Only Mine
Chapter 30: Mission Surprise

There is that time sometime between night and morning when the brain forms creative visualizations that’s termed as dream, the delicious sensations stimulate the mind which are sometimes forgotten in morning, and sometimes remembered fondly. Naina was having one such dream that she felt she would never forget… She loved water… Ever since she was a kid rains fascinated her, and slowly this allure extended to rivers, lakes, ponds and then to sea after coming to Mumbai. Water had its own mind, its movements fluid, controlled by no one, it was a giver of life and also a force to snub one, it was never colorless for it took over the colors of its surroundings… A pond in the center of village would reflect the green of sparse trees or brown of the mud houses… A lake surrounded by tall trees would take on the green shades… A flowing river was sometimes the blue of sky, or the green of trees, or the grey of rocks, or the golden of sparkling sun, or the silver of bright moon on a dark night… And the sea was the most dynamic of all… The shades were so many and so brilliant that it never fit in one word… Could she call it blue? No… Every time she looked at the vast expanse she would see different shades of blue, a soft pastel her and a brilliant turquoise at a distance, some areas would be grey and green even without a tree or rock in sight, and incredibly enough sometime she could also see slight shades of pink although she could never understand how… Add to that water had so much unseen depth, just like a human being, she always thought… No matter how well you knew someone there was always something more to know… And her dream tonight was all about water…

She was at some beach, riding on a boat, lying down on her stomach, her hand extending out to dip in the sea. The water moved around her outstretched fingers, caressing coolly, as she stared at the ever-changing brilliant shades. It was an amazing sensation as she rode wave after wave, the soft gentle rocking movements lulling her to sleep… There was peace and joy combined in that moment, but the in the next second confusion was added as she felt the warmth of the waves on her back too… How was it possible? Yet there it was… the soft caress, the heavy weight and the tightening that made her feel as if the sea was trying to pull her to its depths… She gasped suddenly frightened, and flayed her arms to save herself… Just then she heard a whisper in her ear, “what are you doing? Stay still…”

The sea was talking? Oh my God… That was too much to take for her and she opened her eyes, wanting to escape… But as she lifted her head, her gaze was captivated with a brilliant brown shade which didn’t belong to the sea but rather someone’s eyes… Her lips curved in a confused frown, “Sameer?”

“Yeah”, he replied cautiously, “what?”

She mumbled, “what are you doing at the beach?”

He was perplexed, “Beach?”

“Yes”, she nodded, “I am on a boat… you weren’t there.”

He chuckled, “honey… you are not on a boat… you are on me… literally…”

“On you?” She frowned once more in confusion, and at that moment looked so cute that he couldn’t help but lift up and kiss her lips. She blinked, drawing in a breath and opened up to him… Her hands clutched onto the sides… His arms… not water… So it was all dream, she finally realized and smiled into the kiss… He chuckled softly, pulling back, “woken up finally?”

She hummed, “uhmm…”, laying her head on his shoulder, “it was a beautiful dream…” After few minutes she queried, “how am I sleeping like this?”

He stroked her back, “I guess just holding onto me wasn’t enough for you… you wanted to keep me pinned to the bed, so you climbed up.”

She lifted her head to glare at him, “I could bite you, you know…”

“It would be my pleasure honey”, he replied cheekily, “and I wouldn’t mind returning the favour… in fact there are many spots I would like to nibble on… For instance…”

As his hand moved beneath her top, she reached behind and grabbed it, “stop… not again… I won’t be able to…”

He smiled, “yeah… neither would I… as it is the situation is almost out of hand with you being so comfortable on me.” She blushed furiously and started to slide down, but he rolled to his side, not leaving her, and mumbled, “it’s 4am… I should leave.”

She sighed, “yep… umm… see you tomorrow…”

“Today honey”, he chuckled, kissing her softly, “and don’t get used to this… I am too innocent to meet you every night like this… all this will happen only after marriage.”

She rolled on her back, laughing helplessly as he sat up and pulled on his shirt… Once dressed, he stood up and looped his arm around her, pulling her close, and toyed with the strap at her shoulder, “do you have more of these cute-hot night dresses?”

Her eyebrow arched, “cute-hot?”

He nodded, “yeah… like you… one more you are cute like an innocent kid, and the next moment too hot to handle.”

She stared at him, “how do you come up with these lines? They are unique, crazy and yet the most sincere compliments I have ever received.”

“I am a poet”, he replied earnestly.

She rolled her eyes, “ya right…”

He grinned, amused that she still didn’t believe in his ability to write poems. Pushing that thought aside he asked, “you didn’t answer?”

She nodded, “yes, I have two more… one black and one red… Actually I bought them after I shifted to Mumbai. I wanted something totally opposite to what I wore in Ahmedabad…”

“You needed to forget”, he affirmed rubbing his knuckles on her cheek, “I understand… do you have any clothes from that time?”

