As the days shortened after Diwali, slight drop in temperature made the weather pleasant.

It was the perfect time for a picnic. The college planned a two days trip for second year students... to Alibag, a coastal town, in the south of Mumbai. The students were to leave at ten in the morning, reaching there in about three hours.

Sameer was exhilarated. Two days of unhindered closeness with Naina was filling him up with hopes. Packing was not an easy task if you cannot concentrate on what you are doing, he realised soon. Several times he emptied his small back pack... to be sure he had everything he would be needing in next two days.

Sleep was not so easy to come tonight.

Naina had packed her things in the afternoon... to avoid any last moment panic. She was excited to be going to a place which had popular beaches. She loved them... the vast expanse of water, the frothy waves, golden sand... everything thrilled her. And being with Sameer was adding to her excitement.

Next morning, all students were standing at the gate before time. The chirpy voices of everyone was indication of their high spirits. Naina had worn a skirt with a white top. Sameer was wearing a jacket over his jeans and white t-shirt. Two luxury buses arrived on time and the students started getting in... choosing seats along with their group of friends. Rahul had taken second last seat with Sonali.

Sameer nudged Naina to get in the other bus. She followed him without question. Letting her take the window seat, Sameer settled next to her on the second last seat.

He and Rahul had discussed the previous night that these were the best seats for privacy. Right behind was the back door and then the last row.

Sitting so close to Naina for the entire distance of three hours... he had to force himself from not jumping up in the air.

He had placed both their bags in the overhead shelf.

As everyone settled down, the buses started moving and a loud cheer erupted from both the vehicles. Picnics always make people happy... whatever the age.

Naina opened the window... the cool air making her shiver momentarily.

"Kya hua, Naina? Thand lag rahi hai? Mera jacket le lo." He quickly started to take off his jacket.

Naina kept her hand on his, to stop him, "Thand nahi hai... bas ekdam se hawa lagi to aisa mehsoos hua... achchi lag rahi hai thandi hawa. "

He tilted his head towards her, "Waise thand lage toh mujhe pakad lena... kas ke... bilkul nahi lagegi."

He earned a smack on the shoulder, "Picnic par hum sabke saath honge... toh zara khyaal rakhna."

A smack could not deter him even a bit, "Khyaal rakhunga... bohot achche se khyaal rakhunga apni jaan ka",  he tilted his head further to touch hers.

Naina gave him a look of fake anger.

"Jitni chahe badi aankhen karlo... inme main hi nazar aata hun", he looked at his face reflected in her eyes.

Naina turned, to look outside, trying to hide her blush from him.

Sameer was aware of the effect his each action or word had on Naina. He picked up her hand, holding it between his palms. Naina did not stop him. He turned her palm, and started examining the lines, tracing each one lightly with his finger.

His light touches always gave her goosebumps... now was no different.She tried to pull her hand away but he held onto it.

" Arre, main tumhara haath dekh raha hun", he said with an innocent expression.

Finally, she had to face him, "Aur tumne kab seekha haath dekhna?"

"Isme seekhna kya hai... tumhara bhavishya toh main abhi bata sakta hun... ek bohot handsome ladka tumhe jaldi hi apni biwi banane wala hai... aur tumse hamesha itna pyaar karega ki aaj tak kisi ne nahi kiya hoga apni biwi se", he said in solemn voice.

Naina was blushing and smiling at his self praise at the same time, " Oh! Toh biwi se pyaar karega... aur jab tak shaadi nahi hogi, tab tak koi pyaar nahi?"

This was the opportunity he was waiting for, "Tum paas toh aane do, meri jaan, kitna pyaar karta hun abhi dikha sakta hun."

His soft, low voice took her breath away.

"Sameer, chodo na, yahan sab hain," she could barely speak.

"Koi nahi dekh raha hamein... sab apne mein busy hain..." Sameer looked around.

Their adjacent seat was vacant, the last seat had three boys on the opposite side... because of the high back seats, those sitting in front were not visible to them, meaning that they were not visible to others either.

Relaxed, he came back to her only to see that her attention was back on the road.

"Naina, yeh road ko kya dekh rahi ho... idhar dekho na",  he tugged at her sleeve.

Getting no response from her, he bent and rested his forehead on the edge of her shoulder.

Naina turned sharply... and his hair touched her face. Their softness and silky texture had always fascinated her... she moved her face sideways, very slowly, enjoying the feel on her chin and lips.

Her hand automatically got drawn to them.

Sameer suddenly felt her fingers delicately moving in his hair... the sensation was heavenly. He closed his eyes...

She dipped her head a little and rested on his... fingers gliding through his hair.

Without intention, her hand slipped to his nape, playing with the hair ends.

The touch stirred something in him... he raised his face to her... and she looked back.

He could feel her breath on himself... the eyes hooded with her long lashes, looked glassy.

His gaze slipped to her lips... he just had to move a few inches...

His movement broke Naina's reverie... she was suddenly aware of the closeness. Before she could move away, Sameer put his hand on her cheek, forcing her to stay.

He could see the change in her eyes... her guard was up again. But he could not let go the chance to see her this close. Staring at her face for some time, he withdrew his hand and straightened.

