AR: Love Is... #4 [New Thread Link: Page 152] - Page 71

After weeks I was able to work on PS 😳 And something good came of it! I'm proud of it!

Part 28

Finally after the longest time she dared to open her eyes. This was all a bit too fantastical; like a dream. Dream come true, she added. That had been the single most amazing moment of her life. Pure, unadulterated joy coursed through her and she felt like doing cartwheels and kissing him, all at the same time. Try as she may the grin broke through her face. She looked into his eyes; the warmth that had been there was still present, only now, she sccepted it, believed it to be for her. Her mind was still disoriented, like she'd woken up with a hangover. He loved her. He loved her. He loved her. She shook her head to clear it, smiling all this while, trying to ignore the onslaught of nervousness that had manifested itself as butterflies in her stomach. How come no one ever talked about this? This sheer nervousness, the vulnerability that came along with the love? Her brows furrowed. Was she never going to ease up around him again?

Armaan watched her, trying to decipher what in the world was going on in her mind; he could practically hear the wheels turning in her brain. He saw her brows crease as she bit her lip in worry. She didn't seem to realize that they were in a slightly compromising position that was now managing to attract stares from everyone. He held her by the shoulders and shifted her away from him. The movement seemed to bring her back to reality and she smiled at him, embarrassed. He smiled back, not knowing what else to say. Truth was, he could watch her and not get bored. His heart swelled up with emotion and he felt blissfully happy. She loved him. It couldn't get any better than this.

She saw him smile back and she felt better. This feeling between them was new, unfamiliar and unexplored territory. As much as she was nervous, a part of her was excited to find out, to discover, to live the endless possibilities with him. Who knows how long they'd last? Who knew if this was, "forever"? But while it was here, she'd make the most of it. She clasped his hand and intertwined their fingers, the familiarity of the gesture comforting her, while the newness, enthralled her. They walked back towards the car, the silence between them peaceful in the wake of their confession. In all honesty, she didn't know how to begin conversation. Right now, she was so ecstatic, she'd probably end up telling him I love you. Again. And so she kept shut.

He ran a hand through his hair as he absorbed the lingering silence between them, wondering whether he should say something, but then going against it, trying to gain some sembelance of control and calm down his ecstatically jumbled thoughts.

She jumped when her phone vibrated in her pocket. Retrieving it, she saw the message and gave a short, amused laugh.

Ridzy?! Shit sorry maine, rather humne, phone nahi uthaya! Woh hum "busy" the...Armaan ne text padha?

-Muskaan

Tujhse toh main baad mein baat karti hoon, kameeni. Tu bahot "busy" *ahem* hai, apna kaam jaari rakh . Although, let's just say I have a boyfriend now ;)

-Riddhima

DETAILS. Later. Be good, you two and enjoy your aakhri din in Paris :D OMG I can't believe I finally get to tease you. YESSS \m/ Later, bitch B)

-Muskaan

Riddhima giggled at the text; she knew it'd take a galleon of Cookie Dough from Ben n Jerry's to get through Muskaan's interrogation when she reached home. She saw him look at her, curiously and said, "Muskaan." He nodded in understanding, the amusement evident in his gaze. He'd have to thank Muskaan later.

"Do you, uh want to grab a coffee before we leave?" He chided himself mentally when the nervousness came through.

"Yeah, umm sure." She smiled and he smiled back as they headed to the caf.

She grimaced once she was sure his back faced her. What in the world was wrong with her? She hadn't said anything to him! Instead they kept smiling at each other like a pair of idiots! For gods sake, they weren't this awkward even after Ashley's bachlorette! She gulped some water down to sooth her frazzled nerves. God knows what he thought of her now.

Armaan took the coffee mugs and headed to their table, trying to get a grip on himself. He couldn't, for the life of himself, understand why he was being so bloody awkward! Conversation with her had never, ever, ever been so strained between them! Keeping the mugs on the table he took a deep breath and worked towards relieving himself of this nervousness.

"Coffee."

"Uh, thanks."

