“This night couldn’t get any longer.” Aman complained as the dinner for the evening began being served.  “I thought after the last award was presented, we’d be able to leave, but no! They want to feed us too.” Aman continued bitterly. 

            Priya bit back a laugh. 

            “Oh come on! This food looks amazing!” Hiten commented, his mouth watering at the sight of the chicken in front of him. 

            “Yeah Jija-ji, what’s the hurry?  It feels like we’re at the Oscars!  I never want this night to end!” Payal chimed in. 

            Aman looked at Payal wide-eyed.  He wanted this night to end as soon as possible.  He looked over at Priya, who just seemed so incredibly amused by the whole situation.  It’s like she actually enjoyed seeing Aman suffer.  Aman sighed, accepting defeat.  He decided that the best thing he could do in this situation was be cordial, instead of bitter.  Maybe actually being open to enjoying the rest of the evening would make it pass by more quickly. 

            Aman silently ate his chicken.  He glanced over at Priya again and was surprised to find her eyes on him.  He held her gaze for a moment before leaning over and whispering to her. 

            “Are you alright?” He asked her. 

            “I’m fine.” She said, looking away.  She continued eating her dinner. 

            Aman continued to watch her.  She seemed normal, but something about her was off.  Maybe she wanted to get this evening over with just as quickly as he did so they could celebrate their first anniversary properly…or maybe she was upset that he hadn’t done more to commemorate such an important day in their lives.  Aman sank deeper and deeper into thought, and the more he thought about it, the more he convinced himself that Priya was upset with him. She contributed very little to the conversation, which would have been common in any other business setting, but she was always vibrant and chatty with Payal.  Tonight, she was simply quiet. 

            “Aman! Hello! Yooohooo!! Earth to Aman!” Hiten tried to get Aman’s attention. 

            “Yeah?” Aman said, breaking this train of thought. “What? Sorry.”

            “Where have you been this entire evening?  You’re missing such an important conversation!” Hiten replied. 

            “Sorry, what conversation?” Aman said, giving Hiten his undivided attention. 

            “Do you think I look better in suits or in casual wear?” Hiten smiled. 

            “What the hell?” Aman blurted out. 

            “It’s a serious question! Aditi says suits, but I think casual!  Be the tie-breaker!” Hiten explained. 

            “Ummm….suits.” Aman said halfheartedly. 

            “Wow! Way to be enthusiastic,” Hiten commented sarcastically.  “You always take her side!” He whined.  “Bhabhi, what do you think?”

            “Suits are much better, but tuxedos are my favorite.” Priya said, eyeing Aman. 

            Aman looked down at his tuxedo.  He shot Priya a smile.   She sure knew how to make him feel better.  He noticed Hiten’s expressions falter, once he looked down at the grey suit he was wearing.  Hiten looked up at Aman’s tuxedo. 

            “Maybe I should’ve worn a tuxedo.” He commented.  Aditi kissed him on the cheek. 

            “You’re cute no matter what you wear,” She said to him.

            “Only cute?” Hiten pouted, crossing his arms over his chest. 

            Everyone at the table burst out in laughter.  Hiten always knew how to make a crowd laugh.

            “Dessert!” Payal exclaimed, after all of their courses had been served.  Dinner had been going on for a little over an hour. 

            “No thanks,” Aman refused any type of dessert being offered.  He took Priya’s hand and stood up.  “Well we’re heading out.  Thanks for coming everyone, but some of us have an anniversary to celebrate.” He said. 

            Aman pulled Priya along with him as he hurried toward the door.  He could barely hear Hiten protest his early departure as he rushed to the exit. 

            “That was the longest dinner ever!” Aman commented once they reached outside.  He looked around for his driver. 

            “We didn’t even have dessert.” Priya said sadly. 

            Aman smiled, squeezing her hand. 

            “Don’t worry, my darling Priya, I’ll make sure you have your dessert.” Aman chuckled. 

            They found Aman’s limo and sat down. 

            “Are we going home?” Priya asked as the driver started the limo. 

            “Nope,” Aman said simply. 

            “Then, where are we going?” Priya asked. 

            “It’s a surprise.” Aman smiled. 

            “Oh no!” complained Priya, “It’s always a surprise!”

            “Yeah! You should know not to ask by now.” Aman replied. 

            Priya sat back, defeated.  She no longer pestered Aman about where he was taking her. 

            “Will I get wet again?” Priya asked, concerned. 

            “You might.” Aman answered. 

            She looked down at her expensive sari and looked back up at Aman in horror. 

            “Might?” She asked. 

            He looked over at her. 

