Page 41 of A King's Oath

“What do those backbenchers call this phase… bombing, right?” He asked between her kisses.

“Love bombing,” Ava clarified, busy kissing his cheek which was slowly turning darker with some hair growth. “Showering a new partner with excessive attention, gifts and time.”

Samarth pulled her head back — “Alright, we are not new. We areonly.”

“Hmm,” her mouth stretched.

“And I don’t know how to get gifts you’ll like yet but in time I will. But my time is yours. As you can see.”

“And kisses,” she demanded.

“Oh, I am a Gujarati, Ava. I’ve kept count of the number of kisses you gave me. Get ready for me to pay my debt.”

Her mouth dropped open. Before she could open her mouth, he grabbed her ponytail, got on his haunches and smacked his mouth down on hers.

9. Who Do You Talk To?

Seasons changed, months unravelled in front of his eyes, the rolling green hills of Saraswati Crest began to turn ruddy with autumn foliage. And he observed all this for the first time because he was with Ava. Because he wanted to hold time and stop it right there. Because he knew that after this year there was just one more for them to spend like this. Once they finished standard 10th, they would have to go their separate ways, at least, temporarily.

She to Gwalior, him to Nawanagar. She was interested in going to a design school, he was ready to pursue anything as long as they offered Polo infrastructure, which left him with Maan bhai’s alma mater in the UK. He knew that time of temporary separation was a while away, but Samarth had learnt early on to think, anticipate, prep and make sure he was ready to bend with the winds or turn and fight back if he could — to make life easy for everybody involved.

Now, as autumn was bidding goodbye to the hills and the Himalayan ranges cocooning them began to freeze with icy trails, Samarth absorbed the deep biting breaths and tried to finish his Geography homework. He sat cross-legged on their spot, the fencing breaking up the view in front of him, the grass chilled under him. He made a mental note to start bringinga blanket for Ava. He could manage this with his full-length woollen pants, she wore skirts.

Samarth glanced down at the homework — Topography map plotting. He sighed, string in hand. He was unsure why he needed a string to measure the distance between two places on a map when he already had a ruler to do that! For this very reason he had come close to flunking the Geography unit test. It had been abysmal, so much so that he had been ashamed of even telling his Papa. He had never been ashamed of telling him anything.

“What’s my bae doing?!” Ava tumbled down over his hunched shoulders, pushing him into the homework he did not understand one bit of.

“Don’t call me that,” he grumped, putting his pen down between the pages and snapping the book shut. Samarth reached back and pulled her in front, holding her sideways in his lap, bag and all. He pushed her hair off her face and stamped his mouth on hers. She wound her arms around his neck and straddled him, opening her mouth and kissing him back. Her lower body smacked over his, and she moved. She had learnt to do that recently, and he hated as well as loved what it did to him.

“Somebody is on fire today,” Ava sing-songed, pushing back.

“I hate Topo!” He ranted.

“What’s to hate?” She pulled his cheeks. “You just have to create a mind map of the symbols, liken them to something interesting, and remember their names.”

He glared at her — “Don’t be all perky about it. Logos and symbols are your thing.”

“What’s your thing then?”

“You,” he smirked.

“Try and think about Topo half as much as you think about me and maybe it’ll be your thing too,” she flicked his forehead.

“Don’t stress me out, Ava.”

She gave him a soft, knowing smile, then leaned in to tenderly kiss his cheek — “You’re not as bright as they say you are. Come to me, I’ll teach you.”

That brightened some of his glumness. Learning Geography from Ava had two benefits — 1. Actually learning Geography and 2. Officially spending time with her in the main campus area.

“If you insist…” he tried to play hard-to-get. She grabbed his throat in both hands and shook it, making him sputter. He had also started sputtering and snorting like her in these months.

“Today I have practise in the evening. Come tomorrow to my room after 8.”

“Room? I thought we’d meet in the library.”

“Why? Are you scared of being alone with me?”

He kissed her jaw — “Very. What if you eat me? And… why would we be alone? Where’s Kresha and Kirti didi?”

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