We reached the hotel. The people in the traffic had all come in, forming a line in front of the hotel desk to get their room keys. The hotel was moderate, neither too luxurious nor too cheap. The line moved and we faced the desk, the manager asking, "Are you both together, ma'am? Sir?" We knew what that meant. If we said no, we would be able to get two separate rooms for the two of us. However, I looked back to see the line to have grown from the time we had arrived there.

"Yes, we're together," I answered to the manager as Abeer remained silent, waiting for me to say something.

We both split the money, made the payment and took the keys. The climb up to our room was silent. It wasn't a big thing, sharing a room with Abeer. After all, I planned to do so for the rest of my life. But the fact that my parents were in this city, just a couple kilometers away terrified me. Abeer unlocked the door and we both entered in, closing the door behind us. There was an awkward silence in the room. I looked around the room to pass time.

There was a couch sitting in a corner, facing the window of the room. The television set was on, the news channel silently playing in the background. The lights were bright, as they always were in a hotel room. My eyes feel on Abeer who was emptying his trouser pockets, trying to gauge the damage to his goods, when it hit me. I didn't know anything about how Abeer lived. Sure, I had been to his apartment and seen what he lived in, but I had no idea about how he carried himself in his house. How did he keep his things, prepare for office in the morning? How did he do his night chores?

Funny how thoughts worked. One minute they were awkward, and the next moment I was thinking about how he lived. Next he removed his raincoat and tossed it on the couch, heaving a long sigh. His trousers looked bad. They were soaked from thigh-down, making them uncomfortable to wear. Another thought entered my mind as I looked down at his trousers. Would he remove them before sleeping? I blushed deep red and quickly shook my head, attempting to remove the thought from my mind.

Abeer's back faced me as he spoke. "Freshen up, Aashi. I'll order some food." He was spreading his raincoat on the couch to dry it. I nodded at his back and urged my legs to work. I placed my bag and belongings on the desk below the TV and rushed to clean myself in the bathroom. My trousers were bad too. Not as bad as Abeer's, but they were wet from knee-down, making them stick to my legs. I did not particularly relish the feel, but I had no choice. My eyes momentarily fell on the twin robes folded in a rack in the bathroom, but I shook my head and headed back into the room. I folded my trousers to get rid of the clingy feel of wet pants and bunched them around the knee.

I stood before the bathroom door, facing Abeer, who was now sitting on the bed, his trousers bunched up as well, staring at me. We stared at each other silently, before I couldn't hold it in.

"I'm sorry," we both blurted at the same time, taking me aback for a while, before I took two steps at a time and embraced Abeer in a soul-crushing hug. Abeer responded with equal fervor.

"No, it was my fault," Abeer said, shaking his head guiltily. "I was angry with something else and I took a dig at you."

"No, I am sorry too. Instead of focusing on what you were saying and asking you not to, I unnecessarily brought your father in it," I looked Abeer in the eye guiltily.

"I am sorry for everything I said about you parents. it was way out of line."

"I am sorry for what I said about your father," I said, and added as an afterthought, " also, extremely sorry for throwing the curry at you." My tone was as guilty as it was sheepish at the last statement.

"Yes, you should be sorry about that. Damn that curry was hot, and not in a flattering way," he grinned and pulled me closer to him, forcing me to rest my hands on his chest for support. Regret shot a fresh dose in my mind as my brows creased with worry. Abeer's cheeky grin transformed instantly into a comforting smile.

"Hey," he said softly, running a light finger on my left cheek. "It's fine. Plus," he quipped, his tone light again, "it was a very tasty curry. Though not as tasty as you," he said the last words seductively, distracting me for a second before I shook my head.

"No, it's not fine. Anything that turns physical in a bad way in a relationship is not fine. I won't ever do it again," I said fiercely, gazing intently in his eyes.

He smiled kindly at me. Before I could get lost in his eyes my mind went back to what he had said a few seconds ago. "You said the curry was tasty. How did you taste it?" I asked, bewildered.

