Sunshine girl

Kyra is beautiful when she is asleep. And now, as the first rays of the morning sun bounce off her earlobes, she's irresistible. I roll over to her side to caress the smooth skin of her neck and shoulders. She awakens at my touch and stares back for a moment before her eyes crinkle and her features dissolve into a warm, embracing smile.

“Good morning, dear.”
“Good morning,” she answers in a singsong tone.
“And what does my queen desire this fine morning?”
Kyra doesn’t reply, just shrugs and then squeals as I playfully yank her off the bed, setting her feet down on the carpeted floor.

She pouts and throws a pillow in my direction, missing by a metre.
“OK, first stop is the beach,” she says.
“Now? What about a nice, relaxing hotel breakfast?”
 “We’ll have it at the beach,” she insists and rushes to the bathroom before I could say no.

Kyra returns in five minutes, clad now in a beige bikini.
“Let’s go,” she announces and ignores my feeble protests as she tosses away my office BlackBerry. “All work and no play make Tony a dull boy, remember?”
I get up to follow her but she frowns.
“Do I have to teach you everything?” Kyra asks. “Take this off,” she says, pointing to my T-shirt.
“But why?”
“Is this your first time at a beach?” she prattles on as she helps me take it off. “Don’t you remember 'The Heartbreak Kid' where Ben Stiller’s honeymoon is ruined because his wife gets sunburnt and is stuck in the hotel room.”
“Yes, I do and I remember it works out well for Stiller since he meets the love of his life”.
“But this is real life,” she insists. "We are at a beach resort with a blazing sun and I don’t want to be stuck next to someone with red blotches."

Kyra rummages around in her bag and comes up with a yellow tube.
“Here, use this,” she says and hands it to me.
I squint at the label, undecided if I should use the Lakme Sun Expert SPF 50.
“Are you sure I need this? I’m Indian and I can’t get any darker than this.”
“You have skin. You are in the sun. Then you need this,” she announces in staccato.

As I hesitate, she grabs the tube, squeezes out a blob and proceeds to rub it across my chest.
“It tickles,” I whisper as she reaches up to my shoulders and starts on my arms.
Kyra laughs and finishes with a flourish. She stands back and gives me an approving glance.
“Now, you're all set for a day at the beach.”
I look at her standing there and I know this is the woman of my dreams and that I would do anything to make her happy.
“Just you wait, Kyra. I’m going to give you the time of your life.”
“You’ll have to catch me first,” she giggles and runs off.
I just have time to bang the hotel room door shut before I run after her.

(Contest entry for Lakme Diva Blogger contest www.facebook.com/ilovelakme )