Got Lucky

The grills were out and Balbir was manning them with a hawks eye of precision. If there

was one thing Balbir liked more than making my life hell, it was grilling. He had a knack

for making chicken dishes and to his credit, the results were always spectacular. He

always managed to come up with new recipes from the oddest ingredients and

somehow the end product was always delicious. Today he was making burgers with the

patties made of a mixture of chicken and minced lamb. I hope that it would turn out ok.

If not, there was always KFC. 

It was an afternoon where you just wanted to lounge around and soak up the sun,

which was exactly what people were doing. There were around ten people, all friends of

ours milling around, some taking a dip in the pool and generally having a good time.

Smita was yet to arrive with Krishna and Salonee. 

"Any luck?" Balbir asked, after looking around to check whether Jaspreet was within

earshot. 

"Yeah, I spoke to the wildlife conservation people yesterday." 

"And...?" he was impatient. 

"They were hesitant at first, and it took a lot of convincing, but in the end I made them

an offer they couldn't refuse." I said in my best Godfather imitation, which was not very

good. I sounded like I had a sore throat. 

"So it's done?" he asked, eyes bulging with hope. 

"Yup." I said nodding. 

"Hell Yeah!" he flipped the tongs he had in his hands and did a little break dance on the

spot before freezing mid-step. 

"Wait. What offer?" he asked suspiciously, turning towards me. 

"Don't worry about it," I evaded, "Nothing you can't handle." 

"What offer?" he asked again menacingly. 

"It's nothing!" I said with my hands out in front of me. 

"Ashok, spit it out or I'll stick these in you," he brandished the tongs at me

threateningly. 

"Don't you trust me at all?" 

"Now!"

"You just have to adopt one," I mumbled quickly. 

He froze. The tongs advanced until they were right under my nose. 

"I have to what?" 

"You have to adopt one." I said warily, keeping my eyes on the sharp tongs twitching

slightly in his grip. 

I could see his jaw clenching and unclenching as he processed this information. 

"You're kidding me right? Please tell me you're joking." 

I did not respond, instead pretending to look at a bird flying past overhead. 

"Brain, what the hell man, can't you ever do anything right?" He stalked off back

towards the grill, "it was a matter of asking a simple question, but no, you have to go

and make me adopt a freaking behemoth!" 

I followed at a safe distance, ready to bolt at a moment’s notice. I knew he would react

like this, getting all mad and excited before taking a minute to listen to the whole story.

He was still ranting as he attended to the grill, making sure his beloved chicken wasn’t

burnt. His concerns were not totally unwarranted though, I did have a habit of screwing

up in grand ways, and everyone knew that. When I was younger, my mom never sent

me to the grocery store. She would tell me to get a packet of milk and I would return

with half the store, sans the milk. 

"Dude, it isn't as bad as you think. It's not like you have to put a leash on it and tie it to

your garage door or anything." I tried to reason with him. 

"Then what? I build a basket full of fluffy pillows for it in my backyard?" He asked still

pissed. "Maybe it can use the pool as a watering hole!" 

"You just have to pay a small amount annually for its up-keep and stuff, that is It." 
"That's it?" he echoed, calming down some. 

"Yes, that's it. If you feel like it, you can go visit sometimes, but even that's optional." 

"You're sure?" he asked still skeptical. 

"Despite what you and your girlfriend think of me, I'm not a complete buffoon Balbir.

You're good, trust me." 

The smile returned on his face and he flipped a piece of chicken higher than normal,

catching it deftly as it came down and returned it to the hot bed of coals. 

"Awesome. Now we just have to convince Jaspreet and Smita to come for the trip." 

"Just help me convince Jaspreet. She'll do the rest." 

Knowing Jaspreet, that could mean showing up in a non-descript black van outside

Smita's house, faces covered with pantyhose, and putting a sack over her head,

kidnapping her, and taking her all the way to our destination before revealing

ourselves. 

"Dude, Jaspreet..." I tried to object. 

"Relax," Balbir had already guessed my concerns, "She really likes your girlfriend, she's

not going to do anything stupid, that's reserved for you." 

"Are we really doing this?" I asked him with a little doubt in my voice, "you could just

take her for dinner and drop the ring in the champagne." 
"Don't you dare back out of this now," the tongs of death were back. Maybe he was

Aurangzeb in his previous life. "You're the one that spurred this on, and you're not

backing out now." 

"Alright alright, I was just asking, that's all," I said with my hands up. 

"We just need to make sure Jaspreet doesn't get even a whiff of this or else it will blow

up in our faces." 

Jaspreet took that moment to bound out of the house and rush straight for us wearing

a long sponge-bob T-shirt that reached her knees. We immediately changed the topic

and started to talk about the grass and how it's a bitch to mow. Too late, she had

noticed. 

"What were you talking about?" she asked as she got to us. 

"Nothing." We both said in unison. That there was a guilty reaction if I ever saw one. 

Her eyes narrowed and she put her hands on her hips. I saw Sponge-bob was surfing

and his pet snail was directly where her legs met. I never figured out if she picked these

outfits on purpose or if it was just pure coincidence. 

"I'm giving you up to three to tell me what's going on." 

"There's nothing going on peanut," I tried to sound convincing. 

"One,"
"Baby, we were just talking about how I have to cut the grass, look at how long it's

grown," Balbir tried. 

"Two,"

We both started talking at the same time, making a racket, but neither making any

sense. 

"Three."

Her hand shot out and she grabbed my right ear between her thumb and first finger,

twisting it inward. 

"Ouch Ouch Ouch!" I screamed, "Why me? Pick on him!" I said pointing at Balbir. 

"Are you going to tell me?" 

"There's nothing to tell, you psycho!" 

She twisted my ear further until I was bent down to her level, the pain in my ear

unbearable. 

"I didn't hear you. What was that you said?" she said turning her ear to me. 

"Balbir just tell her dammit!" I said, fearing my ear was going to tear off any second. 

