Chapter 1

[MEMBERSONLY]

This is the by-product of studying late nights. Read it at your own risk. Excuse it for the randomness.

The OS just won Runner Up OS of the week, and this is the first time any of my stories has won anything. Thank you everybody for reading and liking this story which is undeniably the most random-est piece every by me. Thank you so much!

OS: One Night Stand

The flashes from the night before had refused to leave him in solitude. They kept coming back time and again, making his nerve endings twitch with that now familiar desire to be close to her always. But he was frustrated. Everything around him reminded him of her in the throes of passion, but he couldn't do anything about it, not just yet. And so he sat, sat through the meetings, trying his best to concentrate at something which he loved, but now, apparently, little did it hold his attention. When the ordeal was over and done with, he had sprinted towards where he was sure she would be waiting for him.

And she was. Leaning casually against the hood of his car, she seemed to be unaware of his gaze and presence. He was looking at her from afar; the look that matched the deer's which had just found the oasis in the desert. His throat went dry. He did not make a move to go towards her immediately and let his eyes drink her in. He saw her pick up a call and speak animatedly into the phone. He chuckled at the sight. When was hung up, she started to look around the parking lot, a nervous glint in her eyes. She checked the time, and now her fingers were drumming at the window of his car. He decided to go to her.

He did not realize he was holding his breath the entire time he was taking slow, measured steps towards her. It was clear to him that she was aware of him behind her; her body had stiffened and she no longer seemed to be edgy. He released his breath only when he had her in the circle of his arms, his back to his front, and he kissed her hair, breathing in her scent. "Khushi," his voice came out in a whisper.

She turned around abruptly in his arms, and they held each other's gaze for a while before she hugged him fiercely, plastering her body with his. "You didn't scare me, if that's what you wanted," she said, after a while.

He pulled back slightly, his eyes held an amused glint, as if he was mentally laughing at the chaos she was, but one which he loved. "Khushi Kumari Gupta," he said her name again, in a guttural voice, making her insides shrink, "you've got it all wrong about what I want." He pulled her body closer from the waist-down, eliciting a gasp from her as he made his intentions clear. She tired meekly to wriggle out from his hold, but he locked her in place. She gave up, sensing the futility of her actions. He saw the red rise in her cheeks and could only smirk in response.

"You're incorrigible, Arn-", she started to say in reprimand, but was cut off abruptly when she felt his lips swooping down to hers, catching her off-guard. All his frustration of not seeing her all day was poured into that one overpowering kiss that overwhelmed him with its intensity.

"What do you do to me Khushi?" he asked, his voice still hoarse.

"I should be asking you that question," she remarked as she rested her head on his chest, unable to meet his gaze.

"I don't think I will be able to wait till we are married. This is just not enough," he said, the words just slipping out, unaware of what they might do to her.

"Arnav, I...," she looked up at him, uncertainty clouding her eyes. She knew what he wanted, she wanted it too. But she just couldn't do it, not before she was married to him. The kisses they had shared in the past three months were just the trailer of an unknown movie, but she knew she would be set ablaze if she were to compete it.

Her reaction was just what he feared, and he felt like slapping himself. "I know, I know... I am so sorry Khushi," he said, loosening his hold ever so lightly. He didn't want to scare her, but he couldn't bear the distance too. He pressed a soft kiss on her forehead, reassuring her. He smiled when he felt her relax. "Where do you want to go now?" he asked, gently weaving his hands through her hair.

"I don't want to eat out today," she suggested, and he raised an eyebrow in response. "Why don't I cook you dinner tonight?" she asked hesitantly, knitting her eyebrows as he waited for his reaction. She knew why she was nervous. Going home with him after what they had just shared... the thought made her toes curl. And now, she saw him look at her searchingly. He didn't answer. "What are you looking at?" she asked, irritated by his gaze and silence.

His hold slackened around her. When he saw a look of surprise on her face, he chuckled. "I'll do whatever Your Highness deems fit," he said dramatically, earning a slap on his arm.

"And people call me melodramatic!" she huffed as they settled into the car and drove away to her house.

