ArHi FF: Highway to Hell, note pg 147 - Page 85

Chapter 19: The Fallout of the Footsie Fiasco

Khushi and Freddy were still laughing over last night's events when Aadit walked in, looking disheveled. He hadn't shaved, and he looked like he'd slept in the clothes he was wearing.

"Whaadup Aadit, my man?" asked Freddy chummily.

"Whaadup? Whaadup? How can you ask that so casually?" said Aadit looking stricken.

"Aadit, dear friend, what has happened to put you in such a tizzy?" asked Freddy politely rephrasing.  

"Oh. I don't know. You announced to the entire Raizada clan that I had my foot up Min's leg. Sorry about that Minnie. I didn't mean to, by the way," he digressed. "Then you pretty much told ASR I intended to hit on his sister. He's probably going to kill me. Anytime now," said Aadit looking about him warily.

"Two things," said Freddy patiently. "A-If you think were being subtle about your interest in Anjali, let me inform you, I've seen Bulls in China shops be less obvious than you! B-And this is important, Be a Man. If you like her, ask her out. If ASR doesn't like it, he'll deal with it. Now stop being such a baby and lets get to work!" commanded Freddy.

"Work! Work! I can't even think about work. What if Anjali never wants to see me again after last night's 'footsie fiasco'!" groaned Aadit.

"The Footsie Fiasco. I like that. Sounds like a good title for an Agatha Christie novel," quipped Khushi. "C'mon Aadit. Get over it. It wasn't that bad. What if you'd slid your foot up Payal's, or worse Naniji's?" asked Khushi. Aadit turned white as a sheet. "Naniji! Minnie please. My eyes, my eyes, I can't see!" he said shutting them closed, to block out that scary image.

"That's what I'm saying. Get over it, and ask Anjali out before she realizes you're a complete idiot and refuses to go out with you," explained Khushi patiently.

Freddy turned to Aadit. "You should consider yourself the luckiest man on Earth to have Minnie for a friend. She dislikes Anjali, and yet she's putting that aside for your sake. I'd consider you a poor excuse for a human being if you didn't ask her out after all this." He said seriously.

"Man! This is a rough crowd," said Aadit. "I need coffee, I'm heading out," he said turning to leave.

"I suggest you take a shower and shave before you go out on your date. There is no way you're getting to second base with that unkempt look!" called Freddy as Aadit walked out. Aadit made a rude sign at Freddy with his finger before leaving. Freddy and Khushi laughed for a little while and then settled down to work. Right around lunch hour ASR walked into Freddy's office where they were working.

"Hey Freddy! Hello Khushi! How are you guys doing?" he asked smiling sunnily.

"Err. We're very well. Why do you look so happy?" asked Freddy doubtfully.

"Oh, I don't know. I guess I really enjoyed Khushi's foot massage yesterday. Very sexy!" he winked at Khushi. She ignored him and pretended to work.

"Khushi you're going to lunch with me," said ASR coolly, blatantly ignoring poor Freddy.

"No," she said shortly.

"Why not? You don't eat lunch?" he asked.

"Oh, I eat lunch. Just not with you," she said.

"What! Is it just me, or do you do this to all the men you flirt with. You are such a tease." He said. Khushi gave him a dirty look and continued to work on her laptop without saying a word. Freddy sidled up to ASR, and said out of the corner of his mouth. "Watch it buddy, she is mad."

"Khushi! You're being unreasonable. Maybe I should've been the guy with the foot up your leg, then you would've had breakfast, lunch, and dinner with me." He said irrationally.

"Oh, man. This is going to be awesome," thought Freddy moving out of the way and finding a good vantage point.

Khushi slammed her laptop shut, and walked over to ASR. "If I hear the word foot or footsie again, today, or tomorrow, or anytime in the next decade, you are a dead man," she said, poking a finger into his chest as she spoke.