            “There’s water where we’re going.” Aman stated bluntly. 

            Priya leaned over and rested her chin on one of Aman’s shoulders.  She moved closer to him so that her lips brushed against his earlobe as she spoke. 

            “Aman, please tell me where we’re going.  I’ll give you treat if you do.” She whispered.  She ran her hand down Aman’s arm and gently kissed his neck.

Aman shivered.  His body stiffened.  He wasn’t expecting this from Priya.  He shook his head slowly.

“No way, Priya.” Aman said, putting some distance between himself and Priya, “I’m not saying anything.”

He took a deep breath, trying to stay strong.  Priya pouted and slid all the way to the other side of the limo.  Aman smiled at how childish she was acting.  He knew she would love the surprise he had in store for her.  He didn’t want to ruin it by telling her in advance. 

By the time Aman and Priya had reached their destination, it was dark outside.  Priya hoped that they wouldn’t be stuck celebrating outside in the cold at night. 

“We’re here!” Aman exclaimed. 

He didn’t even wait for the driver to open his door.  He threw his door open and quickly rushed around the limo to Priya’s side, opening her door for her.  He took her hand and led her down a dock.  Priya’s steps slowed down as they made it to the end of the dock.  She suddenly stopped, tugging Aman by the hand, stopping him too. 

“We’re…not….We’re not jumping in, are we?” Priya asked. 

Aman looked at her in disbelief. 

“What kind of celebration is that?” Aman asked. 

“Well, I don’t know.  You’re always planning something out of the ordinary.” Priya defended. 

“You don’t like my surprises?” Aman asked sadly. 

“I love them! I just never know what to expect. That’s’ all.” Priya replied. 

“That’s the surprise.” Aman pointed out into the water.

 Parked in the water was a large, luxurious yacht. 

“A boat?” Priya asked, looking at Aman. 

Aman frowned. 

“Priya, it’s not a boat!” He exclaimed. 

“It’s a really big boat!”  Priya said.  She’s never seen anything like it.

It was a large and white with several tiers.  Priya could make out a Jacuzzi and several sofas laid out on one of the decks.  There seemed to be bedrooms, a living room, and a kitchen as well as a diving board off to the side for those who wanted to swim in the ocean.  It could easily cater dozens of people, but Priya was sure that she and Aman would be alone. 

“It’s a yacht, not a boat,” Aman said.  “Come on!”

He excitedly pulled her to the edge of the deck they were standing on.  The yacht made its way closer to the edge of the deck. 

“Is this yours?” Priya asked, completely in awe of the magnitude of the yacht. 

“No, it’s 75% mine.” Aman said. 

“What?” Priya asked.

“Hiten and I share it.  I own 75% and he owns 25%.  I paid for 75% of it. That’s why, but it’s okay, I use it more anyway.” Aman explained.  

“I never even knew about it.” Priya said.  She never noticed Aman using this yacht ever since they were married. 

“It’s new.” Aman said. 

“How new?” Priya asked. 

“I bought it when you told me you loved me.” Aman said. 

“What?” Priya said.  “Why?”

“I needed somewhere special to celebrate our first anniversary.” Aman explained.  “Hiten just wanted to own a yacht, so I let him own part of mine.”

“You…but…” Priya was at a loss of words.  Something like this luxurious yacht probably cost millions of dollars, and Aman bought it just because he needed somewhere to celebrate their anniversary.  It was incredible that he’d spend so much money just to surprise Priya. 

“Should you have talked to me about it first?” Priya asked. 

The yacht was in front of them, ready to be boarded. 

Aman paused.  He never thought Priya would ever oppose how he spent money. 

“It would have ruined the surprise.” Aman said unsurely.  “Are you mad?”

“It’s irresponsible.” Priya replied. 

“Who ever said I was responsible?” Aman countered, trying to lighten the mood. 

“Aman,” Priya said.

“Priya, we’re not in any financial trouble at all.  Profits are bigger and better than ever! This isn’t going to set us back at all. And I’ve always wanted to buy a yacht.  Don’t you like it?” Aman said. 

“It’s wonderful! I just…you don’t need to buy yachts just to surprise me.” Priya said, revealing her true concern.

“I don’t mind. I’ll do anything to surprise you, anything to make you happy.” Aman smiled. 

Priya smiled back at him. He offered his hand.  She took it, and both of them boarded the yacht.  Aman took Priya to the second highest deck.  The yacht started pulling away from the dock and heading out into the sea.  The sight was breathtaking! The New York City skyline could be seen from afar.  The lights from the city illuminated the sky.  The dark blue waters proved to be the perfect contrast.  Soon, they were far enough out in the sea that the city lights could no longer be seen.

