{HAPPY DHANTERAS!!!

Wishing you all a prosperous day and year ahead...}

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"I am here." Viraj informed his friend, Vinay on the phone when he parked his car in front of his apartment.

"Coming." Vinay replied and quickly came downstairs.

It was Friday and they were invited to their mutual friend's bachelor party. It was going to be a long ride and thus, Viraj preferred to drive, instead of his driver, in order to have some more privacy with his friends.

Viraj unlocked the car's door when he saw Vinay standing at the co-driver's door.

Vinay opened the door and quickly stepped inside to sit beside Viraj. Before he could share pleasantries, he was surprised by the interior of the car.

"Were you listening to this song?" Vinay asked in shock as the car's radio played a string of romantic songs at low volume.

Viraj looked at him in confusion before replying.

"Yeah, why?"

"You don't like these songs." He affirmed. He knew that Viraj absolutely dislikes romantic cheesy songs.

"I don't. But, these songs, sort of, remind me of my fiancee. So, I didn't change the channel." He explained as he started driving.

Vinay chuckled at his friend's teenage behaviour.

"And what is this flower doing in your pocket?" Vinay further asked as his gaze moved to his shirt's pocket.

Viraj looked at the flower he was pointing at and immediately, a smile grazed his lips at the recent memory. He had gone to Sneha's college to meet her briefly and inform her about his schedule for the night. And, as usual, she offered him the first flower that she saw, in her unique manner.

"Sneha gave me this flower." Viraj said and his smile easily reached his eyes. Vinay could easily see it.

"Sneha gives you flowers?" Vinay asked in surprise and a little curiosity.

"Hmm." Viraj chuckled. "My fiancee has a strange way of expressing her affection for me. She won't kiss me back but she would always make sure to put a flower in my pocket. Once I wore a shirt without pockets, and I could clearly see the confusion in her eyes as she tried to search for a place to keep it. Finally, she placed it in my pants pocket. From then on, I make sure to wear a shirt that has a pocket." He elaborated.

"You like talking about her, right?" Vinay playfully asked as he observed how he unnecessarily elaborated on the scene even when he didn't ask for it.

Viraj looked at him briefly and smiled.

"Obviously! She is the best thing that has happened to me."

"I am so happy for you, bro! Finally, you found your love." Vinay said and slapped his shoulder in a friendly manner.

The sentence transpired from Viraj's mind, except for one word.

'Love'

Gaurav had told him many times that what he felt for Sneha was 'love', whether he accepted it or not. But, he never took Gaurav seriously. However, hearing the same thing from Vinay was a little serious. Vinay was the most mature guy in their friend circle when it came to social emotions...especially, after his wife's demise.

Viraj drove in partial silence. He engaged himself in Vinay's conversation but his mind was still stuck on that four-letter word. So, finally, he decided to talk about it in detail. They had enough time, anyway.

"Do you think I love Sneha?" He asked suddenly.

And, it took Vinay off guard. He finally laughed as he processed the meaning.

"Obviously! Everyone can see that. Why would you ask this?"

"She wants a husband who loves her."

"Yeah, and you love her. Don't you?" He asked in an uneasy tone.

"I don't know. I...I just like her a lot and I want both of us to be loyal in our marriage. That's all I feel for her... Loyalty." He answered.

"Tsk, Viraj. Loyalty is one of the manifestations of love. You love her and that is why you want to be loyal to her and only her."

"But, I want her to be loyal to me as well."

"Yeah, that is something which is very obvious to expect from your partner." He replied.

Viraj remained silent for a while before asking again.

"I told her that I don't love her. I just told her that I will always be loyal to her." Viraj confessed.

Vinay looked at his friend as if he was crazy.

"What? Are you insane? What makes you think you don't love her? And, why in hell are you making the same mistake that I did?" Vinay scolded him while referring to the fact that he never confessed to his wife as long as she lived.

Viraj could only sigh.

"I don't want to fool her over an overrated concept of love. There is only loyalty between a man and a woman. All this love and all is just a myth."

"A myth that some people are lucky enough to experience in their lives, at least once." Vinay contradicted.

"Define love." Viraj challenged his friend.

