By the time they reached Saumya's house at 3 in the afternoon, Pallavi was ridden with exhaustion and an annoying headache.

“Sorry, I couldn't contact you... Aree, why are you mad? My mobile was switched off. I forgot... I know you were worried about me being alone in the station... Oh, come on, Adhi!” Pallavi spoke on the phone bewildered. She sighed as he cut the call. What was with him behaving like a typical boyfriend?

“Adhi, heh?” Aradhana teased entering the guest room. “I don't know what I'm more ecstatic about- Saumya getting married or Pallavi getting a boyfriend.”

Pallavi smiled despite rolling her eyes. “Its no big deal...”

Aradhana raised a brow, “That's not what I heard seven years ago, babe. You shed literal tears about being single. I know how badly you wanted this. Be happy for that.”

“I'm happy.” Pallavi grinned.

“So how was your hotel stay with him?” Saumya asked loudly, causing Pallavi to shush her up. She really had a loud mouth. She waved a dismissive hand at her. “No worries, they don't care.”

Pallavi regarded Saumya with wide eyes. Why would she tell her family something like this? “Didn't I tell you that we wouldn't be staying at a hotel?! Though it would have been nice if we did.”

“You know he also comes to her society...” Aradhana chimed.

“Such a dedicated lover. Kya baat hai?” Saumya smirked. “Leave that aside, tell us how's the sex? How many times did you fuck?”

“Yes, rate it out of 10.”

“Hello, didi!” Saumya's younger sister Kriti arrived, sitting crossed legged besides her. Kriti was six years younger than her. Pallavi still remembered her words back when they met in Saumya elder sister's wedding.

“You're so cute, didi! I find you cool and adorable at the same time... Can I hug you?”

Needless to say, Pallavi was flabbergasted that time. Kriti even ended up sleeping besides her at the night of the wedding. Was she a teddy bear?

“So what does your boyfriend do, didi?” Kriti asked animately, diverting Pallavi back to reality.

“Um, he's a mobile engineer at Sunwo...”

“And where is he from?” The girl's mother asked while bringing chai and snacks in a tray.

“Ch- chattisgarh.” Pallavi looked downcast, feeling her cheeks heat. What was with the questionnaire all of a sudden? She wasn't used to being asked about her boyfriend. She couldn't help but be amazed and shocked at the same time. She recalled when Saumya's family talked about her Saumya's ex boyfriend whom she was dating at the time. Obviously they seemed to be mighty comfortable discussing about this. So comfortable that even Aradhana invited Saurabh that time.

Pallavi bet she could have done the same by inviting Adhvik.

* * *

Pallavi had a gala time for the next three days. Saumya was engaged with the rituals and relatives so Pallavi would be with Aradhana and Saurabh most of the time. Previously both of them were in a row due to Saurabh's parents ill behaviour so Aradhana had left the place to stay at her home. Naturally those two were meeting after months so they were making up for the lost time. Though they couldn't ignore the reality either and would often argue as well. It was almost entertaining watching them.

Though seeing them together and Saumya besides her new husband made Pallavi miss her beau. She made up for her loneliness through messages, voice notes or video calling him multiple times. She showed off in her traditional attire while Adhvik complimented her with hearts or kisses. She was often teased by her friends or Saurabh because of it. She liked it. She liked it a lot.

Pallavi even called Adhvik at night of the engagement while wearing a gray saree. She could feel how sexy she was looking tonight. If only he was here, he would have stripped her off to a passionate night of sex. She was hoping to achieve some of that through video call but alas he didn't pick it up. Damn him for being an early bird.

On the day of the wedding, Pallavi, Aradhana and Saurabh sidetracked on the way to a small marketplace. Pallavi ended up shopping a bit, blissfully buying a red shirt for Adhvik as a gift even though he suggested not to. She engaged with Adhvik again but then he had something which he was hesitant to tell.

‘Kahi mar na jaaye
sunke.’

‘Ah, come on!
Tell me na.”

His reply came a few minutes later.

‘Nothing special.
Just another rishta
who is interested in
meeting me & my
family.’

‘Oh.’

‘Yeah. Ma is telling me
to come to hometown
to meet this girl from
Himachal. Though I
might not go due to
work.’

Why did she feel grateful for his job being a pain in his ass? She hoped his work would keep him busy to avoid meeting any prospective bride for the entire year. Somehow she passed through the function, feeling a little insecure and anxious in her pink blue lehenga.

