4 hours ago
Chapter 12 - Progress
The next morning the experiment officially began.
They stood in the kitchen with their coffee, the same way they always did, but the air between them had changed.
Tara spoke first, calm and practical.
“From today we don’t need to share every detail of how we befriend them. That was already in the rules.
Within a week I’ll show you some progress.”
Jeeva looked at her over the rim of his cup.
“Progress in what sense?”
“Progress like… we are friends. Maybe a coffee date.”
He gave a small sound that wasn’t quite agreement.
Tara put her cup down.
“One more thing. I think we should stop having sex for a while.”
Jeeva stared at her.
“What?”
“When we keep sleeping with each other, our minds stay satisfied. We won’t feel the real temptation properly. We should put ourselves in the worst possible scenario — keep the mind free, a little hungry — so the test becomes honest.”
“I’ve never heard anything so stupid,” he said flatly.
Tara smiled, but it was thin.
“Last month, when you went on that office trip, you told me the same thing. You said you didn’t want to have sex because you needed a fresh mindset to prepare a big proposal. You wanted to stay focused. Remember?”
Jeeva’s face tightened. He had no reply.
“That was business,” he muttered.
“And this is an experiment,” she answered. “Same logic.”
He leaned against the counter.
“What else do you have in store?”
“Nothing big. Just… the way you hold me at night, let’s continue that. I still want your arms around me.
And second thing — from today I need some private space. I’m putting a password on my phone.
Not because I’m planning to cheat behind your back. But to get into his zone I might go a little overboard in messages or calls. I don’t want you to see that and get irritated for no reason. I won’t look at your phone either.”
She glanced at his device on the table.
“Oops. You’ve already locked it with a new password.”
“That’s different,” Jeeva said quickly. “Company documents.”
“I know,” Tara replied softly.
Something in her tone left him unsettled.
That same day he decided he would find a way to check on her and sam, secretly and know truth by himself, at least once, without her knowing.
Almost a week passed.
They still slept in the same bed. He still held her at night. But there was no sex. Their conversations stayed carefully light. Both of them were clearly busy with people the other could not fully see.
On the seventh night, just before sleep, Tara turned toward him in the dark.
“Jeeva?”
“Hmm?”
“Here is my progress.”
She unlocked her phone and held it out to him.
The screen showed a single photograph.
It was taken from a short distance, slightly candid, probably by a café staff member.
Tara sat across a small table from Sam Arya. She looked shy, almost self-conscious, a small smile on her lips.
Sam sat relaxed, one arm on the table, body angled toward her. Even in the ordinary café light he looked warm, solid, muscular. The kind of presence that filled the frame without effort.
Jeeva’s pulse stuttered once, hard.
He stared at the photo longer than he needed to.
Tara watched his face carefully, waiting for whatever would come next.
The next morning the experiment officially began.
They stood in the kitchen with their coffee, the same way they always did, but the air between them had changed.
Tara spoke first, calm and practical.
“From today we don’t need to share every detail of how we befriend them. That was already in the rules.
Within a week I’ll show you some progress.”
Jeeva looked at her over the rim of his cup.
“Progress in what sense?”
“Progress like… we are friends. Maybe a coffee date.”
He gave a small sound that wasn’t quite agreement.
Tara put her cup down.
“One more thing. I think we should stop having sex for a while.”
Jeeva stared at her.
“What?”
“When we keep sleeping with each other, our minds stay satisfied. We won’t feel the real temptation properly. We should put ourselves in the worst possible scenario — keep the mind free, a little hungry — so the test becomes honest.”
“I’ve never heard anything so stupid,” he said flatly.
Tara smiled, but it was thin.
“Last month, when you went on that office trip, you told me the same thing. You said you didn’t want to have sex because you needed a fresh mindset to prepare a big proposal. You wanted to stay focused. Remember?”
Jeeva’s face tightened. He had no reply.
“That was business,” he muttered.
“And this is an experiment,” she answered. “Same logic.”
He leaned against the counter.
“What else do you have in store?”
“Nothing big. Just… the way you hold me at night, let’s continue that. I still want your arms around me.
And second thing — from today I need some private space. I’m putting a password on my phone.
Not because I’m planning to cheat behind your back. But to get into his zone I might go a little overboard in messages or calls. I don’t want you to see that and get irritated for no reason. I won’t look at your phone either.”
She glanced at his device on the table.
“Oops. You’ve already locked it with a new password.”
“That’s different,” Jeeva said quickly. “Company documents.”
“I know,” Tara replied softly.
Something in her tone left him unsettled.
That same day he decided he would find a way to check on her and sam, secretly and know truth by himself, at least once, without her knowing.
Almost a week passed.
They still slept in the same bed. He still held her at night. But there was no sex. Their conversations stayed carefully light. Both of them were clearly busy with people the other could not fully see.
On the seventh night, just before sleep, Tara turned toward him in the dark.
“Jeeva?”
“Hmm?”
“Here is my progress.”
She unlocked her phone and held it out to him.
The screen showed a single photograph.
It was taken from a short distance, slightly candid, probably by a café staff member.
Tara sat across a small table from Sam Arya. She looked shy, almost self-conscious, a small smile on her lips.
Sam sat relaxed, one arm on the table, body angled toward her. Even in the ordinary café light he looked warm, solid, muscular. The kind of presence that filled the frame without effort.
Jeeva’s pulse stuttered once, hard.
He stared at the photo longer than he needed to.
Tara watched his face carefully, waiting for whatever would come next.
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