Abhimaan was as shocked as a deer caught in headlights when Alankrita hugged him like a little girl. Her arms wrapped around his neck and her legs dangling in the air. Both of them would have fallen hard on the ground if he hadn't held her waist and balanced both of them.

“Aloo!” He was out of breath while mumbling her name.

“Sorry, sorry! I got over-excited.” She put her feet back on the ground and untangled her hands from around his neck.

A bright smile returned to her lips as her eyes again looked at the university campus where she will be studying very soon.

“Thank you, Abhi!” She said with a happy smile.

Abhi.

It sounded so good kind of weird from her lips. So weird and giddy that his cheeks turned a light shade of red.

“We should go back.” He said while turning back to the car.

“We won't go inside the campus?” She asked in a disappointed tone.

“Not yet. You'll need an ID card for that.”

“Oh.”

“Now come.”

She nodded and sat on the passenger's seat of the car. And they drove back home.

•••

Alankrita was reading about the phobia Abhimaan had on her laptop. She couldn't find the exact term for it, but she understood that it's a mild form of obsessive compulsive disorder. And she was jotting down some points for herself.

Abhimaan entered the bedroom, and he was kind of not-so-surprised to find her drowned in her laptop. Till that moment he never saw her phone or laptop away from her even for a few minutes. She was addicted to her gadgets.

He came and sat down beside her on the couch. And the content displayed on the laptop screen caught his attention, and so did the points jotted down on the notepad.

“What are you doing, Alankrita?” He asked, even though the smile on his lips told that he understood everything.

At the moment of question, Alankrita noticed him sitting beside her. She didn't feel his presence earlier. His presence was usually made known by his aquatic fragrance. Maybe he hadn't sprayed his cologne, that's why she didn't notice him.

And the moment she realised he caught her doing her little research on his phobia, she immediately shut down the laptop and threw the notepad on the side table.

“Nothing. Just increasing my general knowledge.” She gave him a nervous smile.

“Your general knowledge about me?” He smirked.

She didn't reply and kept quiet. She was concerned about what he might be thinking. That she was creating a fuss about him having a weird phobia.

“Aloo, it's alright. I am glad you are trying to know about my phobia.” He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and smiled.

“Are you sure?” She was still nervous about it.

“Of course, I am. Don't get nervous over this.” He kissed her forehead, making her close her eyes and give him a tight hug.

They stayed in the same position for the next fifteen minutes or so. A thought pondered in Alankrita's mind.

“Abhimaan, do you miss your parents?” She asked while looking up at his face.

“I do, I really do.” And the way he said it with so much longing, she could feel his pain of losing parents. After all, she had also faced this trauma.

“Why you never returned to India in all these years?”

“I was... comfortable and happy here. Going to India always seemed a bad idea.”

“Why it seemed a bad idea?”

“Because I had zero tolerance to hot weather. And yes, during our wedding functions I was sweating like pig and on Mandap I was about to black out.”

“But don't you miss your family?”

“I do, but I can live without them. I am living all alone for so long that now living in a joint family seems like a nightmare to me. I am happy this way.”

“Then why you agreed for our marriage?”

“Because I wanted to settle down.”

“But why settle down with a complete stranger? You could have dated someone here and get into relationship with that person.”

“I had a girlfriend. An Anglo-Indian Sports Journalist. But I didn't like her enough to get married to her. A random day Dadi-sa called and expressed her wish to get you married to me. And I actually liked the idea of arrange marriage. I knew that Dadi-sa's choice will never be wrong for me. My mum was also her choice, after all.” He smiled while saying the last sentence.

“And what about your girlfriend?”

“I broke up with her.”

“And what was her reaction?”

“That she'll have to find another man who is good in bed.”

“Seriously!?”

“Yep, she wasn't relationship kinda person. Moreover, she was a bisexual and wanted to get settled with a woman in the future. So you can say she was waiting for her ideal female partner.”

“Oh,” That was all she could say.

•••

The same night Alankrita's eyes were again glued to her laptop. This time she was reading an article on how to initiate intimacy with your husband.

And she was confused.

She sighed out of frustration and shut down her laptop. Standing up from her seat, she entered the ensuite bathroom to take a shower.

Half an hour later, she came out wearing an oversized bathrobe that covered her up to her knees.

However, her calm smile turned into a gasp seeing what Abhimaan was doing. He was reading that intimacy article on her laptop.

“Seriously?” He asked with an amused smirk.

She bowed her head down in embarrassment.

“Come here, Aloo.” He said softly.

She took a slow step towards him. And as she reached to him, he held her both hands in his.

“What are your boundaries? Like what you are comfortable doing and what makes you uncomfortable?” He was looking straight into her eyes, making her a bit conscious of herself.

After a long pause, she answered, “You can touch me, but not with your... umm...”

He smiled, “Alright, I won't touch you with my umm.”

“Abhi!” She whined making him chuckle at her reaction.

He stood up and began undressing. Alankrita was left speechless at his confidence.

“Light on or off?” He asked her.

“Off.”

“Alright.” He switched off the lights and pushed her onto the bed. Darkness was all she could see. But suddenly she felt him hover over her body. His breath touched her skin all the way up to her face and then he kissed her. Slowly and passionately. He was in no hurry. She was clutching onto the sheets to prevent herself from touching him. Again, because she was nervous. His hands roamed on her arms and it eased her out. She stopped clutching the sheets and let him intertwine their fingers. She tried to respond to the kiss. He was enjoying her efforts. After a very long kiss, he moved down to give a few hickies here and there. He freed the hold on her hands andbegan nibbling on her neck. She moaned at the weird ticklish sensation.

“Abhi...”

He continued with his sweet assault. His one hand reached for the knot of her bathrobe. His lips moved close to her ear and he whispered, “Should I remove it?”

She nodded mumbling a silent yes to him.

And she was free of the robe.

“Have you ever touched yourself?” He asked.

“No.” She was kind of scandalised by his question.

His hand trailed on her skin downwards at a very slow pace. She began sweating profusely in her nervousness and fear. He had just touched her there when she pushed his hand back.

“Stop! I can't do this.”

Abhimaan switched on the lights and saw her sweating so bad. Perhaps, she wasn't ready for it. She was doing it for him only.

“I am sorry.” She apologized.

“It's okay, don't worry.” He caressed her forehead and passed her the bathrobe.

She quickly wore it and felt a little bit calm. Abhimaan too wore his night clothes and joined her in the bed.

“Change into something comfortable.” He suggested.

“I don't have the energy.”

“Then sleep.” He began caressing her forehead. But she didn't fall asleep.

“Aloo, don't pressurise yourself. You are only twenty-one, too young to worry about this stuff. Focus on your studies for now.”

“But what about you?”

“Aloo, let me tell you, I am not a virgin. So I am not any desperate husband ready to get into your pants. I am way more mature than you. So just know that I understand what you are going through and you can talk about it. I have faced this phase as well.” And he kissed her forehead.

At that moment, she began crying while hugging him. He just smiled and let her cry. And she only stopped when she fell asleep.