Page 28 of That Same Old Love
Samrat woke up when he felt Mahi stir next to him.
It was one thirty in the afternoon on a Sunday. They had almost slept the day away, he thought in amusement.
Mahi was still sleeping deeply next to him with a hand lying on his chest. He gently pushed her hair away from her face to see her properly.
The previous night’s anger and tension was gone, but it was replaced by something even more disturbing. Stroking her hair, he felt something strange twist in his heart. Lately, his heart had been doing that often whenever she was around. Now he knew.
He was in love with her.
He was shocked to realize that he had no second thoughts about how he felt or any kind of doubt left in him.
He had felt crushed when she asked him to be with another woman.
He had briefly for few seconds even considered doing what she had suggested in his anger, especially because he knew Shivani was more than interested.
But he didn’t want to, and he felt furious that Mahi didn’t care an ounce about him, while he had been like a love sick boy. But after seeing her face and then feeling her desperation last night, he knew she felt something for him.
And he was sure that given some more time, she would feel as strongly towards him as he did. Even if she didn’t love him like he did, it was worth it. He loved her enough for both of them and didn’t want her to change anything about her.
He even knew that she might crush his heart into pieces and also that he was probably an idiot to trust her with his heart, but somewhere in the last ten months since she had been back; he had already given it to her.
She burst into his life when he was content living by himself and created the need for something more.
They might be a match made in hell, but he was going to follow his heart this time.
He felt free and alive and at the same time it scared him. He had always been so careful and responsible in his life, and for once, he wanted to throw away his self-made promises and society’s hang ups and do as his heart prompted.
He wanted it all, marriage and then children with her.
But he knew she wasn’t ready. She had spoken some nonsense about them being in a honeymoon phase and that they wouldn’t want each other for long in the same way.
He knew his mind. It wasn’t just the sex he enjoyed, he loved having her as a partner to talk about his work, share his dreams and every other aspect of his life.
And she had done the same with him as well.
All he needed to do was to take baby steps and then slowly make her love him and then make her want the same things.
Mahi stirred again and then opened her eyes. She could see him propped up on one elbow and watching her with a smile.
“Good morning,” she croaked out.
He leaned towards her and gave her a long passionate kiss before drawing back and saying, “I want us to be committed together like a proper couple. We need to let our friends and family know right away, and not keep it a secret anymore.”
So much for baby steps , he thought sheepishly at his abrupt announcement. But then, he was filled with so much joy that he was bursting to tell her about what he wanted.
Mahi looked shocked and uncertain. “Samrat… I’ve already told you. I don’t want to marry again—”
He stopped her. “I’m not asking you to marry me Mahi.
I’m saying that I care a lot about you and I want us to be committed publicly.
Maybe we both are too old to be using the term in this country, but I want us to be like a girlfriend and a boyfriend in a live-in relationship.
We are already doing that, but I want us to commit publicly to each other, without necessarily announcing a marriage. ”
She looked slightly relieved and smiled. “Okay. I care a lot about you too and want the same thing. My friends already know about you and I really don’t care about my immediate family knowing. But yeah, I can tell Rajeev and my aunt we are together.”
He smiled back, feeling happy and anxious to let his parents and his sister know. He didn’t care about the society or any such nonsense as long as his family supported him. And knowing his family, they would always want him to be happy no matter how he chose to lead his life.
Mahi sat up slowly, distracting him with her naked upper body. She touched his cheek and looked pleadingly into his eyes.
“Samrat, I think we should wait until you tell your family. I’m not comfortable about you telling Ananya about us this quickly.
I… I want to tell her or maybe you can tell her when I’m a little closer to her or at least when I know she has forgiven me.
Please. Can we keep the secret for a few more days?
Just from your family,” she requested him.
He frowned. “Anu doesn’t hate you Mahi. Or at least I think she doesn’t. And lately, she has been too busy to come over here and I have been meeting her at her place. So how will you speak to her?”
She leaned and began to kiss him on his chest slowly, trying to distract him, but he already knew what she was trying to do.
“There will be an opportunity soon, I’m sure. But please, keep us a secret. Just for a few days. Until I can speak to Ananya. And besides, it is so much fun sneaking around, adds the forbidden dynamic to our relationship, making it even hotter,” she said huskily.
He wasn’t very happy about not letting his family know right away, but decided to give her some time. “Okay, if you say so,” he said and let her seduce him.