chapter 28

Passion like No-OtherIshana came back after some fifteen minutes. She looked worried. “Is everything okay?” Ravi asked, scanning her face. “Yes… just that these stings make me anxious,” she murmured, as she picked up a bottle of wine and stepped out. She climbed up to the roof.  “I don’t usually come up here,” Ishana whispered as she stared down, a cool breeze brushing against her face. Ravi was surprised to see that the roof too was well-maintained. Only her apartment was shabby. “People stalk me, and standing out in the open makes me an easy target.” She sat down against the wall and took a sip from the bottle. Ravi sat next to her and stared at the stars. “Your fiancée must be worried sick,” Ishana spoke thoughtfully and handed him his phone. He didn’t even know she had brought it with her. Ishana’s words reminded him of Namrita. He checked his phone, it had more than twenty missed calls. He started to get up, but Ishana held his hand. “Don’t go close to the railing. Sit here and talk, I will walk.” And she got up with her bottle.She saw Ravi dial Namrita, and the memory of her honeymoon flashed in front of her eyes. She smirked. If someone could read her thoughts now, they would think of it as porn. But what they wouldn’t know is that those moments were the mark of their love. Their true love.Pratham got up instantly and undid her hair, making them fall on her back and shoulders. “Are you ready?” he whispered huskily as he brushed her hair with his lips. She grazed his chest with her fingers. He followed suit. She felt his fingers on her thighs. He slowly raked them upwards, towards her stomach. Gently he brushed his fingers against her waist. She moaned at his touch. He moved up kissing her neck, he caressed the underside of her breasts. Stroking her, he sat on the bed. She sat on him. Kissing her neck, he reached her cleavage. A loud sigh escaped her mouth. He kissed and licked hungrily, and she pulled at his hair, dug her nails in his back. He made her lie down on the bed, and she waited for him to climb. Her mouth was hungry, her lips were dry. She wanted to kiss him, eat him whole. But he was moving down. He kissed her thighs. He bit her waist, and she almost screamed in pleasure.“Shhh,” he glided up to her face and placed his finger on her mouth. “Oh…” she pushed aside his finger and pounced on his lips. Sitting on top of him, she kissed him for long, and he kissed her back. Her hands were sliding up and down his body, and his were on hers. She wasn’t able to contain her desires, and then suddenly, he placed his finger on her sweetest spot. She exclaimed in surprised pleasure. Her mouth was wide open, and he kissed her wholly, sliding his tongue in her mouth. He fondled with her most intimate parts, and all she did was squeak, squeal, and ride on him in pleasure. She was about to break when she pulled his hand out of her. “What?” he asked, surprised. Pushing his hand on top, she smiled.“My turn to do the same,” she whispered, and he grinned ecstatically.He lay on the bed, and she kissed him. Starting from the neck, she moved to his chest, stomach, and waist. He moaned and groaned. She undid his belt, and he took off his pants. She kissed him on his thighs and moved down to his toes. As she sucked each of his toe-fingers deeply, he moaned with a pleasure like no other. Slowly she glided up. He was fully erect, and he was beautiful. She stood in front of him and admired the beauty that was now her husband.“What now?” she asked, sexual pains throbbing all over.He laughed and pulled her in the bed. “I will do everything to you first, and then I will truly make you mine,” he whispered in her ears as he nibbled at it. She blushed at his words. “Oh, you have no idea how long I have waited to do all this to you,” he swallowed her ear and raked it with his tongue. It tickled her sensually.“I want to do everything to you too,” she gasped as he cupped her breasts and played with her hardened nipples. “But first, stop the pain down below,” she whimpered.“Where?” he asked, teasing. At this, she took his fingers and placed them on her sweet spot. “It’s paining here. Please do something to stop it,” she begged with a pleasure she had never known.“Fine… we have all our lives for me to show you different aspects of heaven,” and he massaged her hungrily down there. She screamed under his erotic touch. “Shh… too loud.”