She was puzzled, “yes… I do…”

He further queried, “and your uniform?”

“Yes”, she replied hesitantly, “I mean… it is in Ahmedabad, I guess… But why?”

He looked at her for a moment, “nothing… I will see you at the station soon. Bye honey…”

And with that he was gone, sliding down the pipe as quietly as he had come. She stood watching him melt into the shadows, and then went back inside… It was an odd hour to wake up, and she should have felt sleepy… But she had been so content sleeping in his arms, that it didn’t feel as if her sleep was incomplete. She lay down on the bed, reading a book but her mind kept going back to his questions. Lost in thoughts she didn’t realize when she dozed off until the alarm went off.

The day was nothing unusual, except that she kept recollecting the moments of the night and blushed at odd moments. It led to Chaaya questioning, “did you already do the deed last night or what?”

Naina gasped, “what!? No…”

Chaaya chortled, “then why are you blushing?”

Naina bit her lip, “umm… can I tell you something? I mean… I won’t be able to tell this to PB, so…”

Chaaya nodded, her eyes lighting up in excitement, “of course…”

Naina hesitated for one more moment, but then confided, “he came to me last night…”

“What!” Chaaya almost shrieked, but controlled her volume, “really? And what about PB?”

“He climbed up the pipe to my balcony”, Naina informed with a blush, “we had a small disagreement, and he said he couldn’t stay without meeting me. PB doesn’t know…”

Chaaya could hardly control her excitement, “wow! That’s so romantic… Almost like Romeo… Naina you are so lucky…”

“I know”, Naina sighed dreamily, “he is so… perfect… I never even dreamt to have a person like him in my life.”

Chaaya patted her hand in understanding, “but now you have it… so just live the dream you never had.”

Naina smiled, “you know… he always keeps doing things for me… surprises me with his simple actions… But now, I also want to do something.”

“You want to surprise him?” Chaaya queried, “how about booking honeymoon suite for a night?”

Naina laughed, “no… I meant something much sooner… in a week…”

Chaaya asked, “anything special?”

Naina nodded, “yes… my Sameer’s birthday.”

The whole day went in exchanging ideas for his birthday surprise, but the boys were not included in that conversation. By that evening she had a vague plan in her mind, and after a discussion with PB over dinner the plan was final… The next day went in working out the details… There was a lot to arrange… Naina even thought of canceling the visit to his home for that week, but then that would make him suspicious and unhappy… And she was doing everything to make him happy, so no point in causing him sadness. But she did try to keep the dinner palette light every day; and when he questioned once about the lack of any special dishes, she said she was occupied with some assignments for college and hence had less time. He nodded in agreement, and also offered his help in cooking… Not to make him suspicious she accepted his help one day, and asked him to cook bread-omlette since she wanted to try it. He pouted, “just that?”

She chuckled, “no… I have already made fried rice. But I want to taste the bread-omlette you make.”

That pleased him, and he had no more objections. Over dinner he asked, “what’s the plan for weekend? Since our last movie plan was almost a flop, do you want to go for one tomorrow?”

She had a disapproving frown, “you call the night of our first kiss a flop?”

He laughed, “that was a blockbuster… but you have to admit the corner seat adventure didn’t really turn out right.”

“It was an adventure alright”, she said in a dry tone making him laugh once more.

Calming down he asked, “so? Movie done? It is Saturday anyways, college will end early, and I don’t have much work, so can take leave if you want.”

She pretended to think about it, and agreed because she did want him to take leave, though knowing very well that this time also the movie plan was going to flop because they won’t even get to the movie theatre. While on the way to drop her home, he asked if she would like some ice-cream, but she refused saying she had a mild ache in her tummy.

He asked concerned, “what happened? Do you need to see the doctor?”

“No no”, she quickly assured, “it’s just little bit… probably I over-stuffed myself.”

He wanted to say that she barely ate half of what she usually did, but stayed silent. As she got off his bike, in-front of PB’s home, he held her hand, pulling her close, “call me if you don’t feel well. And take some medicine… or some kadha or so, I don’t know what works in stomachache.”

She pinched his cheek, “don’t worry honey… I will be fine.”

He swatted her hand away, rubbing the spot she had pinched and scowled, “did you just call me honey…?”

She chuckled, “why? Only you can call me that?”

He teased, “figures… with your tiny brain you couldn’t come up with a name for me, so you copied.”

“Ahan”, she quipped, “then how about baby?”

He made a disgusting face, “eww… not baby please? And that’s not how you say ahan.”

She quizzed, “why not baby? And how do you say ahan?”

“Danny called you baby”, he muttered furiously, “that creep… slime… loafer… low-lying gutter scum…”

She laughed softly, “he did? When?”

