TheWorld'sOldestStory!!#13|inst2 pg124|07/07/12 - Page 43

The Fund Raiser

As soon as Armaan saw Riddhima walk in through the entrance he stopped doing whatever he was doing to take in the beautiful sight in front of him. He had been helping Rahul in setting up the equipment for their performance on stage before the event started. But Riddhima's arrival had completely side tracked him from his work. She looked beyond beautiful in the off-white saari with a colorful border that she had teamed up with a sexy sequined full sleeved red blouse. He could only stand there and gawk at her. How she did this to him every single time would always remain a mystery to him!! A mystery he wouldn't mind not solving at all..

"Tu phir se shuru ho gaya Armaan!", Rahul's almost-disgusted comment brought him out of his staring session.. And it was about time too.. Coz Riddhima, who had been talking to Anjali about god-knew-what as she entered, had now spotted him and instantly that naughty smirk had formed on her face.. His cue to run in the opposite direction from her came when he saw her start walking towards him purposefully.. And he knew she had made it her purpose to trouble him since today morning when she had stumbled across his self-appraisal list! She had given him a hard time this morning until he had called up Padma mom and complained against her.. Luckily for him, Padma mom had ordered her to get home right away so she could go help in the preparations for the fund raiser with Anjali.. However, she kept sending him annoying texts about what he had missed in his list.. Like 'Agree to whatever she says no matter what..' and 'Don't snitch about her to her mother. It pisses her off'! He had done his best to ignore her texts all day.. But this was the first time he was coming face to face with her since morning.. And his first instinct was to turn around and run when he saw that devil-mind of hers at work through her evil smirk.. The last thing he wanted was for her to tease him in front of their friends!!

"Oye Armaan!! Kahan jaa raha hai!!", Rahul yelled from across the stage as he saw Armaan walk off it in a hurry.. The stage was semicircular and raised above the floor slightly by just two steps without the privacy of wings flanking it.. He quickly stepped off it from one end while Riddhima got onto it from the other.. Giving her a nervous glance, he called out to Rahul over his shoulder, "I'll go get the drum set!"

"But Rohan is getting the drum set!", an exasperated Rahul informed him of something he already knew.. And his daft friends frustration didn't halt his escape for even a moment, "I know.. Lekin he'll need my help.. There are so many parts of a drum set Raaool.. What's wrong with you.. Tu kissi ki help nahi karta toh mujhe toh karne de..", his voice faded away as an irate Rahul glowered at the door of the green room in the corner of the hall through which Armaan had disappeared.. "Saala jidhar help chahiye udhar nahi karega.. Sab ke sab pagal hain!" he cursed as he got back to connecting the power cords of the synth and the guitar to the amps..

Riddhima couldn't stifle her giggle as she watched the interaction between her silly fiance and extremely irritated friend.. Rahul heard her giggle and turned to glower at her too.. How dare she laugh at his misery.. "What!!", he demanded angrily..

Riddhima barely managed to stifle her snort as she shook her head in a no, "Kucch nahi.. Main kucch karun?"

"Haan.. Please go and get your boyfriend's brain repaired! The world will be grateful to you!!"

At that reply of his, she couldn't help but burst out laughing! But she wasn't going to take his advice.. Coz she loved the crazy boyfriend - no fiance - of hers! Life wouldn't be so much fun if she got his brain repaired!!

While Rahul was cursing away to glory at the performance rink, a furious Padma was cursing her dear husband as she paced the entrance of the banquet hall while trying to call him.. "Yeh aise kaise behave kar sakte hain maa! Mujhe toh samajh mein hi nahi aata hai how he can be so irresponsible!!", she said to Naani, who was standing next to her with a matching worried frown on her face. The fund raiser would start in another fifteen minutes and Dr. Shashank Gupta, who was the formal host of the event, was conspicuous by his absence.. Padma didn't know where he was.. Moreover, he wasn't even reachable through his phone..The guests would start pouring in any moment now.. What would she tell him when they asked where he was.. He was the head of the hospital for godsake.. His presence at this event was a must!!

