24. Cuddle buddy

Anika

I woke up, feeling the warmth of someone's body around me. Slowly opening my eyes, I found Jai's arms encircling my middle, my back pressed against his chest.

Attempting to wriggle my way out, I heard his hoarse voice saying, "You're not helping the situation."

I halted abruptly, turning towards him. His eyes, a mesmerising hazel when touched by sunlight, locked onto mine. "Good morning," I greeted, surprised that I didn't have a headache.

"Morning, princess," he pulled me closer by my waist, and I rested my head near his chest.

"Why did you let me stay?" I inquired, realizing I couldn't recall anything after our dance.

"You wanted to sleep," he replied.

"So you slept next to me?" I asked, puzzled.

"You wanted me to cuddle you," he smirked.

"I soo did not," I replied in shock. Did I?

"You did," he kissed my head. "Thank you then," I said.

"You need not thank me for taking care of you, princess," he replied and I melted right there. Some people are worth melting for.

We got ready, and I changed into jeans and a top that I'd packed thankfully. With no time or energy for makeup, I put my hair in a bun and applied sunscreen and lip balm.

It was just us, Jai's parents, and Aarav left, and all of them were ready, so I was the only one left.

Reaching the bottom of the stairs, the smell of dosa hit my nose, and my stomach started grumbling.

"Anika beta, come," Mom called. "Good morning, Mom," I greeted and headed towards the kitchen.

"How did you sleep?"

"Good, good," I said.

"Did you now?" Aarav interrupted.

"Yes, I did," I replied.

"Bah, here I thought you guys did a nightout," he teased and I hit him with a spoon.

"Stop teasing, Aaru beta," mom said with a wicked smile.

"Shall I help you with anything, Mom?" I offered.

"No, you can take a seat at the dining table, beta," she said, smiling.

Me and Aarav proceeded to the dining table when I asked, "So what's up with you and Nisha?"

"Nothing."

"Didn't look like nothing when you guys were dancing yesterday."

"We're friends," he said.

"Aarav, jis school ka student tu hai na, usi school ki principal hoon mein. Tell me what's happening," I demanded.

"Nothing, seriously. She was my first friend. I've known her since I was 5. I lost touch, but now that I'm meeting her after almost two decades, it made me excited."

"Okay, sure," I said, still not entirely convinced.

We went towards the dining table and saw Dad and Jai already seated. "Good morning, Anika," Dad greeted me, and my fiancé was busy on his phone.

"Good morning, Dad," I greeted him, smiling. Jai lifted his head, and his eyes searched for mine. I don't know why he was looking at me differently than before.

"Maa, you can have the breakfast; I'll serve everyone," Aarav said, making Mom sit.

"Wait, I'll help. You can't cook for shit," I said, heading towards the kitchen.

Then we made dosas. I made dosas, and Aarav kept entertaining me.

We had breakfast, and then me and Jai left in the same car.

The next few days went by in a hurry. We had a lot of stuff to do, many preparations, wedding invitations, and so much more.

I officially shifted into my home. Although I didn't move the stuff out of my apartment, I practically left. I'm going to miss my place, my safety net.

The Mehendi and Sangeet are on the 20th, and Haldi on the 18th. The wedding is on the 22nd of June, and the reception on the 23rd.

The Haldi went smoothly; in our culture, the bride and groom have a separate Haldi function, unlike what they show in the movies. It was okay.

I wore a white and yellow skirt and top. The top was off shoulder and full hands. I absolutely loved it.

Though we kept video calling on a daily basis, I missed Jai. I missed hugging him and sharing my random thoughts, mainly his sarcastic jokes.

Then we directly met on the 20th, which was our Mehendi. Mehendi was scheduled in the morning, and Sangeet in the evening.

According to 'people', I had to hide Jai's name in my mehendi, and he has to find it. So I hid it in a way that he'd never find out.

When I was in deep thoughts, bored out of my mind while sitting in the same place for so much time, I felt someone's breath near my ear. What would a normal person do? They would have flinched, just like me.

The Mehendi wali didi glared at me and I turned towards the source of the disturbance.

"Hi, princess," Jai whispered in my ear, and I gave him a look. "Look what you've done," I showed him the faulty part that my flinch did. "Sorry, sorry," he chuckled and kissed my forehead.