* * *

Perks of having a job.

1- Monetary gain.

2- Experience.

3- Social life.

4- Holidays. For example an employee could take a whole day off and go somewhere without telling their parents about it.

That was exactly what Pallavi and Adhvik were about to do.

Somehow they managed to free off their schedules to have an entire day to themselves. After Pallavi's family driver dropped off to the office, she sneaked behind to hail an autorickshaw to Adhvik's residence. The lengths she had to go to meet him. Unbelievable.

“You just woke up?!” She repeated his statement in utter disbelief after she met him in his apartment. Here she was all dolled up for him and Mister lazy ass had just woken up. She took a seat on his bed. “Go get ready.”

Instead Adhvik hopped to sit on her lap with a teasing smile. He assured her he had brushed his teeth and refreshed himself. Bathing could come later. They talked about mundane things while Pallavi brushed his hair. Adhvik even voiced his thoughts about their story on Wattpad. Apparently he had problems with his character ‘Adhvik’ saying he didn't quite behave that way.

“But you said that! I remember it quite well,” Pallavi argued about the time when he joked about leaving torai for her forever.

“But I don't remember saying anything like that. Why would I say that?” He appeared upside-down to Pallavi as he looked her up with a frown.

She pulled his cheek. “So you mean it just randomly popped in my mind and it decided to let you say it. Preposterous!”

Clearly someone was wrong while the other person was right. Who was it? You decide.

* * *

It didn't take time to set the mood in as their hands caressed each other in places. It was soon replaced by their mouths. Adhvik turned up a notch by switching on the music. Sensuous songs numbers like ‘Laal Ishq’ and ‘Ijazat’ notched the temperature in the room.

“You wanted me to strip off your saree and kiss you in the back, right?” Adhvik repeated what Pallavi said during one of their phonic conversations. It was the night when she was planning to have video call sex with him but couldn't as he dozed off. He enacted by pretending to strip off her blouse when it was just her bra and rained wet kisses on her entire back from top to bottom and then to her front. She simply teleported her mind to that time and raised her head with closed eyes, feeling her skin tingle all over.

What followed was a long session of foreplay that continued for hours. They would engage for sometime, take a break only to start it all over again. None of them rushed to penetrate. It was like they were floating in the intoxicating sea of pleasure. By the time, they decided to end it with a bang, none of them were up for it.

“Its okay,” Pallavi huffed, noticing his long face. “We were doing this for so long, it's nearly impossible for your dick to be up all the time. We can continue our session afterwards. Now you go bath while I prepare for lunch.”

“Hmm,” He hummed getting up. Pallavi was about to do the same when he stopped her with the palm of his hand. “Wait, remain like this.”

He turned on the camera to click a few pictures of her as usual. With her sleepy eyes and her messy strands of hair over her shoulder, she looked no more like an angel that woke up in the morning.

“Delete it later, okay.”

“Nope, I'll keep these so I could blackmail you later like a possessive lover,” He confessed with a serious face although they both knew he was joking.

Seriously guys, he was joking. There's no plot twist here.

“Yeah, do that later on but now give yourself a bath already.”

“Abbey kya nahane ki ratt lagayi rakhi hai!” Adhvik snapped, mildly crossed. “Its not like I'm covered in garbage. Do I smell bad?”

“No, but—”

“Then leave me be. I'll bath eventually.” He remained stubborn while she glowered at him.

Eventually it was time for lunch. Pallavi geared herself to make lunch for both of them this time. Her special vegetable sizzler. She began cutting the veggies while Adhvik purchased the rest of the ingredients from outside. But then she noticed the sorry state of the room that stared at her in the face. How was it his room appeared tidy when she visited for the first time and now it looked messy with his clothes and dust lying around? She couldn't stand it.

When Adhvik returned, he was appalled to see his highness tidying his room. He even joked about cleaning his washroom and becoming his wife to perform household chores. Pallavi simply ignored his request to lit up the steel pot in oil to begin cooking. Normally she would have cooked fine if it wasn't for her boyfriend keeping an eye on her.

“What's up with you?” Her brows knitted at his ultra smiling face resting on the headboard of the bed.

“Nothing, I'm just observing my love. Carry on.” His eyes crinkled as he stared at her. It was the first time she was cooking at his humble abode after all.

And so, she carried on. Or atleast she tried to but faltered at times. When that wasn't enough, he approached her from behind circling his arms around her waist.

