Always and Forever
Part - 34: Faraway Fantasies

The mid-morning was vibrant and cold, songs floated from the radio of the istriwala downstairs, and there was a slight burning smell from the kitchen on Agarwal house. Friday was the day of Bela’s experiments in cooking, which meant that quite often the food ended up getting burned. Today it was vegetable dum-biryani.

“Naina…”, Bela hollered from the kitchen.

Naina pushed back her chair from the desk, and stretched to remove the kinks from her shoulders, “aai chachiji.” She tied up her hair that had loosened from the bun, and then walked out, wondering what was the disaster this time.

Bela was waving a handheld fan in-front of a smoking vessel, and spoke up hurriedly on seeing Naina, “bhagwaan jhuth na bulaye beta, dekh na zara kya hua… maine toh sab kuch sahi se kiya.”

Naina coughed a bit because of the smoke as she stepped up to the gas, “Chachiji… sirf patila gas pe rakh diya aapne? Kitaab me likha tha na ke tawa rakhke uske upar handi ya patila rakhne ka?”

Together they managed to scoop out a layer of semi-cooked biryani from the vessel, taking care to not scrape the burnt bits. As they worked together to recook the biryani which was no longer a layered dum biryani, Naina wondered about the kind of fiascos she would make in her own kitchen after wedding. Given Sameer’s love for food, she was sure even she would experiment with some dishes sometime. She just hoped Ramdhari wouldn’t throw her out of the kitchen when she would mess up.

It was well past the usual lunch time by the time they managed to clean the burnt vessel, and the biryani was cooked. Thankfully, it didn’t turn out bad, it was eatable, just maybe not as perfect, but then they didn’t have a comparison benchmark apart from the very appealing picture in the recipe book. As she ate she kept wondering if Sameer had had his lunch. He had left yesterday for his Surat trip with Munna. Since he was taking his car along, they had dropped by for a quick morning tea; that was his only way to meet Naina. Even then, they were not able to stay for more than fifteen minutes, and he had just held her hand telling her that he would call every day. It was supposed to be an extremely busy trip which was evident as he had called once after reaching to inform that he had reached, then again yesterday night only for five minutes as he was exhausted, and then there was literally no call today. She was worried, and agitated, and so she had been writing almost continuously since yesterday. That was her way to deal with the anxiety.

Bela’s voice broke in her thoughts, “Naina… Tujhe jaana nahi hai?”

She looked up, “oh haan… mujhe waqt ka dhyan nahi raha. Main taiyar ho jaati hun.”

She had decided to go shopping along with Preeti today, and of course Rohan was joining in too. There were a few things that she needed to buy to surprise Sameer. Even though there was still some time to go for her wedding, she couldn’t anticipate if she would get such an opportunity again when Sameer is not here.

Rohan arrived with the car just as soon as she had dressed up, and they bade goodbye to Chachiji. Picking up Preeti from the parlor, they made their way to Navrangura market. Naina had carefully chosen a few shops that she wanted to go to. There were not many things that she could buy on her own for their wedding, but there were a couple of things that she really wanted to get for Sameer. The first shop that they entered was a men’s wear shop, and Naina immediately went to the ethnic wear section and demanded blue silk kurta and that too in indigo shade.

Preeti and Rohan looked at each other puzzled, while the young salesman was also perplexed, “yeh konsa rang hai? Indigo…?? Yeh toh safed kapde done wala chemical hai na? Meri dadi neel kehti hai use.”

Naina controlled her smile, “aap ek kaam kijiye mujhe saare blue color dikhaiye, main khud chun lungi.”

Preeti nudged her sister, “ek hi shade sochke aai hai? Nahi mila toh?”

Naina shrugged, “maine aur do dukaan dhundke rakhe hai. Kahin toh mil hi jayega.”

“Par kyun?”, Preeti queried.

Naina blushed a little, “mere engagement wale lehenga se match karne ke liye.”

Rohan grinned, “oh wow bhabhi. Bhai ko pata chalega toh bahot khush ho jayenge.”

