And then she said it!

PART 24

AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Sorry for not updating for 3 days. From now I'll will update regularly. Here you go! Enjoy!

UP TO THE MOON!
I was surprised to find her still
asleep when I stepped out of the
washroom after shaving my stubble. I
looked at the watch and found it was
little past 8 am. Moreover, both of us
have to reach office by 10 am.
However, her position on the bed
caught my attention and a smirk
replaced the surprise look on my
face.
Riddhima lay on her stomach, her
hair completely covering her face and
the pillow. The bed sheet was
pushed down, revealing her bare
back. She used to put on her clothes
after we made love, before going back
to sleep. But lately, she hadn't been
bothering with that. With the
passing days, I realized that she
enjoys deep and sound sleep
whenever we made love late night.
She would be practically dead to the
world until she woke up.
Moreover, she had put on some
weight recently. And with her curves
filling in properly, I couldn't help
being drawn towards her. So it
resulted in us utilizing the privacy of
our bedroom regularly at every
opportunity offered. After all we were
newlyweds! But for some reason, she
urged me to go on last night until it
was something around 3 am. She had
been surprisingly active and cheerful,
which only gave me all the more
reason to love her more.
"Riddhima?" I whispered in her ear,
pushing her hair away from her ear,
caressing her shoulder. When she
sighed loudly, I kissed her shoulder
and shook her slightly. "Its 8. Wake
up, sleeping beauty." I nuzzled her
nape.
"Hmm" She drawled lazily, stretching
her body and turned to me. Smiling
brightly, she raised her head a bit
higher and pecked my lips. What a
morning!!!
"What's special?" I asked, lying on
the bed as she snuggled closer.
She shrugged her shoulders, playing
with her mangalsutra.
I kissed her forehead and got off the
bed. "Come on then. I have a
meeting at 10.30." I said when I
watched her sitting on the bed
clutching the sheet closer to her
body. Smiling at her, I left the room
closing the door behind me to let
her get ready.
"Armaan, what is today's date?"
Riddhima asked me sitting on the
sofa while Rahul and I polished our
shoes.
"Its 14th. Why?" I asked looking at
her.
She shook her head slightly.
"Nothing. Simply."
I raised my brow but she just
smiled. Wasn't she acting slightly
weird? Rahul just shrugged when I
looked at him.
A few minutes later, we left for the
office. Rahul drove the car, Riddhima
sat silent in the back seat while I
tried to recall what the specialty of
today's date was.
I was staring intently at the table
calendar on my desk when Rahul
came to me.
"What's up, Mr. Romeo? Shall we
leave for lunch?" He smacked my
shoulder.
"Nothing. I was trying to figure out
something." I mumbled. No birthdays
and no wedding anniversaries. May
be I was just thinking too much!
"You didn't get it, yet?" He asked
surprised.
I sighed. "I was married only three
months ago, Rahul. So it can't even
be my wedding anniversary."
"Exactly dumbo! It has been 100
days that you are married!" He
exclaimed while my mouth curved
into an 'O'.
100 days? People celebrate that too,
I wondered. But it surely meant
something for Riddhima. That was
the reason all we needed to
celebrate.
"So when are you going to tell her?"
He asked pointing towards the
envelope that lay in my opened
drawer.
"May be today" I replied. "Rahul, get
a cake from Barista and wait in the
cafeteria. I'll get Riddhima." I told
him and made my way towards
Riddhima's floor.
I found her talking to one of her
seniors, explaining about some
report. Her senior however
recognized me, as he was my batch
mate, and was about to acknowledge
my presence when I signaled him
not to. He smiled at me and
beckoned her to go to the printing
room. I followed her quietly to the
room.
When she put her laptop on the
huge printing machine, I wrapped
my hands around her waist and
pulled her to me. She jumped
startled and I was glad she didn't
scream.
"Armaan?!" she exclaimed, when I
placed my chin on her shoulder.
"Who else can do that to you?" I
whispered and chuckled.
"You scared me!" She complained
turning to face me. "What are you
doing here, on our floor?" She asked,
her eyes quickly scanning the
entrance of the door. She tried to
wriggle out of my arms, while
desperately checking the door. "What
are you doing?" She asked, shocked
when I tightened my hold around
her.
"How about I take you right here,
now?" I asked with a devilish smirk
and couldn't help but laugh at her
scandalized expression. All the color
drained off her face for a second
before it appeared back with
intensified texture, turning her face
completely red.
