38 | The One With The FRIENDS

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"That Christmas tree needs to be decorated soon." Shree says as she sips the cup of tea. They both settled down on the couch just after they finished having dinner. Shree reheated the lasagna she and Olivera made for supper. Madhav was surprised to find out Shree could cook now, however her knowledge on cooking was only limited to European cuisine.

"Let's do that as the first thing in the morning." Madhav agrees as he looks at the bare tree.

"Actually, I was thinking of going down to ASDA to get a few groceries after I finish my assignments and the laundry." Shree says shaking her head. "I need to get some eggs to bake more cookies. We need to do a few deliveries to customers too. Also, Madhu is running out of diapers and she needs a bib."

"Did you check the evening newspaper for discount coupons?" Madhav asks.

"I have a dozen for dairy products at ASDA, a few for vegetables at Sainsbury. I usually check a few weekly newspapers and a few magazines. I snip a few from the newspapers in the faculty library. No one reads them anyways." Shree shrugs.

"I used to do that when I was in Oxford!" Madhav exclaims in surprise as he finishes his cup of tea. "They don't pay part-time waiters properly in the UK. So, I had to find other ways to buy my essentials. That's when a colleague recommended a website with great discount deals."

"I need to find someone to help me with the year-end financial statements of Happy Cookies."

"I can help you." Madhav says looking at Shree. He leans forward and tells her smilingly. "Are you forgetting I have an Accounting and Finance degree as well as a Masters in Corporate Finance?"

"That would be really helpful." Shree smiles back at him. "So how much do you usually charge?"

"Chellam, you know it's not the money I expect from you." He says only to note her face change to a quizzical look. "No, I'm not talking about sex. I meant you can pay me with a few of the cookies you make, or something else."

"Yeah, I'll make you a gift pack with one of each cookie variety." Shree says feeling awkward, as she gets up and takes her cup to the kitchen.

Madhav gets up and follows her, holding his cup. "Baby, are you-"

"Can you please go wait in the living room? I'll join you in a five more minutes." Shree dismisses him curtly and takes his cup. "I'll wash that."

Shree returns ten minutes later and sits beside him. He sits up, excitedly and smiles, inching towards her, holding her hands in his.

"That was the longest five minutes ever, chellam." He whispers, pushing her hair from her face. He came closer to her until he had closed the gap in between them, with one hand he held face, and kept the other on her waist. She was now sandwiched in between his chest and the couch. He was breathing too close to her, and his breath, his heartbeats, his warmth, made her heart bang against her chest. His eyes shone brightly as he inched closer to her, and his breath tickled her skin.

"I'm not letting you away from my sight even for a millisecond when you move back to India. I love you so much, chellam."

He brought his lips towards hers and closed his eyes passionately. He was about to kiss her red lips, when he felt her turn her face away from his.

She could feel the pulse pounding in her temples and she held her breath, trying to muster courage from within. She sat up straight and cleared her throat.

"Actually, about that, Madhav. I decided to stay somewhere else when Madhu and I return to India." Shree says calmly. "We aren't going to stay with you at the RK mansion nor in our apartment."

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