I'm so late with this that I can't even apologize 🙈
--
Surbhi had a spare key to Nakuul's apartment. Her charming and considerate boyfriend had told her that she could go to his apartment any time she wanted, regardless of whether he was there or not, if she ever felt the need to. So far Surbhi hadn't had occasion to use it but this evening, it was almost vital that she do. With just one week left for the functions to start her house had been hijacked by relatives and her room was now where all her aunties sat down to gossip about everyone else. In the morning before leaving for work, Surbhi had stuffed a few clothes and other essentials into a bag and announced that she wouldn't be back home till tomorrow evening. In all the conundrum, no one had had time to ask for an explanation. And at this point, no one really cared. Surbhi had already taken care of all the work that had been assigned to her and right now all she needed to care for was herself. There were dark circles under her eyes and her face visibly showed all the stress she had been taking lately. Surbhi had a feeling that a night with at her boyfriend's place would do miracles.
Greeting the guard of the building who knew her pretty well by now, Surbhi made her way towards the elevator to take her up to his penthouse. It was locked as she had expected since Nakuul still had a few hours till he would be back. Surbhi switched on the lights of the house and slumped down on the sofa. She was exhausted, and not just physically. The thought that in a week her sister wouldn't be in the same house as her, just down the corridor, was taking a mental toll on her too. The wedding itself was exciting to think about but the days that lay beyond it...not so much. Sighing, Surbhi rubbed her temple to soothe the slight headache, before giving up. Only coffee would be of any use at this point. That, or an Advil as last resort.
Moving to the kitchen, Surbhi set up the coffee machine and waited for it to brew. Nakuul had a maid who came for a few hours during the day and cleaned the entire house and even sometimes made dinner when he wanted, so Surbhi opened the fridge to see if there was something to eat. Other than a bottle of milk and a few fruits and vegetables, it was empty. Hands on hips, Surbhi contemplated what to order in for dinner, before a better idea struck her. She had cooked for Nakuul a long time back, a simple lunch of rajma-chawal when she had come to visit for a while. He had loved it and licked the rajma off his fingers. So tonight, Surbhi would cook again for him again. A perfect surprise for her boyfriend who was working his ass off at practice these days.
After a cup of coffee and a long hot shower that had washed away her fatigue, Surbhi was ready for some business in Nakuul's well-furnished kitchen. It was funny that she should have brought any clothes at all, unnecessary too, because ultimately, she had ended up raiding Nakuul's closet and putting on the most comfortable t-shirt she could find. It smelled like detergent with a hint of his unique scent and Surbhi was highly rejuvenated as she proceeded to make dinner for the two of them. She had decided on something simple. Well, it's not like she knew how to prepare too many dishes, but whatever she did cook, she did it well. A paneer dish, with dal makhani, his favorite garlic naan and a simple pulao would suffice. There still a couple of hours for him to get back, so taking a deep breath, Surbhi washed her hands and got to work.
--
Surbhi was just adding tarka to the daal when her phone pinged. All the other dishes had been prepared and were sitting on the kitchen countertop in glass bowls. She had to admit, she was quite proud of her work. Not only had she managed to finish it all in time, the food actually tasted great. If only her acting career would permit it, she would dedicate more time to cooking because after all, practice makes perfect. After adding the spices, she picked up her phone. It was her boyfriend, who had just gotten done with practice. He had no clue that his girlfriend had finally managed to make use of the key he had entrusted her with and was waiting at his house, will a fully-prepared dinner, for him to get back. Surbhi giggled. Nakuul Mehta had no clue how different this night was going to be than his otherwise boring ones usually were.
Hey, what's up? I just got out of practice.
Surbhi typed a reply with one hand, stirring the daal with the other.
Nothing much. How was practice? Whatcha up to now?
Practice was exhausting as usual. Gosh,
I'm so tired. Heading home now. Where
are you?
I'm home.
Smiling at her own cheeky reply, Surbhi kept away the phone. She was giddy with excitement that he would be here any minute and carried on with her work.
