*** okay before we start let me give you some vocab lessons for easier understanding.

- mandap: the place where the wedding takes place. In the religion I'm writing, there's a small fire pit bang in the middle which is considered to be holy.

- kurta: well, the outfit the men wear. Check my Pinterest.

- the Hindi translations I'll put in the comments on the same line. Check those out. the song will put you in the wedding mood. Enjoy :))

There's a pastel pink tint to the world around me. The decorations look royal, evident that this beautiful scenery has so many people's blood and sweat behind it. Sun rays are shining down on us lightly, the November sun providing us with much-needed warmth. As I look around, something catches my eye, and I turn to the most beautiful mandap decoration I've ever seen. Flowers of all colours and forms adorn the edges, a beautiful mixture of yellows and reds. Turning to my right, I watch Nathan, who's as entranced by this as I am. I can't imagine his awe, being so close to my mom's Indian heritage and having attended numerous such weddings.

Suddenly, he grabs my hand, squeezing it hard. I look at him with surprise but what I see brings a small smile to my face. He's not even paying attention, as if holding my hand is second nature to him. When I continue staring at him, he looks at me and cocks his eyebrow at me. I gesture with my eyes to our hands, and a dawn of realisation settles in.

And if I expected him to pull back immediately, I was proven wrong.

He keeps looking at me, a gentle smile on his face. Intertwining our fingers, he squeezes it once again, before finally releasing it, instead shifting his hand to my lower back. I stifle a gasp, my mind conflicted. I don't know which I like better, his hand in mine or on my naked skin between my blouse and lehenga, sending shivers down my spine.

"Lead the way, Grasshopper," he whispers. I turn to look at him, his forest eyes boring into my caramel ones. I nod, not fully confident about my speaking abilities and start walking. My right hand holds my purse, and I make a split-second decision to remove Nathan's hand from my lower back. He looks defeated for a second, moving away ever so slightly. I quickly pull his arm, bending it at the elbow and loop my left arm between his. Finally understanding what I was trying to do, he laughs and shakes his head, getting closer to me again.

"We'll walk together. No one's leading the way," I say.

His smile grows if that's even possible and pecks my forehead really quickly, the height difference proving to be an advantage to him.

"You really wish to give me diabetes, don't you?" Madhura says as she walks into my sight. Apoorva is walking beside her with her own date. He's a tall blonde, looking extremely out of place. Unlike Maverick and Nathan, he isn't wearing a kurta, instead, settling for a simple formal attire. Apoorva's lehenga is of pale pink colour, the embroider on it so subtle that it shines in the sun. The colour does wonders against her dusky skin tone.

"You don't have it yet?" I question Madhura

Just as Madhura is about to reply, Apoorva butts in and replies on her behalf, "She does! How did you know?"

Madhura lets her head fall, sighing. Maverick's face looks like he's suffocating, keeping his laughter in. He's wearing a purple kurta piece, and I can't help but appreciate the Wright brothers, their charm and confidence making them gel in with the crazy Indians with ease.

"Aliana! Madhura!" we hear someone scream. In a rare show of our sisterly bond, Madhura and I share a mutual look of cringe before plastering fake smiles on our face, leaning on our dates for the support we need to survive the approaching hurricane.

"Seema aunty!" we both say simultaneously making the boys flinch, noticing our tone immediately.

As Seema aunty approaches us, her overload of perfume gets stronger. Once she's right in front of us, we take a second to calm our dizzy heads, with the scent overpowering all our senses. Snatching us both away from our dates, she pulls us into one collective hug. Madhura and I share a look behind her back as she squeezes us to death. Even though most of Madhura's time is spent competing with me for no reason whatsoever, we're still sisters. And we know our family.

Ma, help us.

Pulling back, we smile at her. She smiles back with ten times more enthusiasm and starts her destruction.

"Kitni badi ho gayi ho tum!" she gushes in Hindi.

I resist the urge to roll my eyes and reply, "I mean, it has been a considerable amount of time since you saw me."

She laughs loudly and slaps my arm with such a force that I wince, "Kaisi jubaan chal rahi hai dekho!"

I pretend to laugh, turning to Madhura to signal her to help me. She looks as sorry as she probably feels, which is a lot. Seema aunty immediately turns to her, and now it's my turn to be sorry.

"Madhura! Where have you been?"

Madhura looks nervous, something I haven't seen her be in a long time. She smiles politely and answers, "Law school, aunty."