"I am not a dictionary, Viraj." Vinay chuckled.

"Then how can you say I love her?"

"Because it is evident in everything that you do! Love is an emotion that cannot be bound into a bunch of words. Even a thousand-word essay can not do justice to this beautiful emotion of love."

"Then how can you say I love her?" Viraj repeated his question.

Vinay took a deep breath before framing a better reply.

"What flaws do you think Sneha has that irritates you the most?"

"Why are you changing the conversation..."

"Just answer me, Viraj!" Vinay stressed.

Viraj thought over it a little.

"Nothing. She is flawless...A little fierce with her words, but I like it..." He was about to elaborate but Vinay interrupted him excitedly.

"Exactly! When you are in love, you'll find everything about that person to be beautiful. You will turn a blind eye to every minor or major flaw in that person. Even the flaws appear beautiful!" Vinay explained.

That made Viraj go dumb.

He wondered if that was why he found everything perfect in his woman. Is that the reason why he found that one grey hair on her head to be cute? Is that the reason why he absolutely adored her messy handwriting? Is that the reason why he would patiently listen to her thoughts on gender equality even when he didn't agree with them? Is that the reason why he finds it adorable when she would sometimes stutter on words that start with 'r'? He even found her monthly pimples cute! And the way she would resist looking at his eyes for a long duration just makes him go crazy over her shyness.

'Why didn't I realize this earlier?' He wondered as he thought over this.

Before he could think further, Vinay continued.

"And, if being in her presence gives you peace, then you are in love with her. You would want to always see her smile. Her safety and health issues will always concern you whenever the thought arises. You would want to keep on touching her and be close to her as much as possible. But, it is not merely 'lust' that drives these emotions. In addition to her body, you have that desperation to possess her mind and soul. You want to know what she thinks and wants to have. You would do absolutely anything to give her whatever she desires. And, just for her...you will be ready to break some of your own rules." Vinay concluded.

Viraj listened carefully. And as the words sank in, he became afraid of his own emotions. Yes, he brought him peace and tranquillity. Even in her sleeping state, she had the power of making him forget about all his tensions and worries. The fear of her getting targeted and hurt by his rivals worried him all the time. And, that is why he wanted her to quit her job at the library and if possible, stop going to college as well. But, knowing that the college and the job meant a lot to her, he couldn't force his decision on her. She would just cry and he hated to see her eyes blurred with those damn tears.

He would fool himself if he said he doesn't lust for her. He did...hopelessly and fiercely. He would imagine both of them engaged in an erotic setting, doing dirty deeds and all possible acts that a man and woman have ever done together. He wanted to touch her...badly. He wanted to see her feminine body, touch her bosoms, hold them, kiss them and suck them. He wanted to submerge himself entirely inside her and do it all over again till she gets tired. He was even prepared with a condom, all the time when he is with her, just in case she initiated sex...before marriage.

But, he also wanted her to genuinely think of him as her man. He wanted her to think of him in good light. He wanted to have a place in her heart and mind. He did want to possess her heart and soul!

"Am I crazy to feel like this?" Viraj asked, a little scared of his own feelings now.

"No, Viraj. You are just in love. And, it is something that has made every man in the world submit to their beloved."

Viraj focused on the road but his mind was floating in a strange kind of happiness.

"So, now that you have realized that you love her...go and tell her, for heaven's sake!" Vinay chuckled.

"You are right! She will be so happy to hear that!" He couldn't hide his feelings.

"Yup! And, that is why give her a very romantic proposal...Something that she will cherish always...and who knows award you with something more intimate."

Viraj only smiled in response. He decided to do detailed research on how to give the best proposal.

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The men were tired by the time they reached the farmhouse where the bachelor party was organized. They immediately joined Gaurav and other friends and collegemates.

As Viraj had expected, the bachelor party was organized in the traditional way...with drinks, food and young girls ready to serve all types of men's needs. He was used to all this. He may not have participated in such activities, but the business he was involved in demanded him to accept such things and be present in the scene, if not take part in it.

He scanned the room once to have a feel of the environment he was in and also to see who all were present. He could identify most of the men present while some were complete strangers. He decided to get acquainted with them and see if he could extract more profit from them through business.

