Khushi held her rapidly beating heart nervously, her eyes shifting around the room warily. What if someone heard? It felt as if her chest was about to explode. 'It used to be every time he came near me. Now it happens every time I just think of him or catch a glimpse of him.'
She flushed as she realized that it was her own sister's wedding and all she could stare at was Arnav looking irresistible in a kurta that Anjali and Akash and somehow forced him to wear. 'Stop thinking about him! You'll get a heart attack at this rate!'
He was watching the rituals with an unreadable expression, leaning against the pillar in such a way that made Khushi's heart go wild. 'Why is this happening to me? He's only standing! Now stop paying attention to him and watch the wedding!'
She forced herself to look away before he caught her gazing at him (which would be ten times more embarrassing) and gazed affectionately at Payal and Akash on the mandap along with the priest. However, her attention was quickly diverted as she saw Mamaji whisper something in Arnav's ear, which caused Arnav to mutter something back, which caused Khushi's eyes to shamefully travel up his broad shoulders and to his mouth, which was on her cheek just a few days ago. Khushi felt herself heating up as she remembered the kiss and how warm he had felt. The thought sent her heart into another series of 'dhak dhaks' as she sighed, knowing that this day was going to be a tough one.
"Hey Parameshwari, why are you as red as a tomato?" Buaji scolded Khushi rather loudly, attracting the attention of a few people around them. "Stop looking that way and pay attention to your sister's wedding!"
She nodded quickly, gulping in embarrassment, feeling his eyes on her before she could even check to see if he had heard her Buaji's abnormally loud comment. She closed her eyes so she didn't have to see the familiar smug expression on his face, but thinking of how Arnav looked when he was feeling proud or mischievous sent her heart into another series of annoying 'dhak dhaks.'
'This isn't normal. It's not normal. I need some fresh air.'
"Buaji, I need to go the bathroom!" Khushi whispered into her aunt's ears before striding off into whatever direction she saw first. She was positive that she probably was as red as a tomato, but it didn't matter now that she was alone. Walking out of the hall and into a random hallway that had to have a bathroom somewhere, she found herself once again absorbed in his thoughts. "Hey Devi Maiyya, why does he have to be so'"
"So what?"
Khushi spun around faster than what was considered normal and stared horrified as she realized that she was alone with Arnav, again. "N-Nothing, I wasn't talking about you'" She tried to push past him before he found the time to react but he grabbed the palloo of her sari, making her stop abruptly and glance at him horrified. "Let go! Someone might see!"
Khushi tried to free her sari from his hands but he was gripping it too tightly, oddly reminding her of the day he had kissed her on the cheek. "Arnav, I said let go!"
"I asked you first," he replied smugly, which was no surprise since that seemed to be the look he often wore these days. "Why do I have to be so'what?"
She glared at him, still trying to tug the end of the sari out of his awfully tight grip. "I told you, I wasn't talking about you."
"Considering you were staring at me for the past two hours, I think you were," he added haughtily, letting her sari go, knowing that Khushi was too embarrassed to move anyway. "What, did you think I wouldn't notice?"
Flustered at having being caught so easily, she looked down nervously, suddenly finding her silver heels very pretty. "I'I, I was just'"
"You were just what?" Arnav persisted, secretly finding her flustered self endearing. He stepped closer, resulting in Khushi stepping back and hitting the wall in their usual position. She covered her heart with her hand quickly, hoping that he couldn't hear how loudly it was beating. "Why are you doing that? Covering your heart?"
"Um, I think Buaji must be wondering why I'm not back from the bathroom yet," Khushi managed to stutter before trying to move past him again.
"She'll keep wondering then, or maybe she won't. It depends on when you tell me why I'm so'what?" Arnav smirked, pinning her to the wall. "Why do you keep looking at me? Why is there an 'A' on your hand? Why were you so worried when I was only gone for three hours?"
She was sure that she wasn't breathing with his hot breath on her face, asking her questions that she really didn't have the courage to answer. Steadying her heart, she attempting to run away again but it was no use. He was much stronger. "I, I, I'" Khushi swallowed as she felt her mouth go dry. Arnav was looking at her so intensely that she felt like she would collapse any minute. Knowing that he wasn't going to let he go easily, she closed her eyes and finally managed to stammer in a very meek voice, "because I love you."
It took a few seconds of silence for Khushi to muster up the courage to open one eye, which was greeted with a sight of an Arnav at a loss of words. Not being able to bear his silence, she threw her arms around him, burying her head in the crook of his neck, feeling comforted and knowing he felt the same when his arms weaved around her waist. It took another minute for Arnav to finally whisper, "Khushi, your heart is beating really loudly."
-------
Anjali and Nani had followed Khushi and Arnav out the minute they both had disappeared for a bit, and the sight that greeted them made them both grin in excitement.
"Nani, we're having another wedding soon!"
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