Words Count - 2800
Attached Song - Jeena Jeena
__________

Surfraaz

A wife can be so scary at times!

"Neha," I tried to call her in my sweetest voice possible, only to receive a humongous glare from her.

"I really had no idea about it." I tried to pacify her. If this doesn't satisfy the anger of my dear wife, the only and only way I have is to pull her and kiss her here in the broad daylight, at the centre of the hotel's reception.

"Don't touch me." She warned me.

"Mind you, if you remain angry with me, I'll kiss you right here." I proposed to her. But, she didn't relent and continued with her pointed look. Then, quite unexpectedly, my wild crab slid her palm down swiftly to pinch my inner thigh as I winced.

"Stop being so-" I stopped, seeing her getting irritated more.

We landed in Australia three hours ago. She was upset throughout the flight. We had plans of sharing my room while, Bhavna would settle in her own room. But, as soon as we reached the hotel, we got to know that there's only a large room booked for Bhavna and me. Listening to it, Neha looked murderous.

"How could Rakesh sir just book a single room for both of you?" She complained for the hundredth time.

"Let's see. What can we do?"

"Don't tell me, three of us are going to adjust in a single room just because this hotel is running out of rooms?" Neha shrieked in irritation.

"Don't be so frustrated, Neha. We'll find a way." I tried to calm her.

I got the key from the receptionist as I checked our alotted room as Bhavna was busy on a call. On the two of our sides, there were two rooms in the interior on opposite directions.

Oh my goodness!

Sighing, I twisted the knob of the room on the right, to see a spacious grey coloured room with mesmerising white foliages printed on the walls with a queen sized bed on the centre of the room, blue glass lamps on the sides of the bed while, a furry rug carpeted the whole floor.

I got a phone call from Bhavna, asking our whereabouts. I directed her to our room and encouraged her to take a rest. Walking again to our room, I saw Neha trying to unpin her saree, while cursing under her breath. I laughed at her cuteness, standing beside her.

"Let me help you." I whispered, kissing gently on her neck from behind. Unpinning her saree, I rounded my arms around her waist as her back rested on my chest. Her eyes told me of her unsaid desires.

"I want you too. But, your body needs rest now. Your physical weakness and this travel would take a toll on you. So, let's get some rest." I mumbled, gently grazing her skin with my lips as she raised her brows at me.

"I am still bleeding." She mumbled, resting her palm over mine that grazed her stomach.

Drowning my head in her neck cavity, I teased her rubbing my beard on her skin to divert her mind.

"Raaz," She moaned, only for me to retract back.

"I'm here with you, right. It'll be fine." I whispered and saw the bloom of a real smile on her dry lips. She nodded, still caressing and pressing her lips on my left cheek.

"Everyone calls Viraj as Raj. So, I want to give you a new name." She pouted.

"Aww, you are free to call me whatever you wish, wifey!" I sang, kissing her forehead as we retired to sleep.

**

A quarter of a day went away in the AMC conference, hosted by Dr. Clare Skinner and Gerald Harmon. Bhavna and I were engrossed in the lectures and speeches, along with some tiny assignments and demonstrations focusing on the betterment of medical education. We even prepared crisp notes to make our visit reports to the higher authorities of IMC.

I twisted the door knob of our room to see her chin rested on the study table, her arm squaring it. It felt bad to see her brooding alone in the room. Hugging her from the side, I kissed her right cheek while, she wriggled out of my arms.

"Go and honeymoon with your apron and stethoscope." She scowled.

"Sorry," I mused, trying my best to pacify her. My back was aching after hours of long sitting.

"You have no time for me." She whined.

"I'm so sorry, wifey!" I repeated, bringing her to my lap.

"I am here for the AMC conference, right?" I asked her, trying to make her see my situation.

"But, I'm here for our honeymoon." She pouted sadly that made her so cute.

"The conference is just for two more days. Then, I will be here with you all the hours of the day, wifey." I proposed with a smile as she vigorously nodded.

"But, as you wasted 58% of the day one of our honeymoon, you need to be punished." She said, contemplating.

"So, what punishment do I get?" I drawled, matching her cuteness.

"Make an ice-cream for me." She declared and I nodded, laughing at her sweet demand.

Arranging the essentials, I kept the mixture in three cups in the small fridge in the kitchen compartment. One and a half hours later, the ice-cream was ready. Leaving Bhavna's ice-cream cup in the fridge, I took two cups to our room. She had already changed into her night dress, ready to devour her dessert.

I forwarded her the cup of chocolate and blueberry ice-cream and she dug in with gusto.

"I haven't had an ice-cream from the last two years. I missed our late night ice-cream dates." She murmured, her eyes misted as she licked the spoonful of ice-cream, leaning onto my chest, settled on my lap on the bed.

