*Rabir FF: True Love...Note, Chap 55 @ pg 143, 145 (2/1) - Page 52

Chapter 31: A Birthday Surprise

Rachna yawned as she collected all of her cards together and began to make her way out of the living room.

"Where are you off to birthday girl?"

Rachna turned around and found Kabir still sitting on the sofa.

"Going to bed now my dear husband. Why? Did you have any other plans?"

"Well don't you want my gift?"

"Your gift? There's more? But you already planned this entire surprise for me. What was the need to get me anything else?"

"Your birthday only comes around once a year and your 25^th birthday only comes once in a lifetime. How could I not get you a special gift?"

Rachna shook her head as she smiled at her husband's generosity. She walked back towards the couch where Kabir was sitting and stuck out her hand. "Okay, what is it? Let me have it."

Kabir sprung out of his seat into a standing position. "Not so easy my love. You're going to have to work for it." He took the stack of cards from her hand and replaced it with a single gold-colored envelope.

Rachna looked at the envelope in her hand with an amused expression. "What is this?"

"The first clue. After all, you always said that you liked treasure hunts."

Rachna laughed as she remembered telling Kabir about this when they had first started dating.

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Kabir opened the door as he helped Rachna out of the car. Handing the car keys to the valet, Kabir offered his hand out to her, who took it shyly. They walked into the restaurant, where he had already booked a table for dinner. Taking a seat at the table, Rachna opened the menu and began to look through options while Kabir sneaked glances over the top of his menu card to stare at Rachna.

"What did you decide to order Kabir? I can't decide." Rachna suddenly looked up from the menu and caught Kabir staring at her. Blushing, they both looked away from each other.

The waiter came over to their table to fill up their water glasses and ask for their drink order.

"Sir, what can I get you to drink? Some wine perhaps?"

Kabir shook his head and ordered some sparkling iced tea for them both, knowing that Rachna did not drink alcohol. Once the waiter had left, Kabir looked back at Rachna who was busy behind her menu card again, perhaps trying to hide from him. He reached across the table and pushed down on the top of her menu to get her attention. She looked up at him and blushed again. He smiled at her and raised his eyebrows, asking her in gestures, what the matter was. She shook her head and smiled back at him. They looked at each other like this until the waiter interrupted by bringing their drinks.

"Are you ready to order the appetizers and main course sir?"

Kabir looked away from Rachna reluctantly and rambled out the order for thai spring rolls, vegetable chilli chow mein, and sweet and spicy tofu fried rice.

"Is that okay Rachna? Do you want to add anything else?"

She shook her head and Kabir gestured the waiter to leave.

"So, are you going to talk at all this entire night or are we just going to stare at each other in silence?"

Rachna smiled. "What do you want to talk about?"

"I don't know, anything really. How about we get to know each other a little better and play 20 questions while the food arrives? So I'll ask you a question and then you ask me a question."

"Okay, sounds good. You ask first then."

"Hmm, all right, what's your favorite color?"

"Royal blue. What's your favorite book?"

"I don't really read. But the last book I enjoyed was The Three Mistakes of My Life. What's your favorite vacation spot?"

"Anywhere with a beach. What's the craziest thing you've ever done?"

"Fallen deeply for a girl right after our first coffee date." Kabir winked.

Rachna blushed a deep red, as she realized that he was talking about her.

"So my turn to ask again, what would be the perfect way for you to spend your birthday?"

Rachna thought for a second before she answered. "With my family and friends of course. I also remember when I was little, mummy would organize a little treasure hunt every year for me to find all my birthday gifts. Honestly, most of the time I enjoyed solving the clues and looking for the presents more than the gifts themselves."

Before Kabir could respond, the waiter interrupted their conversation by bringing the food.

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"You still remember that conversation Kabir, even after so long?"

"I remember every little detail related to you. I know that you like the color blue, but only one particular shade of royal blue. You like going to the beach. You like to spend your Sunday's lounging around in bed with a book rather than going out. You like any and every form of chocolate, particularly if it involves a kiss or two. Your idea of an ideal date night is staying in to watch a movie while cuddling and eating Chinese food. Your dream romance would be a dance in the rain, just like the one that they had in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. You like..."

