Today Pallavi was about to do something extraordinary. Extraordinary because this was something she never did in her office career.

“Oh, you're already up, huh? Looks like you were serious about this.” Deepali commented as she saw Pallavi chopping up onions and tomatoes in the kitchen. Pallavi squinted her eyes on Deepali as she casually took a piece of chopped tomato and ate it. Pallavi pushed the tomato bowl aside. "Come on, you know I love tomatoes right?"

“Here, that's it,” Pallavi said as she gave two more chopped pieces of tomatoes to her.

“Thanks.” Deepali smiled. “Don't forget to make some fried rice for us, too... Well, I hope your guy likes it or whatever.”

Pallavi couldn't help but chuckle. Not just at Deepali's statement but at the whole situation. She had made food at home but not this early in the morning, and especially not for a guy before. But she wanted to express her gratitude for the poha he made for her before and other times when he shared his breakfast with her.

No— she wanted to make something for him.

Now Pallavi thought it would be easy but then, she lost all bravado in front of Adhvik. How could she tell that she made something specifically for him? It wasn't like he was her boyfriend. She knew it was a common trope in K- dramas and mangas but did people really cook breakfast for a friend of opposite sex? But he made that poha for you so...

She waited for Mister Tiwari to leave. Hours ticked by. 9am, 10am, 11am, 11:30am... She was getting restless.

When Tiwari finally left, thank God, she turned to Adhvik, only for him to start talking first. He began reciting something that happened this morning. Mostly she would be happy to listen, but this time, she couldn't be bothered.

“Do you love fried rice?” She interrupted him midway.

“Uh- huh! Its not my favorite but I don't dislike it either. So I was saying...” Adhvik paused as her words registered in his head. He turned a suspicious eye to her. “Wait, why you ask?”

“No reason...” Pallavi avoided his gaze but Adhvik deliberately craned his head in her view.

“You brought something, didn't you?”

“Maybe some fried rice, yeah.”

“Aree phir shubh kaam me deeri kaisi. (Then why prolong this auspicious occasion) Come on, take out before baldie comes.” He rubbed his palms in anticipation.

Pallavi fished out her tiffin from the bag. She opened the lid to reveal yellowish red rice mixed with soya chunks, peas and basil leaves. “By the way, this is made by me.”

“Seriously?”

“Especially for you...”

“For me? My God!” He exclaimed, putting a hand over his shocked face like a frail lady. So dramatic I tell you.

Pallavi waited in anticipation as he took the first bite in his mouth. He licked his lips after chewing it. It was a mix of rice, onions, chick peas, tomatoes, soya bean with a taste of soy sauce and spices. “You sure you made this?”

She pouted, feeling offended. “No, my ghost did at 3am.”

He chuckled. “And here I thought you were a spoilt rich girl with no culinary skills. I underestimated you, senorita. It's delicious.”

“I don't even know whether to feel appalled or insulted by your comment. And don't call me senorita.” She mumbled the last line under her breath.

“No, no, it's a compliment. Take it while it's hot.” He patted her shoulder. He took a few more bites before passing the tiffin to her table. “Here, take it.”

“Okay...” Pallavi swallowed looking at the tiffin or specifically at the spoon. It was already used by Adhvik. With some hesitation, she asked. “Do you have another spoon?”

“Oh, let me check.” He said, rummaging through into his bag. He shook his head in a negative. “No.”

“Oh,” Pallavi glanced at her tiffin once again. There was always the option of getting a spare spoon from the pantry. Funny, none of them suggested that. “Fine, what the heck?”

She could feel Adhvik's eyes trained on her as she took a bite from the same spoon that touched his lips. With this, our dear protagonist had unlocked another achievement— an indirect kiss.

She peered at Adhvik to find him pressing his mouth inwardly in an attempt to suppress his smile but failing miserably. She couldn't blame him as she was doing the same. Now it was Adhvik's turn to have that spoonful.

