Do read the previous chapter if you forgot where we left off!
"You are reading a naughty scene again, aren't you?"
Ria's cheeks were rosy red, as she cuddled into the blanket.
It had been a long day yesterday after the drama unfolded. Ria apologized to Shreya and Shubhman for the ruckus her words had caused. Shubhman assured her that in fact, she had helped them by revealing their relationship to their families when they had been afraid for years to do so. Their families in the end were surprisingly quite okay with their inter-religious romance. It appeared like the couple had been worried about nothing. Except for some gossip that infiltrated the Christmas party, everything was fine. And they were set to get married over the coming Summer after their prompt engagement last night. The media was bustling with the news of the most famous cricketer getting finally hitched.
But it was still stressful for Ria as she nearly chewed her nails off in the worry of what she had caused. Now that the matter had settled, she appeared to be relatively calm on this lazy day. There were no wedding functions today so she was relaxing, with her eyes not deterring from her book for even a second. She tilted her Kindle away from me, not wanting me to see what was on there.
"Naughty scenes are read on the nights only," She said, her eyes glinting with mischief.
"Only on nights?" I challenged, moving closer to the place on the bed where she sat.
She nodded, feigning confidence while I could see the pulse through the delicate skin of her neck throbbing at the unexpected conversation and observed how her breathing deepened when I moved nearer.
"Then show me what has got you blushing like that if it's not a naughty scene."
She bit her lip, contemplating before saying, "Reading Romance might not be your cup of tea."
"Don't tell me that you are afraid to show it to me. I promise I won't tell your mom about this porn-reading addiction of yours," I cooed, as she narrowed her eyes at me.
Whining, she defended, "It's not porn. There's the story, the plot, and everything interesting. I read romance for all these things. Not just the sex."
"But some part of you still reads it for the naughty things?"
She leaned back on the pillow and adjusted the position of her glasses before cowering away, burying herself deeper into the blanket.
"Right?" I asked.
She whined in a small voice, "Maybe. Now stop teasing me." She pushed the pillow kept beside her onto me to distance herself.
I tugged her closer to me, circling my arm around her shoulder, peeking in the screen. I silently read the words of the scene where the couple in the book was on a date in a restaurant and the guy was trying to sweet talk his way into her pants. Obviously.
"So, is this what gets you hot, huh? Sweet words, praises, and restaurant dates?"
She didn't reply and kept glaring at me for reading her book without her approval.
I chuckled at her angry reaction with her cheeks bubbling red in irritation and her lips pulled taut.
"You can't always take advantage of- of your..." She struggled to come up with words, flaring her hands towards my body which was reclining beside her, "Your...physical poweress to get whatever you want!! This is unfair!"
A laugh bubbled out of me, seeing her ruffled expression as she tried to get away from me but couldn't, with my leg entrapping hers. "My physical poweress, you say?"
She kicked my legs and then huffed, finally giving up. She looked away, crossing her arms in frustration.
Taking pity on her insistent efforts, I untangled my legs and asked, circling my arm around her shoulder, "So this is your idea of an ideal date, huh? A romantic getaway to a fancy restaurant with fancier food?"
She gave me a sarcastic smile, saying, "You would know all about fancy restaurants, right? Mr. My-chef-cooks-food-for-me-cuz-I-am-too-afarid-to-hold-a-knife-but-I-still-own-a-fancy-restaurant."
"I wouldn't need my chefs to cook for me if my wife fed me well. You know what I mean?" I sighed heavily, continuing, "Instead, what she always does is, just fight with me and glare at me with those scary bat eyes."
She put her chin on the edge of my shoulder. "It must be your fault only."
I could feel the hint of her smile on my skin as she tilted her head to glance up at me with her lips ever so close to my neck.
"What is your idea of an ideal date?" I questioned again after a few moments, this time without any quip.
Her hand rested on top of my clothed chest, tracing lazy patterns. Her fingers drew closer to my heart as she pondered, "I have never really given it a thought...Why do you want to know?"
I wanted to take her out. On a proper date. Wherever she wanted.
"Why do you think I would want to know?"
She thought for a second before her eyes shone with the realization, as she chuckled nervously and shifted away. She patted my chest, and said, before getting off the bed, "Let's just keep it what it was meant to be, okay? Just roommates and maybe now friends. Nothing more."
I pulled on her wrist and settled her on the bed again. "Nothing more. Fine."
She still didn't look at me and her fingers fidgeted unconsciously as she nodded. I took hold of her chin, making our gaze connect. Uncertainty flashed across her eyes. "God, Ria. Why do you get so tensed easily? I understood. Just friends. Okay?"
A relieved sigh left her lips as she gave me a hint of a side smile.
"How about a friendly getaway if not a romantic one? I am bored just sitting here in this room and staring at you blushing over some literature porn."
