Note: slightly mature. 😆
Chapter Seven
Khushi opened her eyes slowly, groaning as the pressure in her head grew. She felt as if her head was going to burst, with the sinuses pushing against her forehead painfully.
She felt hot underneath the blanket, and shifted to cool herself down. She could feel the weight of someone pressing against her, and all of her sleepiness disappearing when her eyes fell on... him.
He shifted closer, and she could feel his heat on her neck, his head resting against her collarbone.
Happyness: My roommate is sleeping next to me. What do I do?
Happyness: Did I mention that my date went horribly yesterday? I threw up on him. Threw up! To be fair, he did deserve it. He was a pompous ass. But I have to be nice to him because he's helping us "SV D PRK".
Happyness: And it's kind of fun seeing my roommate annoyed. He's always so poised, but NK seems to bring out the primal side.
Happyness: And before you say anything, I am not trying to make him jealous.
Happyness: I repeat, not trying to make him jealous.
Khushi knew she was lying to herself as she typed the words.
Denial is not just a river in Egypt, Khushi K Gupta
She could hear Geet's voice in her brain, uncomfortably loud and teasing. She slumped against the pillow, her head still throbbing from her illness.
She remembered every, single event of last night.
Not that she would ever admit to it.
Groaning, she buried her face in her hands, cursing her tongue for losing its inhibitions. Arnav now knew about her most embarrassing secret: standing in line for nine hours to get a romance novel.
She had even called herself an ASR junkie.
So much for seeming calm and collected.
She glared over at Arnav, who was sprawled across the other half of her bed. His mouth was slightly open, a tuft of hair falling into his face as he slept deeply. Khushi felt her angry resolve weakening, her eyes tracing the contours of his face.
She reached out unwittingly, brushing the tuft of hair back.
Her hands lingered on his forehead, the soft hair falling through her fingers.
His hair smelled like...
Strawberries and citrus? Why did his hair smell vaguely like her own?
She continued to absentmindedly brush her fingers through his hair, completely forgetting why she was irritated with him in the first place. Her stuffed, heavy head felt distinctly lighter, her eyes beginning to droop with the repetitive motion.
"Mm... Khushi..."
Her eyes flew open and she froze when she heard her name from his lips, his body pressing against her. His hand flopped over her leg, pulling her towards him as he leaned into her touch.
She slowly moved her hand back, trying to remove herself from the situation before she got caught.
"Don't... stop..."
Her hand stilled over the tuft of hair, her heart thumping loudly in her chest.
Don't open your eyes, don't open- shit. You opened your eyes.
She found herself looking into sleepy, dark eyes. She quickly pushed the tuft of hair back dropping it messily onto his forehead. She hastily tore her gaze away. She pointedly looked away, only to see his...
Very bare, very well formed back.
"This is my house too now, and I would appreciate it if you didn't sleep... like... like..."
"Like...?"
"Like... like..."
"Naked?"
"Oh my god, really?! You have to sleep like... like... that in my bed?!"
A lazy smirk curved his lips, and he shifted slightly so that the blanket slid down to his bare lower back.
"Like... what, Khushi?"
She covered her eyes, desperately trying to rid herself of all of the inappropriate fantasies she was having.
Damn Arnav and his romance novels were messing with her brain.
"You know what I mean!"
She could hear him contain his laughter, and scowled, trying to move away from him. But his hand was still splayed out across her stomach, making her suck in a sharp breath as her shirt rode up, allowing his fingers to brush across her soft skin.
She felt his thumb brush lightly against her hip and bit her lip, forcing herself to keep a calm facade. She swallowed thickly when he began rubbing in slow, torturous circles, and she was intensely aware of how close he was.
"I don't know what you mean, Khushi- why don't you clarify for me?"
His voice was thick, sending goosebumps up her arms in anticipation. She shook her head, determined not to give in.
"I thought... you wanted me to..."
He trailed off, his voice dangerously low in her ear. She felt his lips brush her skin as he spoke, seductive and laden with desire.
"Wanted me to... ravish you."
Her mouth fell open in shock, and she could hear him trying to restrain his amusement. Laughter shook his shoulder silently, completely oblivious to her angry glare.
She whipped towards him, fully intending to snap back, when she was hit by a wave of dizziness that forced her to fall back against the pillow.
But before she could even think about it, she felt a warm hand easing her back, lifting her head and adjusting the pillow to a comfortable level.
She turned to look at him hovering above her, his eyes worried as he scanned her face.
"Don't do that, Khushi. You're sick."
"Why do you care?"
He didn't answer, only adjusting the sheets around her, ignoring her irritated glare.
"For the record, I was drunk. And sick."
"Really? And the personalized inscription that you waited... what was it, nine hours?"
"Actually, it was eight hours and thirty seve-"
She smacked a hand over her mouth, hastily breaking off as the smirk on Arnav's face grew wider.
"I- I mean, uh-"
"You know, Khushi, they do say that the... truth comes out with alcohol, don't they?"