Silence filled the bubble around them and Riddhima started playing with her fingers, a recurring habit when she was stressed and or, or nervous. She tried to focus on why she was feeling like this. Maybe talking it out would help?

He watched her drum her fingers on the table absentmindedly. The staccato beating of her fingers against the wooden table filled his conscious, and did nothing to help his stress levels. Was it a sign? Some kind of a girl signal? What, was he expected to hold her hand? It was just there, her fingers still drumming on the table. Truth be told, Armaan Malik had never felt more like an idiot. He had no idea why he was hesitating so much, they held hands all the time! Maybe he should just go ahead and do it. And so he did. He felt his anxiety levels jump when he spotted the slightly shocked look on her face as his actions startled her out of her reverie. But then her features contorted into a dazzling smile that took his breath away. They finished their coffee in silence and went back to the car.

Riddhima nodded to herself. She finally knew what was bugging her. As he was about to start the car she stopped him.

"Armaan?"

"Hmm?"

"Umm, I wanted to talk to you, uh can we wait here for a bit?"

"Sure, uh do you want to head outside or..."

She motioned outside and they got out of the car and he waited for her to speak as the two of them leaned on his car.

"I'm n-nervous." She stated.

"You? You're nervous? About what?"

"This."

"This?"

"This. Us. You and I."

"Oh yeah. Me too."

"What?"

"I'm nervous too." He admitted sheepishly.

"But you've dated before!"

"Yeah but that wasn't you know...serious."

"Oh." She let that piece of information sink in. It was slightly comforting that he was nervous too.

"What are you nervous about, anyway?"

She smiled wryly. "What am I not nervous about! I'm nervous about coming on too strong...about not being romantic...about being a good umm girlfriend...forget good! I don't know how to be any kind of girlfriend, and to be honest that is terrifying."

He chuckled as his fears were put to rest. Seemed like he wasn't the only one.

"I'm worried about all that too, you know. You might even find out that I suck at being a good boyfriend and then you might want to break-up." He said, in mock seriousness, making her laugh.

"I don't think that's going to happen." She said, between laughs.

"So?"

"So what?"

"So...what are we going to do about this nervousness? I don't like being awkward with you." He said.

"I guess, we'll just have to figure it out? Take it as it comes? I don't know."

"Hmm. You're probably right."

To his surprise, she stood on her toes and gave him a swift peck on the lips. "I love you!" she murmured. Trying to lighten the atmosphere she said, "You know...there are advantages to this thing. For example, I can kiss you all I want!" she winked at him.

"You're in it for the kissing?" He put his hand to his heart, "You wound me! I feel so used."

"Oh shut up."

He watched her laugh her ringing laugh and his laughter bubbled up his throat of it's own accord. They drove back to their hotel, any signs of nervousness forgotten.

--oo0oo--

She flopped down the couch, flinging her body over it. "I'm tired." She announced. He sat down beside her leaning back on the couch and closing his eyes, echoing her sentiment. They hadn't realized the time and hence left late from there. To avoid night driving he drove like a maniac and finally at ten in the night, they'd reached.

A few minutes later she got up and brought the menu. "What do you want to order?"

"Whatever you want." He murmured, his eyes closed.

"Is pasta okay with you?"

"Perfect."

She looked at him affectionaltely, he looked worn out. It'd been a tiring day both emotionally and physically. She decided to let him be for a while, while she took a quick shower and changed into fresh clothes.

She came back, having changed into her pajamas and smiled when she saw him fast asleep, his mouth slightly open. Slipping on a sweat shirt she made her way to him.

"Armaan?"

She seemed to have no effect on him whatsoever seeing that he hadn't even moved.

She tapped his shoulder. "Armaan, utho!"

A frown creased his forehead as he finally opened his eyes. Stifling a yawn, he smiled spologetically. "I'm sorry, I don't know when I fell asleep."

"It's alright. Do you want to shower? The food'll be here in a bit."

Nodding he made his way out while she grabbed her book and curled up on the couch, waiting for dinner.

