The Hookup
an AbhiGya FF by -mina-
Part 3:
The Rules | The Nickname | The Messages | The Rooftop | The Follow Up
Though they did indeed start against a wall, by the time they were done they were in Abhi's bed again. The bedcovers were kicked to the corner and Abhi had used his remote to up the AC, but Pragya still felt hot all over.
Hot and very, very satisfied.
She didn't think that she would be wishing for many repeats with the wall, but it had been fun to try once. Abhi had teased her that it would have been easier if she had brought those heels she'd worn in Delhi. But, he had found a way to make it work without them.
Her thighs would probably still be aching tomorrow, but on reflection Pragya decided that was a fair price to pay.
As the peaceful silence settled her mind, she eventually remembered an unresolved point. She rolled onto her side to face Abhi. He was relaxing with his arms behind his head, watching the sluggish rotation of the utterly inadequate ceiling fan.
He turned his head to meet her gaze. The lazy grin on his face made her heart skip a beat.
A distant alarm sounded in her brain. It was still unsettling to have him smiling so genuinely at her, deeply satisfied and no taunts to be heard.
But it was rewarding, too, because she knew exactly what she had done to make him smile like that. So she ignored the whisper of caution at the back of her mind, deliberately trailing her gaze down his abs for distraction. She reached out her fingertips to trace the defined muscles of his chest. "Mmm, I forgot to ask," she started coyly. She looked up at him from beneath her lashes. "Have you found something else to call me, instead of baby?"
His grin morphed into a smirk. "So someone wants a nickname?" he murmured. He shifted closer, wrapping his arm around her so that he could caress her back.
"You said you were working on it," she insisted. "You were supposed to tell me last time."
"Mmm. I realized that because it's you, it can't be any normal endearment. It has to be...unique." He tangled his hand into her hair, tipping her head back to make her look at him.
When they had been married, he had often delighted in making her wait on trivial things. She knew it was a pressure tactic, meant to make her impatient so that he could enjoy her irritation. But she found now that it didn't affect her the same way. She prompted confidently, "OK, so let's hear it."
His gaze drifted down to her lips, and for a long moment he seemed to be lost there. It looked like he had forgotten what he was going to say - and then out of nowhere, she had a wicked idea on how to snap him back to the moment.
She slid her hand lightly up his chest. Her fingers closed around one flat nipple.
She pinched it.
"Ow!" he yelped, swatting her hand away. He pressed his palm protectively over himself. "Woman, are you insane?" He sat up so that he could look down at his chest. "How would you like it if I did that to you?" he grumbled, lightly patting himself until the little brown nub was smooth again.
"I would like that very much," Pragya said, infusing her voice with over-the-top sweetness. She tugged him back down to the bed. "But if I hurt you, I can kiss it better." She bent her head to do exactly that. Then, because her mouth was already there, she darted her tongue around the place she had pinched, justifying it to herself as a soothing technique. The sensitive flesh started to perk up in response, but before she could do more, Abhi pulled her off.
He settled her on her side of the bed and shifted an arm's length away. He told her severely, "Any more stunts like that and I'll start calling you something like bicchu. Do you understand me?"
Pragya wrinkled her nose at the idea of being called "scorpion." It might be cute sometimes, but not in passionate moments. So she cast him an apologetic look and said obediently, "No more. I'm sorry."
"Good," Abhi said, his face relaxing as he basked in his win. Then he said generously, "Although it's just the pinching part that's banned, the rest is ok."
Pragya rolled her eyes. "Sure, Rockstar. Now will you tell me my nickname or not?"
Abhi's eyes lighted with a spark of mischief, and suddenly Pragya found herself wondering if it was really a good idea to push the topic.
Abhi announced cheerfully, "Firecracker."
"What? No!" Pragya objected immediately. What sort of an endearment was that!
"But you're dynamite," Abhi offered, widening his eyes to convey sincerity. Or mock-sincerity.
Definitely mock-sincerity.
"No!" Pragya repeated.
"You light up my life," Abhi persisted, though the naughty grin stretching his mouth told her that he had never meant this suggestion seriously.
"Cheesy lines will not help you. Think of something else," Pragya said with finality.
"Well if you're going to be like that, maybe you'd like me to call you boss instead of baby?" Abhi raised his eyebrow, clearly watching for her reaction.
Pragya frowned. "Next?"
