MY WOMEN

I winced as the splitting headache refused to leave. I had hardly slept last night on the train. Since the journey was so sudden I had to bribe the TTE for a berth. I had negotiated hard for two, but apparently there was only one available. God knows if it was true. In between consoling Swetha, my wife who had lain on my lap sobbing all night, and figuring out how to deal with the future, sleep had eluded me.

It all seemed like a nightmare. I had been browsing on my office computer on what to get Swetha for our first wedding anniversary when her uncle had called me with the news. When he hung up I was left with the unenviable task of telling my wife that her father had passed away. We had taken the next available train to Calicut, my wife's hometown.

As soon as we reached in the morning, Swetha ran inside her house crying... to see the lifeless body of her father. I could hear her mother and sister wailing inside. I stood there in the crowd with everyone's eyes on me. Their gazes seemed to penetrate my skin and judge my worth.

"He is the son-in-law, from Pune," some of their lips seemed to be murmuring. I looked around and nodded to the few people I recognised. I found uncle standing in a corner, his eyes silently beckoning. I went towards him. As I neared him he pulled me aside and spoke in a low voice.

"Nitin... Son, I know you must be tired... but we can't keep the body much longer... you will have to perform the last rites," he said. I was taken aback.

"Me!" I said, loud enough for a few people who stood nearby to turn their heads. Uncle placed a hand on my shoulder.

"Yes... you know last rites are performed by the son... Swetha and her sister can't do it... and they don't have any adult male cousins... it has to be you."

That was how I found myself being ushered towards the open well behind the house. I was handed a white towel. I removed my clothes and left them in a pile beside the well. Wearing just the towel around my waist, I stood there as uncle poured water drawn from the well over my head. The cold water trickled down my head and over my face, temporarily easing my headache. Many buckets of water later, I was handed a white wrap-around dhoti. I wore it on my wet body.

A few minutes later uncle led me down to the adjoining plot of land where a small squarish area had been cleared. I stood aside and watched in a daze as logs of wood were stacked up at the centre. The body was brought a while later. The heartbroken wails of the three women failed to register the true measure of their agony in my mind as I was led through the rituals by some old men whom I recognised had led my wedding rituals too. After a few karmic rituals to ensure peace for the departed soul I lit the pyre. Flames engulfed the logs of wood, burning into ashes the body of the man who had been the anchor in the lives of my wife, her sister and their mother. As smoke rose skywards, I looked at the three of them... realising the weight of the responsibilities that the departed had passed on to me.

I spent the next two weeks in the house consoling the women and taking care of the financial matters of my late father-in-law. I completed the required procedures at the bank and insurance company, settling his savings and death claim respectively in favour of the nominee, Uma - my mother-in-law. Uncle helped me with all the matters. I had to perform some more rituals for the departed soul in those two weeks. No day went by where the women's eyes weren't red from crying. I learned from visiting relatives and friends how kind a man my father-in-law had been... how much love he showered on his women and how they reciprocated. All of them without an exception, though not in the same words, told me I had big shoes to fill... that I was the man of the house now. I heard them all out with a growing sense of responsibility albeit with considerable trepidation.

On Saturday night two weeks later, I found myself walking around aimlessly on the verandah after dinner. I don't know what force was pulling me but my feet followed the path I had taken on that fateful morning wearing just a white dhoti... down to the plot of land where the cremation had taken place. In the light of the moon I saw that the ashes had been cleared, but the earth around the area where the pyre had been was darker. The night was silent except for some nocturnal animals and the breezing of the wind. The cold wind sent chills up my spine. I looked up at the stars in the sky. With them bearing witness, I made myself a promise... a promise that I knew would put my father-in-law's soul at ease. The next night, I opened the door to my Pune Apartment leading my wife and the two women into my home as well as my heart.

I woke up early at 7 AM the next morning. It was unusual, coz I was a late riser. Swetha though was still in bed uncharacteristically late. In fact, whenever I had stayed at her home I had found that all three women along with their late father would be up by 6 in the morning.

I didn't feel like waking her up. Poor thing had been through a lot. I decided to get up and fix some breakfast for everyone. When I reached the kitchen I realized that I had been beaten to the task by Mom.

"Good Morning," I said as I approached. Quietly she handed me a cup of tea. I observed her while sipping the hot tea. She was a mess. Her hair was dishevelled and she looked weak. Dark circles around her eyes made it look like she hadn't slept in ages. She had barely spoken a word to anyone since her husband's death. I could not allow this to continue. I could not just stand by and watch while her grief consumed her, ruining her mind and her health. I went close to her.

"Mom," I said, "you haven't talked to anyone in weeks... I know dad's passing has been hard on you... I know how much he meant to you... but you cannot shut yourself down like this."

She had stopped what she was doing when I spoke, but it didn't seem like she comprehended what I had said. I took her hands in mine and pulled gently, making her face me.

"Mom, look at me! You can't waste away like this... you have to think about the girls." I said a little louder. Still her eyes seemed vacant.

"Uma!" I called her by her name surprising myself, "listen to me! You have to be there for the girls... they need you... if you don't do that, they'll shut themselves down just like you are doing now... is that what you want? Is that what dad would have wanted?"

The mention of dad stirred something in her. Her eyes welled up. Small teardrops trailed down her eyes. She fell forward overwhelmed by the rush of emotions my words had induced. I caught her by her shoulders and hugged her. She started crying on my shoulder.

"Mom, don't cry... I'm here for you... I'm here for the three of you," I tried consoling her, "I don't know if I can be as good a man at everything as dad was... but I promise you... I'll try."

I gently patted her back as she got a hold of herself. Once she did, she looked up at my face with such tender love and gratitude that my heart melted.

"I will take good care of the girls... but I need your help... I need you to stand beside me and guide me... tell me how dad would deal with things." I said, struggling to control my emotions. She raised her hands and lightly stroked my face.

"I will stand by you son," she said lovingly, "I am so grateful that we have you to lean on... you took care of everything after dad's passing like a son would... Swetha is so lucky to have you as her husband... and Navya is still young... she needs a father figure... and I... I too need someone to depend on... we are all so lucky to have you."

The mention of Navya, my sister-in-law, took my mind on another path. Uncle and I had gotten her transfer documents from her college at Calicut. Getting the transfer certificate and conduct certificate wasn't much of an issue since the academic year had just begun. Ensuring her admission into a college in Pune was an immediate task in front of me. I had made a few calls and pulled some strings with the help of my boss who had some connections. I had to take her to MG College around 10 kms from my apartment and get the transfer procedures done today.

"Speaking of Navya, I have to take her to her new college today to complete transfer procedures."

"Oh.. she is still sleeping. I'll go wake her up." Mom offered.

"No. I'll do it. You finish up on the dosas." I told her gesturing at the pan on the stove. I walked to the small room to the left of the main door of our apartment which Swetha had used as a storeroom earlier. We had cleared it out for Navya. The door was slightly ajar. I pushed it open. It was dark inside since the curtains were drawn closed. I walked to it and pulled it open. Light filled the room illuminating the small bed on which she was asleep, blanket drawn up over her head. I went and sat on the bed. Gently I lifted the blanket off her face. The view of Navya's serene sleeping face stirred something in my belly. The uncanny resemblance it had with that of Swetha never ceased to surprise me. I took hold of her arm over the blanket and shook her gently. She opened her eyes slowly, adjusting to the light the open curtain had caused in the room.

"Good Morning," I said smiling.

"Jiju?" she said groggily, disoriented from waking up in a new bed. 'Jiju', that was what she called me. She probably learned it from Bollywood movies. It always caused a flutter in my heart. I didn't have a sister of my own. So I really liked Navya. However, not all of my feelings towards her were brotherly. The resemblance to my wife often created some perverted images in my mind... but I made sure to keep them in check. Outwardly, I was always her loving brother-in-law... her Jiju.

"Wake up Navya... we have to get your transfer procedures done at your new college today." I said. Slowly she sat up on the bed, her face a blank. I had no idea how she was feeling. Dad's passing had affected her the most. Not only did she lose her father, but due to the relocation she had lost her friends too. Maybe she was angry with me for it was my decision to bring her here. I felt it was the right thing to do. The family had to be kept together if they are to pull through this unfortunate tragedy.

"Get ready, we have to be there at 10." I said as I left the room.

I went back to my room. Swetha was still asleep. I bent down to kiss her forehead. Her eyes opened slowly.

"Morning love!" I smiled. She lay there, not responding... just looking up at the ceiling.