"Why?" I asked, impromptuously.

"Because, I missed you more when I saw an ice-cream. I wanted to go there and pull you to me but, I knew, you needed some time alone." She answered, honesty laced in those chocolaty orbs.

"I love you." I heard her say again. Still, I wasn't accustomed to hearing her confess those three magical words to me, so softly and so frequently.

"Let's leave the past behind, except for our beautiful moments. I promise to cherish you everyday. I love you, a hundred times more." I assured her, kissing her both eyes.

A flawless half-moon floated unrestrainedly in a perfect pranging blue sky in the late evening. Banks of cloud like long sticks of bulky candy floss glowed pink and the sun immersed down the frozen mountain tops, it's rose tinted blush fading, unrampant.

"What do we do now?" She questioned, looking quite bored.

"We can play hide and seek." I offered, an amusing tint of naughtiness getting hold of me.

"Huh?" She exclaimed.

"Hide and seek would be the best game for us in our second night of honeymoon."

"Hide and seek?" She repeated again and I was tempered by the realisation that she was almost as ill-equipped as I in understanding double meanings.

"Hide and seek, as in, I hide inside you and you seek for me more." I collapsed, laughing hysterically at her flushed face. She picked up the pillow at hit me as I caught her waist to cage her wrists in my single hand.

"My wife is so innocent that I'll love to rile her up with my cheesy double meanings." I winked at her.

"You can't take advantage of my innocence." She pouted.

"I've not yet commenced taking advantage of my little wife's innocence. But I think, I should grab a chance sooner." I teased her as she squirmed over me.

I rolled us over, crushing her underneath my weight as my chest pressed against her chest and my fingers traced her curves inside her nightwear.

"Should we?" I urged, my thumb caressing her supple cheeks.

Looking at her, I reconsidered my words and held back my urges, kissing her eyes.

To divert our minds, I asked her, "You said, you wished to be a mother? Is it true?"

Her eyes turned teary as she gazed back at me. She nodded, embracing me close. She croaked out, "I want to be a mother to our kids."

"You will, wifey! We will have our kids when you are fit enough to carry them." I smiled seeing her nod like a child.

"We'll have a little boy, just like you. I'll love him even more than you." She traced my face as she mumbled, her eyes reflecting her happiness.

"We will plan our baby after some years. Tiny versions of you and me. I will be happier, if we have two. For now, I don't want to be jealous of my own child." She chuckled as I played with her hair strands.

The next two days passed in a blur as we were just sleeping or cuddling each other after my conferences.

We heard a knock on our room. Bhavna's shouting outside the door flooded inside.

"What does she want in the morning?" Neha's irritated voice sounded as I sat up, leaving her alone on the bed. She got up too.

"It's noon already." Her surprised voice sounded.

"Hey," I welcomed Bhavna inside.

"I don't have time to come inside. I have a flight to catch. I just knocked to say you both goodbyes." She spoke in a hurry and hugged us both, running out of the room.

"Why did you not wake us up a bit early?" Neha asked her.

"I had an idea that you both need rest. So, I didn't." She screamed as the room door closed with a thud. I shook my head at her words as Neha laughed.

"Happy honeymoon." Her plopped out again through the half-opened door. I waved her a goodbye. Before leaving, she joked, "Neha mam, you can also wave a goodbye to this poor third wheeler on your honeymoon."

"Goodbye, our sweet yet irritating third-wheeler." Neha gave her a flying kiss which Bhavna devotedly caught and caged in her handbag. Then, she disappeared.

Now that, she was gone, the house seemed empty.

"I've heard a lot about Australian islands. Can we plan a visit there?" Neha asked, excitedly. I nodded and planned a short trip to the sightseeing islands of Australia, without her knowledge.

The following day, Neha wasn't still fit for travelling so, I booked my air ticket back to India for Daksh's wedding. We had already missed their grand engagement so, I had to anyhow attend the wedding. I had no heart to leave Neha alone here to take care of herself, but I had to be there today to reveal the truth, that has been hidden for a long time.

"Take care of yourself. I'll be back by tonight." I traced the distance between her both eyes with my lips.

I reached the Doon airport in the next 5 hours and rushed to the wedding venue. Kshiraj directed me to the room, where Priya was sitting. She smiled upon seeing me present on her D-day.

"Finally, you got free?" She haughtily teased me. I just laughed.

"I've something for you." I smiled at her, seeing a surprised look, adorning her face.

"I am receiving a gift after years." She exclaimed, as she held the box in her hand.

"This had to be the best gift of your life." I acclaimed, determined. I could see her curiosity growing. Then, the secret was no longer a secret, hidden for years.

