Wow, who knew that kissing turned to something else when intoxicated. I could feel everything in the seven layers of my skin, feel his touch and the possessive way in which his fingers gripped my face, tilting it upwards to meet his height. My desire to kiss him back was fuelled by the addicting feeling of his wonderful lips that was destroying all my senses.
"This is better than chocolate!" I gasped, when he broke the kiss to let me breathe, the door clicking as it unlocked. My head was swimming and my lips were feeling swollen but simply wonderful. He stared at me with desire darkened eyes, his body pressed tightly into mine as he tipped my chin up to claim my lips again, pushing me against the door and into the room. I promptly forgot about my need to intake oxygen and kissed him back, my hands eager to touch as much of him as I could before he simply pulled away again.
I let out a muted shriek of surprise when he gripped the back of my thighs and simply hauled me off the ground and carried me inside, his long strides not interrupting his kissing as he walked, his arms holding me up with minimal effort as he did. I was quite drunk in the kissing activity, to be sure. This was better than a fantasy, or wild dreams that I'd deny I ever dreamt. And what thrilled me was how into it he was.
I vaguely registered the soft material of the bed as he lowered me to it, not breaking the kiss as his powerful frame pressed on top of me, the hard ridges of his body pressing against me. He pulled away for a second, staring at my dazed face with a slight smile on his face.
"Chickening out yet?" he asked, his voice deeper than usual, as he slowly pressed a kiss on the centre of my collarbone, making my back arch with the action.
"Uh, you wish", I retorted, grinning as he laughed and went back to kissing me again.
**
On principle, I tend to be someone who is not so much into kissing and telling. Maybe its because I lack female best friends who ask me to 'Dish', or maybe because my best friend used to be my ex who would be purely traumatized if I insist on telling him details, but as far as 'telling things' go, I am very much the lady.
I don't kiss and tell.
But oh. My. God.
If you were my female best friend, you'd be grinning ear to ear as I text you all the details about what happened.
Was it awesome? Absolutely.
Did I kill it? Please, is there any other way?
Is Dhruv only all about great looks? Oh, his haters can wish.
On the whole, I was feeling quite fantastic for a woman who had virtually no sleep the entire night. But when my Mother called me at 5am, the surging rush of embarrassment that coursed through my bloodstream was almost unwarranted for someone who was technically an adult and with her fiancee.
I cringed as the name 'Ma' began to flash on the screen, while the semi-dark room lit up with the phone light.
The sleeping block of granite next to me stirred drowsily, one arm still wrapped around me. "Pick up the call", he said grumpily, his voice lower and huskier than usual as he turned to the other side, burying his face into a pillow.
"It's my mother", I hissed.
"Tell her you're sleeping", he replied sleepily.
"She'll ask where I am."
"Tell her you're with me."
"I am sorry have you not met my mother?" I hissed, sitting up straight as she called again. "Oh god, why am I panicking? It's not like I did something wrong. Ok, tough stance, Dhriti. You can do this."
"Pick up the call", he reminded again, his tone muffled as snuggled into the covers.
"Good note. Okay." clearing my throat, I adopted a sleepily annoyed tone. "Hello?"
"Where ARE you?" she demanded right off the bat, awfully energetic for someone who was up at 5am. "I thought you'll come to say goodnight before you go to bed, and I checked in the shared room and you didn't even come back! Where did you go? I asked Papa also and he said he last saw you several hours ago- what do you think of yourse-"
"I am with Rita and the cousins, and I am sleeping, so calm it, let me call you when I wake up", I said, overriding her indignation.
She paused. "Oh so you're with them?" she asked in a calm tone.
"Yeap." I said casually, hugging the covers closer to me.
My God, the Indian guilt is strong.
"Chalo okay. Puja is at 8, so come to the room before that for your dress. It's with me."
"Okay."
"And your photo thing is also today and I want to see nothing but nice smiles, I am going to send that photo in our family whatsapp group and I don't want you to frown."
"Done."
"Good. Ok go get some sleep, why are you up so soon- I don't want you to have puffy eyes in front of the press-"
"Thanks. Can I go now?"
"Yes. Also put ice on your eyes when you wake up, so you'll look-"
"Okay bye", I sang and cut the call and face planted back into the bed.
My face felt like a volcanic eruption.
I felt goosebumps on my arm when a long finger traced my back, while he shifted closer to me. "Are you in trouble?" he asked softly.
"No I am embarrassed." I mumbled.
"And why is that?" he asked, amused.
"Because...I am weird."
