by KASI, MV
"Jhanu. It would make me even happier if you got that way. Because I know that when I'm older...I would turn into a dirty old man chasing after a much larger woman. It's in my typical South Indian genes to prefer my woman big and bold. Just like you are," Srinu had said to Jhanvi, earning cheers from everyone around them.
Mahi was very happy for Jhanvi that Srinu lived up to the promise and kept Jhanvi happy.
Srinu saw all the women in the living room and his grin got wider. "Hello ladies...I didn't know you hens haven't stopped clucking yet. Am I interrupting? Still not done gossiping about your husbands and your dirty little secrets yet?"
"Srinuu..." Jhanvi warned him and then she saw the mud. "Get out of the house. You are getting mud all over my clean floors. Wash off in the yard with a hose first," she shrieked.
He went out laughing.
"Wait. You tell him everything?" Mahi asked Jhanvi in surprise.
"Yeah, almost everything. Part of the deal we made when we got married. No secrets and some such crap," Jhanvi told her sheepishly.
Mahi looked at everyone. "You all do?" she asked.
They all nodded.
"Sometimes my hubby begs me to keep my secrets and gossip to myself. But he's the only non-girly outlet I have. And believe me men can gossip more," grinned Ashwini.
Soon, Srinivas came back in and saw Mahi. He smiled and came over to greet her properly.
Mahi hugged him. "It's been fourteen long years. You look the same, Srinu."
He smiled. "You too, Mahi."
"Why won't he? With all the golf, cricket, volleyball and tennis games he plays in his spare time with his boys' gang," Jhanvi told Mahi sarcastically.
"Hey, you let me do those a couple of hours each weekend and I let you have your alone time," Srinu told Jhanvi, kissing her cheek affectionately. "Oh by the way Arjun asked me if he could stay for thirty more minutes and I said he could."
"Whaat? Never mind. I'll deal with it later. Now go on...shooo. We are discussing something important here. Go take a shower and fix yourself a snack from the fridge," Jhanvi told her husband before settling down. "Okay so where were we?"
They resumed with their talk until everyone had to leave since they had their families waiting at home or places to go to.
By the time Mahi got back home it was almost seven thirty in the night. She loaded the groceries in the fridge and ate a quick dinner. The jet lag was hitting her hard and she went to bed early, glad about that fact. She didn't want to think about missing Samrat that night or the confusing feelings and thoughts in her mind.
*****
Sometime during the night, Mahi felt the covers slide down from her body and a hand caressing her back. She arched slightly feeling the cool hands on her heated body. She could feel Samrat’s weight dip the mattress slightly as he stretched out behind her. Slowly he turned her towards him.
Mahi opened her mouth to call him out, "Sam—"
Before she could form his name completely, he covered her mouth with his.
For the next few hours, they didn't talk, except to whisper their needs to each other. Later, they fell into an exhausted sleep wrapped around each other.
Early next morning, she woke up and noticed that it was still a little dark outside. Samrat was already up and she could see his shadow move in the room.
For some strange reason, she didn't want to let him know she was awake.
Samrat was putting on his clothes and she could hear the slight rustle. After he was done, he slowly walked towards the bed and stood there quietly.
She tried to keep her breathing even and closed her eyes.
He bent down and pulled down the covers, revealing the top half of her body until her hips. He traced her shoulders and her back with his fingers, making her breakout into goose bumps.
And then he gently pushed her hair aside from her ears. He kissed her on her ear and whispered, "I know you are awake and can hear me, Mahi. I'll see you later. I have to make some work calls now."
She tried very hard to not respond with a shiver or to pull him down on top of her. She heard him sigh, and then he covered her back with the blanket before turning back and walking away from her room.
Soon, she heard the click of her main door closing.
She lay there for several minutes, confused and numb.
Then after sometime, "Oh shit. I'm screwed. Literally and figuratively. I have fallen for him and want him with me forever," she whispered and pulled a pillow on her face.
CHAPTER 11
Their night before had been intense, shaking Mahi up. Just after Samrat left, she had spent the next few hours, strategizing and reasoning with why she felt like an emotional wreck. She even browsed the internet on her cell phone for the reasons on why women felt that way even during a brief relationship with no strings attached. Apparently, according to internet, the culprit was Oxytocin, the chemical making her feel unnecessarily attached to him.
"I'm not going to be a slave to some chemical reactions happening in my body. I'm strong, independent and extremely practical," she muttered repeatedly.
That morning she received multiple messages from Samrat that she ignored. She needed some time to re-build her defenses. Soon she got ready and was hurriedly having her breakfast, when she heard a car honking insistently outside. When she went out, she saw Samrat waiting impatiently for her, standing next to his SUV.
"Why haven't you replied to my messages? Anyway, come on. Let's go. I am getting late," he shouted from the street.
Mahi saw some of the neighbors standing near their gates due to the racket happening in their usually quiet street.
Samrat greeted them loudly and started exchanging pleasantries with them, while she grumbled and went back into the house to grab her bag, before locking up her house.
"I could have called a cab; you didn't have to wait for me. Why carpool in Hyderabad all of a sudden?" she asked him grumpily.
