There has always been something about my best friend that makes him stand out among everybody else. Ever since our friendship began to solidify, I saw something in him that I never saw in anyone else, even in the man I am married to. I have never been able to understand what that feeling is. I love my husband dearly but there’s a particular fondness that I have for my best friend. I never realised it before but now, ever since that incident happened, I know what it all means now.
Aakash and I met in our college days and we instantly vibed with each other. We had the same interests and were pretty humorous. We became best friends really fast because we felt nothing romantic at that time. Years passed and we remained the same. He made me really happy and there was a lot of fondness and care between us. He had countless relationships and I was there to support him through every breakup. I also had my fair share of relationships and he was there to help me get over guys. Eventually, in the end, I decided to go for arranged marriage because I was sick of looking for the perfect guy. And so, I married a nice, handsome man whom I began to love with time. He was patient and kind—and this is what I wanted in my husband.

I love him dearly but every time Aakash came to visit me or we went out together, my face lit up. My husband may have noticed this but he never made a big deal out of it. This one time, we all decided to go on a trip together and Aakash brought a woman he was seeing, on the trip with us. I never felt jealous of the women he had relationships with. But I had no idea that this trip would be a life-changing deal for me. We had a lot of fun together and even went on a jungle safari. But during one of the nights, we had a bonfire in front of our resort. We all got alcohol for the night and within an hour, we all got pretty drunk! It felt great to let loose and have fun. We sang songs and even danced. Then one moment, Aakash’s girlfriend went to receive a call while my husband went to get some things from our room. At that moment, Aakash and I were sitting together and I looked at him intensely. Without a second thought, I pushed myself closer to him and kissed him. I was really, really drunk and for a second, I felt that I enjoyed kissing him. But I pulled myself back and looked at Aakash; he was shocked. I just said, “forget it” and began having fun when my husband came back. That night we both didn’t say a word anymore.
The next morning, I went through everything only to realise that I wanted to kiss Aakash to know whether I have any romantic feelings for him or not. And surprisingly, I don’t. That kiss confirmed it. But what scared me is Aakash. He texted me saying he wanted to meet me. And so we did, quite briefly. He looked scared and he said quietly, “I didn’t realise you had feelings for me. I am sorry but I really don’t look at you that way. I never did. You are the most special person to me but my best friend. Please, let’s not ruin this.”

I happily smiled and told him what my intentions were. He looked relieved and we both heaved a sigh of relief. It finally gave me peace to know that I don’t have any such feelings for my best friend but only genuine fondness and love. But I also decided to not tell my husband about this because this would create unnecessary drama. And since the kiss meant nothing, it’s wise to not say anything, right?