"You threw a small portion of it, the rest was still in the vessel; so I ate the rest. Also the brownies were heaven," he said, smacking his lips. "You're a wonderful cook, did you know that? I wish I could be just as good as you," he sighed wistfully.

I pushed him away in shock.

"Hey!" he exclaimed, offended.

"You fought with me and then ate the food I had prepared?" I couldn't believe my ears.

He turned pink at my words. "Yes, I mean...wasting food is bad, isn't it?"

I shook my head. "You are impossible" I said, my eyes wide. "And I thought I was the only wild one in our relationship." I chuckled at the thought of him wolfing down the eggplant curry with a grudge-filled face. His face relaxed at my laugh and he grabbed my waist again, pulling me towards him. Goosebumps danced on my skin at his touch.

"You said anything physical turning bad is wrong, but we can turn something physical into something really, really good, can't we?" He whispered the last three words in my ear and then licked it slowly, tenderly. I looked up, my eyes hooded, and just as our lips were about to meet, my phone rang. We jumped apart at the brisk sound of my phone. I leaned in to look at my phone which was lying on the bed. 'Papa' flashed on the former black screen. Abeer took a step further away from me and stated vehemently, "Every time! Every single time! Do fathers have a sixth sense or something about their daughters engaged in intimate situations?" I shot him glare which shut him up, albeit grudgingly. I answered the call.

"Hello, Papa."

"Hello? Aashi, where are you now? Did you get a rickshaw?"

"No papa, the roads are flooded. There was no rickshaw," I replied and anticipated the next question.

"Where are you then?"

"At...at Taira's," I stammered. It was only thing that came to mind after raking for excuses but papa wasn't satisfied.

"Didn't you say a few days ago that she was in Paris?" He immediately asked.

"Yes, so what? She arranged for her driver to pick me. I am at her house. It's close from the office," I lied through my teeth, not daring to look at Abeer.

"Okay, stay safe, beta!"

I sighed with relief as I put down my phone. I was sure of what I would see as I would face Abeer, but I wasn't ready to give in to my fears. When I did look though, all my fears turned real as I saw Abeer, clutching the tapestry of the bed, pursing his lips to not laugh aloud.

"Ha ha ha, very funny," I said dryly and plonked on the bed.

"So, I am your driver now. Would you like to ride with me?" His smirk unveiled the innuendo but I wasn't the one to melt in a puddle of blush at that.

"Well, I told my father I am going to be safe. I think I should call him back and tell him about your not so safe intensions."

Humor flew away from his face and he jumped to snatch my phone away.

"No. No calling dad now," he said in a nervous tone that made me guffaw.

"You knew it was a silly threat," I said, still laughing.

"I know. But anything involving your parents gets me all...jumpy," he shuddered, making me laugh even more. But he regained his relaxed, naughty mien.

"But if you want a daddy..." My laugh stopped at that.

"Yuck yaar Abeer," I scrunched my nose in disgust.

"Yes, that's right, even I don't like that one," he mirrored my expression of disgust.

Suddenly a thought occurred to me. "Hey, you said that you were angry because of something else that day. What was it?"

His easy mien transformed and he sighed wearily. "Oh, just my boss. He was mean to all the people in the office that day. Particularly salty." He paused for a minute before taking a more cheerfully tone. "And on top of that, he is obsessed with unhealthy street food. His fingers, desktop, laptop everything is terribly oily. So later that day, this episode happened that spread all around the office like wildfire. That day one of his seniors was telling him to eat a little healthy as after 40 the chances of getting diabetes are high. A young female intern who has recently joined the office entered right then and he went on to say, 'I don't have to worry then, I am not 40 yet.' I mean, the guts of that guy! These men I tell you," he shook his head sagely making me laugh. "Anything to look younger in front of women."

I was tumbling with laughter by then. "How do you know his real age then?"

"He put up his photos on Facebook last week. Him, his wife and two kids celebrating his 43rd birthday." This made the whole thing even more hilarious. Abeer started laughing too and it went on for another five minutes. But I knew that it wasn't all, he was hiding something from me.