His eyes narrowed, “when we were talking… he interrupted in his grating irritating oily voice… when he called you baby… I… I felt like strangling him on that spot.”

“You were jealous”, she observed softly.

“Damn right I was”, he replied in anger, “how dare he call you with an endearing term? who was he to show any authority to you? You were talking to me, weren’t you? ME! Then how dare he interrupt between us? That jerk… ass-faced punk… when he smiled at you I wanted to break all his teeth… one-by-one… and a couple of bones too… And then he dared to touch you… My Naina… I just…”

She placed her hand over his shoulder, “Sameer… calm down… I didn’t know you felt so strongly even then…”

He looked at her in disbelief, “did you forget what I did to Sanjay when he touched your hand?”

She grinned, “I remember of course… but those were pranks… and you were laughing… but with Danny…”

“Don’t take his name from your mouth”, he instructed, “and yes… I played pranks on Sanjay because that day you had calmed him down and I hadn’t claimed you as mine… but still, didn’t I ask you not to think about him when you were with me?”

She looked in his glittering eyes, “yes, I remember I was in your arms…”

He smiled at bit at that recollection, “yeah… anyways, if I had dealt with Sanjay that day itself then it wouldn’t have been pranks… Like I had tripped him at the fair without a concern if he is hurt or not…”

She nodded, “I remember that too… but this time you anger is… much more…”

“I am not 17 anymore Naina”, he stated, “and I don’t share what’s mine…”

“Did you love me then?” She queried.

He smiled, “I did… but I hadn’t realized… It was after that meeting that I slowly started to realize… Nanu had given me some questions to answer for myself… When I did that finally I knew it was you… it was always you…”

Interested she asked, “what questions?”

“Some other time honey”, he replied, “now kiss me bye?”

She turned to look at the house once, “umm… not here… tomorrow.”

He pouted, “why? Is PB awake?”

She shrugged, “she could be… there’s a relative visiting, so she could be up tonight.”

“Okay”, he sighed, “go then… I don’t want your nosy relative to spot us.”

She chuckled, thinking how far off the mark he was. He checked the time, and a strange look came over his face for a moment. Immediately she queried, “what is it?”

She waited, saw him occupied in some internal debate, but then he smiled, “uh… nothing… I should go home. It’s late…”

She smiled, “yes sure… I will see you tomorrow.”

“Naina”, he stopped her as she turned, “I will need a proper kiss tomorrow, and some more…”

She queried, “why is that? Anything special?”

He bit his lip, “not really… it’s just that we didn’t do much in this week, and I am missing the adventure in your room.”

She grinned, “fine… do you have any demands?”

Puzzled he queried, “demands?”

She nodded, “since I can’t wear night dress over there, I was wondering if you wanted me to wear something special… like any color you like…”

“Pink”, he immediately demanded, “do you have a pink shirt?”

Her eyebrow quirked, “shirt?”

He nodded, “umm… I have this particular fantasy of opening the buttons…”

She laughed softly but he could see the blush on her face… Finally she nodded, “I will see what I can do. Now go… Sleep well…”

After reaching home Sameer took a bath and then settled down on bed, but didn’t sleep… Rather he turned the TV onn, checking the date on calendar and smiled. An hour later Nanu would call, he was so sure of it. And then Munna and Pandit… The only person who wouldn’t call would be Naina, he thought sadly, but then it wasn’t her fault. He had never told her when his birthday was, and neither had he asked about hers. He sighed… They had been in relationship since so some months now. He should have asked her… What if her birthday was already gone and he had no idea about it? Just like he was here right now, wishing that she knew and was with him, maybe she too would have wished it. To be honest, he hadn’t even remembered his own birthday this time… College and office kept him busy, and being with Naina kept his satisfied. There wasn’t really much he needed from life… But today when he had checked the time outside her home, he had suddenly noticed the date and realized that tomorrow was his birthday. For a moment, he had wanted to tell it to Naina, but then had felt odd wondering what she would think of him. But while driving back he hoped he had told her… After all in every relationship you only know about things when you inform… It’s just that… Usually girls are excited about birthdays and all important occasions, so shouldn’t she have asked him when they started dating? But then again, his Naina was the most practical person he had ever met. Maybe she didn’t believe in celebrating days… Should he tell her? Would she be happy? Tomorrow they were going for the movie so maybe he could take her to a nice restaurant and tell that this was one expense they wouldn’t share because it was his birthday treat… Ya, that would be better… Either she would throw her arms around him and wish him; or she would scold him for not telling her earlier and then she would throw her arms around him to wish him… Either way it was a win-win… So he would tell her…

Happy with the analysis he focused once more on the TV and waited… 45 minutes more… However just after 15 minutes, his phone rang and he rushed wondering if it was Naina… To his extreme surprise it was PB, who frantically informed him that Naina was unwell.

Sameer panicked, “what! What’s wrong?”