"Does that mean you plan to see me regularly over the next decade?" asked ASR boldly catching the hand she was poking at him in his. Next thing he knew, she held his arms behind him in a wrist lock so tight he thought his knuckles would break.

"Let's get one thing straight. No more footsie jokes. No more needling me about lunches or dinners. No more broad hints or acerbic jabs about seeing each other. No more blatant flirting. None of that, you hear me?" she said tightly.

"OK, let me go Lara Croft!" he said as lightly as he could, whilst heroically resisting revealing the pain he was in to her lest his macho man image be tarnished. She released his hands and stepped back.

"OK. None of any of that. Tell me, what I have to do to make you go out with me?" he said softly.

 "You can start by not ordering me around like I'm supposed to go out with you! Like it's my moral duty to eat lunch with you. It's not." She snapped.

"Hey! I didn't order you!" he said, upset at her statement.

"You certainly didn't ask me" she replied.

"Please go out to lunch with me Khushi?" he asked with such a sad, melting, puppy-dog, look in his eyes that Freddy almost wanted to go to lunch with him out of pity.

"No," she said again.

"Why not?"

"'Cos now you've made me angry. And I don't want to lunch with you, or anyone else, for that matter."

"OK. I'm sorry. How can I make it up to you?" asked ASR. Freddy threw him an approving look. The boy's learning curve is steep, he thought, smirking.

"Make me feel special. Make me want to go out with you," she snapped, making going out with him sound as much fun as going to the dentist.

"Make you feel special! So, you want romantic gestures. Typical female! But when I wrote you a poem, you said it was too long," he complained. "You're impossible, Khushi Kumari Gupta!" he said, using a line he'd said to her many a time in the past.

"OK, ASR. Poetry's not your forte. I get it. Find something that is," she said. "And it's not about romantic gestures. It's about…it's about! You know what? If I have to explain it to you, it's not even worth it. All this has given me a headache. I'm going to my cabin," she stuffed her laptop into its case and stormed out.

ASR looked at Freddy. "If you want my advice," started Freddy loudly.

"I really don't," said ASR, also leaving.

Freddy shrugged his shoulders and went back to his designs. He thought it a miracle that this project was making progress. The 2 Bosses were in love and couldn't focus on work. His right-hand-girl was falling hard. "It's all me. Where would they be without me?" thought Freddy grandiosely, applying himself to the business of making pretty clothes.

ASR walked out of Freddy's cabin and straight into Aadit. Aadit had showered and changed. He looked much less the worse for wear now. He looked a little scared when he bumped into ASR but tried to be casual about it.

"Sorry ASR. Didn't see you there," he said.

"No problem," said ASR stiffly. He'd promised his Di to not say or do anything to "Aadit-the-ape" as he'd christened him. And he intended to keep his word. Aadit nudged past him, when ASR called out. "Hey Aadit. Want to eat lunch together?"

Aadit swallowed. "What the heck!" he thought, "Maybe he wants to feed me a last supper before finishing me off," he thought nervously. He squared his shoulders like a man who knew he was facing his nemesis. "Sure," he said nonchalantly. "Where do you want to go?"

They ate lunch at a small Caf close to the office where the soup and sandwiches were excellent. They'd discussed the government's new initiative of allowing FDI in retail, Sachin's missed 100^th century, the magic of Kolaveri, the faltering European economy and even Vidya Balan's "The Dirty Picture." In other words, they'd talked themselves out almost completely when ASR decided to take the plunge.

"Aadit. I need your help," he asked humbly.

"Err. In what way?" asked Aadit nervously.

"It's Khushi. She won't go out with me unless I do something to make her feel special,"

"Oh. OK," said Aadit hollowly. He had more important things on his mind. Like how to ask Anjali out without sounding like a blithering idiot. And here was ASR. Worried about impressing a girl who'd held a torch for him for 7 years. The fool!" thought Aadit. He didn't voice that thought, though. "How can I help?" he asked politely.

