Bade Acche Lagte Hain | MaNan

Kashmir diaries - II

The companionship of a forever.

Gawking at her own reflection in the mirror, Nandini tugged down the hem of her beige top down sweater sceptically, that she had paired up with a black jeans pant. Engagingly and with Sapna's approving incitement, she had bought a pair of jeans for herself that she could dress up in, on her honeymoon. As a teenager, she has always fancied western style clothes that the actresses wore in the movies but never dared to say those words out loud to her parents.

When Sapna had cleverly convinced her into buying that rose pink night dress that she has bashfully stashed in her suitcase, for her honeymoon, she has meekly vouchsafed her repressed wish to her sister-in-law. Though herself trepidatious, Sapna endorsed Nandini's desire to wear it at least once. However, she didn't forget to cautiously warn her sister-in-law for wearing it only after Manik's approval.

Startled out of her worries by the knock at her door, Nandini clutched her sweater around her waist absentmindedly and still in a daze traipsed to open the door.

“Nandini, open the door, it's me,” she heard his voice as she stood gripping the knob, indecisively. The subjugated part of her brain reminded her of the chance she still has, to run inside the bathroom and change into something usual.

Nonetheless, inhaling and exhaling deeply, and taking a leap of faith, she unlatched the door and inadvertently hid himself behind the door, while opening it wide for him to enter.

“What took you so long?” Manik asked at once, stepping inside. His brows furrowed after scanning the room for her presence and he spun around. His eyes stilled at the petite figure of his wife, glued to the back of the door and the creases on his forehead disappeared into astoundment.

With her heart hammering frantically inside her ribcage, Nandini needlessly fiddled with the neckline of her sweater as his dilated pupils caressed her frame unblinkingly. The anxiety torrentially streaming into her veins didn't let her ponder over the reasons behind the shock writ large on her husband's charming face, mistaking it as his displeasure.

Pinioning her to the door with his intense gaze, Manik sauntered towards her besottedly. Nandini swallowed audibly, preparing herself to form a coherent apology as she heard his footsteps nearing her. “I – I –”

Her words petered out as his long cold fingers wrapped around her nape and he tugged her to himself lightly.

“Do we really have to go out?” he murmured huskily, tipping her chin up with his free hand. Words were stuck in her throat as she gazed back into his riveting brown eyes.

“I have a better idea. We can just spend our time here, in our room, in bed,” he continued suggestively, leaning on to her and nuzzling his nose against her soft chubby cheeks.

A heavy shuddering breath left her lips releasing her tension as her brain registered his saucy appetency. He was talking on a different tangent and that unexpectedly calmed and fired up her wrought up nerves.

Nestling her face into his broad chest, she gripped his arm lightly and shook her head at his indecent proposal.

“I thought you enjoyed it too!” Feigning offence he exclaimed in a dramatically disappointing manner, masking his amusement at her demurity. The woman who hurled clothes back at him competitively minutes ago, uncaring about her state of undress and the bashful woman hiding in his arms cannot be the same person. It was as though she flipped a switch inside her conveniently, enthralling him nevertheless.

Peering at him coyly, Nandini studied his face for any mischief but the grave seriousness carving his features threw her in confusion. To diffuse the misunderstanding, she nodded in response and mumbled promisingly, “At night –”