"Then who was I?"
Her question rang in his head like a bird that wouldn't stop chirping. 'Who was she?' perhaps he had never thought of that question before, until now.
Maybe he knew the answer or maybe not. But he couldn't bring out the words from his mouth to say who she really was to him. Maybe she was most part of his life for him, more than just a crush.
Aditya always believed that, crushes are never meant to be together. And Naina was surely not the person, whom he crushed on.
Aditya remained mum for the longest time and seeing his silence, Naina couldn't help but question what was going on his mind.
Just when she opened her mouth to speak, she sneezed pulling her hand to free from his grip and he freed her. Covering her mouth, she sneezed continuously.
Looking at her, Aditya removed his blazer and pulled over her shoulder. Which made Naina to look up at him with her eyes widened.
Her nose had turned red due to cold and so were her cheeks but there were more than one reasons for it. Her eyes moving from his blazer which was on her now and then to him, she asked.
"Th- sneeze -is"
She was about to remove the blazer when he stopped her by holding the sides of the blazer tightly.
Her sneezes were not coming to stop and upon that she was hell bent on denying his blazer just because she was angry, at him. In front of his strong grip, she gave up and wore the blazer to not want him coming anymore closer than he was already.
Wearing the blazer, she huffed and moved a little bit away and near to the wall, all the while glaring at him and sneezing. Seeing, he couldn't help but smile at her. And just like that, the question was left unanswered.
She turned her face and looked at her front. At a distance, she saw how the inspector was seated on his chair and drowned in his paper work. His face was not certainly a happy one. It was rather grumpy and and angry. Every now and then, he grumbled out the words which were not audible for her.
"Are you thinking the same thing?"
She heard Aditya's voice in her ear all of a sudden that sent chills down her spine and jumped at his low whisper.
"What?" She asked him without looking at him.
"How much of an idiot he must be to lock up us here?"
Hearing him question, she turned to face him to have him just an inch away from her face.
'Why is he always this close?'
Quitting to glare at him and flashed a smile to him.
"You are the one who is idiot here!"
Saying, she resumed her gaze to look at the inspector.
"I?"
He laughed.
"I am idiot? How so? Care to explain?"
Rolling her eyes at him, she muttered.
"Of course, you are.
Who ate the chillies here?"
"What does that has to do with idiocy?"
"Why do you even think we are locked up?"
"That's because he has no brains!"
"No, that's because your eyes are as red as that of a drunk person!"
"No!"
"Yes!" Naina hissed at him, with her neverending glare.
"I did for you, it's not idiocy" Aditya mumbled looking away and down and continued.
"It is because of you, that we are here"
"Yes, I had a dream that he was going to come there. So I got out of the car and was waiting for him in the rain to have us arrested, right?"
She said with a sarcastic smile on her face.
"Who knows?"
Aditya grumbled and looked up to see the man who was to be blamed and glared at him.
As if sensing the glare, he turned to look in their direction to find that it were glares from two pairs of eyes. He couldn't help but smile at the couple who only glared at him more to have him look away.
'Does he have eyes on the back of his head?'
Both Naina and Aditya questioned themselves who were still glaring the inspector.
But as Naina was glaring, her thoughts shifted to the time where she and Aditya were dancing and she had placed a kiss on his neck. If possible, she would just dig up a hole and bury herself right now! That's how embarrassed she was.
And then drenching herself in the rain? Just what was she thinking? But that rain was something that she couldn't leave and get inside the car. It felt like it had rained only for her sake. There was something different when it rained and when she felt each and every drop of it hitting her skin.
Then again when, Aditya was close to her to blow air on her eye, she felt her heart beating rapidly again with just remembering. She wished the floor to swallow up her right now, as she felt her cheeks heatened up.
Just this one night, and what was happening to her? She questioned. From the life that was bland, suddenly started taking turns like a rollercoaster! She was scared of the changes in her and whatever was happening.
Lost in her thoughts, she didn't realise when her eyes started to droop and in a few minutes, she was fast asleep with her head falling onto her left side.
Before even she could fall and wake up, Aditya held her head with his hands and moved a little closer to her to have her head placed on his shoulder. He slowly pushed her hairs behind her ear and gazed at her lovingly.
"You are my everything, Naina. I love you."
