(T1) Unknown Events - Arshi FF [Completed] - Page 45

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Chapter 17

"Where are we going?" She asked again, looking out at the road, hoping to catch a sign as to where they were going.

"The kidnapper never reveals the location" He said in all seriousness before winking at her.

He would never know the effect of that wink on her fragile heart.

In less than ten minutes, Arnav brought the car to a stop. Khushi peered out the window, taking in her surroundings. It was an open area, with a small hut shaped shop a few feet away. She twisted in her seat to look at Arnav. Some parts of his face were in the shadows. He looked.. manly. Intense and manly. He looked so good.

"Planning to sit here all night?" He teased her, bringing her out of her thoughts. She shook her head. She looked out the window before facing him questioningly. He sighed, getting out of the car. Jogging over to her side, he opened her door and held out a hand. She placed it and inhaled sharply at the tingles shooting up her arm. Ignoring the tingles, she stepped down the car and nearly sunk. Sand, soft sand was everywhere. In the distant, she could hear waves crashing and she realized they were by the beach.

Arnav shut the door and stepped back from her, scratching the back of his head. "The night is still young." It wasn't even 8 30pm.

" I figured we could take a walk before getting some desert. You said you were full. So we'll walk for a while. Then we can go there" He looked over to the hut shop "and get some desert."

Before she could protest, he quickly added "Don't worry, they've got sugar free deserts too." He gave her a lop sided smile and she felt something tug inside her. He looked so much younger and carefree when he smiled, not at all like a Laad Governor, she giggled to herself, the name amusing her.

"What's so funny?" He stepped forward, almost trapping her against the car and her giggles stopped immediately. Despite the cooling breeze, she could feel the heat of the moment. She could feel the heat of his body. Was it wrong to want to reach out and wrap his arms around her?

Hey Devi Maiyya, help me. What am I thinking?

She shook her head at him innocently, not wanting him to know about her thoughts. He looked at her thoughtfully before moving back. "Shall we?" He invited.

They walked on the soft sand along the shore. The tide was low. Cool night breeze helped after the heat of the day. Dim fairy lights hung along the trees. She sneaked a glance at him. "Aap.. did you receive the contract?" She inquired.

Arnav stuffed his hands in his pockets. "Yes. But let's not talk about work" He suggested. "Ji" She complied.

Their hands brushed against each other as they walked. Feeling very aware of the man beside her, Khushi struggled to have coherent thoughts. "Tell me about yourself." She blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

Arnav stiffened slightly, unaccustomed to sharing personal information. However with her, he felt.. felt like himself. Felt normal. Just felt.

"Orphan. Businessman. Workaholic. Arrogant. Hot-tempered. Diabetic." He summed up his life and all his qualities.

"Orphan. Middle class. Cheerful. Artistic. Sweet-tooth." She replied the way he did, smiling cheekily at him.

His heart clenched at the thought of her being an orphan.

"Orphan?" He asked gently, deliberately brushing his hand against hers as if offering some comfort.

"Ji. Car accident. Aap?"

"Doesn't matter. They're gone."

"Hum nahi mante. " She stopped walking. Looking up, she pointed with her finger.

"See those two close together?" Arnav followed her fingers to see to twinkling stars.

"Those my parents. Looking down at me. Always" She smiled, looking at him.

Arnav stared at them for a long moment before looking down at her. At his wistful look, she grabbed his index finger and lifted it to a pair of brightly shining stars near hers.

"Those are yours. Looking down at you. Always" She repeated, wanting to take away the sudden seriousness and sad look in his eyes. He swallowed.

She squeezed his finger, lowering his hand to his side. She felt nervous suddenly, as if she'd just crossed a line with him. She fiddled with the strap of her bag before wrapping her arms around her waist as a chilly breeze swept through. Maybe she should apologize..

The next moment, she was wrapped up in a big thick jacket that was warm and smelled woody with a hint of vanilla. She craned her head up to stare into soulful brown eyes. Arnav tugged the ends of his jacket around her firmly, making sure she was warm. As she smiled at him gratefully, his gaze dropped to her lips that slowly parted.

He looked at her with intense longing. She found her insides melting. Her gaze flickered to his lips. He could see the curiosity in her innocent eyes as they looked at his lips. Slowly, she licked her lips to wet them as she looked back up into his eyes. His eyes darkened at the act and he pulled the jacket towards him, causing her to step forward. She felt her heart thumping. There was barely any space between their bodies.

Rabba ve.. ho rabba ve' the ringtone coming from a distance broke apart the spell they were both under.