About an hour later, Arnav was lying on the couch lazily, flicking through the channels, while Khushi was busy storming about in the kitchen. He would be lying if he said he didn't like the way he was feeling now. Never taking himself for a guy who would love normalcy, the domesticity of the entire situation was strangely, but welcomingly endearing. He was even smiling at himself for no reason and it was then he knew that he was a goner for her. He realized there could be nothing in this world that he could deny her, and the thought, instead of scaring him, filled his insides with a warm, tingly sensation.

His chain of thought was broken when he heard her shout his name in urgency. He was up on his feet, alarms resounding in his head about what could have happened, and he was there beside her in the kitchen in a flash. "What happened?" he asked, looking around for any signs of disaster. When he found nothing amiss, he looked up at her to see her twinkling eyes. It was clear to him that she was trying hard to suppress her laughter. "What?" he snapped.

She couldn't hold back anymore and burst into laughter, clearly having fun at his expense. She sobered down at the angry looks he was giving her. "Voh Arnav, I need you to stay here till the cooker whistles, alright? Lavanya has been calling me for over an hour, I will be back in five minutes after talking to her," she said, but he did not relent and continued to stare at her angrily. He reminded her of a small child caught in a prank. "Please, please, please?" it was she needed to say before he nodded ever so lightly. She rushed out.

For those five minutes, Arnav ran the risk of being taken in too strongly by the charms of a certain woman. Why? Because he was muttering under his breath! Khushi Kumari Gupta was unhealthy for him, indeed. He stopped his blabbering when the whistle sounded and he broke into action, imitating his boardroom CEO persona in the kitchen, but in vain. He turned off the heat, but when he was trying to pull the lid off the cooker, steam started oozing out, giving way to some brownish froth. "What the-?" he swore. "Khushi!" he called out. When she didn't come out after a while, he went outside. Not finding her in the living room, he proceeded towards her bedroom, but stopped short with a shock when he registered the words coming out of her mouth.

"You want what? One night stand?" he heard her ask, his jaw falling to the ground at the context of their talk'. But he was totally unprepared for her reply- "I want it too, you have no idea!" He couldn't believe his ears. How could she...? He couldn't even bring himself to say the words and here she was chatting away about it with Lavanya, that too when they had decided to wait until they got married! He felt anger course through his veins, and just as he was about to storm into her room demanding an explanation, he heard her again.

"It would be so great Lavanya, I swear! I would have it here in my room, right beside my bed, so that I could gaze whenever I want to. It will be so good!" she didn't seem to be able to keep the excitement out of her voice which only enraged him further as forbidden images came into his mind. But she wasn't done yet. "We can go together, oh it would be so much fun!" the woman was almost jumping up and down with excitement!

Just when he had thought she could do no more damage, here she was, talking about a threesome! He shut his shut his eyes tightly to keep the unwelcomed images at bay. What has the world come to? How could she do this to him?! He couldn't take it anymore. He didn't even try to reign in his anger as he went inside her room like a raging tempest.

"What the f*** is happening here?" he bellowed, making her jump from her position.

Sensing something terribly wrong with him, she hung up in a hurry, muttering her apologies to Lavanya. Just the sight of him was enough to make her want to dive into a hole and never come back. He had never been this angry, never. "Wh... What happened, Arrr... Arnavvv?" she stuttered, involuntarily shrinking back when she heard him slam the door shut with a force that rattled her insides.

"You tell me!" he shouted at her again, but didn't wait to hear a single syllable come out of her mouth. "I can't even bring myself to say what you were very jovially talking about with Lavanya! Here I am, giving you all the space you need in this relationship and here you are, making plans for your nocturnal adventures!"

"I don't know what you're talking about," she managed to find her voice and speak. But his stance seemed to be unrelenting, his body was shaking with pent up rage, although she was completely oblivious about its source.

"Don't even try to deny this Khushi Kumari Gupta. I heard everything," he said, his voice seething. "I want an answer," he continued, taking a step ahead towards her.

"Answer to what?" she felt some courage return to her; she couldn't see what was possibly wrong in what she said to Lavanya just moments ago.

"Answer to why... why you want..."

"Want what?" she asked, snapping at him for the ridiculousness of the situation.

"A one night stand!" he screamed at her.

Khushi stood gaping at him in horror as she registered his words. Her mouth opened and closed several times before she could string a coherent sentence. "Why the hell would I want something like that? How could you even think so lowly of me?" she asked indignantly, hurt at his baseless accusations.

