CHAPTER :17 Insanely Hot
As their lives continued, one day Abhi woke up to a bit of a commotion. "What's that noise in the hall?" he wondered, opening his door. He saw Tulasi and was stunned speechless.
She was wearing a half saree and looked absolutely breathtaking. She had a pretty necklace, large earrings, bangles adorning her hands, her usual anklets on her feet, and a delicate chain on her waist. She looked insanely hot. He didn't even realize he was walking until he found himself standing right in front of her.
Tulasi, seeing Abhi, was startled. "Abhi, you're up? I put your clothes in the cover in your rack, and your watch too. Go freshen up, take a head bath!" she instructed.
Abhi couldn't process anything. He looked around and saw a deity's idol, and in front of it, a small gold coin of the goddess Lakshmi that Tulasi had specifically asked him to buy. She was performing some kind of puja. Abhi was furious. "I told you not to do all this God stuff, didn't I, Tulasi?! What is this?!" he roared.
His maid, who was standing nearby, jumped in fright.
Tulasi, though frightened, composed herself. She walked up to Abhi, took his chin in her hand, and pleaded, "Please, Abhi, please! Only two days! Please, Abhi, please!". Abhi said nothing, just walked back into his room and closed the door. He sat on his bed.
"What's happening to me?" he wondered. "What was I like before, and what have I become now, all because of her?". She had asked so sweetly, so pleadingly. What else could he do? How could he shout at her?. But then he thought, "Wow, she really showed off! I only saw it for a second, but that waist! She's so fcking hot!". He opened the cover she had placed and found a nice outfit for him. He went and did exactly as she said, took a head bath, clean shaved, put on the dress, and wore the watch she had bought him.
"Hmm, a good branded watch. She must have a lot of money," he thought. He got neatly ready and came out. Just then, Tulasi was performing aarti. As she bent to offer it, " what a sight!" he thought, unable to take his eyes off her. She gave aarti to the maid, then came to Abhi. Abhi quickly turned his face away, ignoring Aarti.
Tulasi offered Abhi the sacred food for breakfast, which was in front of god. Then, she made the maid sit, put a bindi on her forehead, gave her a saree, bangles, and fruits, and touched her feet. The crying maid, wiping her tears, blessed her, "May you be eternally blessed with a long and happy married life!".
"This girl is so talented, she can make anyone cry!" Abhi thought, surprised at why the maid was crying. Abhi finished his breakfast, washed his hands, and was drying them with a napkin when Tulasi came with sacred rice. "What's this?
"Bless me, Abhi!" she said.
"What?"
"She is older than me! You're six years older than me, so you should bless me too!" she insisted.
"Really? "
"Yes, please bless me, Abhi!" she pleaded.
As he agreed, she bent in front of him trying to touch his feet. "Hey, hey! Don't do all that! What should I bless you ?" he asked. The maid, shocked by all this, recovered and urged him, "Bless her with 'may you be eternally blessed with a long and happy married life,' sir!".
"Sounds like a movie title song!" Abhi chuckled, then blessed her, "May you be eternally blessed with a long and happy married life! And try not to make mistakes at the hospital and get scolded by me, okay? Be careful!". Tulasi laughed.
"What are you looking at?" Abhi asked the maid.
"Oh, nothing, sir, nothing!" the maid said, putting the saree and bangles given by Tulasi into a cover and leaving them.
"Abhi, will you fold your hands and pray?" Tulasi asked.
Abhi looked serious. "Shall we leave?" he asked, putting on his shoes.
"I have a small errand on the way. Shall we go?" she asked.
"Guess I have no choice, come on!" he said, and they both got into the car.
After a few minutes.
"Here, Abhi, stop here!" she requested.
"Look, if you keep doing this, I'll get angry! "
"Please, Abhi, please!".
"Alright, just be quick, Tulasi," he conceded.
Tulasi got out of the car, bought flowers, fruits, and a coconut, and started climbing the temple steps. Abhi watched her from the car. Her long braid, her slender waist. He had really seen Tulasi today. Usually, she'd wear those churidar, with the white doctor's apron over them, revealing nothing. "But today, oh my god, she's putting on a whole movie for me!" he thought.
As she climbed the steps, Tulasi stopped and looked back at him. She gestured for him to come. Abhi shook his head, refusing. She turned back and walked into the temple.
