Sorry for the delay... was in a no network area.

Sameer was rooted to the spot.

Naina... his Naina... had gone to this extent to rid him of his guilt and make him understand that she accepted him wholeheartedly.

And, in the process, she had started a raging fire of uncontrollable emotions... he swallowed hard, he had to keep himself in check... he had painted a beautiful picture for them and he wanted to see it come alive in the same manner.

But the fire she had evoked had blazed up at such alarming pace that he was scared it would consume both of them.

Her fingers on his chest slowly moved up to his shoulder, making his resolve weaker... he shivered as his own fingers stayed where she had placed them...

He moved his hand, feeling her... she tried to stop the trembling that suddenly rocked her, sucking in her lower lip... he saw the quivering lip before it vanished under her teeth, felt the tremor in the hand that rested on his shoulder...

He instantly knew how much courage she must have gathered to do it for him. She had stepped ahead... she had accepted all that he had been telling about their relationship... she had accepted him completely... trusting him enough to show this closeness...

He wrapped his arms around her, taking her in the cocoon of his embrace.

Her face buried in his chest, her breath heating up the already burning skin, he fought to bring his frayed nerves in control, not letting the tremulous hold on his desires slip away. Her ragged breathing conveyed her state... not much different than him.

It was another beautiful morning for Naina when she had opened her eyes... Sameer was right next to her. But today, he was already awake, unlike past two days. She had smiled at him, expecting him to smile back, and ask for a good morning kiss.

But he had a strange expression on his face. She had thought of asking... as she moved, the heaviness on her chest had registered suddenly. She looked down... and to her ultimate embarrassment, she had his hand pinned on herself. Frozen for a few moments, she didn't react... then pulled her hand back.

But he hadn't.

Her heart had been ready to burst out, not knowing how to react. The sensation that his touch had ignited had made each cell of her body burn. And then, he had suddenly walked out of the room. She had taken some time to come back to sanity... wondering what she had been upto. Preeti had mentioned that she sometimes talked in her sleep... was she doing the same... and what was she saying... her heart fell to the bottom of her stomach... why had she pulled his hand, there... was he miffed at something she had said in sleep... was she dreaming aloud... if yes, what... she tried hard to remember but the memory was blank.

She got up from the bed and looked out at him. He was slightly bent, holding the grill real tight. She had thought of going to him but as she reached the glass door, he had hit the grill hard with his fist. She fled to the washroom, knowing for sure that something she had said had irked him greatly. He was gone by the time she was out. Holding back her tears, she had finished her bath. As she waited for him, Sonali called out to her and she had gone to the kitchen. Sonali wanted to know where Sameer had gone this early and whether they needed something. After assuring her that all was fine, Naina had come back to find the room empty again. The sound of water had confirmed that he was back and was taking a shower.

Putting the latch on the door, she had decided to wait... she could not see him agitated like this... whatever she had said, she would apologize... and tell him about the silly habit of talking in sleep.

When she had looked at him as he came out, her throat had gone dry... he was standing in front of her with a towel around his waist... his gleaming body still misty, his wet locks all over his forehead. She felt her heart and mind both go in a tizzy together... and she had closed her eyes.

She realized how annoyed he was when he did not come to her... rather he had turned to go back to the washroom after taking his clothes.

His anger had bothered her more than his present state. She called out to him to say sorry.

Then he turned... and looked at her.

She was shocked to see the guilt rather than anger in his eyes... and he had started to stutter.

She knew then... it was not her.

He was annoyed at himself.

He had been punishing himself by staying away from her because of whatever happened.

He held himself responsible. She could not see him hurting like this over something that was not his fault. She had to do something...

All his talks had come  rushing to her, where he had stressed upon being open with each other... and she had decided to do so.

It hadn't been easy to do... her hands had jammed on the side... she didn't know how he would react... a nagging thought had scared her... what if he got upset at her action now... but she steeled herself...

She could not see him tormenting himself like this... and she had done the unthinkable... when she had pulled his hand further down, her insides had turned into water... she felt she could melt and end up in a puddle at his feet... then, she had taken another step, to touch his bare chest... feeling his skin under her fingers had made her go up in smoke, burning her insides to ashes...