“Isiliye abhi nahi batana hai”, Naina instructed, “muh bandh rakhna… samjhe?”

Rohan nodded, “of course… waise bhi main toh bhabhi ka chamcha hun na.”

Soon the shopkeeper brought armfuls of blue kurtas and was accompanied by two other salespersons. Dumping one stack in-front of the laughing trio, he huffed, “yeh dekhiye madam. Badhiya maal hai sab.”

Naina sifted through several pieces with Preeti and Rohan’s help, and finally narrowed down to five shades that were closest to what she wanted. Rohan helped her hold up each piece and after almost thirty minutes of deliberation she chose one with embroidery near the neck, it did not have very heavy work but she was sure it would look amazing on Sameer. For a minute she started to imagine about the happiness on his face when he would know she had bought this for him, especially so that they were color coordinated. He would grin like an excited kid, his eyes would shine, and then he would squeeze her in a hug so tight that her breath would stop… and then if they were alone he would again steal her breath by kissing her deep and long. Her body started to throb as she recalled how different it felt every time Sameer kissed her, it was as if he touched different nerves with each kiss, aroused different sensations. And his hands on her body… God… they made her skin burn. Sometimes she was scared that she would just erupt in flames and turn to ashes, yet like a moth she was always drawn to the fire that he was, craving to be consumed, because somehow she felt that surely at the end she would again emerge like a phoenix from the ashes only to become his again and again and again.

She was so lost in her fantasy that when Preeti touched her arm she literally jumped half a foot in air. Preeti drew back in alarm, “kya hua tujhe?”

Naina closed her eyes for few seconds, flustered at her own thoughts, “aah… kuch nahi. Chal bill bharke nikalte hai. Dusri dukaan me bhi jaana hai.”

They spent the whole afternoon in shopping as Naina wanted to buy cosmetics, bindi and bangles… all for a purpose. Rohan even queried once as to why Naina was buying so many bangles, but he was shushed by Preeti. Naina was determined to surprise him, which is why even though she had told Sameer that she would go out with Preeti and Rohan for some shopping, she hadn’t mentioned what she intended to buy…. Or rather she had just mentioned cosmetics, because of which she needed Preeti’s help, and Rohan was tagging along.

However, she had no idea that even just the mention of shopping and cosmetics had made Sameer wonder about her so many times since morning. Even now as he stood inside the production unit checking fabrics, Naina was not far from his thoughts. He swiped a palm over his sweaty forehead, and thought… Pata nahi kya kya kharid rahe honge woh log mere bina. Upar se Rohan saath me enjoy kar raha hai… Bhabhi ka chamcha…

At Agarwal home the family members had been occupied in numerous things required for the wedding. Chachaji was busy arranging for the caterers, decorators, several other things required like mattresses, chairs, and most importantly staying arrangements for guests that would arrive. Chachiji and Taiji were busy in deciding the schedule for all rituals like Ganesh Puja, Pahal Pawni, and also stuff like when to make papdi and mangodi. A neighbor had suggested that she would ask her relative to send special chandan powder from Mysore for Naina, while another requested to let her son also be a part of wedding preparations as she had heard that it would result in him getting a good wife.

On 9^th night, Sameer called up Naina at 11pm knowing she would wait despite it was late. He was so tired that all he wanted was drop face-down on bed and fall asleep, but even more than that he felt the need to hear her voice. And so he took a shower, slipped into his tracks and t-shirt and settled comfortably on the bed to talk.