"Good evening ma'am.. Aap bohot aachi lag rahi hain..", Dr. Shubhankar, who had just walked in with Dr. Keerti, greeted her as he stepped in..

She returned his compliment with half a smile, then got worried again as she waited for her husband to answer his phone.. Dr. Keerti and Dr. Shubhankar realized she looked worried and instantly asked her about what had happened.. When she told them that Dr. Shashank was unreachable Dr. Keerti started cursing all husbands of the world while Dr. Shubhankar gave a more logically sound explanation as to how he must be in a surgery and hence unreachable..

"You're right Dr. Shubhankar.. But main guests ko kya kahun? Shashank has never missed a fund raiser before.. Every year he's so into the whole thing.. Iss saal pata nahi kyun.. He's been very detached!", Padma spoke out loud what had been on her mind ever since her husband had disappeared this afternoon coz he had a surgery scheduled. He had promised he would be back in time for the event. But clearly he had not kept that promise of his! But what could he do if the surgery took longer than he'd expected it to.. Then she realized, the least he could do was to inform her that he would be late..

"Don't worry ma'am.. Keerti aur main guests ko handle kar lenge.. After all this hospital is our responsibility too.. App chinta mat kariye.. Just relax.. Aayiye.. Aap andar chaliye.. I'll wait here to welcome the guests.."

Dr. Shubhankar's assurance calmed her down somehow as she agreed to let him take charge.. But Shashank was going to have it from her if he didn't show up soon! Cursing him in her head, she led her mom in to look for her seat.. There were circular tables arranged at a comfortable distance from one another all around the semicircular podium.. Naani and she had been seated right at the front of the hall with the Gupta family.. Her daughters were already seated there as they watched the others finish up with the last minute arrangements..

"Mom you're looking beautiful!", Anjali greeted her mom with a hug as Riddhima pulled out a chair for naani to sit..

"Di.. But naani is looking more beautiful.. Hai na!", Riddhima commented cheekily making Anjali and Padma giggle while naani blushed as she brushed away her compliment with a "Kucch bhi kehti rehti hai.."

"Waise meri dono betiyaan bohot khoobhsurat lag rahi hain..", Padma smiled as she looked at both of them.. Then looked around to see why her damaad's were missing.. "Lekin mere dono bete kahan hain? I'm sure they're looking equally handsome!"

Riddhima tried not to blush at that comment from her mom.. She'd bet Armaan was looking handsome tonight.. He was wearing a formal suit.. One that she had not seen before.. And she had to admit he was looking hot as hell! As much as she wanted to tease him about what happened this morning, she knew she was going to be majorly distracted by him every time she sees him.. She hoped he would give her a chance to gawk at him like she had caught him ogle at her a few minutes ago.. Maybe if she'd go easy on the teasing she'd have enough eye candy for tonight.. But then again.. Where Armaan was concerned, nothing was ever enough!

While she was lost in thoughts of Armaan, her Di took over the conversation as she informed her mom of Atul's whereabouts, "Armaan ka toh pata nahi.. But Atul is gone into the kitchen to check on the food.. I hope wo wahan khaane na baith jaaye.." making her mom, naani and Riddhima giggle at her comment..

"But mom.. Dad kahan hai?", Anjali asked her mom, noticing that her dad was the only other person missing from the table apart from Armaan and Atul..

And that question of hers triggered Padma's anger switch back on as she complained to her daughters of how irresponsible their father was!