“Remember, this will hurt,” and gliding on top, he pushed himself inside her. And it was a pain like no other. “Are you okay?” he asked at her expressions. After a few seconds, the pain subsided, and she widened her legs to welcome him in. Slowly but passionately, he started moving in her. What she felt was nothing short of euphoria. Nothing ever could be equivalent to that feeling – a feeling that declared that they were one, whole together. It was painful, but it was a sweet pain. To her, it seemed an eternity, and then finally, he fell. He fell on her like a warrior and kissed her deeply on her lips. He lay on top of her breathing heavily for a long time. And then they parted. Though now their bodies were apart, their souls were united. And not just in the physical form, but also in ways no one could explain.Ravi’s call had ended before, but Ishana was lost in her memory and was blushing and smiling. He didn’t want to disturb her. She turned to see if Ravi was free, he indeed was. He was sitting in the same spot and staring interestingly at her.She came and sat next to him.“How many days you were in Manesar?” he inquired.“All holidays. We spent forty days there, and most of them were spent in bed. You know when you meet someone and start exploring their body?” she mused, and he nodded uncomfortably. “Don’t be shy, we both are adults,” she laughed at his expressions. “Well, we were in that phase. I had never known love could be linked with passion. Pratham had once said to me that desire to kiss someone doesn’t always mean lust. And I realized it then. I wanted to kiss him all day long, and not just because I was hungry for his body, but I was hungry for his love too. And that hunger for love was satiated just the way my hunger for his body was quenched.” “A very nice way to put it,” Ravi appreciated, though he still was a bit uncomfortable at the mention of her sex-life.“So, you came back at the start of the term?” he asked.“Yes, we came back a few days before my fifth semester commenced. I moved in with Pratham, he was not a big fan of my apartment. Shiva and Sarv were already living together in Chennai, and we decided to separate homes once back. We all loved our privacy now.” She winked, and Ravi laughed. “Pratham was now a full-time photographer – having completed his MBA. But he stayed back in college and oversaw the workings of the photography department along with Ankit. Having him linked to the college was great for Mohta because his photos always brought limelight to it. So, they were more than generous to him. They even paid him to manage the department,” she beamed.Ravi wanted to ask her a lot of questions but didn’t dare. Apparently, her ‘you will get to know later look’ had instilled some unwanted fear in him.“So, what happened next?” Ravi enquired. “I wanted to declare to the world that he was mine now, but he stopped me. The biggest rule of the Miss Mystique India contest was that participants can neither be married nor can be engaged. So, we kept our marriage quiet. I resumed college, and he resumed work. I was in my final year now, and my routine was more hectic than ever. I studied all day, worked in the evenings, and lived a happy married life in the night. And every weekend, he took me home, and we spent quality time with his family,” she smiled at the fondest memories.“He must be the happiest man to have you as his wife,” Ravi commented. His eyes were twinkling with happiness. He was delighted to know that she did find her happily-ever-after. “It must be really hard to spend time in college. Together yet pretending to be apart?” he smirked.“You have no idea,” she grinned. “And Pratham did something exceptionally unexpected the day we rejoined,” Ishana was blushing so hard that her face was tomato red.“What?” Ravi was dead curious.  Back to college – Year 2004: Semester 5‘Meet me in the cafeteria now,’ Pratham’s text popped up on my mobile screen. It was our first day back, and only last night we had agreed to maintain as much distance as possible.Wondering what could be so important, I hurried towards him. However, the moment I stepped in the cafeteria, my eyes popped wide open. Sitting on his one knee, in the middle of a big crowd, was my darling secret-husband, and he was grinning ear-to-ear. Everybody around him was staring cluelessly, and every girl in the vicinity was pondering over just one thought, ‘Who is he going to propose?’As I stood in front of him, totally flabbergasted, his smile widened. “Ishana,” he started, and I felt my body shake and get covered with goosebumps. “I am not your boss anymore, so I am not breaking any rules here. And spending the last month without even a glimpse of you has made me realize one crucial thing. I am in love with you, more than anyone has ever loved anybody. I don’t care what anybody thinks of you. I care only about one thing, I cannot spend another second without you. Will you be my girl?” I was stunned at his declaration. “I… I… what should I say?” I asked meaningfully to him. I had no clue as to what he expected out of me.