"You have to get up now if you plan on reaching office at time." I told her. She worked at a Public Sector Bank in a local branch at walking distance from our apartment.

"I'll call in sick," she said and turned facing away from me, going back to sleep. Seeing the mood that she was in, I thought it'd be better to leave her be. I took a bath in the attached bathroom of our bedroom. By the time I dressed up and went to the dining room, mom was waiting with my breakfast ready on a plate. I sat down and started munching on the crispy dosa and coconut chutney.

"Swetha isn't up yet?" Mom asked.

"She is staying home today... went back to sleep," I said in between chewing, "she must be tired. One more day's leave shouldn't be an issue at her bank."

Mom observed me silently as I ate my breakfast. Something seemed to be on her mind. A couple of minutes later she spoke.

"Son, there is something I want to talk to you about."

"Yes mom."

"It's just that... one thing dad wished for the most was to see a grandkid... he would tell me often how amazing it would be to hold Swetha's baby in his arms... it's so sad that he didn't get his wish fulfilled," mom said looking earnestly into my eyes, "but I think you and Swetha should have a baby soon... it'll be good for her... take her mind off things."

I was surprised by the open suggestion. Though I'd heard murmurings of this before, no one had actually said this to my face before. I didn't answer her. I contemplated it for the rest of the breakfast. Navya got ready and joined the breakfast table soon. She had worn jeans and a yellow top that looked quite nice on her.

After breakfast me and Navya left the apartment. At the door, mom looked deep into my eyes as if urging me to seriously consider what she'd told me before.

Though Navya's new college was only around 10 kms away, it took us 25 minutes to reach there due to traffic. She was quiet the entire drive. I was silent as well, coz mom had given me a serious matter to consider.

Me and Swetha had discussed this previously. We had both decided to wait for two or three years before trying for a child. We were still young. I was only 28 and Swetha 26. But things seemed different now. The way mom spoke at breakfast got me thinking. Swetha had lost the guiding light of her life, her dad. She seemed completely lost these past two weeks... ate too little... spent way too much time sleeping. She needed something to look forward to... something that can be her guiding force... and a baby seemed like the most logical thing. My mind was gravitating towards this conclusion when we reached the college.

I parked the car neatly into a lane in the visitor parking. I shut off the engine and looked over to the left. Navya made no move to get out of the car. She seemed lost in her thoughts.

"Navya?" I called. She didn't hear me. Her hands were on her thighs. I placed my left hand on her right one and called again. That brought her out of the reverie.

"Are you alright?" I asked. The eyes that looked at me told me she wasn't. They were vacant... like there was no hope left in her. I snapped open my seatbelt and leaned over, taking both her hands in mine.

"Navya... I know how hard this has been... I know your dad meant the world to you... like it did for Swetha and Mom... and I am so sorry that he is no more with us," I said with as much love and courage I could muster, "I understand that you are feeling lost now... without his presence... without his guidance... I understand that... and it's okay to cry... it's okay to feel down... but just don't shut yourself up... you have to talk to your sister... your mother... we have to tide over this as a family."

I could see emotions rushing out of her onto her face. Her eyes moistened. Her lips were shaking with a cry that she was trying hard to suppress.

"I am here... I want you to know that... I'm here for whatever you need," I continued, "Anything you need... even if it's someone to talk to... or just a shoulder to cry on... I'm here."

The dam of her eyes opened and tears burst through. The car was filled with her cry. She bent her head and rested her forehead on my forearm as she wept. I let her. She needed to get the grief out of her. Warm tears fell on my arm.

Minutes passed by. Slowly she quietened down. Soft sobs still escaped her lips as she raised her head. I wiped the tears off her face with my fingers. Before withdrawing my hands, I gently pushed a few strands of hair from her face to behind her ear.

"I'm here." I assured her once again. We spent a few more minutes in the car till she calmed down, before going inside the college.

The transfer procedure involved quite a lot of paperwork and an interview with the principal. It was noon, when we reached home. Mom was sitting on the sofa absentmindedly flipping through TV channels. Navya sat beside her and hugged her, tired from all the paperwork and the crying. Mom hugged her into her bosom.

I went to my bedroom and found Swetha still on the bed. I sat beside her sleeping figure and looked at her beautiful face worn out from the stress of the past week. I remembered the conclusion I had come to during the drive. I decided that a baby would be the best thing for her life now... and not just hers... a baby would bring back a lot of joy to the people in this house... the joy that was snatched from them by fate.

I went to the door and closed it. I came back to the bed and got under the blanket behind Swetha. I snuggled up close to her and draped my arm over her. Her body was warm from being under the blanket and mine cold from the car AC. I hugged her close to me. I could feel her body waking up from the sleep. Still not fully awake, her arms and legs moved a bit by instinct adjusting herself to my position. I positioned my head near the nape of her neck and kissed her gently. It invoked a series of wave-like movements from her head to her feet.

"Nitin," she called my name in her raspy just-awake voice.

"Mmm," I said placing more gentle kisses on her neck and getting similar waves of movement in return.

"Nitin, what are you... doing?" she asked, the ticklish sensations from the erogenous zone on her neck leading her body to respond to my kisses. The sensations in her body had temporarily overpowered her mind and brought her out of her sad thoughts. I pulled, turning her around to face me and resumed the kisses on her neck. She squirmed at the ticklish sensation each kiss brought forth.

"I need you baby," I talked between necking her, "I need my Swetha back... my joyful fun-loving Swetha... I need you back if I am to take care of your family, our family... don't leave me alone like this... I need you."

She heard me without responding in words, but I could sense the response in her body... in how it responded to my kisses. She placed a hand behind my head and started caressing my hair as I planted sensuous kisses on her neck. She raised her feet and placed it over my legs rubbing them along smoothly. I pulled her tight into a hug. Our legs tangled together and my right leg moved in between hers. I felt a warmth radiating down from her to just above my knee... from her vagina. I moved my legs gently back and forth rubbing my thigh between her legs and found the warmth increasing. I lifted my lips off her neck and planted it on her expecting lips. My lips blended with hers as we kissed, getting more passionate with each passing second. I put my tongue through her parted lips finding her tongue. They danced with each other sensuosly exchanging saliva. Few seconds later, her tongue pushed mine back into my mouth and followed, exploring my mouth. My cock was getting hard with the passionate kissing. I moved my hand to her back, sliding it along her hips. My fingers encountered the waistband of her track pants. I slid them underneath it as well as the waist band of her panty. My palms rested on my wife's meaty butt cheek. I squeezed. She responded by moving even tightly into my arms, pushing her vagina down on my thigh. I squeezed again and found her responding by grinding herself on my thigh. I then started lightly grazing my finger along the crease of her spine, beginning at the top of her butt crack. Swetha liked such feather-like caresses. My hands popped out of her panty and track pants as my finger moved up along her back. It slid underneath her t shirt. My finger traced a path along the middle, up and over her bra strap... along the back of her neck. She shuddered and closed her eyes as my fingers grazed the base of her head at the back of her neck. That was the spot that got her every time. A slight touch with my fingers or a light peck of my lips there broke down her defences no matter how angry she might have been at me.

This time too it worked. Her whole body shivered. She grinded hard on my thigh and pushed her breasts against my chest. I knew it would happen. One year of passionate lovemaking had taught me all I needed to know about her body and its special zones. I made my move to the next zone.

I removed my hand from inside her t shirt and brought it up to her face through her side. I held her face by the chin and turned it towards the bed so that I would have easy access to her left ear. My mouth moved towards it. When it was close enough, I parted my lips and nibbled on her earlobe.

"Mmm," she moaned in her sweet sexy voice. I continued nibbling on her earlobe. Swetha clung on to me like a baby koala as I did this. The amount of warmth from her vagina that I felt on my thigh told me that she was getting real wet down there. Then I went for the move that was sure to get her wild. In between nibbling her earlobe, my tongue slid out stealthily and made a sudden poke at the opening of her ear. Her body shook like it was possessed. Her eyes flew wide open and she pushed me to lay me on my back.

She then climbed on top of me with her knees planted on the bed on either side of me. She looked at me with eyes full of lust. She pinched the hem of the t shirt with both her hands and pulled it up and over her head giving me the view of her 36B bra clad tits from below. While her hands were raised in removing the t shirt, her bra shifted up a little revealing her meaty underboobs. My cock got rock hard at the sight and poked up at her vagina covered by two layers of clothing. I had to have her right now.

