Chapter 23:
Riddhima was lying down and immersed in memories of what had been a physically painful but mentally very satisfying fortnight.
Due to her not being able to move almost at all (the pain of her rib got worse over the next few days) and having also rendered her right hand useless as it was sprained and hurt really badly too, she was completely dependent on the others for even the smallest things.
Usually this would be a problem. But when you have a loving boyfriend whom your father is trying to separate you from but now has a valid reason to come visit you everyday... where's the problem again?
Oh and yeah, you also have two sisters and one almost-sister to cater to your needs and, as far as Shilpa and Sue are concerned, entertain you.
--Flashback--
"Riddhima, tum mujhe pagal kar do gi!" said Anjie in exasperation. "Just because you can't feed yourself doesn't mean you don't let others feed you too! NOW EAT!!"
Riddhima was irritable and exhausted. She had a high fever that made her think she wasn't hungry, even though she was and now Anjali was yelling at her. Actually, Anjali wasn't to blame either because Riddhima could not handle a spoon or anything in her left hand and she needed food in her system if she had to get better. And she wasn't eating.
"Hey girls!"
"SUE! Thank God koi tho aa gaya!" said Anjali in relief. "Mom and Dad and Shilpa have left me with a highly un-co-operative patient, and I need HELP."
Riddhima rolled her eyes. Being sick sucks.
"No problemo!" said Sue. "It so happens that I have one of the best people in the world available to make Riddhima eat. PREsenting," Sue waved her arms towards the door in a dramatic fashion. As if on cue, Sid walked in, an exasperated look on his face, "Sue, there's a thing called SLOWING DOWN for people behind you."
"Superboy," said Sue completely ignoring his comment, while grabbing the spoon from Anjali. "Feed your girlfriend." And she threw the spoon at him. Sid caught the spoon... before saying, "WHAAAT?"
"I'm not hungry, people. Why won't anyone listen to me?" grumbled Riddhima. Everyone pretended not to notice her.
"Lagta hai woh kisi aur ke haath se khana nahi khaayne wali. Might as well take the hint," said Sue, her eyes twinkling.
"EXCUSE ME?" Riddhima said so loudly that no one could pretend not to hear her.
"Well, that's what it looks like," said Sue, shrugging her shoulders. "C'mon Anjie, let me give you a manicure. The stuff's in SHilpa's room." And before anyone could say anything or even move, Sue had taken Anjie out of the room and closed the door within two seconds.
Sid was left standing and RIddhima was left blushing angrily, "You should really control that sister of yours, Sid."
"Ha. Good joke." said Sid rolling his eyes at the very idea. No one in their right minds would ever even THINK of controlling Sue. He went over to Riddhima and sat by her side. "How're you feeling?" he asked in a more gentle voice.
"Lousy," muttered Riddhima. "I hate being dependent on people. I can't do anything with this," she said gesturing to her hurt right hand. Eyeing the spoon in still in Sid's hand she added, "And I am NOT hungry."
Sid grinned and threw the spoon in up and caught it again. "I think we can change that." he said with a smile, as he dipped the spoon into the soup Anjie had put down on the bedside table. Just as Riddhima opened her mouth to protest, Sid slipped the spoon into her mouth. Ha. Faced with no other option, Riddhima swallowed her soup, making a disgusted face. However, that disgusted face vanished when Sid placed a kiss on her cheek, to be replaced with a long-absent smile.
--Flashback end--
(Some days later:)
"Sid!!! Put me down now! I am perfectly capable of walking two rooms to the bathroom...ok so I take that back. I'm not capable, but will you put me down?" Riddhima hissed out the last five words.
"And how do you expect to walk to the bathroom, if you can't walk?" said Sid mimicking her accent.
"Si-id!!"
"Look, we're here. How long did it take now?"
"Sid, what if Papa had seen us? He's plenty pissed at me without all of this, you know." said Riddhima irritably, wincing as Sid set her down at the bathroom door. She could (thankfully) move a few steps by her own now. And by few I mean, like, three.
Sid shrugged. "Not my problem. He's not here anyway," he said, his tone a bit hardened. "And if you're so opposed to having me around, maybe I should stop coming, huh?" And he turned around, apparently about to go.
To great risk of personal injury, Riddhima grabbed his hand with her left hand. "Sid, no, that's not what I meant," she said softly, cursing herself inwardly for offending him.
