The music in the house was deafening, punctuated by children's screams and elders' yelling. Those who were not in charge of any of the work were dancing to the beats with abandon. The young girls were giggling their way in the house, dressed in vivid colours.
Everyone was taken with one thing or another, forgetting even to take care of the most important person of the house. The said person was on the terrace, away from the chaos of the house and its inmates. The light breeze of the evening brought to her the aromas of the kitchen blended with the smell of the flowers in the garden.
She ran a hand through her long tresses, getting rid of the band imprisoning them, to let the breeze pass through them.
"Preeta!" The call from her mother made her come out of her reverie, and she rushed downstairs, not wishing to make her mother wait.
As she went down the stairs and into the corridor linking the terrace to the rest of the house, a hand came out of nowhere to catch her arm and swiftly pull her into the store room. A gasp left her lips as she collided with a hard chest, before being pushed into the wall. She braced herself for the pain she would feel when her head would hit the wall, but all she felt was something soft placed between the wall and her head.
The sudden rush of adrenaline in her blood while being pulled into the store room left her panting, her chest heaving as she gulped some air into her lungs. The hard chest was back against herself, this time pressed to her front in urgency. She raised her head and looked at the person in front of her.
"What are you doing?"
"I am looking at you." A warmth spread in her body and she felt her cheeks burn with a blush.
"Let me go! My mother is waiting for me."
"She can wait. First let me have my fill of you." The way he said it, made goose bumps erupt on her skin. "Biji said that I can't see you before the wedding, let me make memories to have the patience to wait for you for two days more."
"Are two days too long for you?", she asked incredulous.
"Of course! How can you expect me to stay away from you? Away from your beautiful eyes that urge me to get drown in them. Away from this little nose of yours that turn red when you are angry. Away from those cheeks that wear my favourite colour whenever I come near you."
He punctuated each word with a caress of his fingers on the said part, making her breath come short and her heart to flutter somewhere between her throat and her stomach.
"And most importantly, away from those lips that keep inviting me." His voice dropped a notch, turning husky as his hot breath fell on the said lips.
"I have to go", she said breathlessly, making both their breaths mingle together. He detached himself from her and gestured the door.
"Go."
The heart that was beating erratically stopped and she widened her eyes at him. "You wanted to go, so..." He took few more steps away from her and stood there, watching her.
She took tentative steps towards the door, hoping for him to stop her. But to her dismay, she heard no movement behind her. Each step she took away from him made her breath come short and her heart to lunge in his direction. Not being able to go further, she swiftly turned around and lunged forward, straight in his arms. He wasn't expecting the sudden movement and stumbled to steady them both.
She was mumbling something against his chest and he brought his head closer to hear what she was saying.
"I can't! I can't go away from you. Don't ask me to go away from you!"
