I stepped out of the room wearing only the black hoodie which reached till my mid-thigh. The grey joggers were too loose for my small body so I decided not to wear them. I had the hoodie to cover enough of my body.
I made my way to the kitchen. I saw two plates ready on the table but Shiv was nowhere to be seen.
"Fine. I will be back soon. I don't know when." I heard him speak.
I walked towards the living room and found him sitting on the sofa with his phone pressed to his ear. He hung up and rested his head in his palms.
"Is everything okay?" I asked, massaging his shoulders from behind the sofa as he leaned back.
"Yes, everything is fine. I just have to be back at work soon." He told me.
"When do you have to leave?"
"I haven't decided yet. I don't want to leave you alone." He said. He grabbed my hands and pulled me around the sofa to face him.
"It is fine. I will be okay. I have Sanjana." I said, sounding just a little sad.
"No it is not okay. I want to be here through every part of it. The morning sickness, weird food cravings, mood swings, everything." He said with a light chuckle.
"But what about your work? That is important too." I said.
"I know. I guess I will have to be back and forth."
"There is no way you are doing that. Airplane tickets cost a fortune and the constant travel and jet lags will get you sick." I told him. I wasn't going to let him do that to himself just for me to see him frequently.
He pulled me on his lap and I draped my hands around his neck and his strong arms snaked around my waist like they usually did. I put my hands in his hair and slightly massaged. He relaxed a bit when I did so.
"Then what can I do? I don't want to be absent through most of it." He whined.
"What you can do right now is reheat our food because I think it must be cold by now." I told him, changing the topic. I didn't want to stress him out by discussing about all of this while he was already stressed about work.
"That will be better." He said and lifted me up. He put my hand in his and pulled me towards the kitchen. He made me sit on the table while he went to reheat the food.
"Wait." I said and he stopped. "You go and freshen up and change your clothes, I will heat up the food. I can do that much at least." I said and pushed him out of the kitchen.
"Okay. I will be right back."
I emptied the plates that he set up back into the bowls and put the bowls in the microwave oven. I set the timer and waited while I drank a glass of water. When I heard the three beeps, I pulled open the small door and pulled out the bowls of food. Just when I was filling up the plates, I heard his door open and shut close. He walked in the dining area and we sat down.
Once we had finished out food, we were sitting on the couches in his living room watching a random bollywood movie on Netflix. My eyes felt heavy so I leaned on his shoulder and closed my eyes, slipping into a deep slumber.
.
The next morning, I woke up feeling marvellous. I never slept this comfortable. My back didn't hurt and my neck was in perfect condition. I realised I was in his bed, with a soft pillow under my head and soft blankets covering my body, shielding me from the cold. This mattress did wonders for my body. Shiv must be in pain after sleeping on the mattresses in our apartment if he was used to sleeping on these.
"Good morning." Shiv said with a smile as he entered the room with a tray in his hands. "Did you sleep well?"
"Good morning. Yes, actually I slept better than ever. What mattress is this?" I said.
"That's good." he said. "I don't know what mattress that is. It was all done by decorators. I just paid and moved in."
"And you say that you aren't a brat." I said and rolled my eyes.
"Ha-ha." he said in a straight voice. "Here, I made you breakfast." I said pointing at the tray he placed on the coffee table. I noticed that the curtains were open. I could see the Thames from here too. It was the best way to wake up.
"I will just go and brush my teeth. Do you have a spare toothbrush?" I asked him.
"Yes, It must be in the drawer under the sink." He replied and I made my way to the bathroom. I found the spare brush; It was still in its packet, I took it out and brushed my teeth. I placed my toothbrush in the cup which held Shiv's.
"What did you make today?" I asked as I sat down on the chair near the window.
"I made waffles. We have strawberries and chocolate syrup. What do you want?" he asked.
"Chocolate syrup, please."
As he poured the syrup on the waffle on my plate, I gagged and ran to the bathroom. I threw up and emptied the contents of my stomach. I cleaned everything up and brushed my teeth again. As I walked out, I saw Shiv walking towards me.
"Are you okay?" He asked.
"Yeah, I told you I will be fine. It happens." I said and we walked back towards the chairs.
I looked at the food and my gag reflexes kicked in again. I got up from the chair and walked away from the food.
"I am sorry. I just don't feel like eating." I said.
"Hey, It's okay." He said while rubbing my arms up and down, trying to comfort me. I could tell that he wasn't used to doing this. His hands weren't steady but he was trying.
"I am really sorry. I can't even look at it without gagging." I cried.
"It is fine. Don't worry. Why are you crying?" He asked while wiping the tears away.
"I don't know." I said in between the sobs.
.
Once I had stopped crying, Shiv went back to bring me some coffee.
"Here." He said while holding out the cup for me.
"You should eat." I told him.
"No, it is fine." He said.
"It is not. I know you are hungry. Just eat."
"I don't want to."
"Please eat it. For me." I said.
"Fine, I will eat." He said and walked back towards the food.
"I am going to take a shower." I said to him and he nodded.
.