She discarded her t shirt and her hands went behind to unclasp her black bra. I heard a snap and she didn't waste any time in sliding the straps off her shoulders and baring her tits. Her hands, after discarding the bra, went towards her tits. She thrust her breasts forward and her palms cupped them from underneath. Her palms then grazed upwards covering her nipples in a moment. Then she brought her thumb and index finger together pinching her nipples between them. She pinched them and pulled them gently outward a few times. When she removed her hands her nipples were so hard they protruded outward almost half an inch.

Her hands came down, urgently unbuttoning my shirt and yanked it off my body. My vest came off soon after. She had gotten really horny. There was an urgency in her eyes. I was feeling similarly at my cockhead.

She unclasped my belt and removed it with ease. My pants were unbuttoned without much difficulty. She pulled it down exposing my blue briefs. She inserted her right hand inside my briefs and pulled out my hard cock already oozing with pre-cum. She tugged on it a couple of times. Then she got off me and pulled down her track pants and panty in one swoop. I took this time to push my pants and briefs off my legs.

I lay back down instinctively expecting her to pick out a condom from the pack in my drawer and come back climbing over me... put the condom on my hard cock and then lower her pussy down on it, taking me deep inside her. But something flashed in my mind... the conversation from breakfast table... about having a baby. I caught hold of Swetha's hand before she went for the condom. I pulled her towards me and made her lie on her back on the bed. Her face seemed a bit confused. Quickly I got on top of her, my chest squishing her boobs. I positioned myself between her legs and she spread them apart. I supported myself by placing my left elbow on the bed and lowered my right hand between our bodies. I grabbed my cock and moved its head towards her pussy. I rubbed my cock head on her pussy lips a few times.

"Mmmm... Nitin!" she exclaimed, "Nitin... baby... wear a condom." I continued rubbing my cock on her pussy lips.

"No baby... I want this!" I said, "It has been so long since my cock felt your pussy without the condom separating us... I want to feel your pussy squeezing my cock." Her eyes blinked with surprise. I continued talking to her as I lubricated my cock by rubbing it on her wet pussy lips.

"Baby I need this... We... we need this... I want to cum inside you." I said. I latched my mouth onto her left areola and stimulated her nipple to soften the surprise my words would have caused. I sucked her nipple into my mouth and smeared it with saliva by running my tongue over it. My tongue teased her hard nipple mercilessly by pushing and rolling it around in my mouth.

"Mmm... Nitin... Mmmm.. baby... but," her moans got louder and she found it difficult to form words.

"No buts baby," I lifted my head up momentarily to speak, "No buts... we need a ray of sunshine in our life now... I want to have a baby with you." Immediately my mouth went back to suck on her tits. The sensations being created by my mouth on her tits and my cock on her pussy lips was overwhelming for her.

"Baby... mmm... baby are you... sure... about this?" she managed to say in between moans.

"Sure as I've ever been baby," I said and thrust my hips down suddenly. My cock head parted her pussy lips and slid down finding the opening of her vagina. I pushed and my cock penetrated her vagina, going deep inside.

"Unghhh," a moan that was more like a growl escaped her mouth as my cock took its place deep inside her.

"Let's make a baby," I whispered, bringing my mouth close to her ear. The warm air my mouth exhaled impinged on her earlobe evoking a shiver in her body.

"Mmm... yes... yes baby," she said as she lifted her pelvis up slightly to take me deeper.

"Yes... put a baby inside me Nitin... fuck me... fuck me... fuck me hard," she said.

That was all I needed. I started thrusting my cock slowly in and out of her.

"Tell me again baby... what do you want me to do?" I prodded her to talk dirty.

"Oh baby... I want you to fuck me... fuck my pussy hard baby... let me feel your cock move inside me," she obliged. I mirrored her words and increased the pace of my thrusts.

"Mmmm... God! Oh God... baby," her moans grew frantic.

"Keep talking to me baby," I urged.

"Nitin... baby... fuck me harder baby... fuck my wet pussy harder baby," she continued. The lusty tone of her voice caused me to thrust harder. Her thighs made little slappy sounds when my hips thrust on them.

"Baby... I'm close," I said, panting lightly.

"Yes baby... come on... cum in me... come on," she said. Her voice seemed muffled... she had clenched her teeth trying to mute her moans.

"I'm going to cum inside you baby... I'm going to put a baby inside you," I said, as a I felt an overwhelming sensation wash over my body. My balls pumped hot semen to my cock and it shot inside her pussy.

"Oh God! Yes... yes.. yes... put a baby in me," she said as her orgasm commenced from deep inside her. I shot rope after rope of warm semen inside my wife while she squirmed underneath me, her orgasm expressing itself on every inch of her body. The hair on her arm stood up in goosebumps. Even after every last bit of cum was deposited inside her vagina, I lay on top of her gently thrusting... guiding her down from the high of her orgasm. We both panted from the intense lovemaking.

Few seconds later, I rolled off and lay beside her, still not completely in control of my breath. Her left hand found mine and linked fingers. I looked over towards her. She had her eyes closed but a single pearl of a tear was trailing down from the corner of her eye towards her ear. I wiped it off with my finger. She opened her eyes at that, and looked deep into mine.

"Nitin," she called me sweetly, "are we sure about the baby?" I held her face by the chin as I spoke.

"Yes love... this is the right time for us... I can feel it inside my heart." I said, planting a kiss on her lips.

"Nitin?" she called softly again.

"Mmm?" I murmured, a little lost in the beauty of her face.

"I'm ovulating," she said, a smile dawning on her face, "you might have just gotten me pregnant... I have a strangely positive feeling about this."

I kissed her again. Soft feather-like kisses. We lay like that for many minutes.

Afterwards I went to the bathroom and washed myself while Swetha rested. Once I was done, I changed into a t shirt and track pants. Swetha lay on the bed, her eyes closed... serene and beautiful like the sea at sunrise. I didn't want to wake her up, but mom and Navya would be waiting for us... to have lunch. I placed my hand on her bare shoulders and caressed. Her eyes opened and she smiled.

"Come, get dressed," I spoke softly, "let's have lunch."

Lunch was a quiet affair. No one spoke. I felt a bit awkward thinking maybe mom and Navya may have heard us making love. I kept glancing at Swetha. While not completely her cheerful self, her mood had definitely brightened. In fact, all three women seemed to be in a better mood than the last two weeks, and thankfully so. I felt happy to see that they were eating well at least. My eyes caught mom's in the midst of one of my attempts of furtively glancing at Swetha. Mom's face was adorned by a strange smile... sort of a knowing smile. In it I could sense her happiness at me taking her advice... her joy at the apparently not so secret thing of me and Swetha having just tried to conceive. I smiled back shyly.

Days passed. Monsoon arrived in Pune bringing with it incessant rain. Me and Swetha made love every chance we got since she was ovulating. With each time we fell more and more in love with the idea of having a baby. Swetha returned to her normal cheerfulness.

June ended and on salary day, at breakfast I announced that I would take them out for dinner to a restaurant my boss had recommended. I told them not to cook anything. Afterwards me, Swetha and Navya said bye to mom and got into the elevator. Swetha got off on the ground floor as her bank was just a few minutes walk. Me and Navya got off at basement-1 where I parked my car.

I drove while Navya handled the music system. Swetha's cheerfulness had infected Navya too and had helped in getting out of her grief. Navya was now her normal talkative self. She had developed a habit of singing on our daily drives in the morning and evening. The half an hour it took to reach her college, she would sing along with the songs that she played. It was cute. Sometimes I would join in if I knew the lyrics and was sure not to mess up the song. She appreciated it every time I did that.

I presumed it was how she used to be with her dad... charming and bubbly. I guess she had grown to trust me... and I too liked playing the part of a father figure. To an extent, I felt proud of the way I had handled things after dad's death.

But there was this one small thing. I still harboured some perverted thoughts about Navya. The daily drives and the constant proximity acted as a catalyst to them. I was acutely aware of each little movement of her body while I drove. My mind registered the movements of her vocal chord on her slender neck as she sang. Even at home, I would notice when she raised her hands for some reason and her t shirt rose exposing her sexy navel... or when she bent down to take something from the bottom drawer of the kitchen and her track pant strained against her meaty ass. The uncanny facial resemblance of the sisters sometimes messed with my mind. Lately, while I made love to Swetha I have been seeing flashes of Navya's face like it was juxtaposed on Swetha.

While I was lost in these thoughts, one song ended and then it went silent inside the car. That brought me out of my thoughts.

"What? Today's concert is finished already?" I asked, teasing her. She made mock faces at me in reply.