Naina was settled on the window setee, curled up in the knitted blue shawl with a book in her hands. After returning from shopping, the whole evening she had been imagining about Sameer’s reaction and surprisingly enough each time she did that she would start getting visions of her and Sameer in their home entwined with each other with either him kissing her body or her trying to pull off his shirt. Her stomach had clenched every single time, and she had wondered if it was normal to keep thinking like this. If this was the condition now, then how would it be when she wouldn’t be able to meet him for so many days before wedding? On top of that there was a new rule now… As Taiji had got to know of her shopping trip with Rohan and Preeti she had created a mini ruckus about how dangerous it was for a girl who was getting married to wander alone outside. At first she had tried to put a complete ban on her going out of home, but Naina had argued logically saying that Sameer would need her for finalizing all the wedding arrangements, and also the furniture would arrive requiring her to be present in Maheshwari house. Taiji hadn’t been pleased but naturally she couldn’t argue when the case was related to Bholuram. Hence now there was a ban on Naina venturing outside alone, she could only go out if she was accompanied by someone responsible like Sameer, Chachaji, Tauji or her father… The arrangement definitely excluded Preeti. Naina was just glad that she had finished all her own shopping, and about the rest she was not much worried… Sameer would take her with him whenever there was need for her to go out.

Just then the phone rang, and she quickly picked it up with a huge smile, “Sameer…”

“Mmmm”, his eyes closed in relief on hearing her sweet voice, “hi sweetheart.”

She glanced at the clock once to check the time, “kaafi der ho gai… Kaise ho tum? Kaam ho gaya? Khana khaya? Munna kaisa hai?”

He grinned at her onslaught of questions, it showed her concern, “main aur Munna dono theek hai. Zyadatar kaam ho gaya aaj. Kal subah bas thoda paperwork hai aur ek meeting, uske baad shaam ko nikal jayenge wapas aaneke liye. Khana kha liye 9 baje hi…”

She listened to everything attentively, and then enquired further, “aur sir me dard toh nahi hai na?”

He pulled a pillow on his lap, “nahi… ab meri chodo, apni batao. Kya shopping kiya aaj? Aur Rohan ko le jaane ki kya zarurat thi?”

She laughed, “jalan ho rahi hai?”

He rolled his eyes, “woh devar hai tumhara… main kyun jalu. Main toh bas soch raha tha ke tum mere saath toh apne liye kuch kharidne nahi nikalti, toh fir aaj Rohan ko kyun le gai.”

“Shopping ke bahane se Rohan aur Preeti mil sake isiliye”, she explained, “aur maine kuch zyada nahi kharida.”

He queried, “kya kharida?”

Her mind flashed back to the several bags in her room as she bit her lip once and then lied smoothly, “thode se cosmetics… compact, kajal, foundation vagera…”

He sighed, “okay… abhi kya kar rahi ho?”

“Book padh rahi hun”, she replied immediately.

He frowned, “firse book? Naina… tum hamari kahani likh rahi ho, usme hum jo kar chuke hai wahi aayega… Itna zyada romance novels padhke kya kar logi?”

She laughed, “kya likhna hai woh thodi na jaanna hai, kaise likhna hai woh sikh rahi hun.”

He was perplexed, “achcha… toh kuch padhke sunao… main bhi sunu itna kya khaas hai.”

“hmmm”, she turned to the previous page that she was reading, “yeh suno…” In a gentle sweet voice she started to read a paragraph describing a beach date while the sun set in the horizon, coloring the sky in deep hues. She read how the darkness settled over the surroundings increasing the luminance of the candles and the hero held his woman to himself, dancing bare feet on the soft sand and slowly their lips met in a kiss.

Sameer listened to the whole description with his eyes closed and a small smile playing on his lips. The depiction of the date was soothing, and so was her voice… He could understand why she liked it. When she finished he opened his eyes, and asked, “tumko bhi aise date pe jaana hai kya? Shaadi ke baad kabhi Mumbai chalenge toh wahan beach pe jaa sakte hai.”

Her voice had an edge of both excitement and curiosity, “tum gaye ho beach pe? Sach me itna khubsurat hota hai kya?”

His smile widened, “haan bilkul… bahot khubsurat hota hai. Aur tumko pata hai sunset se bhi zyada achcha raat ko lagta hai… Socho Naina… Tum aur main, thandi thandi safed ret pe chalenge, haatho me haath daale, chandni raat me…”

She smiled as she trailed off, already imagining the scenario he described, “bolo na… chup kyun ho gaye?”

