Part 13
Here he was sitting in his BMW, outside an ordinary corner Punjabi restaurant that was just a few roads away from the office...Armaan?...glancing back at the passenger seat, he met Ridhhima's "uneasy" face...I-I hope you don't mind, if you don't what to eat here we can go to some other place if you like...she was going on and on and all Armaan could do was smile at her silly thoughts...Armaan I'm sorry for bringing you here I-...feeling Armaan's finger rest on her lips, she felt her voice seal at once as nervousness took over...looking up, her eyes came in contact with an intent looking Armaan...he wasn't looking angry or upset at all..instead he was looking calm and serene as ever... his eyes were unknowingly giving her immense comfort...they were displaying such extreme care and attention that she found it a little difficult to consume...her lips began to quiver as she sensed the proximity they had gotten into all of a sudden....
Sensing her quieten down...Armaan slowly shifted his finger from her lips, while lightly grazing them, smudging off some of her lip-gloss from her lower lip that made her gasp in some air for a moment...he grabbed hold of her hand that was fisted on her lap and felt Ridhhima go stiff in her seat...he smirked at the effect he was having on her but then again...the pleasure of coming in contact with her physically was just out of this world....he himself felt the hair of his arms stand up inside his shirt...never in his entire female discovery had he felt like this towards a woman...not being able to control the urge, he was now looking out for any excuse to just come close to her...
Why are you saying sorry Ridhhima?...curiosity took over Ridhhima and she immediately looked up to see a grin set onto Armaan's perfectly sculpted lips...in fact I looooooooove Punjabi food...maki di roti, sarson da saag,mmmmm.....watching Armaan animatedly churn his mouth and rub his stomach with his other hand, Ridhhima couldn't help but let out a giggle at his way of expressing his love for food, he can be such as child sometimes...soon after Armaan joined in too...he felt like doing anything to make that smile overpower her lips, no matter how stupid he looked....come to think of it, he hardly remembered the last time, or if he'd ever done such lame acts to be in the company of a woman....it was usually the opposite...it was the woman who worked her sleeve off to make Armaan Mallik take a glimpse of her...maybe he was being egoistic, but it cannot be denied that he was leaded on to think like that...
Walking in...they were led into a quiet corner...the restaurant was simply oozing punjabiness.... the old manji's and tables...the displays of old charkha's and pakkiya's really made them feel connected to their roots...
Armaan was absolutely enjoying himself, making himself comfortable over the manji, he literally laid over and leaned his elbow over the pillows...grabbing hold of one of the pakki's, he began to fan it across his face while watching Ridhhima settle down on the opposite side, who was smirking at his little antics that she was coming across...
Wow...how come I've never seen this place before?...she watched him loosen his tie as he took a look round at the place...I don't know, you tell me...sensing a conversation developing, Armaan casually carried on...maybe I never came across a companion that might match my taste, who might share the same likings as me...not letting his eyes off Ridhhima, for their first time she saw something different in them...they were looking more peaceful and were displaying nothing but sincerity, which reflected in his words...Ridhhima couldn't help but smile at him, to which Armaan reciprocated in the same manner, but with a sense of relief....for a moment he thought his intense attitude would turn her off and she would go into her famous silent mode once again...shall i take that as a compliment?...the appreciation she was showing was enough for Armaan to understand that she was finally getting to know the "real" Armaan...I recommend you should...seeing her smile grow wider, Armaan swore that he heard visions playing in his ears as his lips formed a satisfied dimpled smile...
Ridhhima almost stifled a laugh when she watched Armaan splodge almost three pieces of desi ghee into his plate full of saag and stir it until they disappeared...gosh...I never knew you was such a fan of desi food...seeing Ridhhima smile at his little act, Armaan felt very pompous about it...well, what sort of Punjabi would I be if I couldn't even eat the basic dish of Punjab in the most authentic manner... sharing a laugh over his silly justification, Ridhhima's mind got caught up somewhere else...
