Shetukala groggily opened her eyes. The warm feeling of  skin-to-skin contact had glued her to the bed for longer duration than usual. The heaving of his chest felt more obvious now that she was awake. She looked  stunned, a deep blush creeping on her cheeks extended till her neck realising how they had slept. She was lying on top of him and  their upper bodies bare and touching each other. He had caged her in his arms protectively, his palms resting on her back tingling her skin like thousands of sparks.

She placed her chin on his chest and her eyes took a peek at his face, his lips slightly open and head lolled to his right, but there was a mild furrow between his eyebrows. The beam of sunlight coming from a small window was disturbing him. But his eyes were too stubborn to open, and body too lazy to turn away.
She hovered her palm on his eyes blocking the  bright rays of the sun and the furrows on his forehead slowly disappeared.
She groaned mentally as she felt his hardness prodding over her abdomen.
Goddd! Not again!
His bold actions last night brought her cheeks on fire. They better be not replayed again or she might die of shame then and there.

She tried to wriggle out of his grip, but the friction between their bodies might have something to do with the increasing size of something certain poking on her abdomen, that she stopped after a few unsuccessful and embarassing attempts to free herself.

The movement might have disturbed his sleep, he turned sideways, making her slide down on her stomach, and the blanket shifted revealing her bare back to him.
"Shetu!" His thick morning voice didn't seem to ease the heat between them rather opposite. " Are you fine?" He asked with concern.

Shetukala closed her eyes without making an attempt to cover herself because doing that would mean that she is awake and she didn't have enough courage in that moment to face him, look into his eyes. Or else she would melt in a puddle of utter shame. She clenched her eyes tightly and tried to lay still, not giving him the idea of her wakefulness.

He lifted the comforter to cover her back and shifted a little to make space between them.

He caressed the back of her head, and placed a kiss on her shoulder. Her visible shiver made him smirk.
Ohkayyyy!! Two can play the game.

He lowered the comforter just enough to reveal her shoulders completely and blew  warm air on them. He peppered soft kisses on the curve of her shoulder , making her clutch the bedsheet bed in tight grip. Her back started heaving up amd down owing to her heavy breathing. He laughed silently.

"Oh no! What did this happen?" He exclaimed dramatically raising his voice a little.

Shetukala had faced away from him, her eyes narrowed.
What happened? Is he regretting what happened yesterday?
The thought crushed her heart.

"How can I make this big mistake? It's a sin!  A scandal!"

What is he saying? Can't he be precise?

"What will I answer Dada and Boudi? That we both stayed whole night outside that too unchaperoned . Oh God! What will happen now?"

Shetukala's eyes watered imagining the aftermath if this scandal goes out of this hut. It was a bright morning. People outside the temple would surely see them, the lack of her sindoor and shakha pola will give rise to malice  thoughts in their mind. She would bear it all. It's nothing new for her. But the thought of someone badmouthing him, ruining his reputation, and giving him vile names pierced her heat with a thick spear.

Her vulnerability was long forgotten and she turned towards him, grabbing the blanket to her chest.

The palyful teasing in his eyes and smirk on his face wiped off in the blink of an eye when her moist eyes and quivering lips came to his sight.

"Shetu! Sorry! sorry! I was just kidding. Please don't cry." He hugged her to his chest , caressing her hair and rubbing her back to console her.
" Sorry baby, I was just teasing you. I didn't mean to scare you."

"Wh-what... will happen now?How will .....we go out? Wh-what ....will your family think?" She said between sobs and   looked at him with teary eyes.
"Will they think that I trapped you?"

"Ohhhh Shetu! I'm such a stupid person. I always end up making you cry." He rubbed her tears with his thumb and placed a soft kiss on her forehead.

"It's true that you have trapped me." He smiled.

Shetukala looked at him with a hurt expression.

"But not the way you are fearing people will think."

Shetukala narrowed her eyes in confusion.

"You have , trapped my mind in your thoughts, tamed my heart with your persona and caged my soul with your psyche."

A sweet smile curved her lips in a smile at his words, and her wet eyes glistened.
" You never leave a chance , do you?"

"Never!" He grinned.

"But how will we go out?"

" I think we will have to marry now to make everyone accept us." He said with a serious expression.

Shetukala's eyes widened in disbelief but his biting of the inner cheek to control his laughter gave away earning him a smack ok his shoulder.
"Stop teasing me."

He burst out into laughter, pointing his finger at her face.  "Your.....your expression was  indeed worth-watching."

Shetukala fake glared at him making him stop laughing. "Acha acha! Sorry again. Now no more jokes. But we will have to think a way to get out of this situation unscathed and unmarried. " He said the last part teasingly, finally making her laugh.