"We were making plans for a camping trip Jen," Balbir finally said, giving her half the

truth so that she would not dig for the rest. 

She released me and I retreated, one hand clamped over my ear, sucking in air from the

corner of my lips. My ear was on fire, it was going to be as red as a tomato in a few

minutes. 

"Camping trip? What camping trip?" she rounded on Balbir. 

"We were planning to go for one during the long weekend that's coming up. A

colleague of mine told me of this great place around three hundred miles from here. It's

hundreds of square miles of land that's been set aside as a wildlife sanctuary and

conservation effort. Pure untouched wilderness, and they have camping sites and

cabins, depending on your preference. I was thinking we go for it since it's our seventh

anniversary since we got together, kind of like a throwback to the old days," said Balbir. 

"Yeah, and it was supposed to be a surprise but you just had to go and ruin it, didn't

you?" I said, still rubbing my ear. 

"I'm not going camping," she said totally ignoring me, "I refuse to pee in the bushes and

I will not go for three days without a shower." 

"There are cabins, babe," Balbir wasn't going to give up that easy. 

Jaspreet's interest was piqued and she appeared to mull over it. "How do we know they

are any good?" 

Balbir smiled. He had prepared for this. He withdrew his phone from his shorts and

scrolled for a few seconds before handing it to Jaspreet. She gasped. I joined her to see
what she was looking at, as Balbir had not shown me this either. It was a quaint little

wooden cabin set in a lush green field against the backdrop of an imposing forest, at

dusk. It had a run-down, lived in look and there was even smoke coming out of the

chimney on one end. 

"This is the place?" Jaspreet asked awed. 

"Yeah, the colleague I told you about went there last month and took that pic himself,

it's no advertising or Photoshop gimmick." 

Jaspreet looked at the picture longingly and half heartedly said, "But it's almost the end

of the term and you know how much there is to do at the school around this time..." 

Balbir had one more card up his sleeve, "They have a telescope for star-gazing." 

Balbir and Jaspreet were amateur astronomers and they loved observing the night sky

at any opportunity they got. We had spent quite a few weekends back in college in the

woods, away from the city lights, with a telescope, staring at the night sky trying to look

for Mars or Jupiter. It was something else to be able to look upon another world,

millions of miles away, revolving around the sun just as we were and try to imagine

what it must be like out there. 

"You're going to help me grade all the papers when we get back," she said, pointing at

Balbir. 
"Babe, they're in kindergarten..." he stopped when Jaspreet glared at him, "Fine,

grading it is." 

"How many of us are going? Just us three?" she asked. 

"Actually, we were kind hoping you would be able to convince Smita to come," Balbir

said, rubbing the back of his neck. I was busy looking up at the birds again. 

"I see, I have to do all your dirty work," she said, then looked at me, "You owe me for

this one." 

She was just messing with me. She liked to be all tough because I always bullied her and

she got precious few opportunities to get back at me, which come to think of it, were

now rapidly increasing ever since Smita had come into the picture. Smita was one area

she could exploit my weakness and there was hardly anything I could do about it.

Dammit, I was no longer a lone wolf anymore, a renegade destined to roam the vast

plains, bound to no-one and nothing, taking what I needed, doing what I wanted,

eternally free, supreme master of my domain. 

"Yeah fine, I owe you, you owe me, same thing," I said dismissively. 

"Jaspreet!" we heard from the other side of the pool. 

It was Salonee, waving as she walked towards us, hand in hand with Krishna. She was

wearing a sheer white sundress, her green two piece bikini quite evident underneath.

Smita was a step behind her in a yellow T-shirt depicting Tweety on the front, her hands
in her denim shorts and flip flops. She still made my heart skip a beat when I saw her

flashing me a grin. 

Jaspreet met them half-way and they had their usual Hug-O-Mania. Krishna came over

and we shook hands. 

"Shit, is that a coal-fired grill?" Krishna asked eyeing Balbir's chrome plated prized

possession, "I haven't seen one of these since I was a kid, used to make some of the best

chicken I've ever had." 

Little did he know he had made a life-long friend with that innocent comment. Balbir

was all smiles and proceeded to giving him an in depth analysis of the working of his

overturned garbage can. That's what I thought of it, I hated cooking. I had the patience

of a three year old on an espresso binge, cooking just wasn't my thing. 

I was surprised when Salonee gave me a warm hug. I wasn't used to hugs from people I

wasn't familiar with, they were too complicated and required positioning of body parts

in ways I was not competent with. Smita being the exception, of course. She just fit into

me like the last piece of a jigsaw puzzle. Usually I just ended up banging heads with the

other person. I say hugs should be replaced with fist-bumps, make the world a simpler

place. 

"I heard what happened, thanks for getting Smita home safe," she said as she pulled

away. 
"Uhmmm... yeah it was, I didn't..." 

"I know, anyone would have done the same thing right?" She finished for me. 

I just smiled sheepishly. Smita then came up and hugged me as well, pressing the full

length of her body against me. Okay so maybe all hugs shouldn't be replaced with fist-

bumps. I needed to conduct a detailed research on the matter. We held each other for

slightly longer than necessary before she pulled away, running her hands down my

arms. 

"What happened to your ear?" she asked, eyes flitting over my right ear which was so

red you could signal aliens with it. 

I looked at Jaspreet pointedly, who stared back, daring me to tell on her. Smita followed

my gaze and smiled, "You probably deserved it." 

I turned to her in shock, "Who's side are you on?!" 

Jaspreet dragged Smita to her side and stuck her tongue out at me. 

"They were planning a camping trip to the Himalayas and they were keeping it a secret

from me," Jaspreet told Smita. 

"The Himalayas are in Nepal, Peanut," I said shaking my head, "and we were obviously

going to tell you about the trip, it's not like we could have teleported you there without

you knowing." 
"Gee thanks for clearing that up for me Mr. World Atlas, here I was thinking the

Himalayas were in USA," she said sarcastically as she took Smita and Salonee towards

the house.

