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“ Six and a twist of citrus!” She announced. Cheers resounded.

“ Beginner ’ s luck,” he muttered, fetching another lemon.

Avantika got into her form. Their banter and Samarth’s presence here in her home notwithstanding, the thrill of whacking balls again got to her.

They went back and forth, lemon after lemon, taunt after taunt.

He bowled overarm with actual spin. She nailed three more, missed two, and then —

“This is boring now!” Gopi announced. “You are the cricket pro, Ava. It’s not a fair game.”

“Gopi, I think we are done playing cricket,” Kresha glowered from behind him.”Let’s get the dance floor opened…”

“One last game and then the party starts, promise, babe!”

“Swim it up!” Vishnu called out.

“Great idea!” Gopi glanced at the pool. “Samarth will hold his upper hand in polo, Ava in cricket. This is perfect — neutral ground.”

“Naa,” Samarth shook his head. “We swam laps all the time for practise. I still do. She’ll lose and then cry.”

“Cry, is it?” Avantika threw her shoulders back and stepped up — “Let’s go princess. We’ll see who cries.”

“What’s the payout?” He leisurely crossed the space between them, hands going behind his back again.

“Payout?”

“When you lose, what will you give me?”

She snorted — “Mann behlane ke liye khayal accha hai, Ghalib.”

Say something in Hindi. Say something in Hindi. Make a fool of yourself with your Gujarati Hindi, she prayed. He knew where she was pushing him and kept his feet firm — “Last one to the other end has to kiss their ex.”

“ You are my only ex here.” There was no other ex.

“ Exactly. Don ’ t lose.”

Loud hollers went up. Avantika sweetly offered her noodle to him. He frowned.

“You’ll need your floaties, no, baby?”

They walked to the pool ’ s edge, side by side, pretending they didn ’ t notice how close their arms brushed.

A hush fell as people gathered again. This time in a circle around the pool.

Phones were already out to record their cricket match.

Now they were on the pool. Avantika stretched her body taut, wanting to get her best profile on this video.

She would show it to their kids one day — as long as it remained safe and decent enough.

“On your mark…” Vishnu shouted.

“Get set…” Gopi added.

Before either one of them could say ‘go,’ they were both shoved in. A blur and water and then she was gliding down the pool in a wave. When she came up for air, he was a smidge ahead of her. Avantika tried to create rippling waves towards him to nudge him off-track but he kept going.

Arms slicing. Laughter echoing. Heated water. Colder stares.

They reached the other end together, heads breaking the surface in sync. But his hand touched the surface before hers as his other hand raised in a pump — “I won!”

“No! We both did!” She spluttered, running her hand down her wet lashes.

“I touched first,” he tapped the wooden edge of the pool. “Pay up, Raje.”

“You are taller! It’s a tie!”

“Pay-up, A-va! Pay-up, A-va!” They all began to yell from around them.

“Stop it!” Kresha silenced them. “Come out, you two.”

Avantika glanced from her to a wet, amused Samarth. The rarest of the rare Samarth.

“It’s ok, Kresh. I pay my debts,” she sassed, grabbed him by the neck and pulled his face closer.

“Stop recording, everyone!” Kresha commanded. “Down!” And all Avantika could think was — There goes my dream pool kiss. But then her mouth touched his, he opened to welcome her tongue and she swiped across his like the last half hour was actual foreplay.

“That’s principal,” Samarth said into her mouth, between her attempts to suck his tongue. She broke free and he grinned, his voice as low as the vibrations of the warm water. “My interest rate nowadays is 200%.”

She shoved his shoulder away and climbed out. He came out after her and kept his body close to hers, shielding her from all the eyes behind them until towels were brought. Avantika found herself wrapped in one and the moment the hot towel touched her skin she sneezed.

“Ava!” He grabbed a spare towel and pushed it around her shoulders — “Are you cold?”

“Fine, fine,” she laughed through another sneeze and walked to the line of restroom stalls, waving and bowing to the applause that went up for them.

————————————————————

Tap, tap, tap.

Avantika stopped rubbing lotion into her calf and stared up at the window. Nothing. She grabbed her lotion to squeeze out another dollop.

Tap, tap… She snapped her head up and there it was. The hand. She rushed to her window and glanced down. A laugh pushed out of her throat.

“Are you seriously climbing up my window?” She turned the handle and opened the pane, only for the 6 foot 1 mass of muscle to fall all over her. She embraced him, trying to find her own balance and waddling back. “Sa-marth!”

He stopped them before they tumbled down to the ground, closing the window with his other hand. The night was dark but the lights in the palace were burning bright. A section of their friends was still partying it up even though it was past 2.