"Woww! I wish my every morning be like this,  you in my arms smiling and laughing and looking at me, like I'm your moon and you are my earth, exerting your gravitational force on me."

Shetu lowered her eyes, her cheeks turning pink giving tough competition to  cheery blossoms, making his heartbeat go haywire.
He tipped her chin making her look towards him. His lips slowly melt into hers in a soft kiss.

"What will we do?" Shetukala asked.

"First tell me ,you are coming with me right?"
Shetukala gave him a firm nod. His eyes shone in happiness. " Thank you, thankyou so much." He hugged her back.

"I thought I should not waste Dada and Subha Didi's hard work. I don't want to let them down by being a coward."

"That's like my girl.". She smiled.

"How about you go to home and I come out later when nobody is outside , maybe at noon or at night ?"

"No! I can't leave you here. It's not safe. Plus now I can't bear one more second not knowing whether you are fine or not. No matter what I ain't going without you?" She nodded.

" I.....I... have something on my mind which can help. But I'm not sure. No leave it. It's just stupid." She hesitated.

"Tell me , what is it." She shook her head in no. " Oh c'mon now , you made me curious ."

***
"Do you think this will work?"

"I can't find any loophole in this plan." Said Batakrishna. 

" There is a big problem here."

"What? Shall I turn back? Have you changed?"

"Kind of."

"What is kind of? Have you changed or not?"

" Okay, you may turn."

Batakrishna turned to look at her, wearing a red shirt , a bit loose for her petite figure but workable. Her hair were pulled behind in a bun. But the most funny thing was she had clutched the waistband of the trousers in her fists , that were too loose to stay on her waist. Maybe Debasish wasn't that lean as he  had thought.

Batakrishna laughed out loud. "Don't laught at me. Help me. Or you'll have to  marry me, I'm saying. " She threatened. As she pointed a finger at him, the trouser slipped but in the nick of time she caught it again.
Batakrishna laughed again, while she turned her back towars him reddening in embarasment.

He moved towards her and wrapped his arms around her stomach and put his chin on her shoulder, startling her  and whispered in her ear in a deep voice.
" Was that a warning or a proposal? I'm giving my affirmation to both, anyways. We are already engaged remember?" He placed a soft kiss on her cheek, making her blush.

"Isshhhhhhh" She bit her lip shyly, and clenched her eyes tight shaking her head, which made his heart melt.

"Now, let's see. What can we do?" He turned her around, the trouser was loose but not much. He tapped his finger on his chin.
"Yes! we can do one thing." He removed his own suspenders and attached it to the belthook of her trousers and brought it to her shoulders. Without turning her back, he pulled her in hugging position and hooked the suspenders at the back of her waist.  

He seemed so nonchalant in his actions, but Shetukala was having a hard time breathing.
This man is unintentionally trying to kill me.

" Do I look like a man now?" She asked as he gazed her from top to bottom  again and again.

" Believe me , nothing can make you look like a man." He said as his eyes fixed on her breasts poking from the
thin shirt.

"Now what?" She shifted  hesitantly under his gaze.

"Wait a minute!" He took the same black cloth she had worn previous night and wrapped it around her head like a turban, covering her face.

Only her eyes were visible. Her creamy skin in contrast with the black cloth accentuated her cavernous black orbs, lined by thick curled eyelashes kissing her cheeks. Her sharp eyebrows were like a perfect bow , ready to execute ocular archery targetting his heart. 

"Dakta babu! Is it done?" She asked as his hands froze at the back of her head while tying the knot and his eyes lost in hers.

"Uhhh....ye-yes it's done." He brought the remaining cloth on her front covering her chest. " There it is!  Perfect."

He gathered their stuff and wrote a letter to Debasish telling him of his urgent arrival .  They had found a spare lock to lock the door.

"Walk like a man. Don't sway your hips like that. " He scolded teasingly.

" How am I supposed to walk like a man now?"

" Just keep your back straight, and  head high. Keep your shoulders stiff. And walk briskly."

" Am I a soldier or what?"

" You just stay behind me." He pulled her  behind him , noticing her not so girly and not so manly confusing gait.

They reached their motorcycle. "Sit." Shetukala seated on the bike with her legs hanging on one side." Who are you?"

"I? Uhm....Shetu???"

" No, I mean who are you ? A man or a woman?"

" I'm a ......a.....man???"

" Then how you should sit?"

"Ohhhh...." Realisation hit her. "Yes yes,  I should sit like a man."
She tried to straddle the motorcycle. She shifted on her seat not understanding how to get seated like a man.  

"Uffff!" Batakrishna  held her waist and lifted her one thigh, and hung it on other side and made her sit straddling the motorcycle. She almost tripped at his sudden touch.

Kill me ! He really wants to kill me!

