Chapter 16

Khushi woke up to unfamiliar surroundings. She stretched herself and yawned while trying to recollect the previous day's events. Of course! She was in Los Angeles for Lavanya's wedding. It had happened the previous day and they had all been in the hotel's lounge where there had been music, fun, frolic, dancing, Arnav...

Oh my god! She had danced with Arnav last night! And that too in that very sensual manner... Oh dear! What was she going to do now? How would she be able to face him? Would her heart beat ever come back to a normal pace?

Such questions filled Khushi Kumari Gupta's mind as she got ready for breakfast.

...

There was a strange silence at the table as the six of them quietly ate pancakes and scrambled eggs. Anjali wondered what the matter was. Payal usually never spoke and Akash only joined in if he was directly spoken to. Arnav had always been a lost case when it came to conversation and Satvik had tried many times to start a topic but the person who usually replied had been sitting quietly and fidgeting with her food. Anjali wondered why Khushi was so silent and tried to think of what might have happened to cause it.

Just then her cell phone rang and she picked it up.

"Yes Lavanya, tell me. What? Sorry I can't hear you properly. Let me just go outside."

She came back in after a couple of minutes with a bright smile on her face.

"Lavanya's invited us over to their place for lunch and we're to stay for dinner as well!"

...

NK watched as his newlywed wife paced about the room wondering what she could possibly do. He smiled slightly and returned to his laptop. It was best not to disturb her when she was in such a mood. He was looking forward to the guests arriving. He would be able to talk to Satvik properly after a long time. Catching up with his school friend would indeed be a pleasant experience.

The doorbell rang and Lavanya walked up and opened it. She smiled widely at everyone and asked them to come in. She hugged Khushi, Payal and Anjali while acknowledging Arnav, Akash and Satvik with an amiable nod.

They had a simple lunch of sandwiches and soup and settled down in the living room to relax.

"Hope you guys will be able to digest everything in time for dinner because we'll be having a proper Christmas feast!"

"Really? I've never been to a proper Christmas dinner before. What's it like Lavanya?"

"Well Khushi we'll be having a huge meal of roast turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy and Christmas pudding! And we'll be playing an age old game. It's called spin the bottle."

Anjali's eyes lit up as she realized just what Lavanya had planned. This was going to be a very interesting Christmas dinner indeed!

...

At around six thirty, everyone gathered on the carpeted floor of the hall and sat in a circle around an empty bottle of champagne. Lavanya grinned at everyone before narrating the rules of the game.

"Alright so after we spin the bottle, whoever the mouth of the bottle points at will ask a question to the person facing the bottom end of it. And if the person can't answer honestly then they'll be given a dare. Simple enough? Let's start."

She spun the bottle and it whirled around till its mouth faced NK and the opposite end pointed towards Akash.

"So Akash, how did you propose to Payal?"

Akash's face turned bright red while Payal's gradually began taking on the same color.

"I-I uh-I-I- I-I, I think I'll skip this question."

Everyone laughed as Akash continued stuttering. Even being married for four months hadn't reduced his shyness.

"Ok then. Here's the dare."

NK leaned towards Akash and whispered something into his ear. Akash's eyes grew wide and he looked at him incredulously.

"Uh uh! You can't back out of this one Akash."

Akash sighed in defeat and got up. He made his way towards the kitchen and returned with a jug full of some liquid. He walked towards Satvik and closed his eyes.

"Sorry Jeejaji."

And dumped the entire contents on his head.

Satvik gasped as ice cold water suddenly landed on him. He instinctively closed his eyes and wrapped his hands around himself as the freezing cold slowly seeped in through his shirt.

Everyone gaped at the scene before them, not sure how to react. Anjali burst into a fit of giggles and the rest of them joined in, uncertainly in the beginning but more whole heartedly as they realized that Satvik wasn't angry. Akash refused to meet his brother in law's eyes, consumed by shame and guilt. But Satvik got up and patted him on the back, easing him out of his awkwardness.

"Good job Akash. Didn't know you had it in you."

The bottle was spun a second time and it landed with the mouth facing towards Arnav and the bottom towards Anjali.

Arnav looked bored while Anjali sat up straighter, eagerly waiting for the question.

"Did you take the blame on yourself when I broke Ma's favorite vase on her thirtieth birthday?"

Anjali's mouth fell open in shock as she registered the question which her brother had just asked her. Out of all the fun and light hearted things he could have asked her, he picked such an issue? What was wrong with him?! She looked away sulkily and frowned slightly.

"Well Di? Did you?"

She nodded her head stiffly and refused to look at him. Satvik smiled and rubbed his hand along the length of her left arm, comforting her as she threw occasional glares at her brother. Arnav smirked and settled more comfortably into his sitting place, satisfied with the result of the game.