"Jiju... I hope you haven't forgotten about my gift." She said a few seconds later. It caught me off guard. I searched my mind for clues about her birthday... it was in July... I remembered because my wedding was in August and I remember wishing Navya over phone around a month before that... but which day... my mind went empty.

"I didn't... but there is an issue," I improvised, "I was not sure what you would like... I have been browsing on Amazon a lot lately, looking for something to get you... but I haven't been able to decide." Her face showed a bit of disappointment.

"So I was thinking," I continued, trying to salvage the situation, "Why don't I take you shopping?" Her face perked up at the suggestion.

"I have a free period today," she said, "right after lunch."

I was thinking of the weekend but didn't feel like saying no to her. So I agreed to pick her up at 1.30 in the noon. I stopped the car at her college gate.

"We'll go to the new mall and you can pick out whatever you want." I said. She smiled excitedly.

"Aww Jiju... I love you." She said and leaned over giving me a sideways hug. She wrapped her arms around my neck and placed the side of her face against mine as she hugged. Her right breast pressed against my left arm. My penis stirred at that contact and my heartbeat quickened.

"I will wait for you," she said before she opened the door and got out of the car. She waved bye to me and then walked into her college. I stayed there a while looking at her receding figure, willing my heart to calm down.

Once I reached my office building, I called up Swetha while I climbed the stairs. Climbing the stairs upto 9th floor daily was the only exercise I ever did. When Swetha answered the phone I spoke.

"Swetha, why didn't you remind me about Navya's birthday?"

"Oh... I'm sorry... I forgot to tell you... but what happened?"

"Leave that... tell me when is her birthday?" I asked.

"Its tomorrow... her 21st... I had ordered a cute sling bag on Amazon... they delivered it today at my office... she's going to love it."

"Mmm... I lied to her... that I didn't forget her birthday... I had to improvise on the spot and ended up promising to take her shopping today." I laughed remembering the episode in the car earlier. Swetha laughed too.

"Oh... Happy Shopping then!" she teased me. She knew how I hated waiting around when I took her shopping.

Swetha hung up soon since she was busy at the bank. I settled down in my office cabin and started on the day's tasks. But I was distracted. Attending meetings, working on my computer... all I could think about was the hug from the morning... how Navya's breast pressed against my arm. I got a hard-on everytime I visualised it.

At around 12.45 I finished my lunch. I then went to my boss with the excuse of a headache and took the afternoon off. I packed up my bag and positively ran down the stairs with a kind of perverted excitement.

She was waiting for me at the gate. Her face brightened as she saw my Ford Freestyle approaching. She got in and we drove to the mall. She couldn't stop talking about the different types of tops she wanted to try. We went to Shoppers Stop and I let her run around checking out different outfits displayed on various racks while I kept a leisurely pace behind her. I mostly browsed on my phone, lifting my eyes off it once in a while to find Navya.

Twenty maybe thirty minutes passed by... finally she came to me holding a couple of tops and a black jeggings in her arm.

"Found what you were looking for?" I asked.

"Kind of," she said, "but I have to decide between these two tops... I need to send pictures to Swetha too... I'll decide after hearing her opinion."

"Okay." I said.

"That's why I came Jiju, my phone camera's image quality is quite shitty. Can I borrow yours?"

"Yeah... just give me a second... let me send this email... you go and stand in the queue outside the trial room." I lied. She did as I told her. Quickly I opened my gallery and deleted a few porn videos I had downloaded couple of days ago. I also cleared my browsing history. I then searched my mind trying to remember if any other questionable content was there in my phone.

Just then an evil idea popped in my head. I had recently downloaded a screen recorder app on a friend's suggestion. It had a special hidden mode in which it would work in background. I opened the app and tapped 'record'. I then put it in hidden mode. I opened the camera app just before handing my phone to Navya.

"Just don't exit the camera app... the phone will get locked quickly if it is in idle mode." I lied again.

I waited with my heart pounding as she advanced in the queue. It took a few minutes for her turn. Then she went inside the trial room. Time passed by agonizingly slow. I looked at a digital clock on one of the walls. Each second felt like a tick of a giant clock inside my head.

Five minutes later she came out of the trial room wearing her own clothes. She handed me back my phone.

"I have sent the pictures to Swetha... I'm going to call her now." She said.

"Okay, I'm just going to the bathroom... meet me at the billing counter once you've made your decision." I said and excused myself.

With quick steps I walked towards the men's washroom. I found an empty stall and got inside closing the door behind me. I then went to the screen recorder app. I switched off hidden mode and tapped 'end recording'. The app took a few seconds to finish saving the video. Once it was done I went to the phone's gallery. There it was at the top... the video of my sister in law changing clothes. My cock hardened in naughty excitement. The thumbnail looked harmless... but I hoped the video caught a good angle of Navya's body. I opened the video and fast forwarded it to the portion when she entered the trial room. I clicked play.

She hung the clothes on the wall hooks and looked around a bit. Then the phone's camera view lowered and the video got stable... it seemed like she had kept the phone on some narrow flat surface on the wall... coz the phone was still upright and it's camera was at an angle capturing Navya from her head to knees. 'Perfect', I thought to myself.

The video played on and my phone screen showed Navya pulling her black t shirt up and over her head. Her bra clad tits came into view. It was a pink bra that fit her snugly and it showed considerable cleavage. Navya's tits looked almost as big as Swetha's... maybe a wee bit smaller. The scene caused my cock to pitch a tent in my pants. I unzipped my pant and inserted my fingers inside the fly. I pulled my cock out through the open fly. I kept the phone atop the flush tank of the commode at a comfortable viewing angle and unbuttoned my shirt. I pulled it and my vest out of my pants. I inserted my left hand underneath my vest and traced my thumb upwards. My cock jumped when my thumb grazed over my left nipple. I grabbed my cock in my right hand and started jerking.

On my phone screen, Navya unbuttoned her jeans and started pushing it down. Her pink matching panty came into view. She bent down as she pushed the jeans down along her thighs... over her knees and yanked it off her feet. My cock went ramrod straight as I watched Navya standing in just her bra and panty. Pink looked pretty on her. My eyes focussed on the mound at the junction of her legs... her pussy. I jerked faster and rubbed my thumb on my left nipple. My nipple became pointy with the rubbing.

Navya then took the black jeggings off from the hook and held it in front of her waist. She lifted her left foot and inserted it into the jeggings. Next the right leg too was inserted. She then pulled the jeggings over her thighs and ass. It was quite tight for she struggled a little to pull it up to her waist. She zipped up the fly and buttoned it. She checked herself out in the mirror twisting this way and that. Her ass looked hot in it. I kept tugging on my cock, my pleasure increasing with each passing second. I took my left hand out of my vest and brought my thumb into my mouth. I placed it on my tongue moistening it. Then I inserted it back inside my vest and smeared the saliva on both my nipples. I then started rubbing my right nipple with the thumb.

Once she was satisfied with the jeggings, she took one of the tops off the hook. She held it against herself first looking in the mirror. It was a dark green sleeveless top. She then pulled the top on to her body and smoothed it over. It fit her tightly accentuating her curves. She posed a little checking out her reflection in the mirror. She then took the phone in her hands and clicked a few selfies. She the raised her right hand and grabbed her hair pulling it up. She finished the pose with a pout. It was sexy. Her raised arm gave me a view of her smooth underarms. She then placed the phone back down. As sexy as it was, the colour didn't suit her. I think she realized it too for her face didn't look satisfied. She pulled the top off her body and put it back on the hook. She picked up the other top she'd selected and held it against her. It was a light blue off-shoulder top. 'Won't the bra strap show' I thought to myself while I continued jerking my hard cock. Pre-cum was oozing out of the tip. My thumb kept rubbing my nipples doubling the pleasure.My eyes were hooked on my phone screen in anticipation. Instead of pulling the top on to her body, Navya put it back on the hook, leaving me confused. Her arms then went behind her. By the time I realized what was happening, she had unhooked her bra and pulled it off her breasts. Her perfect round tits stood proudly on her chest. The view of her perky tits topped by her dark areola caused a shiver in my body. My eyes focussed on her nipples and I jerked frantically. My knees went weak as my cock exploded, shooting long ropes of milky cum into the commode. My hips convulsed a few times as the cum got pumped out of my cock. I had cum so hard that eyes blurred a little. I supported myself by placing my hand on the flush tank beside my phone.

