune dhishti theepinchukondi," I tell him, cupping his face so I can kiss his lips. "Chaala muddhu osthunnaaru." [Make sure to get the evil eye taken off of you in the morning, you seem way too cute.]

Dhushyanth's sunburnt face turns pink, eliciting a few chuckles from me. "Nuvvu naa bangaram," I claim. [You're my bangaram.]

"If you put me in the bank, you'll have enough to feed 8 more generations of the Reddy clan," he jokes, deflecting my flirting.

"Obviously not," I continue pestering him, sliding up onto the pillow next to him. I love the hues of pink on his face. "The reserve bank will have to sell the country before they can pay me for half your value."

"Okay, baby," Dhushyanth whispers, turning onto his stomach and hiding his face in my neck, where he presses a kiss. "That's enough for tonight. We need to sleep now."

"Goodnight, Dhushushushu," I tease further, making Dhushyanth chuckle into the pillow.

"Goodnight, Sita."

~.~.~.~.~

"Dhushyanth," Prashanth speaks to his friend, "can you please help me find a spot with good wifi for a few minutes? I have an urgent meeting I need to hop on before we leave for the campaign."

"Uhh," Dhushyanth drags out, probably thinking of the best spot for a wifi connection, when I join in the conversation.

"Dhushyanth's not been home enough to know," I tell Prashanth, "upstairs is the best for wifi. Come, I can take you."

Prashanth looks at Dhushyanth first, and then smiles at me, shyly. "Okay," he agrees, picking up his laptop and charger and a notebook. "It's a meeting with the company's managerial team," he explains to me as we walk upstairs together. "I wasn't meant to be a part of it, but they say it's important."

"Do you take notes on paper?" I ask him, leading the way to an empty bedroom with a study table. "I find I understand things better when I write them down."

"Oh, same!" he agrees, "and I have to do it myself, otherwise I find myself losing attention."

I giggle, "you must've been a very studious child."

"Very studious, yes," he agrees, chuckling, "I was the kid that broke up with his girlfriend because of board exams."

"So maybe you weren't so studious," I tease, "the very studious ones don't even look at girls."

"I was an all-rounder," he claims, "got the girls, the grades, the trophies."

I laugh at him. "That is quite cool," I agree, "how do you know Dhushyanth though?"

"We went to the same university," he shares, "Stanford for MBA."

"That's so cool," I compliment. The years of awe I had harboured for Dhushyanth in this regard comes pouring out as I acknowledge the merit of this achievement.

Prashanth grins. "Regardless of how hard that degree was, these reactions always make it worth it. I'm pretty sure it's what piqued my wife's interest in me as well."

I smile back as small chuckles slip out of me. "Then it all worked in your favour, didn't it?"

"It surely did," he answers, showing me his screensaver; a picture of his wife and a little boy that's surely his son.

"You guys make a very cute family," I compliment.

Prashanth smiles, fully. "You should come over to meet Esha someday. She would love it."

"And I would love to meet her," I confirm, "when we're all back in Hyderabad, we'll plan something and do it. I can't wait to meet the little one either."

Prashanth laughs. "Dhushyanth is Avyukth's favourite uncle," he shares, "he would love it more than any of us."

The thought of Dhushyanth being that sweet an uncle seems extremely endearing to me, making me smile widely.

I excuse myself from the room, closing the door after me, when Dhushyanth appears, seemingly out of nowhere.

I jump in shock, holding a hand to my chest, protectively.

"What got you so scared?" He asks, frowning.

"I didn't see you here. When did you come?"

"Just now," he says, "I went back to our room for something and came to see where you had Prashanth set up."

"What did you need from the room?" I ask him, letting him link our hands together. "Prashanth is in here."

Dhushyanth pulls me along, saying, "you haven't had breakfast yet."

"I'll have breakfast in a bit," I tell him, walking along with him anyway. "When do you leave for the campaign?"

"About that," Dhushyanth begins, "do you think you can come campaigning today?"

The question surprises me. "You want me to come campaigning with you?"

Dhushyanth's eyes scan my face, searchingly. "Yes? Do you not want to?"

"No, I'm just surprised you're asking after last time," I confess, "the media thing was too much— I thought you didn't want me back—"

"I know you wouldn't have picked it up if he didn't instigate you," Dhushyanth says, his eyebrows furrowing. "Did you think I was blaming you for it?"

"I didn't think you were blaming me for it," I answer, slowly, "but I thought you would be wary of me coming back because of what happened and that's why you hadn't asked."

"I didn't ask because I thought it would've been too much for you," he responds, causing my heart to melt into a puddle. I jut my lower lip out, feeling touched by his gesture. "You were so clear you didn't want to be in the media's eye—"

"But I picked that fight," I point out, "and honestly, I enjoyed it."

"But you asked to be out of the limelight, I should've been more careful—"

"You have things to do in a campaign. I don't expect you to keep looking out for me. I'm a fully grown adult woman."

"But you told me you didn't want to—"

"And shit happens," I cut in. "So obviously I didn't like it, but I made the decision to go interact with the journalist. You didn't ask me to speak to anyone."

Dhushyanth tilts his head, looking at me with soft eyes that make me feel weak in the knees.

"I'm sorry for kicking up all that drama," I tell him, guiltily.

"You're not really," he notices, his eyebrows furrowing in mock sympathy. "You really wanted to fuck with Vishwanath."

"I really did."

"You're full of vengeance aren't you?"

I pinch my fingers to gesture, "chaala koncham." [very little]

Dhushyanth shakes his head, chuckling. "So you'll come?"

I nod. "I will. When do you want me?"

His eyes widen, just a little, and his voice dips lower, "all the time," he says, and then continues, "but for the campaign? This evening. We're visiting some handicrafts and handloom workers; a lot of women, and I know you're interested in that sort of thing, so it would be really helpful if you could interact with them."

I find my heart warming, realising that he remembered my business idea from years ago.

"Of course I will," I promise, sneaking my arms around his waist so I can hug him. I rest my head on his chest as he hugs me back, his arms pulling me closer.

"You okay, baby?" I hear him ask, and nod, half-heartedly. As okay as I could be as I lose myself to this man.

Dhushyanth's warmth brings me calm that I haven't experienced by myself. And losing myself, if it is to him, doesn't seem remotely terrifying.