***Parth's POV.***

I blink, then look at her, then blink again and then again look at her. For a few seconds, I don't know what to make of what happened a minute ago. Did she really just kiss me or was it her hand on my lips? It is my fault. I am doubting this because I closed my eyes. But she warned me that she will kiss me if I stammer again. So...

"I... don't... I don't-" I stammer purposefully and keep my eyes wide open so as not to miss it.

"You are still stammering." She says with a sigh.

"And you didn't kiss me." I say with a disappointed frown.

"You don't need to stammer to kiss me. You can just do it. I am your wife." She says.

"But what if you are not ready for it?" I ask, "I don't want to be accused of forcing you."

"Are you serious right now? I just kissed you not a minute ago. So, of course, I am ready to be kissed. Do I need to wear a tag saying 'Ready to kiss' for you to believe it?" She asks.

"No. I was just confused. Was it your lips I kissed or did you put your hand on my lips?" I say.

"You will know when my hands are on your lips because it will sting." She says.

"Do you slap people on the lips instead of cheek?" I ask, confused.

She groans then takes a deep breath, "Why are we not kissing?"

"Because we were arguing." I say.

"You have answers for everything, don't you?" She asks and folds her arms.

"Of course." I say with a smile.

"Still, you are an amateur at kissing." She scoffs.

"Hey, I kissed more than you." I say.

"Really? How many?" She asks.

"Three." I say.

"Yeah, that is definitely more than me." She says.

"How many did you kiss?" I ask, not feeling comfortable about it, but have to beat that man.

"One. You." She says and looks away.

"Well, including you, it was three." I mumble.

There is silence for a few minutes as we drive back home and because we both have failed to proceed further. Me because I am trying to gather courage like a teenage boy to kiss his first girlfriend, and Saira because she is waiting for me to approach, I guess. And maybe I should be the one to initiate a kiss after her brave act.

We reach home and Saira is ready to leave the car, but I am not ready to let her go yet. So when she tries to open the car door, and it doesn't, she sits back without a complaint. I try to move towards her.

"Seatbelt." She says with closed eyes.

And I realized I still had my seatbelt on. Well, it would have been embarrassing. I remove it and she turns towards me. Now that she is so close, my heart is racing like a race car. I wish I was drunk right now, but then Saira deserves a good first kiss.

As I frame her cheeks in my hands, she seems less intimidating, but then she proves me wrong, "Just do it, Parth."

"Okay." I say and place my lips on her.

For two seconds, I don't move, but then her soft lips coax me into moving and I brush my lips against her again and again. After a few seconds, she responds hesitantly and I feel her hand moving to my arms. Things turn more exciting when she gasps and I show her another way of kissing and the way she responds, damn... why am I still alive?

When we come apart for air, her eyes are still closed but she has a smile on her face and I don't know why I feel like smiling too.

"We should go inside before we get a greeting at the door." I say.

"In a minute." She says and tucks her hair behind her ear in that nervous gesture. Her cheeks are so red that I fear she got internal bleeding in her cheeks or what?

We sit there for a few seconds and then she opens her side of the car door and goes inside. As soon as she is out of sight, I sit back in the car with a groan and can't help but remember what happened a minute ago. I kissed her. I kissed Saira and now everything is going to change between us.

Things won't be the same. We would be friends, but we would be more than that. My heart is still racing and I don't know what to feel about this. Should I be relieved that my chemistry with my wife is great, or should I be worried that it is too great for me to handle?

I get out of the car and enter the house. She must have gotten enough time to compose herself, so I enter my room. She is sitting by the dresser and when I pass by her, I see she is immersed in her diary writing something. Is it about the kiss? Now I am curious about what she is writing.

"What are the reviews of the kiss?" I whisper in her ear to scare her.

"Out of ten?" She asks.

I blink and ask, "You are seriously reviewing our kiss?"

She looks up with a serious look, "Yes, of course."

"Why, though?" I ask.

"Because that's my business." She says with a smile.

"Hey, that's mine too. You didn't kiss the air but my lips." I say.

"I remember that." She says and, as if she literally can, she looks away with a blush.

"Me too." I say and sigh, "I need to get changed."

"We need to talk." She says at the same time.

"About what?" I ask.

"Get changed, then we'll talk." She says, and the way she looks serious really makes my hands itch to just snatch the diary from her and read it.

"So..." I ask after we are sitting on the bed side by side.

"I have been acting weird for a few days, as you have seen." She says.

"You are always weird, so it isn't easy to distinguish." I say with a chuckle.

She looks at me with a grim look, "Can we be serious for once?"

"Fine. But aren't you always serious?" I ask.

"Okay. I am done." She says and starts to turn away to sleep.

"Okay. I am sorry." I say and grab her arm.

She takes a deep breath and sits back then says, "The thing is I have been jealous of the life my colleagues have been living."

"Why?" I ask with a frown, "I mean you have the perfect life. The one you chose for yourself."

"I know. But I am human and apparently I have made some mistakes." She says.

"What mistake?" I ask.

"Not living my life." She says, looking into my eyes, "Do you have any regrets in your life? Not a practical one, but the thought of never doing something because you are focused on only one thing."

"Not that I can think of." I say.

"I have never dated." She says.

"Same here." I say.

"Really?" She asks in shock.

"Come on, you know she loved someone else, and that doesn't mean I have to settle for just anyone." I say and bite my tongue when she looks hurt, "But you are different. With you, things are different, too."

"How?" She asks with a hopeful look.

"I don't know except that I... I..." I try to say, but words seem to be stuck in my throat.

"You are stammering again." She says.

"Do you want to kiss me again?" I ask hopefully, and she smiles.

"Not now. Maybe after this conversation." She says.

"I like you." I say, and she blinks in astonishment.

"Of course you do. I am likable." She says.

"What about me? Am I not likable?" I ask.

"A little." She says, still not looking at me.

"Only a little." I say.

She looks at me, then says, "Fine. I like you too."

"Then why are you making that face? It feels more like a confession of the crime than the heart." I say.

"Sorry. Portraying this kind of emotion is difficult for me as I have never felt them before. That is what I want to discuss." She says.

"Okay. And what exactly is that?" I ask.

"I want you to date me." She says and now I blink in astonishment.

"You want me to date you?" I ask.

"Yes. As you already like me, maybe it is good and should be a long next step. I have missed all this thing and I want to do it. I want to enjoy and feel what it's like to be dating someone. And isn't it the best step? Kissing is in there too." She says with a smile.

"I am not a small kid. You don't need to give me a bribe to get my cooperation." I say.

"I know that. But kissing is an offer, not a bargain." She says.

"So you want to date?" I ask.

"Yes. And not just any unromantic simple one. I want every type of date. Movie dates, dinner dates, ice-cream dates, sunday dates, fun dates. Be creative and I am in." She says.

"Dates involve more than this, Saira. They also involve emotions and one needs to enjoy it. Will you be able to give that time and emotion?" I ask.

"Yes, of course. Anything to move forward. I know we are ten years late for this kind of stuff, but we can still do it." She says with a super excited smile.

"Okay." I say with a smile.

"Great. Thanks. So what would be our first date?" She asks.

"Leave that to me." I say.

"Okay. Good night." She says.

"Are you not forgetting something?" I ask.

"Oh, yes." She says and kisses me.

"I was talking about your diary." I say, still in daze, pointing at her open diary on the dresser.

"Hmm... You can read it." She says and goes to sleep.

I wait for a few minutes until she is asleep, then do so. The second I read the review, I was confused, but then a big smile came to my face.

His lips on mine could tell me more than his stammering words.

Stammer King, confident me, lips. 

Good to go for kisses forever.