He came out of the room, his hair dripping with with water from the shower as he toweled it. He saw her engrossed in her book, so much so, that she hadn't even noticed he was standing in front of her. A devilish smirk framed his face as he thought of the perfect way to annoy her.

Her eyes moved over the pages, as she absorbed the story, it's contorted plot intriguing her. Her hands turned to flip the page when a shower of water droplets fell on her face and neck causing her to yelp in surprise. She kept the book aside and looked up to see him guffawing, the water still dripping from his hair. She narrowed her eyes as she wiped the water that had now begun to trickle down her face.

"You, You-" she sputtered, not having anything to say at his childish prank.

Somewhere between his laughing she caught an "I'm sorry" and a "It was too good an opputunity to pass up." And she sobered a little although she couldn't understand why this was so funny to him. She smirked as her own mind came up with something devious. She looked at him and smiled sweetly before sneaking her freezing hands up his loose t shirt and pressing them to his torso.

For a moment he was shocked at her boldness but then he took a quick step back wards, exclaiming as the cold blistered his skin. He saw her laugh and do an imitation of his face. He was pretty sure he'd never looked like that.

"I do not look like that."

"Sure you do."

"I don't."

"You do."

"What are we doing?"

"I don't know." And they collapsed into fits of laughter at their silliness.

The bell rang and she brought the food in while he paid the bill.

--oo0oo--

"Oh stop teasing me already. You were jealous too!"

She forked her pasta and laughed at his embarrassment. "Oh but you were jealous twice, both times on completely inappropriate situations. You were jealous of my best friend...scratch that, married best friend and a gay man. Beats my jealousy, you don't think?"

He turned an adorable shade of red and she gave in to her laughter.

"Achha no more teasing, I promise." She nodded solemnly, stifling her giggles.

They finished dinner soon, wolfing it down, the long day having made them hungry. She kept the plates aside and put her head down on the table, trying to drown the fogginess out. He murmurmed an, "I'll be right back," and she nodded noncomittally. A few minutes later she felt his lips on her forehead and opened her eyes, smiling, her cheeks tinged red; this was all new, yet so familiar.

"Here." He placed the box in front of her and she smiled widely. If it was what she thought it was, she'd jump into his arms and kiss him senseless. She opened the box hastily, all thoughts of patience or drowsiness forgotten and squealed in glee when her eyes devored the small, but big enough for two, chocolate cake. Armaan smiled, seeing her obvious happiness at the sight of the cake. He'd thought that today called for a celebration, it was an important day after all. She attacked the cake, a moan of appreciation escapting her lips. She raised a spoonful of the sinful chocolate to him, but he surprised her by taking her into a kiss. After the initial surprise she dropped the spoon in the table, wrapping her arms around his neck, messing up his hair and bringing him closer.

She tasted of chocolate and bliss. He kissed her slowly, softly, unsure at first but getting confident with passing. Moments later she broke away, her breathing slightly ragged and her face, prettily flushed. She washed away the bits of chocolate that had stuck to her and they made their way to his room. She flung herself on the bed and he pulled her closer, seating her on his lap. Riddhima looked into his eyes wondrously, still a little dazed after that mind numbing kiss. She hadn't known it was possible to feel so out of control and yet, love it; to have an out-of-body experience like this; to have something that felt so right.

She had never been so entirely happy in her entire life and with that feeling came a fear too. Long term relationships had always been non-existent in her life, with the exception of Rahul and Muskaan. Anything long-term, had never lasted for her, it had left her broken, shattered. And so she couldn't help but question her feelings. What if this ended too? She'd survive it, she always had; but she wasn't sure how it would leave her. Her heart beat furiously as fear gnawed it's insides. She swallowed a sob, she'd never felt so terrified. Never been so weak. She crushed herself to him, clutching the back of his shirt, wanting, so desperately, to believe that this would last. She wanted this like nothing else. She needed this. She felt his arms tighten around her and her eyes burned with tears. This, him, them; it was all so perfect. And the more she took in, it's beauty, the more the fear nested inside her, that if this ever went away, she'd dissolve into nothing. Her concern laden voice filled her conscious and she blinked once, twice, multiple times, to make the tears go away.

