Becoming Sweethearts [✓]

Part Thirty Two

Omkara watched as a teary-eyed Gauri said goodbye to her Mamma-Papa late in the evening. The ceremonies and rituals for the day were done. So, after an early dinner, Gauri and Omkara spent time in Daadi's room, listening to her talk endlessly as she reminisced the day, she had got married to his grandfather - Pruthviraj Singh Oberoi. Despite constant reminders to get rest, from both Omkara and Gauri, Kalyani Singh Oberoi kept chatting away nonstop until Janhvi came to the room and strictly told her to go to sleep.

"Mummy ji, aaj Omkara aur Gauri ki suhaaagraat hai!" Janhvi had to remind her, making it slightly awkward for the couple, as she continued, "Ab kya poori raat aapki baatein sunte rahenge dono, ya dono phir ek doosre ke saath bhi waqt bitayenge?" Daadi had giggled slyly and then sent the two away to their room, saying that she was suddenly feeling sleepy.

The two of them heard Janhvi saying goodnight to them, not before reminding them they had to wake up early. "Of course, I understand if you cannot wake up early. I'll leave the saree and the jewellery outside your bedroom" she said with a teasing smile. Omkara and Gauri, both, wished the earth would open up and swallow them. Until now, they hadn't been awkward at all at the mention of suhaagraat. Now, when the whole family was taking turns to give them sly grins and mischievous winks, awkwardness soared above the skies.

Omkara showed Gauri the way upstairs to their room. As expected, the entire pathway to their room had been decorated with rose petals. "Oh, for fuck's sake!" Omkara muttered as he opened the door and found Rudra showering a handful of rose petals on the bed. "O, Bhabhi, welcome to your suhaagraat suite. Please enjoy yourselves!" he said with a smile, showering a handful of petals on them, after which he whispered in Omkara's ears, "But don't be too loud, because my ears don't need to listen to any of your adult content!" Omkara lightly slapped Rudra's cheek, at which he pouted looking at Gauri, who smirked at him as if he had deserved that slap.

Behind them, at the threshold, Shivaay stood, and next to him was Annika with a glass of badam milk. "Gauri, yeh..." Annika, with a polite smile, started as she handed over the glass to Gauri, who awkwardly smiled at her. "Om," Shivaay called out, asking him to come over to the side. When Rudra followed, Shivaay shook his head asking him to leave, saying, "This is between us elders. Tu jaa, aur cartoon network dekh." Rudra frowned, and with his hands tied at his chest, he went out murmuring, "Itna bhi chota bachcha nahi hoon ke cartoon network dekhoon!"

While Annika was helping Gauri sit on the bed decked with flowers, Shivaay mumbled in Om's ears, "I know how awkward you two feel right now. It's okay, our family can be a little too much at times with their not-so-subtle teases and comments!" Omkara relaxed, mentally thanking at least someone was sensible in this house. Everyone knew that he and Gauri shared a plain friendly rapport, yet everyone was teasing and winking at them as if they were going to do the deed tonight. Could it be any more embarrassing, Omkara thought to himself in Chandler Bing's voice. Apparently, the answer to it was yes. Because Shivaay pulled out a tiny packet from his pocket and handing it over to Omkara slowly, he said, "But, you need to be prepared, in case anything happens. You can't run around when ... you know... It would ruin the mood!"

"Fuck you! Just get out Shivaay!" Omkara said out loud, causing both the women to look at him. While Annika suppressed a giggle at how Shivaay turned red, Gauri was still clueless. "And take this with you!" Omkara said to him, handing him the pack of condoms back. Turning around with a frown, Omkara nodded at Annika, trying to be as polite as possible, as if waiting for her to move out of the room. When they walked out, he shut the door with a loud thud, it almost felt as if the walls of the mansion vibrated for a moment.

"They just came to say goodnight!" Gauri said in an appeasing tone, now getting up from the bed, wanting to move all the flower petals off the sheet. "Yes, he came to say goodnight with condoms in his hand!" Gauri's eyes turned wide as she turned pink and muttered an 'Oh!" "My whole family is mad!" Omkara reiterated the fact for the hundredth time, making her chuckle. Walking opposite to where she was standing, he looked at the flower petals decorated in the shape of a large heart, below which the letters O and G were formed.