First Time Ever

First Meeting

Chapter-16

First Meeting

Waking up naked in somebody’s arms was something I was not supposed to do until after my marriage but things have been so intense, so heated up that I forgot about everything else but him, how the slight touch of his fingers could set my body on fire, how deliciously haunting were the kisses he left on my bare skin.

“Morning sweetheart,” he kissed the top of my head.

“Mmm…,” I was exhausted, dead tired, there was a constant throbbing in my lower abdomen, it was anything but painless.

He smirked at my discomfort, clearly enjoying every second, “Glad to your first.”

“Aren’t you my first in everything?” trying to free my legs from his, I said. He smiled refusing to let go.

“Yes, and I want to be the only one.”

“Hmm….,” he was looking down at me, his blue eyes taking in every inch of my skin. Since the sheets weren’t covering enough of my modesty, I tried to snuggle in further but he held onto my waist, “Keith please!”

It was embarrassing to see myself against him, although back home I was considered to be on the fairer side yet my skin felt so wrong compared to his frosty white, my body pathetic against his roc hard muscles, the bushy knots that were my hair entangled in his fingers.

“Don’t hide from me India, you won’t be able to,” his eyes were so intense that my insides started churning , my breathing hitched and my toes curled.

Wiggling under the sheets, I said, “I don’t want you to see all I am is imperfection.”

He smiled, “I don’t see a single one,” he looked me over, licking his lips.

“Keith!”

“I am serious sugar, you’re perfect in every sense of the world. And I won’t change a thing about you.”

Well there was a thing that he would change about me if he could but I kept that thought to myself, “Let go of me Keith, I have a lecture.”

“Can’t you miss today?” he tried to lure me by drawing circles on my bare back.

“No,” he made a face but finally let me out of his arms and legs but I stayed under the sheets trying to find my clothes. The shirt was on the floor out of my reach, my jeans by the door. God!

“Give me the sheet Keith,” trying to tug it away from him, I swung my legs over the edge of the bed.

“If you want to see me naked, just say so,” he teased and I blushed.

I’ll faint if I saw him naked!

Turning away from him, I forcefully jerked the sheet off him and ran to the bathroom without looking back.

His laughter echoing in the room.

After taking a long nice bath I came out clad in one of Lita’s long T-shirt and found him sitting on the chair, at least he has put on his pants. I raised a brow.

“There was something I needed to tell you,” Okay, please God, let this thing be a good one, please.

‘What is it?” panicking, I stood by the bathroom door, afraid to move in, towards him.

“I am Taking you to meet my mom tonight,” and I felt the ground slip from under my feet.

“Your mom?” I gulped.

“Yes,” with that he stood up, kissed me and walked out with the shirt in his hand.

The entire day, I was panic ridden and jumpy, “Really Haya!” scolding myself I tried to pay attention to the professor but the dread of seeing his mother kept my mind distracted. Numerous times I told myself that just because he hated my religion doesn’t mean that his mother would too. I mean, yes she lost her husband but maybe she was a forgiving lady, gentle, nice motherly.

After all she hadn’t been an officer! But I couldn’t shake the feeling that tonight was not going to end well for me, there was a storm coming and I was afraid it would destroy everything. If my fears were confirmed and Keith’s mother did hate me, what would I do? What would become of our relationship? Would he go against his mom’s will?

Well only time will tell.

Going home seem like walking to my own death, it didn’t feel good, I wanted to stay at the college and avoid Keith, his mother and this freaking meeting. But as Peter has said running away would get me nowhere, I would’ve wanted him to meet my parents as well. That meant we were moving ahead, progressing in our relationship.

Entering the flat stealthily, I walked to my room and crashed on the bed, not even bothering to shut the door.

“Get ready India,” Keith’s voice floated from the door.

I grunted in response, can’t this meeting be postponed? Or cancelled indefinitely?

“Get your ass up love or I’ll personally dress you up,” there was a glint of mischief in his eyes but I knew he’ll stick to his words, “but then we’ll be extremely late. Mum is expecting us for dinner.”

“I know,” that wasn’t his voice, “and he does too, that’s why he dragged me along to buy something for you.”

Swirling around I found that Rose had joined him outside my door and was holding a bag, clearly amused.