Not much later the guests started pouring in one after another.. The guest list included the city's rich and famous and Padma mom was glad Dr. Shubhankar had taken up the responsibility of welcoming them.. She was never too much into socializing. Her husband, who was still conspicuously absent, was better at that.. Anjali too helped her in that area as she mingled with the guests and led them to their seats.. Unlike Riddhima who was trying hard to keep any sort of interaction to the minimum.. When the guests were settled, the show finally went underway.. Anjali, who was comparing for the night, formally welcomed the guests and thanked them for their generosity. The main purpose of the event was to raise money for the treatment of those patients of Sanjeevni who couldn't afford to treat themselves.. And these people had paid a hefty sum to buy the raffles and attend the event tonight. So a thank you was the least they deserved. And the wonderful show that the staff of the hospital was the cherry on the cake. The first year interns did a beautiful adaptation of Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice.. They were surprisingly really good actors considering their profession.. The senior interns showed their talent through a dance performance on a medley of songs that was themed around love and heartbreak.. A few of the nurses and wardboys also put up a dance performance with contemporary comic songs.. That was quite entertaining too.. But the show stealer undoubtedly was the band performance by Rahul, Armaan, Nikki and the other two junior interns.. They performed several songs from the yesteryears.. That of the likes of Kishore Kumar and Mohammad Rafi.. But with a modern twist to them.. The music was extremely refreshing and enjoyed by the young and old alike.. But the loudest applause went to one particular rendition of 'Yeh Chand Sa Roshan Chehra' that Rahul crooned for his blushing wife-cum-wife-to-be, the final song for the night. Riddhima's eyes however didn't leave that one person who was trying to be as inconspicuous as possible while undoubtedly grabbing more than a few eyeballs bye the way he masterfully played the lead on his black electric.. This was the first time she had seen Armaan perform in her life. And from what she saw, the one thing she could surely say was that Armaan didn't play music for the crowd.. Even when on stage, he had a faraway look on his face, like he was concentrating on his music and trying to ignore the fact that a hundred people were looking at him.. Considering the way Armaan loved attention otherwise and was always so much of a people's person, what she saw of him on stage was kind of paradoxical.. It went against his character somehow.. But she didn't get much time to ponder over that as she heard her Di announce the auction open.. Various artists and struggling artists from around the city had been invited to paint for the event and their paintings were to be auctioned to raise more money for the less fortunate.. Normally all events for the fund raiser were meant for the staff of the hospital only.. But it was soon realized that there weren't many who painted among the staff give or take a few like Rahul.. Roping in professionals gave an opportunity to the hospital to raise more funds and it also benefitted the artists as they got a platform to display their talent. All the paintings on display had been beautiful, but Riddhima was eagerly waiting to see what Rahul had painted.. So when the auction was declared closed before Rahul's painting came on, she was surprised.. And a little disappointed.. But that thought was erased from her mind quicker than the last as dinner was announced and she was led away from their table by her mom..

Armaan was carrying away the amplifiers from the stage as he helped Rahul and Rohan to clear the stage which was going to be open for dancing later in the night.. A live band had already started playing one of those boring English classical tunes that he wasn't much fond of.. But at a black tie event like this one, what else did he expect.. He put the amps in the green room and came back for the power cords when he found Riddhima and Muskaan talking to Rahul, "Thanks Riddhima.. I'm glad you enjoyed it..", Rahul thanked Riddhima who had apparently been complimenting their performance..

"Of course I did.. And the song dedication for Muski was so cute Rahul! Haina Muski!", Riddhima winked at Muskaan teasingly as Muskaan rolled her eyes even as she blushed at that..

"Kya khaak cute tha.. Kameene.. Tere mummyji aur papaji ke saamne aise karte hue sharam nahi aayi.. Pata hai wo mujhe kitna chidha rahe the.. Aur mujhe teri wajah se sharmaane ki acting karni padi..", and she tried hard not to sharmao more than she already was as she pretended to rebuke him..

While Rahul stared at his wife in disbelief, Riddhima giggled and side-hugged her cute friend, "In that case Muski.. Tu bohot acchi actress hai.. Aur yeh gaali kyun de rahi hai.. Itna romantic pati sabko nahi milta.."

Armaan, who was listening to their conversation while pretending to gather the cords strewn on the floor around them, clenched his jaw as he heard Riddhima.. He was so sure she had said that just to bug him!

