Chapter 42

Apart from an excited Khushi, NK, and Lavanya, the other three immediately began with a string of complaints about not being able to get more time off so soon.

"I am scheduled down to the minute in my calendar!" Arnav spoke seriously.

"I am so behind, I can't even begin to tell you how---"Akash's rant got drowned out by Payal's excuse.

"All of us just took a lot of time off...taking another week is going to be a problem."

"SHH!!" Anjali waved her hands at them, trying to quiet them down. "It's all taken care of. Lavanya is good until classes begin. You, Arnav, and Akash have been given another week off by dad."

Akash opened his mouth to question but Anjali shut him up with a look. "Come on guys...I just want all of us to have some time before NK and Khushi go back..."

Arnav paused mid-sip while Lavanya twitched her lips at the unwelcome reminder. Silence befell them while everyone considered her suggestion.

"The bookings...?" Arnav raised his eyebrows.

"I've booked the rooms, our pilot will even have the plane ready...trust me, I took care of everything! All you guys need to do is show up!" Anjali rolled her eyes.

"I'm down!" Khushi chirped, easing some of the awkwardness. "Sounds like an awesome plan."

Anjali grinned from ear to ear, as if having Khushi's approval meant everything. Lavanya and NK quickly agreed as well, excited at the idea of getting to know the others better as well as having an entire week to themselves.

"Who'll convince Garima aunty and Buaji?" Arnav pushed the question forward. "And who's going to convince Chachi to let Akash and Payal go away on a trip together before their engagement?"

"You're such a party pooper." Akash rolled his eyes.

"Garima aunty and Buaji are my task...I'll convince them." NK nodded sagely.

"I'll talk to Manorama Chachi...after all...I'm the son-in-law--can't deny me anything." Rohan grinned.

Laughter echoed on the table at his comment. Immediately, they launched into plans of what they would achieve in that one week in paradise. From reading books to beach parties, from watching sunrises to late night bonfires...their list was endless.

In the middle of a bonfire planning, Khushi leaned over to Arnav. "Do you not want to go?"

"I do..." Arnav mumbled his response, not doing anything to convince Khushi.

"Then what was with all those excuses that you presented as questions..." Khushi frowned.

Arnav shrugged impishly and took her hand in his. "As much as I want to go...I don't really want to share you with anyone...I only have a month left before you run off to Australia..."

"Let's not talk about that for a few days, okay?" Khushi squeezed his hand. "We'll cross that bridge when we get there."

"Ahem..." Rohan cleared his throat to get Khushi and Arnav's attention.

Both of them turned to face him, slightly confused because he seemed to be waiting for a response and neither had heard a word of what he'd said.

"I said, let's leave on Saturday and aim to be back for the Sunday next week." Rohan repeated himself.

"That would be perfect. Chachi and Amma leave on Friday." Payal nodded.

"I know!" Anjali grinned, clearly proud of herself. "I told you. It all works out."

Khushi narrowed her eyes at her friend. "You've thought this through..."

They chatted for the remaining few minutes, ironing out the details of this sudden trip. By the time they left the table, everyone's excitement was as high as Anjali's had been all morning. They chatted some more in AR's lobby until Arnav's phone buzzed rudely, reminding him of his impending meeting.

Kicking into his ASR mode, he tugged on Khushi's elbow and pulled her away from the group.

"Keep your schedule free for tomorrow evening."

Khushi's brows knit together in apparent puzzlement. "Why?"

Arnav tilted his head, not understanding her confusion. He thought it was fairly obvious why he was making such a request.

He took a step towards her, letting his arm snake around her waist as he whispered, "its Thursday tomorrow."

Without any further explanation, he pecked her lips briefly followed by a chaste kiss to her forehead before he walked away.

For a reason she couldn't fathom, his short sentence and parting kisses seemed extremely intimate...as if it was their little secret.

She smiled to herself and turned her attention to the others only to realize that they had all stopped talking. Evidently, they'd been watching the small exchange between Arnav and Khushi, although she doubted they heard anything. She scanned their smiling and smirking faces until her eyes came to a rest at Akash"definitely the largest and goofiest grin on his face.

"What?" She shrugged questioningly.

In answer, Payal, Anjali, and Lavanya squealed and surrounded her excitedly.

"You two are so cute!" "Talk about unashamed PDA!" "Oh, I'm so happy for you!"

NK chuckled and shook his head. "Guys...we might as well disperse and get to work...I don't think they'll be done any time soon."

NK's prediction was spot on. As he had expected, the girls announced that they were going to have a girls' night as soon as Payal was done work. Then, Khushi, Anjali, and Lavanya had parted to make preparations. NK had the opportunity"or rather the displeasure"of joining them as they went to buy some wine, finger food, and a latest chick flick.