"Why did you come?" I asked him. He was busy all these days, and even today.

Though he made time for me, I was still mad that I couldn't call him every chance I got. "Meri jaan ko dekhne," he replied.

"Cringe, dude!" It was not, but listening from Jai's mouth was different.

"I had to try," he smiled back.

Then we got ready for our Sangeet. I loved my outfit.

It was a pink lehenga set. I am a little obsessed with pink. I paired it up with a beautiful choker and earrings and heals obviously.

Jai was handsome as ever. His beard trimmed just how I like it.

And his outfit was just wow! He wore a blue kurta with matching pants. Simple but bomb!

All the functions took place at Jai's house/mansion. There were different decors for every function, and I'm really happy all of them turned out nicely.

Me and Jai sat in the front of the stage on a sofa, watching others dance. My performance was at the end because I wanted to end the event with a bang. I loved dancing. You name the dance form, I'll do it. I'll try, at least.

But the only thing was, Jai doesn't know how to dance. He might join me sometimes, but he doesn't like dancing like I do.

Diya performed a few songs solo. I loved her confidence, really. I wish I was as confident as her. I'm definitely stealing her choreography for 'Desi Girl.'

Then Aarav and Nisha entered the stage. I knew Aarav would have gone for a duet, but I thought he'd choose one of his cousins. They looked so good together that my 'romantic' heart was screaming.

Aarav was the definition of a Sunshine guy who is all goofy, and Nisha was the shy girl, making the perfect trope.

But something was fishy. They had nicknames for each other, smiling more than usual, and all lovey-dovey.

Look, I'm happy for both of them, but I'm the detective of the group who needs answers. I'm just curious like that.

They performed on 'Makhna' and 'Sweety Tera Drama,' indirectly directed towards me. My mind can't stop screaming, 'They look so cute.' But because I was an optimist, I might be imagining things.

I was so busy looking at them that I didn't notice Jai leave my side. When I started looking for him, I heard my favorite song, 'Jab We Met,' play in the background. When I turned, I found Jai stretching his hand forward for me to take it.

"Will you dance with me, princess?" he asked, and I accepted it with a shy smile. When we reached the middle of the stage, and nobody could hear us, I said, "You don't know how to dance!"

"I learnt," he shrugged.

"You did that for me?"

"I'd do anything for you, Ani," he replied.

I had a crush on the best guy ever. And now I'm marrying him.

We started dancing. He learned a little bit of salsa, so we were going with that. We didn't practice beforehand, so it was a little off in between, but the whole dance turned out perfect. I hope someone recorded it. I wanted the video and keep it safely locked with me.

We were holding eye contact and a bright smile the whole time. It was just so good! And when we finished our dance, everyone applauded. We reached the sofa again, and now my sole concentration was on him.

"When did you learn?" I was so excited.

"Since our marriage got fixed," he said casually.

"Why?"

"Because you like to dance," is all he said.

"But you didn't say anything yesterday." I asked.

"I wanted to surprise you baby"

These were the little gestures he did. I never wanted the expensive stuff from him. I wanted these cute moments.

Hoping someone caught it on camera because I desperately wanted a video.

I couldn't wait—obviously—so I bent forward and gave a quick peck on his lips. Came back like nothing happened when he tried to deepen it.

Then he bent down whispered, "You can't escape from me, princess."

After the whole program was over, I was super tired and wanted to sleep. All the guests left, and I had to return to my home. It was almost 2 am by the time everyone left.

We said our goodbyes and headed straight home. When we were heading towards the car, I heard Jai call me.

"Get home safely, and text me after you reach." He hugged me.

"Yes, sir," I replied and stayed in his embrace. His hugs were magical.

"Aapka ho gaya ho toh ghar chale?" Varsha teased, smiling. Way to ruin our moment.

"I'll drop you?" Jai asked me.

"No way I'm making you drive now," I replied. Papa was already taking us to our place, and I didn't want him to travel when he's exhausted.

"I'll leave," I replied, still taking from his chest.

"Okay," he kissed my hair.

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❀₊˚⊹♡

Ahhh they're so sweet, I might get diabetes reading about these two.

And we're so close to 200k reads🥹Never thought my first book would receive so much love🫶🏼🫶🏼

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