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"Sorry sorry sorry, I know I'm late!" Rushing into the house, Surbhi apologized to her family. Nakuul's surprise birthday party had gone on longer than expected and Surbhi knew her parents would be mad. They were supposed to be at Nakuul's parents' house at 7 pm and it was 6.30 already. Her dad did not like being late.

"No worries", her sister told her with a sweet smile that had Surbhi looking at her suspiciously. "We're going now. You can get ready and come later."

"What?" Surbhi asked, mortified. How could they just leave her like that? It was HER boyfriend's birthday!

"Sorry not sorry," Pranavi said sticking her tongue out. She was dressed in a black knee length evening dress and looked gorgeous.

"Your fault you're late, bunny," her dad said, coming out of his bedroom all cleaned up in a suit. "If we wait for you, we'll have to wait for at least an hour till you get ready. It won't be polite to arrive late."

"Fine," Surbhi groaned. "Just go. Send me the car after you reach." Mumbling about how they gave more importance to Nakuul than her these days, she went up to her room to get ready.

--

By the time she arrived at their house, it was already 8. Ayra opened the door and jumped in excitement at seeing her. Surbhi gave her a tight hug.

"You look soooo pretty, mami," Ayra chirped. Surbhi was wearing a red dress that reached below her mid-thigh, with a crisscross neckline and cream-colored heels to go with it.

"So do you, princess!" Surbhi replied, and Ayra swirled around to flaunt her light-blue princess-gown. Holding the little girl's hand, Surbhi entered into the house. Everyone was seated in the living room, chatting over some chai and pakodas. Just as Surbhi and Ayra entered, there was a roar of laughter, and Surbhi wondered what the joke might have been. When everyone turned to look at her, she frowned.

"Having a lot of fun without me, I see," She said, settling down beside Praachi di after giving her a hug. Nakuul sat on the sofa in front of her, looking handsome as ever in the navy-blue shirt she had gifted him, paired with black formal pants. He was signaling her to come and sit beside him but Surbhi ignored him royally. Both their parents were sitting right there and yet this man had no shame.

"I was just telling them the story about how you used to think Amitabh Bacchan was your uncle when you were younger," Her dad said with a smile. Surbhi groaned.

"Why do you have to tell this to everyone," She muttered. Nakuul grinned at her, before picking up his phone and typing something. The next moment, Surbhi's phone buzzed in her purse. Thankfully the others were busy in gossiping again to acknowledge their shenanigans.

Someone looks ravishing ;)

Surbhi tried not to blush.

No one looks more ravishing than you, Mr. Mehta.

She saw Nakuul smile at that, and was gawking at his gorgeous face when Praachi di nudged her by the elbow. When Surbhi turned to look at her, she raised her eyebrows, with a glint in her eyes. Surbhi hurriedly shook her head and kept away her phone.

"I think we should cut the cake now," Nakuul's mother said, getting up from the sofa. "We can have dinner afterward."

"I'll help you," Surbhi's mother said, and the two ladies went towards the hall to arrange the cake and everything.

"So, Nakuul, when is your next series?" Mr. Chandna asked. At being acknowledged by him, Nakuul immediately sat up straighter and cleared his throat. Surbhi stifled a giggle at that.

"Next month, uncle," He replied. "It's in England."

"You're going to England?" Surbhi blurted out. "You didn't tell me."

"Just got the confirmation yesterday," Nakuul said. Amidst everything, he had forgotten to inform Surbhi and he knew she would be mad.

"For how long?" Surbhi demanded to know. The others looked on in amusement.

"Er, a month, I'm guessing..."

"A month?!" Surbhi cried, before regaining her composure seeing everyone smiling. From the corner of her eye, she could see her sister and jiju clearly enjoying this. "Isn't that too much?"

"It's not, bunny," Her father replied. "They must be playing all three forms of Cricket against England, so it must take time."

Surbhi nodded, dejected. How would she possibly live without meeting Nakuul for a whole month? But then again, with him being a cricketer, she would have to get used to it. Looking up, she saw Nakuul looking at her apprehensively. He mouthed her a 'sorry', to which she smiled and shook her head, telling him it was fine.