“Did you catch a cold?” Was the first thing he asked, palming her cheek and pushing her into the lamplight by her bed. Avantika smiled — “I am fine now.”

“I shouldn’t have gone along with Gopi’s game.”

“But it was fun.”

“Still… there were some recordings. Kresha and I got them deleted.”

“Why?!”

“Ava.”

“I wanted them!”

He sighed. “If it makes you feel better, I got a few transferred to my phone before having them deleted.”

“Only a few?”

“I could only ask our friends to send them over.”

Her lips twisted. “I wanted them to keep for our home videos.”

He chuckled, grabbing her jaw and pasting his mouth over hers. She opened her mouth, letting him kiss her, letting his body push her until the back of her knees hit the bed.

“What were you doing?” He pushed his nose into her neck and took a deep whiff.

“Lotion ritual.”

“Allow me, Raje.”

Avantika felt electricity zing down her spine.

“One leg is done.”

“Then one is remaining,” he sat her down on the bed and kneeled in front of her.

His hand took hold of her ankle and placed it on his knee, pushing her back and open for him.

Samarth’s eyes zeroed in on the V of her legs, covered in her night silk shorts.

He ran a hand up her thigh to the hem of her shorts, then back — “I have dreamt about you in these shorts and this top since you described it to me.”

‘When did I describe it to you?”

He grabbed her lotion and squeezed more than a generous dollop on his palm.

His head rose and that naughty smirk touched his eyes — “Once during a late night call. You were saying that it’s cooler in Paris but not as cold as to ditch these shorts and your spaghetti,” he rubbed his hands together, slowly, leisurely warming the lotion.

“You have been perving behind me for that long?” She took her foot to his shoulder and toed him back. He went like an obedient slave, turning his mouth and kissing her toe. “Longer.”

“What happened to staying away this weekend?”

“Could I manage?” He laughed self-deprecatingly, touching his warm lotion-clad hand to her calf. She stilled.

Samarth held her foot on his shoulder and ran the lotion up her calf, round and round her knees, down to that ticklish spot behind her knees, then up her thigh. Her breath turned shallower, faster.

“Samarth, don’t do more if you are not planning to stay.”

“Do you want me to stay, Raje?” He nuzzled her ankle, leaving a kiss there.

“Won’t they miss you at the party?”

“I am a good boy. Early to bed. What about you?” He took his mouth up, up, up, to the hem of her shorts. His fingers hooked into the waistband of her shorts, eyes weaving into hers for permission. That stray lock of hair again fell on his forehead and she pushed it back with her fingers.

“They think I am down with a cold.”

“Are you?”

“Not if you do your job well.”

The next thing she knew her shorts were snatched away from her body. She gasped, unable to tell him that there was no barrier left. His mouth dropped open.

“Samarth if you don’t want to…”

He pushed her bodily down on the bed and climbed in between her legs, his mouth on her. Bare. There. Completely.

“Oh fuck! Sa…” she bucked into half. His hand splayed over her chest and pushed her back, holding her flat down. Her hips writhed, circled, bucked, pleaded. He held her down in entirety and continued his assault, his tongue going deeper than his clothed hips or fingers ever had.

“Samarth, it’s too fast… it’s happening…”

“Come!” He commanded in vibrations over her battered flesh and she came. Spiralling into nothing.

When she opened her eyes he was over her, hair falling all over his forehead, face falling over hers.

“Marry me.”

Her faint breaths went silent.

“I am.”

“This year. Before the marriage season ends. As soon as Papa is done with this expedition,” he clarified. “Let me speak to him and ease our immediate future plans.”

“But your Argentina citizenship will take time…”

“We will live in Paris until then. You will also need to give your notice at Van Cleef.”

“Are you getting the marriage blues, Kunwarji?”

“I am getting Ava-blues, Raje.”

“I love it when you call me that.”

“It suits you. The king of all kings.”

“All our princesses are called Raje here in Gwalior.”

“I know only one princess deserving of it.”

Her head fell deeper into her mattress. Some childhood dreams, a few teenage fantasies, coming true. Like her boyfriend in her bedroom. Like said boyfriend having gone down on her. And then having officially proposed marriage.

“You did not say yes?” His authoritative question echoed.

“I said yes a long time ago.”

“I asked officially today.”

“Bro, how many times will you…”

He pushed his tongue inside her mouth, shutting her up. He pulled back just as suddenly as he had pushed in — “I am not your bro.”

Avantika grinned — “N for Newton, O for…” he cut her off again, this time his tongue merciless in its assault as his fingers bunched in her hair and squeezed.