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~Part 19~
Khushi wasn't sure what was going on. She wasn't sure what Arnav was up to. Most importantly, she wasn't sure why she was reacting to him this way. She barely managed to sit through dinner under Arnav's continued heated gaze. All she wanted to do was finish dinner and go hide in her room.
Currently, she was in the kitchen putting the left overs in the fridge and clearing up the kitchen. Anjali had given the staff the evening off since they were cooking. So, Khushi had insisted that Anjali just stand at one place and not walk around to clear up. They were in the middle of one of their easy going conversations when Arnav walked in.
"Di aapka phone kaha hai? Jeejaji ne mujhe call kiya aur bol rahe the ki aap phone nahi utha rahi" he said.
"Oh woh humne kamre mei chod diya tha dinner se pehle" replied Anjali slapping her forehead.
"Achcha mai lekar aata hu" said Arnav starting to leave, but Anjali stopped him.
"Nahi Chote, hum kamre mei jaake unko phone kar denge. Bas Khushi ke saath ruke hai. Woh yahaa kaam khatam karle, phir lights off karke hum chale jayenge."
Arnav looked at Khushi, who had refused to turn around ever since he walked in. Suddenly, his face brightened, and he said "Arre Di Khushi ke saath mai rukta hu. Kaam khatam karke lights mai off kar dunga. Aap jao aur Jeejaji se baat karke so jao."
Anjali was about to wave him off "So jaun? 9 bhi nahi baje abhi tak.", she said, but then realized what was going on, so she said "Vaise hume inhe jaldi phone karlena chaahiye varna inko der ho jayegi. Achcha theek hai hum jaate hai. Chalo goodnight Chote, goodnight Khushi."
"Goodnight Di" they replied in chorus and Anjali smiled and left. Khushi just turned around for a split second and then went back to her clearing up. She tried to speed up and started dropping and bumping into things.
Arnav, standing leaning on a wall, said "Aaraam se karlo Khushi. Mujhe koi jaldi nahi hai."
Khushi kept working and said "Sir aap chaahe toh jaa sakte hai. Hum sab off karke aa sakte hai."
"Yeah right. Taaki tum raasta bhul jao andhere mei. Aur vaise bhi, I'm sure ki tumhe andhere se darr bhi lagta hoga."
"Ji nahi hume koi darr nahi.." and the lights went off. Khushi stilled and turned around, but it was pitch black.
"Arnav Sir?" she called out. Hearing no response, she called out again "Sir? Aap yahaa pe ho na?" Still no response. She tried not to freak out. She said out aloud "Arre nahi bhi hai toh kya hua? Tujhe thodi andhere se darr lagta hai. Aur phir kitchen mei hai tu. Maachis toh hoga hi yahaa pe."
Arnav had been listening to her tirade, quite amused. Now he was sure she was going to fall or crash into something and he waited for the noises to begin. She started walking forward towards what she hoped was the shelf where the matchsticks were kept. Although she had put out her hand slightly, she suddenly walked into Arnav headlong. She gasped as his hand snaked around her to steady her and he said "Chup! Mai hu. Puure ghar ko mat daraao."
Forgetting that she was standing in Arnav's arrms with her front against his, she said "Oh achcha? Ab shaan se bol rahe hai ki mai hu. Jab hum aapko aawaaz de rahe the tab jawaab kyu nahi diya?"
"Taaki tum iss tarah aake mere paas ghadi ho jao" replied Arnav softly.
Khushi realized their position and was about step back when Arnav tightened his hold on her. She was glad that there were no lights for Arnav to see her heated face. She was wondering how close her face was to his when she suddenly felt his breath on her face and she stilled. She thought she'll pass out when she felt his nose graze hers for a split second. At that moment the lights came back on, and they both stepped apart. Khushi looked everywhere except at his face and then turned back to quickly finish up the cleaning.
"Chote?" called Anjali from outside.
"Haan Di? Aap soi nahi?" said Arnav turning around see her walk into the kitchen with her phone.
"Soyi nahi matlab? Itni der bhi nahi huyi hai Chote! Hum bolne aaye the ki abhi Arjun ne hume phone kiya tha. Woh abhi ghar par aa rahe hai."
Arnav frowned "Kya? Iss waqt? Baat kya hai?"
"Arre sirf 9 hi toh baje hai Chote. Woh bol rahe the ki unko aaj raat ko India se baahar jaana pad raha hai. Kuch 4 ghante baad ki flight hai toh woh raaste mei ghar aake jaayenge kyunki hum unhe bulaate rehte hai aur woh ab tak nahi aa paaye."