When my eyes regained focus, my phone showed Navya wearing the off-shoulder top. The light blue colour suited her and the top looked good on her. She took a couple of selfies with the phone albeit at a weird angle and pose. When she put the phone back down I understood why. Two small protrusions showed at the front of her top... her nipples. She was trying to hide her nipple impressions from being captured in the selfie. I realized that she would need a strapless bra to wear under this top. I wondered if she had one.

I started dressing up, pushing my cock back inside my pants... buttoning up my shirt and inserting it inside my pants and smoothing it over... to look just as I was before I came into the bathroom. As I did this, on the phone screen Navya had taken off her top and jeggings and dressed back into her black t shirt and jeans after wearing the pink bra. I grabbed my phone and pressed stop on the video player. I went into the file explorer app and changed the properties of the video file to 'hidden'.

I met Navya at the billing counter. She told me she had decided. As expected, she held the light blue off-shoulder top and the black jeggings in her hand. We paid for the items and came out of Shoppers Stop. It showed 2.35 PM on my watch.

"I have to drop you back at your college now," I spoke, "but I don't know what to do till your classes end... I don't have to go back to the office... I'm going to be so bored waiting in the car." I mock complained as we walked along the mall corridor towards the elevator.

"Even I don't feel like going back to college Jiju," she said, making a cute face.

"Shall we go home then?" I asked.

"No, mom will scold me if she knew I bunked classes." A naughty grin came on my face as she said this.

"What if mom didn't know?" I said. She looked at me not comprehending.

"I mean we can hang out here at the mall and go home at our usual time. I won't tell mom or Swetha if you won't. It'll be our secret." I made a funny wink at her. She laughed.

"I'm fine with it," she said at the end of her laugh, "but what will we do for 3 hours?"

"How about a movie?" I asked and fished out my phone. I opened the Movie Booking app and showed her as I browsed through the movies currently playing and show timings. She came closer to me to look.

"Ooh, this one," she selected a horror movie that was trending. I quickly booked two seats for the 3 PM show. We had 20 more minutes till the movie started. Just then an idea popped into my naughty mind.

"Hey, why don't you change into the outfit you bought?" I suggested. Her face brightened up at first, but showed hesitation.

"What?"

"Jiju, it's an off-shoulder top... I can't wear it right now." She explained.

"Why not?" I asked, faking ignorance.

"Well," she tried explaining, "it's just that..."

"Well... what?" I prodded.

"Jiju... it's just that," she came closer to me as she lowered her voice, "I'm wearing a bra with straps right now... and the straps would show if I wore the top... I need a strapless bra for this top." Her face showed a hint of embarrassment. I acted as if comprehension suddenly dawned on me. Then I smiled.

"Okay," I spoke, "but that can be fixed... as I see it, we're in the midst of clothing stores and you need a bra... so let's just buy one." I had spoken in a reassuring tone. She was considering it in her head.

"We need to decide quickly though." I gave a little verbal nudge.

"Okay," she nodded. I fished out my wallet and took out my debit card.

"Go buy what you want and meet me at the entrance of the theatre before 2.55." I said as I handed it to her and gave her the secret PIN number. She took it from me and went off. I turned and walked towards the theatre. I waited at the entrance for Navya.

At 2.55 there was no sign of Navya. I tried ringing her but she didn't pick up. I paced to and fro at the entrance. Finally, at 2.59 I saw her running towards me wearing the light blue top and the black jeggings. Quickly, we showed the QR coded tickets to the usher and went through separate x-ray security checks.

"Come... it's about to start," I said and grabbed her wrist pulling her along as we ran to our movie hall. Thankfully, we entered the hall to find that the pre-movie advertisements were being shown. We made our way to the reserved seats at the middle of the hall. We were panting by the time we sat down.

"That was fun!" I laughed and she joined. I felt like I was a college kid like her.

"What took you so long?" I asked.

"What? I had hardly 15 minutes to buy a bra, go to the ladies room, change clothes and reach the theatre. I think I did pretty good." She joked. I couldn't help but laugh.

"I hope you didn't compromise on the quality of shopping due to the lack of time." I shot back.

"No mister," she grinned, "for your knowledge, I bought a branded bra from enamor... and it cost you quite high an amount." She handed me back my debit card. I was quite taken by this funny bold avatar. I laughed along with her. It felt like the formality of the brother-in-law relationship was breaking down in her mind and being replaced by a special friendship. It excited me. I realized that I was getting really attracted to Navya. Her personality was endearing. While Swetha was a little introverted like her mom, Navya's character seemed to have been modelled on her dad... outgoing and energetic... almost tomboyish.

The movie started soon and created a dark vibe from the get go. Little kids waking up at midnight and wandering the dark corridors of their home following weird noises, dark humanlike forms creeping up from behind, haunting music... the movie had all the elements of a classic horror movie. Around 20 minutes into the movie, there was a really terrifying jump scare. A collective gasp filled the theatre as everyone flinched at the scary scene. Navya jumped a little in her seat and grabbed my arm in fear. Seated on my right side, her left hand came through the gap between my body and right hand... her palm grasped my bicep hard. As the scene grew scarier, she moved closer to me pressing her soft breasts on my right arm and placing her right hand on my forearm. She really clung to my arm. The feel of her soft breasts distracted me from the movie. I felt a butterfly-like flutter in my stomach and a stirring in my underwear. The forbidden nature of my perverted thoughts made them even more exciting. Navya remained close to me till intermission.

At the intermission she excused herself to go to the ladies room. She kept the shopping bag in her seat before going.

Once she left, I grabbed the bag and placed it on my lap, opening it. Inside it were her blue jeans and black t shirt... and her pink bra. I inserted my hand into the bag and felt the inner side of the bra cups. It felt so smooth. My cock grew semi-hard at the thought that her round tits had been cupped by the very part of the bra I was touching now. Just then my hands encountered a piece of paper. I pulled it out of the bag. It was the bill for her last shopping item... her bra. I brought it closer to my face to read. It revealed that my sister-in-law had spent ₹ 2000/- from my debit card to buy a 34B strapless bra. I put the bag back on her seat when I saw her enter the hall.

"Scaredy cat!" I teased her as she sat down beside me. She smiled sheepishly. This time, even before the movie resumed she was leaning towards me. As the movie resumed, she grabbed my arm and assumed her previous position... her breasts pressed against my arm.

It was 5 PM when the movie ended. We decided to have a coffee just to pass some more time... so that we would reach home at usual time. We sat opposite each other at a small table sipping hot cappuchino. A few sips later, I noticed a change in her face. She seemed sad. Her face was blank.

"Hey, what happened?" I asked softly. She didn't respond.

"Hey," I shifted my chair to sit close to her, "you know you can tell me anything right?"

"Jiju," she said almost sobbing, "I miss dad... he used to take me to the movies back at Calicut... he was always there whatever I needed." I put my arm around her back holding her close.

"Hey... don't cry... I know you miss dad... but would he like it if he saw you crying?" I consoled her. She leaned her head on my shoulder.

"Don't cry sweetie... I'm here... I'll take you to the movies... I'm here... just treat me as your friend." I spoke to her softly while my left arm caressed her shoulder. She calmed down in a couple of minutes.

We reached home at our usual time. I went into my room to change while Navya modelled her new outfit for Swetha and Mom. I took a bath and wore a casual t shirt and jeans. Swetha came into the room as I was combing my hair. She hugged me from behind.

"She really took advantage of the opportunity huh?" she said, "I hope it wasn't too expensive."

"No, it's fine. It's her birthday tomorrow. She deserved some retail therapy." I smiled. I told Swetha to get ready to go out for dinner. When I entered the living room, Navya and mom were sitting on the sofa looking at something on her phone.

"Mom, you have to get ready now... we can get back early if we reach there early." Mom went to her room to dress up. I sat down in mom's place and Navya leaned on me like she was leaning on mom a second ago. She held out the phone in front of us.

"What are we looking at?" I asked.

"Swetha took some photos of me just now... I'm deciding which one I'm going to post on Instagram." She said while she swiped through different poses. I too considered each picture.

"This one!" I said stopping her at one photo. In it, she had posed with her hands on her hips with a cute smile on her face.

"Are you sure Jiju?" she asked while she swiped back and forth between that and another photo.

"Don't you think I look prettier in this?" she asked about the other picture.

"Who said anything about pretty?" I said. Her face showed slight annoyance.

I continued, "I think you look hot in the other one." I winked at her and laughed. She slapped my arm playfully. She was blushing. She didn't reply to my comment, but she posted the picture I chose on her instagram.

