Chapter 16

Honeymoon! Did he just say honeymoon? Priya’s eyes bulged in surprise.  Was he serious?

“What do you mean?” Priya asked hesitantly.

“We haven’t been anywhere.  We should travel abroad.” Aman suggested.

“And do what?” Priya blurted out though she was dreading the answer.

“Go sightseeing, of course.  You can go shopping too if you’d like.” Aman replied, coolly.

“Oh,” was all Priya said in response.

“What did you think I was going to say?”  Aman smirked.

“N-nothing.” Priya stuttered, “Just…you know…people don’t go on honeymoons just to go sightseeing.  They go to…”Priya trailed off, making a motion with her hand in an attempt to prompt Aman to understand her insinuation.

“Oh of course! There would be plenty of that too.” Aman grinned.

If Priya were drinking a beverage at this moment, she would’ve spit it out all over Aman.  She was that shocked.  She opened her mouth to protest, but no words came out.

“Relax, Priya. I was just joking.” Aman said, chuckling lightly.

“Oh.” Priya said.  She wasn’t sure what to think.  She just didn’t want to be near Aman at the moment.  She walked to the other side of the room and sat down on the bed.

“I’m sorry, Priya. It was just a joke.” Aman conciliated.   “We don’t have to go anywhere if you don’t want to.”

Priya said nothing.

“Priya?” Aman tried again.  He walked over to the bed and sat down beside her.

“It’s just that…we aren’t,” Priya started.

“I know.” Aman replied.  “Let’s just forget about this. We had a great night. There’s no point in spoiling it over nothing.” He continued.

“Right.” Priya agreed.

Aman and Priya got ready to go to bed.  It was late and they were both tired.  While Priya was putting on her nightclothes, her thoughts traveled to her marriage, to her perfect date, to Aman.  Priya blushed at the thought of him. At first, they were two strangers hurled into a predicament.  Then, they became friends.  She wondered if they would ever fall in love.  Priya stared at herself in the mirror.  She was covered nearly head to toe in black.  Plain was the word that came to mind when she looked at herself.  Aman would never fall for a plain girl.  Priya heaved a great sigh before she opened the bathroom door and stepped out.  Aman was sitting on the bed and seemed like he was in some sort of deep thought.

“Aman,” Priya said cautiously.

“Hmm.” He replied without even looking up.

“Are you okay?” Priya asked, still standing.

“I’m fine.” Aman said coldly.  He abruptly stood up and stalked over to the sofa.  He stopped in front of it but didn’t sit down.

Priya watched Aman suspiciously.  She was taken aback by his sudden change in mood, but she didn’t want to bother him and make his mood worse.

“Priya,” Aman turned back to face Priya.  He pouted slightly.  “My back hurts.” He admitted quietly.

Priya smiled.  Aman was such a child sometimes.

“Please don’t make me sleep on that uncomfortable sofa tonight.” Begged Aman.

Priya stifled a giggle.  He was acting as if he were a child in a toy store pleading with his mother to buy toys for him.

“Is that a yes?” Aman asked, bemused by Priya’s laughter.

Priya stopped laughing.  It suddenly dawned on her what Aman was asking.  She looked down.  A small blush tinged her cheeks.

“It’s fine. I’ll manage.” Aman said, realizing how uncomfortable of a position he just put Priya in.

“No.  You can…” Priya said quietly.

“Are you sure?” asked Aman.

Priya just nodded.  She turned away from him and walked to the other side of the bed.  She laid down, pulling the covers over her.  She scooted all the way to the edge of the bed.  After settling herself, she looked back up at Aman.  He continued to stand where he was, making no effort to move.  A conflicted expression was apparent on his face.

“Aman, really. It’s okay.” Priya said.

Aman hesitated for a moment before walking over to the bed.  He’d had many girlfriends with which he’d spent countless nights.  He’d had his fair share of hookups and even a few one night stands.  However, he had never ever in his life been this nervous to get into bed with a woman before.  This wasn’t just any woman.  This was his wife, the woman he’d be spending the rest of his life with.  This was Priya.  Aman couldn’t help but acknowledge that he had a physical attraction towards Priya.  It was undeniable.  He silently promised himself that he would behave himself and keep his distance tonight.

“Aman,” Priya said.  She watched him curiously.

“Yeah.”  Aman pulled back the covers and laid down.  He immediately felt relieved as he straightened out his back against his very comfortable bed.  It felt a thousand times better than the sofa he’d been sleeping on.

Priya watched Aman.  A new wave of guilt surged through her.  Aman must’ve been silently suffering all this time.  Aman suddenly looked at her.  Their eyes locked for a brief moment before Priya looked down.  Aman’s brows furrowed in confusion.

“This was a bad idea.” Aman declared, flinging off the covers and getting to his feet.  He started towards the sofa.

Priya looked on in shock.  It took her a moment to respond.  She stood up and hastily followed Aman.

“Wait!” She grabbed Aman’s arm so that they both came to a halt just before reaching the sofa.

“What happened?” Priya asked.

“You’re uncomfortable.” Aman answered, looking away from her.