Soon, they all walked into the hall, where a large cake had been set up on the dining table. A candle was placed in the middle, and Nakuul made his way towards the front to do the cake-cutting.

"Make a wish, mamu!" Ayra said, clapping her hands. As everyone sang the birthday song for him, Nakuul closed his eyes and made a wish before blowing out the candle. When he opened his eyes again, he sent a wink towards Surbhi, and she was left wondering what he might have wished for. He cut the cake and fed everyone one by one. When it was her turn, his fingers lingered against her mouth just a second too long.

"And now, it's time to give out the gifts!" Praachi di said excitedly. Surbhi was excited as well, to know what aunty-uncle were giving him, given how secretive they had all been. She was barely present as her parents and sister and jiju gave him their gifts because she already knew what the gifts were- branded perfume and a sports bag from Nike. Nakuul's sister and jiju gave him a beautiful idol of Shiv, while Ayra gave him a sloppy kiss on the cheek.

"And for the last gift of the evening," His father declared. "Here you go."

To Surbhi's surprise, Mr. Mehta reached into his suit pocket and protruded a rectangular paper, before handing it over to Nakuul. Nakuul looked at it with concentration.

"Ticket to Auckland?" He asked, surprised. Surbhi gasped.

"Yep," Praachi said. "To Waiheke Island. For a much-needed vacation!"

"Ah," Nakuul said, smiling. Anyone would be able to say that it was forced and that he was clearly not happy. "Thanks, guys."

There was silence for a while, where both the family members looked at each other with grins while Surbhi and Nakuul looked at them in confusion. Finally, it was Amrish who sympathized.

"Come on, guys, let's not tease them anymore!"

While the others laughed, Nakuul and Surbhi stood there with matching frowns.

"What do you mean?" Nakuul asked. It was his father who replied.

"We mean, that you have yet another gift pending." With that, he took out another ticket from his pocket, and handed this one Surbhi.

--

It was when they all sat down for dinner that Surbhi probably stopped internally squealing. After all, it's not every day that your boyfriend's parents gift you a vacation with said boyfriend.

"I can't believe you all have been planning this for so long," She said, a wide grin on her face. "And more than that, I can't believe you both," She pointed at her parents here, "are allowing me."

"Well, it's high time you took a break, anyway," Her dad shrugged. "But I do need to have a chat with Nakuul later to make sure he treats my daughter right."

Everyone laughed at that, but Nakuul looked visibly scared.

"But guys," Surbhi continued, "I don't think I'll get a break from work!"

"That's all taken care of, Jinni," Pranavi said with a wave of her hand. "Lalit sir is more than happy to give you this break of one week."

"Oh," Surbhi said as realization hit her, "That's why he refused when I said I'll work harder the next week and is instead making me shoot for 12 hours tomorrow."

As everyone continued talking over the delicious dinner Nakuul's mother had prepared, Surbhi felt a hand on her thigh under the table. Nakuul was seated beside her and any sort of decent behavior from him was definitely not expected. Surbhi turned to glare at him but he just gave her a cheeky grin. Ever since they had found out that they were going on a vacation, just the two of them, for a week, the exhilaration they were feeling knew no bounds. If Nakuul had had any sort of doubt in his mind before, after this gift he was completely sure that this was his best birthday till date. He had the coolest parents ever and was thankful for that.

After dinner, the Chandnas got ready to leave. They all had work tomorrow and Surbhi specifically needed to go home and arrange everything because they would have to leave in two days for Auckland. The entire day tomorrow she would remain busy and after that, she would have to reserve one day for just shopping.

"Surbhi," Nakuul called out, "You wanna come up and take that, um, novel you wanted to borrow?"

Surbhi looked at him, clueless.

"What novel?" She asked.

"The one you wanted," Nakuul pressed. It was only when Surbhi saw everyone grinning that she understood. She blushed heavily.

"Oh, yeah. Novel. Mum, dad, I'll just be back, okay?" She asked timidly. They shrugged their shoulders, and as she followed Nakuul up to his bedroom, she heard them all burst into laughter.