We reached the restaurant by 7. 30 PM. It had rained heavily all through the drive. I dropped them at the entry door of the restaurant and then spent a few minutes trying to find a parking spot. I could find only one free spot and it was quite a distance from the restaurant entry door. I parked my car there and opened the door. It was pouring and we hadn't brought an umbrella. I hesitated to get out. Thankfully, a man got out of a nearby car which had just pulled in and offered to take me to the restaurant under his umbrella. I moved under his umbrella and locked my car. With quick steps we walked into the restaurant. I thanked him.

I tried to wipe rainwater off my sleeve as I searched around to see where the women were seated. I found them and made my way there.

"Should've brought an umbrella." I said as I sat down beside Swetha and opposite Navya. It was a stone age themed restaurant. I told the ladies about the delicacies my boss had recommended while they read the menu. When the waiter arrived to take the order we ordered Stone Age Chicken curry, two cups of steamed rice and few rotis.

While we waited for the food, the ladies chit chatted happily. I observed the three of them... the mother, the wife and the sister-in-law... engaged in hearty conversation and gossip. I realized with elation that the cloud of grief that had been hanging over my family had finally passed.

Our food arrived soon and we relished each morsel of it. The curry was really spicy and brought tears in our eyes... but the tender chicken pieces were packed with flavour and we ate till we were full.

While we were having some lemon tea after the main course, Swetha cleared her throat loudly attracting our attention. Once she had it, she produced a thin plastic stick like thing from her sling bag. Mom had one look at it and jumped up from her chair. She hugged Swetha tightly into her bosom. Couple of seconds later, Swetha let out a happy shriek and joined in the hug. I sat there confused. Then Swetha looked into my eyes and spoke.

"I'm pregnant Nitin!" she smiled like an angel. I was speechless. I brought my hands up and covered my mouth.

"Yesss!" I yelled into my palms, unable to contain my emotions.

Swetha laughed out loud. It was the happiest we had been in a while. When mom and Navya sat back down I stood up and hugged Swetha from behind, putting my arms round her neck and kissing the top of her head.

We ordered pastries to celebrate the good news. Mom and Swetha engaged in conversation about pregnancy while they had the dessert. I didn't know enough to be part of the conversation, so I scooped up small portions of the pastry with the spoon and ate, relishing the way it melted inside my mouth. In between I had a weird feeling that I was being observed.

I looked up from my plate to find Navya staring at me. She had a strange look on her face. I couldn't quite put my finger on it. The look had a teasing, conspiratorial kind of vibe.

Once I paid the bill, I stood up to leave... but mom and Swetha excused themselves to visit the ladies room. I asked them to meet me at the entry door. They left me alone with Navya. We walked towards the door. Once we reached the door, we saw that the rain hadn't weakened a bit.

"So, how are you feeling... daddy?" Navya said in a teasing voice. The way she said 'daddy' induced some perverted thoughts in my head. I just smiled back at her. Looking outside, I realized that the rain wasn't going to die down soon.

"I'm going to make a run for it." I announced to Navya. I brought my right hand above my head to brace against the downpour.

"Wait, I'm coming with you." She said grabbing my hand.

"On three." I said and counted. We ran at the count of three, me leading the way. It took us about 15 seconds to reach the car and get in. We were drenched but we were laughing.

"That felt like I was back in college again." I said between laughs.

"We're so drenched!" she said.

"Yeah, I hope we don't catch a cold."

"We're going to, if we keep these wet clothes on." She said. A second later, I saw her hands grab the hem of her top. It felt like the world had slowed down as I watched her pull the top up over her head revealing a black strapless bra underneath. It fit tightly on her bosom. She crumpled the removed top in her hand squeezing out the wetness. Drops of water trickled down from the cloth. I sat in the driver's seat transfixed. I was mesmerised by the movements on her chest as she squeezed out her top.

"You should do it too." She said when she caught me staring. I mirrored her action and took off my t shirt. I squeezed the water out of it like she did.

"So, this is what cost me ₹ 2000."I spoke. As much as I tried, I couldn't hide the flirtatious tone of the statement. She giggled as she looked over at me. I turned my head to the side and caught her eye.

"Told you I had bought a branded one... you can't cheap out on my birthday gift mister." She joked teasingly.

"Is it pretty?" she asked in a flirtatious voice. My heartbeat increased its pace. I felt like I was crossing a fine line from being a friend, to being kind of a 'boyfriend'. But it felt so exhilarating after being a husband for almost an year.

"Who said anything about pretty?" I said and she smiled wide remembering our conversation on the sofa at home in the evening.

"Okay, I get it... I look hot!" she said, following the thread of our earlier conversation. She grinned like she had denied me my punch dialogue.

"No," I said, "It looks sexy on you!" That stumped her. She was speechless as she looked into my eyes... but I didn't hold the look for long... I couldn't... my eyes fell down locking on her cleavage in the bra. I studied her breasts for a few seconds with no reprimand from her. Once I was satisfied, I looked back up into her eyes and repeated the word.

"Sexy!"

I heard a quick intake of breath. Her face bore a strange look. It looked a lot like lust. The sexual tension in the car was climbing... but it got interrupted by the ringtone of my phone. I fished it out of my pocket. It was Swetha.

Me and Navya exchanged a look. Then we put our clothes back on. I answered the phone and told Swetha to wait at the door. I reversed from the parking and manoeuvred towards the door. Mom and Swetha got in at the backseat and we started the drive back home. Mom and Swetha kept on talking while me and Navya were silent. I drove like on autopilot.

My mind was elsewhere, reflecting on this new chapter in my life... that of a dutiful son to Uma, my mother-in-law... that of the soon-to-be father of the life in my wife Swetha's womb... and that of a secret boyfriend to my sister-in-law, Navya.Dark cloudy sky became a permanent fixture as rain lashed Pune mercilessly all through July. The earth was wet with puddles of muddy water. I felt like the weather reflected my muddled state of mind. I was playing all these different roles, two of which were at odds with each other. On one hand, Swetha's face had the glow of pregnancy reminding me of the not too distant future where I would be holding our child in my arms. On the other there was this undeniable mutual attraction between me and my sister-in-law, Navya. While the former role made me feel wiser and more grounded, the later made me feel young and enthusiastic. These two roles could not be allowed to inhabit me at the same time. I had to keep these two worlds that I was living in from overlapping and messing everything up. The care required was stressful at times.

Thankfully, my third role as the dutiful son-in-law offered a brief respite in the form of a trip to Calicut. Uncle had found tenants for my mother-in-law's house. Mom had to be there to sign the Rent Agreement. Swetha had some pending work at her bank and couldn't accompany us. Mom decided that Navya would stay at Pune and keep my pregnant wife company. So it was settled that me and mom would leave for Calicut on Friday night and come back on Monday morning. Navya had sulked at not being allowed to come along but Mom had put her foot down. Navya had looked at me with puppy eyes, expecting me to overturn mom's decision... but I turned up my hands in helplessness as mom's tone had conveyed the decision to be final. I breathed a sigh of relief at the prospect of getting two days away from Swetha and Navya, my two conflicting worlds.

On Thursday, the day before the journey, I felt an urge to smoke a cigarette after dinner. I didn't smoke often, but the weather was so nice. The just-about-to-rain vibe was too tempting to pass up. I smuggled out my stash and the lighter from its secret hiding place, and slipped out of the apartment. I took the elevator to the top floor and then climbed the stairs to the terrace. I went to the far corner.

I placed the cig between my lips and lit it. I took a puff and felt the smoke fill up my lungs. The heat inside my lungs and the cool wind caressing my face was a combination that the instagram kids would term 'Mood!'. I took one more puff, feeling exhilarated as my head relaxed. A sudden movement nearby caused me to flinch and hide the cig behind my back.

"I thought I saw a lighter in your hand when you sneaked out." Navya said as she closed the distance between me and the terrace door. I smiled sheepishly.

"It's okay... I won't snitch." She said. She leaned back on the parapet beside me. I revealed the cig and placed it back on my lips. I took a couple of puffs as she stared at me.

"Want a puff?" I asked.

"I've always wanted to try... never got the chance." She said grinning.

"Come here." I said. I glanced around to ensure we were alone as Navya moved closer on my right side. Once she was close enough that our arms touched, I took the cig between the index and middle fingers of my left hand and brought it towards her lips.