After a long awaited emotional reunion, I did the kanyadaan. It was heart-wrenching. She had grown up so fast. I prayed for the newly married couple's utmost contentment in their conjugal life before I hugged Priya, bid everyone my goodbyes, to return to my wife sooner.

On the way to the airport, we face-timed. I showed her the necklace, I brought for her. That was enough to break a sweet smile on her face.

"That's my second gift from you." She rejoiced.

"What was the first gift?" I pondered, seeing her so pumped up with happiness.

"The blue apartment." She squealed like a child.

"Ah-yes. Okay, now wait for me to come back to you. Take care. It's time for me to board the flight." I told her as she nodded cutely, sending me a kissey emoticon.

I reached by noon. After having our meal, I gifted her the emerald and diamond necklace, I brought for her. Then, we cuddled on the bed to give some rest to our bodies for the planned day ahead. In the same afternoon, we set out for a tour to the largest sand island of Australia, K'gari island and reserved rooms for us at the Eurong Beach Resort. She was pleasantly awestruck by my surprise.

As the surreptitious moon started to shine, we had a great immersing walk in the sandy beach, discovering it's deepest secrets through the lush rainforests and jaw-dropping scenery, hand in hand.

All throughout my childhood, I had wondered why doesn't our body drown in sand, when we sleep on it but it immerses our foot in it when we walk. But, now that, those silly questions are unravelled by my adult brain, I loved to dig my feet inside the hot sand as the cool gale blew our hair, flying and dirtying them with sand grains. In between a few stolen kisses, we lived the moments of our walk.

"This place is so ethereal." She exclaimed, basking in this novice beauty.

"Not more than you." Her orange sundress and black flip-flops were marring my self-restraint. She looked sizzling hot with that blush.

"What did you love the most in lunch today?" I asked her randomly, to start a conversation.

"Sausage. It was cooked to perfection. Spicy and salty." She said, as if relishing the taste.

"Sausage!?" I exclaimed, laughing my heart out. My poor dirty brain!

"Must be tasty." I agreed to her, laughing again.

"Why are you laughing?" She pouted, shaking my shoulder.

"Nothing. I just imagined something else." I sobered up, trying to tone down my chortles. But, failed miserably again.

"What's there to laugh at loving the taste of a sausage? That day, Rita too chocked on her coffee, when I said I loved eating sausage." She innocently questioned me.

"It's nothing, it's all about metaphor. But, you shouldn't say, you love eating sausage in public. Alright." she nodded, meekly.

"Is it bad to eat a sausage?" She again asked. Her curiosity knows no bound.

"There's nothing wrong in eating a sausage, but they take it as something else."

"Huh?" Her nose scrunched up in confusion.

"How do I explain it to you now?" I sighed.

"Maybe, you know something else, that looks like a sausage? You touched it too." Heat crept up my cheeks as I said. Her face reddened in realisation as her eyes converged on my lower body.

"Oh god." She exclaimed in shock and surprise as I scratched my nape, shyly.

"I lost my patidev somewhere on the way to Australia. It seems." She murmured, gazing at me. I was dazed to hear my new name.

"My new name?" I asked, enthusiastically.

"Yes, my patidev." She affirmed as I grinned stupidly.

For the rest of the four weeks, we ventured into each corner of the island. Relishing the bountiful of beautiful lakes in the island, bathing in the idyllic natural tea tree oil blended Lake McKenzie, lake alom, orchid beach, exhilarating white-sand beach road trips, saltwater baths in the champagne pool like natural jacuzzis, hiking, roaming, sighting the blue ocean and verdant-greenforests and floating in the natural water slides. We saw the animals in their natural habitats, roaming freely at nights and had all types of scrumptious cuisines. We even had short trips to kangaroo island, Great barrier reef and Hamilton island.

We were having our lunch in the room when Neha held onto me tightly.

"What's wrong? Today, I ordered your favourite chicken nuggets and egg chops." I pinched her cheeks, while she pulled me to her for a delicious pre-lunch kiss.  I waited for to taste her favourite dish as she took a small peice of chicken nugget into her mouth.

"I don't want to eat. It's kind of raw." She narrated with a disgusted face.

"You eat from my plate." I forwarded her as she proceeded with the meal.

That night, as I reached back to the room after a patient's consultation, I saw her sleeping peacefully which made my insides bask in gratitude to our destiny for binding us against all odds. It made me realise, facts are always stranger than fantasies.

____________

Hey lovelies,
     The new chapter is out now. Hope all of you are doing good.

How was the update? Comment here.

I know, the part of Daksh's marriage could be a little complicated for you to understand now, but after the middle chapters of this book would be edited, you will get it, hopefully.

Rest of the things would be revealed more descriptively in Priya's book.

Thank you for reading.

Do vote and comment, people.

Take care. Have a nice day and till the next update, bye bye.

Love,
B❤