He whispered in his heart and one day he wished and hoped to say it louder to her. Smiling, he placed a soft peck on her temple and leaning his head on the wall, he felt sleep consuming him.
When the morning arrived, it was Naina who had eyes flutter them to see the iron rods instead of bright light passing through the window with curtains flowing, letting the breeze enter the room and caress her skin.
She then felt something hard, yet comfortable under her head instead of the soft pillow. She neither felt the softness of the mattress of her bed, instead she felt a rocky floor.
Opening her eyes fully, she saw that it was not her room where she was in but a jail! It took a minute for her to completely remember what happened previous night and then she straightened herself to face the white ceiling and then she saw Aditya sleeping, leaning onto the wall with his head tilted little bit to his right.
Her face turned red with embarrassment. She was so sure that she was sitting on her side but then how did she end up with her head on his lap? She questioned herself and woke up silently trying not to wake him up.
Once she sat, pushing her hairs behind her ears, she saw his sleeping face. He looked peaceful when he is always asleep. She could watch him sleeping whole day. She remembered their bantering about whose fault was it, that they ended up here?
A smile appeared on her face seeing him. She was still wearing his blazer which smelled just like him and felt warm. She breathed in the essence of his fragrance that still lingered on his blazer.
Straightening herself, she raised her gaze to look around to notice the three women were looking at Aditya again. They had a look on their faces like any school girl would have while ogling! She then turned her face to Aditya to see his Adam's apple and the first two buttons of his shirt were unbuttoned exposing the collar area.
Just looking at him, she couldn't help but remember the kiss she had placed on his neck and her heart wouldn't stop beating loudly and rapidly. Averting her gaze she found the women still staring at his exposed skin. She couldn't help but remove the blazer she was wearing and cover him. And once she was done covering his body without waking him up, she turned to glare at them.
She didn't understand why she was feeling this way. What was happening to her, all of a sudden. Just one night in the jail, and she was already having all sorts of murderous ideas about the women whoever looked at her husband.
Not liking what or how she was feeling, she wanted to move away from him. But before even she could, she felt a tug on her hair and she saw that free strands of hairs were stuck onto the button of his cufflinks.
'These long hairs!' she cursed her hairs.
She slowly tried to release her hairs but she instead woke him up to find her close to his abdomen where he placed his hand. But unware of him being awake, Naina still tried to release her hairs.
Failing miserably, she sighed and looked up to see him staring back at her. Startled by his awakening, she moved, jerking herself and hissed in pain when she felt the tug in her hairs.
Her face reddened up being caught by him. But she wasn't doing anything wrong. All she was doing was releasing her hairs which were stuck to his cufflinks. Then why was she feeling as if she was caught while doing something wrong?
"I - I "
Naina couldn't form a single word when she looked at him staring back at her with such intensely. All of her sudden her throat dried to have her not able to speak. But Aditya noticed the hairs that were stuck to his cufflinks and he slowly started to release her hairs.
While he was busy in releasing her hairs, Naina could not help but look at his long fingers that worked effortlessly. Her gaze still fixed on his hands, she couldn't hear him saying that her hairs were freed.
He then raised him other hand and pushed her hairs behind her ear to have her look at him.
"They are free"
She heard him say with his raspy voice and her face couldn't get more red than it already was.
Nodding her head, she stood up on her feet and moved to the door of the lockup. Wiping his eyes, Aditya looked at the blazer that laid on him and wondered how did it end up on him when she was wearing it.
He looked at Naina who had her back facing him and then back at the blazer and then his gaze fell on the women that were still staring at him shamelessly with whispers and flirty smiles.
Averting his gaze back to the blazer and then at Naina, he understood what had happened. This mere thought, brought smile on his face.
'So, his silly girl was covering her husband from the stares of other women'
Smiling, he stood up and walked near her and placed the blazer on her shoulders, which made her turn to look at him.
"Why did you remove? You are cold"
Aditya whispered holding her hands that were freezing, which she hadn't realised until he felt the warmth from his hold on her.
She looked up and couldn't help but glare at the women who were still staring at him and looked at Aditya who was smirking at her, as if he had caught her glaring at them and he definitely did the way he was looking at her.
Turning to beat red, she turned away to have him lean to side of her face and breath on her ear.
"Seems like my wife is jealous"
__________
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Dated - 7 September, 2020
Edited - 18 June 2021