Just as she heard the sound of an alarm clock echoing in her ear, a grumpy Akshara snuggled into the warmth of two very large and sturdy arms.
"Hmmm, al...arm." Akshara whined, furrowing her brows at the loud, incessant noise disturbing her peaceful sleep.
"Hmmm, let...me...ssleep." An equally sleepy and grumpy voice growled, smacking the alarm shut before pulling her tighter into his embrace.
Akshara smiled into the man's chest, snuggling deeper, enjoying her share of the warmth and comfort.
Wait a second.
Warmth and comfort. A man's arms.
Akshara's eyes flung open as she felt her life flash before her eyes. Oh god, please no. No, no, no. Not again. She slowly moved her eyes away from the very chest she was sleeping on and very lightly, as if to not disturb anything or anyone, moved her eyes up to the owner of the very broad chest and equally sturdy, long, muscular arms.
And just like that, she felt as if she was a part of her own very personal nightmare.
Abhimanyu.
She was sprawled like a wanton woman over Abhimanyu Birla's chest, her arms wrapped around his neck and her legs tangled in his. Suddenly finding it hard to breathe, Akshara scrambled off Abhimanyu's chest as if she had just touched poison ivy and sat up straight on her side of the bed.
Mindlessly, she began creating a barrier between Abhimanyu and her using pillows, trying to distance herself from him.
"You know, I'm starting to feel just a little bit violated." Abhimanyu perked up, opening his eyes to look at a very disheveled Akshara.
"Just a little bit?" Akshara bit out, tucking her stray hair behind her ear.
Seriously, she had no clue what was wrong with her! Why and how did she always end up mounting Abhimanyu as if he were a horse and she, a jockey?
"I mean, not to say I don't enjoy being taken advantage of, but I'd enjoy it more if I knew what was happening."
"Don't act so innocent! If anything, I should be the one complaining about being taken advantage of!"
Abhimanyu sat up straight on the bed, turning to face her. "And how is that? I'm not the one sprawled over your body like a blanket in the morning, breaking makeshift barriers or having crazy sex dreams." He pointed out, making Akshara's cheeks turn red.
"And I don't know what's wrong with me or why I keep doing all these embarrassing things."
"Oh, I do. It's simple."
"Really? Why is that?" She scoffed, bitterly.
"Because you're attracted to me." He stated casually, getting up from the bed to stretch his legs.
"Me, attracted to you? Ha! What a joke! Why would I want to join the long list of women you've bedded? In your dreams!"
"Or rather, in your dreams, is it not?" He teased.
"I'm not attracted to you! You are the last guy on Earth I'd be attracted to!" She had no idea why she was babbling so much but for her own sake and sanity, she needed to drill it in his head and hers that she was not attracted to Abhimanyu Birla.
Abhimanyu couldn't really pinpoint why but Akshara's constant clarification about not being attracted to him bothered him. It wasn't as if he was attracted to her. But a small part of him, a tiny part of him relished the morning snuggles and the homely vibe which radiated off of Akshara.
"You know, I wouldn't blame you if you do find me attractive. I know the charm I have on the ladies." Abhimanyu had no idea why he was trying so hard to convince Akshara of his own attractiveness.
"But I don't." She stated, getting up from the bed, making her way to the bathroom.
"But I won't blame you if you did." Abhimanyu argued, following her.
"But I don't."
"But just in case if you did, you wouldn't be wrong."
"But I don't." Akshara grit out, putting a fake smile on her face just as she reached the bathroom door, holding the door open.
"But just in case you did." Abhimanyu replied back, distracting her, and taking that moment to casually sneak his way into the cracked open bathroom door which Akshara was holding open for herself and shutting it on her face, much to Akshara's chagrin.
"Abhimanyu!" Akshara yelled, slamming her palms against the wooden door in frustration.
~*~
Akshara sipped her coffee, leaning against the kitchen island, narrowing her eyes at a business-casual dressed Abhimanyu as he walked into the main hallway.
"You can stop shooting daggers at me with those huge, round eyes of yours." Abhimanyu mentioned casually, walking past the kitchen island to get to the front door.