“Uhh”, he muttered, “kuch yaad aa gaya.”

She tilted her head, “kya?”

He chuckled, “Pooja didi ke shaadi me jis din tumne Arjun ko theek karne ka credit mujhe diya na gharwalo ke saamne, uss din mujhe yaqeen ho gaya tha ke finally tumne mujhe maaf kar diya… aur fir toh ghar aake main sapno me hi kho gaya. Sapne me hum hamare room me candles ke beech me dance kar rahe the… par tumko pata hai uss waqt hum dono ke rishte me itne dayre the ke maine sapne me bhi tumko chune ki himmat na kar saka. Couple dance bhi bina chuye kiya tha humne.”

She laughed, amazed at his description, and then asked, “aur ab? Ab chute ho mujhe apne sapne me?”

His breath caught at her innocent question. Oh what did she know of his dreams… Dropping his voice a decibel, he asked, “tum jaanna chahogi?”

She almost froze, her breathing stopped even though her heartbeat raced… she felt as if she was on the verge of discovering something new. Biting her lip, she dragged in a breath and whispered, “haan.”

His eyes widened slightly as he registered that she was not just curious but rather interested too. Well… who was he to not tell her… after all, she was a prominent part of his every fantasy. His eyes glittered as he started to tell the tale of his fantasies, “shuruat to college ke second year se hua tha…”

“Haww… Tabse”, she exclaimed.

He grinned, “haan… ek baar library me tum jhunki aur… umm… tumhara top upar ho gaya tha. Tabse pata nahi mujhe kya hua main hamesha tumko kiss karenke sapne dekhta tha. Ek taraf thaan li hui thi ke kuch bhi ulti-sidhi harkat nahi karunga tumhare saath, aur dusri taraf sapne hai ke rukne ka naam nahi lete the. Fir jab college khatam hua aur main full time office jaane laga hamesha raat ko tumhare sapne dekhta tha… shayad isiliye kyunki roz shaam ko ghar aata tha aur sochta tha tum hoti toh kitna achcha hota.”

She smiled, but enquired, “yeh toh normal sapne hai.”

He chuckled, “yes madam… thode sapne toh normal hote the… jaise ki tum aur main saath me khana kha rahe hai, balcony me bethe hai, garden me tehel rahe hai… Lekin fir kuch din jo sapne aate the woh aise hote the ke main neend se jaag jaata tha.”

“Darawne?”, she enquired.

This time he couldn’t help but laugh, “nahi Naina… Main sapne dekta tha ke main tumhe kiss kar raha hun… aur sirf hothon pe nahi, har jagah… sochne ki koshish karta tha ke tum… umm… kaisi dikhti ho.”

Her brows furrowed slightly, “kaisi dikhti hun? Tum toh mujhe roz dekhte the.”

“Waise nahi”, he countered, “waise… jaise main tumhe ab dekhta hun aur shaadi ke baad dekhunga.”

Her face flushed, and suddenly her breathing accelerated, “tum… tum sach me…”

“Haan”, he interrupted, and waited for her to ask what he knew she would.

A minute passed and then she gathered courage, “toh… umm… ab toh dekha hai… toh… sapna aur haqeeqat mein… mera matlab…”

He smiled as he interrupted her again, “Naina… Sapna to haqeeqat ke dur dur tak nahi aata… Tumko dekha tab meri haalat nahi dekhi thi tumne? Muh se awaaz tak nahi nikal rahi thi…”

She blushed furiously and fidgeted, and her voice was breathy as she whispered, “aur…?”

He continued, “aur ab jab tumhe dekh liya hai toh sapne aur zyada clear ho gaye hai… ab toh pure detail me dekhta hun… woh konse shabd ka matlab pucha tha tumne mujhe?” He remembered clearly what she had asked, but still teased her.

She gulped and lied, “y…yaad nahi.”

He scoffed, “jhoothi. Chalo koi nahi… main hi bol deta hun iss baar… Lovemaking.”

“Sameer…”, she whispered.