Giving her a smile, he whispered, "Kya baat hai!  Aaj meri Naina bade mood mein hai."

As she pursed her lips at him, he teased, "Nahi, nahi, shikayat nahi kar raha... mujhe toh bohot mazaa aa raha hai... tum ruko mat... phirse sar rakh lun, kandhe par... ya iss baar... ", he indicated towards her lap.

She placed her fingertips on his temple and pushed lightly, leaning back on her seat with closed eyes. In a few minutes, she had fallen asleep.

Sameer saw her head falling on the side due to jerky movement of the bus.

He slowly slipped his hand behind her shoulder, careful not to disturb her sleep, and made her lean on him.

Naina opened her eyes to loud noises, as the bus had stopped for fueling up. For a moment, she looked around in confusion, then straightened up. She noticed that Sameer's arm was around her and she had been sleeping on him. Looking up at him, she saw his smiling face.

" Sorry, Sameer, woh mujhe bus mein hamesha neend aa jati hai... tumne mujhe uthaya kyon nahi".

Sameer touched her cheek, "Tum soti hui itni pyaari aur masoom lag rahi thi ki mera man hi nahi kiya".

She narrowed her eyes at him, " Kya matlab sote huye...  waise kya main masoom nahi lagti?"

He shook his head, "Bilkul nahi... waise toh tum mere bechare dil ko itna tarasati ho. "

If the colour from her cheeks could be somehow collected every time she blushed, maybe the entire world could be painted red... that much was his effect on her all the time.

The bus started moving again and Naina decided to keep her attention on the scene outside rather than giving him a chance to make her blush repeatedly.

"Umm... Naina, mujhe bhook lagi hai... tumhare paas kuch khane ko hai kya", his request left her with no choice but to look back.

" Breakfast nahi kiya subah?"

He wrinkled his nose, "Kiya tha... par abhi phir se pet mein chuhe daud rahe hain... jaise tumhe bus mein neend aati hai, mujhe bus mein bhook lagti rehti hai."

She asked him to remove her bag from the overhead shelf.  She had anticipated that the three hour journey might be too much for Sameer to stay without eating. After having her breakfast in the morning, she had folded five pooris with dry alu sabzi and wrapped in a paper napkin.

His face brightened seeing the treat. Grabbing the packet from her, he quickly ate four pooris.

Naina smiled at his speed, "Sameer dheere, atak jaayega".

And he started coughing.

Naina quickly brought out the bottle of water, opened the cap and took it to his mouth, rubbing his back continuously. He took a few sips, coughed again and Naina continued her rubbing.

Seeing him in control, she removed her hand from his back, tension lines clearly visible on her face, " Abhi theek lag raha hai?"

Sameer opened one eye and looked at her, "Nahi, abhi bhi atka hai... tum karti raho."

Her eyes grew wide, "Tum natak kar rahe the?  Dimaag theek hai tumhara? Main kitna dar gayi thi, pata hai? Kitna tang karte ho tum mujhe", tears brimmed in her eyes.

Sameer immediately kept the bottle away and held her face, turning it to look at her. Her unshed tears wrenched his heart. Bending, he touched his forehead with hers and closed his eyes.

" Sorry, Naina... maaf kardo... main toh bas mazaak kar raha tha... aage se nahi karunga aisa kabhi... tum please rona mat... meri wajah se tumhari aankhon mein aansun aayein yeh main sehen nahi kar paunga",  his own voice choked.

Naina swallowed... and kept her hands on his, straightening up.

"Sameer, tumhe zara si bhi taklif hoti hai toh meri jaan nikal jaati hai... tumhara dard tumse zyaada mujhe mehsoos hota hai... jaan ho tum meri... aur tumhe kisi dukh ya pareshaani mein nahi dekh sakti main. "

His eyes got wet... she was the only person in the world who could feel his pain to such an extent. He wanted to say a lot of things, wanted to thank her for how she cared  for him, wanted to apologise for every pain he had caused to her... knowingly or unknowingly... but his voice failed. All he could utter was three words.

"I love you."

They reached Alibag around lunchtime. Everyone was mesmerized with the place. Behind a huge lush green garden, there were white cottages in a row. Red slanting roof and big yellow painted windows made them look majestic. There was a small open area outside each cottage, surrounded by a low, yellow railing. The place was splendid.

They were assigned rooms, two students in each room. Naina shared hers with Sonali and Sameer and Rahul were together. To their extreme delight, they had got cottages next to each other.

All were asked to freshen up and come for lunch in the main restaurant in half an hour.

The girls were ecstatic to see the room. It was big and airy. Flimsy white curtains were swaying in the breeze that was making the room cool. A big bed and a huge mirror with a dresser made the place look royal.

They quickly got ready, changing into a fresh set of clothes and tidied up whatever little stuff they had put around.

In the restaurant, they enjoyed a great meal together, laughing and chatting.

The carefree environment, the curiosity to find something new, the thirst to explore, relaxed timings, absence of the burden of mundane... travel always makes the heart fill up with ecstasy and refreshes the mind.

It was decided that they will go to the beach now and enjoy there till it gets dark. Later, after dinner, a campfire was planned.

The beach being right behind the resort, they all walked down to it.