"Take a small puff." I said. She leaned her head forward and took the cig between her lips. Her lips touched the inside of my fingers. I kept my fingers in place as she inhaled a small puff. In a second, she started coughing. I put my right hand on her back and patted as she coughed. In that instant, she turned towards me and buried her face on my right shoulder as she continued coughing. I patted and rubbed her back lightly till she caught her breath.

Once she could breathe normally she turned her face away from me but remained close to me. I left my hand on her back. We remained like that for a few moments. Then I slid my hand down and across her back until it was at her hips. I rested my hand there, holding Navya by her hips. My palm gently caressed her there. Neither of us spoke for a while. I smoked my cig while holding her. I broke the silence once I was done with the cigarette.

"A friend of mine, a girl from college is at Kuala Lumpur on a trip," I began, "she texted me that many international clothing brands were there at the malls." Navya was listening but didn't respond. I continued trying to bait her.

"When I heard it I thought... I know someone who likes branded clothes!" She couldn't help but smile at that, but still she kept quiet.

"I could tell my friend to buy some stuff... so if that person who likes brands wants something, she should tell me." I teased, speaking about her in the third person. She laughed and her face brightened. She then went on and on about the different brands that she liked. I stopped her after a while and told her to whatsapp me pictures of the exact brand and clothes she wanted.

"But of course, this has to be our secret... I'm only doing this because you're my favourite girl." She blushed hearing my words.

"What about Swetha?" she asked teasingly.

"Well, she's my wife," I said, "but my favourite girl... that's you!" I pressed my palm gently on her hips as I said the last part. She blushed again.

"There is one other thing," I added, "there is one item that I personally picked for my favourite girl... it's from a brand called Victoria's secret." I stopped to gauge her reaction on hearing the name of the lingerie brand. On her face I saw a curious mix of want, excitement and shyness. My cock stirred in my pants seeing her expression.

"But there's an issue... I don't know her size." I added the clincher. Then I waited... it took a minute for her want and excitement to veto her shyness.

"34B." she made her interest known in one word.

"Alright." I said, thinking the matter settled. I lifted my hand off Navya thinking it was time to go back to our apartment.

"Wait," she said. I stopped and looked at her.

"Well... 36B might be better," she spoke, "My 34B bra's have been feeling really tight lately."

"Okay," I said amused at her words, "are you sure?"

"Yes." She confirmed.

"Have you been eating a lot lately?" I teased her. She slapped my hands bashfully.

"Let's go back." She said and stood upright.

"Well... there's the tiny matter of what I am going to get in return for buying you these clothes?" My words stopped her. She looked at me keenly, as if trying to read my mind.

"What do you expect in return?" she turned the question back to me. I was prepared for this.

"Well..." I said and trailed off... but I turned my face to the side, offering my right cheek. She shied away a step as she realized that I meant a kiss on my cheek.

"Nuh uh mister." She said and walked towards the terrace door.

"Poor me!" I exclaimed and followed her. We got inside the elevator at the top floor. Navya stood behind me. I pushed the button for 6th floor and the elevator started moving down. Just as the elevator door was about to open at our floor, she moved closer... leaned up standing on her toes and kissed me on my right cheek. I froze in surprise. The elevator doors opened and she ran out giggling.

On Friday evening, me and mom hailed an auto and went to the railway station. Both Swetha and Navya walked us to the gate of our apartment building. As the auto pulled away, I looked in the rear view mirror and saw both of them waving 'bye'. A few seconds later Swetha dropped her hands and walked into the building, but Navya kept waving till we were out of sight... as if she knew I'd be looking. I started missing Navya as soon as she vanished from the rear view mirror.

The train journey was pleasant and we reached home in the morning. Both me and mom had slept well. Uncle and his wife reached soon. They brought breakfast too. We ate together as uncle caught up with mom. She was his only sister and they were close. I chatted a little with aunt in between morsels of delicious poori and aaloo baaji. I heard mom complain to uncle about back pain. Uncle suggested an ayurvedic oil. He said it had done wonders for his own back pain a few years ago. Uncle and aunt left soon saying he'll come back in the afternoon with the prospective tenant. I decided to rest for a while.

Mom woke me up at noon to have lunch. She had managed to whip up a meal with some vegetables and other supplies uncle had brought in the morning. After lunch mom went to lie down for a bit.

I was in the middle of watching a movie on my phone when uncle came along with the tenant. I woke mom up and we sat on the sofa discussing the terms of the tenancy agreement. We explained politely that we expected the house and the premise to be maintained clean. The tenant agreed. The rent agreement was signed over a cup of tea. A few minutes later, Uncle and the tenant stood up to leave. I walked them out to the main road where uncle had parked his car on the side. Just when I was about to turn back uncle rolled down the car window.

"I almost forgot... Nitin, give this to Uma... it's an ayurvedic oil for her back pain," he said handing me a bottle filled with dark liquid.

"It needs to be massaged on to the back an hour or more before bath, preferably twice a day... you make sure she doesn't forget to pack this when you two return to Pune." I nodded.

I handed it to mom and relayed the instructions. I then resumed the movie I was watching. It was late evening when the movie ended. Afterwards, I called Swetha and talked for a while. Mom had told me how important it was to keep pregnant women happy and make them feel loved. Ever since I knew she was pregnant I had given her no reason to feel sad or angry. I hung up the phone twenty minutes later. I noticed that there were some notifications on whatsapp. I opened it and found a message by Navya at the top. I opened it too see just one word.

"Liar!"

I was confused. There was no reason for her to call me a liar. I saw that she was online. I texted her to see what she meant.

Nitin: Why would you call me a liar?

Navya: Coz you called ME your FAVOURITE GIRL... yet almost 24 hours since you left, no messages... no calls... but you found time to call Swetha!

Nitin: Haha... are you missing me?

Navya: NO!

Nitin: Aww! Sweetie... I miss you too... a lot... infact, I started missing you the moment I couldn't see you anymore on the rear-view mirror of that auto... and what is this silly comparison with Swetha? Mom asked me to call her... said it's important to make pregnant women feel loved... trust me! I meant it when I said you are my FAVOURITE GIRL!

Navya: But then why didn't you even text me?

Nitin: I honestly didn't get time sweetie... I was tired from the journey... so I slept off in the morning... Uncle and the new tenant had come in the afternoon... they left only a short while ago. I would've texted you if I had gotten some time alone... believe me.

It was fun seeing Navya's possessive side. It was cute. I was careful in replying, using some white lies to allay her jealousy. However, this cute little tantrum made the difference between the sisters stark. I never had to deal with any tantrum when it came to Swetha... she was content with what she had. While that is a good thing, it gets boring sometimes. Compared to that Navya craved attention, demanded gifts and was bold. She had broken the monotony in my life.

Navya: Okay... but you have to make it up to me when you're back.

Nitin: Deal. Your wish is my command my lady!

Navya: Haha! Don't act cute mister.

Nitin: Haha... I don't have to act... I AM! By the way, what are you upto?

Navya: Nothing much. Just browsing some dresses... for our secret purchase with your friend in Malaysia. I'll show you when you are back.

Nitin: Okay... but I get to choose which one we finalize.

Navya: Okay. What kind of dresses do you like?

Nitin: Obvious answer... sexy ones! But remember, whatever we buy you won't be able to wear it in front of Mom or Swetha.

Navya: But then, when will I get to wear them?

Nitin: When we hangout... by ourselves.

Navya: And when will that be?

Nitin: Soon. I'll find a way.

Navya: You better! Coz I really miss you.

Nitin: Me too sweetie. I wish I was there with you.

Navya: I don't like this 'Sweetie'... sounds like something a dad would call his daughter.

Nitin: Haha! What would you like to be called then?

Navya: I don't know... something a little more special.

Nitin: 'Sweetie' wasn't my first choice you know. I had something special in my heart... but then I felt shy.

Navya: Why? What was it?

It was true... I had something special in my heart. I had actually felt like calling her 'baby'. As cheesy as it sounds, there was a reason behind it. I never had a girlfriend... neither in school nor in college. Even after I got a job, I never had the courage to ask a girl out. That's when I agreed to an arranged marriage. I had missed out on the girlfriend experience and all the associated cheesiness. Even though I called Swetha 'baby', she was not really into such cheesy names. With Swetha, it was just something we called each other during sex. It was not organic. With Navya, it was different. Our bond had grown through phases similar to that of newly dating couple. We had talked... I was there for her during a difficult time... she had grown to trust me... I had taken her shopping... we had started flirting... we had started missing each other when apart. I decided to tell her what I wanted to call her.

Nitin: I wanted to call you 'Baby'.

