& Then They Wed (Ampersand Love #2)

23. His Aditi

23

His Aditi

Rian

A week later, Rian sat in the courtyard of The Singapore Map, overlooking the calm waters of the Marina Bay. He sipped on his beetroot juice, staring at an absurdly adorable picture of the very person he had run from.

Aditi.

A day after their first intimate experience, he had left the country. Sure, one part of it had been the requirement of his presence for work to continue at The Singapore Map. But he'd also needed the space. He didn’t know what fear had possessed him because despite indicating that she’d been willing, he’d not been able to take their intimacies any further that night.

Years of random sexual encounters had not prepared him for the same thing with Aditi Krishnan. His pathetic attempt to put some distance between them so he could clear his mind and figure out why he had these reservations had only made one thing certain.

He liked Aditi. Far more than he had expected to .

He abhorred the way he’d behaved when she’d been on her date. The jealousy he’d experienced at seeing her smile at that moron had nearly maimed him.

Aditi had been right to be angry. Bloody hell, he was angry with himself too. He had pushed his own views on her because it had suited him. He hadn’t thought about the repercussions of his immaturity on the goal she’d wanted to achieve.

But he had not been lying about his motivations. He truly couldn’t watch her enter a relationship out of some ridiculous compulsion to meet her family’s expectations.

Her admittance that she had planned her life around having a family had floored him, however.

For the rest of the week, her words had weighed on him and her absence tormented him. Every trip he’d made to Singapore's famous food stalls or tourist spots felt a little less magical than before. He couldn’t help but think that it would be better if he’d been able to bring Aditi with him, just like their late-night jaunts around Mumbai.

On a whim, he’d parcelled her a traditional Singaporean dessert, waiting eagerly for a reply. Today, after forty-eight hours, he’d been rewarded with a picture of her gorging on the sweets, looking like an endearing chipmunk and wearing the pyjamas he’d also included as an apology gift. The sushi cartoon print had reminded him of her and he’d been unable to ignore his impulse to purchase something he knew would make her eyes crinkle, exactly like in this photo.

Sitting on their couch, she looked comfortable, happy, and at home.

Their couch? His lips tipped up, his sights raking over her again. Somehow, it seemed weird to say his couch anymore. His apartment, something he’d taken pride in, had become Aditi’s in a short time.

He closed his eyes, trying to recall the way his house looked before she had moved in, and he couldn’t. In his mind’s eye, he toured his home, noting her backpack in the front closet, the navy and beige canvas decidedly dull for a woman as lively as her. He canvassed the space, remembering the many books on the centre table, at least three different highlighters strewn about. He recalled his kitchen with her sitting on the counter top instead of the stool, swinging her shapely legs while she regaled him and Nanamma with her many stories, hands flying everywhere. Beside her, her colourful mug bumped up against his clean white one, infusing life into his orderly and staid home.

Aditi.

Like a call that came from his soul, her name reverberated within him. A jolt of longing more intense than anything he’d felt before shot through his senses.

He felt comfortable with her. He wanted to share the mundane moments with her as much as the exciting ones. Such feelings spoke of the kind of connection he had ached to have once.

A friendship, a situationship, or a relationship—Rian no longer knew the right term for what they had. Only one thing was certain.

She was his.

He needed exclusivity with her for his own peace of mind. Because he liked her. Truly, deeply, madly. He’d been afraid to admit it and it had held him back from taking her to bed that night after their argument. He’d been done with one night stands and flings for a long time already.

Sex with Aditi would never be something meaningless and non-committal. Whether they got serious enough for marriage, how soon they did, if she’d even accept him as a permanent option—these were not questions to which he had answers. He’d never had a girlfriend who’d lasted longer than a couple months. He didn’t know how relationships worked. But he’d figure it out eventually.

In the meantime, he was going to focus on what was most important.

Aditi. His Aditi .

As bright as the sun, as lovely as the moon, and as chaotic and mesmerising as the Milky Way.

With this in mind, he sent her a message.

Bugs Bunny (1:02 p.m.)

I’m ready to level up the benefits in our friend-situation-(callitwhateveryouwant)-ship

Chaos Doc (1:03 p.m.)

Was it the new PJs that did it for you or the mouth full of food?

The dull text narration on his phone only made Aditi’s response funnier. Rian laughed. And he laughed and laughed, planning all the ways in which he would rip those exact PJs off of her delectable body, counting down the minutes until he could make her laugh, sigh, and cry his name like he’d been wanting to for a very long time.