Chapter 45: chapter 45

Chapter Forty FiveMaya sipped her glass of wine and watched Karam and Aayushi dance in the centre of the room. They were doing an energetic jive that had her worrying for the expensive looking furniture around them.“What are you frowning about?” Kanak sat down on the arm of Maya’s chair and draped a slender arm over her shoulders. Her purple-blue hair fell forward tickling Maya’s nose and making her want to sneeze. She rubbed her nose, stifling the urge. “Was thinking about the pitch for Syncom. I think it’s come out well but we need a little more sparkle.” Kanak sighed. “Turn your busy brain off for this weekend, Maya. We all need a break.” Maya chewed on the fingernails of one hand, worry gnawing away at her insides. “Our company needs the break Kan. Losing our first contract that way was certainly not a great start for a fledgling business.”“No, it wasn’t,” Kanak acknowledged. “But it’s not the end of the world. We will make it work, Maya. Have some faith in us.” Yash and Aakash walked in at that moment. They were in shorts and sleeveless exercise shirts. Sweaty and tanned, they were…mouth-watering to say the least. Was it her imagination or had Kanak’s nails dug into her arm for a second? “Eww.” Aayushi groaned when Aakash pulled her in for a hug and pretended to mop his sweat up with her shirt. It was such a brother thing to do that Maya instinctively smiled, her mind going back to Vikram and his many, many stories of the mischief Aayushi and he got up to as kids. She felt Yash looking at her even before she turned to meet his gaze. The room had suddenly gotten very warm, she thought, beads of sweat dotting her brow. Yash glanced away from her and back to Aakash and Aayushi who were mock wrestling now, his gaze softening as he took in the sight. A pang of jealousy shot through Maya as she saw the gentleness in his face as he watched the siblings. She wanted him to look at her like that. She wanted him to feel that way about her. And she wanted…she wanted him. But when he’d offered her all that, all she’d managed to do was walk away.Yes, the room was ridiculously hot. Maya downed her wine and rose from her seat looking for the rest of the bottle. Tonight, was not about sipping delicately. Tonight, she was going to chug. The guys left the room to play billiards, Kanak going with them. She was a true hustler when it came to snookers or billiards and wasn’t going to let the opportunity to make some cash of the men pass her by. Aayushi came over to where Maya sat alone, feeling a little sorry for herself. “Hey. Are you doing okay?” “Yup.” Maya toasted her with her wine glass. “I think I am going to take this bottle up with me and kill it, all on my own.”Aayushi looked at her with mildly alarmed eyes. “Umm, sure. If that’s what you want to do…”Maya nodded seriously. “Don’t tell anyone but it’s not what I want to do. It’s what I need to do.” She stumbled out of the living room and headed in the direction of her bedroom, her head full of maudlin thoughts and even more saddening memories. When she finally made it back to her bedroom, she changed into shorts and a t-shirt and threw herself down on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. After a few seconds of ceiling contemplation, she decided this wasn’t the activity for her. Pouring another glass of wine, some of it spilling over the side, she opened the French doors leading out on the little attached balcony. Honestly, rich people! She rolled her eyes and snorted inelegantly. Who had balconies attached to bedrooms? Maya didn’t even have a balcony attached to any part of her flat.A knock on the door had her making her rather clumsy way over to open it. “Listen, you blue haired freak with the frog in your panties, I just wanted some alone time with my wine for company.”The rest of her rant died on her lips as she saw Yash standing in the doorway, in his faded brown cotton kurta pyjama, eyebrows raised and an amused smile on his face. “Do I even want to know about the frog in the panties?” She shook her head, her alcohol soaked brain still trying to process his presence in her doorway.“Why are you here?” she asked, finally. “I came to check on you,” he said, crossing his arms and leaning against the doorframe. “Why do you care?” She pouted sullenly, taking another glug of her wine. “Aayushi was worried about you.” His gaze travelled from the wine to her flushed face making her clutch her glass defensively.“Aah yes, Aayushi.” She turned and walked back into the room leaving him to follow. “We mustn’t let pretty, perfect Aayushi worry, must we? After all, that is your future wife you are talking about.” “Don’t be stupid, Maya,” he said, dismissively. “You know I’m not marrying Aayushi.” “Do I?” she asked, sitting down on the bed cross legged and eyeing him over her wine glass. His gaze took on that intent, predator’s focus that she knew so well. “Don’t you?” he asked, softly. Maya licked her lips nervously and Yash’s glance shot straight to the betraying gesture. His eyes darkened with emotion and he swallowed hard. “I’m going to leave now,” he said, distractedly. “And I’m going to take the wine bottle with me.” “No.” Maya lunged for it and grabbed the bottle before he could. She cradled it to her chest and glared drunkenly at Yash. “Mine.” “Maya…” He tried for a reasonable tone as he leaned forward to reach for the bottle. “Listen to me…”“No.” Maya leaned back, holding the bottle out of his reach. “I need this. It’s mine. It makes watching you wander around with everyone else and ignore me bearable. Even if I deserve the cold shoulder…” Yash froze, his body balanced over her own, one arm still reaching for the bottle. “Maya.” He shut his eyes, her name a bare breath of sound on his lips. And then Maya couldn’t take it anymore. She threw common sense out of the window, crossed the inches of space between them and kissed him. It was like flicking a match on dry tinder. The heat they generated and the sparks that flew would be something Maya would remember years from now. She gasped against his lips and he used it to slip his tongue into her mouth. Her hands clenched in the front of his kurta and she heard the old material give way in a soft rip. Maya’s slipped her hand into the gap the tear had created. She laid a palm against his thumping heart even as she fell back, drawing him forward to cover her with his body. Yash came willingly. She wanted this more than she wanted anything else. And still, he forced himself to stop. Breath gusting out of him, he rested his forehead against hers. She tried to kiss him again but he moved out of reach.“Maya, sweetheart stop,” he panted, trying to grab her wandering hands.“No.” She slipped her hand into his loose, baggy pyjamas and cupped him through his briefs. His eyes rolled back in his head and a helpless groan escaped him. A deep sense of satisfaction and longing flooded her at the sight of his open, unfettered pleasure.“Maya!” he gritted out when her fingers wrapped around him, nothing between them and his skin.She turned him over on to his back and straddled him, still keeping her grip on him. Slowly, ever so slowly, she started to stroke him, her eyes on his. She couldn’t have looked away from him even if her life had depended on it. With a last lunge at his fraying self-control, Yash caught her hand and pulled it away, kissing the palm before cradling it to his chest. “Please stop,” he whispered, pulling her close to nestle against him. “Why?” she whispered back, eyes closed and cheek nuzzling the side of his neck.“Because the first time I come with you in my bed, it will not be in your hand. When that happens,” he kissed her forehead. “And it will happen, make no mistake, I’m going to be so deep inside you, that it won’t be only my eyes rolling back in my head. And it certainly won’t be when you’re drunk. When this happens, it will be with both of us aware, sober, and completely conscious of our choices. It will be real. It will be honest. And it will be fucking incredible.”