What grabs my attention the most, though, is a book laying on the nightstand on the side of the bed, it has a drawing of a little boy dressed in loose green old-style pants, shirts, and a scarf. The boy stands on something that looks like an asteroid, I think.
Out of curiosity, I pick it up while I wait for Raag to step out of the shower. The Little Prince. Though the book looks in good condition, it seems thoroughly used. Opening it, I start the first chapter and find myself intrigued by the way it is written.
“It’s a good book,” Raag whispers from behind, and I jump up, fumbling the book in my hands. I steady the book as soon as possible and say, “Sorry.”
He comes running toward me in an attempt to help. “No, I am sorry! I didn’t mean to scare you.” Raag supports me by my sides. As I look up at him, I get a brain freeze for a second—he is only wearing knee-length black cargo shorts and has wrapped a white towel around his neck. His hair is still wet, and he looks gorgeous, right out of a high-profile photoshoot.
“No, that’s okay! I think I was into the book,” I stutter.
“I bet you were!” Raag says, releasing me. Turning back, he walks across the room for the cabinets. The act is somewhat merciful since it is hard to avoid staring at his bare back.
“It’s a children’s book. But I like it. I always keep it with me,” he says, casually pulling out a gray T-shirt and throwing it on the bed. “My father gave me this book a long time ago.” Raag starts drying his wet hair with the towel that circled his neck.
“Oh, I see.” I try to sound nonchalant though my stomach is twirling with agitated butterflies. “What is it about?”
“Hard to say…” Raag says, and I am puzzled. “What? Well, it’s not just about one thing. You have to read it to find out.”
“Can I borrow it?”
“Of course.”
“Thanks,” I say while putting it back onto the table, though my eyes are still fixed on his perfectly carved back. “Did you happen to brush my cheek in front of your maa?” I ask to be sure and hop on the bed.
Raag looks at me with a simple smile. “I think I did,” he says, feigning innocence.
“You know Auntie went to the temple!” I say just as he picks up his MacBook and sits on the bed opposite to me, resting his laptop on his lap.
“Since when did she start going to temple at noon? Isn’t it a sleep time for God?” he asks, and I am too distracted by his looks to focus on his clever remark.
In a brave move, I cross the bed and circle my hands around his bare back, caressing his chest from behind, and I think I take him by surprise. “I guess Maa was trying to give us some privacy,” I whisper in his ear.
Raag holds my hands with his. “Are you planning to take advantage of me?”
“No, just a little revenge…”
“Revenge!” he exclaims, and I am rewarded with those chuckles.
I contemplate my chances. We won’t have very many opportunities like this in the future. We are both adults, in a relationship, getting engaged soon. We love and trust each other.
What’s wrong in a little intimacy? So, what if what I have in mind is not considered conventional before marriage here? I am a twenty-first-century girl. I should take the lead. Softly, I brush my lips over his cheek and give him a kiss rather too fervent. Raag looks at me thoughtfully through the mirror over the cabinetry, and for a second, I think I am getting what I want.
Or, maybe not!
Raag takes a deep breath and, looking at the living room door through the mirror, exclaims, “Oh, Satish Sir!”
I spring off him at once, and in an attempt to step away from him, I get caught by the bedsheet and fall on my back on the bed.
As I fall, I hear him laughing out loud, and realize that there is no one there. Of course, I locked the main door from inside. Quickly grasping what happened, I cover my face with my palms in a sheer embarrassment and can’t help but laugh. Whatever happened to that twenty-first-century girl? I am mortified by the sheer embarrassment.
Then Raag gets up and grabs his T-shirt off the bed, and to my dismay, pulls it over him.
“That is so unromantic!” I complain as I manage to get up off the bed. As I try to brush past him before I can go any farther, he tugs at my hand and pulls me closer to him in his arms, and now his hands circle my waist as I look up at his spellbinding face.
“Would this be romantic?” Raag asks.
“Very…” I say it in a voice that is so not me. I guess my desires are speaking. And in no time our lips are locked into a passionate, romantic kiss. I move my hands up his back and down.
“I think we need to stop here,” Raag says, finishing the kiss a bit faster than I expected.
“Why so?”
“Well, I should not let you take complete advantage of me.” As he says this, I smirk at him.
Then the doorbell interrupts our possibilities. I think I will have to be satisfied with just a kiss for now.
“All right, love! Let’s check on the afternoon temple-goers.”
As I open the door, Auntie Preeto comes in holding two bags. Raag is quick at taking them from her hands and transporting them to the kitchen.
“What took you so long?” she says. “I have been holding these bags for a long time now!”
“Yeah, which god was still awake at this hour?” Raag asks.
“God is always awake…you need to have a little faith in your heart, puttar! It is better than not going at all.”
“Maa…” Raag is now having a secret conversation with his mother.
“I think God resides in everyone’s heart. If one doesn’t like to pay a visit to the temple to talk to God, one could simply rest a hand on the heart and talk.” I look at Raag as I say, “I’m sure God would listen.”
“I sense that you two are already teaming up against me.” Raag raises one eyebrow. “A wise man should stay quiet.” He nods his head and disappears behind the kitchen door.
The rest of the evening passes in happy chatters of two families bonding in a much more civil manner than I expected due to my father’s earlier missile strikes on Raag.
For once, I saw my father utterly impressed by somebody’s cooking skills. He even asked my mother to get some recipes from Raag. My mother goes gaga over this disclosure, as my cooking abilities were her biggest concerns. My sister, on the other hand, thoroughly enjoyed a well-cooked meal.
*
The days following Raag’s mind-blowing entry pass smoothly, and beautifully. It’s a mighty fine beginning of the monsoon and an era of our love.
We have developed our own daily routine. Raag arrives at 9:00 in the morning and takes me to restaurants, movie theaters, and events I have never heard of. I see the colorful city Ahmedabad more than I have seen in my entire life. At times, I doubt if I was living in this same city. I never understood the world of lovers who didn’t care about the cynical world. But now I do.
The days are magical. We also don’t miss a chance to stay together at night. Raag usually comes back through the balcony around 11:00 to take me with him.
Sometimes we sneak out, and sometimes we stay out in the gallery to enjoy stargazing. I have already introduced Raag to my celestial best friends, the saptarishi—all seven stars of the Big Dipper.