"Actually, Riddhima, I think that's exactly what you meant. I've been getting this feeling that you don't want me around for quite some time now," said Sid coldly, still not facing her. "Well, you'll get what you want - "
"SID! ARE YOU INSANE??? WHAT ARE SAYING? WHERE THE HECK DID YOU GET THAT IDEA FROM? OH MY -" Riddhima's high-pitched, panicked yelling was interrupted by Sid swooping around and kissing the tip of her nose, "Just kidding," he said a triumphant smile on his face as he entwined his fingers with hers.
"Oh God, Sid, I hate you so much sometimes, yo know that?" said Riddhima closing her eyes to relax herself.
"Sorry. I forgot you're not supposed to over-excite yourself," said Sid, as he relaxed his grip on her and lightly moved the tips of his fingers around her wrist, before brushing the sensitive skin of her palm and fingers. Riddhima was now watching the progress of his hand, shivers going down her back repeatedly at his light touch.
Sid still didn't look at her as he moved his fingers up and then back down her arm, making goosebumps erupt all over her, and he once again entwined his fingers with hers. He stepped closer to her so that their noses were almost touching. Riddhima realised that she had been holding her breath a tad too long and she drew her breath sharply as her heart thumped erratically. Finally, Sid's chocolate eyes met her emerald ones as the space between them drew to a close.
"No over-excitement remember?" whispered Riddhima thickly against his mouth, her eyes already half-closed.
"There are some things I prefer to forget," Sid whispered back, as he inclined his head towards her.
"At least close the door before you guys start your romancing sessions," snickered someone.
Yuvi. Leaning against the door frame. Again.
Naina, out of sight, said, "You should close it for them, you know."
"I prefer not to interrupt people's personal matters," chuckled Yuvi as Sid groaned and Riddhima slammed the bathroom door shut behind her, her face flaming.
"You two are gonna be the death of me," said Sid angrily. "What are you here for anyway?"
"Like I said back in the hospital, it's lucky we were the ones who came in. Can you imagine what Shashank uncle would have done if it was him?" said Yuvi in a 'duh!' kind of tone.
Naina appeared. "I prefer not to interrupt people's personal matters," she mimicked Yuvi. "I think it counts as an interruption when you barge in the moment they're about to kiss!"
Sid turned his head away, as Yuvi and Naina started bickering again.
--Flashback end--
(Sorry I couldn't give you more Flashbacks. I'm just eager to get to the besharam part 🤣)
Besides that, Sid had always been there when spasms of pain would hit her ribs, always there to hold her hand when she needed something to hold on to, always there to make her smile when her stupid mood swings got the better of her, always there to catch her when she was about to fall down.
Always.
Even though this thing was trivial ( a broken rib. So what?), it was usually the small things in life which showed you how much someone cared for you. It took patience and love to do whatever Sid was doing for her now. She could appreciate that at least. And she loved Sid all the more for it.
Sid was hers, she was his. Anything else was unthinkable.
And she could not understand why her father failed to understand this.
Sue popped in for a moment, "Hey, Ridz Di, I'm going out for a few minutes to get some stuff. Call me if you need me, ok?"
"Ok," smiled Ridzy.
(Situation. Right.) Riddhima was currently at Sid/Sue's place and intended to stay the night there, as her family was gone to get some stuff about their passports/tickets right, and it'd be really late by the time they got back. As opposed as Shashank had been, he couldn't come up with any other alternative for Riddhima's night lodgings. (Yuvi's place was full up as some of his cousins had arrived. Naina was still 'stuck' there as her dad's conference had been prolonged.)
Whenever Riddhima thought of going back to India, an uneasy feeling clenched her stomach, because, not unreasonably, somehow she linked the two scenarios of with Sid/ without Sid with in Boston/In Mumbai. She had countless times thanked God for her broken rib: it was nothing short of a blessing in disguise. The doctor had said that she'll need at least 6-8 weeks of recovery for her rib, and now she was well into her third week.
Sue appeared again, "Oh, and here, you can wear this for the night." And she threw two pieces of garment on Riddhima's bed.. And then she was gone. Riddhima could hear the front door being shut.
Ridzy sat up carefully. Her rib was good enough for her to move a bit more freely now. She picked up the clothes Sue had given her. And then put them down, red in the face. Muttering to herself, she got up and made her way to Sue's room, before reaching the stairs and realising that the stairs were currently too much for her to handle.
Muttering again ( " - kya Sue ko abhi tak pata nahi ke mein iss type ke kapde nahi pehnti hoon? Who cares whether it's for a night or a day, she knows -") Riddhima went back to the guest room. She picked up the clothes Sue had given her, glaring at them. Sue had left her with only a white halter top that was really short for Ridzy's taste, and some soft black shorts, that would barely come to her knees. Irritated beyond belief, Riddhima considered sleeping in her current clothes, but sleeping in jeans and sequined dress wasn't the best idea. She sighed and went to the bathroom.
