I can't stop staring at her. I can't stop admiring how fucking sexy she looks in her mustard low back gown, the colour doing wonders against her tan complexion. The tiny straps which hold up the dress, combined with her pulled up in a lazy ponytail at the top of her head leaves her shoulders and neck completely exposed. I can see her concentrating on her mascara as she stares at her reflection, her eyebrows scrunched and eyes comically wide.

She looks like a goddess.

My legs move on their own accord and I stand right behind her, placing my hands on the sides of her waist. Through the mirror I see her slightly shutting her eyes, her skin erupting in small pebbles of goosebumps. I smile and move my hands ahead, wrapping around her waist fully and pulling her back into my chest. She gasps slightly as I bend down and place soft kisses along her exposed neck. Smirking against her skin, I lightly suck a spot on her neck. It doesn't register in Ali's brain what I'm doing instantly, but the minute she realises, she jerks and turns around in my arms.

"Nay, no," she chides. She's trying to act mad, but I can see the teasing look in her eyes.

I smile wider and lean towards her, "Nay, yes."

She rolls her eyes and continues, "Don't forget we're still with family. They absolutely can't see anything resembling a hickey on my neck. All hell will break loose."

I lean a little more towards her, her eyes quickly flitting over my lips and back to my eyes, "We don't want that, do we? Will this work then?"

"I don't see any harm in this," she breathlessly replies. I smile and close the gap between us, capturing her lips with mine for probably the hundredth time since our first. There's something addictive about her, so much so that her kisses are becoming oxygen to me. I can't seem to stop, and I don't even want to. Not now, not for a long long time, if she allows me. Her hands tangle in my hair and I pull her impossibly closer, conveying my unsaid words through the intensity of my kiss. She smiles against my mouth, her lips stretching wider and pulls away, looking into my eyes. I look at her, her face flushed, eyes glowing with happiness and I can't help but peck her lips yet again. She chuckles and makes the motion of getting away, but I hold on tighter, making her glare at me mockingly.

"You know we have to go right?" she says, buttoning up the top buttons of my white shirt and fixing the collar of my grey blazer. Her hands automatically move towards my pocket square and I have a small deja-vu, as she did the same thing in the morning. So much changed in these past few hours, but nothing about us seems different. In fact, we're more comfortable, more relaxed. We're now more than friends, and I don't even try to contain my glee. I watch her fixing my pocket square with unadulterated concentration and I can't help but smile even wider.

"Did I tell you that I really really like you?" I start. She pauses and looks up through her lashes, her lips pulling into a smirk.

"I don't recall you saying anything like that," she teases. And even though her tone is light and flirty, I know that she's nervous, judging by how she lightly started bouncing on her heels without even noticing it when I said it. Because yes, it's the first time I'm admitting it to her.

She's not the only one nervous tho, my own heart beating like it has just run a marathon. But for some reason, I can't bring myself to be scared about the future, or the fact that the person standing in my arms might be the only one I want in them for the rest of my life. Because even though it has been only 2 months since I met her, and not even a minute seconds since I confessed my feelings towards her, something in my gut tells me this is real. That what I'm experiencing for the first time in almost twenty-two years isn't just a fling or a temporary thing. We are real.

And that calms my heart down a bit.

"I like you Grasshopper. A lot. I think I have for a while now," I say to her honestly.

Her smirk turns into a gentle smile and her right-hand cups my face, her thumb tracing miniature circles on the inside of my jaw. I lean into her touch and she speaks after a minute of running her eyes over my face, tattooing my every singe imperfection into her memory, "I really really like you too, Nay. I think I have for a while now."

"You better," I say and she lightly slaps my arm. I quickly peck her forehead and finally let her out of my arms, already feeling like I lost a part of myself.

