It was a cold night and I was addicted to the idea of your body heat.
~ anonymous

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I gave a quick glance at my purse and belongings, checking if I forgot something.

All done.

As I picked up my bag, I felt a warm hand resting on my waist.

"Leaving?" His breath fanned over my cheek.

"Yeah." My breath got stuck in my throat by his sudden close proximity. His arms encircle my waist, turning me around to face him. "What are you...," my voice got quieter as he starts leaning in, "...doing?"

I leaned back while pressing his chest to keep a safe distance between us but that didn't stopped him from leaning in further. My feet drift back until they hit the bed making me lose balance and fall back on the squishy mattress. He continues coming closer, resting his arms by my sides with teasing eyes, full of bad intentions.

"Murat." I breath out his name as my stomach was dropping with every second. I kept on leaning backwards on the soft bed until there was no space to go.

"Where will you run now?" he said in his husky voice tilting his face, hovering over me. I licked my lips and his eyes flickered on them. "Hmm?" He brushed his nose against mine.

I turn my face on right, closing my eyes and I sensed his lips brushing over my neck. "Murat." I whispered again, trying to gather the courage to push him away. He intertwined our fingers and pressed his lips on my jawline, travelling up to cheek. "I'm getting late." I slightly pushed his chest, looking at him.

"Then why are you laying under me looking so gorgeous?"

My eyes blinked dumbfoundly.
Once
Twice
Thrice

"Wait.... what?" Apprehending what he just said, I replied with furrowed eyebrows, "You trapped me."

"I did?" His face was close. So close that it was merely an inch away.

My heart picks up a speed as he licks his lips while gazing at mine and makes an intense eye contact. My breath hitched as he leans in and mold his lips into mine. I clutched his shirt and got lost in the kiss, totally forgetting I had to go somewhere.
Where I had to go again?

After eating all of my lip-balm, he pulled back after a minute or so. "Strawberry" he mumbled against my lips, "when did you buy it?"

"umm..," My eyes were still shut, "two days back... I think."

"Gosh, I can't stop kissing you," he groaned and took my lips again, making me chuckle in between his deadly strokes.

"Kissing?-", one stroke, "you are-" another stroke, "eating-", and he didn't let me speak further taking full control. I moaned helplessly as he bites my lower lip while running his hands all over me. My fingers run over his trimmed beard, and went forward to grab his hair.

Suddenly my phone rings interrupting our heated moment. He snuggles in my neck as I tried to answer the phone but seems like the sensory touch wasn't working. I swiped up my finger on the screen numerous times in irritation, and the reality I was in, started to blur away.

The mysterious room we were in, our surroundings, him on top of me, everything was fading away.

My eyes snapped open and saw my room's ceiling above me.

Dream.
It was a dream.
Whyyy!!! I wanted moreeeee!!!

I kicked my legs in the air out of frustration and picked up the ringing phone, the villain of my dream.

"Hello?!" I huffed.

"Assalamualaikum." The same deep voice of a guy from the dream greeted me.

"Oh...It's you." My senses started working, "Walaikum assalam." The ruiner of the dream is the person I was dreaming about.
What a tragedy.

"Yes. It's me. Why? Did you delete my number?"

"Noo." I snuggled in the blanket. "I was sleeping. Didn't check the caller name because I was too annoyed." I muttered.

"Ohhh. Maine aapki neend kharab kardi. Kya khwab dekh rahi thi esa?" (Ohhh. I guess I ruined your beauty sleep. What were you dreaming about?)

I chuckled, thinking about the dreamy kiss we just shared.

"Arey, ab has rahi ho. Abhi bhi neend me ho kya?" (Now you are laughing. Still have your head in the clouds?)

"I saw you." Blood rushed to my cheeks as I muttered.

"Ohhh. What was I doing?" He asked teasingly.

"We were..." I bit my lip, "we were having a makeout session." I mumbled.

"OHHHH." He laughed, "Garmi zyada hi dimag par chad gayi hai tumhare. Bukhar bhi kar lia or ab aise khwab." (Your hormones are all over the place. First fever and now these dreams.)

I laughed quietly.

"Sari garmi to utar di thi tumhari. Abhi bhi bachi hai?" He referred to our meeting, making me blush more. (I thought I quenched your heat. Or was it not enough?)

