(Chapter 22)

Syha

It's a friday night and I have made some plans with my friends from college. They are mostly from other states but recently are coming here for work and want to hang out. I'm more than happy to encounter some familiar faces after so long.

Araan's clients loved his work and they're ready to take the deal further up. I'm so proud of him. And to celebrate his success, we did what he desired for. A whole food play kinda thing and the ending was really messy. We had to clean it up all for an hour. But it was really fun.

Anyway, I told him about my plan. Don't know if he remembers because he's again cooped up in his office, binge-ing some new series he loves.

I have put on a Aghanoor kamiz and pants, my hair curled at the bottom and with my party bag, I'm ready.

Going to his office, I push the door open and lean against the door frame. Araan looks up from his laptop, his eyes trail me up and down, and he frowns.

"Where are you going?"

I sigh.

"I told you about the plan with my college friends? We're meeting up at the Curb." It's a court type place with games, food and all.

He suddenly slams his laptop shut and walks over to me, circling his arms around my hips. "I'm gonna be lonely." He murmurs, kissing my neck.

"That's why I told you to come with me but you said you need to finish your series." I remind.

He pulls back from my neck and raises his brows in confusion. "When did that happen?!"

I laugh at his absent-minded ass.

"When you were head down in your series. Now, wanna come then? I'm getting late."

"You won't feel like I'm intruding? I don't wanna seem clingy." He mutters insecurely.

My gaze softens as I cup his face and bring him down to kiss him.

"If it was on me, I'd keep you tied to me 24/7." I whisper against his lips and he smiles, bumping his nose against mine.

"I'll be down in 5." He pecks my lips one more time and bounds back to our room.

I text my friends to give them a heads up that my husband's coming and they sound thrilled. Araan comes back wearing a white button down and jeans, sleeves rolled up and hair tousled beautifully. He looks yummy.

"Gorgeous." I praise and enjoy his blush. He grips my hips tight and stares at me darkly.

"Speak for yourself." He attempts to kiss me again but I pause him, not wanting to get seduced and then late.

"Come on."

He pouts but nods along. We get in his car and drive to the location.

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My friends, Jasmine, Mark and Karen, are here all from different states. We hug each other tight and squeal, exchanging compliments and life stories. I introduce Araan to them and just like what happened with my collegues, Araan just clicks with them easily. He's so perfect.

"I'll get some tissue." Araan says while we sit at the picnic table for food. I put a hand on his arm, stopping him.

"I'll get it. I need to use the restroom anyway." I say and stand up when he nods.

After using the restroom, I go over to the counter to get the tissues and a large choco shake for Araan knowing he loves it. While waiting, I feel a presence next to me and look over to see Mark.

"Oh hey." I exclaim.

"Hi." He smiles nervously. "Didn't know you got married." He says out of the blue.

I shrug, "We all kinda lost contact after college, so no one really knew about it."

He looks down. "Did you want to order something?" I ask, not understanding why he's here instead of being with our friends.

"Nope. Just wanted to talk to you."

I raise my brows in confusion, "Okay. What is it?"

"Are you happy?" He suddenly asks and puts a hand on my arm.

I frown, not liking his tone. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"No, I mean. Araan seems really nice but you got married too early. Were you forced?"

My blood boils but before I can respond though, I feel a familiar arm snuggling around my waist and I'm being pulled against  sturdy chest.

"Hi, love." He beams at me and my anger dissipates.

"Hey, baby." I kiss his cheek. Mark looks awkward. Good for him.

"What's taking you so long here?" He asks.

"They were out of tissues. They're getting it." I inform.

"And you? The girls are waiting for you." Araan speaks to Mark, his eyes dark and unreadable, and his grip on my waist is firm. Not enough to hurt though.

"Yeah, I'll head back to them." He scurries off.

Araan turns to me and smiles again. I let him be and take the tissues. We head back to the table and much to my dismay, Mark continues to talk personally to me, offering me extra food.

It's getting annoying. And I hate that he's disrespecting the fact that my husband's right here.

I can see the girls are also noticing the change in demeanor. And I hate that Mark's turning our meeting awkward.

"Wait, you have sauce on your chin. Let me get that." Mark suddenly says and grabs a napkin.

"I got that." Araan interrupts and grabs my chin, forcing my face to his side.

Without hesitation, he kisses the spot and licks it clean. It doesn't end there, he trails his hot tongue up to my lips and kisses me deeply, leaving me breathless when he pulls away. "Sorry, got carried away." He mutters shyly and I'm sure my face resembles a riped tomato's!

Jasmine and Karen snicker to themselves and Mark looks straight out offended. I smirk, very well knowing what the hell just happened.

"Can you keep your pants up till the games?" Karen teases when we go over to the arcade area to play. Araan blushes red but the smirk is firm on his face.

"I'll try." He responds and Karen snorts. While I continue to blush profusely.

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