Ishqiya - Chapter 12: Chapter 12

• Sadhana's'S POV •
I gazed at my reflection in the mirror. Wearing a white Bengali saree with a red border, minimum jhumkas, eyes lined with Kohl, tinted chapstick and hair in a loose updo, I quite look beautiful not exaggeratedly but minimally beautiful. Today was the ninth day of Durga Puja and time for the sindhur khela.
The handsome guy is going to have a tough time keeping his hands off himself.
Our last kiss flashed in front of my eyes and I felt butterflies in the bit of my stomach. Our confession then that kiss. Uff I feel hot suddenly.
It was a week since we were dating, and life couldn't be more blissful for me. Everything around felt euphoric and just like a utopia to be true. But he made sure to make me believe that everything happening around me was true.
In this past week, we did a lot of things together like a couple would do. We held hands, walked together in the evening strolling around the park, went on small dates, and had fair shares of eye contact and kisses here and there. Those random hugs and cuddles were the best. And I got to know that the handsome guy was a huge cuddle baby in disguise. He would want cuddles and hugs whenever we were together. Not that I mind.
I giggled to myself with the thought and marched towards the exit when Baba's voice stopped me dead on the track. I quickly squared my shoulders and turned towards him, he sat in his wheelchair while looking at me with his squinting gaze.
"Kaha Jaa rhi ho itna heroine bankar?", he questioned trying to intimidate me
"Kya baba? Abhi toh pareshan mat kijiye na", I whined and walked towards him to which he just chuckled and caressed my hairs
"Meri bacchi kitni badi ho gyi, abhi shaadi ki Umar ho gyi hai aur kuch pata hi nhi chala. Sometimes I feel sorry and hopeless looking at the condition of my family. for all the times I wasn't there for you all hope you forgive me my daughter", he said turning a bit emotional
"Aisa mat kahiye Baba, you don't need to be sorry. If anything you have been our mental support through the tough time", I sniffed trying to keep my tears at bay and hugged him
He reciprocated the hug and caressed my head. We broke the hug and he wiped my tears flicking my nose and making me giggle.
"Chaliye abhi niche chalte hai warna Maa hamare kaan chaba jayegi", I said and both of us laughed.
Dragging him wheelchair, we moved towards the colony lawn where everyone was present. I left Baba to mingle with the other men. They acknowledged his presence and then quickly got back into their conversations, Baba getting along with them.
It's funny how life has dramatically changed. Baba was improving, his condition was far better, Anirudh had consulted one of his friends who recommended us to a nice doctor and since then Baba has been doing fine. Maa had stopped doing odd jobs and rather started her own pickle and papad business, it was just a startup but still growing.
For me, I was still teaching dance while taking tuition classes alongside. Our financial condition was far better than it was in the past. We were finally happy as a family, maybe things were finally falling back into place.
But the whole credit goes to Anirudh. He has been the sole supporter and motivator of ours. If not for him we'd still be grieving. His startup ideas were selected by the investors and his happiness knew no bounds.
I remembered how happy he was a day back when he had signed the deal. We went on a date and spent the whole day together celebrating his first step to success.
But the biggest part was we hadn't told our parents about us till now. Which scared me. Their reaction and approval were still left.
Suddenly I was pulled by my elbow and pinned to the wall. My heart thumped with adrenaline rush and my chest heaved up and down.
I lifted my lashes only to get lost in the pools of honey. He had caged me between him and the wall, towering over me.
Anirudh dressed in a white kurta with the first two buttons undone, messy hair and a little stubble, looking devilishly handsome. He stared at me with those lover's eyes making me shy and a blushing mess.
"Don't look at me with those eyes", I said and kept my palm on his chest as I could hear his heart beating
"What eyes?", he questioned back, his voice a mere whisper as he leaned forward
"Like I am the one whom you look for in the crowded room like it's me where your heart belongs ", I said, it was partially the truth.
Since our confession, he had left no stone unturned to make me feel special and loved. I always had second thoughts about love and relationships since my parents were always my first priority but he made sure to clear all my doubts. He didn't judge me for all my insecurities or overthinking but rather was calm around me making me understand each and everything. Making me fall deeply for him.