He wasn't overly excited about discussing hot actors or diets or the latest trends. The only thing that kept him sane was the fact that Lavanya was by his side, her hand in his, and the fact that Khushi and he spoke about other things because she wasn't particularly interested in diets or fashion trends either.

When they reached AR again to pick up Payal, Akash came to his rescue and invited NK to a pool night while the girls had their fun.

NK glanced at Lavanya who nodded encouragingly and he, very reluctantly, let go of her hand to leave with Akash.

_____

Anjali stared wide eyed at the dress she held in her hands while Khushi and Payal giggled uncontrollably. Lavanya looked on confused"not quite understanding just what was so funny.

"You didn't..." Anjali gasped.

"Oh I totally did!" Khushi grinned proudly. "How could I possibly not?! You even have a personal plane to make use of..."

"This is perfect Khushi!" Payal high fived her.

"I would have given it to her at the bachelorette party, if we had one..." Khushi winked.

"Alright, hold on!" Lavanya interjected. "I don't get it...what's so funny about this gown?"

"You never told her?!" Payal managed between her laughter.

"Erm...I...well..." Anjali nervously tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, blushing furiously.

"Spill it Raizada-Oberoi." Lavanya demanded, sitting up from her lying position. She crossed her arms in a gesture of stubbornness.

"As if!" Khushi scoffed. "I'll tell you..."

Khushi recited the story about how she and Payal came to know about Anjali's weirdest fantasy about Rohan. How she wanted them to become mile-high club members while being dressed as Belle from the Beauty & the Beast and a vampire.

"Hence this gown for Anjali and the cape to go with Rohan's part in the whole thing." Khushi grinned proudly at her carefully thought-out joke gift.

"Are you telling me that Rohan's supposed to be a vampire without fangs?" Lavanya joined in the teasing seamlessly.

"Oh no...that's not what I'm saying at all. He already has a small box with the fangs in it! I gave it to him earlier today." Khushi high fived Payal and Lavanya. "He's probably confused by it right now but Anjali can explain it to him on their honeymoon!"

"Well, it will be on their way there or on the back, considering that the deed has to be done on the plane..." Lavanya smiled wolfishly.

Anjali groaned, embarrassed by the whole situation, and hid her face in the smooth fabric of the gown in her lap.

Taking a moment to gather her wits, Anjali looked at them squarely, a sound retort in mind. "You know what else we found out that night?...that Payal lost it' to Akash!"

"Aahh!" Payal yelped at the unprecedented revelation while the other three burst into peals of laughter at her expense. Eager to stop the laughter, she blurted, "Yeah, well we also found out that Khushi was in love with Arnav!"

Only this time, the laughter ebbed away at the memory. A distant look clouded Khushi's face as she recalled the situation: How Arnav was sowing wild oats, how she had bottled up her feelings for years, how she had felt liberated after sharing the secret with Anjali and Payal.

Perhaps, in retrospect, if she had never told them...all the mess that followed might have been avoided.

Stop! Khushi berated herself. Don't go there again...what happened has happened.

"I was so angry with him that night." Anjali murmured. "All I could think of was how he didn't deserve you..."

"He almost heard that conversation, too..." Payal mused. "Maybe if he actually had..."

"Yeah..." the corner of Khushi's lips lifted in a small smile. "That was a special day...it felt great, having that load off my chest...having someone to share it all with."

"And now...all these years later...we're having another one of those girls' nights...with me included this time!" Lavanya chirped, instantly lightening the mood.

"And we need to make a pact that we'll be doing this after Payal's wedding...I need to avenge myself!" Anjali grinned in triumph.

Just as they were gathering themselves after another round of chuckles, Rohan knocked on the door gently. The girls stopped talking and turned to face the door which opened slowly as if the person outside knew it was a good time.

Rohan barely took a step in when he was rewarded with four scowls. He held up his hands in defense.

"I wouldn't dare interrupt you ladies but I do have three surprisingly whiny guys waiting in the driveway for their respective women." He smiled apologetically at them before he threw Anjali a loving look.

Lavanya snickered gently. "That and let's get real, he wants his wife to himself."

"Sorry we've been monopolizing her," Khushi winked at him as they all scampered off the floor and got ready to leave.

"It is, technically, your fault for not taking her away on a honeymoon!" Payal chuckled.

"Well, if you and Akash would just hurry up with the engagement, we could probably go for our honeymoon." Rohan retorted.

