Natasha

Warning- You might fall more in love with Rithik in this chapter. ❤️ Happy reading!

* * *

When I left Rithik and Vansh to their own devices, I expected Rithik to return an hour later. Except, he was two and a half hours late.

“And here I thought you were gonna have a sleepover at his house. Did you two get along that well?” I said, only to notice a slight discolor on the side of his left cheek. I rushed to touch it, my eyes fumed in anger. “What the fuck?! Did that douchebag smack—”

“Relax! It's just one hit, Nat. He only wanted to make it even,” Rithik said, nonchalantly with the wave of his hand. I followed him to my room where he started changing his clothes. “Dude was a pain in the ass in the beginning but loosened up later on. He even took me to a game parlour nearby.”

My lips turned into an O. “Wow, so, you're like friends now?”

“God, I hope not, but it doesn't hurt to be friendly,” Vansh retorted when I made the same statement, the next day while also scolding him for hitting my man. Irfan was also seated besides since he wanted to grab all the gossip on the past few days like a typical aunty. After taking another bite of the chicken, Vansh added. “Take your man out, will ya? He came for you. Also, who breaks up like that?”

“Breaks up like how?” Irfan intervened.

I groaned in annoyance. “So he brought you to his side, too? Just fucking great! What next? The whole of Boston is going to conspire against me?”

Vansh snickered, pointing his spoon at me. “Maybe. I even told him about that dirty, little game you played with me in the beginning. Rithik said it was so like you, since he fell victim to it. In short, we had a bombastic time bitching about you.”

I let out a dry laugh. “No wonder he was talking about that trivial bet this morning. Can't believe you're still hung up on that. Are your balls still blue from my lack of action?” 

Vansh's grimaced. “In your dreams.”

“Maybe you should meet Rithik again. You too, Irfan. One can never bitch about me enough.” I smirked.

“True, but I'll pass. I have better things to do at home.”

“Like jerking off?”

“Natasha!” Both Irfan and Vansh called out in unison, making a disgusting yet amusing face. In the end, I always had the last laugh. Ha, ha, ha!

* * *

One day Kylie sat down with Rithik and me to have dinner. Usually she would be inclined to give us space but today she didn't. What was she planning?

A few minutes in, I realized I might be wrong. Kylie simply wanted to chat. She asked Rithik about his career and family. He described his longtime plan of starting his own business. Although, for now, he and Shailesh were running a gaming website. Shailesh was doing the coding and design while Rithik was handling the marketing and SEO to derive traffic into the website. They even hired a content writer for writing gameplay reviews of the latest playstation games. The website had garnered a substantial amount of views, though it wasn't enough. However, he made it clear this wasn't his major line of work but a side business of sorts. I was appalled. I didn't know he progressed that much. So that's what he was doing when I found him engrossed in his laptop at times. My fault as I was too busy and hung up on myself to ask. I congratulated Rithik and wished him the best for his success. I meant it.

When the last bite of the salad was finished, Kylie wiped her lips with a napkin and cleared her throat.

“So Natasha, I'll jump straight to the point—Why do you want to break up with him so badly?”

“Eh?” I blinked twice.

Rithik rubbed his palms together in excitement. “Oh, yess! This is gonna be interesting.”

“No, I just wish to know. Look, if this would have been one sided, I would have abided, but it's not. It's clear you love him and wish to be together, yet you are not. As far as I've seen Rithik-” She briefly glanced at him, shooting a smile while he nodded enthusiastically. “He seems like a green flag. Not to mention romantic. Not anyone will travel to the other side of the world after you ditch him like that.”

“Thank you, Kylie. You are a true pal.”

“Geez K, stop making me feel more guilty. I don't like it.” I said weakly with my head hung low. I was about to get up from the seat when Kylie held my hand, stopping me.

“It's just me and him, N. I won't tell the girls. I won't judge you either. You can talk to me,” Kylie held my hand, looking me in the eye.