Rachna placed her hand over Kabir's mouth to stop him from continuing.

"Okay okay, I get it. You know everything about me. But, what's this about a treasure hunt? You sure you want to do this at 3 in the morning?"

Kabir placed his hands around Rachna's waist and pulled her close to himself. "I'm sure once you read the first clue you'll want to do it at 3 in the morning too." He winked at her, as she blushed and pushed herself out of his grip.

Rachna ripped open the envelope and read the first clue.

Six golden envelopes with six special clues.

Solve each one and you'll be rewarded, it's true.

The first present and second clue you'll find,

go to your husband and just reach behind.

Rachna smiled as she finished reading the clue. Walking towards Kabir, she put her arms around him and felt in the back pocket of his jeans. Sure enough, she found an envelope, which she quickly pulled out and ripped open. The first gift was of course something she absolutely loved, a Hershey chocolate kiss. Immediately unwrapping the piece of chocolate and popping it into her mouth, Rachna began reading the next clue.

So you found the kiss?

Nice job little miss!

For present number two and clue number three,

it might be wise for you to look under the tree.

Rachna contemplated the clue and realized that it was referring to the tree that stood behind the house. She grabbed Kabir's hand and ran out into the backyard, quickly making her way to the tree. Looking for the envelope, Rachna circled around the tree, but returned empty-handed. Kabir smiled as he stepped under the tree with her and pointed upwards. A sprig of mistletoe hung on the branch and nestled in the leaves was the golden envelope.

"So you know what it means when a couple stands under the mistletoe?"

Rachna blushed and looked down, as she nodded. Before Kabir could bring his lips to hers however, she turned her face towards the house to make sure that the light in Sneha mausi's room was off. Finding all the windows of the house to be dark, Rachna looked back towards Kabir and entwined her arms around his neck, as she drew her lips closer to his. He placed his arms around her waist as he slowly pulled her into the kiss. His prickly stubble tickled her soft cheek, as she sucked softly on his lower lip. He moved one of his hands into her hair, running his fingers through her long silky tresses. She broke the kiss and finished enjoying her second birthday present by whispering a small thank you into his ear.

Kabir reached up into the branch of the tree, grabbed the third golden envelope, and handed it to her with a cute smile. Ripping open the envelope, Rachna read the third clue.

Hope you enjoyed the mistletoe,

but for the next clue you'll have a bit further to go.

Grab your keys and get in the car,

drive to the park that's not too far.

Look carefully for something wooden,

for that's where the next clue is hidden.

Rachna glanced up at Kabir, who promptly handed her the car keys with a sly smile. They went back through the house and quickly scribbled a note for the rest of the family to let them know that they had gone out together. Rachna got into the driver's seat, with Kabir sitting beside her, and drove to the park that was a few kilometers from Sneha mausi's house. Once she parked the car, Rachna spotted a small wooden bench right at the entrance of the park. She ran towards it and quickly found the envelope with a small tube taped onto the front. Opening the envelope she found two pieces of paper, labeled "open first" and "open second." Putting the "open second" paper back into the envelope, Rachna read the paper that said "open first."

Remember our scrabble dates hon?

They used to be so much fun!

Well how about you test out your spelling?

For the tiles in the tube need some unscrambling.

Spell out the word for your next gift,

ask for some help if you need a lift.

Laying out the scrabble tiles, Rachna played around with the words until she spelled out: R-A-I-N-D-A-N-C-E. As if on cue, a light drizzle began to fall from the sky. She turned away from the bench and found Kabir standing behind her with his hand outstretched, asking her for a dance. She looked at him with an amused expression as she whispered, "No music."

As though she was watching the scene from her favorite movie play out in front of her, Kabir tapped his fingers in the air like he was playing the piano and music began to play in the background. Rachna looked around incredulously, but eventually resigned to her husband's little antics by placing one hand into his and putting the other hand on his shoulder. Kabir drew Rachna close to himself as he placed his hand around her waist and began swaying to the soft music. He twirled her once and she landed with both her hands on his chest. He pushed back her hair and placed a trail of soft kisses down the length of her neck. It began to rain harder; the two of them were completely drenched by now. Rachna's wet clothes were sticking tightly to her body, accentuating her every curve, while Kabir's t-shirt stuck to his chest, revealing his chiseled muscles. She turned away from him and tried to walk back towards the car, but he grabbed one end of her dupatta and pulled her back towards himself. He stood behind her and cradled her abdomen with his hands, while nibbling teasingly on her earlobe. He stopped just as she let out a soft moan, removed his hands from her waist, and moved away. Kabir handed her the envelope which contained her next clue. The envelope was wet but Rachna was able to make out the writing on the paper.