I left her when I heard the footsteps
approaching us and watched her as
she fumbled with her laptop and the
printer when another colleague came
to use the printer. She refused to
meet my eyes as I leaned on the
wall, watching her actions.
"Come, let's go. Rahul is waiting for
us in the cafeteria." I told her and
guided her out of the room while
she obliged.
As we made our way out of the room,
another colleague of mine greeted
me. "What a surprise, Armaan? What
are you doing on our floor?" He shook
his hand with me and asked.
"Uhh, nothing. I just came to take my
wife for lunch." I replied casually,
while Riddhima's head shot up. She
mumbled a small 'hie' to him, with a
shy smile.
"Too bad a lie, Mr. Mallik. Your wife
has a very transparent face." He
winked at me and left. I turned hot
around my collar while Riddhima
turned a deeper shade of red.
"What yaar Riddhima. You turn red
immediately. I didn't even do
anything! If this is the case, we can
never romance in the office without
being caught." I nudged her
shoulder and whispered.
Riddhima just hit my arm and gave
me a look before briskly walking off
towards the cafeteria. I shook my
head and followed suit.
Trust Rahul to do anything simple! I
cursed under my breath when I saw
the people of my whole department
gathered around a big cake. Some of
Riddhima's team mates were also
present along with her reporting
senior.
She stopped abruptly and turned to
me confused. "We hit a century,
Riddhima. So it calls for a party!" I
said, giving her a light hug. She just
smiled at me with her eyes twinkling.
Amidst the cheers and whistles of
our friends and colleagues, we cut
the cake, fed each other and
smeared it over our faces. Everything
for that smile of hers!
When Rahul and I reached home, we
found Riddhima standing in the
balcony of the kitchen with her back
turned to us. She had taken half day
leave today after our supposedly
small part in the cafeteria and I was
literally counting minutes to reach
home. I knew there would be some
special dishes waiting for us.
"Riddhima!" I exclaimed into her ear
while she jumped and turned to me
startled. That's when I noticed tears
in her eyes and phone in her palm.
And just like the that, all the fun
abandoned me.
"It's Muski." She replied before I
could even ask her. "She is crying."
She said, placing the mobile in my
hand.
I was surprised. Muski crying is
something exceptional. So I knew
that it is something serious. Before I
could hold her and ask something,
she walked past me.
"Where is Rahul?" She turned back to
me and asked.
"Did he hurt her?" I asked, holding
her. Though I knew he wouldn't do
anything of that sort, I couldn't help
the temper that was building.
"No. no." She replied immediately.
"It's just that Muski brought up the
prospect of getting married and
apparently he is avoiding talking to
her since then. So she is worried."
She said, leaning her head on my
chest.
"Why? I thought they liked each
other." I wondered, loud.
"I guess I know the answer." She
whispered and pulled me out of the
kitchen to Rahul's room. "Let me talk
to him first, okay?" she said before
knocking the door.
"Hey Riddhima!!" He smiled after
opening the door. He had a shower
and was in his T shirt and shorts. "I
was about to come to the dining
room. I could smell something
delicious." He chirped.
Looking at him, I wondered how he
was managing to do it. He is as good
as Riddhima, if not more, in masking
the emotions. I was sure that he had
feelings for Muski; it was just evident
from the way he behaves around her.
He might also be hurting himself in
the process. But I couldn't
understand why he was stepping
back.
When she didn't speak anything, I
looked at him straight into his eyes
and said. "Muski called Riddhima."
Just one sentence and I watched as
the color drained from his face. He
turned pale and whatever smile he
faked a minute back suddenly
disappeared from his face as he
stared back at us.
"Can I talk to you, Rahul?" Riddhima
asked, slowly and tentatively,
reaching for his arm.
He nodded, without looking at me.
From the agony on his face, I knew
he was hurting. I just wanted to hug
him, ensuring that everything is
going to be okay. But then since
Riddhima wanted to talk to him, I
stood near the door leaning on it,
while she pulled him to the bed and
made him sit and she kneeled infront
of him.
"Whathappened Rahul? Why are you
taking a step back now?" She asked
calmly patting his arm.
He looked at her and then at me
before lowering his head back again.
I sighed. This is going to be a task!
"Muski is worried Rahul. She is
crying." She added.
His head shot up at that. What did
he expect? That she would be
dancing in joy!!