Crap! Something came over Kylie and she was determined to get it. I sighed, giving up. Henceforth, Rithik and I told her about our relationship, specifically when things started to get bumpy. The mafia-like fued with Raj; the drama that ensued with Rithik's bua when she caught us, his questions about marriage all the way to the letter I wrote before leaving.

Kylie tapped her chin in thought, her brows knitting. “Hmm, I agree, it's messy, but not irredeemable. It can be addressed. Rithik- you said it was difficult to convince her to date you.”

“Yeah, stressful,” Rithik answered, his voice strained. “I knew I was up for rejection if I'd asked her out before. I pretended to joke I loved her, just to gauge her reaction. I was always figuring her out. Always treading on thin ice. Then again, she was never interested in dating to begin with, but I could tell she liked being with me. It's like she's commitment-phobic.”

“Oye, I'm right here, you shitheads!” I deadpanned.

“More like emotionally unavailable. That's what I'm sensing throughout the 온라인카지노게임. Why is that?” Kylie dodged my comment, jumping straight to the gun. “Yes, I agree, relationships are scary. It's like taking a leap of faith, but we still take it. All of us desire someone special by our side. Have you been hurt in the past?”

“Nah, this has been my first, serious relationship.”

“Well, she's been hurt by her family quite a bit...”

“By her family, how? She rarely talks about them. How are they like?” Kylie turned her attention to Rithik, her expression showing curiosity.

I leaned my head down the table, feeling uneasy with the direction this conversation was going. Despite throwing daggers at Rithik to warn him, he went ahead and told her anyway. Atleast the things he knew about my parents. Great, just great! Perhaps he should announce it to the whole world what a fabulous family I have and how spectacularly they have raised me. I trained my eyes on the floor, hoping it would swallow me from this ridiculous scenario.

“If that's the case, it explains a lot of things,” Kylie spoke after listening. When she glanced at me, I jerked my head away, sulking. “You like to be in control. It makes you feel safe and protected. Just like your casual relationships in the past. You're not losing yourself in the process. However emotional intimacy is everything you stand against for- to the point where it becomes your defence mechanism. It stems from your deep-rooted fears from home where you couldn't get the emotional stability you needed as a child. You were probably betrayed in some way. So now you're too scared to open up and get hurt again. It's a form of insecure attachment style.”

“How...?” That's all I could say, slightly hugging my elbows.

Kylie smiled nervously, “I studied a bit of psychology, actually. However, this is just my take.”

“Well, of course you did!”

“Okay, but surely she can trust me by now? After all we've been through,” Rithik cut us off, glancing briefly at me before turning to Kylie.

“She trusts you that's why she dated you,” Kylie replied. “I don't think the breakup has to do with you in particular, Rithik. It's more about her... or your families? I think her encounter with your relative triggered something that only she knows. I guess running away was like a fight -or -flight response for her then. A survivor's behaviour.”

So Kylie did study psychology, alright. Her words seemed to resonate with me. I had an urge to thank her but not like this. Not when she was out to expose me, even if it was out of goodwill. The so called psycho- analysis of Natasha went on. I mostly tuned out of the conversation until I couldn't take the bullshit anymore. I briskly walked away from the room. Thankfully, Kylie let me.

“I think this step back could benefit Natasha. It would give her space to confront her fears and feelings once for all, without the pressure of your relationship or marriage...” I heard the distant voice of Kylie saying to Rithik, which brought a content smile on my face. Finally a person who understood.

Surprisingly, Rithik didn't pester me later that night. In fact he barely talked to me at all. I stretched my hand on the length of the bed where I laid. It was empty and cold.

* * *

I fluttered my eyes open to the sight of Rithik sleeping comfortably next to me. Streams of morning light fell from the gaps of the curtain, making his silhouette shine slightly. It did something to my heart. Something warm and fuzzy. Before I knew it, I reached out to grab his large hand and lay it warm against my cheek. His eyes blinked open when my lips brushed against his palm. I kissed it gently.

“Hmm, morning, love...”

His sheepish voice did it. I closed the distance between us and slipped my arms around his waist.

“What's the matter?” His voice coursed gently while his hand stroked my hair.

