Woah woah woah, I've surprised myself with this update, guys! Don't get used to it though, I'm just procrastinating studying by doing literally everything else :P

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"My Instagram followers have shot up since I started dating you."

Nakuul looked at Surbhi's reflection on the mirror, setting his wet hair with a brush. She sat on their bed, eyes fixed on the phone in her hands.

"You're welcome."

"I'm not grateful," Surbhi frowned. "I want to have fans because of my talent, not because of yours!"

Chuckling at his girlfriend, Nakuul sat down beside her and kissed her cheek.

"That's just the way it is, babe. I'm sure these people love you too. How can someone not?"

"Whatever," She replied, still scrolling through her feed. "And on top of that, all these media people are driving me crazy. My DM and email are full of their incessant questions- 'Ma'am, are you dating Nakuul Mehta?' 'Ma'am, are you going to be declaring your relationship soon?' It's so annoying!"

Nakuul laughed at her imitations of the paps, his head propped up on one elbow.

"It's not really any less for me, you know? India is dying to know if I'm dating their favorite actress!"

Surbhi rolled her eyes at that, murmuring how she was far from being their favorite actress.

"We should declare our relationship officially to the world to stop these non-stop questions, what say?" He asked hopefully. Surbhi shrugged.

"I don't mind."

"Anyway," Nakuul continued, "We'll just get used to it all, I guess. And let's not ruin our vacation with this sullen mood, okay? We only have 2 days left here and I want my girl to be all happy and smiling, alright?" Holding her cheeks, Nakuul lifted the corner of her lips to make her smile, before pecking her mouth at how cute she looked.

"Where are we going today?" Surbhi asked. It was past noon and after another night full of passion—indulging in their new found addiction—she had been too lazy to get out of bed all this while. Nakuul had already showered and despite his constant requests that she join him, she had denied.

"Some place called Oneroa. Looks beautiful in the pictures," Nakuul observed, holding a tourism-brochure from the hotel in his hands.

"This entire island is beautiful," Surbhi remarked, standing in front of their wardrobe to choose clothes for the day. Deciding on a pink button-up dress with a ribbon tied at the waist, she turned to him.

"Can we go shopping afterward?" She asked, eyes wide with excitement.

"Of course," Nakuul replied. Surbhi squealed and blew him a loud kiss—she had loads to buy before leaving, for herself as well as to give as gifts to everyone. The past few days they had been too busy exploring the island as well as trying out thrilling activities (Surbhi swore she would never forget their bungee-jumping experience), and Nakuul had promised he would reserve the last couple of days to just shop and relax. Today was their last day of sight-seeing and as much as Surbhi was upset about not being able to discover the place anymore, she was looking forward to spending the rest of the vacation strolling in the beach, taking a dip in their wonderful private pool and just being in Nakuul's arms. Oh and of course—good food and wine. Waiheke had splendid wine and they had even visited a winery yesterday and had bought a few bottles to give away to friends.

After a long, warm shower, Surbhi came out in her bathrobe only to find her man staring at her like she was a snack. Sticking her tongue out at him, she stood in front of the mirror to dry her hair. Nakuul sneaked up behind her and circled his arms around her waist. He buried his nose in her wet hair to inhale her heady fragrance.

"Why do you have to be so tempting?" He asked her with a sigh. She shook her head at him.

"You've gone crazy in love, my boy," She said with a smile. "Consult a doctor when we're back in Mumbai?"

"I might have to," He shrugged, placing a deep kiss on her neck before parting. Surbhi stared at him a while before going back to the task at hand. Her man was an adorable idiot, really.

--

Oneroa beach was, of course, a breathtakingly beautiful place, with its clear blue water and far-stretching greenery. There was a small hill that Nakuul and Surbhi climbed, along with their guide and a few other tourists, to have a wider view of the place. Many photographs later, they sat in a cozy Mexican restaurant nearby for lunch. From the window right next to their table, they could see boats sail in the far distance of the sea.

"Can't believe we're leaving this place in two days," Surbhi sighed. Nakuul gave a small smile.

"We can come back anytime. Maybe next time I have a tournament in Australia or New Zealand, you can accompany me. We can sneak out some time for ourselves and come here."

"Sounds like a plan," Surbhi replied. "Speaking of tournaments, are you really gonna be gone for one whole month, next month?"

"Unfortunately, yes," Nakuul said sadly, holding her hands atop the table. "I wish you could come with me but..."

"Work," Surbhi sighed again. "There's no way Lalit sir is giving me a holiday in the next 3 months, at least. I'll miss you."

"Hey, we'll get through that month when we get there, okay? Let's just enjoy our time here."

"Okay, but first, promise me—you will video call me every single day."

"Promise," Nakuul smiled, placing a kiss on her knuckles.

They stayed in the village of Oneroa till sunset, watching the sun disappear behind the sea and slowly taking away its faint orange glow. There was a hammock in the beach where they lay for a while, chatting and cuddling, taking goofy selfies in between. Before going back to the resort, they decided to hit a bar nearby. Although Nakuul wasn't much of a drinker, he did take occasional sips now and then. His main task was to make sure Surbhi didn't take too much of the wine she had fallen in love with—he remembered fairly well her low tolerance. When they went back to their room, he would prefer to have her sober and fully conscious of what they were doing, since they would be doing a lot.

"Do you wanna head back now?" Nakuul asked Surbhi from where they sat on the stools near the bar counter. Surbhi nodded and jumped off, before grabbing his hand.

"Can we take a walk on the beach before going back?" She asked with her puppy-dog eyes. There was no way Nakuul would say no, especially with that look of hers, regardless of the fact that he could see she was tired.

"Of course," He said, entwining their fingers. Surbhi abandoned her sandals when they got to the beach, relishing in the feeling of sand under her bare feet. She insisted on walking near the shore, and so hand-in-hand, they dampened their feet in the incoming waves, laughing and running away whenever the tide seemed too high. The night was young and they felt younger, a happy couple so in love that everyone else could see it. Back in their room, Surbhi collapsed on the bed in exhaustion. Nakuul helped her open her sandals and kept them neatly away, before grabbing her night-wear from the wardrobe.

"Change and then sleep, love," He told her, caressing her head. She opened her eyes and sat up, snuggling close to him.

"I'm too tired to..." She trailed off, cheeks turning pink. Ever since they had made love the first time, a couple of days back, their nights had been quite eventful.

"Hey, it's okay," Nakuul replied softly. "It's not a duty or anything, baby. We'll only do it when we both want to, okay?"

Nodding, Surbhi placed a kiss on his cheek, before getting up to change. When she got back, Nakuul had already arranged the bed for her and stripped down to his boxers, with the lights all turned off and the moon casting a faint glow from outside. Getting into the comforter beside him, Surbhi placed a kiss on his bare chest, right above his heart.

"Thank you for coming into my life," She whispered and felt more than saw his smile.

"Thank you for coming into mine," He replied with a loving kiss on the top of her head. As she drifted off to sleep, Nakuul grabbed his phone from the end-table and made a post on Instagram with a picture they had taken in the bar, earlier that night—a selfie where she was practically on his lap. Hitting the post button, he kept the phone away and smiled. He had now officially declared their relationship to the world and was actually quite eager to see everyone's response-- or watch Instagram 'burn', as he would call it. Placing another kiss on her cheek, he too drifted off to sleep.

--

(Imagine the outfits differently 🙈 Picture of Surbhi's dress will be up on IG)