“Look, I can't even cover you completely due to difference in our body structures,” He voiced out when he was unable to circle her completely. They shared a laugh.

Pallavi cast the ladle aside to join his hands together a little above her waist. She craned her head behind, smirking. “See, everything is possible.”

“Uh-huh,” His eyes flicked over her full lips before pecking them softly. When that wasn't enough, he pushed her hair aside to kiss her neckline, earning a moan. Of course she lost touch of reality and reveled herself in this sudden act of intimacy.

“Adhvik...?”

“Hmm...”

“Co- ah!”

“Coah?”

She then sniffed something fishy and instantly pulled out of his grasp to lower the gas. “Let me cook, you cunt! The food is burning because of you. I can't concentrate.”

“So cook na. Who's stopping you?” He said, his tone almost childish and embraced her again, making her grin.

“Ah, come onn~!” She whined. Funny how he warded her off when he cooked but did the exact opposite when it was her turn. He even clicked a few random photos of her. She couldn't complain though. Not when he was doting on her like a lovesick fool. Oh, how times have changed.

Pallavi kept with his tirade as she sprinkled mild masala on the boiled vegetables. She counted the list of ingredients she added till now while Adhvik rested his head on her shoulder observing her process. He pointed his finger to the container arranged with different spices. “You forgot to add that masala.”

“Thanks.”

Their cooking and teasing went on. Adhvik stood besides her the entire time, aiding her in the kitchen. He boiled the rice and poured a bit onto the sizzler, assuring not to add too much to avoid turning it into pulav. It took time to cook but it was a dish baked with love. It felt as if their mundane lives ceased to exist, replaced by a smaller world ball with just the two of them in it. Their afternoon could stretch for eternity and she wouldn't care.

And although her stomach was yet to satiated by food, her heart's appetite was full.

* * *

“Mhm, its great!” Adhvik commented after tasting sizzler in his mouth. By god's grace, he finally went to bath after all the cooking. They devoured their long awaited lunch after he returned.

She shifted next to him, their arms touching. “We should have done this before. You know taking a day off from office and spending a whole day with each other. It's relaxing not to rush home for once.”

“No worries, babe. We'll do this every month. Especially on our anniversary.”

Pallavi nodded, grinning. Soon he switched on his TV as they sipped on Appy fizz. An old Bollywood movie played on from the 2000's. They had just begun watching when there was a knock on the door. She pulled the covers of the quilt to her neck, her heart fastening by the sudden interruption.

“Who is it?!” Adhvik yelled.

“Me, bhai! I came for the salt.”

“Fuckin' salt,” Adhvik muttered under his breath. “Come later.”

“No, I need it for lunch.”

Adhvik stood up, muttering another slang under his breath. He waited for Pallavi as she put on her leggings and instructed her to hide in the balcony. He proceeded on to attend his neighbour. Their conversation didn't last long as he kept short for her sake.

“Then fuck off, loser!” She heard him say to his neighbour followed by the thud of the door. “You can come out, Pal. He already knows you were here.”

“But I barely made any noise.” She retorted.

He instead directed her gaze to the balcony. Most of the window side was covered by the cooler except for a small gap from the left. “He noticed your back from there. Kept smirking at me, that motherfucker. I told him to fuck off.”

Pallavi couldn't help but titter. The reason why Adhvik didn't let him greet was because he didn't want his neighbour to gawk at her in a dirty manner. Perhaps he knew where his neighbour thoughts lie so he saved it. She respected that.

Soon they resumed watching but fortunately, it didn't last long as they immersed in kissing. This time they avoided much of foreplay and went straight for sex. At first, both of them were facing sexual difficulties. His dick wasn't up while her va&ina wasn't wet. They instead went for oral. By the time they were done, they were exhausted again.

“I don't think we'll be having sex today,” Adhvik stated, chuckling.

She slapped his chest. “Don't say that. We took a leave to have sex so sex we'll have it.”

“I'm not sure...” He looked away. “Sometimes I feel I'm unreliable. Wonder if I'll have a smooth sex life with my future wife. What if I face these problems with her?”

He was starting to overthink again. Pallavi assured him that wasn't the case. They were just tired from the excess of foreplay and the lunch had made them lazy. She suggested a short nap would do the trick and rejuvenate them.

So you saw dear readers, sex wasn't always smooth sailing. Well, atleast in this case. Anyway,  Pallavi's idea worked it's charm. They were able to complete the deed later on.