He raised his eyebrow at her scowl. "Habit from the last three weeks, I guess. Now get in. We are getting late," he ordered.
She was about to get into the passenger side, but he already beat her to it.
"Samrat. I can't drive here. I-I'm not used to the traffic here," she told him with a frown, hating to admit a weakness.
He looked at her sternly. "It's almost the same as driving in the Bay Area and this vehicle is an automatic one too. And you drove like a maniac in the past three weeks, zipping between lanes. Traffic moves much slower here and I'm sitting right next you. So get in," he ordered her again.
She grumbled and got in the driver's seat. "God, I want to kill you for making me do this. Or maybe I will kill us both, and some cyclists, and a few dozen pedestrians who always seem to jump in the way—"
"Relax. Nothing will happen. Just stay focused. You'll develop faster reflexes with practice."
"Why can't I drive your self-driving car?"
"Don't whine like a baby. You'll be fine. Practice this week and then you can drive on your own soon. I don't go to the office often. Unlike you, I prefer working from home."
Mahi drove a distance and when the morning rush hour traffic hit them, she became nervous. Slowly after a few minutes, she relaxed, realizing it wasn't too bad and no one tried to jump in front of their car. For a change she was quiet while Samrat kept the conversation going, talking about the new products they were developing and the demos that were scheduled the entire week starting from that day.
Soon they reached the office building.
"I will see you back here at six," he said and walked away not waiting for her reply.
Mahi stared at him and walked the opposite way to another building where her relatively new team was situated.
She was busy the entire day, not even stopping to take a break for lunch. She had something delivered to her desk for a quick bite. Then in the evening around six, she received a text from Samrat, letting her know that he was waiting in the car.
Mahi: I'm still busy. You can leave. I'll hail a
cab.
Then immediately there was a reply.
Samrat: I am giving you two minutes and then coming up to drag you out from there.
Mahi was pissed. Her work could wait and she was bluffing about being busy because she didn't want to drive again. But he didn't need to know that or maybe he already did, the devious ass, she thought.
Mahi: You are a devious demanding asshole who needs a swift kick in the butt.
After a couple of seconds, there was a reply from him.
Samrat: I love it when you talk dirty to me. But hold on to the foreplay until we get home first.
She rolled her eyes and smiled, feeling more like the last three weeks. Her temporary insanity must have been because she felt that their deal would change drastically now that they were back in India. Maybe it would eventually, but she had decided that she would enjoy what they currently had.
She drove back home and on the way they decided to have dinner at his house since his cook had something prepared already. Samrat had instructed him to make extra because he knew Mahi would be joining him.
"Okay, I'll take a quick shower and see you at your place in a few minutes," she told him, getting out of the car.
"Need help to wash your back?" he offered with a straight face.
"Oh please. Whenever we are in shower together, you get me even dirtier, and you are also a water hog. I'm hungry and need food before the jet lag hits me," she told him with a smile.
She was about to walk away when he called her, "Mahi wait. Come with me for a minute. I need to show you something."
"What? If it's to show me that you are excited for tonight, I think I'd prefer to wait for a few more minutes until I can do something about it."
He laughed. "I like how you think, but it's not that. I want to show you how to work my lock box and give you a spare key. That way you can get into my house later even if I'm in the shower."
Mahi hesitated. "A key to your house?"
Samrat looked at her cautious expression. "Yes. I have one to your home too, remember? And a couple of my neighbors have a spare key to my house too. It's not a big deal to give one to you. It's more practical for us to have each other's house key."
Mahi felt relieved. "Okay, show it to me quickly then. Will I need to take notes? That lock box looked like it belonged to some casino safety deposit box," she exaggerated.
Laughing he showed her how to work it and then gave her a spare key. And then Mahi went to her house where she took a quick shower before hurrying across to his house.
Samrat was already waiting for her in the dining room. "Why are you not in your nightwear? It's almost seven. Are you planning to go out somewhere, later on?"
"No. I'll just change when I get back home to sleep," she told him distractedly, her mouthwatering seeing the dinner options.
Before she could sit down completely, Samrat pulled her towards him. He grabbed her bottom to pull her up and then kissed her deeply for a very long time. When he pulled his head up and then lowered her, she was gasping and looked dazed.
"After we are done with each other, you'll barely have any energy left to stand, let alone get back home tonight. Now, let's fuel up," he said and swatted her bottom before releasing her.
"Ouch!" She rubbed her stinging bottom before sitting back in the chair. "We have to keep it short and sweet tonight. I barely slept last night when you crept into my bed. I have some important presentations to give tomorrow."
He served food in both their plates and started to eat. "I will keep it short if you allow me to. Let us see if you can keep your hands to yourself," he remarked and then gave a wicked smile. "Even your legs to that matter. I still remember how you kicked me and tried to spur me like I was a horse when I stopped briefly due to a cramp."
She grinned. "Well you stopped midway when the best parts had begun."
He laughed and then they talked about their day. As soon as they were done, they cleaned up and he dragged her hurriedly upstairs to his room.