Arnav was about to say something when the doorbell rang.
Anjali said "Chalo Chote wahi honge. Khushi, ek cup coffee banaake laao na unke liye."
Khushi replied "Haan Di, abhi le aaungi. Aap log jayiye."
She hoped it wasn't obvious to Arnav that she couldn't face him right now. Arnav hoped she knew that it was way too obvious. He turned and looked at her once before walking out with his Di.
Arnav, Anjali, and Khushi sat with Arjun and chatted for a while. Arnav was increasingly witnessing his mood go foul when he saw Khushi laughing and talking with Arjun. Arjun finally got up and started to say bye. Arnav got a call and he said a quick 'see you next trip dude' and walked away to pick his call. Anjali too excused herself as she was a bit tired and wanted to go to bed and requested Khushi to escort him out.
When Arnav got off his call, he saw the front door ajar. He went to close it when he saw Khushi and Arjun standing in the garden a bit away from the stairs. Arnav felt a fury grip him when he saw Khushi smiling and talking to Arjun. "Why the hell doesn't she ever smile at me like that?" he thought. Arjun said something to her and she was laughing now. He didn't miss the way Arjun touched her shoulder while saying bye and walking off. Arnav stepped out of the door, slammed it shut behind him, and went down the stairs, two at a time.
Arjun and Khushi had just taken a few steps into the garden to say bye since Arjun's car's lights were a bright glare. After saying bye, she waited until his car reached the gate and then turned around to almost bump into Arnav who was standing just behind her. She clutched her chest and took a step back.
"Oh! Aap." she said.
"Kisi aur ko expect kar rahi thi?" Arnav said in quiet tones.
Khushi just looked down and shook her head and went to go past him. He side-stepped her to stand in front of her and said "Phir se nazar churake bhaag rahi ho?"
Khushi looked up and said "Hum kyu nazar churayenge?"
Arnav gave a pretty cold laugh and said "Oh I don't know Khushi. It's amazing that you don't run out of excuses. Mujhse duur bhaagne ke liye."
As the conversation was progressing, Arnav was walking towards Khushi and she was slowly taking steps backwards.
She replied "Hum aapse duur nahi.." she stopped short as she felt her back bump into a tree. She turned her neck to see what stopped her motion and then turned back to see Arnav's face an inch within hers. His expression had softened. She could feel his breath on her face.
As she went to move, Arnav put on hand around her waist and pressed her against himself.
Khushi's eyes widenened and she stammered "Ye k-kya kar rahe hai a-aap?"
"Jo mai kaafi der se karna chahta hu" murmured Arnav before closing the distance between them.
It started as a tentative kiss with Arnav placing soft kisses around her lips, at the corner of her lips, and then on her lips. Involuntarily, her eyes fluttered shut and her arms held Arnav's shoulder for support. This was all the encouragement Arnav needed as he deepened the kiss and nibbled at her lips. He pressed further into her and held her head with his other hand. Khushi opened her mouth to gasp and Arnav tasted her.
Time stood still for the two of them. He thought she tasted so sweet and wonderful that he fleetingly wondered if he's going to get a diabetes attack. She was driving him crazy and he pressed her against the tree and pressed himself fully into her.
She was dizzy with the feelings that Arnav was creating inside her. She had never felt anything even close to this ever in her life. She was only aware of Arnav pressed into every inch of her. She was only aware of his hand on her waist and her hair. She was only aware of tasting the mithai that she had made so carefully for him. Her hands fisted into his shirt on his shoulders as he tried to press them together as much as he could.
Neither of them could later remember how long they stood like that - maybe a few minutes, maybe a few hours. They broke apart and their breathing was laboured. Arnav was still close enough to Khushi to feel her chest heave against his. That wasn't helping his breathing, he thought. Khushi rested her forehead at his nape and tried to catch her breath.
After a few moments, she came to her senses and lifted her head to see her hands fisted into Arnav's shirt. Her eyes widened and she took her hand away, stiffening. Arnav stepped away from her not wanting to scare her off. She just quickly brushed past him and ran up the stairs into the house.
Arnav put his hand on the tree and ran his other hand through his hair shaking his head. He briefly considered going after her, but decided that he probably shouldn't. It was a bad enough idea to come after her in his state of fury after seeing her with Arjun. If he goes after her in this state of mind, he was worried that he may not be able to control the urge to continue from where he left off. He decided to give her some time to deal with what had happened between them.
Slowly, he made his way into the house and pulled the door shut.
~End of Part 19~
Anupamaa
193