She didn't reply for a while. I started panicking. Did I go too far... Has she gotten cold feet. Doubts started creeping into my mind. I texted again.

Nitin: Did I say something wrong?

Navya: No... I love it.

Nitin: God! I was scared you didn't like it. My heart was pounding.

Navya: My heart was pounding coz I loved it a lot... and I wanted to ask you something... I wanted to ask if you'd let me call you the same... God I feel so nervous typing this...

Nitin: God Yes! Yes baby... I'd love it if you called me the same.

Navya: Come back soon baby... I miss you too much.

Nitin: Me too baby... I can't wait to drive you to college on Monday... just the two of us in the car... I want to hear you sing.

Navya: It's so unfair that we don't get too many opportunities when it's just the two of us. I don't like having to pretend being just your 'sister-in-law' in front of Mom and Swetha.

Nitin: I know... but we have to take this bitter pill... we have to keep our special bond between us. No one can know. No one would understand.

Navya: I want to see you... can we video call?

I really wanted to see her too, but Mom was in the kitchen. It was risky.

Nitin: I wish we could... but mom is near... maybe later in the night.

Navya: Promise?

Just when I was typing my reply I was distracted by a noise from the kitchen.

"Aah!" I heard Mom cry out in pain. I quickly texted Navya that I'd call her after mom went to bed and rushed to the kitchen. I found mom bent at her waist, holding her hip by her left hand and supporting herself on the kitchen counter. She was in pain. I went to her side and held her by her shoulders.

"Are you alright?" I asked concerned.

"I had bent to take a pan from the bottom cabinet... and now my back is paining." I supported her as I led her into her bedroom. I made her lie down on the bed.

"Shall I take you to a doctor?" I asked as I pulled a chair and sat by the bed.

"No... just hand me that bottle of oil from the shelf, I'll apply some on my back and rest." She said. I searched on the shelf and found the bottle uncle had handed me in the afternoon. I gave it to her. She took it from me and tried to sit up. She winced with pain as she failed.

"Don't move mom... lie still," I said as she tried to sit up again, "I'll do it."

Gently I helped her roll over onto her front. Mom was wearing a grey Churidar. I picked the hem of the top and pushed it up exposing her back. I stopped just short of her bra.

"Where is it paining now?" I asked as I opened the lid of the bottle and poured a few drops of oil on to my right hand.

"My lower back." She said. She had worn the churidar pant quite high. I pushed it down a little to get more access to her lower back. I then placed my right hand down on her lower back and rubbed, smearing it evenly over the exposed skin. I brought my left hand in and started massaging mom's back gently.

"Just tell me if you want me to go lower or higher." I said and continued massaging her. I took care not to put too much pressure and cause her pain. She lay on the bed quiet. A few minutes later I picked up the bottle again. A few drops trickled down my hand on to her churidar top as I tried to take some oil.

"Oops!" I said, too late to do anything. The oil drops had spread on her top and stained it.

"Sorry Mom, some oil got on your top... it has stained." I apologized.

"Its fine." She said. I proceeded with the massage.

"I have never heard you complain about back pain in the past... when did this start mom?" I asked as I rubbed her back.

"Quite recently," she answered, "I guess its coz I have been sitting in the apartment with no exercise... earlier dad and I used to go for morning walks... We were also doing some yoga... Now I'm just sitting there... alone."

As she spoke I realized that mom had still not completely let go of her grief over dad's passing. I felt bad at how lonely she must have felt... with me and the sisters leaving at morning and coming back only in the evening. She didn't have any friends too in the building since she didn't speak Marathi. Swetha's pregnancy was the only silver lining in her life right now. She had lost the strongest emotional connection in her life a couple of months ago and nothing had filled that void. I felt guilty for neglecting her.

"I'm sorry mom... I didn't realize..." I said trailing off, not able to find the right words.

"Don't be... You already have a lot of responsibilities." She tried to allay my guilt.

"No mom... Swetha and Navya are not responsibilities... you are not a responsibility... you are family. I'm sorry I didn't realize how lonely you were... I promise you... I'll come with you for morning walks," I said earnestly.

"After the monsoon though... I don't think I'll be able to wake up early in this weather." I joked. She laughed. I had been massaging mom's back for about fifteen minutes when she told me it was enough. I left her in the bedroom saying I would order some dinner. I rested on the sofa watching some youtube videos.

Our dinner arrived at 8 PM, by which time Mom had taken a bath. She told me some stories about dad while we ate porotta and egg curry. We went for a short walk since the rain had let up a bit. A few neighbours stopped us to say hi. Mom conversed with them, asking after their spouses and children. We were back home by 9 PM. Soon mom closed the doors and turned in for the night.

I was tired too... but I had an appointment to keep. I went to my bedroom on the first floor and closed the door. I then fished out my earphones from my back and connected it to my phone.

"Is Swetha asleep?" I texted Navya.

"Yes." She replied.

"Lock your door." I texted and waited a few minutes. I felt a flutter in my heart as I pressed the button for video call. She answered soon but the video that came on my screen was of a rotating fan.

"Hello... Navya?" I said.

"Wait." I heard her say. I heard her shuffling about nearby. I waited.When she finally picked up the phone I was in for a surprise. She was wearing the light blue off-shoulder top I had bought her for her birthday. Her hair flew about gently in the wind of the fan. She was smiling beautifully and it seemed like she had put on lipstick. What stood out the most was two red straps on her shoulders.

"Hi baby." She spoke sweetly. I felt a hundred butterflies flutter in my chest. This new phase of closeness between us was thrilling.

"Hi," I said smiling wide, "What happened to the ₹ 2000 strapless bra?"

"Wow... Men!" she scoffed mockingly.

"What?" I feigned innocence.

"Is that the first thing that came to your mind?"

"No... my first thought was; Is my baby wearing lipstick? " I teased again. This time she blushed.

"Yes," she said a moment later, "and the ₹ 2000 strapless bra is in the laundry basket... I had worn it today." She smiled.

"Why did you wear that at home? I thought that's for special dresses."

"I wore it coz I missed you." She said shyly. I felt something emerge from within me... it was so strong that I couldn't stop it from being expressed.

"I love you baby!" I said feeling so nervous that I was shivering a little. Even in the poor video quality I could see the moistness forming in her eyes. It told me that the feeling was mutual... but I had to hear her say it. She remained silent.

"Say something." I added. She opened her mouth gently and said the magic words.

"I love you too." My heart skipped a beat hearing her say it out loud. Both of us were quiet for a while, not knowing what to say. The moment was achieving an enormous proportion in our hearts. I attempted to lighten the mood.

"By the way, I like red too." I said bringing the focus back on her attire. I laughed at my clumsy attempt and in turn made her laugh.

"I'm glad you approve." She joked along.

"Do you remember that night in the car at the restaurant parking?" I asked her.

"I do."

"I can still picture it vividly... it was the most exciting moment in my entire life... my heart was beating out of my chest when you took off your top to squeeze out the water." I described how I felt.

"Even I was surprised by what I had done... there was just something magical in the moment... the way you grabbed my arm and ran in the rain towards the car... the way we got drenched." She said.

"It was so out of the blue, taking your top off... what made you do it?" I asked.

She contemplated a while and said, "I guess I was jealous. You were with me the entire afternoon. We went shopping. We watched a movie. I felt so loved and cared for. I felt a special connection with you. I was so happy. Then Swetha announced she was pregnant and suddenly she became the focus of your attention. I felt desperate to get it back."

"Baby listen to me... you shouldn't drag yourself in to this sort of competition for my attention. You have to trust me. I love you," I tried to assuage her jealousy, "you don't have to feel desperate for my attention... you already have all of it."

"Promise?"

"I promise." I said. That assured her.

"That said, I wouldn't mind at all if you did it again." I resumed flirting. My cock had been semi-hard for a while now.

"Ha! In your dreams mister." She shot back.

"Oh... in that case I hope you wouldn't mind if I went a little further in my dreams would you?" I said, not backing down.

"How much further?" she asked.

"How about if I hug you in my dreams... after you have taken off your top? I'll warp my arms around you and pull you into a hug. How about that?"

"Mmm... I don't know." She said, hesitant to expand the horizon of physical intimacy so soon, even if it was in my dream... but she couldn't deny my pleading face.

"Okay... you have my permission, but that's all you get for now!" she said and laughed.

"That's not enough!" I complained.

"Doesn't matter... that's all for now, take it or leave it." She said leaving no room for negotiation.

"I'll take it." I said. We talked for a few more minutes, but we both started yawning.