ArShi:Destiny With TRAILER Thread I - Page 92

Chapter 20

The next few days were passed in a hot, passionate, toe-curling, belly clenching stupor from which these two refused to swim out of. It was as if they had struck gold. It still wasn't established about whether they were dating or not but they couldn't get over each other enough to question it.

For the first week that they were together, Khushi and Arnav pounced on each other as if nothing else mattered. It didn't matter where they were, as long as they were together, they touched each other and seared each other's skin with fire. Khushi didn't know what was happening to her, but the idea of being with Arnav was something she couldn't bear to detach from. It spun her head to know that he was having such an effect on her. Arnav, on the other hand, was no better. Khushi was drowning him, and he didn't mind one bit. Both were swimming on the surface for their feelings for each... or maybe they were too nave to dig deeper but whatever they had, it was something different.

But aforementioned, they were swimming on the surface of the ocean of their feeling for one another. Like when you go swimming in the quiet ocean, on a bright sunny day. You find a secluded area, take off your clothes, and float on the water while the sunlight washes you with soothing warmth... that was their relationship. Strangely warm and charged with sexual energy... and swimming or floating on the surface meant they refused to deal with anything else.

It was one of those nights where Khushi had just arrived at home. Work was a killer since beginning of the year meant that more people decided to unleash their hidden writers by making New Years resolutions. She was swamped with new manuscripts, and the division was expanding as well. NK and her both had no time to see each other for more than 5 minutes let alone talk. Although swamped and busy at work, Arnav still kept on checking in on her through text messages. Had it been anyone else, any other situation, she would have given the person an earful but someone knowing that Arnav was there, checking in on her, made her feel... special. It was another foreign feeling that she had no idea existed. She always gave an "independent" speech to everyone, even to her darling parents, but Arnav was not just anyone.

Feeling completely beaten up, she kicked her heels off, and fell on the couch. She closed her eyes, and relished the silence, and the peace. But soon her thoughts drifted to Arnav. She hadn't told anyone about them... it had only been about three weeks since they both had slept together.

Khushi didn't know whether they were in a relationship, or simply just having a good time... but she knew she couldn't get too deep into it. It would break her, hurt her, and she wouldn't be able to recover him Arnav. He was lethal for her. He was this twister that was sucking her in, slowly, bit by bit, Khushi was starting to get completely swooned in by him. She firmly decided that she had to protect her heart because this time Arnav was real... he wasn't some made belief crush of a silly teenager. He was here in flesh and blood and he charged her and broke her and touched her in places that left his imprints.

Soon her eyes couldn't take the exhaustion and she slipped into sleep on her couch.

~~oOo~~

Monday, January 21, 2013

Harper Collins Publishing House, New York

"Alright, NK, I won't forget about the party," Khushi cajoled NK. He was furious with her for going home early and missing out on all the club crawls that everyone was doing. "I was just feeling under the weather but I promise that I will not cancel on you next time. You know that everyone is extremely busy with the New Year and I have been feeling usually tired lately."

In her mind, she knew that being with Arnav seemed so much more enticing than going to the club and dancing with sweaty strangers. But, of course, she couldn't divulge in to NK about her extra curricular activities. Although, she felt a pang of guilt, she knew that it was too premature to let NK in on this. She wasn't quite sure whether it was anything or just a figment of her imagination. She focused her attention back to NK who was still brooding while standing next to her in the elevator. When they both exited the building and hit the street, Khushi could clearly see that the evening hues of light had disappeared and right now the darkness had swallowed whole of New York. NK hurried his steps towards the end of the block to catch a cab but Khushi got hold of his arm. Running around in heels was painful enough already, so she pulled on his sleeve and took an exasperated sigh. "Fine, next time... whenever it is... I will be there, all ready and dressed and I will tag along with anywhere. Please forgive me?"