PB sniffed, “she has a stomachache… very bad…” From somewhere he heard Naina’s painful moan and his heart nearly stopped beating. “Please, can you come over?” PB requested, “she is just taking your name…”

Sameer grabbed his discarded shirt, “I will be there in 20 minutes… Did you call for doctor?”

“I did”, PB informed, “you just… come soon…” Before he could reply, he heard Naina’s breathless voice, “don’t drive fast…”

Sameer barked into the receiver, “ask her to shut up and lie down. I am coming…” And then he disconnected, swiftly pulling on all his clothes. In his haste a button of his shirt popped, and he cursed, quickly grabbing another one from the cupboard. He didn’t even care what color it was or whether it was pressed or not… He just needed to get to Naina as soon as possible. Withing five minutes he was on his way, his speedometer showing a number well above his usual limit… Naina’s notice rang in his hears and he softly cursed, slowing down a bit, but still going fast enough. He thanked his stars that the road was empty…

He reached her home just two minutes before midnight, but he didn’t really notice the time… All he could hear was her voice moaning in pain… God… He should have taken her to the doctor the minute she said she had a stomachache. Did she eat something in canteen today? Hopefully the doctor PB had called has arrived… Let him treat her and then he would scold her for being so careless… Didn’t she know he would be too much in pain if she was unwell? She was supposed to be laughing and smiling, pranking him, irritate him with her practical attitude… She can’t fall sick… She just can’t be in pain… He rang the doorbell once, and then just kept pressing on it not really bothered that he might be annoying someone… PB opened the door, “can you stop that please? We will turn deaf with the noise…”

Sameer thundered inside, “where’s Naina? How is she?”

PB shook her head… Just then a soft voice called, “Sameer…”

He turned on the spot, “Naina… you are here? Why are you here? And why is it so dark? Someone turn the bloody lights on… I need to see her…”

There was a second of silence in which the big old clock on the wall ticked, and the sound of pendulum swinging could be heard… And with the first dong, the lights turned onn, and several people screamed, “Happy Birthday Sameer!”

What the hell…

He stood there dumbfounded, his mouth gaping open as he looked around at the assorted people… There was PB of course… And Chaaya, Gurdeep, Bikram, Tarun and to his astonishment even Chirag… His eyes rounded in shock on seeing his Nanu… Beside him stood two boys who looked too excited to say anything, and soon he was enveloped in a warm familiar tight hug from his childhood friends Munna and Pandit… His surprised eyes then finally landed on the person for whom he had come here… Naina was standing there with a broad smile on her face, and her eyes twinkled with satisfaction of accomplishment… It took Sameer a moment to realize that she was not suffering from any stomach pain…

“Excuse me”, he murmured to his friends, “I need to take care of something…”

He ambled over to her, gratified on seeing her breath hitch, as he towered over her, “how’s your stomachache?”

She smiled slightly, “umm… Happy Birthday Sameer…”

His eyes narrowed and he muttered, “I can kill you right now…”

She suddenly laughed, “ya right”, utterly assured that he couldn’t even harm her in his dreams, “I will wait for my punishment… Now go meet Nanu. He is waiting.”

He turned to look at his Nanu smiling wide at him, and rushed to touch his feet. Nanu blessed him and then pulled him in a hug wishing him for his birthday. Sameer happily asked, “how are you here? I mean…”

Nanu patted him, “everything will be answered… right now let’s celebrate.”

Sameer was puzzled, “celebrate?”

Nanu nodded and pointed behind him… He glanced in that direction and was once more stunned to silence. Naina was rolling out a table with Revathi’s help, and on it was a cake with two candles shaped as 2, making it 22… He looked around to find the entire living room decorated with ribbons and festoons, balloons hung everywhere, and a huge banner with his name was hung on the wall…

“Come here Sameer”, Naina gently called.

He walked over to her, she positioned him in-front of the cake and started to move away when he grabbed her hand, “stay with me…”

She bit her lip, “but… Nanu…”

“I am fine here”, Nanu replied with a smile.

Naina smiled back at him, and then asked Sameer, “make a wish and blow the candles.”

He stared in her eyes for some time, and then closed his eyes, wishing for everyone’s good health and a lifetime of togetherness with Naina, and blew the candles. People around him clapped as he cut the cake, noticing the shaky fonts spelling his name and with a thudding heart realized that this cake hadn’t come from any shop… It had been made here, in this home… by Naina. And that was why he tried to feed the first piece to her, but she instead broke off a piece too feed him, and then softly asked him to go to Nanu first. This time he obeyed and fed Nanu and PB first, once more seeking their blessing. Then he fed his friends, and her friends… or maybe he could say their friends… Finally he turned to her, picking up a small piece of cake and fed her… The piece was so small that her lips touched his fingers, which is exactly what he had wanted… His eyes darkened, “so… you made this cake?”