"I- I didn't mean to hurt her." He
replied slowly.
"But apparently she is, Rahul. What
is happening?" I asked, slightly
annoyed. "You know her, right? We
practically grew up together. She
doesn't cry easily, Rahul. What did
you say to her? Why are you avoiding
talking to her? I thought you both
wanted to get married."
"Armaan!" She whispered looking at
me, worried of my outburst.
"She doesn't understand, Armaan.
She is too good for me. She is- she
is-" He stood up and turned away
from us.
"Are you having second thoughts?" I
almost yelled.
"Why don't you understand Armaan?
She grew up like a princess,
surrounded by a beautiful family. She
is precious. And I am nobody: no
family, no identity. I tried to explain
it to her, but she wouldn't
understand. She will be risking her
happiness with me, Armaan. And I
don't want that to happen." Rahul
yelled in frustration, running his
hand in his hair.
I stared at him, taken aback. So did
Riddhima. I never saw him losing his
cool. This was the first time, I heard
him yell in frustration. But as his
words made sense, I wondered if I
was back in time. Four months back,
it was the same case with Riddhima.
I clearly remember her words. She
said that I deserved the best. But
with the chance given, I realized that
she was the best I could get.
Riddhima turned him to her while I
was still taking in his outburst. "I
was in your position four months
back, right?" He just looked at her
blankly. "I was also skeptical about
the same things back then. But then,
Armaan gave me a chance, didn't he?
Look at us, Rahul. We are happy now.
I was never this happy in my life
before. Muski will face the same
happiness, if not more." She
explained it to him, while I just
stared at them.
"But it is different, Riddhima. He
brought you into a beautiful family. I
will be doing the opposite to Muski."
He sighed, defeated.
"You will be her family, Rahul. She
doesn't need a big family. She only
needs you. Family always comes
next." She said slowly while I was
simply a witness. "Take my case
Rahul. When Armaan is with me, I
don't even think about Ananya aunty or anyone else. Just his mere presence
makes me happy. No one else can
take his place."
My heart skipped a beat at her
words. I never heard her talking
about our relationship so openly. For
some reason, my chest swelled in
pride to know that I am the reason
for her happiness. Though I am
aware of that deep down, just
listening to it from her made me
elated. And that fact that mom
comes next to me was a cherry on
the top!
"Moreover, you are not separating
her from her world. You are just
adding another beautiful part to her
world. As you said, Muski is truly
precious Rahul, don't hurt her. And
most importantly, don't lose her."
She said with a smile, while a tear
rolled from Rahul's eye. "Talk to her,
will you?" She asked.
He nodded and hugged her. "You are
as much precious." He whispered.
"Thank you." He left her and looked
at me.
I just shook my head, smiling. I
would never understand how they
understand each other's emotional
loop holes so easily. They are just
soul-siblings, if I were to use a term.
In a way they are almost similar,
exactly opposite to me and Muski.
"You are a dumb-ass, you know that!"
I exclaimed, hugging him tight. "And
I thought there was a serious
problem." I grinned at him drawing
back. "Muski would surely be happy
with you. I will ask mom to talk to
Shashank uncle soon" And that
brought color back to his face. He
was blushing!! "Go, talk to her." I
patted his back and pulled Riddhima
out of the room, closing the door
behind us.
The moment we stepped out, I gave
her a deep lingering kiss on her
mouth. She turned red and lowered
her eyes. I realized one more thing
about us; she is the emotional
balance that I lack. I guess that's the
reason why mom thought she would
be the best for me. Ofcourse, I
wasn't sure how I would have dealt
it with Rahul without her. I might
have just lost my temper and
shouted. That was almost what I
have done. For a person of fewer
words, the words she spoke today
surely made my day. And for that I
could only love her more!
She rushed back to the kitchen when
the cooker made a whistling sound. I
walked to our bedroom lazily
pondering about what she had said
to Rahul. I felt lightheaded; for this
was the first time she showed any of
us a glimpse of her heart. And the
sincerity and subtleness in her words
warmed my heart as much as they
made it swell it pride. After all, my
gentle shy wife almost told that she
loved me. Almost!!
Taking a quick shower, I put on my
night clothes and went to the dining
table to find her already waiting for
us. I glanced at Rahul's door and
chuckled to find it still closed. I
supposed Muski was giving him a
piece of her mind. We decided to
wait for another five minutes but I
almost regretted the decision. The
delicious odor of the food filled my
lungs and all I wanted to do was
pounce on the food. I might have
been gawking at the dishes for when
I raised my head up, I head
Riddhima giggling. I smiled at her
sheepishly and we turned to his door
when we head it click.