An old Gurdas Mann song was playing at the back, giving the whole atmosphere the last touches...Armaan just pulled a face...he didn't really like listening to 'Indian' or specifically Punjabi songs...they were songs that his mum would listen to while making aloo de parathe in the morning whilst he would simply put the volume up in his room to the classic hits of Michael Jackson....but he was in for another one of his Monday surprises...
Armaan lifted his head up to see a rather different side to his so called companion...Ridhhima was silently humming along with the song....it was one of her absolute favourite songs....sajna...tere shaher di sanoo,kini soni lagdi dhuper...smiling at her innocent face that was lost in her own world, Armaan couldn't find the courage to disturb her and just watched her lips pursed together into a smile, humming the song....she sounded so melodious, the angels literally lived inside her voice box...funnily though, he never found his mother singing the same song so attractive...his mind was in a clash...here he was sitting with a woman of his age but her similarity with his mum gave his mind an odd yet an affectionate thought about her...
Feeling contended as the song ended, Ridhhima found herself being stared at by a pair of dreamy eyes...Armaan had been leaning across the table, with both of his hands rolled up into fist against both of his cheeks...his dimpled smile was set in and his eyes were set on her...
The intent in his eyes sent shivers down her back....but for some reason she didn't feel awkward or odd about it....she felt shy and a blush was making its way up her cheeks...not being able to take anymore of his gaze, she looked down at her food and began eating again..you like that song?...the interest in his voice didn't go unnoticed from Ridhhima...yes, I actually do, this one of my favourite songs, infact being a punjabi, its quite normal to like a punjabi song...suprised at his new discovery about her, Armaan couldnt help but maintain a smile...wow, she's punjabi, no wonder she's so sexy and hot... puting his mind on a break he carried on...you know I suggest you to participate in Indian idol , with a voice like that you're bound to get somewhere high...watching her eyes grow wide he didn't seem to catch up with the reason why...Armaan!!, I was only humming...Ridhhima just shaked her head at his insane suggestions...awww, to bad, well then what about Humming idol, if there is a programme called that...seeing Armaan deep in thought, for a moment she just looked at him and the next thing you know they were both in splits...not being able to cope with any more of the laughter therapy, Ridhhima put her hand up as for a Hi 5 and Armaan gladly obliged, whilst entwining their fingers over the table... Armaaan...your too funny...still giggling at their little moment Armaan couldn't stop putting his smiling lips to rest...I know, it's in the genes..Seeing him fix up his collar as an action of boasting, Ridhhima just pulled a face and looked down, and her eyes caught their entwining hands...Armaan wasn't even over their little session when his eyes caught a rather quiet and conserved Ridhhima...wanting to know the reason why he followed her gaze to find himself sharing the same feeling...both of them were not budging; instead this act of their was creating unknown but strong feeling inside them about something...or should I say...for each other...
Realising that Ridhhima might be feeling uncomfortable; Armaan was the first to budge and continued eating his meal after giving a small smile to her...however Ridhhima was in her own world once again....for the first time, she wasn't feeling odd or weird about the closeness they were apparently sharing...she was actually quite enjoying it and more so was letting Armaan make her enjoy...even now she wasn't feeling anything wrong about it...smiling back at Armaan she also got consumed in her meal, but she was left in a dilemma between her mind and heart...her mind was saying something else and her heart was saying something else...is there something more to her and Armaan?...can she be a good friend?...and most importantly...can she ever trust a man again?
Firstly guys, i extremely apologise for the late post, but a lot has been going on in my life for the past few weeks that i couldnt catch up with the FF...exams are now over and i have finally finished 6th form!!!
i am now offically on a 3 month long break....however anxiously wating for my results, that are my entry ticket for university...wish me luck😃
but now i have no excuses, so i will be regualrly updating my FF, for now enjoy this part
Luv Taj xxx
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