The Trampled Butterfly #2 Check index for Th3 link - Page 92

"Khushi!" he called from the window of his car, sitting inside the warmth of the comforts, gazing at his best friend twirling around under the rain, the big fat drops battering her face.

But turning around, she looked at him with those innocent puppy eyes that only wanted to have fun all day, leaving him with no other choice than to sigh and oblige to her demands.

The happiness was clearly etched on her face and he could see the same five year old 'Kukku' in her, just like the first time he had seen her enjoy these rains and it was as if she had suddenly been resurrected back to life.

And witnessing that pure happiness sent tingles of ecstasy down his spine.

The rain was getting heavier by the minute, the drops battering painfully against her, but she still didn't stop.

Khushi twirled and twirled, spinning around in circles as if lost in a trance, completely away from this world and all of a sudden, he felt a tinge of panic, streaking his warm chest inflated with happiness.

The bright sunny afternoon had turned grey and dark, the black clouds looming over them. They were separated by a distance, the distance between the car and the muddy earth, where the two of them belonged to.

He, surrounded by warmth and comfort of his luxury, while she, left to endure the harsh cold of the outside bitter world.

Her eyes were now closed, as she looked up at the sky, holding out the edges of her saree in both her hands ahead of her, to collect the fresh drops of the first rain. But they simply seeped into the fabric, drenching her all the more.

The skin beneath that fabric revealed against the six yards draping her, accentuating her places where he had never ventured before. He averted his gaze, suddenly feeling embarrassed at the direction of his own scandalous thoughts, but there was something within him, that reverted back that same gaze, instilling him with a confidence, possessiveness, a feeling that he was not wrong.

As if he had a right to look at her that way. The way only a man in love looked at his woman.

As the seconds ticked by, he was drawn towards her like a moth to a flame, like an oasis to a parched traveller, like a bird to the open sky, its freedom and happiness.

And then, he heard his phone ring, snapping away his wild thoughts.

"Dadi?" he asked, surprised to hear her voice on the other end.

"Arnav, where are you both? It's raining heavily here. You should have been home two hours ago. What happened?" he heard the worried voice of his grandmother.

"Dadi, you don't worry. I'm here with her. We might just get delayed a bit."

"Don't worry? Arnav, it's raining cats and dogs outside and do you even realise how dangerous it is to drive in the ghats at this time? And as it is, its Khushi's birthday today. Don't you dare spoil her day today with your stupidity." The elder lady clearly warned him.

But his ears turned deaf as the new piece of information slowly seeped into his skin.

It was Khushi's birthday? And that girl hadn't even informed him for the entire day. What the hell!

"Dadi, I'll take care of her and myself. We will be back soon, okay?" And saying so, he disconnected the call, his eyes suddenly burning with annoyance and fury at his best friend.

He had once again forgotten his best friend's birthday. Hell! He hadn't even wished her for the past fifteen years. But she?

There wasn't even a word uttered by her about it for the entire day that she spent with him and this simply made him mad.

Mad enough to open the door and step out into the rain, the very rain that he abhorred, opening the door to their two worlds and bridging the gap between them.

He strode towards her in quick three steps, the mud soiling the black polish of his shoes, the rain drops creasing his perfectly ironed clothes.

But when the distance between them reduced to mere inches, his anger, his annoyance, his frustration simply washed away with the rain and all he could see were those quivering lips adorned with tiny glistening drops of rain, her eyes closed, unaware of the entire world.

He didn't realise when his hands had reached out to cup her face with their own accord. And her eyes dreamily sprung open at the warmth he provided amidst the bitter frost surrounding the confines of her heart.

His fingers, wrapped around the nape of her neck on their own, tilting her head delicately to meet his and before he knew it, he leaned forward towards her, bridging the gap between them completely for eternity.