Edited: September 3rd, 2020

| . . . C H A P T E R - 3. 2 1 . . . M O R N I N G - D E M A N D S . . . |

It wasn't hot, but it was the nice kind of warm in the winter morning. In an attempt to shift closer to this source of warmth, I frowned as my foot touched a cold corner of the bedsheet. Just then, an arm snugged me closer, a warm breath tickling my nape. As seconds passed, I tried to slip back into my dream state but it didn't work. Blaming the brightness seeping thrugh the floor length glass door that opened to the poolside, I groaned. I should have remembered to close the curtains.

When I started to stretch, my actions were severely restricted with something holding me down. my eyes flew open as it registered that someone's arm was around my front. One second, my first thought was Armaan given that growing up, there were countless times when he'd come into my room in the middle of the night because apparently, my bed was more comfortable than his. Two seconds later, I noted one difference that Armaan wouldn't cuddle me. He was more likely to kick me off the bed to hoard all the space. Third second, I realized I wasn't actually home. I was just dreaming about home and being back in Shimla even though mom and dad were here.

"Arnav..." I tried to slip a finger between his arm and my stomach to move it, but he only held on tighter. Fast asleep. His face nuzzled my nape. A strange smile played on my lips. It was different waking up to him and him being this carefree in this sleep, but in a good way. All the other times it had happened accidently and I wasn't counting them. This once, I knew he was going to sleep next to me.

Once again, I tried - without luck - to twist my upper body to get a look at his face even as I tried to gently wake him up. "Good morning."

"Mmm," he protested and I froze, realizing the alternate reaction of my attempt. My hips were grinding against him.

Embarrassed, I bit the inside of my cheek just as he shifted away allowing me enough space to turn on my back. Instead of moving to his side of the bed, he laid on his stomach, keeping his arm over my stomach and still hiding my face at the crook of my shoulder. Despite his upper left side of the body crushing me under him, I chuckled. "You're killing me."

His mumble was slightly incoherent and it took me a hot second to grasp his words, "No, that would be the other way around, sweet pea."

I tapped his arm, "C'mon, wake up."

That same arm tugged me even closer as he bent his arm around the elbow to slip his hand under me to rest between my back and the mattress. It was a tad bit uncomfortable. "Five more minutes.

"Do you not have any fat in your body?"

His chest rumbled in laughter. "Most girls would prefer their guys to have muscles. But, thank you for the ego boost."

Even when I knew my next words would add to that ego, I still said, "Not that the muscles aren't amazing, but not in this current position."

He brushed it off, shifting his head to peck my neck before turning just enough to quit hiding his face, "You love being close to me."

"Do you happen to have a neck fetish by any chance."

He accepted the dig given his actions lately with kissing my neck, "Anything that gets your moaning."

I swatted his bare shoulder. Bare. That is when my eyes wandered down to his shirtless body. This was on me. I had told him not to overthink it last night because I was far too sleepy to overthink it myself.

"Should I sit up so you have a better view of the abs?"

Caught, I blushed. "Shut up." I looked away and happened to catch the time displayed on the digital clock. 7:03. How is it so bright for it to only be 7?

Following my gaze, he slumped half on me again with a groan. "It's too early to be awake on Saturday. Why would you wake me up so early, love?"

"I didn't! It was the brightness in the room. You might want to think about investing in some curtains if you prefer to sleep in."

"You know what?"

"What?"

"You didn't scold me on calling you love."

I was stumped for a second. In the past, every time he's called me a term of endearment, I'd atleast reacted if not scolded every time. "I guess I didn't."

"I'm glad."

I commented in an attempt to divert him. "Sappy doesn't suit you."

"Why do you keep trying to distract when I try to bring on the romance?"

I grinned sweetly. "Because, it's morning and I would like to get up and freshen up. I'm starving."

"Me too."

"Then perhaps you should think about getting off me too."

"What if I am hungry for something else?"

"See, this is not you being romantic, but a teenager."

He filled in the word I purposely left out, "Horny teenager."

"You knew what I meant."

"I am seriously going to have to teach you to say these words."

I tapped his arm again wanting him to get up already, "Feel free to keep talking to yourself after leaving me."

He decided to be the dramatic one this morning, "Haw! Leave you? Why would I leave you? We have yet to get married! Do you not remember what I said when I proposed? Atleast 50 years."

A burst of laughter escaped my lips. "You have lost it.' He frowned as I pulled his cheeks, "And adorable when you ramble."

His eyes sparkled, "You know what I feel like doing when you ramble?"

I knew he couldn't have a decent answer. "Kiss me?"