She is accompanied by two boys who had been sitting by the temple steps leisurely but now they are after Tulasi.
"Just my luck! these dame rouges," Abhi muttered, getting out of the car. He took off his shoes outside and entered the temple. "Where did they go?" he wondered, then spotted Tulasi. He stopped near the flagpole, at the entrance door of the temple. She was doing circumambulations, and those two boys were walking right behind her. Tulasi saw Abhi. "Abhi, you came?" she asked.
"Yeah, got bored waiting, you carry on!" he mumbled. Seeing them talking, the two boys looked at Abhi glare and slowly left Tulasi and moved away.
"I know why you guys came! Everyone wants what's mine!" he thought, leaning against the flagpole. He watched Tulasi complete her circumambulations, pray to the deity inside, give her offerings to the priest, and take his blessings. When she finished, she came to Abhi and offered him a banana and a coconut.
"I'm not hungry," he said. "Just eat this one, it's fine," she said, peeling the banana and placing it in his hand. "Shall we go?" he asked.
Tulasi looked at Abhi pleadingly . "Abhi, I can't reach the bell! Can you help me a little?" she asked. But Abhi knowing her well knows that she is up to something naughty.
Abhi looked at Tulasi even more mischievously, his eyes lingering on her waist. "Shall I lift you up?" he asked.
Tulasi's cheeks turned red. "No! I mean, you hit the bell, and I'll hold your hand, okay?" she suggested.
"So, I hit the bell, and you hold my hand? That's help?" he asked.
"Yes! It's like I hit it, too, right? Because I'm holding your hand, so it's like both of us hit it! Come on, Abhi!" she pleaded.
"Look, if you want, I'll lift you, but I'm not doing this bell-ringing thing as you said!" he insisted.
Tulasi made a pouty face. She then found a small stool-like object and started dragging it towards the bell. "What are you doing with that stool?". He asked, looking at her hardwork.
"I'll climb on it and hit it!".
"Who told you to be so born so short, then?" Abhi teased. As Abhi came closer and said, "Come on, hold my hand."
she abandoned the stool and rushed to take his hand."Hit it three times, Abhi!" she instructed.
Abhi rang the bell three times. Tulasi, full of joy and laughter, skipped down the steps like a deer. "Did the priest mix something in her holy water? She's so high!" Abhi wondered, chuckling. He had never seen Tulasi so happy and playful.
Abhi drove the car back towards home. "What? Abhi, home? Aren't we going to the hospital? It's already late!" Tulasi asked.
"Just a small errand at home," he said, entering the apartment.
"Did you forget something? ".
Abhi opened the flat door. "Go on, change your dress," he told her.
"What? Why? Let's go like this!" she protested.
"It's a hospital, not a fashion parade! Go change!" he said.
"But last week, everyone wore whatever they wanted, and you didn't say anything!" she countered.
"They're not my assistants! Why would I scold them? You're my assistant! Don't you even know how to dress for the hospital? Go! Wear that full-sleeved churidar dress that covers everything, put on your apron, and come. I'll wait!" he ordered.
"What? Aren't you changing?" she asked. Abhi looked at her seriously.
"ok,ok , I'm going!" she said, rushing to change.
That day at the hospital, everyone praised Abhi, saying how good he looked.
"They're only praising you because of me! But they would praise me too if I hadn't change" Tulasi grumbled under her breath.
Abhi heard her. "What do you know about my suffering? I know how they'd look if you cover up completely! If you put on half saree shows, I'll be totally finished!" he muttered to himself.
"What are you saying?" she asked.
"Nothing! Just go away!" he snapped.
Tulasi walked away in her apron. Abhi kept remembering her in the half saree from the morning. "This girl is really getting to me!" he thought.
That night at dinner, Abhi asked why there was no non-vegetarian food. "Two days, Abhi! And you can't even drink, please!" she asked.
He looked serious. "So, no going out tonight," he thought. He sat on the sofa, flipping through TV channels. Tulasi was arranging things for the next day's puja.
"That's enough arranging! Come, let's watch a movie!" he called out.
"A movie? I hate movies!" she replied.
"Who hates movies?" he asked, incredulous.
"I don't know, Abhi. How can anyone sit in one place for three hours watching a movie? I get a headache with all that action and all. I prefer reading books!".
Abhi then remembered the scene in the movie theatre where she was playing with a child instead of watching the film. "When was the last time you actually watched a movie? Which was your last one?".