Seema aunty laughs again and replies, "You ladies are getting too smart for your own good. I meant, why haven't you come to any family functions?" Her eyes turn to Maverick in the back, and I turn my own to him out of pure instinct. Nathan follows, and judging by the confused expression on his face, I deduce that the look on Mav's face is not a common one.

He looks equally nervous.

"Wait, aren't you-" she's cut off by Maverick, stepping ahead and extending his hand to her.

"I'm Maverick Wright. Nice to meet you," he introduces quickly. Seema aunty's face is the epitome of confusion and Nathan takes this as his clue to introduce himself.

"And I'm Nathan Wright."

"Ek second. You two are brothers?" she says, her confusion now being directed towards the fact that our dates are brothers, forgetting whatever she had remembered. Nathan nods, and she doesn't wait any more time to hug our dates in the same way she did to us. The boys look like giants in front of her small chubby frame, an amusing smile making it's way to our faces. But our amusement is short-lived, with her turning back to us.

"So tell me, are any of you two gonna have the next wedding we're gonna have to attend?"

We laugh politely and shake our heads no. She frowns and replies, "Umar ho rahi hai tum dono ki. How will you have kids then?"

Madhura speaks up, obviously used to the conversation going on, "Not anytime soon, we can tell you that."

"Speak for yourself, Mads," Maverick whispers under his breath. I'm the only one who catches it, with him standing right next to me. I look at him to find him smirking at me and gesturing to his younger brother, who's back to observing the decorations.

I roll my eyes and elbow his side, making him bend over slightly. I tune back to Seema aunty and Madhura's conversation. She's asking Madhura about boys. Typical. But what isn't typical is Madhura's behaviour. She looks a lot tenser than before, urging me with her body language to save her.

"So Aunty, how is everyone at home?"

Madhura looks at me, a rare look of appreciation in her eyes. Seema aunty, seemingly happy that I'm asking about her, starts her own rant about her husband and rogue teenage son.

"I'm telling you Aliana. Nothing is going to come out of making a career. You will anyway end up managing the house. You need to start learning household activities."

My head gets hot as her words try to prick me in the wrong way. I notice that Nathan and Maverick also tune in to the conversation now, frowning. Just as I'm about to answer, someone else does.

"And who put that ridiculous idea in your head, Aunty?" my brother, Dhruv steps in the conversation. He sends a wink to all four of us, and we breathe a sigh of relief.

Everyone's saviour is here.

Dhruv is the only cousin who Seema aunty can't break. Being the eldest cousin, at 27, he's happily single, a successful theatre star and an even more successful player among ladies and men alike.

"Dhruv," Seema aunty says to him.

He smiles his signature mocking smile and replies, "Seema Aunty! Now tell me, who has been feeding you with such lies. Aliana is going to be the best actuary, and Madhura is going to be the best lawyer. So stop poking your nose in everyone's business."

Seema aunty seems momentarily stunned before she smiles and walks away, "I'll see if anyone needs anything."

Dhruv turns to us and smirks, "Idiots."

"I was almost about to say something," I say to him. Madhura nods in agreement. Dhruv's eyes turn to the two boys standing next to us, and his smirks get wider.

"Nathan and Maverick Wright, is that right? Hey, that rhymed!" Dhruv says. They both look at him with confusion to which he further elaborates, "Oh come on! You guys are famous today! Everyone is talking about you two."

"Why?" Maverick questions.

"Well, I don't know. Indian aunties gossip. Seema aunty is the head of the gossiping committee. I'm Dhruv Malhotra."

Just as Maverick is about to say something, we hear commotion around the mandap, signalling that the wedding ceremony is about to begin. We walk towards it to see Meera and her groom sitting facing the pit of fire in the middle. The pandit ji is saying the mantras, and we all can't help but be mesmerised by it.

Meera is getting married.

⋈ ⋈ ⋈

We're finally back in our rooms, getting a few hours of rest before the after-party. I can't wait to get out of the dress, quickly rushing into the washroom and changing back to my PJs. We have a full afternoon to sleep, and I'm not gonna waste it.

"Damn, you were quick," Nathan comments as I walk out at lightning speed.

"I'm tired," I whine. I notice that he has also changed back to his normal clothes and doesn't look tired at all. He amusedly looks at me, and I roll my eyes.

