Love, par sex ke baad (Love, but after sex)

Chapter 10

"Avantika," he called. I snapped out of my thoughts, "hmmm." "You don't like the food?" he asked. He had cooked pasta. "No, I love it," I said, eating another bite and smiling. He was an excellent cook, especially considering how much time he spent away from home. "Where did you learn to cook so well?" I asked him.

He smiled and said, "my mom taught me, she always said that a man who can't feed his wife is no man. My brothers and I both cook". I laughed; his mother took the 'feed your wife' thing literally and did an outstanding job teaching her son how to cook. "What's more? After we both learned how to cook, she stopped cooking completely. She would say that we cook better than her," he told me, laughing.

These cute brief snippets of his childhood made me feel closer to him.

He left for work on Monday. I still hadn't moved to his room, and I wondered what he would say to that tonight. I played out many versions of sex and conversations in my mind, almost all ended with him saying I am not his slave. But night came and went, and he didn't come home. He went on trips often and never informed me. However, things were different now. We were talking now. I would tell him that he has to notify me if he would be spending the night away from home, I thought angrily. I had waited in the dining room with cold food till 11 pm, but he hadn't shown up. I was worried about him. I hoped he wasn't hurt, but my ego was too big to call him and ask.

He showed up Thursday morning just as I was getting some breakfast. "You made breakfast. Nice!" he said grinning. I was furious with him. For all I knew, he could have been dead. "You want breakfast?" I screamed. He looked confused at my anger. If he wasn't so handsome, I would have killed him. In the meantime, I decided to just hurl the breakfast plate at him. I saw him duck from the corner of my eye as I ran to my room.

He didn't follow me. I lay in my bed, crying. I hated that he had grinned at me, I hated that he looked confused at my anger, I hated that he hadn't told me that he was going away for four days, I hated that he looked so handsome, I hated that I wanted to run back to him and hug him, I hated him.

Over an hour later, I heard my bedroom door open. I pretended to be asleep, but Salil knew I wasn't sleeping. He sat down on the bed and asked me what was wrong. I got up and glared at him in anger. He had changed and shaved. Priorities, I guess. "Wrong? Seriously? You are asking me what is wrong?" I yelled at him. Anger flashed in his eyes, but he replied calmly, "Yes, I am asking you what is wrong."

"Oh, how about the fact that you fuck me all weekend and then disappear without ONE," I lifted my middle finger at him, "single word." He grinned, "So you were worried about me?" I walloped him with the pillow, "You fucking asshole. I was going out of my mind. Why the fuck would you leave without telling me?"

He took the pillow from me and tossed it on the floor, "I didn't know you would want to know."

"Are you mad?" I roared.

"I never told you before when I went on my trips," he replied calmly. I wanted to slap that calm face. How could he not realize that we were changing and growing in our relationship?

"You didn't fuck me before," I yelled. "You didn't talk to me before," I added in a small voice as a cry escaped my lips, and I fell back on the bed.

He pulled me up again and sat me in his lap. He hugged me tightly. "I am sorry. I didn't realize it would affect you so much. I'll never leave without telling you again," he said, stocking my hair. I felt like a small child in his large hands as he comforted me. I pulled away from him and gave him a watery smile. "I am sorry for chucking the plate at you."

He laughed, "Yeah, I did not expect that welcome. Now come on, I cooked us some real breakfast."