"Have I told you how beautiful you looked today?", he asked raising his perfectly sculptured eyebrow and gracing my cheek with his fingertips
"Uh-huh", I whispered and I closed my lashes as the proximity was affecting me.
He left my cheek making me force my lashes open. He removed a small packet from his kurta pocket.
"Don't worry it's gulaal", he answered understanding my doubts
"Asli sindoor ko abhi der hai per jald hi uski bhi Kami Puri kar dunga", he admitted his velvety voice a thick whisper making me gulp my suddenly dried throat
He opened the packet with his teeth and took some amount of gulaal into his palm, bringing it near my face.
He gently caressed my cheek smudging the gulaal. A throaty breath escaped my throat as I turned my head sideways, my eyes turning closed. His intense gaze left me whimpering under his hold and the tension thick between us.
I felt my sanity hanging on a thick line and my breathing hitched when his fingers traced my exposed neck. He was surely enjoying at my expense as I saw him smirk with my half-open eyes.
"Anirudh...", a breathy moan escaped my throat as his hand travelled from my shoulder following the length of my hand and disappearing near the exposed portion of my waist. My eyebrows creased with the sensual tension between us. It was so intense and agonizing. My chest heaved up and down rapidly as my brain seemed to freeze with all the sensations.
I felt my stomach flip when his thumb grazed a circle around my navel as the air left my lungs leaving me all breathless.
Suddenly his grip tightened around me and I felt his hot breath hovering over my face. I opened my eyes and saw him close, too close to me. He leaned forward and caressed his cheek with my coloured cheek, applying the gulaal on his cheek.
The whole thing was so hot and unbearable as I felt my lashes closed yet again and my mouth parted open. My whole body felt immobile at his mercy as I lost control over it with those overflowing emotions. He had coloured me and himself with the colour of our love and now there was no going back.
His eyes darkened and his Adam's apple bobbed. Our eyes had intense eye contact none deciding to step back, the unbearable emotions so hard to handle.
"I can't even look at you without wanting to kiss you", he admitted and rested his forehead on mine
• Anirudh's POV •
"Then do it, kiss me", she said and I wasted no time in taking her lips in mine. Her gulaal-coloured lips tainted me with want and desire.
She tasted of strawberries and now it was my personal favourite. The kiss was ferocious. With so much intensity and emotions. Her fingers were lost in my hair as she tugged on my nape making me go more wild.
My hands found her hips, and I lightly pulled her closer tugging on her bottom lip as she sucked on my upper lip. No words were exchanged between us as we were too overpowered by desires.
I tightened my grip on her hips and jerked her body slightly forward. She tapped on my shoulder probably fighting for breath. I broke apart as we both panted for oxygen. She lifted her eyes back to mine, and I watched her throat work as she swallowed.
Her chest rose upwards cast her eyes downwards, and looked in between our bodies biting her already swollen lower lip. I didn't have to follow her eyes to see that my hard-on was noticeable.
Her hooded eyes, swollen lips, and dishevelled hair looked so damn hot and irresistible that I found myself attacking her lips again kissing her to my heart's content.
She had no idea what she was getting herself into. Because it took everything in me not to rip her clothes apart and take her right then and there.
After some time I broke from the kiss and softly pecked her lips resting our foreheads against each other.
"I wanna be everything", I said, my mouth against her ear as she lifted her lashes looking at me in the eyes
"I want to be the reason you light up. I wanna make you laugh, make you moan, make you safe", I kept stroking her hair as she looked at me with those emotion-filled eyes
"I want to be the thought that lulls you to sleep. The memory that gets you off. I wanna be where all your paths end,", He slowly nipped her earlobe and found her breathing quickening a little
"I wanna do everything you do to me", I confessed and she stared confusingly at me
"I talked to my family about you, they seem to like you already. They are excited to meet you. I know you might be confused now and might even freak out but let me be honest with you I love you a lot. I can't live without you Sadhana, I want to marry you"