TejRan : In Every Heartbeat

Part-39

Disclaimer : All the characters written below are imaginary and a work of pure fiction. There is no resemblance to any incident or situation and is written as work of fiction.

Teja took out her night clothes from her luggage absent mindedly and went to the washroom. She changed and came out and took out a packet from her hand bag.

She looked at the living area to find him surfing through the TV. He had already changed into a fresh pair of track pant and T-shirt.

She went to the living area and sat beside him.

"Woh yeh tumhare liye...." She gave him the paper bag and he peeped in and smiled immediately. It was his favourite brand of perfume. She must have seen it in his closet. And there was a birthday card as well.

He took out the card and read her wish.

Karan ,

Happy Birthday.

On this day and everyday , I will pray that you get everything that you have ever wished for.

Tejasswi.

He smiled softly and looked at her.

"Thank you...."

She nodded a little.

"But this is not what I want...." He turned to face her.

"Matlab?" She frowned in confusion.

"Matlab simple hai...." He kept the gifts on the centre table and held her hand. "I know something is bothering you and mera instinct keheta hai ki it is something related to me....agar tum mujhe nahi bata rahi ho matlab abhi tak tum utna comfortable nahi ho ki tum bina soche mere saath kuch bhi share kar pao....i would rather want you to be comfortable wit me rather than any other gift...." He said while playing with her finger.

Teja avoided his eyes and looked here and there.

"Abhi you will say that aisa nahi hai sab thik hai....okay....i will not force you to say....but agar kuch hai toh the ideal thing to do is to talk about it right?aisa kuch bhi nahi hona chahiye jiske bare mein hum ek dusre se baat na kar paye...." He said looking at her.

Teja licked her dry lips and looked at the TV which he had put on mute.

"I am aware of your lifestyle....hum different hai but we respect each other right?" She said slowly without looking at him.

"Ofcourse we do...." He said immediately.

"I have noticed something...." She said almost in an inaudible voice. "Everytime we get....intimate...." She gulped not knowing how to put it. "You back off....i....i know you must have had....tumhare liye it's not normal to back off....is it because all the women you dated were much more...." Before she could complete he cut her off.

"Kisine kuch bola tumhe?"

"Nahi toh...." She said immediately , getting conscious.

"Pakka kisine kuch bola hoga....kisne bola?" He asked firmly.

"Kisine nahi....who will say babah...." She said looking away.

"Tumne apna DM open kiya?" He asked raising his brows. He knew very well what all trollers could say and they were saying it. Till now he was sure that it was not reaching her , but as soon as she had said whatever was in her mind , he knew it must have reached her.

"Nahi...." She said immediately.

"Then?dekho sach batao warna i will get angry....this is serious....i know tumhe kisine kuch bola hai...."

"I saw twitter...." She said not meeting his eyes.

He looked at the ceiling and sighed.

"Should have known...." He muttered under his breath. "Idhar dekho...." He said while looking back at her.

She looked at him.

"Teja....tum jaisi bhi ho usi Teja ko pasand karta hoon mai....pyaar karta hoon mai...." He said softly. "You really think all these matters?these people don't have any life....tum ek baat batao who is your favourite actor?"

"Pata nahi...." She said not being able to figure out whose name to take. Her mind has gone blank.

"Whoever....tum unke partner ke bare mein ulta seedha likhoge ek public platform pe?" He asked looking into her eyes.

She shook her head.

"Exactly....because you have a life....you have work....you don't have time to spread shit about someone with whom you have nothing to do with....whom you don't even know personally right?so you think tumhara inke baaton pe affect hona worth it hai?"

She shook her head slowly.

"Exactly....smart ho kaafi...." He said sarcastically and she glared at him.

"And yes i back off....because i know tum comfortable nahi ho....comfortable might be the wrong word....tum ready nahi ho....i know you Teja....the first day we kissed , you were shivering because tum unprepared the and tumhe laga i will take a step ahead....everytime we get intimate i can feel you getting scared....ki mai aage badha toh how will you handle it....i know Teja you will not say no....tum khud ko push karoge but that won't come naturally to you....i know once we get married tumhara inhibition thoda sa kam hoga....not that being married will magically give us the ethical license and now it won't be ethical....aisa bilkul nahi hai....but once we start living together tum thoda ease out ho jaoge...." She couldn't believe he was saying all these. She had never imagined that he would get her so well.

"And mujhe koi issue nahi hai....tum mere liye jitna karti ho woh bhi more than enough hai....i know how difficult for you it is to come here and stay with me tonight....but tumne kiya....yes you are right....past mein i have been intimate with girls....and i had always believed that we need a certain level of emotional and physical compatibility with our partners...." He said and she looked at him in anticipation.

"But all I know is with you i don't need any kind of surety....i just know one thing....mujhe tumhare saath hi rehena hai....i want to spend the rest of my life with you no matter what....you get me....you respect me....you love me....and that is enough....mujhe aur kisi cheez ka koi assurance nahi chahiye...." He said kissing her forehead and she hugged him tightly not being able to control herself anymore. She was overwhelmed.

"Shhh....relax...." He said kissing her hair and rubbed her back to calm her down.

"Thank you....thank you...." She whispered into his chest and he smiled softly.

"Bohut raat ho gayi hai....you need to sleep now....tumhare liye next suite booked hai...." He said softly and she broke the hug.

"That won't be needed....i will stay here....tum jaao room mein....i will fit in this couch araam se...." She said pointing at the couch.

"And tumhe lagta hai mai tumhe couch pe songe dunga...." He rolled his eyes. "Andar room mein jaao....i will sleep here...."

"No way....tumhara birthday hai...."

"So?" He frowned.

"Fine then mai iss couch mein tum uss couch mein...." She pointed at another couch.

"Cool with me...." He shrugged. "Good night...." He got and yawned.

"Good night...." She chuckled seeing his baby face as he walked to the other couch and laid down falling asleep within minutes and started to snore.

She shook her head hopelessly.

Itna kharate maarta hai ki kya bolu. She put a cushion on her ear and went to sleep.