||Just One Breath Away-AN FF~VM pg 122|| - Page 70

"Well, that wraps it up for today I guess…" Abhi closed the file and lay back on his chair, closing his eyes and heaving a tired sigh.

Nikki looked up from the laptop and watched him. He really did look weary. She shut the laptop and walked up to him. He was still sitting in the same position, eyes shut and one hand massaging his temple.

He looked up when he felt her hand on his shoulder. "Yeah?"

"Let's go. It's late anyway and…" she hesitated.

"What?"

"I think you should take a day off", she shrugged.

"What? Why? I need to get lots of work done, Nikki", he sat up immediately, placing his glasses back on his nose.

"The world won't turn upside down if you take a day off from work, Abhi", she scolded him. "You're overworking yourself and if you don't take some rest, you'll fall ill."

"You're here to take care of me na", he smiled up at her, rubbing the back of her hand with his thumb.

"Yes…" she replied, looking at him softly. "But that doesn't mean I'm going to let you fall sick", she chided him in a stern voice.

"Yes Ma'am", he nodded his head, got up and started arranging the files on his desk.

She stood and watched him, arms crossed over her chest. He finished putting everything in place and turned to her.

"Shall we leave?" he asked, and she nodded in affirmation.

They walked through the corridors, hand in hand, not talking much. They were both tired, as the week had been hectic and they hardly got any rest.

They walked out of the hospital doors and into the parking lot. It was dark, and by habit Nikki snaked both her arms around his muscular one and walked close to him. Abhi had become so used to her doing this everyday when he dropped her home, he liked her closeness, and the warmth he felt when she held him.

"Scared?" he remarked with a smirk.

"As if you don't know. Shut up", she replied dryly, tightening her hold on his arm. It was unusually dark tonight.

***

Armaan walked out into the parking lot, happy to finally be free of irritating duties he had been set by Dr. Keerti.

"Uff, even Dr. Moody is better than Hitler. Made me work all day and then till now…10 pm in the night, doesn't have any sense…" he muttered under his breath and started walking towards his car in the darkness.

That was when he heard Nikki's voice. She sounded like she was chiding someone, but that too quite fondly. He wondered how she would get home at this time of the night and was just about to call out to her when he heard his voice…Abhimanyu's.

"You said you're cook hasn't come today", Nikki was saying.

"Yeah, she didn't come. And that means I'll have to make my own dinner", Abhi replied.

"Do you even know how to cook?" she teased.

"Do I have a choice?"

Their voices floated to him in the silent parking lot, and he couldn't help but give in to his curiosity. What was she doing with him, that too at this time of the night? And why did they sound so comfortable with each other?

He stood there, thinking about what he had just heard. He wondered why Nikki rarely had lunch with them these days, and why Dr. Modi didn't get so angry at the drop of a hat anymore. He was itching to find out the real reason behind it all.

Even though he could put two and two together and arrive at a conclusion, the idea of which he didn't like at all…his lips were pressed in a grim line even as he thought about it. But then, he had promised Riddhima he would give Nikki some space, and not jump to conclusions. But still, she was his best friend and he needed to find out if she was hiding anything from him.

The glaring headlights of a car startled him from his thoughts, and he saw Abhimanyu's black Lancer zoom out of the parking lot in the opposite direction from where he had been standing. So they hadn't seen him there. He could still find out.

***

Abhi drove in silence, as light music played on the radio. Nikki listened to him humming slightly with the song, and felt the irresistible urge to close her eyes and doze off.

She never knew when she had fallen asleep, but her sleep must have been deep, for when she opened her eyes she found herself in her bed and Abhi just about to shut the lights as he walked out of her room.

"Abhi!" she called him, and he turned around, a surprised look on his face.

"I thought you were asleep", he said.

"I was", she replied, and sat up.

"You go back to sleep Nikki, you're really tired", he walked back to her and tried to make her lie down again, but she pushed his hand away.

"No, I'm fine", she stood up. "In fact, I'm hungry."

He stood in front of her, hands pushed into his pockets, an amused look on his face, not saying a word.

"Why don't we have dinner together?" she offered. "I'll make something for us." She started towards the door.

"Nikki", he held her arm and pulled her back. "You have dinner, I've to go home now. It's late."

"But then you'll have to sleep with an empty stomach", she looked appalled.

"I'll be okay, I'll knock up something for myself."

