Acquaintances

8. Bed

"Do you want to share a room or sleep separately?" He asked, as we entered his apartment's living room. The sofa set was black and leather with a transparent glass coffee table. The room was varying shades of grey.

It had no signs of flowers, color or I don't know... life?

"How much do you stay here?" I asked, as he had entered the kitchen and opened the refrigerator to fetch water, or that's what I suppose.

"A week in a month, I'm here. Sometimes more, sometimes less." He gestured for me to take a seat.

"And Rest of the time."

"Where the match is or where the training is. Mumbai, Bengaluru..." he shrugged as he offered me a glass of water.

"So, if this goes ahead we'll be in long distance most of the time." I said and took a sip of water as he sat next to me.

"I'll try my best to be with you as much as I can." He said, and put his head back on the rest, staring at the ceiling.

"Just physically. Like you are today?" I said, as his eyebrows lifted in an amused expression.

"What?"

"Mentally you are someplace else. Will it be always like this?" I said keeping the glass on the coffee table.

"No. What... what do you mean? I'm here and we're going on a trip tomorrow for ten days." He said, as I shook my head.

"We've both grown up through the years. We have our share of insecurities, trauma, ups and downs. I don't want you to open up right now, but when you are with me... I just want you here. I don't want a brusque emotionless robot. I want a flirting idiot who is heads over heels in love with me. That is the person who I agreed to date and go on a trip with, not this brooding man." I say as a hint of his mischievous smile adorns his face and he pulls me to him.

"Oh, is that so?" He asked, his hand on my waist with mere inches between us.

"Yup." I say trying my best to not let the effect show in my voice. But what came out was a squeak and he knew how much the proximity effected me.

"I'm sorry." He said, as I frowned. Men seldom knew what they were apologizing for.

"For?"

"Being a brusque emotionless robot." He said, and extended his right arm for me to lean over him and rest my head on his shoulder. I did.

And in that moment I forgot all the turmoil building inside me.

I realized we were two very different people but we were just starting out.

I needed constant reassurance that the time and effort I am putting into this will be worthwhile, while he needed to believe that I will uphold his trust in me.

"Shubh..." I whispered and he looked at me.

"Hmmm." He said, his eyes fixated on my lips.

"A different room, Please?" I said and he seemed perplexed. "You asked if we could share a room or..."

"Oh... okay. Yeah. Sure." He said, and got up awkwardly.

"I hope you don't mind, but I need time." I said in a meek voice.

"No, not at all. I won't mind." He said walking towards the kitchen.

"It's.... it's just I have been used and thrown in the past. Believing that you want to get married... Well that will take some time to digest." I said with a shrug. In that moment, he started walking towards me. He kept the beer bottle in his hand on the coffee table and sat beside. My voice was barely a whisper but he had heard me

"Can I tell you something?" He asked, as I looked up and nodded. "You know, I've called you Preet since that corny TV show that mom used to watch. You know what it means?"

"Loved one?" I say as he shakes his head.

"That would be Priya. You're not my Priya, you're my preet. Love. It means that... okay, a bit too corny but... it actually means that 'Your existence is thread that binds me to another'. Even as a child, I've dreamed to have a family with you... and that was way before we had any idea how babies are made..." he said as I chuckled.

I couldn't believe he had thought so much at such a young age.

"I could go anywhere for sex, but you... Ajooni, you are the very reason for my interest in having and raising a family after all that I've seen and been through in this wretched world."

My breath was caught in my throat and I inhaled. "So, that's how you get so many girls into your bed?" I joked and laughed as he shook his head.

"You still have the worst sense of humor and your timing... it is impeccably wrong. It is even worse than it was 12 years ago. " He said offering me beer.

"No, Thanks." I said, as he sat by my side.

"Do you drink?" He asks, as I shrug.

"That was not an answer."

"Nana passed away." I said, as his face filled with despair.

"Oh I'm... so sorry. We can postpone this trip and you can..."

"2 years ago. Hydronephrosis. He drank everyday for the last year of his life. Sometimes starting at 11 in the morning. His kidneys showed signs of giving up. He was told to quit, but... before he could, his kidneys quit. He was too weak to even be sustained on dialysis."

"He was a wonderful person." Shubh said, and kept the beer bottle on the table.

"I had just started drinking at clubs and parties here and there at that time... after that... I just couldn't." I said, as he extended his hand to let me lean on him.

"Now that I think of it, he would be the happiest person on your brother's wedding. Dancing right infront of the baraat. Remember how he would have his pockets filled candy all the time. Like we could ask for it anytime, and he would give it to us if we had been good."

"Or to cheer us up after we were scolded by our parents."

And that's how we talked for the next 2 hours and then went to sleep in different rooms.

Sleep wouldn't exactly be the word. We lied there, thinking about the person in the next room.

Atleast I did.

Time just seemed to fly by and we were never short of words. There was so much to discuss and so much that had happened in the past that we needed to catch up on.

But also there was also some things in our past that we had to protect each other from.