"Where you going?" Krishna asked as the girls disappeared into the house. 

"Kaiga Conservation Park," Balbir told him. It is very close from our place in Dona Paula,

Goa. 

"Isn't that the place where they have all those endangered species?" 

"That's the one."

"Awesome."

Balbir then got a look in his eye that I knew very well. He had made up a plan and was

going to go ahead and execute it without any consultation of its viability whatsoever.

Like the time he decided to bring home two ducks, for no reason at all. Thankfully they

ran away within two days. I shook my head slightly to warn him but I knew it was futile. 

"Dude, you should totally come with us," he said a little too enthusiastically to Krishna. 

"What? To the park?" 

"Yeah, why not? Unless you got something else to do over the long weekend," 

"Not really," Krishna said as he rubbed his chin, thinking. 

Balbir's fished out his phone again as he showed Krishna the same picture he showed

us. Krishna gave a low whistle. 

"We can take the grill..." Balbir sweetened the deal. He was a salesman through and

through. 

"I'll have to talk to Salonee," Krishna said as he handed back the phone. 

"That won't be a problem," Balbir said, "leave that to Jaspreet." 

The patties were ready and Balbir went about preparing the burgers, lining them up on

a small table for everyone to take. The beer was running low in the cooler so I got

another batch from the kitchen. 

The girls came out of the house and my burger stopped half-way in its journey to my

mouth. Salonee had removed her sheer sundress and was now in her two piece green

bikini. She was curvy in all the right places. Jaspreet, the petite one, was in an orange

string bikini, but not too revealing. She might have been petite but no one would

mistake her for anything but a female. Smita was in a modest purple one piece with a

matching sarong tied around her waist that fell to mid-thigh. Her legs just went on and

on and the bikini hugged her curves like it was painted on. 

All three looked sexy without being slutty. I had to physically tear my eyes away from

Smita, the tops of her breasts peeking out over the bikini were mesmerizing. Her breasts
were not overly big but fit her frame just right, probably a little more than a handful.

The taper of her waist that gently swelled into her hips was very feminine and sexy. 

"They're coming with us for the trip," Jaspreet announced when they got to us. 

That was fast. Apparently Jaspreet had gotten the same idea as Balbir and had gone

ahead and invited Salonee as well. I looked at Smita with a questioning look and she

gave a small nod and a smile. I winked at her then turned back to the others who were

oblivious to our little exchange. 

"Who are 'they'?" Krishna asked, playing dumb. 

Salonee slid up to him and snuggled into his side, "Sweetie, they're going for a small

holiday the weekend after next, to Kaiga. I was thinking maybe we can go too?" she had

turned the charm on full blast, batting her eyes and walking her fingers across his chest. 

"I was planning to just relax that weekend, but if you really want to, I guess we can do

this instead," he said. I looked at Balbir and we grinned knowingly. The guy was a genius.

He was racking up some serious boyfriend points pretending to do this for her when he

had already agreed to it before. 

Salonee's face lit up as he agreed and she kissed him on the jaw, "Thanks sweetie." 

Well that was settled. We were going for a trip. I guess when you come to think of it, it

was a good idea to bring Salonee and Krishna along. Smita would feel more comfortable
if she had her friends around compared to being alone with people she had known for

only a few weeks. 

We spent the better part of the afternoon planning the trip, discussing the logistics as

the girls kept going into the house occasionally to do their own things. Jaspreet was

ecstatic at having other female friends and doing girly things as opposed to being

dragged into doing guy stuff when she was with me and Balbir. It had to be a nice

change from debating over which spanner was best suited to open a particular type of

nut. 

At one point Jaspreet was standing by the edge of the pool, talking to someone on the

other side, when I got an idea for payback. Twist my ear will she? Let's see how she likes

this. 

"Guy's, watch," I said in a low voice. 

I walked up behind her casually and stopped with my back facing her back. She was

asking if anyone wanted more burgers. Pretending to stretch I lifted my arms up and

yawned, then thrust my butt out behind me and bumped her. 

She gave a small shriek as she lost balance, teetering on the edge, leaning more out

than in. Her arms were waving frantically as she tried not to tip over. Time for the coup

de gràce. I extended my index finger and gently tapped her in the middle of the back

and yelled, "Waaaatccccchoooouuuttt!" 

As if in slow motion she tipped over and fell screaming into the water, a loud slap

echoing as she hit the surface face and chest first. That must have hurt. I almost felt bad.

Almost. She came up sputtering and spitting water out of her mouth, her eyes shut. 

"Ashok, you Asshole!" she screamed pulling her hair out of her face. By some freaky

telepathy powers she instantly knew it was me, even though she hadn't actually seen

me yet. Either that or I was the usual suspect. 

She got out of the pool screaming every expletive known to man-kind and I ran for dear

life as she chased me around the pool, picking up plastic plates and glasses and flinging

them at me. She tired after the third lap and went to sit on Balbir, hitting him in

frustration instead. He took it like a sport.  "I'll get you Ashok," she glowered as I sat

back down, ready to run again if necessary. 

Salonee came and sat next to Krishna, still laughing, "You're really an asshole Ashok,

that was just plain mean." 

Smita sat beside me and smacked me on the arm, "You need to stop bullying her,"she

told me sternly, "what she has ever done to you?" 

It was as if the gods had answered Jaspreet's prayers. She went on to cry about all the

times I picked on her as if she was a right little saint. She played the part of the victim

really well, drawing sympathy from all the others except Balbir. He knew how she could
mess my life up but wisely remained quiet, not wanting to get on her bad books. Smart

boy. 

I ended up getting a lecture from all three girls on how to properly treat a lady. Yeah,

that was going to happen. Jaspreet kept giving me evil smiles whenever the other two

weren't looking. Bitch. 

As the afternoon wound down people started leaving one by one until it was just the six

of us left. We cleaned up everything, everyone changed from their swimwear and we

went back out to sit for a little while before we parted ways. The sun was low in the sky

and a cool breeze had picked up. Smita sat close to me this time, our thighs touching. 