She looked at him, her gaze clouded with nervousness, “yes… was it…? goodness you made everyone eat… I don’t even know…”

“It’s delicious”, he interrupted, “and beautiful.”

She looked confused, “beautiful? The icing was bad… I couldn’t even write in proper way… I would have wiped it off and started again had I not been scared of destroying the entire cake, and I didn’t even have time…”

He chuckled, “I meant the thought was beautiful… the efforts you made…”

Sounds of laughter made them turn, and he saw Nanu interacting with the other students from Naina’s college. Glancing around the room he mused, “only Preeti and Swati are missing…”

Munna came over to them on hearing this, “I know… but they weren’t allowed to travel. Nanu also tried…”

Sameer nodded, “so Nanu planned this… or you two did…?”

Pandit stared at him perplexed, “none of us did… It was Naina’s idea… She has been planning this since a week…”

A week… Naina… She knew?

He turned to look at her, and was amazed to see her calling out to everyone for snacks. In a daze he walked over to see the spread of aloo-tikki chaat, dabeli and samosa. People started piling on, and eating while she stood aside nervously, hoping everything was fine… When Nanu praised the taste, and so did their friends, she let out a sigh of relief. Just then she noticed Sameer hadn’t taken a plate and asked, “why are you standing like that? Don’t you want to eat?”

“I… uh… yes”, he stammered.

She looked puzzled, “what’s the matter? Here… get aloo-tikki chaat in this dish… I will get the samosa and dabeli… we will share.”

Sameer obeyed her… As he poured some tamarind chutney on it, Tarun came by his side, “dude… you are so lucky… Naina got your family and friends here, and then all these preparations… it must have taken her so much time to cook.”

Sameer paused and glanced up, “she made all this?”

Tarun nodded, “yes… I heard her grandmother telling it to your Nanaji…”

Sameer looked at the spread on the table and his heart warmed up at the amount of effort Naina had put in to make his birthday special… Calling Nanu here… Munna and Pandit too… Midnight party… Remembering to invite Tarun as well… The cake… The snacks… How did she do it? Was there anything more? As if in answer the phone rang, and Naina grinned, “about time… Sameer, will you get the call please?”

His brows furrowed, “me?”

She nodded, “here, I will hold the dish until then… go talk.”

Puzzled at her instruction, he picked up the call, “hello?”

Two voices yelled in his ear, “happy birthday bhai…”

He pulled back the receiver, staring at it in shock… “Hello… Hello bhai”, the repeated calls jerked him out of his shocked daze. Putting the receiver back on his ear, he tentatively asked, “Rohan?”

“Yes bhai…”, he informed, “and Deepika is here too… Happy birthday!”

“Thank you”, Sameer responded, his heart suddenly lifting at the gesture, “how are you both? You knew…?”

Rohan replied, “we are fine… yes, of course we remembered your birthday. But just like every year we thought we weren’t welcome… I called up Nanaji to ask, and he told me about bhabhi’s plan, and said she would call me… On Tuesday bhabhi called me up and asked me if I can wish you at midnight…”

Sameer was once more stunned, “she did this?”

Deepika chirped on the phone, “yes bhai… bhabhi called us…! She is so good… She told me you are not angry on me and Rohan bhai… Thank you! Did you cut the cake?”

Even though he hadn’t really made any amends with Deepika, he didn’t see the point of anger anymore… He had come to terms with Rohan, so maybe he could do the same with his sister… Plus, her cheerful voice wishing him for his birthday kind of made him feel good.

Smiling a bit, he replied, “yes, I am not angry on you Deepika… and yes, I just cut the cake.”

Rohan butted in, “what flavor? Who all are there? Is there decoration?”

Deepika asked, “is there more food? Are you going to dance? Is Nanaji there? Will you let me talk to bhabhi? I saw her photo… she is so pretty…”

Sameer couldn’t help but laugh at his siblings’ enthusiasm, “so many questions… wait… let me try and answer… chocolate cake with vanilla icing… Nanu, Munna, Pandit and our college friends are here… Yes, there’s decoration as well… And more food too… I haven’t danced yet, so no idea… Nanu is here… And yes, you can talk to Naina… one second…”

He called out to her, and she walked over to him, looking at him with a smile and mouthed, “you okay?” He smiled, “Deepika wants to talk with her pretty bhabhi.”

Naina chuckled, “hello… Hi Deepika…”

Sameer could only hear her side of conversation but understood that Deepika and Rohan were barraging her with questions just like they had done to him… He just stood and stared at her with a wide smile… Finally she said, “yes… I wish you could have come here as well… I would love to meet you Deepika, and yes I have lots of story books.” After a brief pause, she asked, “Rohan… did you talk to her?” Her smile dimmed, and she softly replied, “it’s okay… thank you for trying.”