I nuzzled against his bare chest, remaining mum as my eyes stung with tears. I blinked them away. Rithik sighed in resignation, embracing me back. I simply wanted to sink his presence into my being. The more he was around, the weaker my resolve became to stay away. Just spending a night without him was making me hysterical. Like missing a pillow on a bed. Damn him! He shouldn't have bothered to come. Now I don't know how to stay away from him, without my heart breaking to pieces.

“Why didn't you sleep here? I was waiting for you, dummy!” I finally spoke, pouting. “Were you angry?”

“No, no, babe. Sorry, my mind was preoccupied. I missed you, too and came around four,” He said, caressing my face, followed by a kiss on my forehead.

“Good,” I pecked his cheek and we shared a weak smile. “Let's not spend time away from each other while you are here.”

Rithik opened his mouth, but then closed it, “I agree. Skip office today.”

“I want to, trust me!” I whined. I thought for a while, taking out my mobile to check the calendar. All clear. I grinned cheekily at him. “Let's go on a short trip this weekend. Just the two of us.”

His eyes lit up. “Now we are talking! Where? New York?”

“Fine, but overrated.”

“Miami.”

“That's just beaches and nightlife.”

Henceforth, we fished out our phones to search for probable places for the trip. Problem was, there were too darn many and it was hard to single out one. We neither had a surplus of finances or time to visit multiple cities at once. Still, we took a risk by choosing the city farthest away from Boston. Most probably, we wouldn't visit the US ever again, so if we wanted to go, we had to go out with a bang.

To Los Angeles.

I issued an extra day off from the office for Monday and set out for LA on Saturday. I even shamelessly borrowed some money from my rich ass friend. Of course I promised to return it to her. Natasha wasn't a gold digger.

~

Skyscrapers, palm-lined trees and the freeway under the California sun welcomed us to the glamorous city of Los Angeles— The city of dreams. Rithik and I were finally here after six hours plus flight.

Rithik had a slightly different perspective though.

“Holy shit, it's GTA V all over again! This is the inspired location from the game,” Rithik said, marvelling over the surroundings as we walked on the famous street of Hollywood walks of fame. He pointed his finger towards a dark grey skyscraper, his brown eyes twinkling. “I swear Natasha, I saw the exact same building! I played this shit with the Snorlax's PS4.”

“Yeah, yeah, we get it, GTA fanboy. Now can we fuckin' move on?” I said but then, I stole another look at his giddy face and jumped to kiss his cheek. That got his attention.

“Nothing. You looked too adorable just now.” I replied, smiling and linked my arm in his. Rithik mirrored my smile with a bigger one in return. There was something about this situation that was making me extra giddy inside. And why not? If you'd told me a year ago that Rithik and I would be walking under the California sun, I'd laughed my ass off. But here we were. It was real. I stopped when we turned to another street, turning on the camera of my mobile. “Come here, Rith. A selfie.”

Rithik readily draped his arm around my shoulder, pulling us close and raised my mobile above. We adjusted our sunglasses, grinning. It was a perfect click.

Hollywood Boulevard was famous for its pricey name and entertaining attractions. After exploring the walk of fame and eating, we visited the World of Illusions. We signed off from the day after watching a spectacular play at the enchanting Chinese theatre. It was an otherworldly experience.

By the time we reached the hotel after dinner, we were too fucked up for carnal activities. We simply changed our clothes and dozed off.

* * *

“Something on your mind?”

Rithik's gentle voice came from behind as I stood at the balcony of our hotel room, watching the morning sun rise. One could hear the screeching sound of the seagulls and the ocean waves, bringing a calming effect. I turned behind to face Rithik with a small smile. “I feel like going to the beach.”

“Let's go then.” When I didn't answer, he cupped my cheeks, casting a sincere look. “We won't swim, baba. We'll just sit under the umbrella and watch hot chicks in their bikinis.”

“Hey!” I slapped his shoulder, smiling.

“Including you.” He winked. I couldn't help but see him gape at me in awe. When I silently asked what, he took my hand and kissed my knuckles. “You are looking ethereal in this blue white dress. Keep wearing this for today.”