We finalized on last details the trip. Balbir and I had originally planned to hire a four by

four but Krishna said he could borrow his dads Toyota Fortuner. We would drive up on

Friday morning, probably taking around five hours to get there, and return on Sunday

evening. I would call up the park tomorrow and book the cabins since all the girls

refused to camp. I didn't get what was so bad about peeing in the bushes, I did it all the

time when I was drunk. 

As the sun finally disappeared, we walked to the cars, prepared to leave. I still hadn't

taken mine to the garage so Balbir had picked me up. Smita lagged behind with me as

the rest went ahead, walking alongside me with her arms crossed under her chest. It
was the first time we had been alone together, the whole day someone or the other had

always been around, not giving us a chance to be by ourselves. 

"I enjoyed myself today," she said. 

"Are you sure about the trip?" I questioned. 

She nodded, "Yeah, it's been a while since I've gone somewhere like this and let loose a

little, it should be fun. Besides, I've heard there are endangered species being

rehabilitated there, someone has to make sure you don't feed Jaspreet to them." 

"Thanks for the idea," 

"Ashok, I swear..."

"Relax, I'm not going to feed her to a T-rex or anything." 

We were almost at the cars. I didn't want her to leave, we had spent so little time with

each other today. 

"Do you really have to go?" I asked, "you can stay for a little while, I can drop you with

Balbirs car later," I tried. 

"Not today Ashok, I have to babysit for Amrita tonight," she said, "Amrita's my oldest

sister," she added when she noticed me trying to figure out who Amrita was. 

"Ah, Ok,"
"We'll do something during the week ok? I promise," she said, putting her hand on my

arm. 

Krishna hooted and I flipped him the bird. 

Another quick peck on the lips and she was in the car and on her way. I heard

something behind me and turned to see Jaspreet coming out of the house with a cricket

bat. Damn it. Time to pay the piper. 

I was at work on Thursday afternoon, staring in despair at the humongous pile of

paperwork in front of me, when my phone rang and I smiled as I checked the caller id. 

"Howdy there, sexy thang," I said in a southern drawl. 

She giggled on the other side, "Can't you ever just say Hello like a normal person?" 

"I could, but where's the fun in that?" I said as I leaned back on the chair and stretched

my arm out behind me. 

"Listen, what are you doing tonight?" 

"Nothing special, just going to go home after work and maybe watch a movie on Netflix,

I've been putting off watching The Martian for a while." I lazily wrote the word Martian

on a paper on the desk. 

"I have a better idea," 

"I'm all ears,"

"Dinner, my place,"

Watching a space movie versus spending time with Smita. That was a tough one. 

"I'm sure Matt Damon can wait another Sol for me, what time?" 

"Shall we say seven? Oh, and I need you to do me a favor, can you get some things on

your way here?" 

"Of course. What do you need?" 

She listed out the items she wanted and I wrote them down on a piece of paper. 

"What are you planning to cook?" I asked as I finished the list. 

"Who said I was cooking?" she asked playfully. 

"If you're not... then who? I was confused. 

"Nope, it's just me and you." 

"But then if..." the penny dropped. "No way." 

"Oh yeah."

"Smita there isn't an antidote in the world that can help you if you eat what I cook." 

"Why don't you let me worry about that. Besides, I'm going to guide you, we'll cook

together." 

"I've never cooked before, not even putting coffee in the machine." 
"There's always a first time for everything." 

I gave up, "It's your funeral." 

"In that case, let's make it a tasty one." 

We spoke for a bit before hanging up, me promising not to be late. I stared absently out

of the window at the dark clouds gathering in the distance. I had to cook. Moreover, eat

what I cooked? I would rather sample rat poison dipped in the venom of a pit viper.

How the hell did she convince me to do something I absolutely hate? I nearly burn the

house down when I try to cook, boiling water was a problem for me and here I had

gladly agreed to cook with her. I had it bad, real bad. 

I turned back towards the stack of papers, pulled out the topmost one, and stared at it

without really seeing anything. I just hoped the fire brigade did not have to be called

tonight.  The weather was getting increasingly worse as I drove to Smita's place, one of

those freak storms that pop out of nowhere, when least expected. It could not have

been in greater contrast to last Saturday when the sun was shining down on us, turning

us golden brown. I was driving an old Honda City supplied by the garage since my Suzuki

Swift was still in repair. The damage was quite extensive, the radiator was leaking, the

intercooler was busted, the fan belt was almost torn, and the Turbo was a little messed.

That was excluding the bodywork, headlight and windscreen. It was going to cost me a
small fortune to fix it up and I had not told Smita about it. She was feeling bad as it was

and I did not want to add to her guilt. 

I ran to the door with the groceries just as the rain pelted down, the first large drops of

water splattering the ground, giving off that wonderful earthy smell. Putting the grocery

bags down I shook myself off as I waited for Smita to open the door. I wiped a few drops

of water off my glasses, and looked out at the rain. It was just a moderate shower at the

moment but if the clouds approaching were any indication, it was about to get a lot

worse. 

I did not hear the door but felt warmth behind me and her arms snake around my waist

as Smita propped her chin on my shoulder, joining me in looking at the rain. I could feel

her soft form pressed up against my back, feeling wonderful. 

"Beautiful, isn't it?" she said after a while. 

In a span of a few minutes the ground was soaked and small rivulets of water were

running down her driveway to join the stream on the main road. Her swing stood like a

lone soldier, swaying slightly in the middle of the garden, being pelted from all

directions by the rain. A fine mist was picked up by the wind and sprayed us with

countless thousands of tiny droplets. 

I turned and placed a kiss on her temple, "It sure is," I said looking directly at her,

hoping I didn't sound too corny, and then back at the rain. 
Her arms tightened around me and she bit my earlobe, "Someone's learnt flattery," she

said softly in my ear as she blew gently over where she bit me. 

I tilted my head and tapped her lightly, "Just saying it the way it is." 

