The Dating Charade ✔️

Chapter-75

Shivaay just couldn't stop kissing Annika, and he didn't know how he had resisted feeling the pillowy softness of her lips, all this time. He continued smooching her lips even as she tried to pull away, giggling, sitting in between his legs on the blanket laid out on the sand. 

"Shivaay, stop it!" She cried, pushing him back by the chest, but he was relentless. Peppering kisses along the soft skin of her jawline and chin, he pulled her closer against him.

"I've been holding back for months now, baby," He breathed out, nuzzling against her cheeks. "But not anymore."

With that, he was about to capture her lips again, but Annika managed to turn away. Resting her back against his chest, she looked out onto the night sky with a smile on her face.

"This still seems so unreal," She told him, playing with his hands that were around her waist. "Are you sure this isn't a dream?"

"It could be," Shivaay chuckled, "But at least we're dreaming together." 

"I'm hungry, Shivaay," Annika told him after a while of sitting in silence. Shivaay rolled his eyes, muttering how she had to ruin a romantic moment. Opening the picnic basket, he took out a box of pizza.

"I love you," Annika said, as she eyed the double-cheese pizza hungrily, her mouth watering. 

"Do you only love me because I give you food, baby?" Shivaay asked, his eyebrows raised suspiciously. Annika looked up from where she was munching on a slice already, her mouth full, and shook her head.

"Nope," She said, still shaking her head. "I also love you because you're really handsome."

Shivaay tried not to fall for that, he really did, but his cheeks still turned slightly pink. He took a bite from her pizza, making her scowl. When they were done, Shivaay lay down with his head on the pillow, pulling Annika with him. She rested her head against his chest, and they looked up at the sky full of stars, together.

"I can't beleve I actually did it," Shivaay said, a smile playing on his lips. Annika looked at him, confused.

"I was so scared," He rubbed her arm up and down with his palm, while she kept on looking at him lovingly. "I didn't know what to say. Pretty sure I would have chickened out if I hadn't gone to Dadi before coming here."

"Wait, dadi knows about this?" Annika asked, surprised. 

"The whole family does," Shivaay replied, brushing it off. "But the point is, I went to Dadi, to tell her that I was finally confessing my love for you."

"And what did she say?" Asked Annika, curious.

"Well, she told me to speak my heart out. At that point, it seemed like a really stupid advise, and I even told her so-" they both laughed at that- "but then, when I saw you, looking so breathtaking, I actually ended up speaking my heart out. Dadi would be proud of me." He had a proud stupid grin on his face as he said that, and it made Annika even more fond of him, if possible.

"Indeed, she would be,"  Annika said, snuggling closer into him. "When did you fall in love with me, Shivaay?"

"I can't really say, jaan. In hindsight, it was probably long ago, even before we started this whole charade. I realized it only when Daksh and OmRu made that crazy plan to make me jealous, though," He said, smiling. Annika gasped at that.

 "That was a plan? Huh. Tabhi main sochu,  why Daksh stopped with his constant flirting all of a sudden."

Shivaay laughed at that. 

"When did you realize?" He asked, eager to know how long his feelings had been returned for and how long he had also been an idiot for. Annika shrugged her shoulders.