"Err. You know her pretty well. How do I make her feel special?' asked ASR, desperately. He felt pretty idiotic, but desperate times called for desperate measures, he told himself.

"Sorry ASR. Can't help you there. The only time I asked Minnie out 4 years ago, she rejected me resoundingly," he said.

"You asked Khushi out?" asked ASR dangerously.

"Can you blame me? She's gorgeous, inside and out. I'd have been a fool not to," said Aadit nonchalantly. "In any case she said No in a flash. Didn't even give it a thought. That was a good day for my ego!" he laughed.

ASR sighed. "I guess I can't blame you. She IS gorgeous."

"Tell you what. Ask Freddy. He's very good with such things," said Aadit brightly, relieved to find ASR so amenable to reason.

"Err. No. I'd rather not," said ASR hesitatingly.

"Why not? He's awesome! I guarantee it," said Aadit enthusiastically.

"Yeah well. He already kinda offered and I kinda said No," said ASR.

"Was he being a pompous ass?" asked Aadit.

"Yeah." Said ASR, lying through his teeth about who was being the pompous Ass.

"I understand. Freddy can be an ass sometimes," said Aadit nodding his head in commiseration. "Anyway, sorry mate. Can't help you there. But maybe you can help me?" he asked brightly.

"Shoot!" said ASR, feeling quite friendly towards Aadit for some reason.

"Well, I've been meaning to ask Anjali out and wondered if you could help me out?" he said, throwing caution to the winds. ASR stared very hard at Aadit before answering.

"Have you lost your mind?" he said, finally.

"What? I thought we were having a friendly conversation. You asked me about Khushi, and I thought I'd ask you about Anjali!" said Aadit reasonably.

"You want ME to tell YOU, how to go about dating MY sister? MY Di, for heavens sakes! You are lucky I don't murder you and feed your intestines to the vultures," said ASR violently.

"Oh! C'mon ASR. She's a big girl. Deal with it, after all she's been married once," Said Aadit heeding Freddy's advice to man up.

"Yes. Yes, she has. Married to a creep who lusted after another woman, and destroyed her self-respect," spat ASR. "She's been through a lot Aadit. Hurt her, and I will kill you," said ASR.

"Does that mean you approve of me asking her out?" asked Aadit, visibly brightening.

"No. It means I'll do anything to keep my Di happy. If that means she wants to see you, then so be it. But believe me Aadit. Hurt her. And. I.Will.Kill.You."

"I won't," said Aadit quietly.

They left shortly after. Aadit had run out of manly things to say, and ASR had run out of threats to deliver. Neither had a clue how to get their girls' to go out with them. Neither understood the simple fact that their women were dying to go out with them. Anjali sat at home, staring at her phone, willing it to ring. In her house that evening, Khushi put the girls to bed and made very distracted conversation with Nigel, wondering why he wasn't calling. They both went to bed thinking the exact same thought. "Men. Hmph"

Next chapter will be called "A Tale of 2 Dates." (And I don't mean the kind that you get stuck in when you fall out of the sky!😆😆 Sorry, bad joke!) In the meanwhile, tell me what you think of this one folks. 😊

*RESS*

Originally posted by: tes_v1

OMG!

If there was one thing about this update that I thoroughly enjoyed was the footsie game! 🤣 🤣 🤣

Aadit-Khushi-ASR!

And Arjun wanting to join in! Poor Aadit! But I'm so grateful that ASR figured out everthing by the end and didn't have any misunderstanding! God! I'm still ROFL at the footsie business!

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ArHi FF: Girls Don't Count

Originally posted by: afia1987

i am a FAN of yours...

you are just superb... :)

loving every update :)

Originally posted by: ..-Sanzz-..

Loved It 😳 Very Emotional In The Beginning & Akash Is Hilarious In The End =) 😆

Originally posted by: bmtdluver

amazing updates! Lol, the footsie part was really entertaining! Loved the comedy between all of the characters. I'm so glad khushi called payal jiji though