She released me, took hold of my arm and pulled me in, "it's getting chilly out here, let's

get inside." 

The sound of the rain got muffled as I closed the door behind me and followed Smita

into the warmth of the house. She was wearing a dark green halter top that left her

arms bare and a pair of snug fitting blue jeans that framed her cute little ass perfectly as

she swayed her hips in front of me. I followed like a donkey following a carrot on a stick.

I had come directly from work so I was still in my formals of a shirt and pants. We

walked to the kitchen and I deposited the goods on the counter and turned to face her. 

Before I could say anything she spoke up, "Don't even try it, we are cooking, that's

final." 

"But-"

"No buts. Don't worry, it's nothing complicated." 

"What are we making?" I asked, curious. 

"Sandwiches. I figured we should pop your cherry with something simple, ease you in

slowly so you don't make a total mess your first time," she said wryly. 
The double entendre was not lost on me but I did not have any response to that. I just

blinked, trying to find a smart enough retort. 

"Oh my god, you should take a look at your face," she laughed, "you look like a deer

caught in headlights-" 

She stopped laughing abruptly as she realized what she had just said and I burst out

laughing instead. 

"Are you going to crash into me by any chance?" I asked, still laughing. The tables had

turned. 

She nudged me on the chest with her right shoulder, "Wham!" 

I clutched my chest, pretending to be mortally wounded, "Oh, the agony!" 

She started removing the items from the grocery bag, "By the way, how's your car

coming along?" 

"Not bad, I should get it back next week," I said, joining her in unpacking, our hands

brushing each other’s occasionally. 

"You're never going to let me drive your car again, are you?" she asked, not looking at

me. 
We had not spoken much about the crash since it happened. Smita's mood always

turned sad when the conversation went in that direction so I made sure I avoided it as

much as I could, I could not stand to see her down. 

"You can drive it whenever you want to Smita. I can even take you to the garage with

me on Monday so you can drive it back," I said seriously. I did not want her thinking I

would ever hold it against her. 

"Thanks," her mood brightened again and kissed me on the cheek. It must have meant

a lot to her. 

"By the way," I started as she directed me to arrange the huge slices of bread on a

plate, "who taught you how drive like that again?" I tried to sound casual. 

I continued my task and got no reply. After a long pause, I dared to glance at her and

found her leaning her hip on the counter, hands folded across her chest, with an

extremely amused look on her face. 

"You've just been dying to ask me that haven't you?" 

"Of course not," I quickly went back to the bread, trying to sound as nonchalant

possible, "It just crossed my mind since we were on the topic of the car and stuff..." 

In all honesty, it had crossed my mind a few times. Okay, a shit load of times, but I could

not think up of any innocent way of bringing it up without coming across as a nagging,

suspicious middle-aged housewife. 

"You're a terrible liar Ashok," I could even hear the amusement in her voice. 

"Yes, I've been told that," I said as I ran out of bread, "repeatedly." 

"Will you grate the cheese for me please?" she asked as she removed a block of cheese

from the fridge and handed it to me. 

"No problem." I was glad I was being given such manual tasks. This I could do easily.

"What sandwich are we making?" 

"It's a special one I came up with. The GMCT sandwich." 

"GMCT?" I questioned.

"Grand Mega Cheesy Tasty sandwich. Patent pending" 

I cocked an eyebrow at her. 

"I was five and she was seven okay? Our vocabulary wasn't very refined at the time." 

"So we're going to have something you concocted when you were five?" 

"Obviously we've made a few changes since then," 

"And it never occurred to you that maybe the name needed a change as well?" 

"Hey, do you want the Grand Mega Cheesy Tasty sandwich or not? One more word

against it and you'll be eating raw cabbage from the dustbin," she waved the knife she
was using to cut some peppers at me. What was it with people and shoving pointy

things at me? Did I look like a pincushion? 

Whatever the case, I absolutely adored how she could act totally childish at times. As I

looked over at her, I noticed how her tongue stuck out at the corner of her lips as she

concentrated on cutting the peppers in perfect proportion and how she blew away

errant strands of hair that fell across her face as she worked. Not for the first time I

thought about how I could spend hours doing nothing but simply looking at her. 

"Done," I said as I finished grating the cheese. 

"Onions, chop chop," she ordered. 

"Are you a cannibal?" 

"No," she was confused, "why?" 

"Because if I chop the onions you'll find chunks of my finger in there for you to enjoy." 

"Ughh, gross Ashok," she screwed up her face. "Fine, would you set the table while I

finish this up?" 

The dining table was adjacent to the kitchen, separated by a low wall and one could see

what was going on in the kitchen. It was a small square glass table with four high backed

chairs, each on one side. 

The rain still hadn't let up and if anything, it sounded like it had increased in intensity

judging from the increased staccato from the drops hitting the roof. Driving back was

going to be a bitch if it continued like this. I stared at the table and wondered what the

hell I was supposed to do. For me, setting the table meant getting rid of the pile of junk

on it to make enough space to put a plate on it. Either that or clear a spot on the floor in

front of the TV,

but her table was spotless and sparkling in the low light. 

"Plates are on the top shelf," Smita called out. 

Right. Plates. We would need those, why hadn't I thought of that before? Might as well

get glasses while I'm at it. Since we were being fancy, spoons and forks wouldn't hurt.

Was I missing anything? Ah yes, tablecloths. After all, we didn't want to have food stuck

all around our mouths. I was proud of myself as I surveyed my immaculate setting of our

eating area, identical dinnerware set on opposite sides of the table. I adjusted a spoon

slightly so it was perfectly in line with the rest. 

Just as I was about to go back to the kitchen there was a loud crack of thunder that

shook the entire house and suddenly complete darkness enveloped us. All that could be

heard was the steady sound of the rain battering the house. The power was out. 

"Smita..." I called out. 

"Wait for it," I heard from her direction. 