Aman sat down on one of the sofas out on the yacht’s deck.  He pulled Priya onto his lap and kissed her.  He laid down, pulling her on top of him.  Their kiss deepened.  Aman’s hand snaked around Priya’s waist.  Aman wanted to flip them over so that he was on top and could have more control, but he knew they would fall off the sofa if they moved too much.  Aman broke the kiss and sat up, moving Priya from on top of him so that she was now sitting beside him. 

“Dessert!” Aman exclaimed. 

“Aman!” Priya complained. 

“You said you wanted dessert.  You can have anything you want.” Aman chuckled.  He knew that Priya was getting into the romance, and he purposely was making her wait. 

Priya rolled her eyes. 

“I want a sundae, I guess.” She said. 

“Coming right up.” Aman stood up and disappeared into the interior part of the yacht. 

Priya watching him leave in confusion.  All she wanted to do was kiss him and he just disappeared.  Aman returned with a woman following him.  She had a cart with several types of cakes and brownies on it.  Another woman appeared from the interior part of the yacht, holding the ice cream sundae Priya requested. 

“Here you are, my wonderful wife! Your sundae!” Aman said, handing Priya the ice cream sundae. 

The women left, leaving the cart of goodies with Aman. 

“Are there people on this boat?” Priya asked, as she watched the women leave. 

“Just people that work for me.  The captain drive the yacht and there’s a chef and waitresses and a maid, I think.” Aman replied. 

Priya thought they would be by themselves. 

“Can they see us?” Priya asked, concerned. 

“No, not at all.  The kitchen is in the interior and the captain is in a different part of the yacht.  And there aren’t cameras or anything, Priya.  Don’t worry.” Aman replied. 

Priya started eating her sundae, while Aman started eating a brownie.  He then moved on to a piece of cake.  Priya was only halfway through her sundae and had given up on it. 

“Aman, you’re going to gain weight, if you eat so many sweets.” Priya giggled. 

“Hell no! I’m going to work out tomorrow.  Don’t worry, Priya. I know how much you love my body.” Aman smirked. 

Priya blushed.  She never once revealed that she actually appreciated Aman’s nicely sculpted abs and his large muscles, but it was true. She loved his body! 

“Um…Aman, I think you’ve had enough cake.” Priya said, taking away the plate of cake he was eating. 

She moved her body closer to his and started nibbling on his ear.  Aman, his mouth still full of cake, stared at her in shock.  She was being extremely bold tonight, and it was extremely sexy!

“Damn!” He exclaimed under his breath, after swallowing his cake.  He kissed her, enveloping her lips with his.  Aman forced her mouth open, tasting every part of it.  Priya felt Aman moving forward, forcing her backwards so that she was laying beneath him on the sofa.  Their kiss became more and more passionate.  Priya’s eye fluttered closed as she let her senses guide her.  Suddenly she heard something in the sky.  She opened her eyes to see a burst of color light up the dark night sky. 

            “Fireworks!” Priya exclaimed, after breaking her kiss with Aman. 

            Priya sat up and watched the fireworks, wondering what the occasion was.  She felt Aman’s arms around her.  She propped her feet up on the sofa and leaned into Aman, resting her head on his shoulder as she watched the sky light up with colors. 

            “I wonder what this is for.” Priya said.

            “Me too,” Aman replied. 

            “Oh my god! There are words! It says ‘Happy,’” Priya said, as the word ‘Happy’ appeared in the sky. 

            “Anniversary,” Priya said. 

            She paused and turned to look at Aman and then turned around to look back up at the fireworks. 

            “Priya,” she finished, as the last word appeared in the sky. 

            “Happy Anniversary, Priya.” Aman repeated the words that had just illuminated the sky. 

HI!! Sorryyyy I’ve been away forever! But omg, I’ve never ever had so much going on in my life before! It was aweful!

Yayyyy! Aman and Priya are celebrating their anniversary. Awkward moment, when my preview didn’t make it into this chapter heheee.  Now you all know that Priya is gonna be desperate to leave for some reason! Awwww how sweet is Aman!?  Buying a yacht AND fireworks plus ice cream and cake?! It’s perfecttt!

Okay okay okay, hint hint hint! Next chapter, they will consummate their marriage! Ahhhh I have NO idea how to write such a scene! It’s gonna be a challenge, but I’m determined to upload it before winter break is over!

Comment and vote to let me know that after all this time, you all still love me and love Aman and Priya!!!!! 

COMMENT AND VOTE!!!!!!!