As she kept the phone down, Sameer asked, “what’s wrong?”

She put on a brave smile, even though he could see a trace of disappointment in her eyes, “nothing… let’s eat…”

He watched her leave to the table, and then glanced at Nanu noticing him watching them… He sighed and understood the matter, not knowing what to do about it… Walking over, he sat beside her, and she broke off a piece of tikki, feeding him. He accepted him, and grinned, “it’s so yummy… thank you for this wonderful gift Naina… And…”

She queried as he trailed off, “and…?”

He held her hand, “don’t blame yourself for my mother’s disapproval.”

“I am not…”, she started to assure.

He interrupted, “Naina… I know you too well for you to lie to me. I know just like Rohan and Deepika you must have tried to ask her too to wish me… Maybe you told Rohan to convince her… But she didn’t and now you are blaming yourself for it…” She looked down, glancing away… He softly continued, “please don’t… My mother has not wished me ever since my 18^th birthday.”

Her head snapped up, “what? Why?”

He looked around, “I will tell you later… when we are alone. Right now I just want to enjoy this unexpected treat…”

She silently looked in his eyes for some time, and then smiled, “here eat more… did you like it?”

“I loved it”, he assured, helping himself to a huge bite of samosa.

After an hour their college friends left, PB’s driver went to drop them back. Sameer fidgeted knowing it was time for them to leave as well, but he hadn’t thanked Naina yet… He wanted to meet her alone. Could they sneak in her room for some time?

PB teased, “Sameer… aren’t you going home?”

He flushed, “uh… yes… I was just thinking how would Nanu come… I mean, I came on bike…”

Nanu grinned, “why would I come? I am staying here with my bahu…”

Sameer blinked in shock, “what?”

Nanu firmly nodded… Munna pitched in, “and we are staying here with our bhabhi…”

Pandit crossed his arms, “yes… we will stay here… you go back…”

“I… I…”, Sameer stammered flustered, “really?”

Naina laughed, grabbing onto Sameer’s arm, “stop teasing him all of you… it’s his birthday… He should be surprised not shocked…”

He glanced down at her, “surprised? Is there more?”

Her eyes gleamed in delight, “of course… everyone gave you gift, except us… don’t you want your gift?”

He was confused, “this surprise was gift enough… I didn’t think…”

She waved it off with her hand, “this is just surprise… not gift… the gift is special.”

His curiosity increased, but he teased, “are you proposing me for marriage?”

She chuckled, “no… that’s what you will do… later… but for now we are going out…”

“Out”, he asked in confusion, “out now? So late? Where?”

She clucked her tongue, “uff… not now… listen first… we are going out tomorrow… for a trip… you, me, PB, Nanu, Munna, Pandit… all of us… and we are going to Lonavala.”

His eyes widened in surprise, “what? Really? All of us…??”

Nanu teased, “why Sameer? You want to ditch us and go alone with Naina…”

Sameer blushed, “umm… no no… I am just… wow! But how can we go like this? We need to plan… Booking and all…”

“Excuse me”, Naina interrupted, hands on hips, “what do you think I have been doing here? Everything is done birthday boy… we will leave tomorrow after breakfast, and come back on Monday evening…”

He frowned, “Monday? Naina… what about college… and my job?”

She slyly informed, “Chirag bhaiya applied for your leave. And we can miss college for one day, no issues…”

He fumbled, “but… but… I will need to go home… packing…”

She laughed, “oh Sameer… calm down and take a deep breath… I already packed your things, and your bag is here… I have also informed Sudha Aunty that you won’t be home until Monday evening, and she would take care of getting milk for you. Just stay here… Don’t worry…”

He was in a surprised daze as he was ushered upstairs with Nanu and his friends… There was so much he needed to ask… So much he needed to know… He was given a room with his friends, Nanu was in another room… Naina came in with a bottle of water and a change of clothes for Sameer… His tracks and t-shirt… How had he not noticed the missing clothes? Still too much surprised, he changed into the clothes for night, and noticed a paper had fallen from between the folds… Snatching it up, he unfolded it to read, “come to my room after they are asleep… I will be awake…”

Has she gone mad? How could she ask him over like this? If somebody got to know what would they think…? Sneaking in her balcony was one thing… but this… No, they couldn’t do it… Crumpling the note he stuffed it inside his pocket and sat on the bed, chatting with his friends. But he couldn’t help recalling the note often, and kept glancing at the clock and the door…

Pandit huffed after thirty minutes and suggested, “you know… you don’t need to wait for us to fall asleep… just go and meet her…”

Sameer gaped at him, “what…? No… I wasn’t…”

“Don’t lie”, Munna interrupted, “we know you won’t be able to rest without talking to her… you were the same even in school… always restless until you met her…”

Surprised at this, he weakly queried, “I was…?”