I stepped in the warm water and relaxed a bit. My mind was blocked by the amount of thoughts.
What will we do? Will he go back? Will he stay here? Can we work it out?
I knew he could't skip work and stay back for me and he wouldn't leave me to go to work. I wouldn't let him be back and forth constantly.
We will have to find a way out of this dilemma. We had to work something out. For the baby.
I stepped out of the shower and put on the new underwear I bought yesterday. I put on the same black hoodie from last night with my skinny jeans. I put my previous clothes back into the shopping bags. I left my hair to air-dry and put on some moisturiser and lip balm before walking out.
"I like it better on you." He said, referring to the hoodie.
"It is very comfortable. I don't think you will ever get it back." I said, teasingly.
"It's fine, I have lots of those."
"Maybe, someday, I will raid your closet for your shirts and sweatshirts." I said.
"That's not fair. I won't fit in your clothes." He said like a small child.
"Not my problem." I shrugged with a smirk on my lips.
He just huffed and rolled his eyes.
"I will get ready and then we have to leave. We are going to meet someone important today." He told me.
"Okay, but can we go after I finish work?" I asked.
"Okay. That can be possible." He said.
"Who are we meeting?"
"You will see."
"Okay, now you are just doing it to annoy me. Tell me!" I said.
"You will see." He repeated and disappeared into the bathroom with a smirk.
.
I checked my phone for the while Shiv was getting ready. He was taking too long, even longer than me.
I had 2 missed calls from Sanjana this morning. No one else actually called me. Except, occasionally, my brother did.
I called her back and she picked up after two rings.
"Hey. You called?" I asked her.
"No, a parrot flew in and tapped on my phone and it was him who called not me." She said.
"Someone is in a mood today." I said.
"Yeah, because that someone's best friend didn't pick up her calls."
"Why are you being salty? Who peed in your breakfast? I bet the parrot did it." I said.
She laughed a bit.
"Ugh. I just- he called and asked me out this weekend. He said I could bring my friend. So I want you to come." She said.
"And that is a problem because?"
"Because I don't want to go. It is a private party at his club."
"You will be fine. I will go with you." I assured her.
"Thank you! I couldn't say no because my boss is a bitch." She said and I laughed.
"Okay. I will be back home in a few minutes." I said and hung up.
It was still 7:30 a.m. and I had to be at work at 9.
"Who was that?" Shiv asked as he walked in the room. He was wearing a white button down tucked in with formal black pants and a belt. He rolled up his sleeves as he walked over to the bed.
Fuck! That is so hot. I thought to myself.
"Huh? What?" I asked because I completely ignored his question while I was busy checking him out.
"I asked who it was."
"Oh. Sanjana. She wanted to ask me to go with her to this party. It is this weekend." I said. "You should come or I would just be a third wheel."
"I will try. Where is it?"
"It is at a club that I don't know the name of. I will ask Sanjana." I said and he nodded.
It was then, I looked at his hair. Instead of the usual brown, tangled curls, It was styled. Slicked back with hair gel. It went with the formal look. Over all, he looked hotter than the Sun and hell combined.
"I have to get to work. I should go now." I said after clearing my throat. "Where are you going by the way?"
"I have to meet a client today. I thought I could work from here if not from India. You can go. Your car is in the parking. Take the keys from the drawer." He said. "And remember, we have to meet someone today. I will pick you up from your office."
"Okay. But how will you drive? Your car was destroyed." I asked him.
"Oh don't worry, I have 3 other cars downstairs in the parking."
"Oh, Okay." I said.
I pressed a light kiss on his lips before saying goodbye and walking out of the apartment.
I found my car at the spot where we left it last night. I put my shopping bags in the back seat before sitting in and dropping my hand bag in the passenger seat.
I realised that my car was low on fuel so I stopped by at a petrol pump and filled it up. As I was getting back in my car, I spotted a familiar face.
"Hey Faiza!" I greeted her.
"Hey! I haven't seen you in a while." She said.
Faiza was a common friend of mine and Sanjana from College. All three of were room-mates but went into different careers after college. I took up editing, Sanjana went into management and Faiza was in the commerce section. Although she worked in the same company as me, we never met because of different work times and different offices and sections.
"How are you?" I asked.
"I am good. And you look great! Have you been working out?" She asked.
"Actually no. But thanks." I said. I have been doing exactly the opposite of working out.
"So what is going on these days?"
"The usual. Since you moved out, we haven't had any parties or major sleepovers. We miss you."
"I miss you both too. But I have been busy for a while." She leaned in the passenger seat of her car and pulled out a carrier. A baby, almost new born was sleeping in it.
"Oh my God! You had a baby? And you didn't tell us?" I gasped. She was already married after half a year of graduation.
"Yeah, a couple months ago. He is so cute. Just look at him sleeping." She said with adoration in her eyes.
"Yes, he is very adorable." I said with a smile.
"Wait a minute. Am I hearing right? Naina Dixit just called a baby cute? From what I remember, you used to despise children." she said with a shocked expression.
"I guess, people change." I said with a smile.