"Your touch didn't feel wrong." 

Two whole weeks had passed since I had confessed that I liked her and asked her to give me a chance. 

She had agreed.

We had started spending more time together, and I teased her, held her hand, dropped a quick kiss on her cheek, pulled the end of her pallu, and so on. Nobody was stopping us; we were exploring, but still, a shy hesitation that I had never felt before ran between us. However, that didn't restrict us from sneaking out!

We continued with our little adventure, but we had our boundaries. More like I had started respecting the boundaries because she did. Never before had I been so besotted that I actually paid attention and listened instead of doing all the talking and concluding.

"Your touch didn't feel wrong." 

That one single sentence she had blurted out remained, building a sense of strong authority over me. 

It kind of had won over me!

And I didn't realise when I had walked so deep that there was no turning back. 

She had looked at me with so much hope that it had torn something in me. A crack, an opening, that I never knew existed inside me. 

I didn't know why my chest had swelled with happiness, or why I was getting dragged so easily. All I knew was that she was comfortable around me and never felt conscious. She trusted me more than I trusted myself around her. 

Even when there was an inevitable bond forming between us, I wasn't ready to cross the line.

Why her approval mattered so much to me, I had no idea, but each time I thought of a future with her, a warm sensation soothed my nerves, and that was perhaps the assurance I kept turning to.

I was in the middle of my last meeting for the day and didn't realise when the sun had set. 

"Don't worry, Mr. Pal, my team will put together a deck for you to view in no time. I would say this project will benefit both parties immensely, and I look forward to our future collaborations. In the meantime, Farzan will briefly narrate the projections we are aiming for."

"Ved, can you - oh! Oops!" Shumi came into my room with a huge pile of what seemed to be some old manuscripts. She bit her lips and mouthed a sorry for the interruption. I frowned and shook my head, muting the Skype call. 

"What are those?" I eyed the huge pile she had lowered on the side table. 

"Aren't you on call?"

"It's fine, I was anyway wrapping up."

"Oh! Good! Umm..." she trailed off, sighing, then added, "These are a few manuscripts - "

Hah! I knew it! Again! Again!

" - Shreetama di's friend; you remember the gallery owner?"

I rolled my eyes, nodding. 

"Yup! She sent these for Priya aunty." 

I sulked. Of course! That had to be a parcel for my mother, which again I'll have to speed post to Delhi. Urgh! I was simply unaware of the reason behind my mother's undying love for old manuscripts.

"Weren't you at the society meeting today?" I asked, ignoring the dusty pile of rags. 

"I was, but it got over early, and Shreetama di handed me these to bring it up to you, and oh, you kept the door open again!"

"Fuck!" I cursed. That was indeed a bad habit I had. But then so did my brother.

"So, have you prepared dinner?" Shumi asked, scrunching her nose at my bad habit.

I glanced at the clock and sheepishly smiled at her, shaking my head. Shit man! I didn't realise it was past seven! How did I let the meeting run so long?

She smiled, turning on her heels and sauntering out of the room, "Don't worry, I can cook as well!"

"Before we could jump to the advertisement section, I would prefer a miniature model of the project." Mr Pal's heavy voice pulled my attention back to the meeting. I coughed and switched on my Skype video and microphone. 

"Thanks for the request, Mr. Pal. We would have presented a physical miniature of the construction. Shruti and Thacker from my team will get back to you on these," I gave him my best possible professional smile and explained the next steps moving forward. 

The meeting that I was about to wrap up ran another two hours, and by the time I had finally shut off the system, it was nearly nine. I sighed, switching off my laptop and stretching. I stood up and walked out of my room. 

I was instantly awoken by a lingering aroma of what I guessed was butter chicken. I quickly went to the kitchen and saw Shumi stirring something in a pot.

"What inspired you to make Punjabi food?" I leaned on the kitchen table beside the stove. She gasped, getting startled and threw me a glare. 

"Stop glaring and tell me," I pushed, taking a step towards her. 

She shrugged briefly, looking at m,e then concentrating back on the pot. "A Punjabi munda may be?" Her eyes twinkled with mischief.

"Aha! Getting into the tone Bangalin!"

I smirked, standing behind her and wrapping my arms around her waist while she cooked.

"Mmm...It smells good...." I moaned and nuzzled her neck.

"Me or the chicken?" She teased.