He could very well imagine the glazed look in her eyes as his words affected her, and so he continued, “hmmm… wahi aata rehta hai khayalo me ab toh… kabhi bed pe… kabhi bathroom… living room ka sofa… abhi kal hi soch raha tha, study room me naya desk aayega woh bhi achcha hai…”

“Bas”, she stopped him, “aur nahi.”

He was not unaffected either, “kyun… kuch hua?”

She didn’t hesitate to confess honestly, “haan… bahot kuch.” Her voice held both regret and desperation as she continued, “par… tum ho hi nahi yahan.”

He sat up straight at her words, his eyes narrowed as if he was trying to see her all the way in Ahmedabad, and he asked, “agar main hota… aur chahta ki hum… toh… toh kya tum…?”

She took some time to reply, but there were no second thoughts or hesitation as she answered, “haan.”

He closed his eyes, exhaling hard, “mujhe yeh sawaal puchna hi nahi chahiye tha.”

She had thought he would tease her, or express his desires, but this line puzzled her. She queried, “kyun?”

He sighed, “ab tak aur thode din control karna hai… pata nahi kaise hoga.”

For a moment she wished they didn’t have to control, but then smiled trying to ease his tensions that were not at all related to work, “ho jayega… hamesha hamare aas paas log honge na. Mauka hi nahi milega.”

He laughed, “samajh nahi aa raha iss baat pe khush hou ya dukhi.”

“Filhaal kuch bhi reaction ki zarurat nahi hai”, she assured, “bahot der ho gai hai, so jaao. Fir kal wapas kaam hai aur lamba safar bhi.”

“Tumhari yaad aa rahi hai Naina”, he mumbled.

She understood how he felt. They were not used to not talking to each other, and they two day his work had made it almost impossible for them to have long conversations. Suddenly she had an idea, “achcha ek kaam karo… Bed ke paas phone le jao, aur let jao.”

He was perplexed, “bed pe hi hun main.”

She smiled, “perfect. Ab let jao… aur… mujhse koi sawaal pucho. Jo bhi tum mere baare me janna chahta ho.”

He thought about it for a moment, slid down on the bed on his side, and asked, “tum bachpan me Stapu ke alawa aur kya khelti thi?”

He didn’t know why but somehow he wanted to imagine the girl she had been in school, with big smile, shiny eyes and two oily pigtails. And so he listened to her narrate about how she liked to skip ropes and imagined skipping with her, when she said about loving swings he imagined standing behind her and helping her swing, when she told him of hide and seek he visualized the 16 year old Naina searching for him while he tried his best to hide from her. He never knew when he fell asleep listening to her soft voice, and the receiver slipped out of his hand falling in-front of his face.

Naina heard the sounds of his breath evening out and understood that he had fallen asleep. Still she held the receiver to her ear for some time more, listening to his breathing, and then slowly whispered, “I love you”, before disconnecting the phone.

The next day brought many different wedding tasks, as Chachaji allocated Naina to the task of deciding about the menu, and he himself went outside and brought two big brand new trolley bags saying that Naina would take all her stuff in this. Chachiji and Taiji chose the design for the silver coins that were supposed to be given to the main baaratis in milni. Preeti came in after her work with an ecstatic expression displaying a matte silver makeup box with artwork beige gold velvet on it. Naina loved it totally and was surprised on knowing that Preeti had specially ordered it for her as a wedding gift.

When Naina asked what was the need for it. Preeti raised her invisible collar, “aree kamati hui behen hun… ek gift toh banta hai shaadi pe. Aur ek gift Jijaji ko dungi.”

Naina’s interest was piqued, “kya?”

Preeti raised her eyebrows, “woh tujhe kyun batau? Mere aur Jijaji ke beech ki baat hai.”

Naina tried for quite some time but Preeti never revealed, and finally she gave up thinking that whatever it was she would surely get to know it from Sameer.

Another topic of happiness was that Sameer was returning that day, though it would be too late for them to meet, she was just happy that they would be able to meet the next day. She settled down again with her book that night, knowing he would call her as soon as he reached. However the clock kept ticking, and slowly she dropped off in a doze, until the phone rang. Her reaction was immediate and quick, she picked up the phone even before the first ring was complete.