“Say yes if you love me,” he smiled seductively.“Yes. Of course, yes. I love you too,” I answered slowly. And at this, he got up, grabbed my waist, and kissed me fully on the lips. Public display of affection was becoming very common in our college, so everyone cheered, and Pratham hugged me.“Remember when I had first proposed, I had said ‘this is not the way I want to do this’?” Pratham whispered in my ears, still holding me tight. “Well, this was always the way I wanted to declare my love for you,” he was grinning now.“I had slapped you back then,” I replied, breaking the hug.“Yes, and I am glad I didn’t propose publicly at that time,” he was laughing now.  Present Day in Ishana’s HouseRavi was guffawing. “Without even a glimpse of you?” he mocked.“Yeah… though all we did was see each other in that break,” and she winked. Ravi continued laughing.“Why did he propose?” Ravi asked after a long hearty laugh.“He later told me that he did it because of two reasons. First, he always wanted to declare to the world that he loved me. And second, we would be coming and going together. We would be spending time with each other a lot. So, it would be better if we were officially dating. ‘Dating’ was not against Miss Mystique India rules. Hence, with that publicized proposal, he had bought a ticket to spending endless time with me,” she grinned, and Ravi understood what she meant.“So, what happened next?” Ravi urged.“Well, during the day we were boyfriend-girlfriend, and during the night we were husband and wife. I spent every free second with him – if he was available. The hardest was to keep our hands off each other. I spent all my free lectures and breaks in his cabin. So many times we had to stop and control ourselves from devouring each other. You know we got so loud each time we made love that everybody around us knew what we were up to… and we really didn’t want to cause a ruckus in the college,” she blushed at her words, and Ravi smirked.“Good, a person’s sex-life should stay private,” Ravi commented.“Yeah…” she spoke with the naughtiest smile ever. And he knew she was hiding something.“What?” Ravi asked bemusedly.“Well, a week after we had joined college, I had a class at 8 pm,” she was blushing still.“Okay, what happened then…?” Ravi indulged her. She shook her head and got up with a smirk. “Are you ready to leave? I have a shoot at 8:30 pm. The producer wants a night-setting, so I would be late,” Pratham grunted. He was all packed and ready to leave.“We can’t. Mr. Katyal has scheduled a two-hour long class from 8 pm,” Ishana sighed, and he was shocked.“What?” “Yes… so maybe we can meet back at home,” she whispered, fiddling with his shirt button. It had been so hard to wait all day to be in his company, and now she had to wait for not sure how long.“But I can’t wait,” he hissed, grabbing her waist.“What are you doing?” she asked, utterly bewildered. Not that she didn’t want him to, oh she wanted him to… but it was not the right place.“Do you know why people get legally married?” he whispered, rubbing his nose up and down her neck.“Why?” she purred, losing the battle of control.“To have sex whenever and wherever they want,” he murmured, massaging her body seductively.“But it is college, what if someone walks in on us?” she wanted to push his hands away, but it was so very difficult to control.“Why do you think I have installed two bolts on this damn door?” He was now hungrily kissing her neck. “Umm…” she groaned at his kisses and touch.“What if someone hears,” she voiced her concern.“Then just keep it low,” he ordered as he started unbuttoning her shirt. “Though I know it is going to be very difficult for you,” he teased, and she bit his ears. A similar moan escaped his mouth, and they laughed together.He undid and threw away his shirt quickly.