"I watched Baasha when I was in sixth or fifth grade," she replied, thinking deeply.
Abhi stared at her, his mouth open.
"You mean you haven't watched a movie since then?" he asked.
"I don't know, Abhi, I just can't sit in one place for that long. Books are great, can sit and read them peacefully. But movies, what's there in them?".
"Oh really? Which planet are you from?" he teased. Tulasi stared at him, bewildered. "Seriously ,you're not from this world, sweetheart! Go on, go do your pujas!" he said.
Pressed her lips into a pout, she continued to arrange for tomorrow Pooja.
Abhi put on an English movie, watched it for a bit, then went to bed. The next day, Tulasi wore a half saree of a different colour. Abhi also wore a new outfit.
After breakfast, as he tied his shoes, "Temple again today, right?" he asked.
she said, "Yes, Abhi! Will you take me? "
He nodded in annoyance, "Oh, thank you, Abhi!" She thanked him with a sweet, Melodious voice as her face brightened with joy.
"Don't talk so cute, it does things to me!" he thought. Like yesterday, she bought offerings and walked along. But this time, he walked alongside her. As they climbed the steps together, Tulasi chanted mantras.
Abhi didn't pay any attention other than. Her braid swung from side to side like a pendulum, matching his heartbeat. "Oh my god, she's a total stunner!" he thought, walking with her to the temple. But he didn't enter the temple. The two boys who had been there yesterday, seeing Abhi outside, didn't dare to approach Tulasi. Abhi leaned against the wall, watching Tulasi perform her circumambulations and then try to reach the bell. She stretched her hands upwards, trying to grasp the bell. That's when he saw it: her half saree had slipped a little, revealing her navel. "Oh god, what a sight!" he thought. "It would be so good to kiss that navel! Would she let me? No way, she'd definitely hit me!We studied black holes in childhood, did they discover that by looking at this navel? Men's gaze, no matter how many other things are around, always goes there." Abhi's gaze was no different. After a few attempts, Unable to reach the bell, she looked at Abhi. Abhi chuckled, then came to her, and like yesterday, helped her ring the bell. Tulasi laughed. "She looks so beautiful when she laughs! Why can't she always laugh like this in front of me?" he wondered.
She smiled and laughed with her friends, but never with him. "If only I were better, she would laugh with me," he sighed. He remembered her curves when she stretched to ring the bell. "Oh God, you've created her so perfectly! Maybe even a little too perfectly! Her measurements are soo right, in some places there are a bit more, but thanks for that too".
"Hey, Abhi, control yourself! This is a temple!" he reminded himself, then started walking behind Tulasi.
"Are we changing clothes again now?" Tulasi asked. He just laughed.
From that day on, a senior doctor went on leave, leading to a massive increase in work for Abhi and Tulasi. They performed most of the operations together and were often exhausted. Even at home, they were busy with case sheets and discussing doubts about operations. Abhi started assigning smaller operations to Tulasi, while he handled the more complicated ones. Because of this, Tulasi slowly became accustomed to performing operations.
A month later, the senior doctor returned from leave, giving Abhi and Tulasi some much-needed free time. "Dasara holidays are coming up soon, a long weekend! Let's plan something, Tulasi.we both look absolutely wiped out!" Abhi suggested.
"A long weekend? Oh, Abhi, you go. I'm not coming," she replied.
"Don't even think about going out! as always. Aren't you bored always staying at home," he grumbled playfully, settling onto the sofa after dinner.
Tulasi looked at him. "Abhi, are you bored?".
"Yeah, I am. "
"Shall we play a game?". Abhi turned to Tulasi.
"What game?" he asked.
"How about chess?" she suggested.
"I should have my Xbox around here," Abhi said, going towards the TV cabinet.
"Oh, that? That's a PlayStation, right?".
"Yeah, that one! Where is it?".
"It was all dusty, and you weren't using it, so I put it in your attic!".
"What?! You climbed into my attic to do that?" he chuckled.
"Well, you weren't using it, Abhi! Why would I leave it lying around? I remember exactly where I put it, too!" she said, following him into his room.
It felt new to Abhi, Tulasi being in his room like this. "It's right up there, in the attic!" she said, pointing.
"I'll lift you up, you can grab it," he suggested, a mischievous glint in his eyes.