"Stupid idiot, why did you have to embarrass me like that!" She yelled as they entered his room. Nakuul didn't bother replying, and instead picked her up and twirled her around.

"We're going on a holiday, babe!" He cried happily as he put her down. "Gosh, this is the best birthday gift ever."

"I know," Surbhi said with a smile so wide, it hurt her cheeks. "I'm soooo excited. God, this all feels so surreal."

"It does," Nakuul smiled, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "This is going to be an amazing vacation. I can't wait."

"Me, too," Surbhi replied softly.

"By the way," Nakuul started, "Someone promised me earlier that we could go to my house and kiss while watching a movie. What happened to that, huh?"

Surbhi rolled her eyes.

"Matlab janaab ke liye kuch bhi karo, he only wants a kiss!"

Regardless, Surbhi stood on her tip-toes and pressed her lips on his. Nakuul deepened the kiss, running his hands up her back and down her sides.

"You are so damn gorgeous," he breathed out once they pulled back. "I love you so much."

"I love you more," Surbhi whispered, pecking her lips one more. Nakuul kissed her forehead, and held her hand to leave the room, before Surbhi tugged on his hand.

"I wrote something for you," She said nervously, while nibbling on her lower lip. Reaching into her handbag, she took out an envelope.

"I wasn't sure if I should give it to you because I'm such a bad writer, but what the hell, right?"

Nakuul chuckled and kept the envelope on his bed to read later, before going downstairs with her.

"Where's the novel you took so long in the room for?" Pranavi asked as the two descended, making their cheeks turned pink.

--

Later at night, Nakuul lay down on his bed and turned on the table-lamp before opening the envelope Surbhi had given him. There was a folded sheet of paper inside, and opening it, he came across Surbhi's cute, cursive handwriting. With a smile on his lips, he started reading.

Dear Nakuul,

I think I stared at this blank page for hours before finally starting to write. Writing has always been your thing and it's one of the things I love about you, because you're so passionate about it like everything else in life. I know this letter won't be able to express what I feel but then again you usually seem to know everything without me telling you, so here it goes.

Happy birthday, my love. It's strange how easily you became such an important part of my life, and that scares me because I know if you ever leave, I would just as easily fall apart. I can no longer imagine my days without your morning texts and constant calls just to remind me that you love me and that you're always here for me (it melts my heart when you do that- when you just tell me that you're here even when nothing is wrong so that I know you will be there when something does go wrong). I often think about the day we first met and what a tryst of fate it was. My entire destiny what have changed had Star Plus not sent me to your game that day and again, I find it scary. What would life be like if we had not met? I thank God every day that I will never have to know the answer to that question.

There are so many things I love about you that it's not possible to list them down here. I love how you always see the best in others yet always patiently listen to me ranting about people I don't like. I love the way you slightly raise your head before giving that genuine smile of yours. I love how okay you are about all my male friends yet just the right amount of possessive (don't think I don't notice the hold on my waist, mister!). I love the late nights we spend at your apartment despite knowing my parents will be mad when I return home. I love seeing you in your blue-jersey, your equally blue eyes full of every single emotion when it comes to playing for the country. I love the way you hold my hand at random moments as if you can't believe I'm there and think I might disappear at any moment (guess what, I'm here to stay). I love your kisses that go from being delicate to passionate in seconds. More than anything else, I love the person you are- the kindest and purest human being I've ever met. You're the best boyfriend, friend, son and brother anyone could ever ask for and every single person in your life is SO lucky to have you.

I wanted to give you something special on your birthday, but nothing materialistic seemed fit. And so, Mr. Mehta, on your 26th birthday I give you a promise- I will always be yours if you will have me.

Only yours,
Surbhi

Nakuul didn't realize he had been subconsciously wiping his tears as he read the letter, and he thanked, for the hundredth time that day, whatever forces up there had brought Surbhi Chandna into his life.

(The idea for this letter was inspired by Miley's letter to Liam on behalf of his birthday. How beautiful are they!)

**

Classes start from tomorrow and I have a terrible schedule this semester, so updates will be quite irregular. Sorry in advance :(