Mahi stared at the room curiously. "Wow, this is the first time I'm seeing your room from inside. I could see it from across the street. It's pretty cool and obviously you must have renovated it along with the house."
She began to snoop around the room and inside the walk-in closet. Just as she suspected.
Absolute organization.
But unlike most tidy people, his clothes were sorted by the color. Even his underwear and socks were stacked neatly in the shelves she pulled out.
“Yup. Definitely borderline OCD.” She grinned.
Meantime, he had shed his clothes in a hurry. "I will give you a detailed tour later and you can comment more. Now get back here, I'm horny," he demanded.
She raised her eyebrow at the term that she used often. He pulled away her clothes and placed them in a chair neatly next to his clothes.
"Just one of your wham bam thank you ma'am rounds and then I need my beauty sleep," she smirked, teasing him by reminding him about some of their hurried couplings with no foreplay.
He said, "Fine," and carried her to his bed and dropped her on it before climbing over her.
That night, he kept his promise and stuck to one round. But it wasn't short or quick. It lasted for a long time and he drove her crazy by teasing her slowly. He kept her aroused to a fever pitch, but didn't allow her to climax. He kept teasing her, until she finally pushed him off her and climbed over him, and then drove them both into completion.
And just like he had predicted, she was too exhausted to put on her clothes to sneak back to her house. She slept in his bed the whole night until the morning. Luckily, she woke up early enough to leave, before anyone in the neighborhood noticed her disheveled appearance while coming out from his house.
CHAPTER 12
A few days later, when they had just gotten back from work, Mahi had a dilemma. Their idyllic time would hit a small glitch.
"By the way, my womanly parts are off limits for a few days. So if you want to spend some time away from me and do your own things, I'm totally fine," Mahi told Samrat before he could get down from the SUV.
Since most of their relationship was based on physical intimacy, Mahi really didn't know whether Samrat would be interested to spend any idle time with her.
Samrat frowned and then he understood. "No. We can still spend time together. And now that we have some extra time, do you want to watch a movie or play some video games? Or maybe we can go out somewhere to eat."
Mahi nodded. "Okay. Anything that will allow me to relax. Maybe we can watch a movie in your room. Pick something interesting," she said before going into her house, still wondering how they would pass time with each other in a hands-off way.
After dinner, they went upstairs to Samrat's bedroom and he disappeared for a few minutes before returning with some blue gel like pouch.
"What's that?" asked Mahi, watching him bring it to the bed.
"It's my hot or cold pack that I use sometimes when I have sore muscles after I lift heavy weights. I warmed it a little, so you can place it on your stomach, to ease your discomfort when you lie back on the bed."
Mahi felt her heart flip a little. "I...uh...don't have any problem with cramps or any other major discomfort. I just like to relax and not do any strenuous activity during these three days, that's all."
He just nodded and then was setting up his home theatre to start the movie. It was supposed to be a Japanese movie with subtitles.
"How do you know so much about menstrual cramps and pain? I thought it was a taboo topic for men and they usually shudder when anything referring to the female cycle is mentioned," she asked him curiously.
Her brother, father or even her ex-husband would be caught dead discussing about cramps or other stuff, let alone bring her a warm pack to ease any discomfort.
"I grew up with a sister and mother who suffered from severe symptoms and needed help sometimes. So did my wife. I used to ease my wife's discomfort with a back rub," he said absently while looking at the huge telev
ision screen and changing some settings. And then he turned to her. "Let me know if you need a back rub...I'm pretty good at it."
Her heart gave another flip. Looking at his stern and masculine face, no one would ever guess that he helped out the females in his family during their most uncomfortable time each month.
"No. I'm fine for now. Just hold me," she said, feeling a little emotional again.
And this time, she blamed it on the hormones.
Samrat joined her on his bed and sat back towards the headboard. He pulled her between his legs with her head resting on his chest and wrapped his arms around her.
Fifteen minutes into the movie, Mahi closed her ears with her fingers and opened just an eye to see if it was safe to watch.
"What the hell Samrat? It's a horror movie! Who the hell watches a horror movie on a weeknight? I need to go home tomorrow morning all by myself!" she shouted.
She could feel his chest rumble and then shake as he began laughing, especially when he watched her hide her face under the blankets with only her eyes being visible.
"Oh come on. Don't be a coward. It's a cool movie. One of my favorites and one of our teams is developing a video game based on it."
She turned and glared up at him. "Turn it off! I don't watch horror movies. Like ever!"
"Why? What is so scary about them once the movie is over? Are you worried that when you go back to your place tomorrow, you'll see that girl hanging upside down on top of your ceiling?" he teased, kissing her ear.
She exhaled loudly. "Guess which finger I'm sticking out?" she snapped, poking a finger under the blanket.
He burst out laughing.
She accidently saw another scene. "Oh god! Make it stop. Seriously, this crap will scare me for days! Or maybe even months! I'm going to make you come along with me to the bathroom tonight, and also to my house each time I have to go there to shower or change."
He laughed and hugged her closer. "Why didn't you tell me sooner? I could have played a horror movie, days ago."