Dark Secrets

3

'Hey readers ! Sorry for the late update ...got engaged in some work...so here is the new update hope you enjoy the chapter ...and do prefer to the song added above ..enjoy !😊'

'Fuck,fuck,fuck!' Shreshtha hollered at the mirror. Her long-suffering bestie,Sanam ,sath on the bed smiling wearily. It had taken two whole hours for Shreshtha to approve the dress,the make up and hairstyle for her date tonight. And just when Sanam was heaving a sigh of relief, Shreshtha decided that she looked terrible.

'Even this looks terrible.'
'Why ate you being such a drama queen?' Sanam asked.
'You look perfect'

Shreshtha picked up her diary from the study table and brought it to Sanam ,opening it to a page.
'Just read that highlighted portion ',Shreshtha said sitting beside Sanam.
Sanam complied,'today,he told me something that made me love him even more,if that's all possible. He said he was attracted to the substance that makes me,much more than the skin that covers me!'
Shreshtha explained,'so you see I don't need to impress him with my outward appearance. I know how much he cares for me.'
'I'm so jealous of you ,' sighed Sanam. 'My guy never reads any of my signals ,so I have to ask him outright. But that's fine because i don't think he'd the ONE,'Sanam lamented.
'But i'm sure he is the one for me,which is why I dont want to fall short on anything.'
  After a pause,Sanam asked,'Hang on,are you guys going to do it tonight? Then i would suggest you wear a dress.... Easy to slip off the essentials,you know. It was a real struggle with Varun last time . I was wearing skinny jeans ,and they were difficult to take off. By the time i did, he had lost his erection.'
'I m not sure whether we'll do anything of the sort.'launched Shreshtha .
'Why not?'
Shreshtha murmured something noncommittal,but Sanam wouldn't let up.' When was the last time you guys did something? Even if not all the way.....a kiss perhaps?'
'I dont remember. But it did happen.'
'You dont remember, but it happen? That same old shit?'
'Yes,the same shit. I made a note of it in my diary,but just don't remember it happening.' Shreshtha picked up the diary and flipped a few pages to indicate a particular entry.

Dear diary,
Finally, after waiting for so many months,he was here today. And we kissed,I loved the way he chewed on my lower lip and caressed my tongue with his. Slowly, gently,sensually. The feel of the stubble on his cheeks,his breath soft on my face....damn,why didn't time just congeal  into a freeze frame then and there?

'I'd rather die than forget such a sensual encounter,'said Sanam before she realised that she shouldn't have said it. 'I m sorry',she went on hurriedly, striving desperately for damage control ,' I know you ll get better.'
Shreshtha sensed a barrage of negative thoughts determinedly  and stood up.
'Forget it', Shreshtha went to the large full -length mirror and pirouetted.' Alright, one final,final time. Is this all right?'
' if i looked even half as good as you do right now,Varun would call me maal- pua ( a syrupy indian pancake dipped in thickened milk).'
'Maal -pua?the sweet?'
'His favourite sweet . But the"maal" part is....'
'Okay ,okay I got it. Varun has a wierd sense of humour. I don't think Yuvansh would ever call me "maal".'
'Naturally. You're his Ranisa,after all , the queen of his heart,' Sanam teased.
Shreshtha blushed. She heard a car honk outside her house.
'The driver has come.'
'At her majesty's service,' Sanam laughed.
'Come on,i'll drop you off at home before I meet him'.
Yuvansh had already arrived at their rendezvous. After the car dropped her at the end of the lane, she walked down the verdant path towards the gleaming river.
She saw the flicker of a torchlight just before her cell phone buzzed.' Followed the flashlight,'said Yuvansh's message. Shreshtha did as asked.
Yuvansh was sitting on a large boulder By the riverbank ,but immediately stood up when he saw her approach,' I hope you had no problem getting here?'
'Not at all,' she said ,trying to secure her hair that was blowing around in the breeze.
'You seem nervous. Don't be', said Yuvansh ,reaching for her hand.
'You said it's a date ,so I decided I needed to look my best',she shrugged and smiled.
'You look great. And anyway,the best really doesn't matter when someone is in love with your wrost .'
'You always make me feel so special,'whispered Shreshtha shyly.
'Because you are special', Yuvansh caressed her cheek,brushing away her flyaway hair, his thumb grazing the nose stud. She had slipped on the nose stud in the car because she didn't want to show it to Sanam. Somehow it had felt a little too personal to share with her bestie .
'Thanks for wearing this'.
'Why this nose stud in particular?'
'The"why"isn't important. Not anyone. I've planned something special for you. '
He held her hand,his grasp as always tight enough for her to feel assured and loose enough to feel safe. He is all about that delicate balance.
Yuvansh stepped into a small boat moored along the river before helping her into it. They sath facing each other and he started rowing. She realised the water wasn't flowing very much so Yuvansh's skilful oarsmanship propelled them along quite swiftly through the water.
Shreshtha hadn't realised that a date in the heart of nature, with the water gently lapping at the sides of the boat,would be so romantic.
'When are we going?'she asked. There was nobody in sight for miles around. She felt like they were two lonely souls,interwined By a cosmic force.
'We are where we have to be. So, we don't go anywhere from here. We stay'.
Cryptic talk,another trait of his ,she thought. He was like a painting where things were more concealed than revealed. Every time a dimension was uncovered ,she could rest assured that another was yet to be discovered.

The boat was afloat in the faint current of the sluggish river. He brought out a candle from a picnic hamper that lay by his feet and lit it before carefully sticking it with hot wax on the side of the bost. Yuvansh took out an elegant bottle from the hamper and said ,'Napa Valley wine.'

She nodded,smiling ,her face aglow in the flickering candlelight. Yuvansh uncorked the bottle deftly and poured it into wine glasses. He extended one glass to her. She took it and said ,' It's my dream to swim naked with you in this river.'
Yuvansh gave her a prolonged look,knowing well how good a swimmer she was, and said ,'one day ,some day.'
'May I come over to your side?'she asked.
Yuvansh helped her get up and move towards him,while the boat rocked slightly. They sat  down again ,her back against his chest. Their glasses clinker and time seemed to stand still.
'This is amazing',she sipped the heady wine.
'The "wow" factor will happen in......'. Yuvansh looked at his watch ,counted down from fifteen and then snapped his fingers. Shreshtha's jaw fell open at the sight :a narrow iridescent line of fire appeared on the water in a circle around the boat.
'Space. Earth. Water. Fire. Air. The five elements of nature. The sixth being my love for you ,Ranisa'.

She skimmed her fingers over his arm until she touched his hand , the hand of an artist. The hand he used to paint ink on papers. He caressed her face. She suddenly bit down hard on his forearm.
'Fuck,doesn't it hurt?'
'It does', replied Yuvansh. 'But I ve trained my mind to ignore pain.'
Shreshtha immediately kissed his arm,'I want you to make me a promise tonight.'
'Tell me'.
'I can't bear your absence,so don't leave me alone for so long.'
'This may sound clichéd,' he laughed,'but haven't you heard,absence makes the heart grow fonder?i'm here,Ranisa,whenever you need me.'

She placed her wine glass ny her feet and looked at him.
Their lips were almost touching.
'Will you make love to me,Yuvansh?,

He completely still,and she wondered whether she had said the wrong thing. It was only when he raised his hand to touch her face again that she noticed he was wearing a glove. Shreshtha's world slowly blurred and then she fell unconscious on his lap. He patted her cheek a few times, but she didn't wake up.

'I'm sorry, Ranisa,' he whispered. The date was over. Yuvansh continued to sit there , holding Shreshtha, until the flames around the boat subsided.