I narrowed my eyes, hearing her giggle. "You wait, Bangalin. If that's what you call teasing, you are oh-so-innocent!" I whispered.

While she remained engrossed in the pot, I quickly slid the side of her loose-fitted top and bit her shoulder hard.

"Ah!" She squeaked, bouncing a step back, but I held her waist tighter, pulling her into my embrace.

"If the butter chicken is burned, it is not my fault," she complained, trying to move away.

"Ummm, no problem, I have my dinner sorted," I said, biting her neck but gently not to leave a mark.

"You are evil!" She managed to move out of my grasp and stood away from me.

I glanced at the chicken and noticed it was all cooked. I turned the knob and put a lid on the pot.

Shoving my hands into my trouser pockets, I stared at her with a half smile, taking very slow steps approaching her. She started moving back, unable to look away from me and in a second, I had her pinned against the kitchen table.

"Evil, huh?" I raised an eyebrow and closed the gap between us, placing my hands on the table from either side.

She gulped, looking across my face. I noticed her eyes hesitating but fixing on my lips. I smirked, knowing well that she, too, liked our proximity, but the main question was for me. 

Was I ready to take this forward?

Having fun wasn't enough, and I was afraid there was a high chance I would lose control. This past week had been a whirlwind, and I knew it was I who had kept manipulating her to sneak out. She had given in, but was I sure enough to be with her?

What could have been a moment of bliss between us was quickly interrupted. The loud ringing of her phone startled us both as I moved away, scratching the back of my neck.

She cleared her throat and hurriedly moved into the drawing room to answer her.

I looked out of the window, calming down a bit while her soft voice almost echoed around my silent flat.

"Akhon dorkar?"

"Ha. Aschi."

"Na besikhon lagbe na."

While my Bengali wasn't very sharp, I figured she was about to leave.

She came back into the kitchen and smiled at me. "Maa called," her eyes looked at me in that classic apologetic way and said, "I'll have to go."

"And what am I going to do with the butter chicken?" I sighed, pointing at the pot. I knew she wasn't staying, but I hoped she would at least stay for dinner.

"If you want, you can come have dinner with us, but I don't know if you are comfortable –"

"Nah! I'll pass," I immediately protested. "Your mother and my mother are constantly on the phone, and I do not want to hear their gossip. My arrival in Kolkata has somehow reunited them, and they spend more time on their phones rather than on their work. "

Shumi laughed. "God! What is wrong with you? Why are you getting irritated? You know, na, they have been friends for a long time? Weren't in touch in between, but now, thanks to your arrival here, they are again back to their usual chats."

"I do know," I groaned, "but that doesn't mean they have to be on the phone all the time!"

She shook her head, giving up. "You and your ridiculous opinions!" She threw her hands up and grabbed her bag before leaving. "Don't forget to heat the parathas. I have taken them out of the refrigerator and kept them aside." She said and closed the door behind her. 

I stared at the closed door and kept wondering how that little witch had suddenly wrecked through all my senses. While I was with her, the moments felt so good. I didn't know when it happened but I was drawn to her to an extent of no return.

Never before in my past relationships had I felt so connected and invested. Here with her it wasn't exactly a relationship yet I was over the moon since she had agreed to give a small chance.

I could feel she trusted me enough to let me cross the boundaries and with her things were ever so natural and never forced. I would have waited longer before taking a step ahead in a relationship but with her I kept moving deeper every day without any intention of pausing.

It seemed I was in a hurry to make her mine. While it didn't make sense, I knew in my mind I had quickly become territorial towards her.

I was afraid that if things moved in such a fast pace she might just meander into my heart in no time. Then I asked myself, would that be wrong? For once if I opened my heart to someone and let her in instead of keeping everything a casual fling, would that be very wrong?

There were nights. Those nights when her laughter clouded my mind like a smoke, when the bare skin of her waist beneath my palm made my breath hitch, when her eyes held back a thousand questions and still let me in.

In those moments, the world blurred. Her fingers brushing mine, the arch of her neck as she tilted back to give me access, the way her voice dropped when she moaned my name — all of it wrecked me in ways I couldn't explain.

I wasn't just drawn to her. I was into her completely. Quietly.

If this was what madness felt like, I was already in too deep.

But then the questions lingered.

Was I scared to explore beyond? Or was I scared to hurt her?

Inseveral ways though our sudden bonding made me think harder. Yet I didn't knowhow to exactly find out if she was the one? 

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