She came out after some 10 minutes and immediately went over to lock the bedroom door, and leant against it, closing her eyes. God, she didn't even want to think about what would happen if Si-
Nevermind.
.
.
.
.
.
"Riddhima?"
"AAAHHH OH MY GOD SID WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE? GET OUT OF HERE NOW!!!!!" Riddhima yelled in shock and...embarrassment, going red till the roots of her hair.
"Um, I live here Riddhima..." said Sid, looking a bit scared of this sudden outburst.
"OH GOD, HOW DID YOU GET IN HERE? UGH FORGET IT! JUST GET OUT OF HERE!!! NOW!!!"
"But you're blocking the door, how am I supposed to go out...?" said Sid, still a bit bewildered.
...Ridzy moved away from the door, still in deep embarrassment, and turned her back to Sid, breathing deeply, her heart beating quick and hard in an ominous way. Her rib was hurting slightly.
Sid, being Sid, was halfway towards the door before he actually understood the situation.
Oh.
Right.
Sid grinned to himself as he suddenly made up his mind to increase Riddhima's...errr...discomfort.
She was wondering why she hadn't heard the door click, when without warning she felt Sid's hand slipping through hers.
"Itna sharma kyun rahi ho?" whispered Sid, while Riddhima blushed even harder than before. (Sid was behind her at this point)
"Sid, please go, mujhe sona hai..." said Riddhima in an almost incoherent mumble. She was losing her resolve here. She could almost feel Sid's body against her back.
"You didn't answer my question," murmered Sid in a seductive voice. Still only touching her hand, he moved forward and ran the tip of his nose down her cheek, just beside her ear.
Riddhima was barely breathing. Her eyes were closed; she could feel the blood pounding in her ears. Oh God. What was happening to her? She couldn't even think straight.
Forget Riddhima. Even Sid was losing himself a bit here. He had meant to stop at this point and start laughing at Ridzy and probably tease her a bit.
But he didn't.
Sid's face still close to hers (a bit from behind, a bit from the side), his other hand moved almost automatically to her bare waist. Slowly, the back of his fingers brushed lightly against the smooth skin there. Riddhima's hand, which was still entwined in his, clutched him harder as tiny ripples of electricity charged through her. His hand moved forward and around her waist, this time pulling her towards him, so that now her back was against his chest. Sid lowered his head to her shoulder and gently kissed the fading bruise there. Riddhima's neck arched back of its own accord as Sid planted a kiss at the base of her neck. His grip on her waist tightened as his lips moved steadily up the side of her neck, his heart pounding as furiously as hers.
Some small, sensible part of his mind told him that he should probably stop now, before things went too far. But the other part of his brain, the much more dominant part that was currently lost in Riddhima's sweet smell and taste, ignored the thought. Exactly the same thing was going on in Riddhima's mind. A tiny part was telling her that she should end it here, now, but the feeling of Sid so close to her, so near, was so good, so right, that the tiny part was defeated before it could convince the rest of her.
Sid's hands had now left her hand and waist, and were slowly moving up her bare arms. He took hold of both her shoulders and turned her around. Riddhima moved her right hand, although it was still not completely healed, to his hair, while her left arm was wrapped around his neck. She pulled him closer so that their foreheads were touching, their breaths hot on each others' faces. Her eyes finally opened (briefly) when Sid took her face in his hands, and kissed her passionately on the lips; but the kiss was ended abruptly when both of them hit the edge of the bed and tumbled onto it.
(Oh God, maybe I should stop here...eh, nah!!)
Riddhima lay there, sprawled, momentarily breathless by the fall, and Sid was on top of her, supporting his weight with his arms. As Sid leaned lower to touch his lips lightly to hers, the moment their lips met for the second time, Riddhima felt desire, as she had never felt before, pound so hard through her veins that it was almost painful. All reason forgotten, she pulled Sid hard to herself so that the kiss deepened and his hot breath flooded her mouth. Sid was taken aback by this intensity but as his brain was still in off mode, he responded with equal, if not more enthusiasm. His hands moved again to her waist and a sound between a gasp and a moan escaped Riddhima's mouth as she pulled him even closer to herself, their bodies grinding against each other. This kiss wasn't like the others they had shared before. It was full of passion and longing, yes, but there was something else to it... something none of them could exactly name at the moment...