NK's face broke into a smile and he hugged Khushi. "Thank god," Khushi murmured into his shoulder. "I knew I could count on you," said NK while still hugging Khushi. Khushi's guilt engulfed her entire being. Lying to her best friend felt dreadful and with extreme effort she took a deep breath and untangled his hold on her. "Alright, I need to get going now," spoke NK while looking around for a cab. He spotted one, raised his hand for the cabbie. As the cab stopped in front of them he opened the door for Khushi. Khushi slipped in and looked towards NK. "See you later then? Good luck at the meeting," Khushi said in a hopeful tone.

"Of course sweetheart, I will come by soon with coffee and croissants... it has been ages!"

Khushi broke into a cheery grin and waved at NK while he shut the car door. And as the car merged into the traffic, Khushi shut her eyes, guilt clouding her every being. She grabbed her phone and called Arnav.

Arnav was sitting in his office waiting for his assistant to send in some important paper work via fax. They were expanding their business in New York, which did not require Arnav to stay put in the city, but nevertheless, Arnav insisted that he oversee this work. It was important to him that every aspect was taken care of with extreme detail and delicacy. Also, one would say that another reason, which could be put as his sole reason of staying in New York was Khushi. For Arnav, Khushi was always on his mind but of course, according to Arnav it was because whatever was happening between them was something new. It was new therefore it was just hard to forget her. That was all. But she was someone that was important to him. That much he knew. He could never conjure the idea of hurting her, and he could never bear the thought of someone else hurting her. That much he knew as well. He checked his wristwatch, and realized that she must have left her work by now.

During the first week, Arnav insisted on his driver picking her up but Khushi refuted indicating that she was a perfectly capable adult handling her own self. Of course, Arnav reminded her of the special circumstances due to which they had met again in New York. To this, she had promised him of never repeating such a stupid mistake. Of course, that was followed with some really mind-blowing sex... to which Arnav had reminded Khushi that that kind of bribe was always welcomed.

The documents were still pending to come through when his phone rang. He picked up the phone and placed it next to his ear.

"Hey you," Khushi spoke softly into the mouthpiece.

"Hi, Khushi... home yet?"

Khushi sighed and spoke, "No, I am in the cab... just heading home."

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Khushi spoke quietly. Sensing that she wasn't going to divulge into more details Arnav quizzed on, "Is everything okay?"

Khushi picked the invisible dust off of her coat and replied more firmly. "Nothing just tired I suppose. I am going to get home in about 20 minutes? You are coming, right? Well, I suppose you must be working late... it's okay then."

Arnav sensed the hopeful tone in her voice and quickly shut off his computer. The fax can come when it may, but right now Khushi needed him. It was weird how his body was so attuned to her. "I am already out of the building. See you in a few minutes, baby."

"Alright. See you." Khushi shut off her phone and tucked her into her bag; she couldn't wait to see him.

~~oOo~~

Khushi reached her apartment where she could clearly make out Arnav's form. He was waiting for her like he said he would. She paid the cabbie and quickly dashed towards him. High heels could go to hell, she needed to hug him, to feel him, to hear his heartbeat, to feel his breath fan her face. She quickly closed the gap between them by initiating the kiss. It made her groan in pleasure. Only Arnav could control her fervent emotions.

Arnav recognised her need to feel him against her. It wasn't as if he was in any better position. He needed her too. She was his primal want, need, must-have... whatever people called it. He moved his mouth while letting Khushi take control of this kiss. It turned him on to know that she could make his insides melt into a puddle of mush when she decided to take control. And for the first time, Arnav Singh Raizada was happy to let go of control. When they both felt that they no longer withstand with oxygen, they broke apart. Khushi's arms were still wrapped his neck since his frame was too wide for her. And even with her high heels, her feet were off the ground just so that she could wrap her arms around his neck.

She kissed him lightly again while grinning from ear to ear. "Hello to you too, baby. How are you doing?"

She groaned in sheer delight and pain. His accent was the death of her. She gazed at him in a star struck manner; he then continued to kiss her cheeks. Finally, he released his hold on her and deposited her feet on the ground. After leaving his warmth, Khushi's body felt the cold in temperature; her teeth started to chatter.

