After that evening with Rakesh where I had helped him to jack off, whatever barriers were there between us crumbled. We had seen each other naked and we had shared some more secrets. It was like we were walking down a path of no return.
A few months later, my husband and I went for a holiday to Matheran, a place near Mumbai. With us were another couple who were also from our building. Rakesh was supposed to join us over the weekend. We spent a few days exploring the nearby areas in Maharastra. The first two days we explored the hills and enjoyed immensely. On the third day the other couple went back to Mumbai and Rakesh joined us . The three of us headed to a nearby forest area and stayed at the forest bungalow.
The next day was a Sunday and was supposed to be a rest day. But Rakesh was fresh and wanted to do some exploring. The caretaker of the bungalow told us about a temple adjacent to a hot spring in the midst of the forest. This temple was supposed to be very sacred for married couples- especially those who wanted children and were not able to conceive.
It all sounded quite exotic and Rakesh who was a ardent photographer was all set to go out by himself and to try out his new Nikon. The caretaker then told him that the temple was specifically for couples only – like some Mumbai Pubs where stags were not allowed!
However my husband was exhausted after all the driving of the last 2 days and wanted to sleep the day out. He was quite happy to have Rakesh take over. He knew we were quite close after that strip poker episode at home and surprisingly it did not seem to bother him. He joked that Rakesh could be my husband for the day and it was a husband's duty to take his wife out to this temple – so what if we already had children. Rakesh looked a little confused and unsure at this point but finally we two decided to go by ourselves. My heart was thumping and at the back of my mind was this thought about where this could all lead to.
We spent a pleasant few hours walking down the forest trail. Rakesh kept taking photos. We both were in a great mood. Rakesh was cracking jokes and would keep touching me on some pretext and after some time we ended up holding hands. Finally we reached the temple deep inside the forest. There was a small stream flowing nearby. The temple appeared closed and we were wondering what next, when a middle aged couple appeared. They were the temple priest and his wife. The priest said that he would open up the temple for us and in the meanwhile we should have a dip in the stream and come back as per the temple tradition. He then went away to the temple.
His wife took us down to their hut which was adjacent to the stream and she went in and bought out a cotton dhoti (sheet) and a white cotton sari. She gave it to us and told us take a dip and come back to the temple wearing just the wet clothes. When she saw the look on our faces, she asked us whether we knew the tradition of this temple.
"People come here to worship the goddess because they are not getting children. Only couples are allowed to worship here. They should first have a bath together in the spring water and come to the temple in the same wet clothes" she said. She then walked away towards the temple.
Rakesh and I looked at each other in embarrassment.
"Well, we have two options, either we both go back or complete the rituals" he said
I was in a dilemma. As I was in a buoyant mood I was willing to go through the ritual, but I was feeling guilty thinking about my husband.
Finally Rakesh said, " Look, no one back home is going to hear about this, so we may as well have a little fun."
I decided to take the plunge and pressed his hand. He held my hand and gave a smile. We both then walked down to the stream. Rakesh took off his jeans and tee shirt. He was wearing boxer briefs under.
He came closer, held me affectionately and kissed me on my cheek and on my lips.