“You bought me a dress?” where did the sun rise from? She made a face at my surprised expression.

“Actually I bought you a dress,” Keith interrupted, “she was there for her expert advice.”

She scoffed, “Had it been for him, you would’ve ended up naked at his mom’s.” she knew he was taking me to meet his mother? He told her? Were they close? I haven’t even told Pete.

I did not know how close the two of them were having never paid any attention but now as I looked at them, standing in the doorway I couldn’t help but deduce that they were friends and Rose being friends with someone was like a huge thing.

“She looks nice naked” he smirked, his eyes smoldering, raving over my body, taking me in, undressing me.

And I found my insides turning to jelly.

“Should I come back later?” Rose interjected and that brought me out of my lust filled trance. His smirk widened and I know he was tempted to cancel the dinner and do other interesting things.

“I’ll leave you girls to do the dressing,” giving me another once over, he left while Rose stood by the door for a moment, then closing it softly, she walked in

“I’ve never seen him this chirpy, it’s as if he’s a completely different person.”

“He has always been like this,” I’ve seen him the same since the day I woke up on top of him, yes he seem a little happier, more flirty but not different.

“Not always,’ she corrected, “you should’ve seen him when he first got here, never slept without a gun, the slightest of sound and he was on our throats, the barest of movements made him jumpy,” taking out the dress from the bag, she held it out for me to see.

It was black, sleeveless but collared, figure hugging dress which would easily reach my thighs. It was a little short for my taste but nonetheless beautiful, “But I guess that’s how you react when you’ve spent six years of your life in war.”

The way she talked of him, so carefully, so gently as if they will fade away if she didn’t handle them properly. There was a tinge of affection in the way she described it all, I felt a pang of jealousy, I wanted to know him, inside out, better than anybody else, better than himself. I wanted that right over him.

“You seem to know a lot about him,” I couldn’t stop myself and a little bit of that jealousy seeped into my voice.

She smiled but it wasn’t her usual confident, sultry, self-possessed smile, it had the edge of sadness, gloom, “I just observe.”

I wanted to question her further about their relationship but she told me to change quickly so that she could do my makeup, once that was done, she did my hair, letting them fall down in soft loose curls.

“Are you nuts!” snatching away the black gladiator sandals that I was about to put on, she scolded, “you don’t put these with those,” she pointed to my sandals and then to the dress.

“But I don’t have anything else to go with them, if you don’t want me to wear bellies or shoes, then return those immediately.”

“Wait here,” she gracefully walked out of my room and was back a few minutes later with red pumps in hand.

“I guess they’ll fit,” putting them down she old me to try them on. They did fit.

“Thanks Rose,” standing up I hugged her, she wasn’t that bad after all.

“Huh whatever,” quickly she stepped out of my arms, maybe not liking my display of affections, “I see why they are so head over heels for you.”

“They?” what was she talking about? What does ‘they’ mean.

“Go on, you’ll be late,” changing the subject quickly, she gently pushed me towards the door, “Oh and remember, Mrs. Night is a complicated woman. You would want to watch yourself around her,” she warned.

I gulped, fearing the worst. What have I gotten myself into?

“Thanks,” mumbling, I limped out of the room.

“And India,” she called, “Keith’s a good man, it’s just that he’s been through a lot. Give him some time, trust him and don’t break his heart.” Then she shut the door.

I found Keith waiting by the car, gazing up into the night sky, hands shoved in the pocket of his jeans, his blue eyes fixed somewhere far like he was trying to unveil some hidden secrets, just like the last time he took me out. Suddenly I felt sick, that night didn’t end well and something told me, neither would this.

“Ready?” he asked, walking over to the passenger side and opening the door for me, “you look beautiful every time I look at you India,” he breathed.

That got me blushing, he thought I was beautiful! “Thank you.”

Pulling me into him, he kissed me softly, like the wind whispering somewhere in the background, “My pleasure" God this man knew how to charm, he knew how to make me fall for him, knew how to make love. Was there anything he didn’t know? I doubted.

“Come on we don’t want to be late,” nodding I got in and we drove to his mother’s house in silence.

Mrs. Night was an intimidating woman, one look was all it took for me to deduce that. She was tall, had a slender frame, a fair complexion and an aura of authority around her. The first thought that went through my head when I saw her was that I didn’t want to be on her bad side.

