Shruti snapped, “You don’t leave a chance, do you?”
He shrugged and said bluntly, “Of course not… it’s been a month already and we are still doing formalities. You know? Shankar was married in 2 months time.”
She queried, “Ya toh?”
He grinned, “So... I thought we can move a step ahead at least.”
She meekly murmured, “Hmmm…” tried to change the topic and pleaded, “Please sit for 5 minutes more… then we'll go.”
He spoke, his voice full of passion, “Shruti.. don’t hold me responsible for what happens next if we sit any more.”
She had goosebumps again and….
To be continued….
She had goosebumps and got up in a hurry to go, not trusting him for a minute. He was about to stop her when his cousin came out. “Bhaiya… can I get a pillow?”
Shruti answered, “Come Mansi… there are a couple of extra pillows in the room where I am sleeping.”
They were going in, when Shruti turned around and gave him a victorious smile. He knew she had outdone him, but vowed to himself that next time she won’t get away so easily.
As soon as she reached the room, she heard a beep sound. She was surprised as to who must have sent a message at this hour; it was her one and only admirer. She was intrigued and checked.
It read, ‘For how long will you run away from me? Next time, I won’t give you a chance to flee.’
She smuggly replied, ‘Is that so? I better remind you that there is an entire battalion over here… koi na koi toh aa hi jayega.. you won’t get an opportunity.'
He chuckled at her reply and typed, ‘Is that a challenge madam? If so, I accept.’
She gulped a lump in her throat, not knowing how to respond. There was another message, ‘Good night… dream of me.. and yes, it’s a promise…. I shall find a way and MAKE IT HAPPEN.’
She simply replied, ‘sweet dreams.’ He was trying to visualise her right now, and felt adrenaline rush through his body. He texted, ‘I Love You,’ expecting a reply. But again, she messaged, ‘Same to you.’
He shook his head and texted, ‘You are unable to reciprocate even through message… how will you face it when I kiss you?’
She felt tiny tremors run through her body, and thought what if he finds me naïve and unsophisticated? He didn’t tease her further and both slept, dreaming of what lay ahead for them.
Since it was a Sunday, the Shahs had decided to take advantage and start early. They had planned to go to Irla, in Vile Parle suburb of Mumbai, to check out for the engagement outfit. There are quite a few elite showrooms in that vicinity. Atharva’s masi and her kids were also joining them for the shopping spree. Preksha packed some eatables for Isha, as they would be out for a long time. Mrs Shah instructed both Minish and Shankar regarding a couple of things as she was not used to leaving her husband too often and going anywhere. They had a heavy brunch and left.
They had to cram in a bit in the car coz there were so many people, such that Atharva and Shruti were sitting adjacent to each other. He couldn’t be happier and she didn’t know where to look. It was going to take almost an hour to reach and Atharva was pleased about it. Shruti’s dupatta had conveniently landed up such that it was easy for him to just glide his fingers into her palm. They held their hands together throughout the way. He kept brushing his fingers over her palm, that was causing sensations unknown to her. She had read somewhere recently and it aptly suited her… ‘Dear tummy, sorry for all the butterflies lately. I swear it’s not my fault… it’s HIS.’
Shruti tried to mask her feelings by talking to others, trying to be as nonchalant as possible. Much to Atharva’s dismay, they reached sooner than he would have wished, but since it was Sunday afternoon, there wasn’t much traffic.
As it was the month of May, they had to bear the scorching sun, and were glad to go inside the air conditioned showroom, although it barely took them a few minutes to walk from the parking lot. There wasn’t anything that caught their fancy in the first showroom.
Shruti was feeling really apprehensive, and had discussed regarding her dilemma about it in the morning. “Atharva, you know how choosy I am… it’s a different thing to let my family know about my choice or drag them along till I get what I like. How will I convey if I don’t like something that the others do? I won’t be able to voice out.” He pacified her, “Don’t worry… I am just as fussy, and wouldn’t let it happen. I am tough to please and won’t settle for anything mediocre, keep faith on me. I will handle it.” She trusted him implicitly and was relieved.