Maybe she got a bit too carried away, or maybe she was too lost in Sid's touch, or maybe she just wanted to, or maybe she - whatever, there can be thousands of reasons for her actions, (Figure it out yourself 😛) but Riddhima's grip around Sid's neck slackened and her hands moved to the buttons of Sid's white (and now really wrinkled) shirt. And... she began undoing them.
She was perhaps three buttons through when Sid (thankfully or unthankfully, depending on your level of besharmi) realized what she was doing. Somehow, of all the things that had happened so far, this was the only thing that brought him to his senses. He abruptly moved his mouth away from hers, and began to say something, however before he could even start what he was about to say, Riddhima raised herself up slightly to close the gap between their lips again, her fingers still working vigorously. To her surprise, Sid moved back again, this time more further, and he held Riddhima back. "Riddhima, stop, stop, that's it, no," the words tumbled out of Sid's mouth in a hurry, as he still wasn't fully oriented.
Riddhima was stunned for a split second when suddenly, hurt washed through her. Hurt of rejection. It was so intense that Riddhima was left surprised, but it didn't stop a flicker of hurt pass her face. A flicker that wasn't gone unnoticed by Sid, but he didn't say anything. Not yet. He was still trying to get his thoughts in order.
Riddhima sat up properly, when the full realization of what they had been about to do - what she had been about to do - hit her like a wave. Oh. God. No.
The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them, "Oh God, Sid, I'm so sorry, I never meant things to go this far! Oh no, I've ruined everything, haven't I?"
Sid watched her for a moment, before he said, "What surprises me is that you started going towards... something else... Isn't it always the guys who take the first step?" he raised his eyebrows.
Riddhima's face literally flamed up. Plus, some of her sensibilty was returning to her, so she said, "Excuse me, Mr Innocent, you are the one who started seducing me in the first place!!"
"Well, you didn't try very hard to stop me, now did you?" said Sid in a stern tone, but Riddhima could see a twinkle in his eyes.
"Well - well," said Riddhima, casting around for an argument. Then she sighed in a defeated way and, eyes on the bedsheet, said in a low voice, "Well, it's not my fault that, one, you are so irresistable, two, I am hopelessly in love with you, and three, I am so affected by you and your touch. I just... lost control. I'm sorry."
To Ridzy's surprise, Sid actually laughed. Then, he took hold of both her hands in his, looked into her eyes, and said, "Do you really think that all three of those reasons don't apply to me as well? Do you think I stopped you because I wanted to?" Riddhima raised her eyebrows, going faintly pink, as Sid continued, "I stopped you because I don't want you to do anything which you'll regret later on. Just...wait until we're married, okay?" He ended with a smile.
Riddhima punched him lightly on the shoulder, "Si-id!!!! How dare you accuse me of something so...besharam??"
Before Sid could reply, a hollering on the door broke out, "RIDZ DI IF YOU DON'T OPEN THE DOOR WITHIN THE NEXT 10 SECONDS I AM GOING TO GET THE KEYS!! I KNOW YOU'RE NOT ASLEEP, SO STOP PRETENDING! I'VE BEEN KNOCKING FOR THE LAST 2 MINUTES!!!!" Sue was back.
Riddhima and Sid looked at each other, and at the same time, they got up from the bed. As Riddhima made her way to the door, Sid opened the window, as thankfully the room was on the ground floor, remember? Their eyes met for the last time as Riddhima lipsed "I love you" to Sid and gave him a smile, and Sid replied with a silent "I love you too," blew a kiss and got out.
Riddhima sighed and opened the door. Sue was eyeing her most suspiciously, when she asked, "Have you by any chance seen bro?"
Riddhima said, "Haven't seen him all day." Which wasn't a lie. She hadn't seen him all day. She'd just seen him at night. :)
_____________________
Hope you enjoyyyed!!! 😃
Love you all! Muah! 🤗
Anushka
Firstly thank you so much Sonia my jaanu 🤗!!! Thanks for sending out the PMs, love you!!
So there you go people!!! My 'besharam' update, as well as my official application for the besharam gang! 🤣 Ladies, do I get the post? 😆
Right, so anyway, I hope you enjoyed this update. I really really worked hard on it, even if it doesn't seems so. But the thing is that writing and reading the same thing is two whole different things. While I'm writing I imagine it as if I'm watching it, but things go a bit fast while reading, if you know what I mean.
Argh, whatever. Just leave your comments and let me know how you liked it. Thank you!!!!
Arjun
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