There was a low mechanical rumble, distinct from the sound of the rain, that

permeated the silence and the lights came back on for about five seconds before they

flickered and went out again as the rumble slowly decreased to a stop. 

"Shit..." I heard Smita curse. 

I switched on the flashlight on my phone and joined her in the kitchen. 

"I think the generator is out of fuel," she said apologetically. 

"It's okay, I think this is better anyway, where do you keep the candles?" 

"Really? A candle lit dinner? Do you want me to wear a corset as well?" 

"With high heels?" I asked hopefully. 

"You men are impossible!" she huffed as she walked past me and got candles from a

drawer. 

"You started it..." I said in a small voice. 

"It's a good thing the sandwiches are done," she handed me the candles and took the

food to the table. "Hurry before they get soggy." 

Placing the two lit candles in the middle of the table I joined her, taking a seat opposite

her. 

"Dig in!" she said attacking her sandwich like a ravenous wolf. 
She ate like a pothead who had the munchies. Strings of cheese extended from her

mouth to the sandwich as she took a bite and pulled away, sauce dripped down onto

the plate and she made delicious moaning sounds as she chewed. I was staring open-

mouthed, my sandwich forgotten. 

She noticed me looking and smiled, a pickle stuck on her cheek, "There is no dainty way

of eating a GMCT sandwich, so don't expect civilized behavior from me, this is the way

it's meant to be eaten." She took another sloppy bite. 

I grabbed my sandwich in response and took an enormous bite with similar results as

hers. I had to keep myself from moaning as well. It was simply delicious. There was just

enough bread to match the splash of different sauces. I detected sliced boiled potatoes

between strips of ham and other stuff I couldn't identify and didn't know when she

added them. All this capped with a flooding of melted cheese. This is what heaven must

taste like. 

"How is it?" she inquired. 

"This is officially the best sandwich I have ever had, "I said between mouthfuls, "we

should open a restaurant, you should go onto Master-Chef, you should travel the world

sharing this delicacy, people need to know about this!" 

"Easy there Tiger," she laughed, "that's the cheese talking." 

I couldn't believe I was eating like a rabid dog in front of Smita. Wait till Jaspreet gets

word of this. She had painstakingly schooled me on the do's and don'ts of eating with a

date and here I was violating each and every one of her rules, and the best part was, it

wasn't even my idea. Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined Smita being

this cool. That's the only word I could describe her with right now. Cool, with a bob of

the head. 

We finished eating and I sat back in the chair, content with life. Across the table Smita

gave a tiny burp and immediately her hand shot up to cover her mouth as she

mumbled Sorry. 

I could not help laughing, "That's the sign that the tank is full." 

She patted her tummy, "Oh yeah, I'm stuffed, nothing's going in me now." 

I gave her a naughty smile. 

"Get your head out of the gutter Ashok." 

We cleared the table and I went and sat on the couch with one candle as she finished

putting the remaining food in the fridge. Then she came over and sat right beside me,

leaning forward to place her candle on the coffee table. She wrapped her legs under

her, put her arms around mine and leaned into me, resting her head on my shoulder as

we silently listened to the thrum of the rain on the windows. I was glad we could sit like

this in silence and not be uncomfortable, each just enjoying the presence of the other. 
"We dated for four years," she started quietly. 

Even though it was out of the blue I knew what she was talking about but chose to

remain quiet. She would tell me at her own pace. 

"He was a pilot, one of the big airlines, in a different city almost every day." 

Shit. A pilot? Couldn't he have been a janitor or something? 

"We were pretty serious, I knew he was going to pop the question any day," she was

tracing patterns on my arm with her finger, "I was head over heels into him, enough to

look past his constant flirting with other women. I thought it was just harmless banter.

He was tall, handsome, well spoken, and could charm the pants off a girl with just a

smile, and he was mine. What more could a girl want?" 

Great, I had the love-child of George Clooney and Brad Pitt to live up to. 

"I was going to move in with him but he was always away in some other country so I

never got around to it," her tone was even and level, like she had accepted what had

happened and moved on, but I knew it must have hurt a lot at some point in her past. 

"He had a Ferrari, a gift to himself. That's where I learnt how to drive a stick." 

I was going to hang myself. George Clooney and Brad Pitt had a threesome with Vin

Diesel. Screw hanging, I was going to douse myself in petrol, light myself on fire and
jump off a cliff into a freezing ocean below. I could not hold myself any longer, I had to

say something.  "if he was that good, how come he's an ex?" 

"When things seem too good to be true, they usually are Ashok," she said as she

measured her hand on mine, her palm flat against mine. The tips of her fingers reached

just beyond the line of my third knuckle. 

That hit a little too close to home. As I turned to look at her beautiful face in the soft

glow of the candle-light I wondered whether she was too good to be true for me too. 

"What happened?" I asked, tucking away a strand of her unruly hair that had come

loose. She smiled at that. 

"Remember I told you he was in a different city almost every night?" 

"Mm-hmm"

"Well, he had a different girl in almost every city as well," she said quietly as she

interlaced her fingers with mine. 

"He cheated on you?" I asked incredulously. 

She just nodded, bringing our joined hands to her lips and tracing the outline of my

knuckles with her lower lip. 

"That must be the dumbest son of a bitch on the face of this planet." 
And I meant it. Who in their right mind would cheat on this amazing woman next to

me? You'd have to be stark raving mad. Even Johnny Bravo wasn't that stupid. 

"Smartest thing you've said all night," she said as she looked up at me smiling, "But

enough about that." 

She got up onto her knees and swung one leg over mine and sat with my legs between

hers, straddling my thighs. "I don't think I've thanked you properly for the other night,"

she said, taking both my hands in hers and pinning them on the couch, on either side of

my shoulders. 

There was something nagging me and I guess she must have she picked up on it by the

look on my face, "What's wrong?" 

"Nothing,"

"Brain, what did I say about you and lying?" 

"I'm not very good at it?" 

She kissed my nose, "That's right. Now tell me what's wrong." She still had my hands

pinned. 

