His face bore no smile but rather an adorable frown, as if he were dreaming of Brinjal.

He hates brinjal.

As I woke up, Abi's face was half-buried in the mattress, partially visible to my hooded eyes. It was still early in the morning; the clouds hadn't moved aside for the sun to replace the gloominess with bright daylight.

The rhythmic breeze entering through the window created a soft sound in the curtains that caught my attention before I focused on him. An instant smile enveloped me as I recalled his response to my tempting offer last night.

"No thanks; I'm better off sleeping with blue balls than having sex with you when youre least interested... You owe me a wild night tomorrow but for now, shut up and sleep" With that, he slept, and I smiled in his embrace. Hes silly. Instead of taking my offer and making the most of it, he just chose to let me sleep tonight since I was tired.

Every time he does something silly like this, he wins a part of my soul.

Looking at Abi's adorable baby-like face, I couldn't believe I was about to let this man slip away from my hands on the day of my marriage. Thank goodness I married him. Otherwise, who knows which lucky woman would be admiring this sleeping hunk in bed right now?

In just four months of our marriage, we've crossed all the hurdles and hesitations in the intimacy department. Now, we dont even feel shy about approaching each other for sex at any time of the day. However, it's not just about sex; in these four months of our marriage, we've spent a lot of time together trying to understand each other's perspectives. We put the 'intimacy' part aside and gave each other the needed space because marriage is a major fact of life that requires time to accept that from now on, its no longer about me it's about us.

On our marriage night, I was relieved to know that he wouldnt cross boundaries until we were comfortable enough to explore intimacy. Running my fingers through his hair, I recalled the sweetest moment of our first night together after marriage.

"Good luck. Do your best." My cousins pushed me inside the room, locking the door behind me with dramatic laughter.

After five days of sleep deprivation and a full day of smiling for photos and enduring all the marriage rituals, all I could think about was ditching every piece of jewellery and hitting the bed as soon as possible. However, these girls were having their own comic session, teasing me about my first night and laughing loudly as if I even got shy.

Firstly, I don't know why they're so excited for my first night more than me. I mean, having sex with my husband for the first time after marriage is something related to him and me only. So, why are they so happy and excited about it? What's there to laugh about having sex with my partner?

Standing near the door, I scanned the room: jasmine, fruits, and sweets on the side table, roses on the bed, heart-shaped red balloons around, and some glittering lights. Everything was set and ready, just like they show in typical movies, except for my husband. Where is he? I hope these devils, called my cousins, didnt tease him until he ran away from his own first night. That would be an embarrassing story to tell our kids.

Placing the glass of milk on the table, I was about to look for him on the balcony when I heard the bathroom door open. It was him.

" You look beautiful" he said, smiling at me while shutting the door behind him.

" Thanks to my cousins who played a major part in getting me ready" I said, leaving out the last two words for the sake of politeness, but inwardly, I was just imagining removing all the dozen hairpins from my hair and the heavy jewellery to breathe with relief.

He looked good in his white veshti and shirt. His smile accentuated the dimples at the corner of his lips, making it one of the cutest features of his face. Silky smooth hair, coffee-brown eyes, thick eyelashes, a tiny beard peeking on his sharp jaw, and thin lips— he looked like a work of art. I couldnt explain the strange feeling inside me whenever he was around. Or I was just tired and needed sleep to clear my mind.

" Your cousins are nice" he said again, and this time I noticed how perfectly trimmed his beard was. The seven o'clock style suits him more. I dont know if its because of his smile or his whole personality, but theres something special about him that I can't put into words, yet I can feel it.

As we both sat on the edge of the bed, silence enveloped us. It was awkward. During our post-engagement, we had talked about home, furniture, bills, salaries, cooking, and whatnot, but never once had we talked about what we would do on our first night together. We just never thought about this part of marriage, or I had thought about this part of the marriage but kept it in the forbidden fantasy, never voice it out file in my mind.

We should have discussed it; at least we would have known what to do now. Urgh!

Why does this feel so embarrassing? This silence between us is causing more heart-throbbing than anything else.

As if he heard my prayers, Abi spoke, breaking the silence. "Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah... you?" I replied.

" Hmm" he nodded.

" Hmm"

I had no idea how to keep the conversation going. Should I ask him if he liked the Gulab jamun that my Athey (MIL) served us during dinner? No, that would be off topic.

Then how about asking him about his favorite color? No. I guess I look good and sane with my mouth shut for now.

"Hmm" he dragged, grabbing my attention. "All these rituals and relatives exhausted us... I think we should sleep" he suggested.

"Go and get changed... I know you must be feeling suffocated in this heavy attire."

"Hmm." I nodded with a smile, relieved that he wouldnt rush into anything just because it was our first night.

This was the main reason I got so nervous in the morning and considered calling off the marriage. Realising that after this day, he and I would share the roof, room, and bed made me panic. Thanks to Abi for being patient, handling my nervous breakdown better than me, and not cancelling the marriage.