"Kahan utari." I doodled with my finger on the pillow. "Tum to chada kar chale gaye." (Hah! You just made it worse)

"Achhaaa." (Aha?)

"Actually mujhe ab samajh aaya ki-" (Actually, now I understood that-)

"-karte kaise hain." He interrupts me, making us laugh together. (-how it's done)

"Noo. I mean... yes that too," I couldn't help but laugh again, "But I'm saying that now I understood how much time do I need to get aroused."

"I see. And how much time do you need to get in devilish form?" I felt him smirking by his voice.

"I don't know about the devilish form," I chuckled, "but yea to get started I need atleeaaasst 30 minutes of foreplay."

"Hmmm."

"I didn't want it to end though," My voice was barely audible but he heard.

"End?"

"That day. That moment. I wanted to stay more. Wanted more of you." I finally confessed.

"Ohhh. That was the reason behind your quietness. I knew something was off. That's why I was asking again and again, 'whats wrong?'."

"I..." I whispered, "...couldn't say it," and cleared my throat, "and you would have missed your train too. So I kept quiet."

"Areyy to bataati to sahi. Main ruk jata thoda aur. Pagal ladki." (You should have just said the word and I would have stayed longer dumbass)

My heart swells up at his words and vision starts to get blurry. I sniffed and wiped my tears, clearing my throat, "hmm. I will...next time."

"Hmm. Anyways. How are you now?"

"Okay okay."

"Your voice doesn't sound okay though."

Smile crept along my face as I cleared my throat again. Damn, I do have some serious coughing issues. "Well. Fever is almost gone, alhamdulillah. But yeah weakness is there. I got seasonal flu. Vomiting and stuff."

"What- How did you- I mean what happened so suddenly? You were fine last we talked."

A nervous laugh left my mouth, "Well, two days ago remember I was at terrace? I stayed till evening despite having damp hair. So yeah caught flu at night."

"Very good. So smart of you." His sarcasm made me giggle.

"You know what? A weird horrific thought came into my mind." I murmured.

"What?"

"You know... I was about to faint,"

"Hmm"

"Had vomiting,"

"Hmm"

"And haven't got my periods too."

A moment of silence crossed between us.

"WHAT!?" Panic engulfed his voice making me laugh, "But we didn't even do anything for god's sake!"

I covered my mouth to control my laughter but in vain.

"The MOST fun part didn't even happened, how is this possible! Tell me you're kidding."

Most fun part lmao.
I rolled over my pillow, trying to catch my breath from laughing too much.

"Hayat"

"Ji."

"Achha mazak nahi hai ye." (That wasn't very funny)

"Kyu? Phat gayi tumhari." (Why? Did you pissed your pants or something?)

"Mera dimag ghum gaya bhai. Ab batao mujhe." (I almost did. Now tell me)

"What?"

"You're joking right?"

"Yes. And No."

"What do you mean yes and no?"

"Yes I haven't got my periods, but nope its not because of that. I was just pulling your leg."

I heard him releasing a sigh of relief. "But still. Inform me as soon as you get periods."

"Arey it's nothing. I will eat walnuts and some homemade drink. Skipping happens sometimes. Especially in winters."

"Okay. Do whatever you need to. And inform me first."

"Yes sir. Don't worry. We are safe." I chuckled. "You will be the first person I will tell about its arrival."

"Haaan good."

"Anyways, tell me the work you were talking about." I sat up and opened the water bottle beside my pillow. My throat was drying up.

"Oh yeah. It's an Arabian news website."

"Mhhmmm." I gulped down the water, quenching my thirst. "word limit?"

"200-300 words per article. They are short news blogs basically, that will be updated everyday. So you'll have to write as quickly as possible after researching about the news."

"Ohh. Gotcha. So the topics will be given-"

"-everyday, yes." He completed my sentence.

"So basically... the trendy news will be covered."

"Yes. But the contract would be monthly based. Not the freelance type."

"Ah. That's fine though. Any idea how many articles?"

"That depends. You may get 5 articles per day. Sometimes just 2. And sometimes nothing at all. It depends on the news events."

"I see. When do I have to start?"

"Not now. I will inform you the rest of the details after negotiating the proper payment."

"That's fine then," I lay down again. "I need to get back on track first before signing in."

"Yeah get well first. Don't worry. I got it."

"Hmm." I snuggled into a ball.
Haye. He is so sweet.