Tulasi's cheeks reddened. She looked at Abhi seriously. "No need, I'll climb myself!" she insisted, moving a step-like table that had water bottles and his watch on it. She moved the items aside, pushed the table closer to the attic, and started climbing.
"Hey, I'll get it, you come down!" Abhi said.
"It's fine, It can't bear your weight!" she replied, climbing onto the table and standing on her tiptoes, searching the attic.
Abhi just stood there, leaning against the wall, watching her. His eyes followed her graceful curves. "She doesn't give an inch! If I try to lift her, even a little touch, what would happen? It would be so romantic to just pick her up! But she probably doesn't even know the spelling of 'romantic,' the little dummy!" he mused, secretly snapping photos of her with his phone. Tulasi turned around, a suspicious look on her face. Abhi quickly pretended to be engrossed in his phone. "She's definitely suspicious," he thought.
"Found it!" she called out.
"Shall I help you down?" he asked, reaching for her waist.
"No need! Here, take the box!" she said, taking the box from the attic and handing it to Abhi. He held the box with one hand and tried to reach for her with the other to help her down.
"No need! If I can climb up, I can climb down!" she retorted.
"She'll never give in, so stubborn!" he thought. Abhi took the box and sat down to connect the Xbox to the TV. Tulasi came and sat on the floor, a little away from Abhi, watching him with serious focus as he set it up. After a while, the TV screen came to life.
"It's on!" he exclaimed, then took Tulasi's hand, pulled her up, and they both sat on the sofa. "Here," he said, giving one remote to Tulasi and operating with the other.
"I don't know how to play this, Abhi!" she said.
"It's not hard!"
" Did you play Mario as a kid? Is that in this?" she asked.
"Mario? Of course! I've got a really great one. Come I'll show you!" he said, starting to show her different video games.
He handed her a controller. "I don't know how to play this, Abhi," she said after a few failed attempts.
"It's easy, I'll teach you," he said, moving behind her on the sofa. He wrapped his arms around her to hold her hands, his fingers guiding hers on the controller. "This one is for jumping, this is for firing..." he explained, his voice a low murmur in her ear.
But Tulasi couldn't hear a word he was saying. All she could hear was the frantic thudding of her own heart. His face was so close to hers, his warm breath fanning her cheek, his hands engulfing hers. It was all too much. Overwhelmed, she pulled her hands away, jumped up, and fled to her room.
"Hey, clumsy! Where are you going?" he called after her, confused.
A few minutes later, she returned. "What happened? Shall teach you again?" he asked, still engrossed in the game.
"No, it's okay. You play, I'll watch," she said softly.
"You should play! It's fun. We can play together every day," he urged.
"I'll learn by watching you," she insisted. She watched him play, completely captivated. "Wow, Abhi, you're really good at this," she complimented him. Her praise filled him with a warmth he rarely felt. He didn't care for compliments from others, but when they came from Tulasi, he felt an immense sense of pride.
He lost track of time as he played, and after a while, he realised she had gone quiet. He turned and saw that she had fallen asleep, curled up on the sofa. One leg was folded, one hand tucked under her cheek, her innocent face peaceful in slumber. He put the controller down and just watched her, his heart filled with a profound tenderness. The three feet of space between them felt like a vast chasm. His eyes lingered on her soft lips, a powerful urge to kiss her rising within him. He fought it, knowing he couldn't cross that line. His gaze travelled down her slender neck with a gold chain shining like her skin hiding in her dress .His eyes lingered on the gentle swell of her chest rising and falling with each breath.
In all the months they had lived together, he had never had the time or situation to look at her this way. Even in the traditional half saree, she always seemed to be in motion, never giving him a chance to truly admire her beauty. But now, even in a simple churidar dress that covered her from shoulder to ankle, showing her beautiful golden anklets, she was intoxicatingly beautiful.
He used every ounce of his self-control to stay rooted to his spot, not to cross the three feet that separated them. A gentle breeze from the fan made her dupatta flutter, offering tantalising glimpses of the curves beneath.
"Heaven must have taken its time with you… You're shaped too perfectly, almost dangerously so"
He licked his dry lips, his throat parched. He took a long drink of water, but it did little to quench the fire she had ignited within him. He leaned back on the sofa and continued to watch her, resting his head on the sofa like her, completely and utterly captivated by the innocent girl who had so effortlessly captured his bad-boy heart.