Pandit nodded, “yes… why else do you think we started to keep an eye out for her? From the time she caught us smoking in the park we knew you had fallen for her… and so we wanted to know if she was right for you… even when you would quarrel with her, you would drive by her school wanting one glimpse of her…”

Sameer’s face flushed as he tried to reconcile his own behavior… Munna gently suggested, “go meet her Sameer… she put in a lot of effort to make this surprise special, and didn’t even get a chance to talk to you properly… she deserves it…”

Sameer sighed, “but Nanu…?”

Pandit shrugged, “he must be asleep by now… and we will handle the fort… just go…”

Having his friend’s reassurance, he quickly left his room, and tiptoed to her room… The door was unlocked… God… She was truly waiting… He slipped inside and locked it, turning to see where she was and found her in the balcony… She had turned to look at him and was smiling wide… Hurrying over to her, he quickly grabbed her and pulled her in a hug, “I love you…”

“I love you too”, she murmured, wrapping her arms around him, “are they asleep?”

He chuckled, “no… but they know I am here… don’t worry…”

She held his hand, pulling him to bed, “let’s sit over there… I am tired…”

He climbed on the bed and sat down, pulling her on his lap, enclosing her in his arms, “so you never had a stomachache? You were just lying when I came to drop you?”

She nodded, “yes… If I just pretended to have sudden pain you could have been suspicious… so I just set the stage… Also, why do you think I ate less? I knew about the snacks of course… And I knew you could eat them even after your full dinner…”

He didn’t smile or laugh as she expected, but rather his expression was grim, “never ever pretend to fall sick like this Naina… My heart had nearly stopped beating on hearing you were in pain… I can’t see you in pain…”

She seemed to ponder over his statement, and then queried, “so that means we are never having babies?”

He almost shrieked, “what?!?”

She looked at him with wide eyes, “having a baby is painful process… I am sure I would scream my head off just like Pooja didi did… how will you handle that?”

He stammered, “Naina… what… I didn’t mean… ummm… babies?”

She suddenly laughed, and kissed his cheeks, “oh God Sameer… you look too cute when you blush…”

“Stop teasing me”, he admonished half-heartedly because he couldn’t stop the small smile on his face upon imagining her as his wife. As for being pregnant, he was not sure yet, but he felt more than his wife he would have to worry about the doctors, nurses and himself. Then he queried, “so you were doing all this since a week?”

She nodded, “yes… I wanted to make it special for you… A date wasn’t enough… And I knew you have your best memories with Nanu and your childhood friends… Memories you have been missing out on since last two years because of your determination… So, I thought it would be a nice chance to celebrate it this way, and also a good opportunity to bring Nanu here… He deserves to see how his grandson has built his own life.”

He smiled in wonder at her thoughtfulness, “you know… I thought you didn’t even know when my birthday was… And I also didn’t remember it until last night… I felt bit shy to tell you, it would have been like expecting a celebration or gift… but then I thought I would tell you over dinner after our movie, and ask for a kiss as my birthday gift.”

She frowned, “kiss? So you don’t want the current gift…?”

“Of course the lonavala trip is great idea”, he assured.

She huffed, “not that… that is a gift from all of us… I was talking about my gift… the one you asked for…”

He was puzzled, “when did I ask?”

She pouted, “so you never noticed what I am wearing…”

He was confused as she sat up straight… What was she talking about…? She crossed her arms, the gesture drawing his gaze down from her face and his entire body stiffened… Oh damn… She was wearing a pink shirt… Just like he had asked… Oh dear God… How had he not noticed? But maybe it was good that he hadn’t… It would have been so hard to control himself… Especially given the way the fabric stretched at her breasts… He just wanted to…

Just then her voice interrupted his thoughts as she dryly asked, “noticed, have you?” He guiltily looked back at her eyes, but she wasn’t looking at him… She hadn’t seen him ogle… But then how… Once more she interrupted his thoughts, “I can feel, you know…”

His let out a surprised chuckle understanding what she meant, and cupped her chin, making her look at him, “you are getting too attuned to my thoughts…”

She shrugged, “I don’t know about thoughts, but it is kind of hard to miss that…”

“I am glad”, he muttered, “now… are you going to kiss me or are you all talks and no show…”

She narrowed her eyes, “Sameer… you…” But she never got to finish her statement, because he suddenly straightened and pressed his lips to hers… She whimpered, looping her arms around his neck, and kissed him back… Her mouth opened to his, and the kiss deepened, stealing their breath away… He shifted, adjusting their bodies, and soon she was lying on the bed while they still kissed… The way his hand moved down the side of her body made her arch up to him… His legs tangled with hers, his lips moving to her cheeks and ears, whispering how much he loved her…