"Now , hold me tight. I don't want you break your neck now after I've finally got you." Shetukala nodded and clutched his shirt lightly.

Batakrishna held her hands wrapped them tightly around his waist. " I don't have smallpox. You can touch me. And even if I had , you would have  been infected uptil now. So you can still touch me." He laughed  earning a pinch on his back.
"Ouchhh! You wild cat!"
She snickered.

They strode off towards their bungalow. He stopped the bike a street before their destination and made a call from a post office and resumed their ride.

***
" I can't go in, in these clothes. What would everyone think?"

" Don't worry. I've planned for that too."

He parked the motorcycle outside and took her inside the bungalow from the back door.

"Subha! Hurry up!"

"This is Shetu?" She laughed pointing at her making Shetukala look downwards. " The moment I think life couldn't be anymore intersting, you both surprise me."  She laughed out loud.  "Come ,come .I'll get you changed."

***

Bondita engulfed Shetukala and then Batakrishna in a bear hug crying and scolding them at the same time. Her eyes were red and saree and hair dishevelled. " You! Both of you! You have no care for your family. Shetukala! How could you go suddenly? And Batuk you! You didn't even bother to tell me where were you going? Your Dada came back asking  me questions over questions which I had no answers for. "

"Boudi, I'm so-sorry. Because of me.... your ha-hands ...." Said Shetukala crying.

"Shh.... What about my heart that burned in your worry? Hmm??  " She hugged her again and kissed her on her forehead."

"Dada! I...."

"Tell her Bondita, I don't want to talk to her. I'm her Dada just for namesake." Said Anirudh looking grim and hurt. Her hair were messy and bags under his eyes indicating he hadn't winked his eyes  for a moment.

"Sorry, Dada. I won't repeat this. Shotti !" Said Shetukala as her eyes started dripping tears. Anirudhh had never talked to her like this. His tone always had a tender feeling of warmth and care.

" This is good. First you leave the house , all alone at night, just leaving a letter behind. And now you are ....you are crying when confronted." He said with a pained expression.

" How fair is that? Do you know  what could have happened? I've brought you here on my responsibility. If something would have happened to you , how would I have lived with this guilt lifelong? I didnt think of you doing such foolish act,  Shetukala." She cried silently and he came towards her and hugged her lovingly, caressing her head. " You scared me. Never do that again. Look at your Boudi, she has been crying all night in worry of both of you.
We had looked everywhere , at railway station, tramp stops, lodges everywhere. Where were you both?" He pulled back to look at her.

" Dada, uhhh.... we were stuck in the rain and she ....she had fainted due to low sugar , so.... so.... uhmm...." Anirudh showed him his hand stopping him.

"Bondita, take her to her room." Bondita complied.

" Batuk! I hope I can still trust you in believing you both did nothing that will distort any of your reputation."

"Ye-yes , Dada. Don't worry. We knew our limits." Batakrishna said while looking at rhe floor.

Anirudh scrutinised his face suspiciously but nevertheless gave him a nod. " You can go now.  Take her follow up whether she is doing fine."

"Ji , Dada."

***
" So, finally you got laid haan? Tell me how was it? It was your first time na! Did it hurt?"  Subhalaxmi whisper-shouted in Batakrishna's ear, while everyone was having lunch.

Batakrishna choked on his food and started coughing. Subhalaxmi snickered.

" Subha!" He glared.

"Now! Now! Don't show me those eyes. I saw a hickey on her neck myself. And don't say that was a mosquito bite. Now spill. Where were you both? And why did you bring her dressed as man?" She giggled.

"You won't let me live in peace right?" He pinched the bridge of his nose

"Never ever!" She grinned mischeviously like a Cheshire cat.

"Fine!" He whispered her the yesterday's conundrum leaving a few unspeakable moments.

"Oooohhhh!!!! It's like a romantic movie. Rain, a young girl, a young boy, an abandoned hut.....and then---" Subhalaxmi's train of dreamy ideas interrupted when Batakrishna stuffed luchi in her mouth.

" Mind you utter a single word to anyone, even to Shetu. I won't spare you. You very well what I can do."

Subhalaxmi closed her mouth chewing the luchi and nodded in agreement, making a lip zipping sign with her thumb and forefinger.

Batakrishna smirked and continued his meal.

*** Ok, just a small announcement. A month back or so, I had written  three poems  in my book ' The sleepless nights' based on Raikirth, Mira and Mirishna, as  follows. You can check them if you haven't already and let me know how you felt.

*Fortuitous rendezvous-- Raikirth

*The dystopian reality--- Mira and Anirudh

* The cerulean ecstasy--- Mirishna

Do tell me how was the chapter. And don't forget to vote. Thankyou ❤️😘