Chapter 51: chapter 51

CHAPTER-21SHIVAI have lost my mind. I have lost my dignity. I have lost my sense and everything that holds me in place. In short, I lost control the moment I saw Gowri in the bridal room all dressed up for the reception.She is heavenly. No, even that would be an understatement. I have no words to describe her beauty. OH GOD! She looked like an angel straight out of heaven. Yeah, I know I sound like a cheesy romantic. But you know what when it comes to Gowri, I am a FREAKING cheesy romantic. I was about to kiss her. When her lips parted, I lost my sanity. I only wanted to kiss her. Not just a small kiss but I wanted to kiss her until she found it hard to breathe. HELL! I have never felt that intense feeling to kiss someone before. Not even with my ex. But something about Gowri drives me crazy. Wants me to lose control and go all wild.  Ugh. Gowri would think I am a pervert. Damn it. I shouldn't have been alone with her there. I should have waited and informed about the photo shoot on the stage. But I thought she would freak out if she heard it on the stage and I wanted her to be prepared. There is no denying the fact now. I am attracted to Gowri. Crazily attracted that all my rational thoughts vanish when I am with her. If I am not careful enough then I would do something that I will regret. No, I don't want to spoil this friendship with Gowri by letting my desires take over me.But her lips. Oh God! It was so soft.  We have to kiss for the photoshoot. Finally, I will know what it is to have her lips against mine.GODDAMMIT SHIVA! Don't Even Think About It. And I am going to be her first kiss. Her first kiss.STOP THE HELL! Don't Think About It. She Probably Thinks You Are A Perv. Stop Your Fantasies. You are a gentleman. Behave like th-All my conflicting thoughts come to a stop when I crash with someone on my way to the room. Without looking at the person, I say, “Sorry.”“Shiva?”I look at the person and HOLY GOD! Can This Day Get Any Worse?“Rajesh?” I say as a question but there is no mistaking my classmate and friend from college. What the hell is he doing here? He knows my past with Riya very well. He was one of my close friends in college before I stopped attending and answering all his calls and texts.“What are you doing here?” he asks slowly taking in my Sherwani. “Shouldn't that be my question?” I ask pointing to the big banner at the entrance that has the words ‘Welcome to the Reception of Shiva and Gowri’.He opens his mouth to say something but words seem to fail him. It takes him a few seconds to recover from the surprise.“So, you are married to Gowri, huh?” he asks. Now, I am intrigued. How did he know Gowri?“Yes. You know Gowri?”“I am her cousin's husband.”Okay. That Is Totally Unexpected. Don't Panic.“Which cousin?” I ask hoping after hope that it's not someone from the five women Gowri had warned me.“Rohini. Her mother's sister's daughter.”Great! So much for a good drama!“I am surprised that you are married. I mean, I thought you were still in love with Riya. It is shocking to see you here,” he says in a sympathetic tone.At the mention of my ex's name, I expect my heart to break or get that sinking feeling but nope nothing. It is like he just stated the weather. No feelings whatsoever.“Don't be too surprised. Life has to move on. I have moved on from my past and happily married Gowri,” I tell smiling but he gives me a doubtful look. It will take him time to wrap his mind around this fact because he was so used to me being with my ex.🍀🍀🍀🍀The reception starts and I am doing a bad job of averting my eyes away from Gowri. I can't stop looking at her or to be exact ogling at her. Relatives and friends come and pose for the photo but my mind barely registers the faces or the names. Oh God! Her hair is so long and beautiful.The saree looks good on her. She is amazing in saree. No matter how hard I try, the fact that she is beautiful and the fact that she is MY wife doesn't seem to escape my mind today. Lucky me to get this woman as my wife. “Love,” I say when we get a moment alone, “Why didn't you tell me Rajesh is married to your cousin?”“You know Rajesh?” she asks turning to face me.No, Shiva. Don't look at her eyes. BUT DAMN IT! Her eyes have that brown shade in them today and the makeup makes her eyes look beautiful. I avert my gaze away but my eyes land on her lips. Quickly, I turn away not wanting to get any unclean thoughts about her.“Yes, he was my classmate in college.”“He knows about you and Riya?” I sigh, “The whole college knew about me and Riya.”Gowri frowns at me but she doesn't get to voice her thoughts as another one of the relatives comes up the stage. We both smile cordially at them. Gowri introduces them as some of her distant relatives.“Then we must be more careful around my cousins,” she says when the relative goes downstage.I nod but before I could tell anything, we get interrupted again.🍀🍀🍀🍀GOWRIMy wedding reception is tiring more than I expected. For four hours, Shiva and I had to constantly stand with smiling faces. The reception is a grand event would be an understatement. Relatives and friends were all present and the whole hall was crowded with both familiar and unfamiliar faces. Finally, we are nearing the end of the function. Only close relatives mill around the hall. Most of the people have already left. The hall is near empty. But my cousins are still present watching us like a hawk. I am damn sure Rajesh should have told them about Shiva's love story. That is why they are trying hard to find a loophole but thank heavens! Shiva knows exactly what to do. This whole evening he kept sneaking glances at me like a starstruck fan. At times he would lean in closer and whisper something about how I look today. Or how beautiful my hair is. Or some compliment that sure made me blush without any effort. And I have really lost count of the number of times I blushed today evening.🍀🍀🍀🍀I grab Shiva's hand and glance at his wristwatch. It is half an hour past nine. No one is standing near the stage steps. Finally,  the relatives and friends are all done with their wishes and gifts.“Ok, get ready for the photo shoot. We will do a few intimate poses and wrap this up quickly,” says the photographer clapping his hands. My pulse quickens in fear or excitement, I don't know. I have not yet forgotten what nearly happened in the bridal room. We both never acknowledged it. The photographer directs us to the poses. I try to keep my breathing normal as Shiva pulls me close. Very close. The classic bride and groom staring pose. His hand wrapped around my waist the other playing with my earring. My right hand is on his shoulder and my left is on his chest.  We do many other poses as the photographer directs us. With each pose, the distance between us decreases and I find it more difficult to breathe normally. “Ok, last pose. Kiss-shot. On the count of three,” the photographer says. There is a sudden change in the atmosphere. My cousins are still watching us and I hope that we both can convince them with this kiss shot.“One.”I turn towards Shiva. Our gaze eyes lock but he looks nervous. He pulls me closer. I close my eyes.“Two and three,” the photographer says. I wait for his lips to make contact but time ticks and nothing happens. I open my eyes to find him staring at me with a doubtful look. What the hell? Shouldn't he lean down and press his lips to mine. But he is standing motionless. I could feel my cousins’ eyes on us.Panic set in and instincts take over my body. Before I know what I am doing, I lean forward and kiss him.🍀🍀🍀🍀SHIVAMy first kiss. I have had many fantasies about it. In every one of my fantasies, I will be the one to initiate the kiss and not the other way around.Yes, I know, I should have kissed Gowri when the photographer told three but I was nervous and hesitant because I didn't want my first kiss to be a fake one that too witnessed by many people. My whole body froze as Gowri pressed her lips to mine. Before I could register or react to it, there is a white flash and she pulls away. My lips tingle but Oh God! The kiss lasted for barely five seconds long enough for the moment to be captured.  That was not a kiss. It was more of a peck on my lips.“Good shot,” the photographer says. “Finally, we are going to eat,” says Gowri. But eating is the last thing on my mind now. My ego is bruised but I know exactly how to heal it. I have to wait for it. But then I will make sure the wait is worth it and this time it is going to be a kiss, not a peck.🍀🍀🍀🍀