"Riddhima? What's wrong? Talk to me, please."

She pulled away, wondering how she should answer. She wanted to lie to him, not show her weakness, but she owed it to him. Besides, it wasn't right to start a relationship with a lie, was it?

"I uh; nothing. Forget it." She looked to the side her jaw clenching and unclenching almost painfully, trying to bring back some semblance of control to her haywire emotions. She hadn't known that love magnified every other emotion a million times over, and she wasn't talking about joy here. The realization left a bitter taste in her mouth. She felt the tug at her chin as he questioned her and she spoke in a rush, conveying her jumble of feelings in one short sentence.

"What if this doesn't last?"

He was momentarily stunned by her question, the possibility hadn't even crossed his mind. He looked into her forest green eyes, cluttered with fear, nervousness and unshed tears, and wondered what had made her so insecure.

He answered her honestly. "I don't know."

Her shoulders slumped at his answer. It was honest, and for that she was greatful. But somewhere in her, she'd expected a slightly impractical, leaning on the romantic side, answer to her question. She wasn't one for flowery displays of unconditional love, but she'd hoped that he would, for once answer her illogically, just to remove her fear. Before the disappointment pierced her, he picked up from where he'd left off.

"I don't know, Riddhima. I really don't." She looked at him and smiled, partly sad and partly disgruntled for having expected more than the answer he gave her. He continued softly, almost as if he was talking to himself. "My mom used to tell me this, quite often. There are many things in life, worth living for; but very few worth fighting for. I don't think I ever understood the difference, until now." He looked at her intently, "I don't know how long we'll last, but I'd like to believe that if it comes down to it, then I'd fight for this. For us. I hope that answers your question." He smiled at her, tucking her fringe behind her ear.

She smiled back, softly, touched beyond reason by his answer. He'd done it again; relieved her of her burden by being himself. At the back of her mind, she chided herself for having so little faith in him, she should've known he'd never leave it at an obscure, "I don't know." She found a place on his shoulder and leaned on it, taking in his words. He wrapped the blanket around them and she snuggled deeper, finally at peace. The silence lingered in the wake of his reply and she did nothing to change it. Sleep was beginning to catch up on her so she pulled away.

Placing a kiss on his cheek, she smiled at him. "I love you, Armaan. And I'm sorry for doubting us."

"You don't have to apologize, Riddhima." He continued after a pause. "I liked it that you told me the truth about what bothered you," he added.

She bit back a yawn and rubbed her eyes. "We should probably sleep." She made no move to get up, in all honesty, she didn't want to sleep alone that night. He kissed her on the cheek as he whispered a soft, "I love you too." She stood up, grudgingly and was almost at the door when she heard him.

"Would you...would you like to sleep here tonight?" She grinned at him, watching his nervous smile dissolve into a grin of his own.

Riddhima scooted over to him, getting under the warm blanket, the sudden warmth making goose bumps erupt on her arms. He hugged her close to himself and she kissed the base of his throat, smiling at how he had echoed her sentiments of not sleeping alone that night. He's perfect was her last thought before she was lulled into sleep after an exhausting day, her regular breathing matching his.

--oo0oo--

Important: I've noticed that I PM a lot of people and half of them don't respond. Please atleast, hit the like button so I know you're reading! A few of you are inactive, I know, and it's okay, but for the rest, please respond, it makes me feel nice 😆

Finally the part is complete! I sincerely apologize for the delay, I keep getting busier :| But I'm never going to stop writing this FF, even if it takes me 532795 years to finish it 😆 Also, I'm sorry if you expected lots of fluff in this chapter and were disappointed with the somewhat serious conversation towards the end...I suck at writing too much fluff together so I had to do it :D I quite like how this chapter came out :)

Oh and if you've noticed, I've begun to hint at her past. Since I plan to reveal it before the end of the story, I'll be dropping hints frequently 😆 Oh and by long relationships, I don't mean the romantic kind. Her past is not influenced by a guy/a failed relationship!!

I'll try to continue soon :)

Read. Like. Comment.

xoxo

Aanya