Seeing this Arnav smiled at her and quickly took her keys to open the main door. Whilst holding her hand, he led the way to her apartment.

Khushi slipped her key in and opened the door with Arnav in tow. The weather had improved somewhat but their teeth still clattered from the bone-seeping wind that lingered around. Khushi quickly discarded her purse on the nearby table and turned up the thermostat in the apartment. After turning on all the lights, she ran towards the kitchen to turn on the coffeemaker while Arnav deposited himself on the couch. "I think NK is suspicious," she said quietly from the kitchen. Arnav rose from his seat and followed her voice into the kitchen, and hugged her from the back.

She turned around and smiled at him while kissing him fully on the lips. He knew that she was not delving fully into the specifics so asked, "what was that?"

"NK is suspicious... I think. I am sure it's nothing." He could tell that she was upset about lying to her best friend. But he needed to cheer her up.

"Oh really," he asked her while slipping her coat off. Her smell lingered in the air around him and it made him lick a wet trail down from her ear to her collarbone. He bit her, grazing his teeth, eliciting a squeal from her. "Yes, I think...aahh!"

He continued to kiss her, distracting her chain of thoughts. He pushed her coat off her shoulders and it fell on the floor. Khushi moved her hands and deposited them in his hair. He continued to kiss her throat, while his hands moved to open her zipper up. He progressed to kiss her fully on the mouth, focusing to make it as slow as possible, causing her to give an exasperated moan. He chucked at her response. They moved out of the kitchen while taking off one article of clothing at a time, leaving a trail up till the living room. Khushi's eyes tingled as she eyed the heated flooring and then back at Arnav and he needed no more invite, leaving all previous thoughts scattered.

He took off each article of clothing that covered her body. Khushi focused on ridding him off of his pants while he licked her throat and travelling further down with each kiss. She shivered in pleasure as he continued his torture. She finally got hold of his pants and pulled him up. He obliged by moving up to level with her face, allowing her to get rid of his pants. Soon his boxers followed in tow.

And they had christened the floor of her apartment as well in throes of passion.

After their rendezvous, Khushi and Arnav lay on the floor. Arnav wrapped his arms around Khushi but he felt her shiver, so he grabbed his t-shirt lying nearby and gently covered her. Khushi turned to face him, smiled when suddenly her stomach growled in hunger. Mortified, she looked away in embarrassment while Arnav chuckled and pulled her closer. She landed on his chest and he kissed her forehead sweetly. "My baby is hungry... lets get you some food then!"

Khushi sat up and quickly buttoned his shirt while Arnav pulled on his pants. She ran towards the room to grab her underwear while depositing the old one in the laundry. By the time she arrived back Arnav was already on the phone ordering food for them. He covered the mouthpiece and spoke, "I hope Chinese is okay?"

She walked closer to him, kissed him on the cheek. "Perfect. I am going to head into the shower."

~~oOo~~

By the time the food arrived, Khushi had already started to munch on cereal, and leftover bagel. She was famished and work was hectic. When she had realized that it was lunchtime, she was too buried in her work to take a break. So she had grabbed a pop and some chips from the vending machine. Clearly, she had forgotten to eat afterwards.

"Is everything okay at work?" Arnav quizzed her. Khushi extended her arm towards him to let him take a bite of her bagel. He bit the bagel and hugged her. "Work is okay... a bit busy right now but hopefully it will settle down soon. There are just some major interruptions going on and I am swamped."

Arnav nodded his head in understanding that Khushi felt against her neck since he was hugging her from behind. He let go of her and came to stand opposite her. She was leaning against the ceramic counter and Arnav leaned in on the other side. "You should have had something to eat... you should have texted me, I would have grabbed some lunch for you."

Khushi looked up from her bowl of cereal. She smiled, "That is so sweet, but I know I am complaining... you are more busy and swamped than me... your work requires a lot more."