“Not fair huh! I want some rice, too!”  Tulsi interjected out of no fucking where, ruining a potential developing between two main characters. Pallavi swore she could hear a glass breaking when Tulsi ate from the same spoon that was eaten by her earlier. Such a rom- com situation.

“You know she made this rice, especially for me.” Adhvik stated proudly before going away somewhere.

“Ow, 'eally. Et delwiwous,” Tulsi spoke with her mouth full, then ate her bite. “I didn't know you could cook.”

Somehow they had gotten the impression that Pallavi was a rich, spoilt princess of some castle who apparently only knew how to boil water and make two minute Maggie noodles in the kitchen.

Thankfully Tulsi didn't eat the whole thing. There was still much portion of fried rice left so Pallavi ate some. Adhvik also happened to return at the right place and the right time. Both of them shared a knowing, flirty look.

“Care for another bite?”

Adhvik didn't even waste time by replying as leaned forward, weary a mischievous smile. He took the spoon, scooped some rice in it and put it inside his mouth, maintaining a constant eye contact with her. Both knew what it meant yet none voiced it out. It was him that got the indirect kiss this time.

“Your turn.” He handled the spoon to her.

Pallavi squinted her eyes slightly before repeating his action. So bold. What had gotten into them? She was supposed to share this delicious breakfast with him, yet here, they were potentially exchanging each other's saliva through a bloody spoon. Poor spoon having being forced to third wheel them.

Their strange flirting didn't last long as others gathered in their vicinity, for which Pallavi was both thankful and disappointed about. She just passed down the tiffin to Adhik later on, telling him to have the rest. Now Adhvik did say rice wasn't his favorite, yet he ate all of it without hesitation. Her cooking paid it off.

* * *

Pallavi was seated at Mister Hyoung's desk yet again. It was a privilege she had gotten whenever her PC system failed to upload files for Pehs. Needless to say, she loved it. She preferred Windows 10 over her PC's Windows 7 any day as it performed faster. However, there was another reason.

“'Sup?” Adhvik asked, casually strolling over to her side. Her stomach fluttered everytime he showed up and it would exhibit in her smile that she tried to suppress.

“The usual... Oh, I forgot. There's some problem in this website,” She said, directing the cursor to that section in the pehs website. “I'm unable to copy, paste these PDFs here. Can you look through this?”

“Sure, I will...” His tall frame leaned down to her level, his voice raspy in her ears. “After you remove your hand first.”

“Ab toh bilkul nahi hataugi (Now I'll definitely won't remove my hand),” She shot back, her voice sounding just as seductive.  What had gotten over her? Regardless, she kept her palm firmly over the mouse.

“If that's the case...” The next instant Adhvik covered the length of her soft palm with his, sending goosebumps all the way to her neck. This was probably the third time their hands mingled like this. Or was it fourth?

Pallavi bit back the inside of her mouth as Adhvik continued moving the cursor with her hand below his. She could feel the slight movement of his fingers between the gaps of hers, tingling her skin. While her heart made somersaults with its beats. He didn't say a thing. Eventually, her over- consciousness took over as she withdrew her palm.

“See, problem solved.”

Pallavi confirmed it as she copy, pasted the contents. “Thanks.”

They then made a small talk about the office and employees. Adhvik thought this was a nice way to pass time in the afternoon.

“When will this stupid office issue us holidays, if any at all?” Pallavi asked, yawning.

Adhvik yawned as well. “That will be in March at Holi. Usse pehle toh bhul hi jao.”

“March?! That's almost like two months away.” Pallavi whined in disbelief. “Do office people celebrate Holi?”

“Yes, in full swing, too. Even the Koreans celebrate it with colors. You'll see it. The office will be a sight to witness that day.”

“Wow, I can't wait!” Pallavi said, clapping in excitement. She lifted her gaze to Adhvik. “Then I'll put colors on your face, too.”

“Oh my God!” Adhvik raised a brow, meeting her straight forward gaze. “Now I can't wait for that day either. I wonder why?”