"How could I think? I did not think anything until I heard you gushing about how much you want it moments ago! And to think Lavanya is in this with you, I am disgusted!" he scowled at her.

She took a moment of silence, her mind going over the conversation she had with her best friend before her fianc had stormed into her. As it came back to her in bits and pieces and she realized why he was behaving thus, she couldn't help but bursting into peals of laughter. His flabbergasted expression did not help as she clutched her stomach before falling down on her bed, literally rolling.

"Now why the f*** are you laughing like a demented monkey?" he asked exasperatedly, to which she only laughed harder. Arnav Singh Raizada was close to pulling out his hair in frustration. "Khushi!" he bellowed which successfully brought her back from her laughing spree as she composed herself and looked him in the eye.

"I'll explain everything to you," she said in a pacifying tone but not before a few more giggles escaped her. She went towards him and placing her hands on his shoulder, led him to sit on the bed while she stood in front of him. He had crossed his arms over his chest as he waited for her to speak. "Arnav," she began, trying to keep her voice calm, "I did say whatever you heard, but in a totally different context. In fact I can't even blame you, considering how they must have sounded, but trust me, it's nothing what you think."

"Then?"

"Lavanya and I were talking about getting her one night stand', and not a one night stand'," she said, explaining it to him by the air quotes, hoping he would get her point. It was just a simple case of grammar gone wrong.

"What?" he snapped at her, not getting her point. When she started laughing again, he stood up glowering above her. His patience was hanging by a thin thread now.

"Wait, wait," she said, making him sit again. "You know na how much I love books? And how Lavanya shares my passion?" she asked. He looked at her puzzled, not knowing where she was going with it. How did books mix with one night stands? "We were talking about getting ourselves a night stand for keeping our books!" she declared, and went back to laughing looking at the incredulous expression on his face. She sobered up. "Since I was talking about the night stand singularly, I had said one' night stand'," she said, using the air quotes again. "Where were you in your elementary grammar lessons?" she asked, stepping back to look at the interplay of expressions on his face.

"You said you wanted it beside your bed...," he trailed off, his doubts taking over.

"Yes," she said reassuringly, stressing on the word, "I want the stand beside my bed so that I can just bend over to fetch a book when I read in bed. I could keep all my favourite books on it." Only she knew what a hard time she was having reigning herself. But she knew she would have to be patient lest he burst out in anger again.

"You said you wanted to go together...," he trailed off again.

"Yes," she stressed again, "we would go to the book fair together. There's a book fair being held at Pragati Maidaan, right? Remember when I was talking about it yesterday?" she asked, and he nodded his head, staring into the distance. "And vaise bhi Arnav, if I was really talking about what you think I was talking about, I would have said that I wanted to do' it together, not go' together," she sighed exasperatedly, feeling like an English teacher teaching him the nuances of grammar.

He shot her a look when she spoke of the correction. He was eyeing her curiously, his eyes narrowed, looking for any traces of a lie. She returned his gaze squarely, not budging at all. It was a moment later that it dawned on him how he had mistook it for something entirely different, and by the time he had averted his gaze and looked away, she had already settled beside him, laughing heartily again. How could he have held back then? He joined her too.

"The expressions on your face were priceless!" she guffawed.

"Well, could you blame me?"

"Not exactly, but then, you're Mr. Hothead!"

"And what are you, a Grammar Nazi?"

"I like the sound of it," she grinned.

"I thought it was some weird way of a bachelorette party for you," he said grimly, looking down, only to feel her pinching his cheeks the very next second.

"Do you have any idea how cute you look when you're insecure and jealous?" she asked, still reeling with the after effects of what had transpired a while before.

Turns out it was her turn to be surprised. Just as the words were out of her mouth, he hauled her body against his. "I might be aware," he said, before swooping down to kiss her, effectively shutting her up.

***

This was written in a moment of madness when I couldn't concentrate at all. I couldn't stop myself from writing this even though I have exams in a week's time. I swear I won't post another thing till 30th now. Okay, bye!

P.S. If this made you laugh, leave a comment! 😃

My recent TS: From Darkness Unto Light (Sane piece of fiction, unlike this)

[NOCOPY]

guggu2014-02-04 10:06:54