Kriti gently tucked the loose strands of hair behind my ears. I removed her jacket and dropped the handbag. She pulled me close and lightly pecked my lips. I parted my lips and she kissed me, softly, gently. Neither of us bothered to remove our shoes. I guided her to the sofa and finally thought of removing my shoe. Kriti chuckled and removed her shoe too.
Kriti asked, "Are you sure you want to continue?"
I didn't reply. Instead, I kissed her. Kriti started to kiss my neck and trailed down to my chest. I held her neck and caressed it. Her hair smelled like her cigarettes. It made me recall the taste of the kiss in the alley. The lighting was strikingly similar to the alley. Dark with faint lights from an unknown source that barely let a person make out what's in the room. Kriti must have realised my mind trailed off as she bit my neck to bring my attention back to her.
She started to search for the zipper and removed my top. Kriti started at my topless upper body and said," Lord, have mercy on me." She kissed my collarbone and left a mark.
I unbuttoned every button on her shirt and removed it. Kriti removed her thermals. She looked so handsome that I couldn't stop looking at her. She kissed my lips, but this time it was more raw and intense. I couldn't breathe properly and gasped for air.
"Breathe," Kriti said and continued, "Breathe and moan for me."
Kriti was wearing a necklace with a guitar pick as a pendant. I pulled it and said," Make me moan then."
She smirked and removed my pants and reached for the spot.
'Lord, have mercy on me.' I screamed internally and moaned aloud.
Kriti traced her nose on my navel region and kissed it. God, my heart.
I looked at the ceiling, which had streaks of street light making patterns on it.
I knew tomorrow would be the day I looked forward to.
***** ***** ***** ***** *****
"What should we do?" Jaya asked.
"Honestly, I don't know," Siddharth admitted and continued, "I don't know whether we should solve this on our own or involve her family."
"Her family, as in your mother...?" Jaya asked.
Siddharth shook his head and said, "Nope. Her paternal family."
Jaya said, "Her paternal family? Don't they all live abroad? Isn't that the reason why she was sent to boarding school?"
Siddharth started feeling uneasy and said, "That's true to a certain extent."
"Ranga, come clean. What's up with her family?" Jaya started to get angry.
"Ok, ok. I'll tell. I'll tell. Her family is a group of eccentric, wealthy individuals. When I mean rich, I mean crazy rich." Siddharth reeled off an explanation of Jui's family situation.
"Didn't you say her family were refugees?" Jaya asked, not leaving for an escape.
"They were. But that refugee status remained only in the first generation. Her grandparents' generation still lives in a small village. Still into harvest and jute production. Her father's generation? Nope. Her father is one of eight close-knit cousins." Siddharth reached for the car door and opened it. He had reached PG, and the taxi app had automatically deducted the fare money.
"Stop being like a constipated news reporter and tell everything." Jaya angrily spoke from the other end.
"Fine. Brace yourself. When they escaped, her grandaunt made everyone agree on a strange pact: no matter what happens, the family must accept and support each other, even if they dislike a family member. The eldest had already completed his undergraduate Law degree from Dhaka University. The second and third oldest were in their final year of undergraduate studies in Chemistry and Engineering. They transferred from their original universities to Calcutta University to finish their courses, and then the three of them left for London. Initially, for higher education, but as usual, they ended up obtaining UK citizenship, settling there, and starting to finance their lives." Siddharth walked upstairs to his flat.
"Then what happened?" Jaya pressed on.
"The fourth was a girl. After finishing high school, she married a high-ranking army officer. With her husband's support, she completed a basic course in fashion and textiles. Using those skills, she opened her boutique and earned money. She also set aside some cash for the family. Her sister, the fifth, was scouted by film directors to act as a child and eventually became a renowned theatre actress, even performing in the UK's film industry." Siddharth entered his flat and switched on the lights. He turned up his laptop and switched the video call from his phone to the laptop.
"Jasmine! That girl has some crazy aunts and uncles." Jaya said.
"If you think this is crazy, wait till you hear the rest. The sixth studied crazily and started his telecommunication business. With his older cousins' connections, he flourished in London, making a million-pound company and then shifted to France. The seventh and eighth are Jasmine's uncle and her father. Since they were Indian citizens and also the younger ones, they had much more stability than the rest. Still, one became a professor in the Netherlands, and her father works in the ICRC with my aunt." Siddharth ordered some pizza from a delivery app and got freshened up.
"And that's just her father's generation?" Jaya said with amazement.
"Yep. I haven't even started in her generation yet," Siddharth said.
"She has eight cousins. The oldest one has his law firm. The second one has a security business. The third one is a general surgeon. The fourth one works in a directorial position in a software company. The fifth one is a graphics designer and has won various animation awards. The sixth one is a fashion designer. The seventh one owns restaurants and bars. The eighth one just finished his master's. Rest, I don't know." Siddharth opened the door to receive the pizza.