Later, she wondered if they were flirting a little too much these days.

* * *

A little while later, Pallavi and Tulsi took a detour to the factory side to click photos for some work guides. The factory side was always hotter than the office which was a plus during winters.

When they returned, Pallavi felt the need to remove her jacket. She didn't usually do so to reveal the tight, blue office t- shirt underneath but this time she couldn't bear it. Not even when Adhvik was nearby. He was standing afar, conversing with the guys from the 3D department.

Pallavi unbuttoned her maroon jacket one by one, exhaling slowly as she did. Somehow she had this intuitive feeling that Adhvik was watching her. Indeed he was, as he followed the movements of her delicate fingers. She craned her head slightly to the other side, biting her lower lip as she pushed the jacket off her arms, revealing her covered bosom. Her curves were more visible in her tight tee.

And that was when Pallavi dared to lift her head.

Adhvik's gaze— it was unlike anything she seen before. The way his dark eyes flickered down ever so slightly, tracing her face, her lips, her neckline, all the way to her boobs. It was like... like he was undressing her with his eyes alone. They spoke a different language. Like he wanted to do her dirty.

Pallavi held Adhvik's gaze for a while until both looked away, pretending to be somewhere else. He left the room with his hands on his pockets, relieving Pallavi of her pretense as she released her breath she was holding. She plopped onto her chair, hugging herself.

If it had been any other guy, Pallavi would have definitely felt disgusted and discomfort. Funny, she didn't feel any of that. Then what was it? Embarrassment? Curiosity? She couldn't put an exact word to it. She glanced back at the spot where Adhvik was, recalling the instance once again. Images built her head this time. Images of her and him alone involved in something or the other.

No, no, no! She shook her head, telling herself to come out of it. It just wasn't right.

Eventually Adhvik returned and assigned work to the girls as usual. Except he avoided eye-contact with Pallavi. Guess even he could be ashamed.

* * *

“Man, I'm hungry. Is there anything available on the canteen right now?”  Tulsi said during evening, the next day.

“I don't have my biscuits if that's what you're asking.” Pallavi mumbled sheepishly, keeping her head down the desk. Right then, she was struck with an idea. “Why don't we eat at the food stall outside the office? Also invite Harshit, Adhvik and Rohan while we are at it.”

“Oh, come on, we tried to do that. They won't come. All of them are pussies. They don't accompany us anywhere.” Tulsi denied.

Despite not sharing lunches with the boys anymore, Pallavi and Tulsi would still visit the testing room sometimes for a fun conversation. Or vice versa. Pallavi did mention to hang out sometime and they had agreed, delaying that to 'someday'. Perhaps Tulsi was wrong.

“I'll ask them once more.” Pallavi decided and went to the testing room.

It took some more courage from Pallavi to ask but surprisingly Harshit and Rohan agreed. All that was left was for Adhik to come from the production room so that they could all go together.

“You'll see. Adhvik will back out once he's aware that he's being accompanied by two girls.”

“And two boys.” Pallavi completed the sentence for Tulsi. Dunno why she was so confident about this not happening. It wasn't rare for colleagues to hang out. Did she even want to go?

Adhvik took his sweet time as he returned after twenty minutes. Pallavi almost squealed in delight when they all started walking outside. She longed for a normal, office hangout with them.

“Pallavi, you remember our promise, right?”

“Promise?” She tilted her head.

“That you'll smoke with me...” Adhvik stated the obvious. “Don't worry about these people. None of them mind.”

“Yeah, no gender discrimination here.” Harshit piped in.

“It's not that.” The group stopped walked as they noticed Pallavi's hesitation. She pointed out to the white Accent car standing outside the gate. “My car driver is there. What do you think will happen if he sees me?”

“Bawaal.” (Chaos) Harshit commented.

Pallavi shot Harshit a blank look before turning to Adhvik. “There are office employees from my department as well as the girls whom I hang out with. What will happen if one of them sees me? A man smoking is normal but a woman smoking is not. Atleast not here.”