"It doesn't matter. Please call me next time... all right... I would never you go hungry again." His sweet tone made Khushi's insides fill with warmth. It reminded her that he was there. That he cared. That no matter what, she could count on him.

"I promise, I will. Usually NK reminds me or forces me to take a break but since..." Khushi faltered in her sentence. She cleared her throat and continued, "Since we haven't really seen each other much it just slipped."

If Arnav noticed her sudden change of mood, he tried not to push her. "If you really want to tell him about us, then you know you can. He is your best friend and I wouldn't want anything like this to make you upset." He held her hands to stop her from mixing the cereal to the point where it wasn't edible anymore.

Khushi sighed and looked up. She smiled at him and replied, "I know."

Realizing that she didn't want to discuss this topic like he had previously noticed, he dropped it. In that instant the alarm buzzed signalling the arrival of their food. Arnav grinned towards Khushi, "I'll get it."

Arnav walked towards the front door after buzzing the intercom to allow the delivery person to get into the building. As soon as he heard the knock, he opened the door. A blond girl, preferably in her late 20's was standing on the other side of the door, holding the food. "That will be 30 bucks," she announced. Not realizing earlier that he didn't have his wallet, or his shirt on, Arnav sheepishly smiled at her.

"Of course, Khushi would you please bring me my wallet," he turned around and said.

Khushi had changed into her pj's and not supported Arnav's shirt and her purple PJ's. She peered towards the door when Arnav had called out to her. His wallet was lying on the floor along with other articles of clothing so Khushi quickly fetched it. He took the wallet, and searched for his credit card. All this while, Khushi didn't miss the lusted looks that the delivery woman was shooting at Arnav. He was bare chested, only supporting his black work pants, and barefooted. He looked hot. But he was only hers. So when she noticed this exchange, her mind screamed, "mine!"

Completely clueless to this, Arnav swiped his credit card and the woman handed him the food. They waited for the machine to process the card but Khushi quickly took the food from his hands. He turned towards and lovingly kissed her on the temple. Wherever the insecurity monster had cropped up from, it had squished itself back into the same dark hole. He was hers and everyone knew (okay, not everyone... but people knew.)

After they finished eating their food, Khushi yawned. Her body was aching and she needed some sleep. When Arnav noticed that Khushi could no longer stand on her feet, he gently nudged her towards the room. "I will clear the mess up... go to sleep before I have to pick you up in my arms since you cant seem to be doing very well on your feet."

"Are you sure?" her voice was laced with tiredness.

"Yes, go... I'll come soon." Khushi quickly rose on her toes and reached his face level. She planted a sloppy kiss on his lips and murmured, "Thanks."

Arnav cleared the leftover boxes in a matter of few minutes, doubled checked the locks and started to turn off the lights. When the entire apartment was almost shrouded in darkness he looked towards the pictures on her wall. There was Khushi, in every mood, in every stage of life, with people she loved, with people who loved her... just simply being herself... like the one where she was shielding her face from the camera with her hand. He then turned off the last of the lights and walked into the bedroom.

~~oOo~~

A week had gone by and things were now settling down at work for Khushi. She couldn't be happier that it was finally easing up. She had seen very less of NK and however many times she had seen him, she seemed to avoid the topic of Arnav. Even when NK had brought it up, Khushi had completely avoided it, and then felt guilty about it. But nothing was concrete between them and telling NK would invite a host of more questions, assumptions, etc. and she wasn't ready for that yet. She was enjoying her bubble and didn't need anyone else to pop it for her... not so soon.

Khushi smiled at her phone for the umpteenth time, knowing that it was only a matter of few more hours until she saw Arnav again.

"Khushi?"

She looked up to see NK was standing near her. She quickly discarded her phone in her bag and turned around to face him. "Yup, need anything?"

Yes, play the nonchalance... this act should work. If NK was suspicious he wasn't showing it. She noticed although that he was still shooting weird stares towards her.

"Is it possible to send out more emails regarding this circular that has been going around?"