He chuckled, effortlessly pulling me to him, as he pressed a soft kiss on my forehead. "That isn't something to be embarrassed about."
"Yeah, I know. Especially after the last couple of hours, I must feel relaxed and great. I do feel that, but I also feel jittery and nervous. Like I killed someone in this resort and only you and I know about it."
"Wow." he just laughed again, his errant hair framing his face as he stared at me with rampant amusement.
I gave him a dirty look before I pulled more of the sheets away from him and wrapped myself into it. "What do I tell her when I meet her? How do I face her?"
"Like a normal person, because this is normal", he replied easily, looping an arm around my waist to pull me back to him again, as my arms inevitably snaked around his neck. "I'd say between us, it was almost inevitable."
"Oh really?" I asked, fighting a grin.
I could see his amused smirk as he gazed up at me, looking absolutely gorgeous first thing in the morning. "Definitely. I could read everything that your big eyes were saying whenever you stared at me."
"Oh yeah? Well, you were not so slick yourself, bro, what with all the intense stares and the tension and the- making everyone feel like we have an energy vibe. Atleast 50 percent of that is you."
He tilted his head to the side, his breath brushing against my ear as he whispered, "Wrong again, Dhriti, almost 100 percent was me, because during all those times I was listening to your spikey retorts, or watching you crush it in a meeting, or give me your challenging glare, I just wanted to do this", my breath hitched when he pressed a soft, feather-light kiss on the side of my neck. "and this", he continued, trailing up to my cheek, his arms tightening around me as my fingers curled into his hair. "And sometimes, when you're standing toe to toe with me to tell me why you want to do things your way, all I'd think about is this", and his lips were on mine as he kissed the life out of me, flipping me back down as I wrapped my arms around him and tugged him closer to me.
"Good to know", I said breathlessly, my heart racing as desire quickly replaced the nervousness.
He smiled down at me, his expression warm as he gently stroked my cheek. "Want to catch your beauty sleep before the photo-op?"
"Well, technically, both of us need it. So...what do you suggest?"
"I'd rather dunk my face into ice right now than go to sleep." he said before kissing me again.
**
"There's something wrong with your face." Nia said critically as she watched me dust makeup on my face.
"Yeah I put a lot of ice on it because Ma said I need to not look puffy." I said, yawning as I applied blush. All of us were getting ready for the Mehndi function, and I was particularly getting ready for the damn photoshoot of ours. "Why is your puja so early?" I complained. "Why can't we do a mid-afternoon Puja?"
"Because we don't own this resort and some stupid guests have a last minute family get together planned for the evening, so they need the outdoor garden. It's all scheduling issue and Chris SAID he will deal with it and he DID NOT", Nia widened her eyes at me as Rita went on a tirade about other guests ruining her time. "I swear, if I didn't know I have the whole day scheduled right tomorrow, I would be crying right now."
I handed her a glass of orange juice with a sympathetic grin, while Piya began to show me lipstick choices.
Rita's stylist smudged her eyeliner and began to frantically fix it.
"Change the subject guys" I said warningly.
"Ok back to Dhriti looking weirdly good today", Piya (cousin) said, helping me apply lipstick. "Rita any guesses on what it is."
Rita grinned at me as her stylist began to dab at her eye. "Oh, I have some guesses."
"Shut up." I advised, ardently regretting this subject.
"Are my guesses right?" she pressed.
"I told you to shut up."
"What guess?" Kriti asked, emerging with a glass of juice in hand.
"No guesses."
"Dhriti and Dhruv just had S-E-"
The door (thankfully) opened, and Dad (not so thankfully) popped his head in. "Dhriti", he called, his bespectacled gaze furrowing in awkwardness as 7 other girls stared at him in various stages of hair and makeup. "Oh hello, kids. Dhriti, are you here?"
"Yeah, here." I said, equally awkward.
"Can I talk to you for a moment, please."
Piya and I looked at each other; she was halfway between contouring my cheek. "Can she finish this?" she asked dad. "She's going to look weird with half a defined cheek."
"What is-y-yes, yes. I will be outside. Everyone...is looking...wonderful." he said, smiling at the others before closing the door again.
Rita was looking at me with concern as Piya went back to my other cheek. She was good at reading my face and currently, I probably looked nauseated.
What is he going to talk to me about? Since....everything...our relationship had deteriorated rapidly. He maintained that I was being immature and for me, something about the insanity of getting me hitched and defending that move rubbed me the wrong way.
I know, what a radical reaction on my part, wasn't it?