Rahul, as annoyed as Armaan for not being appreciated by his wife, complained, "I know right! But isse toh meri koi kadar hi nahi hai.. Muskaan at least Riddhima se kucch seekh.."

"Tu chup baith chachundar.. Main kyun seekhun? Maine tujhse kitni baar kaha hai Armaan se kucch seekh.. Tune kabhi seekhne ki koshish ki?"

Armaan let out a snort at that comment from Muskaan, effectively catching their attention.. Rahul frowned as he turned towards Armaan who had a smirk on his face, "Tu kya hass raha hai?"

"Kucch nahi.. Main soch raha tha.. I'll trade you Basket for Muskaan.. Basket thinks you're romantic.. Muskaan thinks I'm romantic! Problem solved! What say Muskaan.. Tere chachundar se toh main better hoon..", as Riddhima watched him high-five a smug Muskaan, her mouth was left wide open in shock! How dare he!! And Muskaan only added fuel to the fire, "Of course hero.. Bol kab bhaga raha hai?"

Armaan turned to smirk at Riddhima as he casually replied, "Abhi chalte hain na.. Waise bhi yeh party ab bohot boring hone waali hai.. Music toh sunn.. It's like their putting someone to sleep!"

"I swear!", Muskaan agreed with him and they high-fived each other again..

But Riddhima was much too offended at his comment this time to keep shut, "Excuse me! Di aur maine yeh symphonies ki list banayi hai.. And it's not boring.. It's pleasant..", she declared, bugged by Armaan's obnoxiousness!

And this time Rahul supported her, "Chodo na Riddhima.. Only people with a good taste in music can appreciate it.."

"Haww.. Tu kehna kya chahta hai..", Muskaan, whose jaw had dropped in shock at her husband's rude comment, started to retaliate.. But thankfully Nikki cut her in, "Hey guys.. Kya ho raha hai?"

And Riddhima took that opportunity to change the topic before Muskaan got overheated, "Kucch nahi.. Forget this.. Nikki you were amazing.. I didn't think you guys would sound so good.. It was almost like a professional performance..", she hugged Nikki as she complimented her..

"Thanks so much Ridzi.. Waise Rahul.. Teri painting dikha na.. Kitne mein gayi? Main backstage change kar rahi thi.. So I missed the auction..", Nikki asked Rahul, much to Riddhima's surprise, "But I thought your painting didn't get auctioned at all.."

"Haan yaar Rahul.. Teri painting kahan hain?", Armaan asked, equally confused at the absence of his painting.. He had realized Rahul's painting was not listed in the auction as he had watched it from the sidelines.. He had purposely not gone and taken his seat next to Riddhima's after the performance coz he knew she'd tease him about the whole romantic thing again.. Especially after Rahul's filmy song dedication to Muskaan, the painting would be the last straw! So he had been as surprised as relieved to find that Rahul's painting hadn't been auctioned at all..

And Rahul didn't take long to clear the confusion on everyone's faces, "Meri koi painting hai hi nahi! I was called in for a surgery during the day and I missed out on the competition..", he told them, disappointment clear in his voice and his expression..

"Oh.. That's what I thought.. Ki why didn't they auction your painting..", Armaan tried to sound sympathetic, but almost sounded cheerful as Riddhima glared at him.. Thankfully, no one else realized the mirth in his tone except Riddhima.. Rahul just continued to sulk about the fact that he couldn't paint, "Tch.. I wish I could man.. I really wanted to.. But wo Dr. Shashank ko kahin achanak jaana pada and I had to take over his surgery.."

And that effectively diverted Riddhima's attention from Armaan, "Kya? You took over papa's surgery? Toh papa Sanjeevni mein nahi hain?", according to what her mom had said, he was apparently performing a surgery at the hospital..

"Nahi.. Unhe koi zaroori meeting attend karni thi. He looked pretty tensed..", Rahul told her casually, remembering how Dr. Shashank had personally called him and requested him to take over the surgery.. Luckily it had been a routine operation that did not require special case study..