"Yeah, I was thinking that we haven't really sent out as much as we should have... this meeting is rather important. I think we should send out more of them. I know the circulars are going around but sending reminders wouldn't hurt either." Khushi took the circular from NK and studied it more.

"Okay, well I'll draft an email and send it to you... and then just let me know about what else to add and then lets send it."

"Alright," Khushi waved at him while he marched towards his own desk.

God, could she feel guiltier!

~~oOo~~

"I made mac and cheese... I hope that is okay?" Khushi asked Arnav as she poured some into his plate. She wasn't sure whether he would have liked to have something so simple but she was kind of tired of eating out every single day. Did he even like mac and cheese... she didn't even know that!

"It is perfect, I like everything and anything you would make... and yes mac and cheese was a big favourite of mine when I was young. But I grew up and I couldn't make it myself and eating out became a habit."

"Oh okay."

Arnav dug into his food and so did Khushi. They were both sitting on the floor in the living room while watching some random movie on the TV. The calm, routine silence that had washed upon was broken by Arnav's cell phone ringing loudly in his pocket.

He placed his plate on the table and spoke, "I'll just turn my phone off." He shuffled to grab his phone out of his pants pocket and saw the caller ID. "Actually, it is my assistant, I'll be a quickie."

Khushi glanced at him in acknowledgment because by now she was too engrossed into the movie. Arnav rose from his position and moved away from the TV to hear Aman better. Although he was far away from Khushi, he was still within her earshot and suddenly Khushi's concentration was broken. Khushi could only hear Arnav's end of the conversation.

"Aman, what's up? I am kind of busy."

"Oh, really... no, don't send me all of them. Just pick one that's most convenient and just send me the address."

Pause.

"Awesome, talk to you later."

Arnav hung up the phone and turned it off. No one was going to bother him now and he didn't need any more interruptions for the night. When he sat back in his original position Khushi turned to face him. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah, just need to check out an apartment tomorrow." He picked up his plate and dug back into it. The wine glass the Khushi was holding almost broke with the intense hold that she had now seized it with. "You are moving here?"

Arnav stopped the fork midway and took a deep breath. "Uh, yeah a lot more work has piled up here and uncle and I discussed it... it is better to move here for temporary basis... not while sure how long." He continued eating.

Arnav looked towards Khushi while she looked ahead at the TV. Unbeknownst to him, she was only watching as the images washed up on the screen and then disappeared. She was baffled at his sudden decision to move to New York even if it was temporary. Did this mean that they were going somewhere or whether he had moved for work?

She didn't voice out her thoughts and let him continue his explanation. "Honestly the travelling back and forth has taken its toll on me."

Immediately, Khushi felt the toll of his responsibility. He was juggling so much and he hadn't complained one bit. The least she could do was help him in whatever way possible... even that meant not questioning the existence of their togetherness. She was content with him... screw questioning this and ruining it.

She turned towards him again and kissed his cheek. "I think it is really good idea... need some help in deciding?"

"Well, I had told Aman to just send me only one address but since the company is so beautiful, I wouldn't mind doing a bit house of house hunting."

Khushi came closer to Arnav and looked into his eyes. "I would be happy to help... what time would Mr. Raizada like me to be to his assistance?"

Arnav grazed his lips on her lips and spoke, "Right now... in the warm bed would be best." Khushi slapped his chest lightly and spoke, "I meant tomorrow."

Arnav cleared his throat and questioned her, "Are you sure?" Khushi nodded her head enthusiastically.

"Well, in that case Ms. Gupta, after lunch, you are all mine." He kissed her on her full lips, silencing her reply.

~~0Oo~~

It was early in the morning when Arnav woke up from his sleep. It had been 2 weeks that he had been staying in New York now. Although he made frequent trips back to London, he knew that for some reason some part of his heart was here in this city. True he had acquaintances in this city, but he never stayed this long. It was rather odd but now he was expanding his business here and it required his presence here.