"Hmmm...what else?" Abhi looked up at the ceiling again, absently tapping his chin as he pretended to think hard. Then he turned to her with another exaggerated smile and said, "Kishmish?"
Pragya pouted. "Now you're just being lazy."
"Ok, ok, sorry," Abhi said. He was still grinning, and didn't look at all sorry. "And anyway that doesn't fit now, since I know you actually taste tart and juicy -"
"Badmaash!" Pragya slapped his arm. "Don't be gross." She scowled, not liking that he had turned her legitimate request into a game.
Abhi hooked his arm around her waist and tugged her close to him again. "Easy there. If you're going to be that aggressive I should start calling you sherni."
Pragya snuggled up to him, pulling the blankets up to cover them now that their bodies had finally cooled down. "Hmm. That might work. I bet you don't call anyone else that."
Abhi laughed and squeezed her closer. "No, because no one else eats my head like you. Actually, you know what's perfect? Dracula. I should call you Dracula."
Pragya glared at him. "How is that at all perfect!"
"Because you're always after my blood," he explained with an innocent smile. "But wait, then that would make you a macchar, right? How about I start calling you macchar?"
Pragya started to pull away from him, kicking at his knee so he would let her go. "If you're going to be like this I might as well leave."
Instead of letting her go, Abhi rolled them over so he could be on top of her. "OK, meri jaan, I am sorry," he said contritely. He kissed the tip of her nose. "I'll keep thinking."
"Good," she said, finally smiling back at him, though she was distracted thinking of what he had just said. He bent to kiss her lips then, a soft, undemanding caress that required little participation from her.
Her mind wandered back to the two words that caught her attention. Meri jaan. She liked the sound of that.
But he'd only said it as a joke, not even thinking to include it in his ridiculous nickname list.
Maybe it was time to give up on that topic anyway. As he offered his increasingly absurd suggestions, she had come to realize that any nickname he had to think of ahead of time would hardly sound natural. Besides, in the heat of the moment he'd probably forget to use it and slip back to his default. Might as well let him keep calling her baby.
That brought another thing to mind, and she realized it was a good time to bring up something that they should probably add to the rules. She lifted her hands to his face, gently cradling his head as she pulled away from the slow kiss.
He gave her a contented half-smile and rolled off of her, returning to the mattress flat on his back.
She turned to her side to face him, giving an exaggerated look of defeat. "Listen, with this nickname thing. I give up. You can just call me baby."
Abhi's sweet half-smile turned into a full smirk of triumph. "Done and done." He slid his arm under her, wrapping her close to mark his victory. His palm met hers as he clasped their hands loosely together, his knuckles brushing against her thigh.
Her gaze dropped away from his face. She looked at his chest and took a deep breath. "It's just...there's one thing." She let her fingertips tip-toe slowly along his sternum. "If you...if you find someone else to call baby this stops, right? And same on my end, if I find anyone I want to seriously be with."
His hand clenched around hers. "What?" he asked in confusion.
"I mean if you start seeing someone else, or if you're sleeping with someone else -"
"Not going to happen." His grip on her hand loosened, but he kept their fingers entwined. Tension stiffened his body.
Pragya looked up at Abhi and was surprised to see that he was looking unusually serious.
She couldn't understand why he had gone tense. They had already agreed that their arrangement was strictly casual. All she was doing was confirming that they were both on the same page. It didn't make sense for him to completely reject the possibility of finding a real relationship.
"You can, if you want," she insisted. "This isn't binding in any way. I mean, I wouldn't want to keep hooking up with you if you were dating someone, but I would want to know, so we could stop. That's only fair right?"
If there was one thing she had learned when she was married to him while he was dating someone else, it was that she didn't ever want to be the third person in a relationship again.
"Trust me, Chashmish, I'm not dating," Abhi said firmly. "And I'm definitely not sleeping with anyone else."
"Okay..." Pragya said slowly, still confused by his reaction. "I just want us to be clear. Call it rule number four. If you find a relationship, or I do, we have to tell each other."
Abhi looked at her for a long moment, that uncharacteristic seriousness still darkening his eyes. "Are you looking?"
"No, but -"
"Then it doesn't matter."
Pragya still wanted to pursue the point, but Abhi pointedly changed the subject. "So, are you going to be free this Saturday?"
Saturday was only three days away. Thinking over her commitments quickly, Pragya realized that she could make time to see him. But though she was gratified to know that he wanted to hook up with her again so soon, she decided not to tell him that she might be available. Just because she could meet him, didn't mean she should.