"Meeting? Mamma toh keh rahi thi ki unki surgery scheduled thi.. Iss liye he went today afternoon..", Riddhima thought allowed as she recalled her conversation with her mom earlier..

Armaan caught the worry laced on Riddhima's face and wondered what was going on.. He had noticed Dr. Shashank's absence earlier.. But he assumed he was busy.. He was always busy.. But it looked like Riddhima had something else on her mind.. He didn't know what was going on.. But he hoped it was nothing to worry about. So he just tried to diffuse the matter.., "Pata nahi yaar.. Dr. Shashank hain.. Koi kaam aa gaya hoga.. I'm sure he must have a good reason to not come tonight.. He's a busy man.."

Riddhima nodded, but mentally disagreed.. Her papa was busy indeed.. But he was never so busy that he wouldn't inform her mom of his whereabouts.. Even if he had some other emergency, he'd always tell someone in the family.. But before she could worry some more about her dad, she heard Muskaan exclaim, "Lo.. Aa gaye tumhare papa.. Look at him.. Lagta hai Padma aunty se daant kha rahe hain.."

Everyone except Riddhima laughed as they watched Dr. Shashank being glared down by Padma mom..

"Padma mom is so cool man! Shanky papa ko sirf wo hi control kar sakti hain..", Armaan commented as he laughed, high-fiving Muskaan and Nikki.. But he couldn't complete his fiver with Rahul as Riddhima gave him one of her deadly glares! He bit his tongue as he mouthed her a sorry before she shook her head in disgust and walked away from there to go save her papa from her mamma's wrath..

Riddhima smiled as she watched Armaan force her naani into eating more of the gulaab jamun.. He had been supplying food to all the oldies who found the buffet system of dining more of a physical pain than anything else.. So he shuttled between three old aunties, one old uncle and naani, carrying around plateful of food and serving them whatever they wanted.. How he managed to talk to anyone and everyone around him was beyond her imagination.. And she adored that quality of his.. More so, coz she lacked it majorly.. Like when her dad had introduced her to Mr. Agarwaal, one of the trustees of Sanjeevni, a few minutes ago, she had barely said 'Good evening'.. And when Armaan was introduced to the same Mr. Agarwaal by her dad, he had launched into a ten minute conversation about how the world was coming to an end this year! He was so crazy.. She could just sit there and watch him all her life.. And keep wondering how she had managed to become the most important person in his life.. More important than anyone else in the world.. He could talk to anyone and make them feel important.. But under all the smooth talking, she knew where he faltered.. And that is why he was trying not to talk to her as much as possible.. But she didn't care about that.. Coz she knew at the end of the day he wouldn't sleep without talking to her.. If not in person at least over the phone.. So he could talk to whoever he wanted right now.. No.. Cancel that.. He could talk to whoever except Payal! She had seen them chatting away to glory some time back and she had not liked that at all! Why wouldn't the girl leave his back! As she continued to fume about Payal, she watched Rahul and Muskaan dance on the dance floor, lost into each other.. She had to make sure that Payal didn't find a way to get Armaan to dance with her.. Good thing he was so interested in talking to naani at the moment.. She smiled again as she watched her naani twist his ear for probably something naughty that he had said to her.. He looked so cute when he flashed that dimple of his with his naughty smile.. She could go kiss him right away! But unfortunately she couldn't.. And she even had to draw her eyes away from him as she heard someone tap her shoulder to get her attention, "May I know why such a beautiful lady like yourself is standing all alone here?"

Riddhima scrunched her brows at the guy she had never seen before make a lame attempt to flirt with her.. He was good looking and he knew it.. He looked like an out and out rich spoil brat..

"I'm sorry I don't know you..", were the first words that spilled out of her mouth even as she tried hard not to say them.. She really didn't know how to take a compliment did she.. But that's how she was with strangers at social events. And this stranger, looked a wee bit more intimidating than other strangers around her..