And now he was temporarily moving here. It wasn't a big deal. He was slightly baffled that Khushi hadn't reacted to this news. If it were any other girl, she would have freaked out or started to question him or maybe asked why was moving when most of the time he was over at apartment. But Khushi wasn't like any other girls. He knew this. He had his fair share of women to know how they would react. But he was still unsure why he had told her; why he had just simply told her because quite frankly it was not related to her. His head was swirling with emotions... was Khushi becoming something that he had never experienced before... not even with Lavanya?

He rose from the bed carefully making sure that he didn't disturb Khushi. He always made it a point to wake up earlier than her because even though it had been months since he last drank hard liquor, he still did not want her to witness his pangs. Yes, he still had pangs were his body would lurch in a sick, twisted manner but he made sure that Khushi didn't witness any of that.

He quickly brushed, showered and got ready. In the next hour, he cooked Khushi a scrumptious breakfast, and left her food on her bedside table. He was worn out from work and he didn't want to wake her up before she had to. He pecked her on her forehead and chucked at her her. Khushi was drooling and snoring in the most adorable manner. Or maybe only he found it adorable... didn't people usually find that disgusting? Lately everything Khushi did was adorable to him.

When Khushi woke up from her sleep, she noticed that like always, Arnav had left the apartment. He was definitely an early bird whereas she was still a little lazy in that regard. She turned towards her bedside table to shut off her alarm when she noticed the delicious breakfast tray. She plucked the sticky note off of it...

I will see you after lunch, Ms. Gupta. Looking forward to our hunting. Until then enjoy this breakfast.

Xxx

PS- have a lovely day.

Khushi's mouth now hurt from smiling so much but she didn't complain one bit.

~~0O0~~

Khushi was typing away furiously at the last 2 emails she had to send. Since she had been putting in quite a bit of work, she had asked her boss for an early off from work. Of course, convincing him was the harder part but she just made an excuse of having a breast exam to which he agreed within seconds. Clearly, being a woman still had some benefits.

She texted Arnav that she would meet him at the address which he had texted to her. As soon as she finished her last email, she shut off her computer and bolted upright from her seat. She wore her coat and checked her wristwatch; it was almost 1.30pm. She hurriedly grabbed her bag and turned around to head towards the hallway when she suddenly fell back into her seat from the sudden impact. She looked up and screamed, "NK!"

"You scared me!!!"

NK sheepishly put his hands up defensively, "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. Are you alright?" He extended his hand to help her up. "Yes," she huffed and flicked her hair away from her face. She held her waist to steady herself while continuing to stare at him in an angry manner.

"So, can I help you with something?" she asked him when all he did was stare at her.

"No, just popping in to stay hello... where are you off to?"

"Uh, um... I have an appointment."

NK's brows shot up in confusion. "A work appointment?"

"Uh, no... not a work appointment... just a personal appointment with... with my doctor." She chuckled nervously at him. Concerned NK quickly touched her shoulders, "Are you okay?"

She waved at him, dismissing his worry, "No, no... just a regular woman thing... So, I should go. See you later. But we should do lunch... soon, okay. Bye." She kissed his cheek and made a beeline towards the elevators.

As soon as she stepped outside, Khushi spotted Arnav's driver standing near his black car. She saluted him and spoke, "How are you, George?"

"Great, Khushi. How was work?" He opened the door for her.

"Pretty good," she replied and slid into the car. That is when his smell hit her. She turned around and beamed at him. "Ready?" she asked him.

"Yes." She leaned forward and kissed him as the car slowly merged into the traffic.

~~0O0~~

The first two apartments they looked at were too far for Arnav's liking so they had rejected those. This was their last apartment that Aman had lined up for Arnav. It was already furnished and near downtown. As the elevator pinged indicating that they were on the floor, Khushi and Arnav walked out hand in hand with the realtor behind them. As he unlocked the door for them, Arnav knew that this was the one. Not because it was nicely funished with warm colors, a large bookshelf, comfy reading chairs, along with a fireplace... and the view was breathtaking... because he had thought the same for all the other apartments. The sole reason: Khushi's eyes were sparkling with excitement.