“You’re the one who’s uncomfortable, Aman.  I knew that sofa would cause you trouble.  You should’ve told me earlier that you were in pain.” Priya chided.

“That’s not what I mean.  You’re uncomfortable…with me.” Aman replied.

“I’m not. I…Should I be?” Priya questioned.  She awkwardly shifted from one foot to another.

“No! Not at all.  Um…let’s just go to sleep.” Aman said quickly.

He followed Priya back to the bed and watched as she slipped beneath the covers.  She looked up at him expectantly.  He slowly lifted the covers and laid down on the bed, his eyes never leaving Priya.  She seemed okay, not relaxed, but okay nonetheless.  Aman shifted awkwardly until he found a position he was comfortable with.  He laid with his eyes wide open.  Any ounce of exhaustion he was feeling moments ago seemed to have suddenly disappeared.  Priya wasn’t any better off.  She laid with her eyes glued to the ceiling, hesitant to move at all.

“Why do we do this?” Aman asked, breaking the silence.

“Do what?” asked Priya.  She took her eyes off the ceiling and focused them on Aman.

“Make things more difficult than they have to be.  Sharing a room was such a big deal.  Now sharing a bed…God! We’re worse than teenagers.” Aman said in frustration.

“I don’t mean to make things difficult.” Priya replied.  She believed Aman was placing the blame on her.

“It’s not just you.  We’re both at fault.  There’s this barrier between us, Priya.  We can’t just ignore it,” Aman sighed, “I’ll be back on the sofa tomorrow.  Don’t worry.”

“Aman…” Priya started.

“Maybe we can convince Payal we had one hell of an argument, you know, as an excuse to sleep in different bedrooms…if it ever comes to that, I mean.” Aman interrupted.

“She might worry.” Priya said.  She felt conflicted.  Staying in different bedrooms is exactly what she wanted, but she was enjoying putting on this charade with Aman.  It made her feel like an actual wife, and she really did take pleasure in spending more time with Aman.

“Let’s just see how tonight goes.  If you’re feeling awkward or uncomfortable, tell me.  Please, Priya. I mean it.” Aman said sternly but with immense sincerity.

“I will.  You don’t need to worry, Aman.” Priya replied.

“Goodnight, Priya.” Aman said.  He reached over and turned the lamp off.

Darkness washed over the room.  Priya felt Aman shift on the bed to get to comfortable position.  After that though, it felt like he wasn’t even there because the bed was so large.

“Goodnight, Aman.” Priya whispered to Aman, who had his back turned towards her.

Priya tossed and turned all night.  She couldn’t fall asleep for the life of her.  She didn’t know if it was because Aman was beside her causing some strange spell of anxiety or if it was because of something totally unrelated to Aman’s close proximity.  Priya looked at Aman.  He seemed to be peacefully asleep.  He was still turned on his side, his back still facing her.  Priya looked up at the ceiling in despair.  She let her mind wander to anything but Aman.  Her eyelids felt heavy after a while, and she soon fell asleep.

Aman awoke to a heavy weight on his chest.  He felt someone’s grip tighten on his shoulder.  When he opened his eyes, he found Priya snuggled onto his chest, her hand clutching onto his shoulder.  He was surprised at first and then slightly amused.  Aman felt a small breeze as Priya attempted to snuggle closer to him.  He immediately understood.  She felt cold and was unconsciously being drawn to the warmth of his body.  Aman had forgotten to close the window before going to bed, thus the crisp New York City wind was making its way into the bedroom, disturbing Priya’s sleep.  Another breeze, this one a bit strong, blew into the room.  Priya shifted in her sleep.

“Priya,” Aman whispered, “wake up.”

Priya stirred but didn’t wake up.  Amman tried to pry away from her, but he decided it was best to not disturb her.  After a bit of futile effort, Aman conceded.  He wrapped his free arm around Priya and went back to sleep.

Rays of light entered through the open windows.  Priya unconsciously shielded her eyes from the brightness.  She unwillingly opened her eyes.  Suddenly, she pulled back with such force that she startled Aman.

“Priya? What’s wrong? Are you alright?” Aman asked, half asleep and half shocked.

“I…um…” Priya struggled for words.

Aman noticed his arm still lazily placed around Priya.  He quickly pulled it away, sitting up swiftly.

“Sorry.” He muttered, a little embarrassed.

“No it’s okay,” Priya looked away, “I’m on your side of the bed,” she said, her cheeks on fire.

The couple sat there for a moment in awkwardness before Priya finally decided to move back to her side of the bed.

“I was feeling cold,” said Priya quietly.

“I know. I forgot to close the window.” Aman admitted.

Priya looked at Aman blankly for a second.  Suddenly, she burst out laughing.  Aman couldn’t help but join in the laughter.

Maybe this wasn’t such a bad arrangement after all.

Sorryyyy!!!! This took forever to upload!! I literally wrote a couple of sentences every night since the last upload. I just haven’t had time to sit down and crank out an entire chapter at once. I’m SO sorry! You guys will be seeing some solid drama pretty soon, I promise.

OMG! Sleeping in the same bed now! What’s going to happen next?

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