Mrs Bose was a fine, young, relatively attractive woman. Mr Bose wasn't. He was older, repetitive, had a defined paunch and declared himself to be liberal and progressive. And he had loads of expectations from his beloved Missus. They went to the club, he to socialize and swim, his Missus to down a drink and flash a smile. Often she had to drive him home to nights of snores, or being an indifferent whore. He was nothing like what she wanted. What she liked in Mr Roy at the club. They didn't know each other apart from their tables.
It was in a L-shape distance that they sat in, across each other, invisible to everyone's glance but their own. Both of them could look down at the same part of the noisy swimming pool, filled with excited yelps of learners, paused by the grace of the expert strokes. She knew his name because once they had signed in at the register together, she by Meira Bose, he neatly by Nikhil Roy. She adored the fact that he was a well-dressed man, reticent in his group, and a wise drinker. She often saw him drive back his own car too. He hardly went for a swim and mostly digged into a platter of steamed veggies which went past her to him. She was pretty sure he was observant towards her too. And each evening she decked up to appease the observation.
As she doodled, or won points over meaningless poker, he sometimes passed a smile when she screamed at a win. She immediately looked at him to see the smile. She knew how it would smell, distinctly refreshing the top layer with wood following the later. And soon enough she got to know she was correct. It happened with the suddenness of a storm. It was a sultry evening promising a lot of chaos into the night. He slipped a small "Hi" as they again signed in together.
"Nikhil Roy. Care for a drink?"
All her poise melted away at that chlorine clad instant. Kaushik was on tour and not coming to the club. She agreed. They sat in one of the card rooms, secluded by their whiskeys and stacking a set. Their conversation was quick, and the chemistry quicker. It was understood that he was single, while she was not. He invited her to his place to see his collection of paintings, an offer she dare not refuse, especially when most of Kaushik's friends would be too drunk by now to notice and slipped off in their respective cars. She felt as if dragons inhabited the middle of her anatomy, belting tumultuous amounts of fire.
They behaved like old friends, caring not for a second about how they must have looked to anyone who saw them. He fixed her a quick snack of cucumbers and peppers in a fabulous dip. They did not drink. It was a premonition of the night. They both knew. And without even asking for it, she stayed back as they watched a game of football into the hours. With each remarkable pass, their distance shortened, and sizzled. He offered her a change of his t-shirt and a short and changed into the same. Everything was happening too fast, too fast even for the word comfort.
As he stroked her hair, they were held in the indefinite moment of long, passionate heavy breaths running down each others' shoulders. Their fingers were circling the kneecaps and tingles of excitement made way into their hearts. The football stadium noise dissolved into the sound of the moment when their lips came in a sensational contact. And they kissed. And they kissed. Like they were born to kiss. They kissed like stories were exchanged, and discoveries made, and structures dissembled. They were filled with a rapture they didn't know existed. And they kissed.
Till Kaushik came by, held her waist firmly from behind and asked, "You know each other?"
It was in a L-shape distance that they sat in, across each other, invisible to everyone's glance but their own. Both of them could look down at the same part of the noisy swimming pool, filled with excited yelps of learners, paused by the grace of the expert strokes. She knew his name because once they had signed in at the register together, she by Meira Bose, he neatly by Nikhil Roy. She adored the fact that he was a well-dressed man, reticent in his group, and a wise drinker. She often saw him drive back his own car too. He hardly went for a swim and mostly digged into a platter of steamed veggies which went past her to him. She was pretty sure he was observant towards her too. And each evening she decked up to appease the observation.
As she doodled, or won points over meaningless poker, he sometimes passed a smile when she screamed at a win. She immediately looked at him to see the smile. She knew how it would smell, distinctly refreshing the top layer with wood following the later. And soon enough she got to know she was correct. It happened with the suddenness of a storm. It was a sultry evening promising a lot of chaos into the night. He slipped a small "Hi" as they again signed in together.
"Nikhil Roy. Care for a drink?"
All her poise melted away at that chlorine clad instant. Kaushik was on tour and not coming to the club. She agreed. They sat in one of the card rooms, secluded by their whiskeys and stacking a set. Their conversation was quick, and the chemistry quicker. It was understood that he was single, while she was not. He invited her to his place to see his collection of paintings, an offer she dare not refuse, especially when most of Kaushik's friends would be too drunk by now to notice and slipped off in their respective cars. She felt as if dragons inhabited the middle of her anatomy, belting tumultuous amounts of fire.
They behaved like old friends, caring not for a second about how they must have looked to anyone who saw them. He fixed her a quick snack of cucumbers and peppers in a fabulous dip. They did not drink. It was a premonition of the night. They both knew. And without even asking for it, she stayed back as they watched a game of football into the hours. With each remarkable pass, their distance shortened, and sizzled. He offered her a change of his t-shirt and a short and changed into the same. Everything was happening too fast, too fast even for the word comfort.
As he stroked her hair, they were held in the indefinite moment of long, passionate heavy breaths running down each others' shoulders. Their fingers were circling the kneecaps and tingles of excitement made way into their hearts. The football stadium noise dissolved into the sound of the moment when their lips came in a sensational contact. And they kissed. And they kissed. Like they were born to kiss. They kissed like stories were exchanged, and discoveries made, and structures dissembled. They were filled with a rapture they didn't know existed. And they kissed.
Till Kaushik came by, held her waist firmly from behind and asked, "You know each other?"
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