"Even your parents went to Darjeeling to give you some privacy...respect your elders and take the obvious hint they left. They want those grandkids...stat!" Lavanya teased, earning a slap on the butt from Anjali.

"That's enough. Out!" Anjali glared at them, red in the face from the furious blushing.

Giggling and talking all at once, the ladies bid each other a good night with multiple hugs. Rohan could only try to reply as half enthusiastically as they rest of them but frankly, there was no way to match all that energy.

Just as they walked past him, he remembered something from earlier in the day. "Oh, Khushi?"

"Yeah?" She turned to face him while the other two stopped in their tracks.

"Did you mean to give me fangs in that box or was that an accident?" He questioned innocently.

Payal, Lavanya, and Khushi exchanged a glance before they burst into peals of laughter. Anjali hid her face in her hands, wishing that earth would swallow her up. Rohan, as confused as ever, looked at them as if they were possessed.

"What the heck was that?" He turned to face Anjali once the laughing trio had left only to find that even she was running off into the washroom.

Rohan's eyebrows perched high on his forehead, somewhat amused, somewhat bewildered, and somewhat incredulous. "Okay then..."

_____

"Seriously...how long does it take?" NK tapped his foot impatiently.

"Dude, chill." Akash shook his head. "It's only been five minutes since Ro went inside. You know that the girls' goodbyes easily take fifteen minutes."

"If not more." Arnav added with an eye roll.

"I remember the goodbye session at the airport when Khushi left..." Akash mused. "I'm sure she had just made her flight because the girls couldn't stop their waterworks."

NK grimaced slightly. "I have a feeling it might be worse this time around..."

"With the changed dynamics...yeah, I think you're right." Akash murmured and glanced at Arnav, only to find that his eyes were set elsewhere.

Akash followed his gaze only to find Khushi, Payal, and Lavanya making their way towards them. Clearly, the three were having some cheerful conversation as they walked forward, even though Khushi's eyes were locked with Arnav's.

Akash looked away suddenly, feeling as if he was intruding on a private moment. The whole notion seemed kind of ridiculous to him considering that he'd walked in on them earlier in the day when they were in a slightly more scandalous position. Yet this simple, innocent eye-lock was too personal--something Akash couldn't observe further without feeling guilty.

He could have continued to watch them and they wouldn't have given a damn because for the two of them, the rest of the world seemed to have disappeared into oblivion. All that existed was him, her, and the short walking distance between them that seemed to stretch on for miles.

The corner of his lips lifted in a serene smile, mirroring the small smile on her face as she approached him. When she was mere couple steps away, he uncrossed his arms and curved them, holding them out to her in a welcoming embrace which she stepped into willingly.

Uncaring of who was around or what they might say about their exchange, Arnav hid his face in the crook of her neck and inhaled deeply, as if trying to capture her scent in his lungs forever. She let out a soft, long sigh of peace as the feeling of being home poured through her being.

Arnav vaguely wondered how he had possibly spent the last three years without her when being away from her for a few hours had been gnawing on the last of his patience reserves.

Perhaps, that was the reason. Perhaps, being away from her was harder now because subconsciously, as unreasonable as his efforts may be, he was racing to make up for all the time they'd lost. Or maybe this was him trying to squeeze in every moment of togetherness before she went back to Australia to finish her education.

Whatever the reason...he knew one thing for sure. He wanted to claim every moment with her that he possibly could.

Still with her arms around him, she looked up at his calm face and beamed a big smile, eyes twinkling like the stars in the sky above them.

"I missed you." She spoke quietly, as if the sentence was meant for his ears alone.

He shook his head gently. "I missed you more."

She giggled and bit her lip. "That's very filmy..."

Arnav shrugged but didn't provide a verbal response. Before she could say anything further, their solitary reverie was broken by a deliberate synchronized throat clearing session from the rest.

"Shut up." Arnav admonished them jokingly even though he let her take a step back.

NK winked at Khushi before he turned to face Arnav. "Let's get her home beforeBuaji finds another reason to yell at her."

____

They stood side by side, leaning against the car, their enclosed hands nestled between their hips, both their eyes settled on a heart-warming sight in front of them.

"They're so cute..." She muttered.

He nodded somberly. "They're perfect for each other...it's like they were meant to be. And to think that I almost got in the way of that..."

"Shh..." She hushed him with a squeeze to his hand and looked up at him. "You didn't know..."

He looked down at her and nodded, almost unsurely. "No...and maybe if I hadn't met you, I would still be engaged to her."

He turned his gaze back towards Arnav and Khushi who were in the middle of another arm wrestling match on the decorative rock ledge in the front yard. There was lots of laughter that rolled out of their system as Khushi tried her best, with both hands, to bring Arnav's arm down.