“It's a new dress I bought from Boston when I went shopping with the girls.” I informed myself while looking down at my dress reaching slightly above my knees.

“They are a nice, entertaining bunch. Your friends.”

“Yup, love those bitches.”

An hour later after breakfast, we reached Venice beach. It was an iconic place in LA, bustling with people and activities. There were street performers, shops, sand murals and what not. We first drove through the scenic bike path with a double seater bicycle, lined with sand and palm trees. After that we went for a little shopping. Rithik bought me a cute pearl necklace while I bought a cool rope- like bracelet for him. We purchased some other cheap souvenirs before heading to the main beach.

After clicking pictures and posting stories on Instagram, we laid down the mat on the sand and sat under an umbrella. We decided to do sightseeing. However a few minutes later, I felt obligated to say. “You can swim if you want, Rithu darling. Don't stop on my accord.”

“Nah, I'm good besides you.”

I sighed. It took a while to convince Rithik to swim. I didn't want him to miss out because of my cowardice. I even accompanied him to the edge of the waters. He held my hand the entire time we splashed our feet against the water and squealed in joy. It was nice, feeling the soft sand submerging under my feet and the cold sea water washing it away. I stole a glance at the sea of happy faces— from couples, friends and families, having a water blast without a care in the world. What would it do to possess that joy, without fear? If only, if only I...

“Babe, let's go,” Rithik voiced out, pulling me out of my reverie as I looked at him, aghast. Did he read my mind or what? “You want to swim in the water, don't you? I can see that longing in your eyes.”

I drew out a sigh, “I want to, but I can't.”

“Of course you can. 'Cause I'm here with you this time. Here,” He said, extending his hand towards me. “We'll walk slowly and steadily. The moment you feel uncomfortable, we go back. Deal?”

I stood there contemplating for the longest time, fighting with words in my brain that refused to move. I took a once over at the surroundings and then, at Rithik. While I was in my hot aqua bikini, Rithik looked rugged in his dark beachwear shorts. His tattooed chest was glistening under the sun. Fuck me! How the hell one could say no to that?

I took his hands.

From the outside looking in, one would envision him to be a parent teaching a toddler how to walk. My heart was in the mouth as we moved deeper. My feet were entirely dipped in seawater now. I tried not to think. It wasn't easy. Not when the voices inside your head screamed at your eardrums. Especially not when the old memories threatened to resurface. Fear gripped me like black insects crawling under my skin, rendering me prisoner. The hollowness of the sea reminded me of the suffocation and terror inside the tub. That godforsaken tub! It is what happened every time I slipped into the mass of water. Every. Single. Time.

“No, no, no, I can't, I- can't! Let's head back.” I shook my head violently between my hands, my voice breaking. I raised one leg after another to walk towards the shore. I was resigned to giving up, but Rithik insisted on trying again. He believed I'd be able to make it. He was a hundred percent sure. After five minutes, we tried again.

And again and again. Same result.

“You still didn't realize?” Rithik said like it was bloody obvious. My brows furrowed while he shook his head. “We walked a little deeper each time we tried. The water reached a little below your knee. You were successful.”

“I was?”

“Yeah, now get up and have fun this time! I know you can do it, babe.” He grinned, pulling by my arms to stand me up from the sandy ground. It had nearly been an hour since we tried. Just how much patience did he possess? I expressed him the same. He winked. “Save your thanks for later tonight.”

As usual, Rithik took me by my hands as we stepped into the blue waters. The water level reached above my ankles. My heartbeat began to palpitate, my pulse sped up. I tried to focus on him as he talked about sea gulls to distract me. Just then, I heard a loud howling sound of the waves, forcing me to squeeze my eyes shut.

“Don't close your eyes, Nat. Look here,” Rithik's voice called out from the dark. I fluttered my eyes open to a scene, welcoming me like a gush of wind.

The clear blue sky, the golden specks of sunlight, the endless aqua sea. And in the middle stood Rithik— his hands paving up the path for me like a lighthouse. Droplets of water dripped down his face, his muscled arms and his brown chest. Even now, he looked so darn ravishing, this man. His eyes crinkled as he grinned down at me.