"Abeer," I said imploringly. "Tell me honestly now. I know it's not your boss this time."

He took a deep breath and looked at the ground. He held my hands and twisted to face me.

"It's my father. He is planning to get married again," he disclosed while actively dodging my eyes.

My eyebrows hopped up in surprise. "That's news. You have a problem with it? That is good actually, that he is moving on," I said carefully.

"Yeah, with his ex-girlfriend. The whole Kolkata knew of their affair when they were young. Her father married her off to some NRI and she broke all contact with him. Her father was in the income tax department, he even put a raid on my grandfather's shop. Some court case happened. It was all a big mess. My grandfather passed away in all the stress and shock then."

"I am sorry for your grandfather. But wasn't that a long time ago?" I furrowed my brows.

"Yes, more than thirty years. I know I am not being reasonable, but I feel my mother will be forgotten. Her struggle will be forgotten," his eyes kept wandering here and there uncomfortably.

I put a reassuring hand over his shoulder and moved closer to him.

"I know it must be hard for you. Especially with everything that has happened..."

"...but I can't impose anything on anyone. I can't stop them. It's not in my hands," he said quietly.

"And you shouldn't," I said firmly.

"I know. It's just...hard," he swallowed and looked at our intertwined hands.

"Time will bring more acceptance if not happiness, Abeer," I smiled feebly at him.

"Yes, you are right." He took a pause and reflected. "You must feel my family is crazy," he stated curiously.

"Yes, which is why it will be a perfect fit for me. Complimenting my personality," I smiled a smile which reached not only my ears but even his face.

The dinner we had ordered was brought in. I ate at a lightning speed. Abeer, who was eating leisurely while cracking jokes and pulling off antics didn't realize that more than half of the food was gone already. He was smart enough not comment on the rather empty plates. Each bite tended to double my hunger. He simply called the reception and ordered more food.

It was almost midnight when we unanimously thought it was time to sleep. Abeer cleared his throat awkwardly as we both stood at the edge of the bed, staring at it.

I broke the silence. "I will be very comfortable on the couch. It doesn't take me more than two minutes to sleep when I hit the pillow. I sleep like a dead body all through the night," I said, yawning.

"Firstly, dead bodies don't sleep, they die," he quipped, making me roll my eyes (which had him grinning for good measure). His voice turned serious. "I can sleep on the couch. I will be able to sleep too."

"But you are too tall!" I exclaimed. "The sofa is..."

"...tiny like you," he teased and I flashed him a sarcastic smile.

There was silence in the room again. "I'll be comfortable on the bed, too," I started slowly, a pink decorating my cheeks. He looked up and I added, "With you."

His face flashed shock, shyness and disbelief all at once. It was the most adorable sight! My voice turned more confident.

"Don't turn the wheels of your head too much. I am not intending anything. We are mature adults who are in a relationship. It's nothing big to sleep together, in one bed, beside each other...if you want," my voice waned, the last words coming out as not but a whisper.

"Of course we can, come here," he smiled brightly and landed a soft kiss on my lips. I responded by deepening the kiss, trying to compensate for the lost moment before. He joined in with equal enthusiasm. Our knees hit against the edge of the bed, making us fall over. We landed on the bed with a soft thud, my body fuzzy with all the amazing feelings taking over my mind.

No, we did not do 'it'. It was what we wanted, together. Our relationship was electric, but it wasn't without its depth. It was calm as well as stormy. It was wild as well as peaceful. It was everything I had dreamt of, and more. The scuffles made us stronger, and it made us understand each other better. We slept like that, in each other's arms.

At night when I glanced at his face when I got out of the washroom, I was reminded of Dhruv, and what had happened, and what I hadn't told Abeer. It scared me, this truth between us. I looked at his serene face, and my mind conjured up similar pictures, of us, lying together in bed every night, gazing at each other, wondering how wonderful it is to spend each walking day, evening, and night together. To laugh, to fight, to make up and smile. Our relationship wasn't without its downsides, I wasn't blind to those, but with him this close, I was sure we would do just fine.

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