She quickly readjusts her dress, hair and retouches her makeup slightly. I grab her clutch in my hand and extend my other hand towards her. She places her hand in mine effortlessly, almost as if we've been doing this since ages. Intertwining our fingers, I bring our hands up to my lips and peck the back of her hand. Locking the door behind us, careful to grab our key and put it into my blazer pocket, we walk towards the elevator and press the button to call it up. We chat aimlessly about anything and everything when the elevator doors open.

And our jaws drop at the same time.

Because in the elevator are my brother and Aliana's cousin, lip-locking in a frenzy.

"What the fuck?" I say out loud involuntarily, which causes Maverick and Dhruv to jump apart as if they've been burned. Maverick turns to look at us and I see his face go white, staring directly at me.

"N-Nathan?" he stammers. The elevator doors start closing automatically and I pull Aliana in the elevator with me. The minute I'm in the elevator, I grab Maverick by his collar and push him against the elevator wall.

"Nathan what are you doing!" Aliana exclaims from behind me but I pay her no mind.

"How could you do this?" I sneer at him. I glance at Dhruv from the corner of my eye and continue, "And you as well! How did you not think twice before doing this?"

Aliana looks at me as if I've grown two heads and I grow confused by her reaction.

I look back at Maverick, small tears glistening in his eyes, "Nathan, I was going to tell-"

"How can you fucking cheat on Aliana's sister!"

I see Maverick's expression change to confusion, the confusion in me growing tenfold. I look back at Ali and I see her mirroring Mav's expression.

What is happening?

"That's why you're mad?" Mav asks me and I let go of his collar slightly.

"Yes! You're cheating on Madhura! Your DATE! And you Dhruv," I glance at Dhruv who has an amused expression on his face, "she's your sister! How do you think she'll feel when she finds out?"

The elevator dings, alerting us of reaching our floor and the doors slowly start opening. We see a few guests standing outside, ready to get in. Just as the doors are about to open fully, Aliana pushes the button of the topmost floor and the doors roll back shut. I hear one of the ladies scream out in surprise and jumping back, not wanting to be crushed by the closing elevator doors. As soon as we start moving again, I sent an incredulous look to Ali, who disregards it.

"So, let me get this straight. You're mad that Mav and Dhruv cheated on Madhura. Not at anything else," she says.

Rolling my eyes, I reply, "I mean, obviously. How are none of you bothered?"

"So you don't mind the fact that you just witnessed me making out with a man?" Mav asks from behind me in a small voice and I turn around to look at him.

"Why would I be mad?" I question back and I see his face relax considerably. That's when it clicks in my head.

Maverick never really officially told me that he liked men.

"Oh no no! I'm not mad that you like men! That's not even a valid reason to be mad," I exclaim.

He just shrugs and hangs his head, "Well, judging by the first few seconds, I really had thought that you wouldn't accept me."

I sigh and roll my eyes, "Why do I need to re-accept you? I've accepted my fate which says I'm gonna be stuck with your sorry ass for the rest of my life. So you like men. Big deal. Doesn't change who you are."

He smiles and walks towards me to hug the crap out of me when I put my hand ahead of him, "Nope. You're still an asshole for cheating on Madhura."

He then grins sheepishly, "We're not dating, far from it actually. Even though I like both girls and boys, she's strictly into girls. Good for her honestly."

My eyes grow wide and I look at Aliana, who looks like her suspicions have just been confirmed. Dhruv clears his throat and we all turn to look at him, who has been standing here silently this whole time.

"I suppose we're going to the roof then?" he asks and Aliana smiles sheepishly.

"We couldn't go in with unresolved matters now, could we?"

On that cue, the elevator dings again and the doors open to the most magnificent roof I've ever seen. Small golden lights are hanging around the various plants along the borders, overlooking the shining miniature lights of the city ahead of us.

Aliana and Dhruv leave first, and my brother and I linger back. She turns to give me a questioning look. I quickly throw her a reassuring smile to communicate with her that I'm fine. She nods before walking away with Dhruv.