And just like that, I felt invincible.

He took me further and I let him. He could take me to the ends of the earth and I would happily tag along. That's how invincible I felt. Like I could accomplish anything with him by my side. That's how much I trusted Rithik.

Now I did say he could take me anywhere, but not literally. I resisted walking further and we stopped, except for the incoming waves that swayed our bodies like a breeze. Andrèline coursed through my veins, driving me into a frenzy high. I tried not to overwhelm myself with the fact that the length of my legs were fully immersed in water. Perhaps Rithik could sense my unease as I felt his finger grazing the side of my face. I looked at him again. My worries swallowed instantly.

“I cannot believe this! Oh my God!” I said, my face turning up with the biggest smile on my face.

“Me neither,” He mirrored my smile.

To a normal person, getting partially dipped in water wasn't a big feat, but to me, it was no less than paragliding. Believe me, even now my body was screaming to get the hell away from here and hide under a blanket. But this time, the joy overpowered it. It won.

“Wohoo!” I exclaimed, feeling exuberant joy from my being. I did the next amazing thing by letting go of one hand and throwing splashes of water on Rithik, making him squint his eyes and cover his face on reflex. His beautiful smile never left, not even for a second. He started splashing water my way, though I warned him not to overdo it. Was this happening? Was I truly here playing with water like any normal lad? I was smiling, I was tearing up, I was laughing. My emotions were all over the place. I ached to be here for so, so long. It was like a dream come true. All thanks to my darling next to me. 

“Shit!” I cried as a slightly bigger wave swooshed us by, propelling us to sway away. I nearly lost my hand holding Rithik's, leaving me frantic. Before my fears came back to life, two strong arms enclosed around my bare waist, lifting me up. I blinked my eyes open to see Rithik's head below me, his eyes twinkling. Relief washed over me as I exhaled, my feet dangling off the waters.

“Told you, I would catch you if you fall.”

“You did,” I wrapped my bare arms around his neck. I took another look at his sparkling face and I fell in love all over again. “You did something I never thought would be possible in this lifetime. You made me alive, Rithik. Thank you! I'll never forget this.”

“It was all you, love. You and your courage. I simply stood by your side. I'm so proud of you, baby,” He answered, his eyes looking more brown and lucid under the sunlight. I didn't know how else to show my gratitude other than to dip my head towards his and speak the language of our lips, inhaling in the salty scent of sand & water around us. His back arched as his arm covered around my back while he kissed me, just as fervently. His lips tasted soft and refreshing like mint. Rithik lowered me down when we parted, never leaving his dazed eyes off me.

My hands were still circled around his neck. I kissed his cheek. “I love you so, so much, Rith. I think I fell in love with you all over again.”

“Funny you say that 'cause I love you harder. I love you, too, sweetheart.” He shot back and we brought our wet lips together, our hearts beating in sync. It was ethereal, kissing while feeling the water swaying beneath you. I was floating high on clouds. I closed my eyes, burning this memory into my eyelids.

Love. It truly conquered everything.

~ ~ ~

Not long after, I started hyperventilating and we had to return to the shore. I wouldn't say I overcame my fear completely. I'd still shit myself if I ventured alone. Regardless, it was mighty progress. Rithik and I rested for a bit under the umbrella before we headed to the shower to wash the sand off our skins and change our clothes.

Needless to say, Venice beach took most of our time. It was already 3 PM by the time we finished lunch. We headed to the last stop of the day-- The Griffith Park.

* * * * * *

The song is Seasons of Love- Shiny Toy Guns. I was able to think of their beach scene because of this song. It just popped in while I was listening one day and everything made sense once again. 🥰

I'll share a playlist of this 온라인카지노게임 one day. All the songs that helped me through this book. 🎶

I wanted to showcase their whole LA trip but thought it might become longer so I pushed it to the next chapter. Personally, this was my favourite chapter. ❤️ What are your thoughts? Comment below.

Here's an image (not all accurate but close)

Don't look forward to the next chapter. 🫣😓