With a wide, self satisfied grin, he walked out of the room, tossing her a careless wink.
Stupid man.
***
Khushi heard a groan from the bathroom three days later. She was feeling significantly better, thanks to Arnav hovering over her constantly with a bowl of soup and medicine. He had even taken to sleeping next to her to check if her fever had gone down, typing away on his laptop as she drifted into sleep, despite her protests that she was perfectly fine.
She tentatively opened the door, her eyes closed tightly.
"Are you clothed this time?"
"Come in. I'm-"
His sentence faded into a groan as he leaned over the toilet again, and she reached forward, gently rubbing his back. He slumped against the shower, an anguished grunt escaping him.
"Damn you, Khushi Gupta. This is all your fault."
He slowly stood up, coughing as he walked over to the sink to thoroughly rinse his mouth. Wincing, he glared at her in the mirror accusingly.
"Hey! Don't blame me, blame the bug."
He brushed her off, ambling over to grab his laptop as he sank onto her bed. She could see him shivering, pulling the covers tightly around himself.
"Don't you dare start writing, Raizada. You're sick."
He ignored her, his fingers flying across the keyboard before he tilted his head back, resting it against the headboard with a pained sigh.
She reached out and snatched the laptop from his hands, his loud, irritable protests falling on deaf ears.
"You are sick. Go to sleep. I'll go make some food for you."
Taking the laptop with her, Khushi opened the refrigerator, hoping that he had left some extra soup in there that she could heat up.
To her disappointment, the fridge was almost empty. She would have to go grocery shopping.
She walked back to the room, expecting Arnav to be muttering curses under his breath.
She felt the familiar whoosh of air as the tingling of the chimes began in the background, her eyes resting on him fondly.
He was curled up in fetal position, his glasses resting on the bedside table. The tuft of hair she had pushed back earlier was back on his forehead, and the lack of his glasses made him look... innocent.
Shaking her head, she scrawled a note on a random piece of paper.
Way to leave the fridge almost empty, A. Now what will I feed you? Going to get groceries.
Lo-
She paused, her pen hovering over the paper. She scribbled out the beginnings of the endearment, instead, signing it simply "K".
She swung open the door to find Geet on the other side, her hand raised towards the doorbell.
"Khushi! You look... much better, thank god."
"Shh! Arnav is sleeping."
"Sleep- wait. Is he sick too?"
Khushi looked away, nodding quietly. She could see Geet hiding her smile, pushing past her into the apartment.
"I'm going to get groceries. Don't wake him up."
"Don't worry, Khushi K Gupta. I'll leave your man alone."
Khushi rolled her eyes, stepping into the elevator.
"Tell me, did he sleep in the buff next to you and play... cricketwa?"
"f**k off, Mathur. I thought you didn't watch KDHI?"
"I'm friends with you. I don't have much of a choice, do I?"
Geet watched as Khushi disappeared, muttering a list of items to herself. She shook her head in despair.
No matter how many times she told her to write a list, Khushi always insisted on remembering the groceries in her head.
She made her way through the apartment, noting how the crisp, functional black and white now had splashes of color.
There was a handmade throw on the couch, along with brightly colored pillows. Pictures of their friends hung on the wall, and she noticed how Khushi's yellow coffee mug with puppies had joined Arnav's boring black one on the countertop.
She poked her head into Arnav's room, looking for a sign of him. The bed was perfectly made, and it looked like it hadn't been used in a couple of days.
Where was Arnav? Khushi had said that he was sleeping...
"I'm in here, Devil- I mean, editor."
"Very funny, Raizada."
She stepped through the connecting bathroom into Khushi's room, which was predictably covered in random trinkets and colorful items, a stark contrast to Arnav's boring, plain room.
But she didn't miss that Khushi's closet now held a set of Arnav's clothing, or that the bed now had two main pillows instead of one. Pieces of paper with his illegible handwriting were scattered across the room, indicating that he had spent more time in here than he had in his own room.
"She was sick. Someone had to take care of her, or she would infect the entire world."
She heard Arnav's gruff voice behind her, slightly nasally from the stuffed up nose.
"Is that all there is to it, Arnav?"
He rolled his eyes, pointedly avoiding her gaze.
"You should really try editing outside of the romance genre. I've found that it messes with your brain. Damned piano riff."
The last line was barely audible, but Geet didn't miss it.
"What was that? A piano riff? You do know what that means, right?"
"That they ran out of decent background romance songs, so they decide to play this stupid thing over and over until it gets stuck in the unfortunate viewer's head?"
"I was looking for something more along the lines of you finally finding your true love."
Arnav gave her an incredulous look, scowling.
"You know I don't believe in love and all that nonsense. Hallmark creates it to sell sparkly-"
"Is that why the draft I got from you of your latest came back with Khushi replacing the name of your main character? I noticed that it was particularly present in the sex scenes- but I'm sure you were just trying to show how... happy he feels, right?"