Maverick and I walk out of the elevator and wordlessly stop a few feet away from where Ali and Dhruv are standing. A light cold breeze causes us all to shiver lightly and I watch as Dhruv removes his jacket and wraps it over Ali's shoulders.

"Do Mom and Dad know?" I ask him without even turning to look at him.

"Nope," he says, popping the p. I turn to look at him now and I see my elder brother nervous, scared for the second time in the last 10 minutes, making it the first-ever day that I've seen my brother show any emotion other than happy or angry.

And it almost crushes my heart. Because no matter how much we talk shit about each other, we're brothers, and it's never a pretty sight to see your elder brother on the verge of tears.

"Why?" I ask.

He shrugs and turns to me, "I never told you, but I was bullied in high school. Someone caught wind of the fact that I'm bi and it spread like wildfire. It was like fresh news to everyone in school, a new topic to talk about and dissect. They called me names, tried to-" he pauses as if trying to swallow down tears, "- corner me. I never really stood up to them. Not for a long time. But one day someone said something about you, that you were probably bi as well and how they were gonna make your school life hell. I was a Senior when all this happened, you were a Freshman. That was when I snapped. I never minded anything they said to me, I was pretty confident in my sexuality even back then. But I couldn't let you suffer. So I stood up for you, and in turn, I stood up for myself. And when I did this a few more times, they stopped bothering me altogether."

I look at him with shock, "So, you've known since you were a Senior?"

He nods, and I continue, "And you kept it from us all these years?"

"I couldn't tell you all. I was scared, I still am. I tried dating girls, the girls who you all knew. But I kept the boys a secret, never really showcasing them to be anything more than a bro."

I nod slowly and immediately pull him into a tight hug. He hugs me back, patting my back like he always does.

"Whenever you do decide to tell them, I wanna be there. I'm pretty sure they'll have the same reaction I had, and then we can all go out for lunch. Your treat obviously."

This causes him to glare at him, and I laugh, turning my eyes back to Aliana's figure. I see her engrossed in a deep conversation with Dhruv, causing a soft smile to take over my face.

"So, you and Ali, huh?"

"What?" I snap my neck towards him to see him smirking.

"I have eyes," he deadpans. I glare at him and look back at Aliana, who is starting to turn around and walk back towards us.

"We should go to the actual party now," she says as soon as she reaches us. Immediately, I wrap my arm around her waist and pull her to me.

Dhruv notices and looks at me, "Don't do this downstairs. Trust me, you don't want Aunties poking their noses into your business."

I nod and reply, "I'll try."

He smirks and moves towards the elevator again. When we reach the party, it seems to be going in full swing, guests dancing freely and happily on the dancefloor at yet another Hindi song which I don't recognise.

Aliana grabs my hand and pulls me towards the middle of the dance floor and starts copying some of the moves the guests are doing. Most of the moves seem like the guests know already, everyone changing their dance moves according to the beat. I watch Aliana twirling freely, making to my list of sounds-I-can-hear-for-the-rest-of-my-life. She urges me to dance along when the song changes to a slower one. Most of the older people stop dancing and move towards their tables to grab some water, leaving the dancefloor occupied with mostly youngsters. I smirk towards Aliana and pull her towards me, careful enough to keep a respectful distance between both of our bodies.

"I don't think anyone would mind me leading you into a dance, would they?" I ask, dancing from side to side according to the slow beat of the music.

"Nah. You're good," she replies, smiling widely. We hear heels clicking towards us, and we turn around to find Meera and her new husband walking towards us. Aliana gives me a sheepish smile and turns to her, engulfing her into a big hug.

"You're married!!" she squeals into Meera's ear, and I see Meera cringe lightly, the smile never really leaving her face.

I turn to the groom and shake his hand, congratulating him. He introduces himself as Advait. My futile attempts at pronouncing his name make him laugh. He shakes his head and tells me to call him Alex, as most people at his college ultimately ended up calling him as they had the same problem as I do. I shake my head no and try for a few more times before I nail the pronunciation. I practically feel the happiness radiating off him when I say his name correctly.