She was very different from Keith physically, while he had jet black hair, she was a brunette, her eyes a mix of green and blue. But it wasn’t difficult to tell that they were both quite similar on the inside, especially when Keith was angry.

“Behave normally,” he whispered, taking my hand under the dining table, “she’ll be able to know if you’re afraid.”

“But I am afraid,” hell even a rock would be able to tell that I was shaking in Rose’s pumps right now.

Mrs. Night was currently sitting at the head of the table, looking like some regal queen and I was afraid of her, of how she’ll be able to see through me, know how pathetic I was, know that her son deserved so much better than this.

“So where do you come from?” she asked, her voice was even, calm, but there was a hint of warmth beneath it.

Willing my voice not to crack, I answered, “India, I am from India.”

She looked uninterested, “I already know that, he’s been calling you that since you stepped in.” Then what was she asking?

“She wants to know about your background,” Keith provided and I was thankful that he did coz I would’ve just sat there dumbly otherwise.

“Umm…,” not a good way to start a conversation, “My father’s a research assistant, mom’s a housewife. I’ve got an younger brother,” what else can I tell her? “I did my graduation in Veterinary Science.”

“But you said you’re doing Masters in Creative Writing?” she interjected, a piece of bacon on her fork.

Taking a deep breath and pushing away the plate of meat, I replied, “I completed my U.G in Creative Writing around the same time.”

She looked skeptically at my untouched plate of food, “Interesting.”

“I don’t eat meat.”

“Against your faith, its considered a sin to consume meat in certain religions in your country, isn’t it?” raising a slender eyebrow, she threw Keith a look.

Oh oh conversation going into dangerous territory!

“No, it’s just that she did a vet course, she’s supposed to protect them not eat them,” Keith filled in for me.

It wasn’t the truth, he knew my not eating meat had nothing to do with my studies, I was just a vegetarian but we didn’t want this topic to open for discussion, who knew the next question might be, Are you a Hindu? So while not the truth, it was a convincing lie.

“Right,” she seem to analyze me and I knew she’ll se how uncomfortable I was with all this, her, this meeting, the lies. I just hoped she couldn’t read me like Keith, although it wasn’t difficult to tell now that the talent ran in the family.

Keith’s hand snaked out and rubbed the inner part of my bare thigh, I gasped, “Keith!”

He merely smirked, “Sorry couldn’t help myself.” I knew he was trying to take my mind off things, helping me to relax. It was his way of assuring me that everything will be fine.

“You really like her, don’t you?” his mother asked, although I doubted she already had the answer, “Can’t seem to keep your hands off her.”

I blushed, hard.

“She’s like a drug,” he was sitting there, rubbing my naked skin, sending bolts of electricity through my body, my breathing was rugged, my face flushed. He had no shame. He knew what he was doing to me, right in front of his mother no less!

“Don’t get addicted,” she sipped her wine gracefully without bothering to tell him to behave. Then a ghost of a smile tugged at her lips as she looked at me squirting in my chair. It looked displaced yet it seem to intensify her beauty, back in her days she must have had dozens of boys falling at her feet.

“I won’t.”

That was all? She approved? Of me? Of our relationship? She didn’t mind! Oh my God. I was so happy, I nearly hugged him.

“See she likes you.” I doubted that.

And my joy faded just like that, she didn’t know the truth, we haven’t told her about my religion yet and while I was trying to hide the fact a few minutes back, it just didn’t seem like a good idea anymore.

“Let’s have dessert then,” Keith announced. He was booming with joy, her opinion mattered to him, a lot. I could see now. But he made no move to tell her.

Her eyes shifted from her son to me and maybe she saw something in my eyes, “You want to say something?

I looked at Keith but he looked blankly at me, making it very clear that whatever I was about to do would be my choice, whatever happens now would be my doing.

“Umm,” I’ve witnessed first hand what happened when I kept it from him, I didn’t want a repeat of that with his mother. If she wanted to accept me then she must do it with all my qualities and faults, “Mrs. Night,” it was a mystery to me as to why she preferred being called ‘Mrs.’

Night when her husband was dead but now I knew that it was because she loved him, loved him so deeply that even death hadn’t taken him away from her, “I…. I am Muslim.”

And all hell broke loose.