Akash and Payal were seated next to them, cheering Khushi on. Both NK and Lavanya laughed lightly when Akash and Payal began tickling Arnav mercilessly earning Khushi a victory at last.

"Do you think we'll ever have what they have?" NK mused as he watched Arnav and Khushi lay down on the grass, with her head resting on his stomach, his fingers immediately reaching out to play with her hair.

"No..." Lavanya spoke quietly. "We won't have what they have...but they won't have what we have. Our relationships aren't the same, NK...their foundation and ours is different. You're different from Arnav and I'm different from Khushi. You're not expecting us to be exactly like that, are you?"

"No, of course not." NK shook his head. "I just meant in terms of that comfort and the awareness they have of each other..."

Lavanya threw her head back and laughed. "NK, they've known each other foryears! Give us a decade or two and I'm sure we'll have all of that too."

NK snorted and pointed his chin in Arnav and Khushi's direction. "Well I hope so...because right now, you'll kill me if I touch your hair."

"Oh, honey, that's never changing. You're not allowed to mess up my hair. Ever." Lavanya rolled her eyes.

"Come over here, you love birds!" Akash hollered at NK, waving them over.

"No!" Lavanya protested. "We should leave now. It's almost midnight!"

"Don't be a spoilt-sport, Lavanya..." Akash whined.

"She's right. You know very well that the three of us need to head out to the office early tomorrow to get everything done before we leave for a whole week!" Payal frowned. "Arvind uncle has been generous in giving us that leave...let's not take advantage."

Akash sighed, knowing she was right. "You're right. Besides, your goodbyes alone will take another hour."

Akash guffawed loudly when both Payal and Khushi began slapping his arm playfully. They stood, still laughing and joking around, uncaring of the fact that Garima or Madhumati might hear and get annoyed or that the neighbors might be getting disturbed.

As Akash expected, the goodbyes did take long. Especially the one concerning Arnav and Khushi. Just like they had in front of the Oberoi Mansion, Arnav and Khushi stood in an embrace, chatting away while Akash, Payal, Lavanya, and NK waited by the car patiently, giving the sweet couple privacy.

"Thank you for coming in to talk to Buaji..." Khushi smiled at him, her gratitude evident in the gesture. "I think you've gotten rid of any trepidation she may have had."

"If I say that I did it for her relief...I'd be lying." He admitted sheepishly.

The truth was that he'd been bothered about it all day. He hadn't liked the fact that Buaji had yelled at Khushi this morning and he'd disliked even more the fact that he wasn't there at that time.

He had gone in to speak with the elderly lady to explain their situation and make her understand that whatever had happened was indeed the best for all of them. NK and Lavanya's assents had only solidified his arguments.

All he wanted was to know that Khushi wouldn't be yelled at or admonished regarding this in the future. He wanted Buaji to be fully accepting of these changes not only for Khushi but also for NK, Lavanya, Akash, and Payal who would all be involved simply because of their relationship with Khushi.

"I know..." she smiled. "But still...it means a lot."

"If it means that much, maybe you can make it up to me tomorrow." He smirked.

"Oh?" She raised an eyebrow. "And how would I do that? I already agreed to resume our Thursday Night ritual..."

His smile stretched just a tad more. "Yeah, and you can make today up tomorrow...all I want is a glimpse of my Khush. The witch."

Her smile faded just a tad as she considered his request. She didn't know whether she was interpreting his words correctly. Was he making fun of her? Or did he really mean it?

He raised his eyebrows slightly when she didn't speak. "Am I asking for too much?"

She shook her head in the negative immediately. "No...it's just...I'll consider it. What are we doing tomorrow, Anyway?"

He laughed lightly, the sound rumbling in his chest. "When have we ever plannedour Thursday nights Khush?" Without waiting for her response, he pressed a tender kiss to her temple, letting his lips linger against her smooth skin for a long moment. "Good Night Khushi..."

He released her gently, taking a step backwards. She held his gaze as he retreated another step.

"Good Night..." She spoke a little unsurely, expecting him to make some kind of an unprecedented move.

"I'll see you tomorrow."

"Okay..." She trailed off, confusion taking over.

"Am I forgetting anything else?"

Suddenly, realization hit her. She pressed her lips together to keep from laughing for a second but then sobered up quickly.

"No...you're not." She replied calmly. "You don't need to say it...I already know you love me."

His heart nearly stopped beating at the flirtatious wink that followed her remark. He smirked at her nonetheless, accepting the fact that she was spot on.

He stopped in his backwards track as his back hit the car. "And I know that you love me too."