When I walked out, he was standing by the front door, looking out at a misty tree.
"What happened?" I asked him cautiously.
He turned to look at me, equally cautious before he said, "G-good morning."
"Good morning?" the nervousness in my tone made the greeting sound like a question.
"I-I- the shoot-thing- your mother said you need to-get ready."
"I...am."
"Oh." he peered at me. "Good. Prepared. Good."
"Yeah. Dad what is-"
"I just wanted to-" he began at the same time.
Both of us laughed awkwardly and I gestured at him to go on. "Dhriti. I just wanted to say I am...I-"
I looked at him, feeling mildly petrified inside. Was he going to apologize? He has never apologized until this day- for anything! From telling me that 90 percent was 'not that good' to everything that happened last year, he has never once apologised. Not even when he said whatever he said after catching me with Dhruv in the supermarket.
This felt insane!
He looked distressed for some reason. In fact, he couldn't seem to meet my eyes. "I-just heard...from...Chris's...parents...I-I didn't ...know.."
I was feeling more and more confused. That was the vaguest sentence in the history of weird dad lines, and I had no idea what the hell he was talking about. "What did they say? About what?"
"If-I-I didn't see him- and-and they didn't tell me- I'd have never-I- am very- very...-" he looked downright horrified as he stared, ashen-faced at me. "I just want you to know that."
"Know what?"
As a reply, he simply patted my head like I was a puppy and walked away, without another word.
That was a Hall of Fame in the Weird Dad Conversations.
As I stared after him in absolute mystification, Ma texted.
Ma: Come to the lobby. You and Dhruv need to be 'briefed'
Me: I don't want to be briefed. It's a photo.
Ma: Also questions. Come. Don't fight
I groaned and began to walk towards the lobby. Dad's weird apologetic stance was puzzling the crap out of me. What had Chris's parents told him? Granted, they were privy to a lot of our secrets in the US, because we always went to New York for Thanksgiving, but I wasn't quite sure what would make dad apologetic.
Most of those secrets might make Dad apoplectic. Instances where we gatecrashed Thanksgiving parade while drunk come to mind.
Why would that make someone SORRY?
An odd sight greeted me in the lobby, apart from hungover guests waiting for their keys and half dressed Americans and Indians who were munching on breakfast and pretending neither were hungover. Ma was chatting with Dhruv, who was trying to keep a good distance from a tall, familiar looking woman who looked incredibly hot and almost too much at home in the hot midst of my family.
I sighed in resignation as I heard her rapid accented voice telling Dhruv all about the PR angle of everything, while she threw her gleaming brown hair off her face. She was dressed in a light lilac salwar, and like Dhruv, had a simplicity to her wardrobe that just screamed 'posh'. She and Ma were discussing something about the press and as soon as Dhruv saw me walk in, his austere face at once split into a wide smile. He was dressed in a light cream color kurta and looked decadent enough to make a chocolate ice cream feel like broccoli.
I smiled back, my eyes then swerving to the woman who was now looking at me too, with a polite smile that just managed to be mildly condescending. "Dhriti. So glad you can join us."
"Lavanya", I acknowledged the VP of Public Relations for Kleitos Group, and oh, side note, one of Dhruv's exes. "Likewise. Let's get started?"
"Of course. We can wait until you're done with hair and makeup and then we can-"
"Oh, thank you for your concern, but I am ready to face the cute questions", I said smoothly, reaching forward to hold Dhruv's hand, as he fought a grin. "Please go ahead."
"Play nicer", Ma admonished as she smoothed out a curl on my hair.
I rolled my eyes and smiled back at Lavanya. Here's the thing; I never had a problem with her. Honest. Except, when she once caught me and Dhruv arguing with each other, she made a comment to me that I was supposed to be a lot more 'cooler' to Dhruv, because he can fire me anytime.
Obviously, I loved that comment. And her love for me has only grown over time; steadily since the press release that she crafted.
"Of course. So, we are keeping to very basic questions- ten minutes tops. We might have to get your When did you first meet question in sync- which brings me to my question. When did this...delightful couplehood- begin?"
Dhruv flashed me a quick smile, before he said, "Different times for both of us."
"You know that's not an answer. I need something more concrete- so, whenever you're ready."
I stole a nervous look at Dhruv, eager to avoid Ma's eagle eyes which were trained on me with massive interest. She had constantly tried to ask me this and I never had the right answer, so I was not ready to be put in the spot.
