Two Of a Kind!!

Akriti shivered a little as a gust of Ryan's warm breath hit the back of her neck. She had no clothes on. And neither did he. The room was cold and every touch was magnified in impact as Ryan's inquisitive hands explored Akriti's  delicate curves. He alternated between his fingers and his palm, moving them in a symphony of sorts over her naked and thirsty skin.

And as he did so he buried his face into her luscious bunch of hair and sniffed in the perfume in it. His heartbeat rushed as he felt her back touching his bare body. He placed a light kiss on her head, and then another one. Even in the lust of that moment, there was a certain wide eyed honesty in Ryan's movements that was making Akriti go weak in her knees. And that was so unlike her.

You see Akriti wasn't born yesterday. She'd seen her share of broken relationships and lying men to trust someone so easily, and yet, here she was, hours after meeting this guy, in his arms, feeling vulnerable and yet empowered, taking in the sensations that his skin evoked on hers, with a surprised smile.

Something about him, that air of earnestness he had, had taken her by surprise. His bumbling and nervous demeanor coupled with those  round brown eyes which looked so sad had captured her gaze. And she'd decided to drop him hints so that he'd ask her out. But he didn't. She could sense that he wanted to, but he was so hesitant. So finally, breaking her own rule, she made the first move.

And when she did, his first question was, "Would that be a date? A real date?" This amused Akriti. She sent him a voice note, "Yes, sir. A real date. Boy-girl date." And then she asked him why he asked that question. Ryan told her about how in his experience, most people aren't into real things these days and he was looking for something real. Akriti wondered if this was a line, a ruse like most guys put up, to seem innocent and likeable. Even if it is, she thought to herself, there's no harm in checking him out.

They agreed to meet for a movie and continued texting. He told her about his plans to wake up early on the fated day to do laundry and other household chores and she felt again that he was pretending to be a sorted person. She shrugged the feeling away and asked him a series of questions that could give her an insight about the kind of man Ryan was. Ryan answered her questions with strange candour, which started dissipating Akriti's doubts a little.

Then, on the fateful day, they met. He was late by a quarter of an hour, but was decent enough to inform her of the delay in advance. Apparently, "laundry took longer than anticipated". Coincidentally, both of them had come in white shirt and denims. They had a laugh about it. And conversation flowed effortlessly. He listened to her attentively. Dating someone who's practically a stranger comes with a lot of anxiety for a woman, mainly in the line of "What if he's a pervert?". But whatever apprehensions Akriti had about Ryan were wiped away in that first conversation. He was polite, spoke with perfect enunciation and didn't stare at her chest even once.

Ryan asked Akriti if she'd want to try the chocolate donuts at the nearby coffee shop and she mumbled her concern about her weight. With a quick wave of his hand, he dismissed her objection saying she looked perfect and should not even think about losing weight as he ordered two of the most delectable donuts. Akriti usually kept very low expectations from these things but Ryan was not just doing very well, he was actually making her wish more men were like that.

Akriti, while she had these thoughts at the back of her mind, kept talking boisterously like she usually did, speaking about her family, her job and her relationships with great animation. Ryan followed every hand gesture she made and every twitch of her chubby cheeks. She was confident, independent and strong willed, and that was something Ryan loved. Her mildly self deprecating sense of humor amused Ryan and he thanked the universe silently under his breath for having put Akriti on his path.

When they went for the movie, both of them were impressed by the fact that they understood each other's references. There were no subtitles and Akriti was happy about it. Ryan also found those distracting and that was yet another thing they had in common. The movie turned out to be kind of disappointing but the fact that Ryan kept turning to look at her, kept her excited. She asked him what was going in in his mind and he just shook his head. Ryan had these really expressive eyes that told Akriti something was up. Ryan was actually getting these strange instinctive urges to reach out and hold her hands, but he kept hesitating.