--
Nakuul leaned back on the car seat with his entire body slightly aching. Today had been especially hard because along with practicing for World cup they had started preparing for IPL too. His day had gone by working on strategies for the upcoming tournament and working them through with his team. Right now, he was craving for a long bath and some homemade dinner. He considered going to his parents' house for the night to have a hot meal but the thought of traveling all that way, in Mumbai traffic, when he was already so tired was enough to discard that idea. Chinese takeout would have to do.
Entering the building, Nakuul was met by an extra wide grin of the watchman today, which he returned feebly. He slumped against the elevator wall as it went up, almost falling asleep for a second before jerking awake as it stopped on his floor. He laughed to himself. He was exceptionally tired today.
Even as he looked for his key in his pocket and turned the lock, Nakuul noticed nothing different. Not the light that was shining from beneath the door when the maid usually left the house completely dark, not the aroma that was wafting out—a distinct smell of homemade curry. Which is why, as he entered his house and took a look at his surroundings, Nakuul almost had a heart attack.
"What the fuck!" Nakuul yelled, putting a hand on his hammering heart. In front of him in the open kitchen, his girlfriend stopped what she was doing, and smiled up at him brightly.
"Oh, you're here! Surprise!"
Taking a deep breath, Nakuul closed the door behind him and walked in. He had gotten so used to coming back to an empty house, seeing someone else, even if it was his girlfriend delectably clad in nothing but his tee-shirt, had freaked the hell out of him. Running up to him, Surbhi threw her arms around his neck. Finally getting used to the fact that she was really here, Nakuul buried her in his arms.
"Hi," She whispered, kissing his jawline. "Sorry to scare you."
"It's alright," He grinned. "Don't mind being scared like this. How come you're here?"
"Well, as you know, my house has become a zoo. Even Pranavi di has gone off to Goa with her friends for her bachelorette party so I didn't want to stay there anymore. Needed to relax, so here I am!"
"I'm glad you finally decided to make use of the key," He said, with a long kiss on her forehead. Taking her hand in his, he walked towards the kitchen from where a delicious smell was coming. The daal, now ready, still lay on the stove, garnished at the top with coriander leaves. Surbhi smiled proudly.
"What's all this?" Nakuul asked, surprised. He lifted the covers of all the dishes and the mouthwatering smell almost had him diving in right then and there. "Did you order in?"
"No," Surbhi scowled. "I spent the last few hours cooking for my boyfriend thinking he would be famished, while I myself am exhausted, and he's asking if I ordered from outside? Huh!"
"Wow," Nakuul breathed out, not quite believing his luck today. "I really do have the best girlfriend ever, don't I?"
"Damn right you do," Surbhi grinned. "Now go and freshen up, I'm starving. I'll set out the table meanwhile."
Smiling at her fondly, Nakuul nodded and was about to leave, but turned back to face her again.
"I wish I could come back home to this every day," He said, and Surbhi blushed.
--
"I swear, you have magic in your hands. Like, I'm not even exaggerating. Did I mention I love you?"
Tearing apart a piece of garlic naan with his hands, Nakuul Mehta bestowed upon his girlfriend all the compliments that he could think of (and could speak out with his mouth full of food). He was taking his time with dinner and eating more than he had in a long time, but the food Surbhi had prepared so lovingly was just too delicious. By the time they were done, Nakuul had, much like the previous time, licked the dishes clean with his fingers, a burp at the end testament of how much he had enjoyed his dinner.
"Coffee?" Surbhi asked as she and Nakuul carried the dishes to wash them. "You must be really tired."
"I was, but not anymore," Nakuul said as he wrapped his arms around her waist from behind. While he had previously been falling asleep in the elevator, he was fully energetic now. A warm bath, a homemade meal, with the addition of a gorgeous girl, had indeed done the trick.
"Thank you," Said Nakuul as he nuzzled her neck while she turned on the dishwasher. "You must have been exhausted yourself, but you did all this for me."
