Humsafar .

seven

,ANAAYA X HASSAN

Anaaya thought she was simply dreaming for a moment as she heard soft snores from her right.

So Mr perfect snored at night? Great. She would have to buy earplugs now. She couldn't sleep much the whole night. It felt awkward for her. To sleep in a bed that didn't feel like hers, beside a man she didn't know.

A man she desperately wanted to know. She thought about the kiss they shared last night. Or kisses, ofcourse.

Hassan had started from her forehead, a simple kiss there, just to make her feel comfortable. She had kissed his cheek then, silently telling him that she wasn't nervous or scared or uncomfortable because of him.

He had planted a kiss on the side of her neck. She had giggled. So Hassan came to know she was ticklish.

It wasn't awkward at that time, it was sweet. Funny even. It only turned awkward when slowly and gradually they leaned in to kiss each other on the lips.

He had leaned in too slow and she had leaned in too quick. He had wanted to plant a small kiss on the side of her mouth while she had gone straight for it. So they did it once and it was weird.

Then, they laughed.

They tried, again. Another awkward attempt. Hassan wasn't the one fumbling, infact he was confident about everything he did. Anaaya wasn't ever this awkward but somehow she had managed to make it awkward.

So finally, in their last try, Hassan and Anaaya both thought 'f**k it' and went for it.

That was their perfect first kiss.

She sighed looking at the time on the table. 11.00 am.

She turned around, only to see Hassan sleeping soundly on his back. She thought about getting up and ready but she didn't want to go downstairs without him.

She stood up from the bed and walked towards the door that led to the terrace. She opened the blinds first, rays of sun hitting her eyes. She unlocked the door and walked outside.

She leaned across the rails and saw the commotion downstairs. Several cars were parked inside and outside their home.

She could hear the laughter of the guests and could even smell the breakfast.

Her stomach growled a little, reminding her of how hungry she felt. It wasn't untill a hand touched her shoulder that she realised someone was behind her.

"Mornin" Hassan greeted, his eyes half swollen and his face half sleepy.

He leaned against the railing and looked at her. She smiled murmuring the same greeting.

"Slept okay?" He asked.

"Yeah, kinda." She mumbled back.

Hassan yawned, still feeling unrested. He could only imagine how tired Anaaya must feel. He knew she didn't sleep much considering she kept twisting and turning the whole night.

He felt father weird, having someone sleep on his bedside.

"Shouldn't we go downstairs for breakfast?" She questioned as she saw more and more guests.

She figured there was a huge gathering. Which meant she had to greet everyone with a smile.

Fuck.

Well, atleast she won't be the only one.

"You're right, why don't you get dressed up and I'll go take a shower." He suggested.

Anaaya merely nodded whispering an 'Okay, yeah'

As Hassan entered the shower, Anaaya decided to take out her dress.

She wanted to wear a black velvet Shalwar Kameez with her favourire fancy dupatta, but she remembered her mother's instructions. Don't you dare wear black, Anaaya.

She had repeatedly been told by her mother not to make an impression like that. Black wasn't considered the most appropriate colour for a newly wed bride, Anaaya could give zero f***s about that but she decided not to rebel today.

She chose an aqua colored dress instead. As she got ready for the breakfast, Hassan had already came out.

He wore his clothes in the dressing room and perfumed himself. Anaaya did the same and looked at him, all dressed up.

"Ready?" He questioned.

"I am." She affirmed.

"Come," He put a hand on the small of her back and the couple started to walk downstairs.

Anaaya felt nerves as she took each step towards the crowd. As the couple arrived, all the guests stopped chattering and stared at them instead, making Anaaya feel even more awkward.

She wasn't a shy person, but some how, so many Lahoris in one place had managed to intimidate her. She pressed herself a little closer to Hassan, his familiarity being the only comfort right now.

"Salam, mama." Hassan greeted his mother as she walked towards them with a huge smile. She hugged her son first.

"Finally, thought you both will never wake up." She remarked and then moved on to meet Anaaya, hugging her affectionately.

Anaaya was taken away into a crowd of women as she got introduced to each and ever relative.

She felt suffocated already but managed to sit down calmly. She played around with her breakfast, only drinking the orange juice at first. It was only after she saw some biscuits on the table that she decided to eat. She took a bite of the cookie and looked at one of Hassan's cousins who had been staring at her for way too long.

"You looked very nice yesterday." Zeenat complimented. Anaaya smiled murmuring a grateful thanks.

"I hope things don't get awkward between us." She said. Anaaya frowned slightly, gulping down a sip of the juice.

"Why would things be awkward between us?" She asked her back.

"You know, since Hassan was supposed to marry me, first."

Anaaya felt confused. Not because she didn't know about this already, she did. Hassan had mentioned it once. It was gross. Bur what she didn't understand was the fact that his cousin was out here talking about it on the first day of their marriage.

She was smart enough to understand the motive behind her 'innocent' words.

She smiled at her.

"Hassan thinks of you as a sister, you're like my sister in law. Why would things be awkward between us?"

She smirked as she saw the reaction on Zeenat's face but didn't say anything after that.

It was only after a while that Hassan and her went back to their room. She packed up her things as she had to reach the salon in a few minutes and he continued typing on his laptop.

She was still packing when she heard Hassan question her.

"Anaaya?" He called her out.

She looked at him with a raised eye. "Hmm?"

"Was I your first kiss?"

Oops.

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