He didn't want Akriti to think he was desperate but he desperately craved for the kind of affection that was symbolized by holding hands. She sensed this from the semi obvious movement of his hands on the arm rest. His non verbal cues were as subtle as a bullet. They were having cheese popcorn but she still extended her hand, even with her fingers coated with cheese powder. Ryan happily took her hands in his. His happiness was so palpable she could feel the blood rush under his skin. She wrapped her fingers around his reassuringly. In that delicate moment, not a lot of words were said but a lot things were felt by both.

Soon after, they were seated at the cafe talking their hearts out. Akriti looked at him and realized that he was the kind of person who lets out only a portion of what he feels. She urged him to speak his mind. So Ryan said this about their kiss: "It was like a maneater getting a taste of human flesh. I want more." Akriti couldn't help giggling. Ryan looked away, feeling embarrassed. Akriti tapped his hand and said, "Lets get out of here. Let's take a drive. Maybe show me your place."

As they got into the cab to get to Ryan's place, Akriti looked at Ryan and couldn't decipher the expression on his face. So she placed a hand on his arm and said, "Ryan, I have major trust issues. And that's why me going home with you right now is a statement. A statement of how I perceived you. I really hope you are who you seem to be." Ryan smiled. And then he told her about a really traumatic childhood experience that had made him fear intimacy. He himself was feeling surprised that he felt so comfortable with her. At this point, they held hands and didn't let go until they reached Ryan's place.

Akriti looked around when they reached and the place like a typical bachelor's place, scattered and dusty. She picked up the broom that was lying on the kitchen floor and started sweeping the living room floor. Ryan had gone to the washroom to wash up and found Akriti cleaning when he returned. He tried stopping her, even cracked a Monica-from- Friends joke to dissuade her, but she didn't stop till she had sweeped the whole room.

Ryan's room was cozy and soon, Akriti and Ryan were seated on the bed. "Movie?" Akriti asked. "Sure", Ryan said. And then they kissed. When they broke from the kiss, Ryan asked, "What genre?" Akriti replied, "Horror" and they kissed again, this time harder and with more urgency. Ryan put on Netflix on the TV and selected the horror genre. And then they kissed some more.

Ryan rested his back on the couch and Akriti rested her back on his body, as the movie started. Ryan had his hands around Akriti's waist and kept placing kisses on the back of her neck. Akriti closed her eyes and tried to commit this moment to her memory so that she could re-live this moment whenever she wanted to. She again felt that air of hesitation in Ryan's movements as he caressed her waist and tummy stopping abruptly under her breast. She traced a heart on his palm with her finger and turned her face to kiss Ryan. This was one of those perfect moments you read about in romance novels.

By the time the cheerleader died in the movie, Akriti and Ryan were wrapped up in an embrace, kissing, touching and nibbling at each other's bodies. They tugged at each other's clothes and got them off, exploring each other's nakedness with child-like enthusiasm. When Ryan started licking circles on Akriti's belly, she squirmed and shivered and grabbed Ryan's hair and pulled him up to place the softest of kisses on his lips.

The seemingly hesitant and nervous Ryan was showing some expert manoeuvres, that got Akriti thinking about his past experiences. She started making a mental count of his love interests (the ones that he'd mentioned) in her mind. The thought was cut halfway through as he found his way down to her "lady garden" and a crazy wave of arousal hit her body. "Thank God for his previous experience," she gasped to herself, as she writhed in pleasure. And Ryan seemed to be enjoying every moment of it too.

In moments, Ryan had taken Akriti off the edge. He seemed to derive pleasure from pleasuring her and boy, she was loving it. He would stop in between and come up for a kiss, his lips tasting like her. He seemed insatiable and kept heaving heavily as he kissed every part of her body making those strange grunts every now and then that were like some primal mating calls.

A while later, as they lay together, she asked him if he was for real. "Ask me again in a few months," he answered. Akriti smiled, getting the drift of what he meant and kissed his chest as she lost a bit of her heart to this charming stranger. As the evening came to a close, Ryan and Akriti fell asleep in each other's arms. That was the beginning of the rest of their lives.