He probably realized he was intimidating her as he stepped a little back and gave her a warm smile.. That's when she realized she had been intimidated coz he was encroaching her space.. But the smile of his relaxed her a little.. And so did his next words, "I don't know you either.. But we could always introduce ourselves right! Hey.. I'm Vivek.. Vivek Agarwaal.. My father is one of the trustees..", he put forward his hand as he introduced himself.. Riddhima, glad that he sounded familiar, relaxed instantly, "Oh.. So you're Mr. Agarwaal's son.. I met your dad.. I'm Dr. Riddhima Gupta..", she put her hand in his for a hand shake, but soon realized he was bringing it closer to his mouth to place a kiss.. So she abruptly pulled her hand away from him, stiffening as she tried hard not to scowl.. But at his next comment she just couldn't help it, "You met my dad before you met me doctor! Wow! You're fast!", he joked, giving her a naughty wink..

"No offense Mr. Agarwaal..", she started to retort angrily, but he cut her off, "Please call me Vivek.. Mr. Agarwaal makes me sound like I'm sixty.."

Riddhima tried to control her anger, taking a deep breath in.. If this was a trustee's son then she'd have to behave herself with him.. Plus he was probably just inherently obnoxious! So she plastered a smile on her face and tried to answer him as calmly as possible, "Vivek.. I'm sorry to disappoint you but I think you didn't notice this..", and she put up her left hand to show him her ring, perched proudly on her ring finger..

And the guy's face fell for a fleeting second before he set his expressions straight, "Oh.. I'm so sorry.. I really didn't notice.. Damn! I'm heartbroken.. So.. Who's the lucky guy?", he asked, one brow raised and a grin on his face..

But before she could answer, "That'll be me! Hey.. Dr. Armaan Mallik.. Riddhima's fiance..", Armaan's deep voice came from next to her as she felt herself being pulled into him by a strong arm around her waist.. It was about time! But was she imagining it or Armaan's voice had an edge of danger to it..

But Mr. Vivek Agarwaal didn't seem to notice it as he put his hand forward in a handshake, "Vivek.. And congrats man.. You're lucky she's your fiance.. Coz if it weren't for you she would have definitely been mine..", he joked again, this time winking at Armaan..

Ironically, for someone who cracked such jokes ten times a day, Armaan didn't find this one funny at all.. On the contrary his jaw clenched as he answered back in a controlled voice, "No she wouldn't have.. She's mine.. And I'd appreciate if you'd stop hitting on my fiance.. "

Riddhima's eyes widened in surprise at Armaan's almost rude retort.. And so did Vivek's, "I'm not hitting on her man.. Chill.. I was just kidding.. At least can I have a dance with your fiance.. Just for five minutes man.. You're gonna have her for life anyway..", he winked naughtily again, slapping Armaan's back playfully. But this time Armaan's anger was unmistakable, "If you don't shut the trap of yours I swear I'll punch you!", he threatened him in a low dangerous voice, glaring at him like he'd kill him with his eyes..

"Armaan!.. Kya kar rahe ho?", Riddhima hissed at Armaan.. What was wrong with him.. She could feel his hands ball into a fist on her waist.. If Vivek said anything else to provoke him Armaan was sure to punch him right in his face. But she couldn't let that happen.. This guy was a trustee.. They couldn't take panga with such people..

Thankfully, Vivek was a pretty chilled out guy.. He just laughed it off with a, "Chill man.. What did I say now.."

But before Armaan could answer him, Mr. Agarwaal, Vivek's dad, interrupted their conversation.. And Riddhima couldn't thank the old man enough, "Vivek beta.. Kya ho raha hai? I see you've met Riddhima!"

"Haan papa.. Bass hum baat kar rahe the..", and thankfully Vivek played down the whole situation.. Mr. Agarwaal patted his son proudly on his back and was about to say something to Riddhima when Armaan interrupted him, "Now if you'd please excuse us.. I'd like a dance with MY fiance..", and without waiting for a reply from either the father or the son, he led Riddhima away towards the dance floor, his hand clasped possessively around her waist..

