‘You make me love myself,’ he said. ‘You brought me back. You have helped me become the person I used to be.’

He slid his hand between her legs, moving his fingers and thumb in a way that made her breath catch in her throat. He nuzzled her neck, nibbling and kissing his way up her earlobe. Radhika moaned over and over again. She gasped as he worked his way up her slick centre, losing herself in rediscovered pleasure.

Neither of them spoke, simply revelling in the feeling. Radhika had one hand on his shoulder, the other slowly stroked his back, from the nape of his neck to the base of his spine. She put her lips against his ear, whispering his name over and over again, like a chant, a song, a prayer.

When they finally came down from the high, she rolled into his arms and said, ‘I love you! Thank you for coming into my life, but you should’ve come sooner!’ With her hands balled into fists, she punched him lightly on the chest, like it was his fault they hadn’t met all this while.

‘I love you more,’ he said. ‘I feel like . . .’

‘What?’ she asked.

He remembered how she’d tried to elicit something more than just a ‘fine’ or ‘happy’ or ‘tired’ when she had asked him how he felt.

‘I feel as if I’m complete. When I’m in your arms, it feels like I’ve come home,’ he said and smiled. He’d been smiling so widely these past few hours that he was sure his face would ache in the morning.

‘I love you. I will always love you, more and more every day,’ he said.

11

Madhav sensed Radhika had got up when the bed creaked. He slowly came out of a deep slumber, feeling as though he’d gone to sleep only a few minutes earlier. But when he groggily opened his eyes, it was broad daylight and Radhika lay on her belly beside him, dressed for a jog. She cupped her face in her hands and beamed brightly.

‘I’m sorry to wake you up, Madhav. I know you slept very late but I thought you’d want to know.’

He blinked, yawned and asked, ‘Know what?’

‘That your mother called and I spoke to her,’ she said and dove beneath the blanket.

Madhav was up in a flash and yelled, ‘What?’

‘And she has invited us both over.’

‘Look, it’s the second of January, not the first of April.’ He couldn’t believe his ears.

‘She said she’s very happy to see you looking better these days and she wants to meet the person responsible for it.’ Pride filled her eyes.

‘What did you tell her? Did you tell her we slept together?’ he asked.

‘Madhav Mehra, I am not that stupid,’ she replied. ‘I told her there was a get-together at my place and that you and a couple of friends had stayed the night. I said I had answered the call as you were still asleep. Then she began asking about me, but it turns out she already knows a lot. I was a little embarrassed. She said I should come home with you.’ Radhika didn’t tell him everything that she had told his mother as she had a plan to enlist Mrs Mehra’s help during this visit.