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Rana slowly walked around the unit, his eyes looking for ways to climb up the balcony when he sensed movement at the upper level. No one was supposed to be there except for her.
A moment later, the person he was dying to see stepped into his view, looking out into the open space. She was looking away from him, but he could tell something was bothering her, and that suffocated him. Whatever it was that was, he wanted to make it go away.
“Namrata,” he called out, but it came out as a whisper, making him wonder if she heard him.
A moment later, her back stiffened, and she slowly turned in his direction. He looked up into her eye,s and the moment he met her gaze, she let out a sob as if she had no control over her emotion. She looked at him and a moment later, he saw tears rolling down her cheeks.
“Namrata, what’s wrong?” he asked, and when she didn’t move and broke into sobs, he couldn’t take it anymore. He used the metal rods and pulled himself up into the balcony and stood looking at her as she fought tears.
“Rana… I…” She was struggling to speak, and he was convinced something was terribly wrong.
He took one long stride and pulled her into his arms, holding her to him until her sobs subsided. He waited patiently and pulled back to look at her, but she kept her eyes lowered.
Without another word, he gently kissed her forehead, but she did not move. She sniffled, and he gave her the space she needed. When he felt the shift in her body language, he pulled away, his finger going to her chin.
“What’s wrong?” He kept his eyes on her.
She fought another sob. “My… my architecture project got rejected.”
He chuckled, somewhat relieved that it wasn’t any of those thoughts he had imagined. “And? You are going to mope around like this over a project?”
She shook her head, looking into his eyes. “The project… it was my ticket to extending my exchange student status for another semester, and I… if I don’t,” she was struggling to speak as she fought another sniffle. “I don’t want to leave Simha. I don’t want to be away from you.”
Rana felt his chest grow warm, and he smiled broadly as he held her to him. “Stop with the waterworks.”
“Rana, you have no idea how hard it was to get into Simha. I had to fight my family to be here for one semester and hoped to extend another semester, but—”
“Chill, Varma,” he teased.
She pouted. “I don’t like it when you call me Varma.”
He smiled. “But I love to see that fire in your eyes when you are annoyed.”
Her eyes narrowed at him. “Did I tell you, you’re crazy?”
“Crazy about you.” He gave her a quick hard kiss and added, “Let’s go celebrate Holi. I’ll help you with your project. Simha University likes a tigress like you who fights for what they want to achieve.”
“Really?” She hugged him, relieved suddenly.
He nuzzled her cheek. “For all the practice you gave me, the least I could do is work with you on your project, especially when it’s about a bike race course.”
“Did anyone tell you you’re perfect boyfriend material?” she teased.
“Nope, but I know that already.” He pulled her to him to sweep her feet off the ground. “Wait till I throw you into the pool, dip you in color, and show you how Holi is celebrated at Simha.”
*****
Later that evening, she sat by the fire watching him grill the shrimp he bought on their way to the beach. They made it back to the housing unit from the Holi event and could not get their hands off each other, and right when they were in the middle of a hot and getting-out-of-control engagement, her roomie and cousin came back.
They planned at that moment to get away from their housing units and spend some one-on-one time together somewhere private. While she showered, he gathered a few things from his place to camp on the beach to spend the evening with some privacy.
She was amazed when he brought her to what seemed like a hidden beach with an alcove that was like a nature-built vacation spot. She was amazed when he stepped between two rocks that looked like a stone wall and led her a few feet into a private space.
The inside of the alcove was open to the sky and was a hidden sanctuary. He set the tent right in the center and was quick to get everything set up for them to spend time there.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” He chuckled, rolling the food over the fire.
Nami looked away feeling shy about being caught staring at him. “Nothing.”