"We will take it," he announced to the realtor. The realtor stumbled on his two legs. "Are you sure Mr. Raizada?

He turned towards Khushi, who was also looking at him with confusion as well. "Really?" she asked.

"Yes, I would never pass that look in your eyes... like a child during Christmas when she gets to open her presents. I want that look to stay in your eyes forever." He kissed her forehead while she beamed at him. She really needed to see a dentist... her jaw was now hurting from smiling so much.

"Very well, Mr. Raizada... I believe that your girlfriend loves this one... I am sure you too will have a marvellous time moving in together. Let me take you guys through the whole house," he gestured at both of them and dragged them in. Neither missed the nervous looks that they both shot at the realtor.

After going through the entire house, the realtor put in the necessary paperwork. He turned around to Arnav as he got off the phone. "Mr. Raizada, you can move in within the next 10 days... of course, at your own consent. Now, I must leave but I will leave you with a set of keys. When you are done, please feel free to keep them. I will be here whenever you decide to move in."

He shook Arnav's hand and waved at Khushi, who was too busy curling into the reading chair by the fireplace. "I love this chair!" she said out loud when they were alone in the apartment. "So when are you moving in?"

"I think by tomorrow. I will get someone to collect my stuff from the hotel and bring it over. Until then, I am afraid you are stuck with this bloke." He leveled by her face, crouching on his knees. Khushi took his face in her hands, and softly ran her fingers over his temple. She could tell he was tired. She didn't know what his work entailed or how many people he dealt with or how many things required his attention... but she knew that was tired. She could tell he needed an anchor. She was overwhelmed with the next thought... she wanted to be that anchor.

She leaned forward and kissed his lips. "I wouldn't want to be stuck with anyone else."

~~0O0~~

Khushi and Arnav retreated back to her apartment as nightfall descended on the city. After the apartment hunting, Khushi and Arnav had strolled around in the city, taken dinner, and just enjoyed each other's company. After arriving back to her apartment, they both showered together. Later on, as it became closer to midnight, Arnav's phone rang. His assistant had phoned to which Khushi assumed that it must be regarding his move tomorrow. She left him alone in the living room, although he was staring at her pictures wall. It felt odd to Khushi that he was staring at a particular picture. it was the exact one where her face wasn't visible at all. She was about to gesture towards the picture in a questioning manner to Arnav when her own phone rang.

Arnav hung up the phone and walked into Khushi's bedroom. "NK, I know... birthdays are a special occasion. But, listen... all right fine. I will. Okay, I'll talk to you later. Goodnight."

Khushi hung up the phone and feigned nonchalance. Arnav did not focus on her phone call and hugged her. He yawned while cradling her frame against his. Khushi snickered at his tiredness. "So, finally the almighty devil is sleepy for a change. Let's get you into bed... shall we?"

She led him into the warm bed and he didn't question her, as he was beat.

In the next few minutes, she heard Arnav slip into deep sleep. She fingered his hair slowly, and she could clearly make out tense streaks on his forehead. She leaned in and kissed his temple; she then turned off the lights and slipped into sleep as well.

Khushi must have been sleeping for a couple of hours when weird sounds woke her up. She sat upright in bed, eyes still tired. She tried to make out the hazy forms around her... it took a while but she was able to focus to her surroundings. She touched Arnav's side of the bed and found it empty. She got out of the bed and tiptoed towards the living room. The cold was stinging her bare legs as she was only wearing her shorts. Barefoot she made it to the living room when she a hazy outline of someone hunching over on the floor. She quickly turned on the lights and saw Arnav spewing spit out from his mouth.

Without wasting any time she ran towards him. Startled by Khushi's presence, Arnav turned his head away from her. She didn't need to see his weak side. She didn't need to see the ugly monster with red bloodshot eyes, and spit forming around his mouth. He wasn't proud of this monster and she didn't need to see it. Abffled by his rude brush off, Khushi ran towards the kitchen and grabbed cold water and doused a towel in cold water. She ran back into the living room, placed the water and towel on the table, and touched Arnav. He burshed her off again but this time Khushi roughly grabbed his shoulders and forced him to look at her.