“I had been waiting to do this for such a long time, since the moment I fell in love with you, and see, you are dressed in a skirt, supporting it,” and he grabbed her by her waist. Spreading her on his work table, he started kissing her all over. His passion and need to be with her was overwhelming. He kissed her again and again, and as they indulged in the carnal pleasure, they lost all of their control. Yes, they have been taking advantage of each other’s bodies for two months now… but still, it was beyond reckoning for them.“I hope no one was outside,” she muttered in an embarrassed tone as she got dressed again.“It is perfectly fine to lose yourself while having hard-core sex with your husband,” he whispered, planting infinite kisses on her lips.“But it is a college. It would cause a scandal,” she tried to get him in some control. She knew he was getting all ready for the next round.“Oh, I love a scandal when you are a part of it,” he hissed, pushing himself in her, yet again.“Tonight… all you want. Tomorrow is Sunday, we don’t need to sleep at all,” she suggested, and he grunted.“Do you know how hard it is to keep my hands off you,” he complained, finally letting go of her.“Oh… I know,” she snickered as she did her hair. Together they stepped out.Luckily there was no one outside his cabin.“You don’t know,” he protested, walking next to her.“Don’t assume that it’s just you who…” she started but stopped abruptly. Because perched on a bench outside was Ankit; and the weird, awkward smile he was wearing said it all.“I think I should go.” Feeling uncomfortable and embarrassed, she retraced her steps immediately.“No, you both should listen,” Ankit spoke seriously. Though he couldn’t wipe the grin from his face.“Nobody is happier about your marriage than I am… believe me,” he started, and they knew that Ankit had been dying to tease them for long. “But… loud sex-noises issuing from our department don’t bode well, you know,” he snorted.“You made your point,” Pratham hissed as they walked together.“I mean… ‘Oooh… aaahhh… Praaathhhaammmm’,” he mimicked her, and she hid her face in her hands, “they sound… umm… you know… but in college? Seriously?” he continued, and Pratham gave him a disgruntled look.“Ooye, you were not the quiet one either, ‘aaahh… ummm… I knoooowwww…’ nobody could have guessed that you, my man, could be a sex-machine. I mean, what was that dude?” he snorted.“So you were standing outside my door and listening to us so that you can mock?” Pratham demanded irately.“Nope, I came in, heard this much, and sat outside guarding the door so that no one walks in on you two. By the way, three girls came to meet you, and one was your wife’s classmate named Riya. Imagine what would have happened?” he was serious now.“Got your point,” Pratham barked.“Didn’t know you had so many hormones in you,” Ankit teased Pratham in his ears, and Pratham almost punched him.“Hello….” Ravi was waving his hand in front of her eyes. Ishana was too lost in her thoughts – flushed and grinning.“Oh, sorry…” she apologized, coming back to her senses. “It was the most magical time for us. I can’t help but remember those days whenever possible.” She grinned, and Ravi smiled at her affectionately. He knew she wasn’t going to divulge her thoughts – the ones that were making her blush so hard – so he didn’t ask them. “Pratham often scolded me for wasting months in my stupidity. Had I accepted his proposal before, we might have been planning for a baby by then,” Ishana spoke astounded. “Baby? Really… so soon?” Ravi exclaimed.“Yeah, I was shocked too. But he was very fond of kids, and wanted one of our own… anyways, he said he would wait for two years, then we will have one,” she smiled again.“You know what he wanted to name our daughter?” she questioned Ravi. Traces of smile vanishing from her face.Her change in tone surprised Ravi. He guessed, “After his sister?”“No. It would have made sense though. Anyways, he wanted to name her Prathana, a combination of Pratham and Ishana,” a tear escaped her eyes. “Prathana, as in your NGO?” he asked curiously“This NGO is my only child; hence, I named it so. Anyways, wasn’t he thoughtful? He had our whole life planned.”“So where is Pratham now?” he asked casually, and her face fell. A grim look appeared on her face that was just devastating. “Please tell me he didn’t betray you too…”“No, this time, I betrayed him… I told you I am cursed, a curse that entraps my every happiness… how could my happiness with Pratham be spared?” she flared up, and he gaped at her. Her sudden mood swings startled him often.“Why, what happened?” Ravi asked, composing himself.“Something that shook the foundation of our very lives,” Ishana whined and closed her eyes to continue.