"Oops, I forgot something very important." I turned around and looked at him, then at the glass of milk.

Taking the milk glass from the table, I reached him within a second. "Drink half of this."

"I don't like milk, Aradhya" he protested.

"Even though I don't like to drink milk, the elders said that we both should share this milk tonight, just as we are going to share our lives from now on" I explained briefly, trying not to bring my Amma s lecture on how I should let him drink this milk first and later drink the other half as I'm his better half.

He hesitated for a moment but took it, anyway, drinking half and leaving the rest for me.

Its not like anyone would know if we didnt drink this milk but I didn't want to break the streak of this ritual that has continued since my appuchis (grandma) generation.

Gulping down the leftover milk in one shot, I made a face because of its taste."Eww, thats the reason why I never drank milk, even during my childhood days when Amma used to add a lot of sugar to make it taste better for me."

Seeing me make faces, he smiled a little as he brought his hand close to my face, making me wonder what he was trying to do. He swiftly wiped off the milk from my upper lip using his thumb, which felt so good that I lifted my gaze to him. His thumb was still on the corner of my lips as he locked his eyes with mine. The moment we made eye contact, everything around us paused.

I saw his beautiful brown eyes turning dark, and I felt my heart race. Slowly, our faces closed the gap between our lips, and before we realised it, our lips touched, creating a wave of electricity inside me. I couldnt wait any longer to feel that again. Our lips met, and I swear Ive never felt such good feelings before, even when I got my first book to read.

Due to my short stature, I had to stand on my tiptoes with my hands on either side of his shoulder to kiss him for the first time. Yes, this is our first kiss. I couldnt believe I surprised myself by taking the lead this time. But what surprised me more was the way he held my waist gently, trying to lift me a bit to match his height. His touches made my heart race. I felt like I was flying on cloud nine.

I was shy, and he was shy too. And yet, we werent ready to let go of this moment filled with unknown emotions and unexplainable feelings. So, we kissed each other with all the shyness on display.

The kiss was passionate, shy, and felt so good to my heart and stomach that I wasnt ready to end it yet. My arm reached to the back of his head to grip a fistful of his hair while the other hand rested on the nape of his neck.

Feeling his skin under my touch like a smooth and satisfying surface. His palms dug deep into my waist as he held me tight, conveying the urgency he was feeling while sucking my tongue. I was lost in the moment when he suddenly grabbed me by the waist, bringing our lower bodies together, and deepened the kiss, making my eyes widen and feel his arousal. I must admit, hes a good kisser.

Now, all my boldness washed away, knowing what our kiss had caused him. Not wanting to make it hard for him any further, I tapped on his shoulder. The moment he released my lips, he joined our foreheads together while we fought for air. I could feel the heat on my cheeks. Am I blushing? Yes.

" Lets get changed and sleep... before we—" I didnt let him complete that sentence as I covered his mouth with my palms. I was already feeling shy because of the kiss and if he says anything inappropriate now, it will get awkward for both of us.

Shaking my head with a shy smile, I breathed hard. This moment is gold and I'm going to treasure it until my last breath.

All these days, Ive imagined his lips on mine whenever he would talk about the most mundane stuff of his routine. Being his admirer, Ive imagined us kissing a lot of times before, but I could say that the kiss feels a lot better than what I had imagined. Now, we both know that we shouldnt get carried away with the kiss and end up having sex. A kiss is progress, but I would appreciate it if we stopped at that and let other things happen with time instead of rushing.

As if he understood what I wanted to say, Abi nodded and kept quiet for the next few minutes while I got rid of the jewellery, hair pins, and my hairstyle before walking to the bathroom to change. When I came out wearing a comfortable T-shirt and pants, I signalled Abi to change, knowing he couldnt sleep wearing that veshti.

After about ten minutes, he came out, now in comfortable sweatpants and a T-shirt. Meanwhile, I removed all the roses and jasmine from the bed to make it more comfortable.

Switching off the light, we laid down, leaving a great gap between us for now but I'm sure we will close that gap in the coming nights.

"Good night" we said in unison and chuckled.

-----

"Good morning." Abi's hoarse voice brought me back to the present and I found him wrapping his arms around me.

" Good morning" I greeted him cheerfully. Feeling his warmth, I was living the morning moment to the fullest when Abi abruptly pulled away from me, a horrified expression on his face.

"Oh no, we're getting late." Hearing his hurried voice, I looked back at the clock, perplexed.

Its only 6:05 AM. We have a lot of time left. Why is he panicking? Our office time is 8:30 a.m. Chill.

" We have plenty of time, Abi. Are you still sleepy? Look, it's just—" Before I could complete my sentence, he grabbed me and lifted me into his arms, an evil laugh escaping him.

And so, begins our morning!

" We are getting late, so we should shower together to save time and water" he declared, carrying me to the bathroom despite my pleadings.