"What are you smiling about?", Armaan asked her, irritated as she tried not to smile. Ever since he had dragged her onto the dance floor Armaan had been dancing with her with a frown on his face.. She had tried to ignore it for a long time.. But the sight of him scowling while doing a romantic dance with her in his arms was definitely hilarious!

"Kucch nahi.. You're just too cute when you're jealous..", she told him, letting out a small giggle as she leaned her head on his shoulder while he led her to a slow dance..

But her comment just deepened his scowl if anything else, "Please.. I'm not jealous!"

"Of course you are Armaan! Now you know how I feel when you talk to that Payal!"

"Please Basket! That is not the same this!", he refuted her claim vehemently, still frowning..

But she stuck to her claim, "It is!!"

"It's not!! That Vivek's not a nice guy.. Stay away from him..", he told her sourly, only to make her chuckle, "Yeah?! You've hardly even met him and he's not a nice guy! Of course you're not jealous Armaan.. Main toh kucch bhi sochti rehti hoon!", she said sarcastically, giggling at his silly behavior..

But Armaan didn't find it silly at all, "Basket it's not funny.. I didn't even know he was troubling you.. Anjie pointed it out to me.. And she was the one who told me he's not a nice guy!"

"Di told you he's not a nice guy?! Kyun jhoot bol rahe ho Armaan? Do minute mein pakde jaaoge.. I can go and ask Di!"

"So go and ask! Why would I lie!"

"Coz you were jealous!"

"I was NOT jealous!"

"Yes you were! And guess what! I love it when you're all possessive.. Cho cute!", and she giggled as she pulled his cheek at that.. He of course promptly slapped her hand away from his face, "Shut up Basket..", he seethed as he looked around to see if anyone had seen or heard her.. But that only made her giggle even more..

"I love you..", she whispered, leaning into his ear as she nuzzled it affectionately..

Armaan, who had so far tolerated the closeness coz his mind was otherwise preoccupied with thoughts of making a bhurji out of Vivek's face, stiffened as he felt her breath on his ear.. His body went on red alert as soon as she did that and he tried not to pull her hard against him or push her away and take off in the opposite direction.. Instead, he continued to argue with her, "I was not jealous!", that was definitely the safer bet..

"Yes you were.."

"Was not!!!"

"You were.."

"I was not!!"

"Tch.. Tum kabhi nahi maanoge.. Forget it.."

"Basket main..", but before he could continue arguing to that Riddhima cut him off, "Accha tell me.. Yeh naya suit kahan se chori kiya hai? Pehle toh kabhi nahi dekha!"

"Maine chori nahi kiya hai! I had to go and buy it! Coz Nikki warned me it's a black tie event.. So here I am wearing a black tie!!"

She couldn't help but giggle at that, "And the black tie looks sexy on you!"

"Anything I wear looks sexy on me Basket.. Save it..", he told her smugly..

Riddhima just rolled her eyes at his classic style of accepting a compliment.. "Tum koi compliment theek se le nahi sakte kya?"

"Tum koi dhang ka compliment toh diya karo!"

"Okay.. You're right.. Another compliment is due from my side.. You're performance was.. Okayish I guess..", she winked as she changed her words at the last minute from brilliant to okay, turning his expectant smirk into a frown..

"Yeah yeah.. Baaki sab ko brilliant.. Mujhe okay.. That's a fair assessment of the same performance from different viewpoints!", he complained..

"Tch.. Armaan you know you were good.. Ismein bataane waali kya baat hai?"

"Whatever Basket.."

"Waise on a serious note.. Your performance was beyond brilliant Armaan.. And as far as your new clothes are concerned you are looking too good for your own good! As usual.. And why didn't you tell me you needed to go shopping.. Main bhi aati thi na.. I would have helped you!"

"Oh please.. You would have just made fun of me! That's what you've been doing since morning! Laughing at me!"

And she giggled again at that complaint of his, but didn't push it too much, "Sorry.. But can you blame me Armaan! How often do I get a chance to laugh at you!"