One look at Rahul's face and we
burst into fits of laughter. His face
was complete red and he didn't dare
look at either of us in the eye. I
wondered if it was due to the
lectures Muski might have thrown at
him or the sweet nothings she might
have added. Shaking my head, I put
the thoughts aside. Muski was
capable of both of them!
After our dinner, when Rahul and I
sat on the carpet on the floor
chatting catching upon the stupid
gossip of the office, Riddhima came
with a small board in her hands.
After a moment, I realized that it was
the Chinese checker board.
"I found it in the attic when I was
cleaning last weekend." Riddhima
told us when we stared at it.
"You were cleaning the attic too?" I
asked astonished.
She just shrugged her shoulders
while he chuckled shaking his head.
When she placed it on the floor and
filled it with the coloured marbles,
Rahul and I looked at each other and
smiled suddenly nostalgic. When we
were kids we used to spend most of
our time playing this in the
weekends when Rahul used to stay
over with me. We brought it with us
to Hyderabad but never bothered to
pull it out and play.
"But I don't know how to play."
Riddhima remarked when she was
done with rearranging the marbles
with Rahul's help.
"I can teach you." I pulled her to me
gently but she decided to sit
between my legs. I looked at Rahul if
he minded it but neither of them
seemed to notice our closeness.
Some things are changing; I
shrugged to myself and wrapped one
of my hands around her waist while
she leaned back on my chest.
Riddhima seemed to hang onto every
word of Rahul when he told her
about our childhood while playing. I
couldn't see her face but could
imagine her expression when he told
her how we met, became friends at
first, then close friends later and
almost brothers at the end. He
however left out the incidents where
he refused to stay at my home during
holidays and continued to stay at the
orphanage. We used to play the
whole day but he insisted on going
back to his orphanage in the night. I
didn't quite understand his logic
until I was much older. I realized
later that his self-respect is as big as
my ego.
She giggled when he told about my
naughtiness and gasped when he
told her proudly how we had rescued
a puppy from drowning when we
were 14. She grimaced when he told
about his fracture of his leg when we
were in 12th class and sighed when I
told her how I blackmailed him into
staying at our house while his wound
healed. I whined that I had to
submit an extra assignment during
my 1st year of engineering due to
him and he blamed me that it was
my fault that I copied his
assignment.
We stopped arguing when he
signaled me to look down. I lowered
my head and smiled to notice
Riddhima fast asleep. I shifted her
slightly so that her head was rested
comfortably against my chest and
held her waist to make her stay put
in my arms. We then resumed our
discarded game of the checkers.
"She is a gem." Rahul said after a
moment, without lifting his head
from the game.
I didn't understand if he was talking
about Muski or Riddhima but nodded
anyway. "I know." Both of them are
equally precious.
"She loves you." He added as a fact
and I realized he was talking about
Riddhima.
I smiled.
"Do you?" He asked.
"Do I, what?"
"Love her?" He asked.
"I do." I said.
He smiled. "Tell her."
"I will." I said and he nodded. I
knew he wanted to talk about
something but was hesitating. I was
sure it was something related to
Muski.
"What is it, Rahul?" I probed him.
"I promise you Armaan, I will try to
keep Muskaan happy to the best I
could." He said, his voice strong with
his determination yet soft with his
vulnerability.
"You need not say it Rahul. I know
you would." I assured. I knew he
would treat her as a princess if not
more.
"I never knew when I fell in love with
her, Armaan. It just happened." He
said staring into space. "I tried to
hide my feelings but she noticed.
She told me that she loved me." I
smiled and waited for him to
continue. "She has been hinting on
marriage since your wedding but I
was scared as I felt inferior to her.
She tried to explain it to me many
times but I stubbornly refused to
understand."
"Mom says that I am stubborn but
you are not any less." I remarked.
He smiled. "I now understood what
she had been trying to tell me." He
said. "It's complicated." He added.
"What?"
"Love." He said and winked.
I chuckled. "Couldn't agree more!"
"But women make it seem less
complicated." He added.
I just smiled. Riddhima stirred in my
arms. I kissed the top of her head
and held her tighter.
"Good night, Armaan." Rahul said as
he put the board aside and moved to
his bedroom.