He either genuinely looked surprised or was very good at feigning it. "How did you know?"

"Please, all you boys are the same. I have seen Armaan do that enough times with Ridzzi."

He muttered, "Thanks for mentioning your brother," as if I had thrown a bucket of ice cold water all over him. "Do me a favor and never mention him when we are in bed."

I figured a bit more teasing was warranted given this reaction of his. "Oh, speaking of him, you know what my first thought was when I woke up? I was still groggy, right? So, I thought the person in my bed was..."

He suddenly captured my lips, "Do not." I gasped at the unexpected move even as he went on to finish his statement between kisses, "Finish. That. Sentence."

"Arnav!" I pulled back, "I haven't even brushed."

He leaned in again. I opened my mouth to tell him to stop but was mffled with his mouth again. "Hush." My nibbled on my bottom lip. Again, a gasp escaped my lips and he used the opportunity to slide his tongue in my mouth.

Forget feeling all warm and cozy. The temperature in the room went up a few notches. I was used to his quick kisses, but not this. what had I complained about during a particular shopping trip? Not even a make-out session. While it was happening, I had no idea how to respond.

His tongue stroked mine. Teasing. Testing. Seducing.

Even when I felt I didn't know how to react, my body knew as it took over. My arms wound up around his neck wanting to close the space between our bodies. His bare chest brushed over my top and I could feel the outline of his hard abs over my waist. My stomach clenched as I noted that I quite liked the feeling of bare skin touching intimately.

He continued to explore as if he couldn't get enough. Something clicked in the back of my mind.

Now isn't that torture?

What if I am hungry for something else?

No, that would be the other way around.

Anything that gets you moaning.

Always only what I was comfortable with physically. A part of me had known it had to be tough for him to hold on to his control, but he's never let me known except rare comments that he'll let slip either as a means to tease me or unintentionally.

With my breathing turning heavy and erratic, I pulled back slightly and the kiss slowed. Giving me the space to catch my breath, his lips trailed off to my jawline and further down my throat. Even though he's kissed my neck enough times that he even left a love bite just last week, there was something about this moment happening while lying in bed. Touching his shoulder lightly, I started to sit up.

He pulled away, lips leaving the space between my collarbones. He started sitting up too, assuming probably that this was as far as it was going to go. Instead of shifting towards the edge of the bed to get out of bed, I turned to him. "Khushi?" he questioned when I leaned over him until his head was on the pillow.

My hand reached forward to touch his nape. Hesitant fingers traced his sharp jaw line. I repeated his word from earlier even as my eyes flickered between his eyes and lips. "Hush." He was almost always the first one to initiate any sort of a physical touch. This kiss was soft and slow, still hesitant given I was putting the pressure on myself. Then, he kissed me back. His arm, wrapping around my side while the other palm cupped my face for a brief second before gathering my hair curtaining his face and tucking it behind my ear. That worry flew out the window and the kiss deepened.

Sadly, not for long.

This time, not because of any untimely interruption but because I felt out of breath. My hand lowered to his face and he seemed to pick up the silent indication. Even after our lips parted, my eyes remained close.

I just kissed him. It wasn't a quick peck after which I ran off. It was one heck of a kiss. I was acutely aware of his thumb grazing back and forth on my side - dangerously close to my ticklish spot.

It was only because of his raging heartbeats I felt under my fingertips that was any indication. Otherwise, his chest wasn't heaving anywhere as rapidly as mine. "Told you, need to start working out."

He said with an undertone just as I opened my eyes, "Five minutes in the morning with me and you'll be good to go."

A nice moment had to end with a swat on his arm. "Shut up."

He winces out of exaggeration, I'm sure. "Damn you, woman. My arm is going to fall off one of these days."

Maybe I am doing it a lot frequently... but maybe, it's also my own private motive to touch him. I quipped along, "Then all those biceps would have been wasted. Sad. But, oh well."

Reminded of them, he put them to use by crushing me to his chest. I squirmed to free myself but knew he was doing it on purpose. After five seconds, he decided he had his revenge for hitting him and loosened his grip around my tiny frame. I puffed to get the strand of hair off my eyes.

"I'm never letting you stay the night." I threatened thinking it'd bring him in check. "You are too much of a bother in the morning." I started to sit up when his fingers instantly enveloped my wrist and jerked me back to him. Maybe I should have caught the flaw in my own threat given we were going to be married in less than a week.

"Maybe you should have listened to me before and not mentioned your brother. Then none of this would have happened."

"Now who is mentioning him?"

His eyes rolled in response. "Whatever."

