Chapter 38

 Damn this woman gave him head ache. Trust her to completely screw things up for him when he was trying so hard to find some footing in a role that was completely new to him. He felt totally alienated as he wasn't used to running behind girls. Usually opposite was what happened. But today, searching the damsel in distress fell completely on him as the other two were utterly wasted from the local alcohol they slurped. Bottles together. He would never know how NK managed to snag a couple of local booze. His brother always surprised him.

 

Not that he didn't drink, but that stuff was pure vile and one sip made him close to vowing that he would never touch alcohol, which of course would be broken. Now that he was completely sober, fortunately or unfortunately, he had noticed Khushi running out from her tent into the wild and while he was convinced enough that she would be fine as she was made of stronger stuff, it didn't seem right that she would have the urge to go frog hunting in the middle of the night. Sighing to himself, he had got up and ran behind her to see where she was going.

 

The night was calm and peaceful but somehow he couldn't shake the feeling that this was the eye of the storm and he would soon be hit with the incoming blizzard like a freight train. Even then he ventured alone into the trial that most probably Khushi had taken, mulling over why he was so affected by what she was doing.

 

After three weeks of spending time with her, giving his pure attention to the smallest nuances of her, he had developed something massive for her that he was unable to give a name. It just existed, in the deepest corner of his heart. The place that no one had right to be except his Chippu...

 

Once the thought came into his mind, the realization hit him like a truck. This woman was startlingly similar to the image he had of his Chippu if she would have lived to this age. May be that's why he was getting pulled to her like the opposite of a magnet.

 

The guilt resurfaced again but it was pushed down with equal urge and intensity. He didn't know the reason but he found himself looking forward to spending time with her but she still resolutely avoided him, but that made the chase even more exciting. What was the fun in going behind something that you could easily attain. Her playing hard to get was the indication that she didn't give a damn about his name, fame or wealth. That itself was a huge certificate of her character. Pure, golden and one hell of an amazing one.

 

He looked up to see a star brightly twinkling and thought it was the approval of his Chippu. He knew he was doing right. He had earned the right to give himself some happiness and ironically, she was it. He liked her...well, there was it. He admitted it. He was fascinated by her no nonsense personality. He was enthralled by her boyishness. He sincerely admired her simplicity and he was totally attracted to her smile which melted all his worries like fire melting ice. She was sent to make his life green again and he wasn't about to lose that chance...

 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

The water below her shone like glass in the moonlight. It was tranquil, serene unlike her mind, turbulent. She often came to places which reflected the exact opposite of her mindset. It gave her a sense of reality and positive reassurance. Something that was needed every now and then in a situation like this.

Not that she went to a graveyard when she was ridiculously happy. No she wasn't that morbid. Sometimes when she felt she needed some peace of mind, she came to places close to her heart and sat there, contemplating and assessing her thoughts and moods and it mightily helped her to understand and reason her situation better and help find a solution to the problem.

 

Though, presently, she was at a loss to do anything.

 

Because a certain young man didn't vanish from her mind at all...

 

She was unable to get his laughter, the twinkle of his eye out of her mind and unless she was completely Arnav free, she couldn't think the possible solutions to the problem. Arrgh! Why was that man so damn insufferable.

 

She was so deep in thought that she was completely oblivious to her surroundings and quite obviously jumped a mile when Arnav said, "there you are!" and fell into the water with and loud splash and an almighty shriek.

 

"Oh freak!" Arnav yelled before jumping into the water himself. He didn't actually stop to consider that Khushi probably knew swimming, good thing as his entry had completely startled her and she wasn't still out of that zone to actually save herself from drowning, even though she knew swimming.

 

She was still spluttering and struggling to breathe when he reached her and held her waist tightly to stop her from sinking further. Kicking his legs, he pulled them both to the damp grass lining the lake and Khushi collapsed into a fit of coughs. Arnav got up, cursing, but crouched again when Khushi didn't seem to stop coughing. Worried, he placed a hand on her back and rubbed it, "you okay?"

 

Khushi who realized that Arnav was helping her, beat his hand and scrambled away from him screeching, "get away from me...!"

 

Arnav stared at her incredulously, "are you mad?"

"No you are," she replied scathingly, eying him with all the annoyance the world had. He narrowed his eyes. Seriously? He had just saved her from drowning and this is how he gets the gratitude. Now he was starting to get annoyed. "oh really? I wasn't the one who stood on the edge of the parapet to get startled and promptly fall into the water..."

"Did I ask you to come here?" Khushi snapped as she tried to get up, shivering madly.

 

Arnav who was trying very hard to control until then, lost it completely as he saw the irritation in Khushi's eyes. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her to him, making her crash on his chest, "No but I did...so get the point!"