Lifting his head a bit, he stared into her eyes, his own eyes lighting up with mischief, “time to unwrap my gift…” She blushed, and he kissed her cheeks once more, “love it when you blush…” His finger toyed with the button on top, slowly slipping it open… She opened her eyes to look at him… His gaze was fixed on her shirt as he took his own sweet time to undo the buttons… She noted the dark yearning in his eyes… She observed how her breathing accelerated as each pearly button slipped to bare her… But she didn’t say anything… After all it was his fantasy, and when he had mentioned it to her, she had known she would fulfill it… In just another few minutes the shirt lay open, the seams parted to reveal her creamy skin… His eyes moved over every inch of her flesh, his knuckles circling lazily at her navel, and slowly moved up… His fingers moved over her breasts, over the satin bra… and he exhaled through his mouth… “I didn’t know”, he murmured… And she smiled, understanding that the pink satin bra had truly surprised him pleasantly… “You are so sexy honey”, he complimented, tracing one long finger along the swell of her breast…

She combed her fingers through his hair, “thank you… do you know, you are the first one to give me compliments on my looks?”

He gazed in her eyes, disbelief flashing across his face, “what? You are lying…”

She chuckled, “no… I got a lot of academic related compliments… smart, intelligent, hard-working… but when it came to looks I was too… ummm… bland… it changed in college though, but that was because of my clothes and make-up…”

His gaze moved over her brilliant eyes, perky nose, lush pink lips, plump cheeks, the tempting column of throat, down to the creamy swells of her breasts, and he murmured, “well… I am glad there are so many blind fools in this world… I am glad only I saw the gorgeous girl that you were even in school…”

“I still can’t believe you found me beautiful then”, she mumbled still amazed…

He grinned, “I did… truly…” Thinking for a minute he asked, “Naina… will you fulfill one more fantasy of mine? Whenever you want to…”

She nodded, “what is it?”

He sincerely requested, “I want to see you like you were in school… two oily pigtails, wearing a frock and socks till knees…”

She couldn’t stop the laughter, “what… are you joking? Why would you want to see me like that?”

He nuzzled her neck, his hand molding over one breast, the gentle pressure made the laughter catch in her throat… His lips trailed down to the center of her breast, and he said against her skin, “because it is only me who knows what lies covered beneath those loose frocks, because only I can pull off those annoying socks to uncover your sexy legs, because I know that the sweet coconut oil can turn into the intoxicating floral shampoo and the oily pigtails unravel to thick black curtains of hair… because all of it… all of you… is mine… only mine!”

She gasped as he gently nipped above her right breast, and muttered in astonishment, “you really liked that look… and you still like it… it affects you…”

He didn’t reply in words… Rather he just pulled down a cup of her breast, and drew the tip in his mouth proceeding to show how much that fantasy affected him… She moaned softly, arching up into the heat of his mouth, and felt the reality dissolve into some spell where she was just a puppet to the demands of his hands and mouth… She felt him pull down the other cup as well, and then there was the insane heat of his mouth once more while his fingers toyed with the already wet nipple… His breath blew across the swollen wet buds, causing her to gasp… His hand trailed down her stomach, to the button of her jeans… And her eyes flew open… Was he…? But he simply moved down, stroking her thighs, and stated, “I miss your shorts…”

She panted, “I couldn’t… not in-front of Nanu…”

“I know”, he assured, “it’s good you didn’t wear them… I wouldn’t have been able to control…”

She clutched onto his shoulders as he nibbled gently at her breast once more, “I think you have better control than me… Oh God…”

He felt her shudder beneath him, her hips lifting up, and realized that maybe he had gone too far today… This won’t do… If this continued they would be making love in just a few days… Sighing at the need to maintain a hold over his impulses to claim her, he pulled up the cups of her bra, and sat up to button her shirt back… She simply lay there with her eyes closed, letting her do what he wanted…

Amazed by her trust, he leaned down to kiss her forehead, and the lay down beside her… Immediately she nuzzled in his chest, hugging him… He looped an arm around her waist, and muttered, “I better leave… there are many people here today… can’t take risk…”

She thought for a moment, and then nodded, “yeah… I think so too… anyways we will go on the trip tomorrow…”

He sat up, “yes… I am excited… I hope it rains…”

She chuckled, “what happened to I don’t like rains Naina…”

“It changed to I love you Naina…”, he replied just as cheekily.

On seeing his wide happy grin she couldn’t stop herself from pulling him down for one last kiss… But soon he was at the door, wishing her good night… She smiled up at him, “good night… and maybe dream of a new fantasy today…”

“I surely will honey”, he winked and disappeared down the hallway.

She locked the door, and changed into her night dress, smiling at his new fantasy demand… Well maybe she should also start asking him to fulfill her demands… Lonvala trip might give her new opportunities… Holding the tiger she fell asleep dreaming of waterfalls and rains, but this time there was no boat, rather a strong pair of arms surrounding her waist, a solid warm chest at her back, and hot kisses down the side of her neck…