“Leave that worry to Tulsi, darling. I'll be on the lookout. If anyone comes near our side, I'll inform ya.” Tulsi assured, placing a hand on her chest.

“What about my driver?... Wait, where are you guys going?” Pallavi's eyes popped wide when she saw Adhvik and Rohan approaching the driver. She went after them but by the time she reached, she just heard the driver saying okay and parked the car a little behind from the place it usually was.

“Problem solved.” Rohan said, smiling. “There's a car parked right before the shop. If you smoke here, the driver won't be able to spot you.”

“What did you guys even say to him?”

"Doesn't matter. What matters is we got rid of all your excuses. So...” Adhvik stepped closer, looking at her with earnest eyes. “Will you smoke with me? Cigarette's on me of course.”

Normally a guy asked a girl on a coffee date or something, not smoking. Perhaps Adhvik's perception of romance wasn't normal.

“Fiiine!” Pallavi rolled her eyes, breaking into a smile.

They exited the office, walking further down the road to a hut like street shop. A middle aged lady and a teenage boy ran the shop. There were a bunch of snacks kept at the stands like samosas, bread pakoda, mirch pakoda and cans of biscuits.

The group first ordered tea and samosas for everyone. The samosas were teared down in pieces and handed over in a plastic bowl with a red and green chutney. Added with hot tea, the evening refreshment was a delicious mix. The group sat down on the wooden benches provided and savored it. In between silly conversations and snacks, Pallavi decided to take a snap of everyone.

It was finally time to light the cigarettes. The only ones smoking besides Adhvik and Pallavi was Rohan who stood on the sidelines. Tulsi refused as she never smoked before and was reluctant to try with others while Harshit had sworn not to touch a cigarette in his entire life.

To Pallavi, cigarettes were like tasting food dishes or sweets kept for showcase. The ones with whom you take a few bites of. You neither liked it, nor hated it. Just tried it for the sake of trying something new and looking cool. So when she was finally handed a cigarette by Adhvik, she did exactly that. She inhaled.

And coughed.

“Hehh?!” Adhvik regarded her with disappointment.

“Don't heh me! I'm having this after eons!... Oi, nobody's looking, right?” Pallavi asked Tulsi and she said no.

“Wait, I'll show you.” Adhvik took the cigarette she held. Her pupils practically dilated when he took the end of the cigarette in his mouth. The same end from where her lips sucked earlier. Was he not aware or was he not making it aware?

“You take it in, then exhale with your mouth... like this,” Adhvik said and mirrored his words by his actions. The front of the cigarette burnt hot red and turned into ash as he casually let out a puff of smoke with his eyes closed. In the midst of the grey smoke, he opened his eyes to find Pallavi who was observing him intently. “You try.”

She took the cigarette he offered and did as he instructed while being perfectly aware of getting an indirect taste of his lips that marked the cigarette earlier. Adhvik watched as she closed her pink plump lips around the cigar, inhaled, paused, then let out the smoke right at his smirking face. He shut his eyes momentarily before opening them. There was something about the way she looked at him then. There was something about the way he looked at her too. Something explicit and sexy.

Pallavi puffed out smoke one more time before passing the poison to him. This time she trained her eyes on him like a hawk, allowing her intentions to get the better of her.

A hidden intention. A tiny spark.

Somehow Pallavi could imagine it all. Imagine moving her body against the length of his. Imagine looking into his carefree eyes and throwing whatever cigarette that was on his lips to replace it with her own soft ones. Lips moving gently yet firmly. Then close her eyes and do it all over again.

A far away dream within a closer reality.

* * * * * * * * *

Chapter dedicated to sharmee_m for her utmost support to this story. Love your comments.
Check her fantasy story ‘The throne of four Realms’ if you haven't. It's awesome and very artistically described. 🤩

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So was this chapter kinda.... hot? 🔥(Or atleast I tried I guess). Vote and Comment.

Hope you liked it. Next chapter will be up by Friday or Saturday.