Chapter 9: Stay
"What. Did. You. Just. Say?" She asked, voice dripping distaste.
Before Arnav could reply, Sameer, a tall, muscular guy from her history class came up to Khushi and snapped his fingers next to her ear, startling her. "Did you do the history homework?"
Khushi nodded absentmindedly in response to Sameer and let her eyes travel back to Arnav, giving him her best glare.
He only smirked and put his aviators back on while leaning in to close the door. He gave her a two-fingered salute and drove off, leaving a flabbergasted and steaming Khushi behind.
****
He rubbed his temples while reading the file that was in his hands, or at least try to read the file that was in his hands, but the words looked like gibberish, and the same image of Khushi Kumari Gupta, stark naked, kept flashing before his eyes, making him feel as if he was the biggest pervert alive.
He thought back to the bet they'd made, and suddenly, he realized what was happening. This was probably all a scheme, to lure him in and make him fall in love with her.
Well he had to hand it to her, she was good.
But what she didn't realize, was that he was better.
****
She held her head in her hands while resting her elbows on the desk, listening to her professor talk about human communication and the persuasive speech the students would have to prepare for their exams. But she found herself thinking about him every 2 minutes. He had become almost like a parasite in her brain, unwelcome and refusing to leave.
And just how dare he say that to her this morning?
Pervert.
A hot pervert. A voice in the back of her head nagged.
No, this was exactly what he wanted. He wanted to flirt with her and make her keep thinking about him so he could win that vexatious bet they had foolishly made. Well, she wasn't one to give in so easily.
Nope. Arnav Singh Raizada was going to lose. She would make sure of it.
****
"So where is this dance practice at?" He asked his sister on the phone while stepping out of his car.
"The gym." Reihana responded suspiciously. "Why?"
"Nani said I have to come and pick up your friend. " He lied through his teeth. "See you at home." He hung up and asked one of the passersby which way the gym was.
4:07 PM. Perfect. Arnav thought as he walked around the college courtyard, keeping an eye out for the gym. Beyond the commons, there was a chipped building with tall grass bordering all around it. Arnav squinted his eyes as he read the letters written in blue paint that was now peeling off in some places. Gymnasium.
A smirk formed on his lips. Khushi Kumari Gupta, here I come.
He walked around the dimly lit hallways inside the gymnasium, searching for the dance studio where Reihana said Khushi would be found. He took off his glares as the faint music grew louder with each step he took, until he finally stopped in front of huge double doors with a thin, slit-like window running down the middle of both doors, allowing him to peek inside.
And what he saw almost took his breath away.
She moved in sync with the music, spinning, sliding, and whirling across the ballroom with the grace of a swan. She had a blindfold on and seemed like she was just going with the flow, letting the music control her body. Her movements looked so fluid, so effortless.
He noiselessly opened the door and leaned against it, watching her twirl around the room in awe. He had the urge to go up to her and dance with her, and he almost did, until she started free-styling all of a sudden.
His lips twisted up in an amused smile as he watched her shake her hips and throw her hands in the air, completely out of tune with the soft contemporary ballet music that was playing. "Oh yeah!" She yelled to herself and then proceeded to shake her hips some more, her hair swooshing from side to side along with her movements.
It was when the music finally stopped, did he push himself off the door and walked over to the other side of the room, where she was now standing silently, leaning against one of the mirror panels and breathing heavily.
He was there in seconds, with his hands on either side of her on the mirror, trapping her in between. She sucked in a sharp breath and went completely still, almost as if she could sense him even though he wasn't touching her.
Slowly, she lifted her hand and took the blindfold off, but kept her eyes closed for a few seconds.
****
She could hear somebody breathing almost as if they were in front of her and for a second fear filled her veins. But then the familiar musky, woodsy scent wafted through her nose and she let herself relax as she took the blindfold off. Blinking to adjust to the light, she was not at all surprised to find him in front of her.
"You." She said while pushing herself further against the cool mirror behind her, a little uncomfortable with their closeness.
"You." He said while bending his head the tiniest bit. His lips looked so tasty and inviting, and she wondered what it would be like to kiss them.
"My eyes are up here."
She gasped and her cheeks heated up while she instantly pushed him away and made to grab her bag that was sitting in the corner of the studio, next to one of the many marble pillars by the windows. "Why are you here?" Her voice came out sharper than she'd intended but she couldn't help it. This man always seemed to push her buttons and she'd had a long day. She was not in the mood.
"Nani asked me to come pick you up."
She narrowed her eyes and looked at him suspiciously, but walked out of the studio without another word. Her treacherous mind kept wondering how long he'd been there and just how long he'd watched her dance, even though another part of her kept telling herself she could care less about what he saw or what he thought.
****
"Why did you stop here?" She asked while looking around the busy street curiously and all the sweet shops that were lined up, with plastic tables and chairs out front occupied by teenagers hanging out and about.
"Stay," was all he said before stepping out of the car and walking across the street into one of the many shops.
Needless to say, when he came back minutes later with boxes of sweets in his hands, she was fuming. "Stay?! What am I? A dog?!"
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