She asked in a whisper, “hello… Pahonch gaye?”

He immediately replied, “haan… 10minute pehle. Naha bhi liya aur ab tumse milne aa raha hun.”

“Mu…mujh…mujhse”, she stammered, “kya matlab? Itni raat ko kaise?” Just for confirmation she checked the time, and she was right, it was too late. The clock showed it was almost midnight.

“Jaise peechli baar aaya tha kamre me”, he said without hesitation, “aur Naina suno… mujhe bhuk lagi hai.”

She stuttered another objection but by then he had disconnected and when she dialed again no one picked up. What happened to Rohan? Even if Sameer didn’t pick up, Rohan would… But he didn’t, which meant there were only two explanations. Either Rohan was asleep, or else he was also coming with Sameer. She debated for some time about what to do, but then she recalled Sameer saying that he was hungry. Didn’t he have dinner? Did something happen? Tension started to cloud her mind, but she pushed it away, and went to wake up Preeti. She was not sure if Rohan was coming or not, but if he did Preeti needed to be awake, and if he didn’t then Preeti could go to sleep again. Also, she needed someone to stop Sameer from climbing up the pipe to her balcony.

Preeti grumbled in sleep for quite some time before waking up and her eyes kept on widening as she listened to the surety of her Jijaji coming and probability of Rohan coming. She almost shrieked aloud, but controlled herself at the last moment and whispered, “dono pagal hai kya?”

Naina shrugged, “sunn… main kuch banane jaa rahi hun. Sameer ko bhuk lagi hai. Tu balcony me khadi reh, dono ko chadne mat dena upar. Note likhle ke seediyo se upar aa jaaye aur woh niche daalna, aur likhna ke Naina ke bola hai… toh turant sunenge dono.”

Preeti nodded and got up to find a notebook, “tu jo bhi bana rahi hai mere liye bhi banana. Yeh sab bhuke pet nahi ho sakta mujhse.”

Naina laughed softly and left to go to the kitchen. Given the time she decided to quickly prepare maggi. Just this evening they had shelled peas for tomorrow’s lunch, so she grabbed some of that, and chopped up some other vegetables quickly. Just normal maggi would also have been enough, but since they were going to eat anyways, then why not a proper meal. It didn’t take long for her to prepare the maggi, and on another gas she also prepared some coffee and filled up a small flask. There would be more vessels to wash, but her worry about Sameer not eating dinner preceded everything. She also sneaked out some barfi that Chachaji had brought that day, hoping Chachiji wouldn’t notice the anomaly.

Keeping everything ready she went in her room again, and saw Preeti standing in the balcony wearing a sweater and yawning. She also pulled on a soft sweater, and went outside. Almost in no time they could hear a bike.

“Itni thand me bike lekar aaya hai”, she muttered even though she knew that he had brought it because it was easy to hide.

The bike slowed before their society, and they spied two people on it, and then it sped up again. Preeti frowned, “kitne log raat ko bike chala rahe hai?”

Naina chuckled, “woh Sameer aur Rohan hi the. Yahan nahi ruke kyunki bike dusri gali me chupake aayenge. Paanch minute de, aa jayenge.”

Preeti nodded and turned to look at the road again. Soon both of them strode over, and Sameer looked up at them. Naina raised her hand asking him to stop, and he frowned. Preeti dropped the paper which Rohan caught, and together they read the note. Looking up once more Sameer nodded, and the brother slowly circled the perimeter before sneaking up the stairs.

Naina and Preeti managed to carry all the food between themselves along with two thick blankets, and slowly opened the door. The men were standing outside, Sameer with a puzzled look, and Rohan with a small smile. They quickly helped the girls with everything and Naina gestured them to move up indicating the terrace.

“Yeh sab kya hai?”, Sameer asked as soon as they reached the terrace.

Naina placed the food boxes and flask on floor, “tumne hi toh kaha tha ke bhuk lagi hai.”

