"Hey Amar! Boss has asked me to go to Bangalore for three days on an official tour yaar!"
Sneha going on tour? This was interesting! Why would boss ask a married woman to go off on her own to Bangalore for a tour? It generally didn't happen; specially not in his company.
What piqued Amar most though, was the fact that the expression on Sneha's face was rather unexpected. She wasn't worried, she looked excited instead!
"Guess what I said..." Sneha began and then paused; she broke off mid sentence as though something had suddenly occurred to her.
Amar leaned closer as he looked down at that portly face screwed up in thought behind large rimmed spectacles. He had gotten into the habit of dropping by her desk every day to spend a few moments talking to her; "Checking in for my daily attendance" he called it in jest. Work was getting gloomier each day and he found meeting her was a welcome diversion.
Amar had been fantasizing about her for a decade now. They had joined the company together as graduate engineers along with twenty others. His objects of fantasy changed every few days, but Sneha was someone he never tired of using to prep up his imaginary sex life. Something about her being a batch-mate and married to a senior in the neighboring company tickled his mind; the more obvious reason was the fact that she was one of the very few women he came across each day in his work-life. The fact that she was rather on the heavy side did not deter him either; in fact, he found plump women very sexy.
"Something wrong?"
Sneha's words startled him out of his thoughts. He had to be more careful... he couldn't afford to be caught ogling her, like he was doing now -- staring at her lips. He hoped guilt did not show in his eyes when he looked up. A brief shake was all he offered and she continued her story.
"Jeez! I hope I was not presumptuous, but you know, I was scared to travel alone. I haven't been out alone ever. So I told him that since you went so often to Bangalore, I would accompany you for three days when you leave next."
Amar's eyes lit up at this piece of news. Banished into the farthest depths, was any vestige of boredom!
He didn't want to sound too eager now and fought a successful battle to hide his excitement. Three days & two more on travel-all alone with Sneha! Now that was welcome luck! He'd exchange ten winning local lotteries for this opportunity any day!
While he strived to outwardly look as though he was giving it some careful thought, his mind frantically searched for a reason good enough to get him to Bangalore. She had to think it was preplanned.
"Yeah, I was going to go there next week," he said, "but I've got to see if I can advance that." He paused again, as though in deep thought. Just how short a wait should he gun for without sounding too eager?
"Two days from now OK with you?" he asked at last. His own mind answered --that's one day too long!
A smile broke out on Sneha's round face. All pearly teeth showing, she said "That's great! I was worried I would impose on you."
Oh! If only she did impose more! Amar wished.
"You didn't have any important plans did you?" she continued.
Amar allowed a smile. "Nothing I cannot handle. Nothing that cannot wait. It would be a pleasure to be of help to you."
Sneha looked relieved and wanted to jump into making arrangements. "We have to fill in travel plans, Right? Where do we get the forms? You must have a bunch..."
"Hey! Hang on, will you? I'll get them and we'll fill them up. There's no hurry!"
***
Lying wide eyed in bed that night, Amar could barely contain his excitement! They would be off on Monday, he thought staring up into the darkness with hands behind his head. Five full days with Sneha!
Their relationship had come a long way. He had known from the beginning that Sneha was not the run of the mill girl. Well placed sources -a close mutual friend actually- had let him know that Sneha often read those "open with care!" mails that guys gleefully sent & received. The advent of the mail-box had thrown open new doors that allowed a free and frequent exchange of pornographic material between guys given to an almost adolescent excitement of viewing erotica. For Amar, after all these years, that excitement refused to die down, being fed by the sheer variety of material available on the net. And Sneha had been in the habit of reading such mails! His friend had told him of how, after office hours, Sneha would browse through his mail-box with him standing guard outside his cabin.
Amar had tried to befriend Sneha then. But he never got anywhere significant. Over the years, her mentors had managed to fill her mind with negativity that made her view achievers like Amar with suspicion. Every thing he did well seemed to irk her for some reason and he had to carefully phrase his words to her to ensure she didn't assume wrong things. She was conditioned to believe that guys only got ahead by belittling others. "Put a man down & you look taller" seemed to be what she assumed was everybody's philosophy.