It was actually a treat to watch her read that book. The little sighs of pleasure that left her mouth every five minutes and those swoony blushes which exactly told me when she was reading one of her favorite scenes.
Not that she needed to know all of this. With being friends-and-all.
"You were not bored when you were shouting orders at your employees in the meeting that ended just ten minutes ago."
"I was not shouting at them. In fact, I never ever shout at anyone. That's your expertise. I was just explaining to them what they did wrong. Very patiently and calmly."
She rolled her eyes, muttering 'as if' under her breath, and asked, "You want to go tour the town?"
"I was thinking of going over to the Udaipur city. I don't think there is something worth touring in this dingy, tiny town..."
She gasped as if insulted. "You, you..." She poked her index finger into my chest, "How dare you insult my town?" She stood up, determined, and hulked me up from my place. Snapping her fingers, she instructed, "Get ready for the best day of your day. Go, shower fast."
"Umm...Mother India, I hate to break it to you but...I had already showered in the morning. It's you who has not showered till now."
She stammered, "Ye-yeah..yeah. That's what I meant. I will go and shower."
Taking out her day clothes, she marched towards the bathroom and banged her forehead on the wall in the way.
I pursed my lips to stifle the laughter.
***
"Eat."
"No."
"Aryan, eat."
"If you want me to die, just give me poison directly."
"Don't be such a snob. Just a taste. You will like it. I promise. And I have been eating here since childhood. Nothing happened to me."
"But did you see the bhaji pan that cook was using?! I don't think it has been cleaned for a thousand years!"
Ria sighed impatiently, picking a morsel of the pav and dipping it in the buttered bhaji before touching it to my lips. "Open."
I shook my head and closed my mouth tighter.
She fluttered her eyes innocently and moved closer to me. My traitorous gaze immediately moved to her red-hued lips as they formed the words, "Please."
My mind malfunctioned hearing that soft sound and her flowery scent clouded my senses like a drug. My mouth opened voluntarily as she shoved the bite inside. "Now, chew," She said, pushing my lower jaw shut.
Her eyes twinkled with excitement as she waited for my response. I chewed slowly, still recovering from the shock of her touch. When my sanity came back to me, I started tasting the flavorful masala of the bhaji mixed with the soft pav. It was the perfect balance of spicy yet subtle. And was better than the pav bhaji they served at my restaurants. Not that I would admit it to her.
I nodded, saying, "It's good. Just Okay."
Ria looked genuinely offended as she glowered at me, "Just okay?" She then heightened her voice, pulling the attention of the people around, and repeated, "Just okay!? What do you mean by just okay?"
I shrugged nonchalantly, enjoying how her cheeks became as red as her lips when she was angry. "What I mean by okay is that it is okay. Nothing to go crazy about."
Putting the plate aside, she narrowed her eyes at me, huffing, "Too bad. No lunch for you today then."
Crossing her arms on her chest, she glanced away with a frown. I had to physically restrain my eyes from traveling below her neck.
You are a man of control, Aryan.
I tugged her arms away from each other, cooing at her tantrums. "Arey yr, tum toh chotti chotti baato pr naraz ho jaati ho yr."
(You easily get upset at such small things.)
She humphed, still not meeting my eyes. Angrily, she blew the twirl of hair that was falling on her face. The stubborn bang still didn't budge, tumbling on her cheek again. I tucked it behind her ear, with my fingers lingering a little longer on her cheek, feeling the silken softness of the strand and the delicate fervor of her skin. Tearing a small portion of the bread, I pressed it against her mouth to feed her. "Open."
"N-"Before she could protest, I pushed the bread inside her mouth. She chewed furiously, and swallowed before saying, "I hate you."
"What did you say? I didn't hear you properly." I made a show of cupping my hand behind my ear as if I couldn't hear her. "You love me?"
Her face was inches away from me when she shouted in my ear, "I said that you need to get your ears checked. And while you are at it, get your brain and tastebuds checked too."
I extended my arm around her waist, giving her a side hug. "It's the greatest of all street foods I have ever had. I admit my defeat. Now, okay?"
I fed her as she grumbled about how I was the most egoistic person on the entire planet and something about how she disliked everything about me.
But just as her small mouth formed the words at a thousand miles per second, being in that moment, near her, I was enchanted.
Completely and utterly forfeited.
Her eyes, framed by kohl, sparkled, while her earlier gracefully draped crimson dupatta fell on one side now, exposing the expanse of her porcelain skin. Her complexion glowed with a subtle golden undertone, reflecting the soft winter sunlight. Adorned in intricately designed traditional attire, she carried the hues of deep reds and greens beautifully, complemented by shimmering gold bangles that reflected the light, glowing under the rays.
She kept mumbling animatedly and then shook my shoulder to break the haze when I kept staring at her, trying to make sense of how I ended up being so lucky to have found her. So fucking beautiful.