"It's just... your ex was like WOW!... and I'm like wow..." I was finding it difficult to

explain myself, "how can I even begin to..." 

"No." she said forcefully as she brought our hands between us. "Don't you dare. You

don't have to compete with anyone Ashok, least of all him. Do you understand?" 

I nodded but it must have not been very convincing as she continued, "Brain, do you

know why I'm with you?" she asked in a softer tone, "Why I like you?" 

"Temporary Insanity?"

"Stop it." she admonished. "It's because when I'm with you I can be myself. I can joke

around, I can snort when I laugh, I can eat like a pig and I know I'm not going to be

judged." 

I was still looking doubtfully at her. 

"Do you think I've ever eaten a GMCT in front of my ex? 

Judging by the line of questioning I think the answer should be no. I shook my head. 

"That's right. Never. You know why? Because it's not proper and lady like and all that

crap. I know it sounds ridiculous but I'm expected to act a certain way, be the perfect

arm candy, and be sophisticated and suave all the time. Trust me, it gets old very fast." 

I had never looked at it that way before. I heard Spiderman in my head saying, With

great beauty comes great responsibility. Or something like that. 

"But when I'm with you, I can just be me. You let me be me, no pressure, and I can tell

that you like me the way I am, the real me. You do like me that way, don't you?" she

asked sternly, pinning my arms again and leaning closer. 

"I wouldn't have you any other way," I breathed, looking directly into her eyes even

though I could barely see them in the dark. 

She closed the distance between us and grazed her lips on mine from left to right. The

feeling was exquisite. 

"Are you going to stop thinking about all that now?" she whispered in my right ear. 

Damn, she was a good negotiator. The doubts were already disappearing one by one.

She descended again, this time dragging her lips from right to left. They felt like they

were on fire. 

"You didn't answer, "she whispered in my left. 

Answer what? What were we talking about? I was brain-dead. She dipped further and

softly bit my lower lip and pulled back, taking my lip with her, her teeth dragging over it

as it sprang back to its position. 

"Any more doubts?" she asked, looking at my lips before lifting her gaze to look me in

the eye. 

"Huh?" I asked stupidly. 

She smiled, her dimple pronounced even in the dim light, "Perfect." She tilted her head

to the side and planted her lips on mine, while shifting my hands from the couch and

placing them on her back. My hands were on the curve of her lower back, just above her

ass. I moved them up and down slightly relishing the way it swelled closer to her butt

and narrowed as I travelled up. Her hands came to rest on my collar bones. 

She deepened the kiss, opening her mouth slightly and tentatively exploring my lips

with her tongue, imploring me to open up as well. I was just following her lead, rolling

with the waves, going with the flow. My inexperience didn't allow me to do much more,

but I could mimic, and mimic I did. Parting my lips as well, I granted her access and

immediately she snaked her tongue forward, flicking my tongue with the tip of hers. Her

hands travelled up to either side of my neck, the tips of her fingers lightly caressing the

back. 

I thought I had died and gone to heaven. Her mouth was slightly sweet and the way she

was playing with me, her tongue occasionally darting out and teasing me before

retreating back into its cave had me growing hard in my pants. 

The rain was now just a dull buzz in the background as I was itching to explore her

body, my hands gripping her waist tightly. She broke the kiss momentarily to look up at

me. 

"You know there are other parts of me besides my waist right?" she asked huskily. 
"I... I didn't know if I should, maybe you didn't want..." my fog-induced brain wasn't

firing on all cylinders at the moment. 

"Ashok, I'm draped across your lap and playing tag with your tonsils, I don't think I can

give you any more indication than that," she said nudging the tip of my nose with hers. 

"So I can...?"

"Yes, you can," she nodded and our lips met again. 

Slowly I dragged my hands lower than I had previously dared and slid the over her jean

covered ass. I was rock hard just by that simple move. The way she was sitting had her

ass jutting out and the jeans were pulled taut against it. I ran my hands all around her

cheeks, squeezing and making her give a little moan into my mouth. 

The little moan gave me the confidence to try something more, after all, it wasn't fair if

she didn't enjoy what we were doing as well. Waiting for the right moment I snaked my

tongue into her mouth as soon as she had pulled back and began exploring. Her mouth

was even sweeter on the inside and I could tell I had surprised her by the way she jerked

her head back a little before accepting the intrusion. 

I welcomed her tongue back, then sucked on it briefly, swirling my tongue around hers

simultaneously. She moaned again, a little louder and longer this time, and the

sensation travelled straight down to my groin. She had arched her back, pressing her

soft breasts into my chest and her breathing was becoming heavier. 
I wasn't going to let up. As I kept up my onslaught, my hands travelled up and under her

top, touching her silky smooth skin for the first time. It was warm and felt like velvet

under my fingers. I traced the twin ridges that ran parallel on either side of her spine.

The higher I went, the more she pressed herself against me, her crotch now directly

sitting on mine. There was no doubt she could feel all of my excitement, even through

my pants and her jeans. 

Reaching her upper back I came across her bra and stopped there. From there I raked

my fingernails back down slowly until I reached the top of her jeans. Through all this she

had begun attacking my mouth with fevered intensity, her hands now in my hair,

gripping it tightly in her fingers. I was painfully hard by now and afraid of losing control

but I just couldn't get enough of her. 

Finally she broke off and rested her forehead on mine, her breathing slightly ragged,

her breasts heaving against my chest. I loved the feel of them on me and thought about

how they would feel when we were both out of our clothes. 

"Someone's a quick learner," she whispered between breaths, her eyes still closed. 

"I can't take all the credit," I managed to respond, breathing equally hard, "I've got an

amazing tutor." 
Her eyes opened and she looked into mine, as if searching for something. Then,

unexpectedly she pivoted her hips down than back up so that her crotch slid along the

entire length of my erection. 

"Ssssmita!" I hissed between clenched teeth, my hands grabbing her hips firmly. 

"Hmmm...?" she asked, not having moved at all except for her hips. 

