She adjusted his specs, feeling loopy out of sleep. “So all the malaria germs are gone from inside?”
“They are about to.”
“So if I kiss you now, will you get malaria?”
“You’d have to bite me deep enough to deposit the parasite into my bloodstream.”
“You are calling me a mosquito?”
“Malaria mosquitoesarefemale.”
“Ooooh… taunting me in doctor talk. How do you think I will give you any attention after I get back on my feet?”
His arm slipped around her waist, pulling her body flush against him. “We’ll have to wait to find that out.”
“Why?”
His forehead dropped over hers. “I have to go tomorrow.”
“Oh.”
“Amaal,” he cupped her cheek. “I wish I could stay longer. I pushed my dates by two days but there are panchayat elections in all of North Kashmir, and SMC…”
“I know,” she whispered. “I get it. I understand.”
He huffed. “The CM takes the party’s major decisions but the grunt work is the President’s.”
She twined her arms around his neck, feeling such intimacy with him that it all looked like a dream. “Had I still been the Media Head of KDP,” she nuzzled his stubbled cheek that was darker and bristlier. “I would have been yelling at you to go at this point. And go with either a clean shave or a taming of this.” She pressed her nose into his bristly chin. And felt it vibrate.
“Pick one.”
“Trim it.” She poked her nose over his rough, hard chin.
“Ok.” He pressed his mouth to the bridge of her nose, laughter in his voice.
Amaal inhaled him, closing her eyes. “Go, win those elections. I have to get back to the Secretariat and catch up on a lot as well.” She pulled back and smiled up at him. “But now I will do that thinking about you, and when we will meet next.”
“And when will that be?” He pushed her hair behind her shoulder with his knuckles, holding the column of her neck.
“When we come back to Srinagar in two weeks.”
He paused.
“What happened?”
“You stay in Aamir Haider’s house.”
Her mouth opened, then shut.
“Samar…”
“I am not blaming you.”
“I know… but Iram asked me to stay there. Ada was alone, Mirza was there… and I just needed a room to stow my stuff in because I spend 16 hours at the Secretariat anyway.”
“I know.” He stroked her cheek with his thumb, his eyes on that movement, soft. “Don’t worry about it.”
“I may start looking for a place for myself…”