"I wanted to," Surbhi shrugged, squirming slightly as his stubbled brushed against her sensitive spot. "Besides, I'm not tired anymore, either. And I like cooking. So don't think it was all just for you, mister."
"Sure thing," Nakuul grinned against her neck.
A while later, the two sat down on the couch in the living room. Nakuul sipped on his coffee while Surbhi ranted to him about all the things that were going wrong in her life. Most of her male cousins still hadn't perfected the dance steps for the sangeet and the choreographer kept calling her to complain about it.
"Speaking of the sangeet," Nakuul said as he took a sip of his cappuccino, "I am highly convinced that I will mess up our performance."
The duo had, after a lot of bickering on which song to select, decided on dancing to Tareefan.
"No you won't," Surbhi rolled her eyes. "You're a much better dancer than me and you have the moves memorized"
"That's not true and let me inform you that along with the dance steps, I have also been practicing other moves on the field. You know—batting, fielding, etcetera. What if I mix them up on the stage?"
Surbhi thought about the visual that would create and laughed loudly, making Nakuul frown.
"Oh God," She wheezed out in between her giggles, "Just imagine. We're doing the choreographed steps and suddenly you start moving like you're hitting sixers. Gosh, that would be something." Involuntarily, Nakuul chuckled along with her.
"Yeah well, laugh all you want, but I'm serious. There's just been so much going on that I'm nervous I'll mess up our stellar performance."
"No baby, you won't," Surbhi said as she snuggled into his arms. "And even if you do, what's the big deal? Everyone over there will be too awestruck at watching THE Nakuul Mehta performing live in front of them to notice anything else. So chill." She placed kisses down the side of his face to calm him down, making him groan in a low voice. Setting the coffee cup on the table, he easily picked Surbhi up and made her sit on his lap.
"I'm so glad you came over today. I was on the verge of having a mental breakdown."
Surbhi caressed his cheek lovingly.
"You take too much stress, Nakuul. Everything will be fine, alright? And I'll come over whenever you want me to."
Smiling, Nakuul took her lips into his, giving her soft, loving kisses. The slow kisses soon turned feverish. Nakuul sucked on her soft lips, delving into their fullness like a man who had been starved of this for so long, he was taking his own sweet time to savor the moment now. He caught her lower lip in between his teeth and gave a demanding bite that had her hissing. Her hands wound into his thick hair as she settled heavily into his lap, the tee-shirt riding high up her thighs. Feeling her heat against his length made Nakuul realize that they would have to move to the bedroom soon if they didn't want to end up doing it on the sofa itself. Not that he minded, of course, but till now his girlfriend had discarded all suggestions of them getting intimate on somewhere other than the bed.
Pulling her impossibly closer by the waist, Nakuul was about to stand up and carry her to his bedroom, when Surbhi moaned into his mouth to protest.
"Don't," She breathed out in between their kisses. "Stay."
Nakuul did not have to be told twice. In the very next second, he had dropped Surbhi on the sofa almost recklessly, making her lie down and hovering on top of her. His mouth latched on to her neck as she got rid of his tee-shirt—well, the tee-shirt that he had been wearing—and felt the muscles on his back that had somehow gotten even more defined over the past few weeks. Eager to feel his abs under her hands, Surbhi tried to roll over, forgetting that they were on the couch and not a bed. As a result, both of them fell down on the floor, her on top.
"Ow," Nakuul grunted as he was suddenly jerked awake from the heady feeling he had fallen into. "What the hell?"
Surbhi couldn't help but giggle.
"Sorry," She said as she sat on top of him, kissing his cheek. "Forgot we didn't have space."
"Well," Nakuul said as he sat up so that she was straddling him, "we have much more space on the floor, you know?"
Surbhi's eyes widened at the idea, but before she could protest, Nakuul had taken her mouth into a searing kiss again. Surbhi sighed into his mouth. Maybe the floor wasn't such a bad idea.
At least it was carpeted.