"I found work with low pressure for you, so it would be easy."

"Yeah the last one was too much."

"Hmm that's why."

Haye. He's so fineeeeeee.
I love when he reassures and takes care of the stuff while saying 'don't worry', 'I got you', etc. The feminine urge to be carefree around his masculine energy boosts up instantly, knowing he will handle everything for me.

"Murat." I took his name to grab his attention as a thought struck me.

"Ji."

"How are you?"

"Alhamdulillah. Fine. I was just.... having bad mood since few days. I don't know, I just don't feel like talking to anyone nowadays." He murmured.

I knew it.
"Why? Something happened?"

"Nothing just...people keep testing my patience."

"What happened?" My voice softens and I sat up, resting against the wall.

"Umm.. Got into a fight with friends." His voice was barely audible. As if he was forcing words out of his mouth.

Fight? Murat is not a fighting person.
"What!! With whom?"

"Aamir and... Yusuf."

"Oh. Its normal between friends. It's gonna be okay." I tried to reassure him.
I don't know about Yusuf but Aamir is his hard-core bestie. Ofcourse they won't survive long without each other.

"No. It was different."

"Arey, I had a big scene with my friend last week too."

"No. It wasn't just a friendly clash. It was based on work. And I get pretty serious when it comes to work." He said in a serious tone making me doubt my thoughts.

"I see. Then you must not be even meeting or visiting them at home, right?"

"Yeah. Even contacts are deleted. Lifetime cut off."

"Bleh. Not lifetime." I rolled my eyes. "You will reconcile soon."
He gets so dramatic.

"Not me."

"Okay, maybe they will." I shrugged.

"Maybe. But I won't give in even if they beg on their knees."

"Uffo." I laughed.

"I'm serious." There was a mixture of joke and seriousness in his voice.
Maybe he isn't being dramatic.
Maybe he is really very upset.
I wonder what they did.

"Acha."

"Tell me one thing. If someone you trusted with everything, backstabs you but pretends to be nice in front of you. Will you forgive that person?"

Okay.. That's a messed up situation.
"Umm.. Maybe he has a different pov? If he really saw you as his friend, maybe a misunderstanding happened?" I tried to sound as balanced as I could. Because again, I don't know the full story.

He started laughing quietly and muttered, "kise samjha rahi ho tum?" (who are you even trying to convince?)

"Hmm, right. Kise samjha rahi hu main bhi (Who am I even trying to convince). But then again, you know the situation better so maybe I'm wrong." I concluded at last.

I didn't wanna mess up our moment because of the third person I don't even know properly.
He needs emotional support right now.
Not confrontation.
Plus I don't even know the full story. So who am I to judge?

"Hmm, I work alone now. That's why I'm getting busier than before. Handling clients, work, etc, without any help."

"Oh."
Okay now I'm pissed at his friends. Our quality time is affected because of them. They deserve serious beating from my side.

"Yeah. I have to show them how much.."

"-busy I can get." I interrupted him with a laugh which resulted in a small chuckle from his side.

"I don't know honestly.. There's no use of proving anyone anyways. I don't have extra spare brain for this shit either. Plus the clients irritate me a lot. Like they talk too much, making the other person completely fed up."

"Why so? They made you their life advisor?" I joked again, trying to ease up his tensed mind.

"No. We just talk about work. It's their repeating statements which triggers me a lot. Explaining the same thing in 3 different ways. Sir that, sir this, sir not that, I want this. Arey samajh gaya bhai! (Bro I got it!)

"Ohh in that way. That's frustrating. I wish I could help you in easing some work."

"Hmmm. You do help in a way, by understanding me." His voice softens.

I close my eyes and my heart swells up.
He is such a baby.
And so alone.

"You know I don't like talking too much."

"Hmm. I know." I mumbled.

"I prefer a calm, peaceful environment. No unnecessary useless chitchat. Very little talking and listening. Just meaningful talk at the very least."

"Hmmm."
I wish I could hug him right now.
He needs care in the form of actions, not just words.

"Hmm. Vese bhi. Ranjish insan ko khokla kar deti hain." (Hmm. And also, hate makes a person hollow from inside.)

"Ohho," I chuckled. "Ab andar ka shayar bahar aaraha hai." (The sleeping poet is awakening)

"Shayar kahan, ye to kahawat hai." (Nah. It's just an old saying, not poetry)

I chuckled. "Whatever."