"Mhmm. Now can we get up? I really am hungry. For some real food." I quickly added the later not giving him the chance to start again with the dirty talk. On cue, my stomach growled in protest.

He laughed while my eyes dipped in embarrassment. "I hear you. Fine, you owe me a raincheck."

"Whatever for?"

"You can't just decide to take change and then leave it with a single kiss." He pointed out, and yeah, I didn't think he'd let it go that quickly. "Honestly, sweet pea, your very sexy fiancé is half naked in bed and you would rather get real food when he is more than ready and waiting for you to take advantage of the situation. Very sad."

"Stop being dramatic," I berated fighting my blush. "That is my role."

"You are missing the point, sweetie."

"Sweet pea. Love. Sweetie. Is this ever going to stop?"

"Once again, missing the point."

"No, I'm just pretending so you'll get irritated enough to let me out of bed."

He chuckled, "Like I said, raincheck."

I murmured getting out of bed, "It's going to be a long weekend."

. . . ∞ . ∞ . ∞ . ∞. . .

I followed the smell of frying oil to the kitchen where di was frying poori. Its complementary dish already prepared and placed on the kitchen table. "Yum. Aloo poori."

She smiled in greeting whereas Lavanya cleared her throat to get my attention. "Do you know what Aarav said to me this morning?"

"What?" I hoped they didn't know about Arnav staying the night in my room. It was very much a possibility if Aarav woke up early and went looking for Arnav in his room.

"That he wants a sister."

Phew, bullet dodged. It was the perfect time to tease her, "Oo, finally. Maybe it's time you get married and get him that."

She scoffed picking up the next ball of dough to flatten it. "Or when you get married, you give him that. Do you know what else happened this morning?"

It was futile to guess. "What?"

"After he told me that, I suggested he should give that demand to his daddy. And guess what happens when he goes to Arnav's room?"

All hope be damned. "He doesn't find him in his room."

Lavanya dare mock a gasp, "Would you look at that? She wasn't drunk after all. She does remember what happened last night. One week, Khushi. You'll be married next week. You couldn't wait?"

I decide to brush off her attempt at trying to tease me because truth is, we both know nothing happened between me and Arnav the way she is implying. "La, I assure you, if I was drunk, I may as well be dead."

"Don't be such a prude."

"No, seriously, I'm allergic to alcohol."

"There's no such thing." I let it sink in for a second. "Well, damn. No wonder Arnav didn't get you drunk that one time I suggested it."

"Excuse me?!" Why am I just hearing of this and what time did she suggest that?

She laughs, "Don't look at me like that. You hated him at the time when you were in Goa and he needed to talk to you but you wouldn't stay even a minute around him to listen."

"How would getting me drunk have helped?"

She shrugged her shoulder, offering the lame reasoning, "I don't know, maybe you wouldn't be lucid enough and he'd be able to make you stay in one place to listen."

Anjali decided to point out, "La, I think you are getting distracted by an expert Khushi."

Lavanya's eyes widened as she caught on an tapped the rolling pin to my arm in retribution. I scolded Anjali, "Di, you couldn't let it be, could you?"

She winked, "Sorry, but even I would love to have a cute little doll running around the house."

"I turned 22 just a few short months ago. Let me be." I already let Arnav convince me into getting married sooner rather than later. I wasn't budging on this. I was nowhere mature enough to have a kid.

"Fine, forget about us. But what about Aarav, huh?" Lavanya pulled that card, "You can't deny a small wish from a kid you adore."

I narrowed my gaze at her, "Low blow, La. Low."

She laughed in amusement, "Anything that gets the message across."

"You and Aarav really are best friends."

Anything to get you to moan.

Anything that gets the message across.

They couldn't be any more similar if they tried.

Screw them. Picking up a plate, I loaded it with food. "This topic is over."

Alas, it wasn't. Just as I make myself comfortable at the dining table, Aarav left Arnav's hand and ran off the rest of the stairs to reach me. "Khushi! Did mom tell you what I want?"

I exclaimed in a low volume, "Devi maiya, please! I beg you, just let me eat in peace without there being talks about babies."

Arnav reached the table just then, "Talks about what?"

"Demands. Talks about demands." No way does he need to be clued in on this.

"Please?" Aarav pleaded pulling out the chair next to me, "I really want a..."

I stuffed a morsel in this mouth, "It's not good manners to talk while eating."

He forced the piece down his throat, "But..."

I stuffed another piece, sending him a glare along with it. He huffed, crossing his arms, turned away from me and started chewing with a crinkled forehead to explicitly portray his anger. I'd deal with him later when Arnav wasn't around. I did not need him getting any ideas, after all.

