Please read the previous stories in the series - Sexy wife, sexier sis-in-law Ch. 1, 2 and 3.
Ayush finally opens up to Preethi about his personal issues. It wasn't anything new. She thought to herself it was the same old story about the marriage never being the same after a few years. It's commonly called the 7-year itch. Most couples begin to feel their personal life has become less exciting and more mundane. Then there is always the stress of work, familial responsibilities; adding a a few cherries on top of the cake of despair.
"I don't know if it was her or me, but we just don't seem to have the same spark as we did before..." Ayush's words brought Preethi out of her thoughts.
"Everything was great until a few years back. We were doing so well, it seemed like we were going places, you know!" He said more to himself than to her.
Preethi tried to not look bored. She wondered if all guys somehow have a script they blindly follow. Ayush then talked about how the "spark" between him and Madhu died out over the years. Now with a kid they both were more focused on being good parents than being good partners. It just seems like life has reached a stand still, where every day is the same. There isn't any excitement anywhere.
He desperately wanted to do something to pull himself away from the mundaneness. Stealing Preethi's panties felt like an exciting idea and he finally gave into his impulse.
Preethi listened to Ayush patiently. She felt like he was trying too hard to justify his lust. She believed that lust is so human that it rarely needs justification. The only exceptions nonconsensual sex or molestation.
"So you were looking for excitement..." she said to him. "I can understand. I may be newly married compared to you both but I too feel the burden of that mundaneness on me."
"Why? Don't you enjoy your life with Siddharth?" Ayush asked puzzled.
"I do! Don't get me wrong. I love him and I am happy to be with him. He's understanding, supportive and sensitive..." she said back.
"But? Something's missing? Right?" he filled in the blanks.
"I guess. We have been very adventurous. We traveled a lot, tried many activities we always wanted to and all that. We even explored so many sexual fantasies and role play," she told him.
"Wow! That really does sound exciting," he almost felt jealous.
"Oh yes! Our sex life was great. But there's a part of me that always wanted to try stuff, you know?"
"What kind of stuff?" He asked.
"Something like what you did," she grinned. "No offense, I wasn't trying to make you feel uncomfortable."
"It's okay, I have accepted what I have done, I am now comfortable with it," he said with some pride.
"Is that so? That's good! I don't think it's anything to be ashamed off," she said supporting his decision.
"So you too want to take my underwear and masturbate with it?" He teased her back.
"Nice try. But, no. I wanted to use that as an example," she smirked back.
"So what do you want to try then?" He was genuinely curious now.
"All the time while we were growing up we had this conservative sticker plastered on our heads. I feel like we have never been allowed to explore and understand who we are as a person," Preethi said in a sad tone.
"I agree. I grew up being afraid of all the sexual thoughts I used to have. I would pray to God every day to not take me to hell because I had some sexual thoughts on some girls from school," he said half recollecting his teenage memories.
"Oh God!" She laughed. "See, it's stuff like that. It's natural to have sexual desires in that age. But instead of trying to understand them, we were brain washed to reject them and guilt tripped to make us feel bad."
"I know! I can never forget how frustrated it made me feel; battling the voices of my family against my own voices," he said with a frustrated tone.
"I can totally understand. Marriage seemed to be the only escape. Get married and you can do what ever you want after that, was the mantra I heard from my parents through my teen years and my early 20s!" she exclaimed.
"I think almost everyone follows the same mantra. So many people want to get married so they can be done with their parents's constant nagging," he said knowing all too well.
Preethi started to empathize with Ayush now. He seemed to have gone through similar experiences growing up as she and her sister did. But she knew Madhu was not so keen on being adventurous in life. She has always been some one who looked for stability.