Two extreme sensations fought within her as she stood in front of him bravely... telling him that she was fine with his touch... and his feel...

Her nerves had coiled up in a jumbled mass as his fingers had felt her... a current passed from her toes to the roots of her hair, she could see the stars dancing in front of her eyes... it had taken all her strength to not shut her eyes...

Now, as she stood plastered to him, it was still difficult to breathe... pressed against his bare torso, she could feel every inch of his taut chest muscles... on reflex, her arms had gone behind him... and now she could feel the ripples on his back... his heart was roaring under her ear, giving competition to her own. Her fingers wanted to explore the smooth skin, her hands itched to move over the hard abdomen, close over the biceps that always felt strong against her shoulders...

She could understand his desires now, as the inferno blazed inside her with the same intensity.

They stood in each other's arms... both feeling the tension between them... both trying hard to calm the storm within... both at loss of words.

"Naina, tum bahar chalo, main taiyar hoke aata hun." He spoke up finally, stepping back to create some distance between them.

She nodded... still dazed.

Sameer picked up the clothes that had fallen on the floor and went inside the washroom.

Naina took a few steps back and looked into the mirror. The girl who stared back at her was not the same who she had been seeing earlier... that girl would have been mortified at even the thought of what she had done... sweat beads started to form again on her forehead as the images of few moments back flashed before her eyes...

She hid her face in her palms... thinking about the sensations that rocked her with this closeness... in spite of being with each other for so long, in spite of seeing him without a shirt earlier as well, in spite of sleeping in his arms a few times... today had stirred something that never existed... or maybe was dormant, and had woken up now.

When he came out of the washroom silently, Sameer noticed her still standing in front of the mirror, her face covered with her hands.

He went behind her and wrapped his arms around, "I Love You, meri jaan."

She brought her hands down to hold his wrists around her waist, eyes still lowered.

"Naina, chalein, woh log hamara intezar kar rahe honge." He tried to make her normal.

Taking a deep breath, she nodded.

They went out together for breakfast.

Rahul was his usual jovial self... laughing and teasing. The light banters of their friends made them relax ultimately.

"Yaar Sameer, yeh toh koi maze wala program nahi hua... saara din bas padhai, padhai... tum log aise time pe aaye ho ki kuch party, kuch ghumne ka plan bhi nahi bana sakte... tumhe fir se aana padega exams ke baad... tab hum sab milke khoob masti karenge." He said cheerfully.

"Haan toh aayenge hi... Naina ke show ki party hai exams ke baad... isliye woh foran wapas nahi jaayenge... toh exams ke baad yahin rehna padega... Naina, bas Maine keh diya... ab tu mana nahi kar sakti... fir hum dono ko... " Sonali  stopped midway, knowing that their shopping trip was to be kept a secret.

"Rahul, exams ke baad pata nahi aana hoga ya nahi... Phulla bua ke ghar bhi jaana hai... aur kuch show ka kaam bhi hai Naina ko." Sameer did not want to trouble them too much.

"Sun, mujhe na yeh sab bahane nahi sunne... aaoge matlab aaoge... meri madam ne bol diya toh manna padega... uska kaha toh main bhi nahi taal sakta." Rahul winked at Sameer.

"Rahul, tum na chup raho... sabke saamne toh aisa dikhate ho jaise badi baatein maante ho meri... aur akele mein..." She stopped abruptly again.

"Akele mein bhi toh saari baatein tumhari hi sunta hun, jaaneman... kab nahi maana batao." Rahul challenged her, a mischievous  smile playing on his lips.

"Naina, inn logon ko chod... hum mil ke plan bana lenge aur jitne din tum yahan rehne wale ho idhar se hi sab jagah jaana." Sonali turned towards Naina, trying to hide the blush that her husband had brought on her cheeks.

Naina nodded, "Theek hai... exams ke baad aa jayenge."

Sameer was surprised at her easy acceptance of the invitation.