Page 70 of A Lab Rat's Guide to Fated Love
“Everything’s going to be okay.” Vir stood and wrapped his arms around her. “I love you. I’m not going anywhere. I promise.”
Nori buried her face in his chest, looping her arms around his waist. She was probably squeezing him too hard, but she didn’t care. She’d hold on to him harder if she could.
“The answer is love,” Vir stated simply, after taking his seat once she’d loosened her grip on his poor waist.
“What?”
“Why the dosas turned out better than that diner’s.” He gave her a smug, lopsided grin. “Well, that, and a blob of snot that accidentally fell into the pan earlier.”
“You’re gross!” She snorted, pushing her plate away.
“Okay, okay. I’m joking.” He laughed, sliding the plate back towards her.
Vir laced his fingers through hers and planted a light kiss on her knuckles. And as he did, the knots in Nori’s chest began to dissolve. Like fizzy little chunks of aspirin in water.
He didn’t let go even as they ate, tearing pieces from his dosa and putting them in his mouth with his left hand, while the fingers of his right one remained firmly intertwined with hers.
“What are you thinking?” Nori asked, watching him smirk to himself.
“I never saw any real benefit in being a leftie,” Vir answered with a wink. “Not till now.”
Eighteen
The Original and the Ugly Copy
April 2019:
Kochi, Kerala
Vir
Time flowed differently with Nori. Slow,unhurried, but also faster somehow.
In a blink, spring had arrived, bringing with it later sunsets, warmer winds, and a subtle collective shift overall Vir could only describe aslife.
Nori stopped a few feet away from him with her hands on her hips to stare at the rapidly transforming horizon ahead. Strokes of lavender and pink shifted over a canvas of pastel orange, getting more prominent as the sun dipped further into the sea.
“Isn’t there something deeply melancholic about sunsets?” Nori said, dipping her toes into the foamy ends of waves as they lapped at her feet. “The sky looks so sad. But also beautiful. And hopeful. And warm.”
The soft, vibrant ripples that bubbled out of her too often these days announced the same thing over and over. Happy. In all its shapes and formsand depths and colors. He had always assumed happiness to be a flat, singular emotion, instead of the vast spectrum he now knew it was.
And it was contagious, too—herhappy.
“Warm,” he whispered, looping an arm around her. As he leaned in to brush his lips against her temple, he sensed her mood switch even before the words left her mouth.
“Let’s hop in!”
“Not again.” He dropped his arm.
“Come on! It’ll be fun.”
The tips of Nori’s fingers swished by his arm, barely missing him as he ducked away from her in time. It had been fun. For the first few times. But it was nearly impossible to get her out of the water once she was in.
“It’s getting dark. And I’m hungry.” He shook his head, pretending to walk away slowly.
“Hungry? Let’s order takeout from—”
As soon as her guard was down, he whipped around and scooped her in his arms.