 

Khushi inhaled sharply as the statement met home. Her eyes widened in surprise as the found the blazing ones of his. They had so much fire, so much passion in them that she felt weak to her knees just by looking at him. His face was so close to hers, his breath fanned her face. His jaw was ticking, stating plainly he was beyond annoyed this time and somewhere, in the back of her mind, a voice was warning her about the last time he had been this riled up. The memory of his lips crashing on her burned into her mind, completely engulfing her as they both stood, breathing heavily, shivering against the cold wind that was blowing. Thunder boomed far in the sky and Arnav chose to break the agonising silence between them, "Why?

 

Khushi gulped. She freaked out completely as she realized she perfectly understood in what context he had asked the question. Uncannily, somehow, they were connected and could read each other perfectly. That unnerved her to no ends. Even though she knew what he meant, she decided to play smart, "What?"

 

Arnav gave her an odd look, confirming her theory of reading each other, but he still asked his question anyway, "Why do you run away from me? Do I intimidate you so much? Why can't we be friends?"

"I am not sure whether what is going on between us can be called friendship," she said meekly, trying hard to pry him away from her and her life. She had had enough of suffering already and didn't need more to shatter her heart.

 

He made an aggravated noise,  "come on Khushi! Why do you have to be so stubborn about everything?"

 

Her head snapped up at the comment and the demure Khushi took a backseat, "look who is talking... I am stubborn?"

"Yes, you are..." Arnav said smoothly, "you are so stubborn that even though you have noticed me staring at you like an idiot you chose to avoid me."

 

A gasp escaped her lips before she realized her mistake. He knew it? He knew she knew? How did he know? He seemed so concentrated on getting himself not caught by her, how did he notice the knowing? Shit!

 

"Are you surprised?" he asked, his voice unpredictably benign for someone who was ready to steam a few moments ago.

 

Her silence was enough to answer his questions. His hands found her face as he cupped her chin and angled it so that she stared at him, "I notice everything about you. I am not an idiot to believe what you want me to believe. I knew long before that you knew. Yet you chose to be indifferent. Why?"

 

Khushi struggled to escape from his grip but his hands found hers once again and he twisted them behind her and held in it with his hand while the other crept back to her chin, tilting it upwards so that she had no escape, "answer me..."

"Can we please not have this conversation?" she begged when she realized she was out of ways to escape him and simply wanted nothing more than to avoid this confrontation.

 

"No..." he said resolutely, all the while staring at her with his molten chocolate eyes. They were absolutely captivating.

 

"Please..." she begged again.

 

"No. I want to know what is bothering you," he said simply, "I want to know why you act so unconcerned about me when we both know that is not the case. You observe me exactly the way I do. So suck up your attitude and answer my question. What about me makes you want to run a mile away even though half the time you are busy staring at me, trying to analyse me."

"I don't stare..." she whispered. Arnav scoffed, "oh please, Khushi Gupta. Try using your lies on someone else. Not me."

"I don't want to answer anything," she said again, harshly and tried to escape from his clutch again, but the hold just got stronger. He was staring at her with such intensity that she forgot to breathe. She was practically plastered to him, with no space between them even for air. Her eyes met his, once again and got lost.

 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Thunder boomed again and lighting accompanied it this time. The troubled, lost souls just stood there, staring at each other when it began to rain. Even though drenched to skin, Khushi didn't feel the cold as the warmth from the man holding her was enough. Oddly enough, this moment reminded her of the first rain dance she had shared with her Rinnie back all those days when they first learnt dancing. She was eight. He was twelve...what days they were.

 

The memory was enough to trigger her emotions and without her realising, her tears mixed with the rain water as they flowed down. It was raining so hard that it was almost impossible to tell that she was crying yet somehow, he knew. His thumb rubbed her eyes as he posed the question, again, "what is bothering you. Why do you always run away from me."

She had no answer. She just knew she wanted to stare at the heavenly eyes of his forever. She just knew she wanted this because she felt home in his arms like she did the night they both shared a kiss. She knew somehow that this was meant to be.

 

"I don't know..." she whispered, in spite of herself, "I don't know... I really don't know but I do know that I can't run anymore."

 

He smiled, a genuine heart warming smile, "then don't..."

"I guess I won't..." she whispered again, standing on her toes to reach his forehead and angled hers against it.

 

Arnav closed his eyes in sheer bliss this moment brought to his troubled heart. Her head against his symbolized something very deep. The way Chippu met his forehead after the first dance. He smiled as left her hands and moved apart. Khushi looked at him, questioning, as he extended his hand, "can I have the pleasure of a dance?"

"There's no music..." she whispered.

 

"You don't need music when you dance with all your heart," he whispered back, extending his hand again. She smiled slightly as her hand met his and he pulled her to him, again and they began to waltz around the lawn, with the rain water and the thunder providing them with music. It felt so perfect, so magical, so pure that she didn't protest even a heartbeat this time when his lips met hers in a slow, languid, full of emotion kiss.

 

She didn't know how long they stayed there, neither did Arnav. Time stopped as the two childhood sweethearts met again against all odds and even though they didn't know at the moment what the other was to them, they revelled in the presence of the other. The burden was finally off their hearts. They truly had become close to each other...