Lavanya spun the bottle once again and this time it landed with the question end towards her and the answer end towards Khushi. Lavanya's eyes glinted mischievously, which everyone except Anjali missed.

"So Khushi, who was your first kiss?"

Khushi flushed a deep red and looked down at her hands. She began fidgeting with her clothes, unable to open her mouth and speak. She looked into Lavanya's eyes and pleaded with her to have mercy on her but her friend just wouldn't relent. Finally Khushi sighed and shook her head.

"Ok then. Here's the dare."

She crawled over to Khushi and whispered something into her ear. If possible, Khushi's face turned even redder and her eyes grew enormously wide while her mouth formed a small o shape. She looked at Lavanya, panic stricken, and rushed out of the living room.

Arnav had been watching this whole scene with a strange feeling at the pit of his stomach. The thought of Khushi kissing someone else had aroused a fierce anger inside him and he felt unusually irritated and edgy. He clenched his jaw as he saw her rush out, determinedly following her out a few moments later.

He missed the gleeful smiles exchanged between Anjali and Lavanya as the only thing occupying his mind was her.

...

Khushi came to a halt just outside the guest room, catching her breath and closing her eyes in an attempt to calm herself down. She felt a pair of intense eyes scorching through her back and she whipped around, already knowing who it was.

Arnav gazed at her, anger bursting from his ultra expressive eyes. He took two steps forward and watched as she took two back. This sort of annoyed him and he took more steps towards her, till her back was against the door to the guest room. Her chest was heaving up and down as he came closer to her. She didn't know what was wrong with him and why he was acting like this. He kept a hand on the wall next to her right cheek and stared at her intensely.

"Who was it?"

"H-huh?"

"Your first kiss. Who was it?"

Khushi's brain took a longer time to register his words and when they finally sunk in, her cheeks flamed a brilliant red.

"Tell me."

"I-I-"

"Who was it Khushi?"

"I- uh-"

"Answer me damn it!"

"I-I haven't had my first kiss yet!"

Khushi blurted out the answer and immediately put a hand over her mouth. When would she learn to control her tongue? Arnav on the other hand had cooled down considerably. His entire form had relaxed and the ferocious look in his eyes had been replaced with a quiet satisfaction.

Khushi felt relieved that he was no longer mad at her. His eyes moved up and stopped at something above her head. A glint of recognition took over and he looked into her eyes once again, his husky voice giving her goose bumps.

"Do you know what that is Khushi?"

Khushi looked up to where he was pointing and registered a tiny green sprig with a few red berries hanging from it. Her eyes narrowed a little and she shook her head.

"Mistletoe."

"Do you know what we're supposed to do underneath a mistletoe?"

Khushi gulped as his voice grew deeper and huskier, making her understand the significance of his words. His eyes were blazing with an unfamiliar emotion and its intensity quite scared her. She realized what he was talking about and her insides froze for a moment. Her hands clutched at the sides of her skirt and her breathing became heavier.

"Let me show you."

He slowly leaned forward and brushed his lips with hers. It was a brief moment of searing contact and Khushi felt like she was on fire. Arnav pulled back a little, wanting to gauge her reaction. The faint glimmer in her eyes told him that he was on the right track and he came closer with a lot more determination this time.

Khushi closed her eyes as his lips fell on hers for a second time. She could feel them wrecking havoc on her's and unconsciously put her hands around his neck, clinging onto him for support. He bit her lower lip once and her mouth opened, giving him ample access. There was a small battle of tongues and Khushi felt strangely elated. This was truly an exhilarating feeling and she wondered how she had survived so long without doing this.

Arnav had never thought that kissing Khushi would be such a fantastic experience. She returned his kisses with equal fervor and clung onto him as if her life depended on it. His hands went into her long tresses and he rubbed his hands along the length of her back. Her mouth tasted unbelievably good and he felt very disappointed when he had to pull back due to a lack of air.

Her eyes had a dazed look and her face was flushed a delicate pink. Her hair was all messed up but he thought that she had never looked more beautiful. His eyes mirrored her dazed look and his hair was sticking out at odd ends. She was feeling a little heady because of his incredibly masculine, woody scent. He slowly moved forward and leaned his forehead against hers.

"So what was the dare?"

"This."

She fisted her hands on his collar and pecked him on the lips. Arnav's eyes widened slightly but he recovered almost immediately and started kissing her back. His hands slowly moved into her hair once again and they lost themselves in each other.

The Christmas Miracle had happened.

Did you'll love it or what? 😉 I'm expecting loads of comments alright?

Chapter Seventeen