"Hmmm. What else. Tell me something new."

"Hmmmm. What do I say. Health is a total mess right now so just resting up. Nothing exciting going on in life."

"What service can I be for you, madam?" He asked playfully.

I chuckled as his tone changed. "Nothing. Please do nothing right now. You mess up my mind a lot."

"Yeah I can't even sneak into your room at night."

I giggled at his comment.

"Hmm. Take care. Rest up. A client is about to call me anytime too. So I just have few minutes left."

"Oh. You have to go." I made a pout.

"Ji. Btaiye." (Yea, say?)

"So busy."

"Nowadays, yea. I even have to take out time to sleep properly."

"Uffo. How many hours do you sleep?"

"5-6 hours. Actually the thing is, I need to be left at least 12 hours with just my thoughts alone, no disturbance."

"And those are night hours." I take a guess.

"Nope. The day hours. I'm busy even if I look free. Physically I may be free. But mentally I'm not."

"Hmmm."

"I have a whole different world going on inside my mind."

"Tell me about it." I keep a cushion in between my thighs and lay down again, curling into a ball.

"Mostly I'm busy planning strategies for work. You know, coding...or business ideas. How to build up better. Expand better." I close my eyes listening to his voice as he explained. "Long term goals. Short term goals. Lots of stuff. Noting them down. And then implementing it later."

"Hmm.." After sensing he was done with his explanation, I murmured, "I was wondering something."

"Hmm?"

"And I think I got the answer now."

"About?"

"We didn't really get a chance after our meeting to talk properly. You seem a bit... I don't know... Extra busy. I'm not complaining. But it felt, weird... I don't know." He listened to me quietly as I tried to explain. "That maybe you aren't that invested anymore. Or....you don't think about me." I sighed and whispered, "...or maybe you didn't like the meeting."

"Hayat." I close my eyes as he takes my name.
Oh. My heart.

"You have no idea how much I think about you. Whole day. And since that day, you haven't left my mind. It's just that, this recent clash at work just flipped everything."

"Hmm. Things are getting clear now. I understand the reason for your absence. You vanished because of something else." I doodled on the pillow lines with my finger tip.

"Hmm."

"Hmmm. I'm glad you opened up."

"My mind was really messed up. And I avoid talking with you in anger."

"Achha."
I'm melting.
Helppp.

"I wasn't talking to anyone these past few weeks either. Just wanted to be alone." His voice seemed sad.

Poor baby.
"Yeah it's okay. I understand how it feels when things get tough with friends and life."

"Hmmm."

"By the way, you were nervous right? The day we met." I changed the topic. Let's make him laugh a bit more.

He chuckled. "Hella nervous."

"It was slightly visible. But you pretended really well."

"Half of the time I was nervous about what to say and what to do. My mind was blank."

"Two nervous young adults trying unholy things for the first time." I joked.

"Exactly." He laughed with me. "And half of the time I was thinking 'am I crossing limit?' 'is she comfortable?' 'did I go ahead too much?'."

My heart fluttered at his words. "Hmm you were asking many concerned questions. It was written all over your face. But nope I kinda enjoyed it. In fact I don't think I will go anywhere apart from the room now." I laughed and he joined me. "It certainly has privacy and peace."

"See I told you. My intentions weren't bad."

"Of course, of course." I rolled my eyes and silence crossed between us again.

"I... don't have words to describe those moments." He mumbled after a few seconds.

"Hmmmm... Neither do I." I whispered back.

"I wasn't joking when I said I want to meet you everyday."

"Oh." Butterflies did a belly dance in my stomach.

"Only if we were in the same city." He sighed.

"Uff this long distance... By the way, given your current situation, is your shifting to Delhi plan still on?"

"I don't know yet. I need to first set up my work now. All the old plans have been messed up. Gotta make new."

"Yeah. It will be sorted out soon Inshallah."

"Inshallah. Oh, he is calling me. Let's talk later, okay?"

"That client?"

"Yea."

"Okay okay. Allah hafiz."

"Allah hafiz."

And the call got cut.
I stared up at the ceiling, processing everything we just talked about and all the puzzles finally fit into the right place, resting my heart in ease. He takes time, but he does open up eventually.

I just have to be patient with him.
That's all.

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