Arshi SS Key to your heart..Chapter 15...*COMPLETED* - Page 11

Arnav wondered what he would have done if Khushi herself had not interrupted the moment...He leaned back to lie on the floor...he could see the stars twinkling...he thought he saw a shooting star as well...

Arnav's mind traveled back in time to a similar night...a couple of years back...him and Anjali were talking and relaxing by the poolside...Anjali was complaining to Arnav that she was tired after dressing up day after day..to greet families who would come with their sons..to see if she was their perfect daughter in law. Most of the times she would receive rejection..a limp was certainly a disadvantage when it came to being a daughter in law...a few other times, she had rejected...because the guests seemed to be more interested in the grandeur and riches of the Raizada family than about knowing herself...

That night..as they were chatting away, she had noticed a shooting star..Arnav had then seen Anjali close her eyes and with folded hands...mutter something..As she saw a confused Arnav staring at her when she opened her eyes, she had smiled at him...

"Di...I cant believe it...its just a lump of hot rocks and plasma..not some divine force that you ask for a wish to it"..

"Chotte...naniji ne tho har ek divine force se pehle hi meri shaadi ka wish maang chuki hain..mere liye ab yahi ek divine force bacha hain...dekhte hain ki ab ye mere liye apna rajkumar layega ya nahi" ("Arnav...Naniji has already prayed to every divine force for my wedding to happen...only this divine force is spared by her for me...lets c if this one cane bring me my prince..")

Arnav could still recall that within a week of that night, Anjali had met Shyam at the temple...which ultimately led to their marriage...

As he looked up at the shooting star...he felt an urge to make a wish...but he realized that the 'shooting star' was actually an aeroplane in the night sly..shimmering away with its red and green lights...

Long forgotten lyrics of an English song seeped into his mind..."can we pretend that airplanes in the night sky are like shooting stars..i could really use a wish right now.."..he smiled sheepishly and closed his eyes..to make a wish...

********************

Khushi was on the bed..trying to fall asleep..but far from that..she was wide awake and caressing her cheeks...as her fingers moved across the soft skin, she could almost feel the slight marks that Arnav's prickly stubble had left...

She recalled a tingling sensation...And that night..Khushi Kumari Gupta's opinion on her favorite look for a hot guy had changed...Having a stubble was now on the top of the desirable features list...

*****************

Khushi was late to wake up..really really late...she hastily wore a formal apparel instead of her favorite sarees and rushed to the office...As she threw the hand bag on the table and stood gasping to catch her breath, her eyes met Arnav's through the glass wall..When she realized what his changed appearance meant, her lips curled into a small smile...

Arnav watched as the smile reached her eyes...he knew that he was the reason for her beautiful smile that morning...He felt a sensation of pride...Satisfied, he moved his eyes back to the laptop screen...catching a glance of his clean-shaven face on the screen reflection...!!!

************
It was a long tiring day...Arnav was still in the office...at 9 pm.. going through the celebrity guest list for the show...He was someone who had a strong dislike for celebrity presence at these shows...Most of the press coverage would be about which celebrity wore what than on the designs showcased on the ramp..

The strong dislike for the task at hand combined with a long tedious day resulted in a searing pain on his left temple..which slowly started to strengthen its grip...Arnav knew that his migraine problem had returned...It tended to make an appearance during high pressure situations..the normal casualty of the pain was Aman..who would suddenly be shouted at and thrown things at by ASR...but he always took it in his stride as he was aware of the reason..However today Aman was nowhere to be seen...Arnav saw that Khushi's seat too was empty...

He stood up..but could feel his legs giving away...He grasped onto the desk...He felt sick...Arnav made his way to the nearby rest room and splashed his face with cold water...He felt better..but the pain was still present..

He slowly descended onto the couch...Closing his eyes, he slid down..relaxing in a sitting position...He massaged his temples but it was not doing him any good..

At that moment, his fingers touched something...in fact it was someone's fingers...he opened his eyes and met Khushi's eyes...her fingers were still resting in his temples...She stared at him.wide eyed...like a small kid who was caught with hand in a cookie jar...Arnav felt that look was so endearing...

He smiled a little and leaned back again with eyes closed...Khushi too smiled and started moving her fingers on the sides of his forehead...Arnav could feel the pain floating away from him...her long hair was touching his cheeks and the aroma of her shampoo was intoxicating...

He opened his eyes when he felt the loss of her touch...She was now standing with a glass of water in 1 hand and a tablet in the other...He felt like he did not need the tablet...

"Khushi..i do not need it...i am fine now..thanks..really..tumhare haath mein tho jadhoo hain..!!." ("there is magic in your hands...!!")

Khushi blushed hearing a direct praise from Arnav..but she still held out the medicine and water glass...Seeing the insistent look on her face, Arnav relented and took both...Grabbing his coat and laptop bag, he walked to Khushi's desk who was busy packing her bag...

"Khushi..i will drop you home...come"

"Nahin...mein tho aaj Aakash sir ke gaadi mein jaa rahi hoon..." ("No...Aakash sir will drop me in his car...")

"Aakash ki gaadi mein..what the..i am your boss..you are my responsibilty..i will drop you home.."

"Sir..aap samjhe nahin..aaj aapko bhi Aaksh sir ke gaadi mein hi ghar jaana hai..iss haalath mein aapka driving karna teek nahin hain" ("Sir, you did not get what I meant...Aakash sir is going to drop you home as well..Its not best if you drive home in this condition")

"Unbelievable..Khushi..its just a headache..."

But Khushi was not ready to listen and went straight to Akash's cabin..

***********
Arnav was sitting in the front with Akash who was the designated driver for the night...Khushi was in the back seat and was enjoying the night wind on her face with the window down..She smiled wistfully as the cool breeze seemed to tickle her..

Akash had driven with Arnav many times in his life...he knew that the astute businessman in Arnav was always at work..even if it was while travelling..He had never seen Arnav sit idle in a car whenever someone else was driving...He was always on the phone..typing emails or calling Aman...but tonight Arnav seemed to be more interested in the rear view mirror than on his phone...Trying hard to suppress a smile, Akash stepped on the accelerator...

************