"Sweet dreams Raoool. I love you!" I
shouted for him.
He muttered something but I only
head the word saale. I chuckled and
lifted Riddhima into my arms when I
stood. She startled awake and looked
up at me in daze.
"Ssh. Its me." I whispered, kissing
her nose. "Go to sleep."
She sighed and snuggled closer to
me while I walked to our room. I
placed her on the bed and turned to
lock the door. But when I turned
back, I found her sitting on the bed
rubbing her eyes.
"What happened?" I asked as I sat
beside her.
"I brought a gift for you." She said.
Her voice was muffled with sleep.
She got off the bed and walked
somnolently to the dressing table.
She pulled a small bag out of the
drawer and walked back to join me in
the bed. She kneeled in front of me
and gave the bag to me.
I opened the bag and was surprised
to find a small box in it. Opening it,
I was even more surprised to find the
similar kind of platinum wedding
band that adorned her left hand. I
didn't understand what to feel. It
was not every day that I am gifted
with a ring, that too by a girl: or by
my wife to be precise. Hell, nobody
gifted me a ring till now. This one
didn't even cross my mind when she
told me she brought a gift. But then
it was Riddhima. She never ceases to
surprise me.
Her sleepy face was filled with so
much eagerness to please me that I
couldn't help but smile and pull her
into a deep kiss that left both of us
breathless. She sagged against me
when she slipped the ring to my
finger. She held my hand in hers and
looked at it for several moments
before she looked at me and smiled
triumphantly. For some reason, she
appeared to be extremely pleased
with herself.
"Now Vidya will think twice before
making a pass at you." She added
absentmindedly.
"Vidya who?" I asked perplexed.
"My batch mate. You didn't notice?
She has been hitting on you." She
added with a grunt. "She says that
she needs one chance to talk to you
and you would be in her bed the
next moment." She gritted her teeth,
her sleep all forgotten.
"Of course, I might be. But you
would be in my arms." I pecked her
lips, slid off the bed and ran to the
living room to get my office bag.
I brought the bag to the bedroom,
locked the door and handed her an
envelope.
"You brought me a gift too?" She
asked excited.
I chuckled and nodded. She is just a
kid when it comes to gifts.
"Darjeeling and Manali? Really?" She
exclaimed, jumping into my arms
throwing her arms around my neck,
nearly knocking me off balance.
"You wanted to go on a honeymoon
and play with snow, remember?" I
whispered; my voice deliberately
husky. "I got a leave only for three
days and with two days over
weekend; this is the best I could
manage."
"Oh, thank you so much, Armaan."
She whispered, her voice trembling
and I knew what was coming.
I drew her back and placed my lips
on hers, kissing her slowly while she
leaned back on the bed with my
body blanketing hers. I stoked her
cheek, probing her lips open for my
invasion. She complied and her
tongue met mine halfway. She
caressed my nape and chest while
unbuttoning my shirt and pushing it
back down my arms. I smiled at her
eagerness when her chest heaved
beneath me and unsealed my lips
from hers. As expected, there were
trails of tears on her cheeks. I kissed
her salty tears off her cheeks before
showering her face with wet kisses.
She arched against me and moved
restlessly against my body, fisting my
hair. I let go off her, threw my shirt
aside and pulled her T-shirt over her
head. She pulled me down and
kissed me senseless. She caressed my
back with her trembling fingers just
the way I liked while I fondled her
breasts with my palms first and my
lips later. Her throaty moans
rendered me mad when I kissed her
navel and further down. When I felt
her first tremors, I shifted between
her and filled her.
We made love to each other, slowly
and deeply, into the night. We spoke
nonsense into each other's ears,
promised sweet nothings and
ravished each other thoroughly. We
took each other to our own heaven
when we found our release. I
slumped my body on hers exhausted,
trying to catch my breath and calm
my racing heart. It took me long
minutes before I regained myself.
"I love you, Riddhima." I whispered.
When I didn't get any response from
her, I raised my head and looked at
her. She was in sound sleep. I wasn't
disappointed at the lack of her
response. Mrs. Mallik was sleeping
with a smile on her face and it was
all that mattered. I rested my face
back on her chest, trapping her legs
with my thigh, loving the feel of her
bare and warm skin. Before closing
my eyes, I saw the full moon from
the window in our bed room.
As cliched as it might sound, I felt I
was flying up to the moon!