The next was Aishwarya Design Studio, and she was enthralled by their collection. They had quite a bit that appeased to her taste. She was the kinds who liked her outfits to be heavy and eye catching, never going for the dull, dusty shades. Thankfully, Atharva and she thought alike in this matter. She was trying one outfit after the other. There were too many people to give opinion actually, and she was not feeling comfortable parading in front of them. When she tried one that her mother in law suggested, she looked at herself in the mirror and was not pleased at what she saw. It was too typical and in fact quite gaudy. She came out and caught Atharva’s eye. She slightly shook her head when no one was noticing, communicating in her own way that she hadn’t liked it. He nodded, gesturing her to keep calm.
He interrupted, “Ma… I guess we can shortlist the one that she has worn right now. But I would really like her to try this one,” and pointed out to the one that she had been eyeing for long. He looked at her for her consent, and saw that her face had lit up. Everybody approved of his choice, and insisted Shruti to try.
Shruti went in the fitting room and donned the outfit. It definitely was the best of the lot; fitted her like a dream, with minimal alteration required. In all the other outfits, she had found flaw with either the cut, or the fabric, or the colour tone, or the embroidery, or the overall look. But this was exceptionally pretty, with no such imperfection. She looked at herself in the mirror and felt satisfied; stepped out of the fitting room, seeking for the approval from the one and only that mattered to her. The way his eyes admired her, she knew that this was the correct choice. It was as if they were connected, not needing any verbal communication.
Her mother in law opined, “I feel the previous one was better,” to which Atharva responded, “No ways, this one is beyond perfection.”
She was elated, not only for the outfit, but for the fact that Atharva also liked it just as much. And there was no scope for any further discussion, as his mother knew that it would be pointless to argue. They checked out a few saris and formal dress materials as well, that would be given to Shruti during the engagement ceremony. They paid for the shopping done and decided to shop for Isha from the kids store, Green Bell. Atharva had gone ahead to ask the driver to get the car from the parking.
Her mother in law commented a lil sarcastically when Isha was playing around, “Chachi needs to lose some weight… would look better.”
Shruti couldn’t respond and her face instantly became gloomy. She had never been super slim, but she was definitely not obese as well.
Atharva was completely clueless about this; although it was only a comment, it affected her cheerfulness. Atharva noticed that something was amiss, but couldn’t figure out. They reached the store, which was an experience in itself. Generally, Shruti would have gone crazy to see the baby stuff. But today, she just couldn’t concentrate and was trying her best to get involved when Preksha asked for an opinion.
Atharva had been observing her since a while and was getting anxious now. At last, he called out to Shruti under the pretext of showing her something.
He took her in a secluded corner and asked, “Why are you so upset?”
She hesitantly questioned, “Atharva… did the outfit suit me or did I look obese?”
He was flabbergasted, literally not able to understand. “Sab ladkiya aisi hi hoti hai or are you a special case?!”
Before she could answer, he asked shrewdly, “Did anyone comment?”
She just shook her head. He did not believe her for a second. “Don’t try to fool me… your face is very transparent Shruti. I can make out that something happened to make you react like this. Forget about it… I am sure you could decipher from the way I appreciated your look in that outfit.” He continued hoarsely, “Or do you want me to show you how much I admired you?”
She felt better with his assurance and teasing, but mentally made a note of not letting him know about his mom’s comment; it could unnecessarily cause a rift. She relaxed a bit after that, feeling much more composed.
They were all hungry by the time their shopping was done. Right outside Green bell, they couldn’t resist digging into the not so- healthy, yet so-scrumptious street food, which catered to their taste buds. All of them filled up their tummy with the finger licking food. Shruti was also enjoying herself and got to see Atharva’s love for dosa. She saw him having his third and kept staring… This guy had some capacity! They were on their way back once they were done, and by the time they reached home, all were tired and sleepy, due to the day’s excursion and the sweltering heat.
They discussed about the forthcoming function and the other preparations. Their family jeweller was going to come on the next day for the ring and other jewellery. Atharva’s outfit was yet to be bought and they decided to get it done while Shruti was still around.
In a while, everyone retired to their room. Although Shruti had been with him throughout the day, she hadn’t been alone and asked him, “Can we please go for a drive if you don’t mind?”
He was quite surprised, considering the number of hours they had spent out, but didn’t refuse. He informed Shankar that he will be back in sometime. Minish had gone out with his friends and was going to come late.
