Love And Sweet Kisses

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As if destiny would have it no other way, and she would've probably thought that had she believed in that concept, Ella and Abhishek were posted on the same team to Bihar, an Indian state which had most of its villages destroyed by deluges.

But of course, life was all about luck and coincidences, and it certainly was a coincidence that the two of them were paired to work alongside each other as the leaders of their section.

On arrival, they found the villages a complete mess. Annihilated houses, dispatched house roofings, and uprooted trees, leaving everywhere littered with strewings of disaster. The floods had long dried, but one didn't have to look at the forlorn faces of the villagers to know they'd left in their wake, desperation and dispair.

On their team, Ella was charged with leading the treatment of people who had been physically damaged by the floods while Abhi took charge of how basic items like food, clothing, and building materials were evenly distributed.

For the first three weeks, work was non stop, eating past closing times and stripping her and Abhi of their time to talk about things that didn't involve the casualties of the flood. Despite how much she'd been advised to not invest too much of her emotions into her volunteer work, Ella could never quite bring herself into doing so.

Once when she was done doing check ups and was going to assist the volunteers who were distributing clothes and shoes, Ella spotted a malnourished-looking bare chested boy running towards the spot. She didn't know why her gaze got glued to him while he desperately called out until he was given an old pair of shoes.

Right after he'd been given the shoes, he went to a spot, crouched and begun to put them on. The shoes must've been tight because he had to struggle before getting his feet into them, but right after he'd managed to wear them, he looked into the sky and said, "Thank you, Lord."

Ella thought she'd gotten used to such scenes. Instead, tears streamed down her face as she watched the boy bounce away happily with his new but old pair of shoes. She reached into her pocket and brought of her handkerchief, wiping her eyes, and yet the tears continued to pour.

"Ella, are you... Hey what's wrong?" Abhi was suddenly at her side.

Ella turned to face him and opened her mouth to speak, but the words stuck in her throat. The next thing she knew she was being pulled into Abhi's warm arms while he stroked her hair gently.

"What happened, Ella? Will you tell me?"

Finding her voice, Ella pulled back from the hug and looked at his face while the tears still cascaded down her cheeks. "It's just this... boy. He... he was given an old pair of shoes. He even had to force his feet into them. And yet... and yet, he looked into the sky and said. . . 'Thank you, Lord.' And it was... it was..."

She trailed off when her voice begun to get scratchy.

"Oh, Daniella." Abhi said, smiling warmly before pulling her back into his arms. Feeling like a complete ass, she buried her face in his chest and let his shirt dry her tears.

***~***

"...and so I say, congratulations on a job well done." The head official back at the Mumbai headquarters ended his long talk, followed a short clapping, nodds of agreement from the other officials and proud smiles on the faces of the volunteers who'd work their asses off to help the people living in Kalahandi and Bihar.

When finally they were dismissed, Ella boldly decided to wait for Abhi even when the officials called him over to have a talk. He seemed the closest to the officials among all of them volunteers. Luckily, their talk didn't last long, and he soon turned, surprise flickering on his face at seeing her before he smiled that smile of his that showed his dimples and made her stomach flutter.

"You've not left yet."

"I was waiting for you." She admitted, and started to lead the way out of the room with him strolling beside her. "What did the officials tell you?" She'd noticed one's eyes flicker in her direction more than once.

"They just said you're the most beautiful woman on the face of the earth."

Her breath caught and held as she paused and tilted to look at him. Realizing he was only teasing her, she jabbed her elbow in his ribs. He winced. "Ow! What was that for?"

"I'm being serious here."

He chuckled softly, and they continued their walk. "Well, they just said the team was great, but by their analysis, the two of us were the best pair. Our hands on dedication to our sections were really noticed by the village folks. And I think they're right. We're quite a pair."

Those words held a dual meaning, but the connotation, the more hidden and enthralling meaning was what made her heart race. "I'm glad they think that, though I could also point to other pairs who did very great."

Their hotel was just a few metres away from the headquarters. Abhi's phone rang just when they'd gotten to the foyer, and apologizing, he picked it up and talked to the person on the other end.

He turned to her with a bemused expression afterwards. "Daniella, I would've liked to spend more time with you, but I'm caught up in something right now. How about I take you out for dinner tonight?"

Already, her heart was pounding with excitement for him asking her out, and she'd be damned if she refused. "Of course. "

A brilliant smile emphasised how handsome he was. "Seven okay?"

"Seven's fine."

***~***

They had a week to do things other than work, a week of leisure at its best while the officials worked on assigning them to new areas and countries. Abhi wasn't ready to let the week pass without making the best out of it, his words exactly, and so he was knocking on her hotel room every morning. He took her on tours, and she learned quite a bit more about Indian cultures and learned to appreciate their delicious recipes more.

Being with Abhi became natural and almost vital, until it reached a point that right after he'd escorted her to her room and left for his, she would begin to miss him. His smell, his smile, his attention, that look of endearment in his eyes whenever he looked at her together with another deeper emotion that made her weak in the knees.

Working with this NGO owned by one of the worlds richest persons barely allowed any room for other aspects of her life, certainly including dating, and it'd been a good long time since she'd had a man warm her bed. Not that she minded.

After all, when she thought of charity work, she thought of giving her all and helping people to the last bits of her capability. A relationship meant inhibitions. She knew the time and dedication it required because she'd experienced it before with her ex boyfriend who'd been the reason she'd held herself back from doing this volunteer job earlier than she'd intended.

But it'd been a long time since anybody had made her feel the way Abhi made her feel, and she would probably say no one if she considered the short span of time he'd used to do so.

The man was gentle and caring and made her feel special whenever they were together. He had this deep love for humanity she was undoubtedly drawn to. He was breathtakingly handsome with an enthralling smile that held her spellbound every time he flashed it, and he had the ability to evoke feelings in her that both excited and scared her.

Yep, she was falling. Hard.

Thank you for reading!