"Yeah, right. And poison yourself in the process", she rolled her eyes. "I know what happens when you're in the kitchen, Abhi. Leave it to me." She declared and walked out with confidence, him following behind her and shaking his head.

*****

"Can I help out?" Abhi's head appeared around the corner of the door, and Nikki looked up, amused.

"What can you do to help?" she laughed.

"Don't underestimate me", he pouted.

She stared at him for a while, then picked up a knife and brandished it at him. "Come here."

He grinned and walked in, hands raised in surrender.

She handed him some vegetables and told him to dice them up.

"That's what I can do to help?" he looked dismayed.

"Yes. Or would you rather wash the dishes instead?" she looked at him innocently.

"No thanks. This is good enough", he remarked and got down to cutting up the veggies.

"You should be good at this anyway", she told him, gathering ingredients for the recipe.

"And why so?" he questioned, not looking up.

"You're a surgeon after all", she whispered teasingly into his ear from behind, and he laughed.

"Good logic", he chortled.

*****

"And dinner is ready", Nikki placed two plates of pasta in front of him, and was greeted with a warm smile.

They grinned at each other and dug in. Abhi placed a forkful in his mouth and closed his eyes.

"Mmm…heaven. You're an awesome cook", he told her.

"Thanks", she turned pink.

"Yeah, and I was so hungry…" he stopped midway when suddenly the lights went off, followed by a slight yelp from her.

Knowing full well her phobia of darkness, Abhi unlocked his phone and pointed the screen at her so she got some light.

"Abhi…" she looked around nervously, her fist tightening around the fork.

"You wait…I'll be back", he pushed back the chair and got up.

"No! Wait…I'll…I'll come with you", her eyes widened in fear.

"Nikki, it's okay. Just close your eyes and think about something nice. I'll be back before you know it", he said soothingly and walked off into the dark, leaving the phone in front of her.

She clutched the phone in her hands and closed her eyes tightly. She hated the dark. Think about something nice…yeah, and he'll be back soon. The first thing she saw was Abhi's eyes. Oh, how she loved his eyes. All the moments they had spent together flashed in her mind, and she didn't have to try too hard to become engrossed in them.

His eyes, his voice, his hair, the way he held her, the way he loved her, his kisses, his hugs, his temper, his sweetness, the smell of his aftershave…in fact, she was so deep in her thoughts she could actually smell him…feel him near her. Feel him near her???

She opened her eyes to see his amused ones staring at her, the soft light of a candle flame falling on his face and making him look like a dream.

"Come back to reality, Princess?" he grinned and sat down at the table.

She blushed and fiddled with her fork. She had actually been breathing his scent. And who knows for how long he had been gazing at her like that…his smouldering sexy eyes, the sharpness of which had been enhanced by the golden light of the candle…it sent Goosebumps through her. And she must have been looking so stupid, a goofy smile on her face as she thought of him.

"What're you thinking?" his voice interrupted her thoughts.

"Huh? Oh nothing", she answered meekly, blushing harder.

"You look so cute…" he smiled. "Blushing like that." He laughed when her blush deepened.

*****

"Nikki…do you realise this was our first candlelight dinner…" he said thoughtfully, his piercing eyes robbing her of breath.

She kept staring at him, as he pulled her closer on the couch where they now sat after dinner. The candle had been moved from the dining table to the centre table, and it burnt softly, illuminating their faces in a glow that made them seem unreal.

"Yeah", she answered in a whisper, cuddling up to him.

"I never thought it would come in such an unromantic way", he said bluntly, and she couldn't stifle her giggle.

"Have you thought that it's 1 am in the morning and you're still here in my house, holding me like you'll never let go?" she asked him after a long while of comfortable silence. He gave her a fond glare through the corner of his eyes before planting a soft kiss on her lips and moving to her eyelids, which closed shut of their own accord.

Before she knew it, he had pulled her onto his lap with just one arm and was looking at her with an intensity that threatened to burn her.

"You think I want to leave?" his voice was unintentionally seductive as he whispered into her ear, making her shiver.

He breathed into her hair, and slowly kissed the vein in her throat which throbbed madly at the touch of his lips. He traced his lips back to hers, and kissed her once more, softly, and she parted her lips to deepen the kiss.

Slowly, but softly, he let go. Once the kiss was broken, he gazed at her warmly, tracing her swollen lips with his thumb.

"I love you", he whispered quietly.

"I love you", she answered with a soft smile.

He placed a kiss on her forehead before whispering a soft goodnight in her ears and heading home.