Viraj sat with his friends on the sofa and grabbed a drink from the tray that the waitress brought. The waitress, just like all the women in the hall, was wearing a seductive bikini which hid almost nothing of her sexy body. She bent to his level and whispered in his ear boldly.

"Hi, handsome." She spoke as soon as Viraj brought the glass to his lips.

And at this moment, he understood that this girl was new in this line of work. Because everyone knew that no girl must mess with Viraj, Gaurav, Vinay and three more of their friends who were completely dedicated to their wives or girlfriends. Viraj was the only exception as he didn't allow any woman to touch him right from the beginning. And, now, it was even more serious since he was loyal to his fiancee.

So, he gave a stern look to the girl to which she understood the signal and walked away from him.

In a minute, the groom-to-be, Raj walked towards them and sat with them. The men congratulated him and got engaged in light friendly conversation.

"So, Viraj, when are you inviting us to your bachelor party?" Raj asked.

"Soon...but you won't be invited because you'd be married by then." Viraj answered in a teasing manner.

"Damn! I wonder what you'd do at your bachelor's party." Raj said, catching everyone's attention.

"What would I do?" Viraj asked.

"I mean, which girl would you choose to have sex with before you finally terminate your bachelorhood and enter marriage." Raj explained.

Gaurav cracked up at the statement. Viraj glared at him.

"What? Are you really going to sleep with a girl whose name is not 'Sneha'?" Gaurav challenged as he saw Viraj glaring at him.

"What is there to ask? That is the tradition, bro! The groom gets to fuck any random girl who is not related to his bride the night before his marriage."

"Oh yes, tell us, Viraj. Will you carry forward the tradition?" Gaurav continued his teasing to which Vinay smacked his arm playfully.

Viraj glared at his friend again.

"If you will, then I will too." Viraj teased back.

"Do you want Nat to kill me?" Gaurav laughed.

Everyone knew how scary Natasha can be if she'd get to know that Gaurav cheated on her. Once he had just kissed a girl as a dare, and their relationship had come to the verge of a formal break-up. It was only when all the men involved in the silly game along with Gaurav apologized to her that she finally forgave him.

"Well, Sneha will do the worse to me if I'll break my promise of loyalty to her." Viraj answered.

"Wow! You two are rare species! Anyway, I have already chosen the girl for myself. Do you see that brunette there...I have heard she gives the best Bj and that the men go crazy for her. She is a little expensive but I guess it will be worth it." Raj didn't even try to hide his excitement.

"Well, all the best to you." Viraj said as he grabbed another drink.

Raj laughed at the sarcastic comment.

"Well, since I am the host of the party, I am ready to share her with anyone of you. Just tell me, you know!" Raj offered to which a few men acknowledged.

Viraj, as expected, denied the offer. His body was already claimed by a honey-coloured girl.

However, being a man, the thought of having such an intimate moment did cross his mind. He had heard it to be highly pleasurable for the man. He wondered if Sneha would be bold enough to give him a Bj...ever.

'Obviously not!' He consoled himself. He knew she was extremely shy when it came to anything mildly sexual. He clearly remembered how she scolded him when he joked over the 'ball' word.

Five hours later, when all were completely wasted, Viraj slowly walked towards his assigned room to sleep peacefully. Gaurav and Vinay had long left to their own rooms. He went late as he got engaged in an important conversation with one of his friends, and, partially because the wine tasted amazing.

He slumped on the bed and closed his eyes. He had almost gone to a dreamy state when he suddenly remembered something.

He was crushing the flower that Sneha had given him. So, he flipped himself and carefully removed the flower from his pocket to place it beside the pillow.

He grabbed his phone from his pants pocket and quickly texted Sneha before closing his eyes and sleeping.

'Good night, Sneha.' He had texted.

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(Hey all!

I don't know why but I just love the innocent and not-so-innocent thoughts Viraj have for Sneha.

So, this is how he got to term his feelings as 'love'.

Thank you for waiting patiently, voting and commenting.

By the way, do you think Sneha is that innocent?

Till the next update...)