22-06-2025, 02:45 AM
The Ride Back – Closer Than Before
The sun had slipped slightly westward, and the shadows on the road had softened into long streaks by the time Abhi and Varnika stepped out of the café. The noon crowd had thinned, and the road in front of them stretched out dappled with peepal leaves and half-dried puddles.
Abhi unlocked the scooter and glanced sideways. “Ready?”
She tied her hair up higher this time, her fingers nimble and casual. “Hmm,” she said
Slinging her small sling bag to the side. “Let’s see how wild your driving is now that you’ve been fed.”
He laughed. “I’m always a safe driver.”
“Liar,” she murmured, mounting the seat behind him.
She took a second longer this time before settling.
And then her arms
Hesitant just a breath ago
Slid around his waist with a new familiarity.
Not tight. Just... confident.
Natural.
Her cheek was close enough to the back of his shoulder that he could feel the faint warmth of her breath when she exhaled.
Abhi blinked once, twice.
His pulse jumped.
He gripped the handle and kicked off, slower than usual.
The first few streets passed in quiet rhythm
The gentle hum of the engine
the light whoosh of air against their skin
The jingle of bangles when her arm shifted slightly with each bump.
Then came the first pothole.
It wasn’t large
But it was sudden.
The sun had slipped slightly westward, and the shadows on the road had softened into long streaks by the time Abhi and Varnika stepped out of the café. The noon crowd had thinned, and the road in front of them stretched out dappled with peepal leaves and half-dried puddles.
Abhi unlocked the scooter and glanced sideways. “Ready?”
She tied her hair up higher this time, her fingers nimble and casual. “Hmm,” she said
Slinging her small sling bag to the side. “Let’s see how wild your driving is now that you’ve been fed.”
He laughed. “I’m always a safe driver.”
“Liar,” she murmured, mounting the seat behind him.
She took a second longer this time before settling.
And then her arms
Hesitant just a breath ago
Slid around his waist with a new familiarity.
Not tight. Just... confident.
Natural.
Her cheek was close enough to the back of his shoulder that he could feel the faint warmth of her breath when she exhaled.
Abhi blinked once, twice.
His pulse jumped.
He gripped the handle and kicked off, slower than usual.
The first few streets passed in quiet rhythm
The gentle hum of the engine
the light whoosh of air against their skin
The jingle of bangles when her arm shifted slightly with each bump.
Then came the first pothole.
It wasn’t large
But it was sudden.
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