"Where are
you taking me, Virat? And, I've been wearing this sleep mask for
hours!" said Diya, exasperated.
It was a late winter night
and they were in a private, chauffeur-driven, black Mercedes which was taking them
to a destination that was a surprise for her.
"The flight
was of forty minutes and we've been in this car for only ten minutes.
Clearly, not even one hour has passed! You exaggerate a lot, Diya."
Virat rolled his eyes, laughing.
She punched
whatever part of his body she could blindly reach.
"And, I can barely
hear what you're saying. Also, why am I wearing these earphones,
again?" she fretted, trying to remove them.
"Oh, don't be
ridiculous. You need to listen to some soothing music, Miss Psycho."
he joked, pulling away her hands from the earphones. "Just trust
me." he kissed her forehead.
It was almost
midnight when Diya and Virat reached a tastefully decorated apartment
after an actual hour.
"It's getting
on my nerves now, Virat. This isn't funny." she said, unaware of
where they were and why.
"It isn't
supposed to be funny, love." he whispered softly.
He made her sit on
a beige couch in the bedroom and opened the french window leading to a huge balcony.
"Can I stop
this music, please? My head will start aching. Don't complain then
and I won't let you fuss over me." she pouted, her arms across
her chest.
"Don't open
your eyes." she felt his warm breath on her right ear and a
shudder ran down her spine.
She let out a huge
breath of relief when he gently slipped off the sleep mask, making
him laugh.
"If you
cheat-" he began.
"I won't!"
she cried before he could get all the words out of his mouth.
"Good."
she felt his fingers linger on her neck before removing the
earphones.
"Really?"
she questioned, miffed, when he placed his hands firmly on her ears,
shutting out only infinitesimally less 'natural music' than the
earphones.
"Yeah."
he said and she could see his sexy half-smile in her mind which was
exactly his expression at that moment.
She just
harrumphed in reply.
"Come."
he guided her, carefully, still covering her ears.
"See, and
hear." he said in his husky voice as he removed his hands from
her ears and placed them gently around her waist.
She opened her
eyes quickly and looked around.
They were standing
in the balcony, dimly and beautifully lit by little aromatic votive
candles, their flames dancing in the cold wind that was blowing.
He held out his
hand, wordlessly and they quietly walked further towards the centre,
beneath the velvety black sky. It was drizzling making her body
tingle. Her just-back-to-work eyes hadn't noticed the rain before.
"Virat-"
she began.
"Happy
birthday, beautiful." he smiled his heart-melting smile.
Cupping her face
in his warm, wet hands, he kissed her.
Even as they stood
there, kissing, clouds thundered loudly and it started raining
heavily.
Diya clung to
Virat, her arms knot tightly in his hair; his arms snaked around her
waist, pulling her as close to himself as possible.
She was reminded
of a conversation with Virat that had taken place a couple of months
ago. He had been out of town on the only day that it had rained there
in the last two months and she had expressed her wish,
"I've
heard so much about kisses in the rain. I wish I could kiss you in
the pouring rain. I want to be kissed in the pouring rain..." she had
said, disappointment and longing coloring her tone.
Virat could feel her smile as they kissed.
"You brought me to another city just for this?" she spoke,
inches away from his glorious face, her eyes shining with tears of
joy.
"It took a lot of planning," he laughed, "I've
been following the weather forecasts of everywhere so damn minutely.
And, then there's always the risk involved of the forecast being
wrong. I am glad it did not happen this time, else, I would've looked
like an idiot."
"What if it hadn't rained?" she asked playfully, still in
his arms, both of them still getting drenched.
"I'd have kissed you anyway and hoped for the best." he
grinned.
"This is the
best." she stated, her head against his chest.
"Yes, I
could've asked for no better day than your birthday." he smiled,
rubbing her back.
"I love you."
she whispered, gazing into his brilliant dark eyes.
"I'll always
be there to fulfil all your wishes." he said simply, kissing the
top of her head.
"And, when I
have no more wishes?" she pouted.
"Silly, you
always have more and more
wishes." he chuckled.
"Can't
you just play along?" she gave him a look that was akin to a
child's whom someone refuses to humor.
"You're
cute." he said, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear.
"Nevertheless,"
he began when she tried to push him away, pouting for not being
answered, "I love you and I will always be
there for you, I will always be
there with you." he pulled her close, again.
She beamed and mussing his wet hair, kissed him lovingly.