Even if he was going to take her rules as a joke, she could try to stick to them.
She could wait a week for more sex.
Or at least, she was pretty sure she could.
And besides, even if he wasn't going to mention it, she knew there was a good reason for him to not be available that weekend.
"Isn't it your birthday tomorrow?" she pointed out. "I thought you'd be busy partying all weekend."
"You remember?"
"Of course I remember."
"Then...what are you giving me?" He grinned naughtily, suddenly looking like an eager schoolboy.
He was adorable when he smiled like that. She couldn't help smiling back at him, his cheerful spirits warming her mood too. Then she registered his question, and it made her roll her eyes. "Arre, nothing! Who am I to give you anything?" she retorted.
As soon as the words were out, she wished she could take them back. It was obviously the wrong thing to say, as in an instant the light look vanished from his face. He let go of her hand, and his arm around her eased off her shoulders. He turned his gaze to the ceiling .
"Right. Of course. Akaash has me doing a concert tomorrow, actually. Something about giving back to my fans on my special day." He slid his arms back under his head. "Birthdays don't mean much to me really." His voice was matter of fact.
"But it's your thirty-fifth!" Pragya protested. "That's a big deal, surely Daadi's doing something?"
The corners of his mouth tightened, and his eyes didn't stray from the ceiling. "Daadi's in Ludhiana," he answered. "She went to visit the Daasis about a year ago, and decided just to stay there."
"Oh..." Pragya said, surprised at the news. His Daadi had been away for a year? She couldn't even imagine what that must be like for him. When they had been married, his whole life had been about pleasing his Daadi. He had married her in part because his Daadi had wished it.
Pragya knew that Daadi had been disappointed when their marriage ended, but she hadn't thought it could cause her to grow so distant from Abhi. If Daadi had been the centre of Abhi's world, then Abhi had been the sun, moon, and stars for Daadi.
It was hard to imagine that either of them could be happy being apart for such a long time.
Which meant, maybe, that they weren't.
Pragya wanted to ask Abhi more about it, but one glance from the corner of her eye was enough to inform her that he wouldn't want to discuss the topic. It was on the tip of her tongue to ask about Aaliya next, but she decided to go in a more neutral direction.
"Ok, so Thursday is a working day. How about Friday? No sponsors throwing you a party?" she prompted, thinking back to the few occasions during their life together when she'd had to accompany him to such events.
Sometimes brands that wanted his endorsement would organize huge receptions for him, ostensibly to celebrate his achievements but really just to milk the publicity of having him attend. These were basically work functions for him, but she remembered that he used to enjoy them. He liked working the crowds, knowing that people were thrilled just to meet him. He had always liked that he could spread joy just by being himself.
"Mm, no party," Abhi replied. He finally turned his head back to her, looking more relaxed. "But Friday is also a working day. We're starting technical rehearsals for my concert tour. So, yes, maybe I'll go out with friends on Saturday. I don't have specific plans yet but I wouldn't put it past Kartik to set up something and not tell me until the last minute."
What about Purab? she wanted to ask, but once again she held her tongue. The last she knew, Abhi and his estranged best friend had started a reconciliation. It was after Bulbul and Purab broke up, around the time she and Abhi had begun their divorce proceedings. Purab had been awkward around her, not sure whether or not to still call her Di. Finally she had just given him permission to call her by name and told him that he was free to take Abhi's side.
Not that they had had a particularly contentious divorce. They had known from the beginning that it would end, and when the time came, she and Abhi had managed to end as almost friends.
And now, two years later they were...friends with benefits?
Well. Maybe better not to try putting a name on it.
"Well, I hope you have fun on Saturday, then," she said. "And...happy early birthday, from me."
"Mm, thank you Chashmish, but I think you can give me more than that," Abhi said, his voice low and teasing as a slow grin spread on his face. He met her eyes, a playful glint lighting his gaze. "I think my birthday calls for another round, don't you?"
His hand under the blanket grazed her bare stomach, bringing all her nerves to attention. She could read the intent in his eyes, and she didn't have to think twice to know her answer.
"Yes, of course it does," she agreed. She reached for him, inviting him to settle on top of her again. "Come here, birthday boy."
She pulled his head down for a kiss, and no words were needed after that.
~continued below~
Thank you for reading; it would mean a lot to have your "like" and comment 😊
Edited by -mina- - 9 years ago
Cricket
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