Shruti simply wanted to be with him… alone, with no one around. She was feeling very vulnerable with the way her life was changing and was going through the phase where a girl feels buoyant as well as anxious at the same time. Throughout the drive, she was quiet, all the time thinking about how Atharva had brought that stability and the solace that she really needed. The simple gesture of holding hands meant a lot to her, beyond his imagination. It was like a seal and a promise to be beside each other, no matter what the circumstances.
She had this urge to hold his hand but didn’t have the guts to say so. She was trying to speak up, but simply couldn’t. They were almost back home, when she asked him, her voice full of emotions, “Atharva.. can you please hold my hand?” He looked at her astonished, realising that this was the first time she had asked him to do so. He obliged willingly of course, and was taken aback to see that she seemed to be sentimental. “Hey! You okay?”
She couldn’t utter a word, trying to hold back the tears that threatened to overflow. “I can’t explain Atharva.. it’s not about the physical contact… it means a lot more…”
It was her way of surrendering to him. He felt his heart going out to her, feeling helpless about it and had this urge to make things right and protect her. They were at a signal and he needed to change gears. She thought it would be inconvenient for him and tried to release her hand. He tightened his grip and said, “I can manage,” and did it by placing her hand on the gear and his on top of it. She smiled and he was glad to see her come out of her gloom.
They reached home in sometime. Atharva asked her to come in his current room. She hesitated when he reminded her, “Minish is not there. He will come late.” She nodded and they went in and sat; Atharva on the double bed and Shruti on the single. He had been longing to take her in his arms, to comfort her, to show her his love.
After a few awkward moments of silence, he got up and said, “Shruti.. please stand up.”
She asked knitting her eyebrows, “What happened?”
He said in a straight forward manner, “Please stand up… I would like to hug you.” She felt her stomach in knots again, although she had been expecting it to happen sooner or later. He had been dropping hints, mentally preparing her. She did get up on his insistence though and stepped forward hesitantly.
She fumbled, and asked for his assurance, “Only a hug okay? Nothing beyond that.”
He was eager and impatient, to say the least, and said, “Ya ya.. only a hug.”
The two lovebirds slowly embraced each other; he stooped a little down and she went on her tip toe. Both pairs of arms welcomed the other, equally smitten and felt finally at home. The yearning to be one in every sense had taken its toll on them and they were completely lost in the bliss. The two hearts beat as one and it was the most incredible sensation they had ever experienced. Shruti could feel the warmth of his chest and just hid her face, absorbing his closeness and the heat of his body. She had read scores of love stories, but nothing had prepared her for the torrent of emotions that hit her. Acting out of pure love, she impulsively gave him a feather light kiss on his cheeks, thanking him for coming in her life.
Atharva had been barely keeping a latch on his needs and feelings, trying his best to honour the promise he had made to her of only having a hug. He had put his arms around her and held her, when he felt her hands moving and touching the nape of his neck, gently giving him a kiss on his cheek.
At that very instant, he lost grip on all his senses and simply turned his face to capture those pink petals that had been inviting him all along. He didn’t know what took over him, he couldn’t withstand the temptation any more. He gently kissed her at first, trying to be as tender as possible, just feeling the softness of her lips. She was so lost in their first kiss that she couldn’t think about anything at all. She was actually taken aback that he had kissed, not expecting as he had promised only to hug.
Shruti didn't realise when he had slowly pushed her backward, such that her back was against the cupboard. It was then that she broke contact with his lips and somehow found her voice saying, “You had promised… then why did you break it?”
It was a magical moment, when the world stopped for the briefest of time, both holding their breath in anticipation, devouring each other with the passionate glance after their first kiss. It was so intense and so perfect, as if having a magnetic pull, bringing them closer in every possible way. It was a seal that changed their relationship forever.
He touched his forehead to hers, looked into her eyes and asked lovingly, “Who broke the promise first? The moment you kissed me, I lost my mind. And I am glad that it was you who broke, so now I don’t need to feel guilty for tasting the sweetest nectar there ever was.”
Before she could respond, he captured her lips again. She was still adjusting to her feelings due to his touch, when he paused and said huskily….
To be continued….
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Cya… stay tuned…
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