"Get out of the way. I'm gonna sleep," I say, pushing him out of the way. He watches me plop down on the bed face down and curl up into a fetal position. I hear him chuckle before a minute of silence.

And then I feel the other side of the bed dip.

My eyes open on their own accord and I find myself staring at Nathan's face.

"What are you doing?" I ask.

He just shrugs and deadpannes, "Sleeping."

I roll my eyes at him, and he takes this chance to continue, "So you wanna be an actuary?"

"Yep," I nod.

He smiles and continues, "Have you always wanted to be a math major?"

"I've always loved math. It came as a surprise to my parents initially when I used to solve advanced math problems in minutes. Math comes naturally to me," a nostalgic smile takes over me. Turning to look at him yet again, I ask him, "What do you wanna do? Continue football?"

He shakes his head no, "Not really. Football is a hobby for me. But I've never really seen myself pursuing it full time. I wanna work at Google. Preferably in security. I have plans to move to New York after college."

"You have it all planned, don't you?" I reply.

He smiles, "I like to plan stuff. When I'm responsible, I stress less. Why worry about the future when you can work hard towards it from the very beginning?"

I nod, and he smirks, "Besides, there are great job opportunities for Actuaries in New York."

A small laugh escapes me, and I shake my head, "You really do like to be planned."

"What can I say, I think about the things important to me."

His stare is intense as he says this. My breath hitches and I turn on my back to look up at the ceiling.

"So, couch then?"

He places his elbow on the bed and props himself upon his hand, "Do you not trust yourself around me, Grasshopper?"

I scoff and lie, knowing bloody well that I'm a minute away from kissing the shit out of him, "Fine. I don't mind. Sleep here."

He smirks wider and asks one simple question, "Ali, Can I stay here?"

And then I realise what he's trying to do. I keep my eyes fixed to the ceiling above me, taking a deep breath and finally, answering truthfully, "Yes."

"That's the wrong answer babe. You were supposed to say no."

My heart is beating so loudly in my rib cage that I can hear my own heartbeat in my ear, "Didn't you teach me to say yes only if my heart says so?"

In a swift movement, he's hovering on top of me, his hands beside my head, caging me in. The same dark green eyes from the morning are back, but now instead of a storm, all I see is admiration and impatience. Leaning in slightly, he whispers painfully slowly, "What is your heart saying now?"

"It's saying yes," I reply, breathlessly. He looks at me for a second longer before finally lowering himself down, so much so that our lips are almost touching. I wait for him to close the gap, but all he does is ask for my permission non verbally. I let out a breath, and raise my head, smashing my lips to his.

And it's the best fucking decision I've taken in a long time.

The kiss is slow at first, Nathan taking his sweet time exploring my lips. I do the same, revelling in the tingly sensation running down my body. His lips are a bit rough, chapped due to the chill in the air. They don't feel like feathers, no. They feel much more real. Our lips don't immediately fit perfectly, they don't fit like the perfect pieces of a puzzle. But they fit like they belong to be together, stumbling around for a minute before finally discovering the perfect angle for both of us. It's trial and error. We're a little imperfect, but who wants to be perfect?

I don't immediately push my hands up his hair, instead, I take the slow route to get there, starting from his biceps to his toned back, playing with the hair at the nape of his neck. I'm rewarded by the sexiest moan I've ever heard from a man, provided that I've only kissed two boys before finding him. I finally weave my hands through his hair, moaning at the sensation of his soft brown hair between my fingers.

I lightly bite his lower lip, and he groans, pushing his body so close to mine that there's no space between us. His tongue seeks entrance at my mouth, and I gladly grant him, our tongues mingling and fighting for dominance between us. I don't know for how long we kiss, but when we pull apart, we're both breathless, panting due to lack of air. Looking at his swollen lips and his hooded eyes, I pull him down once again, our lips meeting yet again.

Oxygen can wait.

⋈ ⋈ ⋈

AHHH I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED. OMG. IM ALSO FANGIRLING. Anywayyy, how's everyone doing? How are your weeks going? It's exam season and it's kicking my ass. What do y'all think about this chapter? They finally FINALLY kissed. What do y'all think is going to happen after this? Give me your feedback.

Question of the week then?

Q. If you could listen to only one music artist for the rest of your life, who will you choose?

Thank you so much for your support. You all own my heart. Really. Thank you. I'll talk to you later! Ciao!

Love,

Anya <3