The Dating Charade ✔️

Chapter-78

Shivaay and Annika just couldn't keep their hands off of each other, and it was evident to everyone around them. Those who knew of the knew dynamics in their relationship could only smirk and swoon, while the others were terribly confused. Shivaay was highly affectionate towards Annika- this is something everyone knew. But today, it seemed like he had eyes for no one but her, and what was even more surprising was how comfortable she was with his constant PDA, and was even reciprocating it. 

"What's up with Shivaay bhaiya and Annika bhabhi today?" A curios Abhay asked Rudra, as they all walked along the Nusa Dua beach they had just arrived at. Currently, Shivaay was twirling around Annika in his arms, while she laughed away with her head thrown back. Rudra followed Abhay's gaze and looking at them, he smiled fondly.

"What's up? What do you mean?" He asked, trying to hide the grin from his face. He had thought that it would be easy for Shivaay and Annika to pull off this whole transition from pretentiously dating to actually dating, given that they had already seemed like such an 'in-love' couple before. But oh, how wrong he had been. Now that they had finally confessed, the love seemed to radiating off of them, and everyone was definitely noticing.

"Well, I don't know. They just seem so...so much more like a couple, you know?" Abhay said, not quite knowing how to explain it. Rudra only shrugged his shoulders, and Abhay sighed.

"Tanya thinks so, too," He muttered, before running off to where his wife was. Rudra laughed, and went towards where Shivaay and Annika now stood, just gazing at the sea. Shivaay was behind Annika, taking her into a back hug and inhaling her hair, and Rudra coughed to gain their attention lest they start kissing and traumatize him. The two looked up, startled, as if brought out of a daze. Annika gave him a bright smile.

"Rudy, tu aur main saath mein parasailing karenge, okay?"

"Done," Rudra said, grinning widely. Shivaay frowned, and glared at him to refuse. Making a puppy face, Rudra complained to Annika, who in turn narrowed her eyes at Shivaay.

"Mr. Baggad Billa, don't scare my baby, okay?"

Shivaay's mouth fell open, while Rudra happily went towards Annika and put an arm around her shoulder. As much as Shivaay tried to resent them, he couldn't. He loved these two goofballs in his life. He slowly started to smile, making Rudra and Annika look at each other in confusion, before moving forward and engulfing the two into a tight bear hug. They wriggled in his arms, complaining that they couldn't breathe, before he pulled back. Laughing, the three of them jogged to where the rest of the family was.

"So guys, please tell the guide what activites you would like to do, and I'll go and pay for them," Shivaay told everyone, and they all got busy in excited chattering. He noticed Annika standing beside him with a frown, and brushed her cheek with his knuckles.

"What's wrong, sweetheart?" 

"Shivaay," Annika started, pouting, "I want to try ALL the activities!" She started counting on her fingers- "Parasailing, Jet skiing, Banana boat-"

"Annika, you know that we only have today, right?" He reasoned, sliding his arms around her waist. Annika nodded, tugging out her bottom lip.

"But, if it makes you feel better, we can always prolong our vacation by a few days while everyone else leaves..." Shivaay trailed off suggestively, leaning in closer to her ear. Annika blushed at that, and pushed against his chest.

"Cheapde. You seem to be forgetting that you have an empire to run back in Mumbai, and I myself am an event planner now. Huh." Haughtily raising an invisible collar, Annika joined the girls to discuss what activities they would be trying, while Shivaay only shook his head at her antics.  Annika after much deliberation and tantrums decided that she wanted to try out Jet skiing, and everyone was in awe of how Shivaay handled these tantrums of hers. When it was finally time for Annika to get on the jet ski, she was reluctant to do so.

"Shivaay I'm scared," She said, staring out towards the sea with her arms around his waist. "Come with me, na?"

"Baby you know I can't," He patiently said, caressing her hair. "But trust me, you'll be fine. I'll have my eyes on your boat the entire time. You're my khidkitod Annika, hai na? So just go and have fun, love."

Kissing her forehead, Shivaay accompanied her to the shore. There was an African man who was to sit behind Annika, who would stir the boat towards the right direction, and Shivaay approached him.

"Be careful," He told the man grimly. And although the man didn't understand English, the hard stare Shivaay gave him let him know exactly what he was trying to say. Nodding, he helped Annika get on the ski, and they were off.

Shivaay laughed at he saw Annika squealing, far off into the sea, her hair flying and her face lit up in a radiant smile. It warmed his heart so much to see her happy- it was unexplainable. He didn't even care that he himself wasn't doing any activities; seeing Annika enjoy was enough for this man. When after about fifteen minutes Annika came back on shore and ran towards him, looking all disheveled and happy, Shivaay engulfed her in a tight hug and spun her around once. When he put her down, she started talking non-stop about what a fabulous experience she had just had, and Shivaay could just stare at her in awe. He interrupted her mid-sentence, pressing his lips against her softly. 

"I love you so, so much," He breathed out after pulling back, grinning crazily. Annika frowned at being interrupted, but soon she was smiling too, and they were hugging under the sunset, and everything was perfect.

Absolutely perfect.

**

So the thing is, I don't know what to write in this story anymore. I just can't come up with interesting stuff or even a plot. Quite possibly, I'll end this story by chapter-80. And I know I said I'll start a new book- a sequel to this. But now I'm not so sure. Even if I do start one, it'll take quite some time, because, well, college. Hope y'all understand, and extremely sorry for any inconvenience.