Without a condom that is.

But no worries, Pallavi assured herself. That was where i-pill came to rescue. The thought of having something like that for the first time actually excited her. Right now, she was the only one in the family having sex and those pills were proof of that.

Unfortunately time was at essence. Eventually it was 5:30 pm. It was nearly the closing time of her office. She called the driver, instructing him to meet her at the general store near the office. This way she avoided the scenario of her colleagues accidentally informing his driver of her obvious absence.

“Ugh, I forgot to bring your gift,” She whined.

“You can always bring it next time. No rush.” He waved a dismissive hand. He opened the cab door for her, mocking a gentlemanly pose. “Get in, ma'am.”

“Not before you say it.”

“Say what?” His mind clicked as a soft smile played his lips. “Love you.”

“Love you, too, baby. I had a wonderful time today.” She grinned back, her eyes crinkling. She left soon after, her soul blessed with their love.

Pallavi took the cab to the place where her driver was. She was probably qualified to be a spy now.

* * *

Adhvik and Pallavi met a week later. No, it wasn't a date but a chance to deliver his precious maroon shirt she purchased for him. Adhvik was suddenly called home to meet one of the prospect bride as usual. It was the same family that set their eyes on his since February. The bride's father already met him in Faridabad and was keen to take it further. He even showed him his daughter's photo. The fact that they were so interested made her stomach drop but she could do nothing about it. She only hoped he would get rejected.

“Thank you so so much!” Adhvik thanked after taking the gift but then shook his head in dismay. “Now I'll have to gift you something as well. What would you like?”

“Ah, you're finally talking like a dedicated boyfriend.” She tapped her chin. “Hmm... perhaps a fancy bracelet or necklace. You can buy it cheap no problem. Also—”

“Abbey maate, muje ghar jaane de. The bus to the station has arrived.” They were at the Faridabad bus stop.

“But I took a short leave from the office to meet youuu...” Pallavi crossed her palms and swayed herself like a little child, pouting.

Adhvik took one look at her and sighed. Why did she have to be so cute as fuck? “Fine we can talk in the meantime. The bus is due to leave in fifteen minutes anyway. Lets go somewhere else.”

Henceforth they walked away from the crowd of travellers and talked in the meantime.

“You know.... I have a good feeling in my gut about this meeting.”

Her heart sank. “You do?”

“Yeah, like it might get finalised or something...” He glanced up at her. “Look, I met you before leaving. Perhaps it would be different this time. You are my lucky charm after all.”

If that was the case, then she wouldn't have bothered meeting him today.

Eventually they walked off with the future plans about meeting at his house like last time. Although she suggested a Delhi trip next time.

Adhvik waved his hand at her gleefully but then paused to place his hand over the side of his mouth and yelled. “Love you, baby!”

Pallavi felt like she was just exposed semi-naked as she swiveled her head around, a furious blush burning her cheeks. Indeed a few onlookers had noticed his open declaration of love.

“Idiot!” She zeroed her eyes at him while he laughed heartily, dissolving her glare away. She smiled. “Love you too!”

With that Adhvik left with a sappy smile on his face. Pallavi watched the bus bust its engine and left, leaving another trail of memories behind them. She continued to stare at the bright empty space long after the bus was gone. Another bus arrived in its place. The world continued to move.

Her stomach dropped.

Even though she was happy with his lovely gesture, her heart still ached with dread. As if this was the last of something.

As if something was going to end.

“What am I thinking? It can't be true.” She nervously laughed to herself for her atrocious thoughts. Soon she headed towards her office to gear up for the day.

* * * * *

-------End of part 2-------

Dedicated to drunkinsarcasm for her gracious support to this story.

Personal note

A lot happened in these last few weeks. One night my father's BP got worse. When the medicines didn't work, we rushed him to the hospital and got to know that he had a heart attack. On further testing, we got to know that there were blockages in his heart and stunts were needed to be installed to free them. Thankfully, the treatment/ operation was a success and he was discharged after five days. He is now recovering at home and is feeling better.

I didn't write at all during those days. Neither attended office. It was scary and stressful but glad things are fine now. 😊

Onto the chapter, how was it? Their in- house moments. ❤️ Tbh I wish to end this story here only. Seriously, should I end it here or do you want to see this through the end (I already wrote 4 chapters after this though)? Or should I come up with a fictional end. Comment your thoughts.