Arnav scolded lightly, "Khushi, why are you being mean to him? I'm sure he only wants you to talk him out again for smoothies or something."

I pushed a clean plate in his direction, "Then you don't know your son well enough."

If only it were as simple as getting him a smoothie.

Wherever did Aarav get such a thought that he's suddenly demanding a baby sister?

. . . ∞ . ∞ . ∞ . ∞. . .

After breakfast, I tried to talk to Aarav. See if I culd distract him. every time I got within five feet of him, he'd adamantly move off to another location in the house. Eventually, I sighed and took my novel to settle on the couch.

Arnav looked up from his laptop screen, eyed my frowning face. "Just say yes to whatever he wants."

I opened the book to its bookmark, "You wouldn't say that if you know what he wanted."

He sighed, informing. Then, just as an FYI, he can stay mad at people to days."

"Just great," I mumbled under my breath and that ended the conversation for the time being. The rest of the afternoon, I spent reading. Eventually, I had shifted to get even more comfortable on the couch with a pillow Anjali had passed over to support my neck and my legs over Arnav's thigh.

Arnav, meanwhile, had been switching to multiple things. He listened to the music Lavanya had played and occasionally we sang the lyrics to some of the songs from the childhood days. He helped Aarav with a 500-piece puzzle. He even managed to keep up with texting his friends keeping his tablet on my leg.

Anjali, now and again, would ask for suggestions such as 'silk or cotton', 'blue or turquoise', as she was sketching some designs.

"Arnav," I said his name when I wanted to sit up. he lifted his tablet and I walked off to use the washroom.

When I returned, assuming I wanted to lay down again, he lifted his tablet off his thighs. Instead of sitting on the other end with feet on his end, I laid down with my head on his lap. He raised his brows in question. My answer was a shrug of shoulders. That was that. The cover to his tablet came down and was put away. He switched to his phone.

This was my kind of a peaceful weekend.

A few minutes later, I looked past my book on feeling my hand being brushed by his fingers. he was busy scrolling on his phone. He had no idea he was absentmindedly doing that. Without commenting over it, I resumed reading until I heard a click of a camera.

I was ready to scold him if he'd taken a picture of me. Only, his eyes were squinted too in confusion. We both turned our heads towards the sound.

Anjali.

"What?" She defended herself, "It's rare that both of you are like this - quiet and not ready to pull each other's hair out."

Arnav claimed, "Really, di, we haven't had any serious arguments or even bather for weeks now."

"Yeah, but not this loving."

Arnav retreated, "As long as it doesn't end up on any social media. I don't think the world is ready for that kind of a shock."

She laughed, "It will remain in the safety of my phone."

"Let me see this loving picture you claim to have taken."

After looking at it, I sent it to myself. The two of us don't have many pictures of us. We never really took any ourselves. What we have are only ones taken by others around us. Our story, in a way, has always been away from the eyes of the world.

Maybe that needs to change.

"I do think the world is ready for the shock of us."

Arnav snatched the phone out of my hand in lightening speed. "You lot stop ruining my plans."

I may as well die of old age before he revealed this highly confidential plan of his. I used to think proposing on that yatch was his grand plan. But now he was planning something else too? "Of, for the sake of all that is good in this world, what plan? I bet even national secrets are not this secretive."

He laughed at my exaggeration as he returned Anjali's phone to her. "Not telling."

"You know what?"

"What?"

"I hate you."

He provoked with a cheeky grin, "No, sweet pea. You have that wrong. You are supposed to say, 'I love you'."

"Nope, I have it perfectly right," I got up from the couch to walk around the puzzle pieces. I hate you."

He grimaced, "Hate is a strong word you should not say around children."

"I wouldn't if you'd just share this secret plan on yours." There is one person in this room with whom Arnav shares all his secrets. "Say, Aarav, you wouldn't happen to know about your dad's plan, would you?"

"Aarav." He started to warn, but looks like he didn't need to.

Aarav answered without sparing me a glance, "I would have if you agreed to give me what I want."

Anjali and Lavanya snickered a laughter. I glared at them, but it didn't silence the traitors. Huffing, I left the living room. this new family of mine was against me today. As I walked off to my room, I faintly heard Arnav, "Someone just tell me what Aarav wants."

He couldn't take the fact that Aarav was angry with me. And, probably, Arnav would have done anything to give Aarav everything. Though, this? This was not a demand that could be easily fulfilled.

. . . ∞ . ∞ . ∞ . ∞. . .