She did it again, more slowly, pausing at the base before dragging back up. 

"Smita don't..." I managed to get out, pulling her hips towards me to try to prevent her

from doing it again. 

"Why not...?" her voice was barely above a whisper. 

"Because..." I didn't want to admit it. 

Her hips went down again and I could feel the heat emanating from between her legs

even through her jeans as she came back up. Despite my efforts to still her, she

continued to torture me, her strokes getting slower and slower and my peak

approaching closer and closer. The whole time she never took her eyes off mine and I

couldn't stop looking into hers. She must have sensed I was about to blow because she

paused at the bottom. I shut my eyes and my whole body was as tight as a drawn bow-

string as I tried to concentrate on anything except what she was doing. 

"Why...?" she whispered again, her tongue snaking out to trace my upper lip. 
If she came back up I was done for. I didn't know if she knew what she was making me

go through but deep inside I had the feeling she knew exactly what she was doing. This

was like payback for getting her all hot and bothered. 

"Because... Because I'll make a mess if you do," I croaked. I was so going to get her back

for this. I was going to pay her back a thousand fold, I was going to tease her until she

begged me for mercy. 

She smiled and I knew she had no intention of stopping, this had been her goal all

along. She was going to finish me off, in all senses of the word. 

As she began her upward stroke I tensed up for the inevitable, feeling the rush building

up, ready to shoot, when, from nowhere, there was a blinding flash of light. We both

started and shut our eyes, covering them with our palms. The power was back. After so

long in the dim light, it was like someone had put a floodlight right into our eyes. 

I simultaneously thanked and cursed whoever restored the power. Thanks... asshole. 

We blinked as we adjusted to the light, slowly lowering our arms to look at each other.

It was like waking up from a dream. Did all that really happen? I was all confused inside.

On one hand I was glad that I didn't make a complete mess in my pants and on the other

hand... 

"Well that was a complete mood killer," she said, leaning back and putting her hands

behind her on my knees. 

"It saved me from a sticky situation," I looked at her accusingly. 

"You got lucky, next time-" 

"Next time you're the one going to be begging," I interrupted her. 

"Really? Those are big words. Wanna bet on it?" 

"Absolutely." I was not going to lose this time; she was going to scream for mercy by

the time I was done with her. 

An evil smile spread across her face, "Whoever loses has to be the winner's slave for a

day." 

"You better start practicing then." 

She laughed and got off me, landing on the couch next to me. I was already missing her

closeness, she was becoming addictive. I glanced over at the clock and was surprised to

find it was already midnight and the rain seemed to have stopped outside. 

"Shit Ashok, I got to run, I've got an early day tomorrow," I said getting up and adjusting

my pants. I was still at half-mast and sporting a small tent in my trousers that I tried to

hide. 

"Yeah me too, I didn't realize the time because of the dark," she got up with me and

walked me to the door, "I've got to get to the hospital by six in the morning." 

"You start that early?" 

"Not really, my duty usually starts at eight but I've got some pending work need to

finish so I thought I would go early and get done with it before we leave on Friday." 

There was still a light drizzle outside and it was quite chilly, the wind blowing in as soon

as I opened the door. I stepped out as Smita paused on the doorstep. 

"Thanks for dinner and everything else..." I said turning back to her. 

She grabbed my shirt and pulled me back and gave me another toe curling kiss, running

a light finger over my pants. Little Ashok was already giving an encore. 

"Next time you won't be so lucky," she said as she let me go. 

"We'll see about that," I said as I walked to the car, the tiny droplets doing nothing to

calm the heat inside me. 

I paused after opening the door, forearms leaning on the top edge "Wait, so that means

I won't be so lucky because I'll get lucky?" 

"Go home Ashok."

"Think about it, I'm going to get lucky, but that makes me unlucky..." 

"Ashok?"

"Yeah?"

She pointed at the road, "Go!" 

"Aye aye!" I saluted her and got into the car, already a little soaked from the drizzle. 

She waved and closed the door as I backed out and pulled away, turning on the heater

in the car. The roads were treacherous when wet and I didn't trust the car I was given so

I drove along slowly, not wanting any unexpected surprises at this time of the night. The

slow pace and the intermittent swipe of the wipers let me drift over my thoughts. 

I was really falling for Smita, and falling hard. It was an exhilarating feeling but terrifying

at the same time. Her words came back to haunt me. When they are too good to be

true, they usually are. Was that what this was? Was I just fooling myself with the fantasy

that she could actually fall for someone like me? 

She had given me no reason to doubt her, and tonight was out of this world, but that

did nothing to quell my misdirected fears. It was quickly getting to a point where it

would be unbearable to lose her. I was becoming attached and that scared me. It was

difficult for me to get attached to someone but once I did, it was even harder for me to

let go, which is why I hardly ever let anyone get close. Smita was an oddity in that sense,

she had managed to worm her way under my skin in record time and with almost no

effort at all. She walked past my defenses as if she was walking through tall grass,

running her hands over the long stalks while she was at it. The fact that I had not

cracked a joke in my head for more than five minutes was a cause for concern in itself. 
As I stopped and waited at a red-light I watched as tiny droplets of rain gathered on the

windscreen before the wiper slid across and wiped them all away. When I was with

Smita she was my wiper, clearing all my little doubts and misgivings that gathered in my

head like the raindrops in a single stroke. Every time they gathered up, she would wipe

the slate clean. 

Pulling away from the light I decided to just see where things would go. It wasn't like I

could do anything about it anyway, there was no way I was going to stop seeing Smita, it

wasn't even an option, downright unthinkable. I couldn't even picture my life without

her in it now. 

My thoughts reverted back to her straddling me, her warm soft body pressed up on me,

and a big smile broke out on my face as I looked down at the memento of our time

fooling around together. She had left me with quite an uncomfortable situation that I

was going to have to deal with once I got home. One thing was for sure, my right hand

was going to get some exercise tonight before I went to bed. 

Make that a lot of exercise.