Loving You

Chapter 34 - Akshara - Airplanes

Three Weeks Later

"Park here!" I exclaimed pointing to a safe spot near a fenced field.

"Here?" Abhimanyu asked me, questionably.

"Yes! Here!" I reiterated, sounding a bit bossy.

"Okay, whatever you say, Ms. Akshara Goenka." He muttered sarcastically, earning an elbow to his stomach.

Just as he finished parking, a loud sound was heard just as they focused their eyes on a plane taking off the fenced runway ahead of them and flying above their heads.

"Akshara, where are we?" Abhimanyu asked, as another plane took off right in front of them.

"This is my feel good place. Whenever I feel sad or upset or just need a place to think, a place of quiet, I come here. It just provides me with a sense of calm, peace. I love planes and airports even more so. So watching planes take off from JFK just brightens my day."

I knew I had the excitement and enthusiasm of a 6 year old child in a candy store but that's exactly how I felt.

Especially now when I could share my happiness with Abhimanyu —the man I loved.

The last three weeks had been an absolute bliss for the two of us. We spent a majority of our time together, traveling to the hospital together and then coming home at the end of the day —together.

Unless there was that one odd day when our s schedules conflicted and or times when Abhimanyu was held back due to emergencies.

Funnily enough, you also didn't have to hear an earful from your boss on time management if he, himself was late with you too.

We hadn't heard from Vikram since the day he'd been fired. Not a peep. After he had gotten the official letter of termination from HR, he just packed up his belongings and left.

I think he didn't think his moves would backfire on him. I guess the shock of witnessing his foolproof plan break and turn into dust would be shocking for anyone.

"Akshara, come." I turned to see Abhimanyu holding the passenger side door open for me.

I stepped out of car and noticed a burnt orange coloured blanket laying on the roof of the car.

"Abhi...what..." I let out a yelp as Abhimanyu picked me up from the behind and raised me on the eye level of the roof.

"Abhi!" I exclaimed, adrenaline rushing through my veins.

"Get a grip on the side of the car and I'll push you up." He explained.

"No! I'll fall!"

"No you won't! I won't let you fall!"

"Abhi!"

"Akshu! Just grip the side of the car!"

I shook my head. "No!"

"Trust me. I won't let you fall." Our eyes interlocked.

"Just grip the side of the car. Trust me." He ushered again.

I nodded my head. "Okay."

Terrified yet excited, I did exactly that. I let Abhimanyu propel me to the roof of the car. I waited as he jumped on the bonnet of the car before coming up to sit behind me, and wrapping me in his embrace.

His hands slowly moved down to the hem of my shirt before pushing it aside and resting on my bare stomach. He pulled me closer to him, nuzzling his face against the side of my head.

Lately I've noticed that Abhimanyu needs to get his hands on a bare part of me, be it my stomach or my back. He can't seem to refrain himself from touching me. 

But I'm not complaining because I seemed to have developed a similar need for him too. To hold him. Or be held by him.

"I just thought we'd get a better view of the planes from here. And some fresh air too." He said, kissing me on the side of the head.

How?

How do I stop myself from falling for this man every single day?

I pushed away from Abhimanyu's body and wrapped my fingers around his neck before gently crushing my lips to his. The kids deepened as I confined suckling on the bottom lip of his as our tongues danced with each other leaving both of us hungry for each other.

We both broke apart from the kiss, breathless and gasping for air.

"I love you." I whispered, caressing his face, gently.

"I love you too." He replied just a plane flew over our heads.

And in that moment, everything was perfect.

~*~

"Abhi, can I ask you something?"

"Hmm." He mumbled drowsily, stopping us both from swaying to the sound of the silent music.

I hesitated. We had never talked about this before. And I didn't even know how to bring the topic up.

I took a deep breath.

Here goes nothing.

"Do you like kids?" I asked, turning around in his embrace to search his eyes for answers.

"I love kids." He replied, focusing his attention ok another plane that was taking off from the runway.

"Do you want kids of you own?" I asked, carefully.

Abhimanyu turned all his attention towards me, furrowing his brows. His grip on my stomach tightened.

"Akshara...are you...?" He was overcome with emotion, trying to find the right words to speak.

I shook my head in denial. "No! No I'm not! But just for the future —our future. How many kids do you want us to have?"

"As many as you would like to give me, baby. But ideally, two, maybe three."

"Same. I want as many children as you do." I whispered back, pressing my lips to his for another passionate yet soft and subtle kiss.

I turned around and leaned by back against his chest again, focusing on the runway.

"Ever since my parents passed away, all I wanted was a big family. You know, so that I don't feel so alone, so that I have people that I can call my own."

I covered his hand resting on my stomach with my own, gently caressing it reassuringly.

"At first, I was afraid of becoming a father. Because what if I faced the same fate as my parents? I couldn't imagine leaving my children alone in the world to face same hardships I did."

"Abhi...," I tried to scold him for even thinking so negatively but failed.

Because somewhere deep down, because he has grown up from such a rough childhood, and that too, jumping from foster care to foster care, I knew all his fears were valid.

"But not anymore. You changed me Akshara. You make me feel alive. You make me want to take risks. You make me want to believe that it's possible for me to achieve all my dreams —of having a family, a little girl, a baby boy —all of them. And I want all of that, a dog even —with you." He confessed, just as I felt tears rolling down my cheeks.

"Oh Abhi! Me too! Me too!" I twisted in his embrace and wrapped my tiny palms around his neck.

"And one day, we will have it all. You, me, our kids, our dogs —everything!"

"Yes!" I whispered, muffling my giggles into his chest.

"Yes!" He whispered back, cupping my face with his hands and planting a giant breathtaking kiss on my lips, mingling the saltiness of my tears with the gentle sweetness of his lips.

"Let's go home?" I mumbled against his lips as I felt the heat suddenly rising in my body.

"Yes. I need you." He whispered back, biting the lower corner of my lip playfully.

"I need you too." I answered back. Both of us wanted to rip each others clothes from our bodies but neither of us made the move to break free from the kiss.

Love.

It felt good.