Akshara cleared her throat as Abhimanyu walked past her, a move which went unnoticed by him. Thus, Akshara coughed louder, pointedly staring at a to-go mug of coffee along with a foil wrapped bagel with cream cheese sandwich sitting in the middle of the kitchen island.
"Do you cough drops or something?" Abhimanyu asked her, pausing right in front of Akshara, just in time to hear her cough again.
"No!" Akshara replied, clearing her throat and coughing again. Why was this man so dense?
"Why" *cough* "then" *cough* "are you" *cough* "coughing" *cough* "like a" *cough* "crazy lady?" *cough* He imitated her.
"You really are a DodoDenseHead! I wasn't coughing, but telling you to pay attention to the kitchen island! I made you breakfast!" Abhimanyu followed Akshara's line of vision into the counter she was leaning against. A to-go mug and a foil wrapped sandwich?
Suddenly, Abhimanyu felt his heartbeat quicken and his eyes soften. Breakfast? She'd made him breakfast?
"You know I don't eat breakfast at home." Out of all the things he could have said to her, thanked her for being thoughtful, appreciated her for cooking for him —seriously this is what he decided to go with? What the hell was wrong with him?
"Yes, yes I do know. But I was going to make myself breakfast anyway, so I made yours too." Akshara shrugged her shoulders.
"But why?" Abhimanyu asked, awestruck at Akshara's niceness.
"We may be married in the eyes of the world, but to me, we are just roommates. And roommates sometimes do things like these for each other. As annoying as you are sometimes, I also know you're a great doctor who helps his patients in need. And by feeding you and keeping you healthy and fit, I'm indirectly helping those patients too. So technically I'm the one being selfish here. Getting all the good karma you know." Yeah, very roundabout way of saying 'I like feeding you,' Akshara.
There haven't been many times in his life when Abhimanyu had been left dumbfounded and speechless. And this was one of them. "Are my ears deceiving me...or am I hearing you say...you actually care about me?" Yeah, he was going to burn in the holy pits of fire because he couldn't accept one single good thing that was happening to him.
"I don't care about you!" This man was impossible!
"But you care if I eat or not. So technically that does translate into you caring about me." Abhimanyu teased.
"No, I don't! You know what? I made a mistake! I take my food back. Sorry, that I even thought of doing anything remotely thoughtful for you!"
Exasperated, Akshara made a move to grab the sandwich from kitchen counter only to be outdone by Abhimanyu who was as fast as lightening to grab the food and coffee from right under her nose.
"Too bad, no take backs!" Abhimanyu called out, prideful.
"Oh, and before I forget, I'm not going to be home tonight. We're having a camp night sleepover with the kids at the community center where I volunteer. So don't worry, you are in no danger of being violated tonight." Akshara joked, half-heartedly.
"So you won't be home tonight? At all?" Why did the sound of Akshara being away from him at night sound so foreign to him? Did he —the Great Abhimanyu Birla —who didn't sleep with any woman twice —get used to sleeping with Akshara Goenka? And that too without any sex involved?
"Yes, that's what I said. And shouldn't you be happy? You'll finally have your bachelor pad back for the night!" She replied, trying to lighten the mood —which suddenly seemed to have gotten very tensed.
"But the Gala?" Why was he acting like a lovestruck fool-in-love?
"It's not until tomorrow night! And I'll be home with plenty of time to spare."
Abhimanyu nodded his head, opening the door to the front entrance. "Yes, okay, of course! Have fun! Tell the kids I said hi!" Yes, he was a fool.
"I will!" Akshara smiled brightly at Abhimanyu as her eyes twinkled with fun and mischief. Hanging out with the community center kids was one of the best times of her life.
Abhimanyu gave Akshara one last look before closing the door behind him. He should be happy that he was going to finally get some peace and quiet from Akshara's constant jibber-jabber. But for some reason, he just didn't like the thought of not being able to annoy her for even a single day.
What the hell was wrong with him? Why was he behaving like such a lovesick tool? It was just Akshara and it was just one night! He could make do without her for one night, couldn't he?
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Hey guys! So the show is super bad and you have no idea how hard was it for me to finish this chapter. Its a filler but the good part is that I have somewhat got the motivation to write AbhiRa back.