Bless his soul, he immediately knew what I wanted. He casually said, "We met during an event in London. She was a marketing consultant for my friend's wife's new magazine and she co-ordinated the launch." I looked at him in puzzlement as he smiled back at me, honey eyes warm and soft as he held my gaze.
What. The. Fuck.
"Tell me more", Lavanya prompted.
"I went because I was hearing a lot of buzz about this upstart woman who had caught the eye of Tiger's CEO, and I was not happy because I was planning to pitch to Tiger with my firm." he chuckled when he saw my mouth fall open in shock.
2017. The Launch of the first interactive Entertainment e-Magazine- Ripple- the brainchild of Sameera Chopra. I was around 21 when I got that opportunity and had been over the moon about it because that was a huge step for me.
He had BEEN there?
"I went to check it out. Sameera- that's my friend's wife- was just raving about her, and it just got me more and more pissed. Until, I was backstage, waiting for the event to start, and happened to see her." I was unable to look away from Dhruv as he spoke about our first meeting and if it weren't for my mother and Lavanya, I might have straight up called bullshit
There was NO WAY he remembered me from then. He probably googled this.
His strategic mind had thought ahead of the questions and was prepared for all nonsensical sappy questions which might need some false reminiscing on his part.
But why the hell did he sound so TRUTHFUL?
"She was in the midst of a major launch party, and was feverishly typing her college assignment as she instructed a team of 10 about the marketing plan for the day." he grinned at me, with a mixture of amusement and awe as he looked back at Ma, who looked dumbstruck. " And I just...looked at the most...chaotic woman I have ever known, who somehow did 20 things at the same time, almost like it was second nature to her", he took a deep breath and shook his head, seeming surprised about his own feelings. I was just staring open mouthed, my skin prickling with emotions, my eyes threatening to well with tears as he recounted his first memory of seeing me.
How did he- when did-
HOW WAS HE DOING THIS?
"Quickly as she was surrounded by people, everyone left. There was just the two of us backstage...I don't think she even realized that. She was just there, hunched over the laptop, negotiating an extension of the deadline with her professor. And she looked so...restless. Chaotic. Frantic. Overwhelmed even as she did things with ease. There was this undeniable charisma and charm in her that made me stop and just...take in the moment with her", he smiled again as Ma raised her fingers to her mouth, overcome with adoration for this man. "And I so badly wanted to walk up to her, introduce myself, and see if she just was up for a chat. I knew I just had to talk to her."
"And then what happened?" Lavanya asked, sounding slightly breathless herself.
I didn't need for him to answer. I knew exactly what he would have seen then.
Parth.
He had taken an overnight flight to London to surprise me and had rushed in, coffee in hand, fresh off the plane, with his hair sticking in all ends as he swept me up and hugged me tight.
"Can't miss one of your many big days!" he had stated, grinning widely as I kissed him.
Dhruv just grinned at her. "Oh, I chickened out. Anyway, that's when I met her. We can use this. I don't want to make Dhriti too uncomfortable, so I will take this."
"D-Dhruv- I-" I stuttered, incredibly overwhelmed and emotional and hormonal and moved at the same time.
How does one stay away from a man who made them feel such things? How does one say 'I am not ready' to a man who describes them like a cherished prose piece?
He looked at me then, with his dark eyes, and the intense stare that I was so used to, and that I used to think seemed to know me too much too soon, when in fact, he was the one who knew me the most.
I was in love.
I was so in love with him.
I didn't just catch feelings, I was so in love!
That's why everything hurts and everything feels great at the same time. That's why I couldn't say I was ready because I wouldn't just be ready for a few dates, I will be ready for a whole life with him. And I didn't even know him enough for that, except I could say, with absolute certainty, that I was in love with this complex, mysterious, yet all-too-familiar man who pulled me out of a self destructive abyss in the first five minutes when he stepped into my life.
"Ohh, I so knew I was right", Ma trilled, wiping a tear from her eyes as she crushed us into a tight hug. "I can't wait to tell Geeta how right I was. Of course, I will send her photos and she will know but still, I am so happy!"
Even Lavanya looked resigned. "You both have my work cut out for me. Dhriti, just don't swear, and we should be good."
I was too overwhelmed to sass her, so I just nodded.
"Ok so after that, quick photos and frontpage, and then we have a few magazine spreads to discuss, so I am scheduling a meet-"
"Dhriti, hey." a familiar, husky voice called.
Dhruv and I froze as we looked at the hungover, bearded man who had walked up to us from the counter, looking equally shell shocked to see me here.
"P-Parth?" I called in disbelief.
----
Dun Dun DUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUn.
byeee