Go back to the car and look in the trunk,

your fourth gift is hidden amidst some junk.

Shivering from the cold, Rachna and Kabir quickly walked back to the car. Looking in the trunk, Rachna found two towels, one of which she promptly wrapped around herself and the other she handed to Kabir. Digging through the scraps of crumpled newspaper that Kabir had filled the trunk with, Rachna eventually found a shopping bag which contained a wrapped gift box.

"I'm sure you can guess what this is, so why don't you go ahead and change in the wash room." Kabir pointed towards a small building that stood about 20 feet away from the parking lot.

Rachna emerged from the wash room about 5 minutes later wearing an elegant deep red-colored dress that Kabir had undoubtedly himself designed for her. The dress had thin straps at the shoulders, a plunging neckline in the back, and ended just above her knees. It was made of a soft silk material and overlaid with a fine, delicate lace. The belt of sparkling crystals hugged her waist and highlighted her hourglass figure. Walking back towards the car, Rachna found that Kabir had also changed into a fresh pair of clothes; a formal pair of black trousers and a deep red fitted shirt that matched the color of her dress. Placing her wet clothes into a plastic bag in the back of the car, Rachna pulled out the sixth golden envelope from the box that her dress had been in and read the final clue.

We're almost at the end my dear,

I hope you've enjoyed yourself up until here.

Your last gift you will find,

if you look within your mind.

Think back a few weeks,

we had spent some time at Hide n' Seek.

Drive to this restaurant and you'll easily see,

your last and final present is near the sea.

Rachna sat in the car with Kabir and drove to Hide n' Seek, a beachside restaurant that they had discovered a few weeks ago. As soon as she parked the car, Rachna spotted a path in the sand, lit by a line of candles. Holding Kabir's hand, Rachna made her way down the path that led to a spacious gazebo, under which a table for two had been set up. Kabir pulled out her seat and helped her sit down before sitting on the opposite side of the table to face her. He smiled as he handed her a bouquet of white roses which had already been placed on the table prior to their arrival. Out of nowhere, a waiter appeared to serve them with some champagne. He also placed a basket of muffins and scones in the middle of the table along with some orange juice to start off the first course of the birthday breakfast.

"Kabir, how did you mana..."

Kabir stuffed a piece of the flaky blueberry scone into Rachna's mouth. "No questions yet sweetheart. First we have some breakfast and then we go off to finish your birthday treasure hunt."

Just as they finished the first course of breakfast, the waiter appeared immediately to clear away their plates and serve them each with a fresh stack of pancakes loaded with a bright red strawberry sauce and a dollop of whipped cream. They polished off their early morning breakfast with steaming frothy lattes. Once Kabir and Rachna had finished their coffee, Kabir took Rachna's hand and led her towards a small cottage that stood right beside the gazebo. As they entered through the front door, Kabir swept Rachna off her feet and picked her up into his arms. Walking into the front room of the cottage, Kabir moved towards the large bay window, which had a bench beneath it to sit on. Placing Rachna down on the bench softly, he slipped onto the narrow seat right beside her and cuddled his chin into her shoulder. They looked out of the window seeing the day break, as the sun rose slowly into the morning sky, allowing hues of yellow, orange, and red to be viewed in the horizon, where the sea met the sky. Rachna looked away from the beauty of the sunrise to admire her husband who had just made her birthday unforgettable. She caressed his cheek softly, as she turned her body to face him and cuddle into his chest. She toyed around with the top button of his shirt and nuzzled her nose into his collar bone, until he realized what she was up to and grabbed her in his arms. He picked her up and walked into the adjoining room, where a bed sprinkled with rose petals lay as an open invitation to continue what was on Rachna's mind.

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❤️ Nivi