"Please.. Lately you've been getting too many chances.. More than I'd like you too.."

"Toh tum aisi pagal harkatein karte ho toh main kya karun?"

"Tum mujhe unromantic bulaati ho toh main kya karun.."

"Ab maine sach hi toh bola.. Now if you cant digest the truth what can I do!"

"Basket.. You just go.."

"Pakad ke tumne rakha hai!"

"Chod dunga.. Gana toh khatam hone do.. Warna your black tie friends will call me uncouth!"

"You're so cute Armaan!", she told him between her giggles.

And Armaan became conscious again, looking around for people who could have heard her, "Can you please stop calling me that in public! I'm serious!", he hissed at her, making her giggle again, "Can you please stop being so cute in public! I'm serious!", she teased him, throwing back his own words at him..

"Riddhima yaar! I'm going!", he complained as he started to pull away.. There was only so much a guy could bear!

"I'm sorry.. No more jokes! I swear.. " , she promised, not letting him move away.. He just rolled his eyes in derision and continued to dance, "Sorry na Armaan.. I don't like it when you run away from me!", she leaned her head back onto his shoulder and told him seriously when he really seemed pissed..

Armaan couldn't help but comment at that, "Says the girl who made the keep distance rule.. How ironic!"

"That rule has been scrapped ages ago mister.."

"And when exactly were you planning to tell me this.."

"What's there to tell.. I thought you'd figure it out when I stop keeping distance..", she whispered to him in a mock sexy whisper as she nuzzled the crook of his neck..

Armaan's grip around her waist tightened as she did that.. She was going to be the end of him! But he wasn't giving up just yet! With a lot of effort, he managed to hold her away from him a little as he muttered, "Zyaada chipko mat.. Shanky papa ghur ghur ke dekh rahe hain!"

Riddhima's eyes widened as she suddenly realized they were in public and she swiftly pulled away from him, looking around to see where her papa was staring at them from.. But then she saw her dad chatting away with one of the board members and she knew Armaan had been joking.. Besides the dance floor was pretty crowded for anyone to notice where they were..

"That was not funny.. Don't kill the mood!", she made a face at him, not at all pleased with his silly joke..

"So you finally accepted that Shanky papa is a mood killer!"

"Stop calling him that Armaan.. And he's not the mood killer.. You are! Like I said.. Unromantic!", she declared, making him scowl again.. "Whatever..", he mumbled, rolling his eyes in derision.. Riddhima giggled at his reaction.. How she got under his skin! As she leaned her head back on his shoulder, she mumbled, "But I still love you.." and she placed a small kiss under his ear as discreetly as she could..

Armaan twitched at that move of hers.. All his senses were on high alert and she was just testing his patience! Irritated that he was by her proximity, he couldn't find the courage to return her love you..

When Armaan didn't say anything in return, she just continued to chat with him about her dad, "Waise did you know that papa actually thinks we're.. You know.. Doing it.."

"WHAT!!", his loud exclaimation of disbelief attracted a few eyeballs.. So he steered her away to another area of the dance floor as he hissed, " What!! And I'm still alive!!"

Riddhima couldn't help but laugh at his reaction.. "Yeah.. I know.. Even I was surprised! And why do you think the keep distance rule has been dissolved.. Coz it just goes against logic to have such a rule now!"

"But how.. I mean.. How!! I cant believe it!! I refuse to believe it..", he muttered under his breath in disbelief even as Riddhima started telling him about what her mom had told her about her papa's misbeliefs.. She also told him how she had managed to patao her Di and her mom.. And how her mom thought he didn't come home often lately.. He declared himself guilty of Padma mom's complaint and promised to try and come often.. Only if his work load could lighten itself a little.. He told her how much work he had, and how he had to go to Pune next week.. And just like that, they caught up with each others' life in the middle of a crowded dance floor, barely just moving as they laughed, bickered, gossiped and bickered some more, while the world around them disappeared..