"Blink twice if you can hear me." She looked at me with concern guarding her face, as she moved her hand in front of my eyes.
I could hear her, alright.
I just needed a moment to recover from the sudden change in my heart, which seemed to be pulsing at an abnormal pace. And just like that, amidst the intense smell of spices in the air, with people rattling around us, and the deafening sound of the loudspeakers overpowering the town market, I realized that I was falling for my wife. I loved her.
I loved her and everything about her.
An alarming yet enticing realization.
Her brown eyes searched mine, and she said, "I think spicy street food doesn't sit well with you. You should have told me that before I forced you to try this bhaji. This was a bad idea."
She started to stand up from the wooden seat that creaked beneath our weight, but I latched on her hand to stop her. "I can handle my spice quite well. You don't need to worry about it."
I had meant for it to be an innuendo, to make her at ease. But she kept looking at me like I had lost my mind. And maybe I had actually lost my mind. Over her.
She just wants to be friends.
And that thought was enough to clear my mind up.
"Are you sure you are fine?" She asked.
I held her hand, caressing the skin of her palm. "Uh-huh. Now eat." We both were in silence after I assured her that I was indeed fine. Nothing to worry about.
And that's what I tried to tell my stupid treacherous heart.
Nothing to worry about.
***
We explored the market after our lunch and Ria showed me around. Her eyes lit up in joy every time she came across someone familiar from the town. The bustling market was filled with colors and sounds. Vendors passionately called out patrons, creating a symphony of voices that echoed through narrow alleyways. Cows and dogs leisurely strolled on the streets, seemingly unbothered by the chaos.
And that's when I saw Ria eyeing a jewelry shop that had hundreds of shiny earrings gleaming under the golden lights of the shop. The finesse in the jewelry was negligible. Yet her eyes kept moving over and over, filled with wonder and awe.
I dragged her towards the shop.
She protested, stopping at the front of the stall-like shop, "No, Aryan. I already have too many of those. No need to buy more."
"You definitely need to buy more." I bend down to whisper near her ear. "With me. I want to buy them for you."
Her eyes glared at me in a way that always made my heart throb. And at last, she lost the staring contest, finally laughing and giving up. "You are crazy."
"I am just crazy for you, my dearest wife."
Her nose scrunched up in revulsion, probably at the corniness.
The shopkeeper welcomed us as Ria started selecting the jhumkas she wanted to try. "I love these," She said, placing her finger on the pair that was embedded with emerald green stones and little transparent diamonds.
She held them on top of her ears, not wearing them, and showed me, excitedly, "What do you say?"
I nodded, smiling, "A must-keep."
Both the earrings and her, my heart said.
Stop. Just friends, remember?
She tried the earrings and winced when she wasn't able to tighten the screw backing of the jewelry.
She turned towards the shopkeeper, leaning ahead on the counter, and requested, "Bhaiyaji, isko pehna dijiye please."
(Please help me wear this.)
Hot fury burned within me as he touched her ear with his fingers, lightly cupping her cheek, attempting to tighten the screw, all while inclining closer and closer to her.
Inclining closer to my wife.
Before I could think, a voice that sounded awfully like mine, growled, "Leave it. I will do it."
Ria's eyes snapped to mine holding the question about why I was making a scene.
I cupped her cheek, brushed the man's touch away, and drew her to me. She placed her hands on my chest, her doe-like gaze peering up at me as I tightened the screw, subtly inhaling her sweet scent.
"All done now," I murmured, slowly pulling away.
Her face burned red, as she glanced away shyly.
Taking a look at the mirror in front, she touched the dangling jhumkas lightly with her fingers, grinning heartily.
When I started paying the shopkeeper, Ria asked him, "Bhaiyaji, Vo jheel ke samne vala Ram Mandir kab tkk khula rheta hai?"
(What is the closing time of the Ram temple that is near the lake?)
"Madamji, Shaam aath bje tkk khula rhta h."
(It is open till eight in the evening.)
"Okay, thank you," She told him, smiling.
Why doesn't she talk to me with such fondness?
Linking her arm with mine, she tugged me towards the exit as I continued to scowl at the shopkeeper.
"I didn't like how he was looking at you."
"So, you are going to cremate anyone who looks at me now?"
"He was flirting with you."
She scoffed, "No, he wasn't."
I grumbled, trying to match her bouncing steps, "You will have to let me be the judge of such matters."
She teased, intertwining our hands, "Okay, Mr Jealous Judgemaster. Hurry up. We are getting late for our next stop."
***
Hello Dear Readers!!
Happy belated New Year to all!!
The Jewelry shop scene in this chapter was inspired by the Bangles scene in Luv Under Starlight by N.M. Patel. I recently completed it and it felt like I fell in love with reading all over again. Loved all the Desi vibes in that book.
Thank you for reading and thank you for your patience!!
Do vote if you liked reading🌟
Love you all!!❤️