It was only over the last year that he had hit upon a means of systematically breaking down that impression she had built of him. Calculated words spoken at opportune moments had managed to change her view of him and paint him as a good hearted cherub (Amar took pride in believing he genuinely was that). It had taken a great many frank admissions and subtle manipulations to make her see that he was actually an innocent among the pack of dogs.
He had often bared himself to her inviting her sympathy. The success of his plan, constructed & modified along the way, lay in revealing a very strong moral fiber. He had to gain her confidence project that he really meant nobody any harm. Sneha was convinced finally that there was no shred of malice in him. She probably even took pride in having a 'special' relationship with him.
Amar turned to look at his wife peacefully sleeping beside him. It was not that he didn't love her. She was the love of his life. But he yearned for more. A more adventurous wife really did not qualify as better. Amar's wife, according to him, was the best. But he did rue the fact that a more open minded wife willing to experiment would have helped spice up his life more. He knew she wasn't mentally strong enough to tackle a more open approach to sex. His thankfulness to fate that got him married to his wife lay in the conviction that the possibility of finding a woman with an emancipated approach to sex while still having all of his wife's good qualities must be of the smallest probability.
But that did not mean he had to restrict himself --so long as he did not let any dallying affect his relationship with her. He found that a tall order; safeguarding his relationship with the love of his life meant that he had never ventured into any situation that had even an iota of potential to cause harm.
That brought him to this life he had built -- indulging ever so often in a world of fantasy.
The proposed trip with Sneha was a godsend. He would shore up experiences to bolster his fantasies. He had no need to safeguard against being caught blatantly ogling Sneha. Now that was one thing he had taken particular care of when at work. On this trip, being among strangers most of the time was going to allow him chances to take all sorts of liberties. He only had to be careful about ensuring he didn't spoil the relationship with Sneha. Their interactions these days were rather exciting.
Amar was ever on the lookout to enter into Sneha's personal space when around her. A casual touch, a whispered conversation with his face up close to Sneha's, breathing in deep of her scent when up close...these were highlights that gave him an almost unholy kick every time. Touching her had to be done ensuring that she never got a whiff of his intentions and he did manage to get by with enough such instances to keep him happy.
This opportunity was really a godsend.
***
The evening they had to leave, the company car picked Amar up first and proceeded to Sneha's home on the way to the railway station. They were to take the train to Kolkata, stay the night at a hotel and catch the early morning flight to Bangalore.
Sneha was standing at the gate with her husband and two small boys. Amar was well acquainted with Sneha's husband and had good conversations with him at every social gathering.
Now seeing the guy cheerfully waving them goodbye made Amar feel a bit guilty. But just for a fleeting instant.
Sneha was really excited and chattered away throughout the drive to the station. The car being big, Amar had to be content sitting a distance away on his side --but the train journey would be another thing. They were on the air conditioned chair car which had rather cramped seating. He was going to be sitting real close to her.
Further delight awaited Amar in the train; they were seated on the last row of the car. The bonus was that the third seat in their row and the three seats across the aisle were unoccupied!
The seats indeed were cramped --for Sneha. Amar, with only 120 lbs on his 5'9" frame, was comfortable enough with space to spare on his seat. But Sneha, weighing almost 140 lbs and only 5'2" tall, was squeezed into the window seat next to him.
Noting her discomfort, Amar said, "Sneha, this armrest folds back." Then pulling back the armrest between them, he said,
"Here, this will be better."
"Ah! Much better!" Sneha smiled, settling back into the seat. Amar was in bliss now; Sneha's left thigh rested along the length of his. The feeling of the two of them being wedged between the armrest on his left and the window to her right gave him a cozy feeling of togetherness. Amar was bathed in her perfume. More than her perfume, he loved to get a whiff of the natural aroma emanating from her body towards the end of a hot and sticky day at work. This tour was going to give him ample opportunity to experience that!
As they continued to talk, Sneha being a restless soul often shifted animatedly, brushing his thighs with hers every time. Amar, contrary to all his plans was surprisingly loath to initiate any other intimate contact. He had often masterfully engineered situations to place a palm on her arms or to initiate some other touch when he was in the office; but he surprisingly kept himself in check this time round.
In fact, it was Sneha who first placed her hands on his thigh when she was excitedly into discussing something. That contact seemed to break the dam and Amar was right back in original form, touching her at every opportunity.