Almost immediately, we see Madhura walking towards us from the opposite direction. She's wearing a long grey gown with subtle glitter on it. Beside her is Apoorva, giving her sister extreme competition from a young age, wearing an off-white gown with a slit down her thigh and poofy sleeves. Both reach us and join Meera and Aliana in their own conversation. Dhruv joins the group, followed by Maverick and we soon find ourselves a part of a large group.

After a few hours of talking, eating, dancing and laughing our hearts out, Aliana's mom and dad join us, not looking their age. Both of them together make the most elegant couple in the entire room, ultimately making me think about how well my parents will get along with them.

"Alright, kids. Time to head back. Nathan and Aliana have to leave for college tomorrow in the morning, so they need their sleep. We both are tired as well. I'm guessing Maverick and Madhura have to leave as well?" Aunty questions them, gaining a simultaneous nod in response.

We get up from our table, bidding everyone goodnight and follow Aliana's mom and dad into our elevator. I look at Aliana, who's leaning on my arm slightly, her head on my shoulder, eyes closed. Her mom and dad look at her and back at me and smile. I catch her mother's gaze and mouth a thank you to her, to which she just winks and looks back at her husband, who's looking at us with amusement in his eyes.

The elevator reaches our floor, and we get off, both pairs heading in our respective rooms.

"Sleep well!" I call out to her parents, and they turn to smile at me.

"You too. Meet us for breakfast before you two leave tomorrow," Uncle says to me. I nod and bid them goodnight again.

They enter their room, reminding me to open our own door. I grab our keys from my blazer pocket. Aliana is still half asleep, so opening the door with her leaning against me is a bit of a task, but I succeed anyway. Quickly pushing us in and locking the door, I push her into the bathroom and make her sit on the edge of the bathtub.

"What are you doing? Let me sleep," she says groggily, barely opening her eyes. I smile at her and grab a makeup remover wipe from her makeup bag and lightly start wiping her makeup off.

"Who taught you this? Ex-girlfriend?" she whispers.

I chuckle and continue, making sure all her makeup comes off from the area I'm on, before moving to another part of her face, "My dad did."

"What?" She seems a little more awake now, curiosity in her eyes.

"Mom taught him and he taught both of us. He always said that if our girls fell asleep on us, we should know how to take care of them, like they would if the roles were switched. Of course, it didn't make sense when he was teaching us, making us the grumpiest students he could've ever asked for, but now I know what he meant."

Her face softens as I finish removing the last bit of the makeup off her face. Leaning down, I kiss her gently and slowly, making her respond with the same amount of lightness. When we pull apart, we both have giddy smiles on our faces.

"Did you have a good time?" she asks softly.

"I had the best time, Grasshopper. So much so that I don't wanna go back."

She chuckles and nods, "Happens with me every time I attend such functionalities. But this time, I had a much better time than I did before."

"Oh?" I ask her teasingly, "why is that?"

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe because a certain idiot finally managed to tell me that he likes me. No big deal."

I laugh and peck her forehead, "Get changed and come to bed quickly."

"Aye, aye captain," she mutters, giving me a mock salute. I roll my eyes at her and walk out, changing and jumping into bed. Within a minute, Aliana lies down on my chest, and I immediately wrap my arm around her, pulling her closer. I hear her soft snores even before I can say goodnight and I stare down at her.

Staring at her relaxed face, dark brown hair sprawled over her side of the bed and some of it falling in her eyes, I realise for the first time that the extent of my feelings might be a bit more than just like.

And I don't mind it at all.    

Hiya! It's a longish chapter, but so many things happened in it that I just couldn't stop writing. Anyway, how are you all? I really don't have much to say today, probably because of the fact that I'm dying with craps but that's a whole different story altogether. And yes, all the dresses are in my Pinterest. Just saying.

Anyway, question of the week then?

Q. Which is your comfort movie/