The moment he turned around, he knew Khushi would recoil in disgust. He was ready for her to shrug him off and leave him so he shut his eyes off and stayed still.

The next instance broke the spree of his thoughts. "Are you okay?"

He opened his eyes when he heard Khushi. "Look at me... here, drink some water."

She sat on the floor and pulled him towards her. He leaned his entire body weight on her but she didn't flinch a bit. She cradled him against her like a child and made him drink some water. Water... it helped a lot. Khushi sat there until he was done dry heaving and offered him some more water. After finishing the whole glass, Khushi took hold of the wet towel and wiped his mouth, face and his neck. The relief was instant and Arnav closed his eyes.

"Better?" she asked him. He didn't have the strength so he just nodded. "Let's get you into bed then."

She helped him up and walked him towards the bed and lowered him into the warm comforter. He shut his eyes instantly and fell asleep. Khushi walked back into the living room, cleaned up and slipped into the bed as well.

What happened to Arnav? It wasn't as if she hadn't noticed that he looked ill at times, and that he hid that part of his life from her and she couldn't help but return back those rumours she had heard about him. Should she quiz him further? She didn't think it was wise for her to interfere into his life if he didn't want to discuss it with her. She would wait for him to come to terms with it himself and share it with her. For now, she hugged him as her body shuddered. She didn't want to lose him.

~~0O0~~

Friday, February 8th, 2013

Harper Collins Publishing House, New York

Khushi muttered a quick thank you on the phone and placed it back on the receiver. She was swamped in work, coffee wasn't helping her tired body and the new intern at the office was gossiping more and working less causing Khushi to pick up after her work. In the morning when she had woken up, she noticed that Arnav had again left without saying goodbye. She was sure he was ignoring her and she felt insulted. She didn't know what to do anymore. She tried calling him but he wasn't picking up either. Was he done with her? Was this it? Was last night something he didn't want to share with her? She wasn't sure what was going on anymore.

Anger was swelling higher and higher in her even though she tried to reason with herself. She texted him for another attempt at asking him about his day... she wasn't even discussing about last night for god sake. She knew he was moving into his new apartment... was that it? He moves into a new apartment and they were over.

Khushi sighed at her fervent thoughts. Just as she got up to walk towards the coffee machine, NK spotted her and jogged towards her. He smiled at her and spoke, "So are you ready for tonight then?"

Khushi gave him a dumbfounded look. She was not ready for any more quizzical games. "What?" she said.

"Damn it woman, did you forget my call last night? We are going out tonight... and partying until you turn a brand new 24! It is your birthday tomorrow, silly!" he shook her shoulders.

"Oh," she said as the realization dawned upon her. "Yeah it is."

"Are you okay? You honestly seem like you would rather sleep than celebrate your birthday."

"No, I am fine... I am just really tired," replied Khushi as she untangled from him and sat in her chair. Her brain was being pulled at so many different directions that she completely forgot that her birthday was coming up! Worried, NK stooped down and grabbed her hands. "Are you okay?"

Khushi, too emotional to reply, simply nodded her head. NK didn't know what was going on with her and opening that pit seemed a little too much right now. "Missing home right now," she lied. Although, it wasn't a lie because she did miss someone... just not home. She leaned forward and hugged him. NK simply stroked her back and she had to bite the inside of her mouth to supress a sob but her eyes clouded with tears anyway.

After recovering from her emotional hiccup, Khushi smiled at NK. "So we are hitting the club tonight and celebrating till the crack of dawn! I hope there are no other plans?"

Khushi dwelled on his question... she had no plans... the guy she wanted was MIA, he didn't know it was her birthday... he wasn't picking up her calls... yup, it did look like the window was wide open to get drunk on the eve of her birthday.

Since when did life become so complicated?