Arnav blanched, his eyes reflecting a slight horror. His face was otherwise impassive, but Geet knew him too well.
"Stop making things up to get a confession from me. Why are you here anyway? I sent you the edited draft yesterday."
Geet threw up her hands in surrender, realizing it was a lost argument.
"I'm only here to remind you that the premiere for Perceptions is in three weeks."
"So?"
"You need a date. And now that Khushi is done with that bas***d NK-"
"He brought her a freaking bouquet of flowers to apologize. Doesn't he know she's allergic to chrysanthemums?"
"Do I sense some jealousy?"
"She was sneezing all day. It was annoying. That's all."
"Whatever helps you sleep at night, Raizada. Anyway- you need a date."
She have him a meaningful look, and he nodded curtly in response.
"Fine. I'll ask her. But only because she's a fan."
Geet gave him a mocking ovation, a smile breaking her face as she walked out of the room.
Khushi was in good hands.
***
"You're going to kill me with your soup, Khushi. Just let me-"
"Just drink it! I put exactly what you told me to, I don't know how it turned out so badly..."
She lifted the spoon to his mouth, glowering as he gagged exaggeratedly.
"Face it Gupta, you're a disaster in the kitchen without me."
"I'm going to have to learn. What will I do when I get married? Drag you along?"
"Or you could just marry me."
The words were out before he could stop them, and Khushi's eyes widened in shock.
That medication was messing with his system.
Their gazes locked, and he could feel the blood pounding in his veins. Awareness took over the room, making the air thick with unsaid words. He could see the soft blush spreading across her cheeks, a small smile appearing on her face.
"Maybe I'll have to."
She murmured, and he would have missed it if it hadn't been so quiet. The shy smile was quickly replaced by a wicked grin, her eyes lighting up with mischief.
"But you'll have to do the dishes. I hate doing the dishes."
"As tempting as that sounds, I won't do the dishes for anyone, Gupta, not even for you."
She rolled her eyes, giving him the final spoon of soup. A small drop remained on his lips, and she reached out without warning, her thumb lingering on his lips as she brushed it away.
"You... uh... should get some sleep. Yeah. I'm just going to... read the latest update of Illusions."
He nodded, shifting so that she too could sit on the bed. He leaned his head back, watching her through half lidded eyes. He watched as her eyes lit up in excitement, an unconscious smile appearing on his face.
Her eyes flew across the page, and Khushi was soon immersed in the world of Kabir and Aditi. IFaraq69 had been astonishingly regular lately, claiming that she had more time than usual on her hands.
I look at her, my eyes lingering on her features as if I haven't seen her in years. The soft glow from the diyas surrounding the pool highlights the gentle contours, their light reflected in her hazel eyes.
I haven't been this close to her since Diwali, when I almost kissed her. The same, intense passion is here today, untainted by hatred, lies and the wistfulness of what could have been.
This is all about the present. About now.
About us.
I brush a piece of hair behind her ears, letting my fingers trail across her skin. She sucks in a breath, her eyes fluttering shut. My thumb slides down to caress her parted lips, and I lean in.
"Do... do you trust me?"
Her eyes tell me everything I need to know, and I finally press my lips against hers. She's eager, pulling me closer as her fingers thread through my hair.
Our kisses become feverent as we desperately make up for lost time, apologizing through our actions. I place soft kisses along her jaw before trailing hot, wet kisses down her neck, suckling lightly at her pulse point.
I relish the way she writhes underneath me, moaning my name. My hands pull away her sari hastily, leaving her clad in a thin blouse. I reach out, cupping her breasts through the fabric as the peaks tighten underneath my touch.
My name is a breathy moan on her lips as her head falls back, and I swiftly undo the buttons, letting the blouse fall to the floor. I notice the apprehension in her eyes as she covers herself with her hands.
I gently reach out, pulling her arms away from her chest before placing a tender kiss between her breasts. I lift my gaze up to hers, taking her lips in a gentle, slow kiss.
"Khushi..."
Khushi was momentarily paralyzed- that couldn't be her name, could it?
Khushi? She must have meant happiness. Surely she had read that wrong.
She was about to scroll back up when her screen turned to the blue screen of death, warning her of an impending crash.
Damn it, that computer always crashed just when she needed it.
"Arnav, can I use your laptop? Mine crashed."
He grunted his assent, turning away from her and curling into himself, his breathing becoming steady.
She opened his laptop up, relieved that there was no password. She resisted the urge to scour for new work, determinedly opening the browser so she could finish reading the update.
She typed in the Desh Forums address, moving towards the top bar to login.
But to her surprise, there was already a remembered password and username.
One that made her mouth fall open in shock.
Username: IFaraq69
Password: ********************
***
Note: And that's where I'll leave you today! I hope you enjoyed it. With regards to the teaser- I think... everyone was right, in a way- but that's not why she was shocked, as you can see :D
As always, please follow @ipkchotidesi or buddy me for PMs!
Love always,
Choti
Edited by chotidesi - 11 years ago
Marathi TV
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