Arnav was the first to realize how close he'd been to kissing this woman. His eyes widened slightly. What was he thinking? He couldn't possibly want her that way. No, he couldn't let himself get sucked into whatever this was. Could he? He stared at her. Why did he feel like he knew her?

Khushi bit her lower lip as the trance was broken. With the ringtone in the background, for a moment she'd felt like she was in some romantic serial sequence. Shaking her head, she grabbed onto the jacket and wrapped it around her more snugly.

They both continued to walk along the beach silently. Arnav struggled to reason with himself. He can't think of her like that. He couldn't keep staring at her and feel attracted to her. He wasn't some romantic sap. What was he thinking? He wasn't one to bring a girl to the beach at night and kiss her under the stars.

Khushi meanwhile looked down at her feet as they walked. These feelings, she'd never felt them before. She got them only when she was with him. This brooding, intense man. Sometimes he smirked, sometimes he scowled, sometimes he teased. Would she ever understand him? But one thing she did understand; these feelings she got only when he was near.

Did that mean that.. was this love? Did she love him? Wasn't it too soon though? They'd just met.. No she chided herself. It couldn't possibly be love. What did she know about love? Hell, she hardly had been in the company of any man. This was the first time. Maybe that's why she was feeling these weird feelings.

Trying to diffuse some of the tension that came from the close call earlier, Arnav searched his brain for a topic. "How long have you worked at U3 Events?"

"I thought we weren't going to talk about work?" She glanced at him. He stared straight ahead, his posture stiff. Was he confused about earlier? Did he feel the same weird feelings she did? "I've been working there for about 8 months." She replied, looking forward as the breeze blew gently, her hair flying into her face for a second.

"What do you do?" Arnav kicked a stone, watching it come to a stop and spin.

"I'm a telesales agent. If I do well, I could go onto becoming a sales representative too. My manager, Rakeshji seems to think that I'm doing well and even encourages me to go meet with clients face to face. I have to remind him that I don't have enough experience yet. Eventually we'll see how I progress, and I know there are different departments in a company, but I think I'm fine being a telesales agent for now."

Her words were an echo of what he'd heard before. Frowning, he tried to remember.

*Previously*

"I don't care. Either the meeting will be with you, or this is over" he stated his final decision. He didn't want to think about why he had this sudden demand. Must be the headache making him say such stuff.

Khushi sucked in a breath. "Sir you don't understand, I can't do the meeting. I don't have enough expertise to perform the roles of a sales representative-"she tried explaining patiently.

"I hope that you also understand that different companies have different ways of working. Also, there are different departments in each company for a reason. I'm sure your company must have different departments that perform different roles. Similarly, I'm trying to explain to you that having me at the meeting won't benefit you as I am not a sales person, that is not my department." She said exasperatedly.

*Present*

He stopped walking. He stared at her thoughtfully. Her words, similar to the ones Khushi had said. Her voice.. felt familiar. But how could it be? Khushboo was not the one he'd been interacting with over the phone and through the emails. It had been Khushi.

Khushi stopped walking too, looking at him questioningly. "What happened?"

He was about to ask her what her full name was when a young kid came up to them. Balloons in one hand, and flowers in the other, he looked at Arnav hopefully. "Bhaisaab, phool li jiye na. Bhabhiji ko accha lagega." The kid looked at Khushi meaningfully.

Khushi was about to correct the kid when she saw Arnav silently taking out his wallet. He paid for a stalk of scented blood red rose and smiled as the kid thanked him before wondering off to find other couples.

He handed her the rose and she took it with a shy smile. Two flowers in one night. Her heart warmed. "Shukriya" She whispered. Looking up into his eyes, she was captivated. Once again the sparks flew. The strange feelings creeped in. Her racing heart struggled to pump fast. Her chest heaved. The jacket he'd placed on her helped, but at the moment, the way he was looking at her? She may as well have been naked.

A foreign feeling settled in his chest as being referred to as husband and wife by that kid. But he didn't refute the statement. Without thinking, he reached for his wallet, finding himself wanting to give her another flower. His heart swelled with possessiveness at the shy smile she gave him while taking the rose.

Mine. She smiled that smile for me. Mine.

He stared at her, his gaze darkening as he saw her chest heaving. It didn't matter that he'd draped his jacket on her; he could still see the curves of her body, the outline, the shape of her hips. She may as well have been wearing nothing. He could imagine what that would be like..

Damn it, a man only had so much self-control. How many more times would he be able to stop himself before giving in to the hunger?