He gaped at her, and then held her hand pulling her to him, “maine toh woh isiliye kaha tha taaki tum zyada socho nahi mere aaneki wajah ke baare me. Main toh bas tumko dekhna chahta tha… tumse mile bina chain nai pad raha tha.”

She moved even closer to him, he raised his hands to wrap around her, and just then there were two coughing sounds. Sameer looked in that direction to see a grinning Preeti and coughing Rohan.

“Tumhe laana hi nahi chahiye tha”, Sameer muttered.

Rohan grinned, “kyun saare maze aap akele karoge? Yeh kitna exciting hai na… adhi raat ko girlfriend ke ghar me chori-chupke aana.”

Preeti yawned, “ghar me? Haha… Ghar pe mummy-papa aur pados me Rakesh Tauji, bade Tauji aur Taiji… aise me tum toh kya, Jijaji bhi himmat na kare kamre me paanv rakhne ka.”

Naina raised her eyebrows at this and Sameer winked at her. Rohan wasn’t deterred, “jo bhi hai… bahot mazaa aa raha hai. Ab kya karenge?”

Sameer rolled his eyes and picked up a blanket, “yeh lo tumhara kambal. Kahin aur chale jao… mujhe aur Naina ko akele chod do.”

Naina giggled at this straightforward instruction. Preeti also chuckled, and then refused, “uh uh… itni jaldi kya hai. Naina ne maggi banaya hai. Woh toh at least saath me khate hai, fir aap dono ko hum akela chod denge.”

Sameer’s eyes lit up, “maggi?”

Naina nodded, she knew that lie or not, if food was there Sameer would eat. She half-opened one blanket and spread it on the floor, “chalo kha lete hai.”

The boxes were opened, and they sat down, but when she offered a fork to Sameer he folded his arms staring at her. She shook her head with a small smile and started feeding him. Rohan observed them and kept his fork down too, glancing at Preeti meaningfully. But Peeti was so focused on eating that she didn’t even notice that Rohan had stopped eating. Sighing he picked up the fork again and started eating, wishfully watching his bhai-bhabhi eat alternately using the same fork as Naina fed Sameer with proper care and attention. Together they finished the maggi and barfi, and immediately Sameer asked them to leave again. Naina poured out coffee in one glass for them and Preeti frowned, “yeh toh ek hi glass hai.”

Naina face palmed, she hadn’t missed Rohan trying to get Preeti’s attention while eating. Her sister was a dunce when it came to romance. So she helpfully suggested, “haan Preeti… ek hi glass hai… tum dono isme se peena. Jaise main aur Sameer ek glass me se piyenge.”

Rohan grinned thankfully at his Bhabhi, and then picked up the second blanket. Sameer also stood up then turned the blanket over opening it fully and indicated her to sit on the edge. He sat next to her, and then pulled up the remaining half from behind them and over their shoulders so that it covered them both.

Naina offered him the coffee, but he instead cupped her face and kissed her without any preliminaries. She shivered and then carefully set the coffee aside, and slid her hands in his hair opening her mouth for him, offering him what he sought. And he took with a fierce intensity that almost made her feel the effect of it in her womb. His tongue tasted each and every corner of her mouth as if he was learning her taste and feel anew. Beneath the blanket his one hand rubbed her arm, and then opened the buttons of her sweater, feeling her body over her night dress top. Her fingers sifted through his silky hair, to his nape and then dipped inside the pullover he was wearing seeking the warmth of his skin.

Her breath was erratic when he parted and he panted as if he had finally found his breath. Dipping his head again he let his forehead touch hers and she smiled at the gesture, as she whispered, “wow… firse?”

He smiled, “uhmm… par pehle coffee… Hamari terrace wali date, yeh meri ek fantasy thi college ke third year me jab main tumhare balcony ke neeche khada rehta tha.”

She grinned, “aur kya karte the fantasy me?”

He winked at her, “bata dunga achche se sweetheart… abhi toh puri raat baki hai.”