DR. RITU KAPADIA
Sure
If you are coming post 7 then have dinner
He grinned. He had planned to go to her the moment he finished here, which he was trying hard to do by 5. But if post 7 meant dinner then he would land at her door at dot 7.01.
NiP
Done
“NiP?”
“What?” He barked.
Kedar placed his mug by his hand, looking worried. “Please have it.”
“Thanks, Kedar,” Nilay smiled. And his assistant’s face paled. Nilay sipped his tea, unable to kill his smile.
————————————————————
Done with work, freshly showered, changed into his simplest round neck white T-shirt and jeans, he rung her bell. In their short time together, Nilay had discovered that she liked him better in his everyday look. She was not in awe of NiP. In fact, she borderline detested him. She liked Nilay. And for her, after years, he wanted to be Nilay.
“Good evening,” she opened the door, making a mockery of his message this morning. He shut his mouth before it dropped open at how good she looked.But wait!
“Are you going out?” He asked, stepping inside and closing the door with his shoulder, his arms full of sunflowers.
“No.” She glanced down at herself. In a fancy peplum top and curvy black pants, she looked like she was on her way out to dinner. “I don’t have many good clothes here… I just carried home-stuff because…” she shrugged. “I wasn’t expecting to go out much when I came to Mumbai.”
A soft feeling unfurled inside his chest. Nilay smiled, holding out the sunflowers to her. Her eyes widened. “These are for me?”
“You saw me carry them inside, didn’t you?”
“I thought somebody had given them to you.” She reached for them with tentative hands. Nilay stared as she accepted them with both hands, her face alight, mouth open in awe. Was that how happy he could make her with a dozen sunflowers? He had never bought flowers for his girlfriends. The orders came readymade and were elaborate arrangements with chocolates and cards. These, he had picked up from a roadside vendor outside her building without even any cling or tissue to roll them in. They were just a bunch, held together by a makeshift green twig.
“Thank you.” She beamed, finally looking up at him from the flowers. He beamed back, stepping close to her. She did not step back, or stiffen, or look like she did not want him to come close. He reached out and cupped her jaw, the creamy skin beneath his thumb warm. She had no makeup on except some colour on her lips. He wanted to kiss it away. Give them the colour that she so naturally carried when kissed. But until they built back to that place, his hands were tied. After hearing her last afternoon, more so.
Nilay bent to her and kissed her cheek. She inhaled. The sunflowers were dewy between their chests, pushing into his as she unconsciously pushed up on her tiptoes. He took his hand to the back of her head and trailed his mouth to her jaw, pressing another kiss there.
A beep tore through the air.
She pulled back. The startle burst the bubble but didn’t dissipate its effect. Her round cheeks were red, her innocent eyes shy. She was hugging the flowers to her chest now and he couldn’t help it. Nilay kissed her cheek again and let her go.
“What’s that sound?” He took off his shoes, mindful of their position this time. He pushed them underneath the shoe cabinet until they were hidden out of sight.
“Good call,” Ritu chuckled at his preempt. “Microwave.” She marched to the kitchen and he followed.
“What are you making?”
“A salad with a garlic-basil vinaigrette, aglio-oglio tossed in olive oil and…” She glanced up at him. “You don’t like it?”
“Of course I do.”
“You are making that face again.”
“What face?”
“Thatface. You don’t like it.” She set the flowers down on the counter between them.
