Rules Of Attraction ( Updated Part 21)- Pg 139 - Page 56

Freshly showered, he ran a hand through his damp hair and was about to put on his shirt when two sharp knocks broke into the dewy morning silence. He opened the door and stumbled back, just for a moment.

'Well, this is a first. It is generally me in your position.'

'Well, what can I say; I couldn't wait to see you.'

Khushi rolled her eyes dramatically at the bemused face in front of her. She then ran a quick, but fascinated look over his bare chest and looked away, the earlier ease starting to fade away slowly.

'I would much rather, have you wear a shirt, you know.'

'Would you now?'

Arnav edged closer, taking in the faint trace of nervousness on her face as she looked anywhere but at him. He walked backwards, smiling lazily to himself and started buttoning up the crisp white shirt after muttering a faint 'come in'.

Khushi took in the beauty of the room, the smell of wood enveloped by a sense of tranquility. And the man standing with his back towards her in front of those huge glass panels, the soft sunlight falling onto the white of his shirt, emphasizing his bronze skin, fascinated her senses to no end. She looked about and after a few long moments they were seated on Arnav's car.

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'So, since we have less time, I'll take you to this place, it's called the Dilli Haat. It has stalls set up by people from all over India. And they have varieties of food, since you like to eat so much.'

'Come on, I don't eat that much.'

'You do, face it. What I don't get is where does it all go?'

And for the next minute, Arnav openly stared at her. The way her whole face transformed when she laughed. Her eyes becoming smaller as her cheekbones leveled up, the sunlight dancing all over her skin. That moment he knew, that this one woman could laugh and cry, breaking his heart at the same time, with wretched tenderness.

---

'Bloody hell, this place is so beautiful.'

Khushi took in the vibrant colors all over the place that seemed to be buzzing with people. She loved crowds, they made her forget her own worries. She loved Arnav for bringing her there. She gave him a very awkward shoulder hug from one side, and didn't miss his throaty chuckle as she headed off towards the first few stalls.

---

Arnav was not much for chaos and noise. All that surrounded him at the present moment. But he couldn't care less as Khushi's incessant chatter and the faint brush of her hands across his, overshadowed every other thing that existed at that moment.

He was looking at her fixatedly trying to memorize the was the earthy monsoon winds played over her porcelain neck causing a few long stands to dance away, the way she put her dainty hands on her waist, arguing with complete strength with the scrawny looking boy in front of her. God, he loved her.

---

Running a hand through his hair, Khushi's sad voice came ringing into his ears, as he saw her looking at the set of two thin bangles, probably oxidized silver, Arnav thought, an intricate pattern embossed on it and then his eyes landed on her eyes that were looking at those thin pieces of metal with extreme longing. As she walked away to the next stall, Arnav had a very animated chat with the scrawny boy standing in front of him with a very irritated expression.

'Make me the very same bangles, that would fit her wrists perfectly. I don't care how you do it, finish the work within an hour or so.'

The boy gaped at him, his mouth opening and closing like a fish.

'I'll pay you double, triple, whatever you want. Just make it.'

Within seconds the boy disappeared behind some dirty curtains, shaking his head frantically and flashing his yellow teeth at him dramatically.

---

Arnav failed to understand how within the five minutes that he was talking to that boy, Khushi had bought little pieces of jewellery for Aaliya and Anjali. She muttered something about not finding something suitable for Shyam as he gave her one of his exasperated looks; she simply smiled at him in return.

'I got you something too. I mean it's really simple, probably you won't even like it'but...'

Arnav held her shoulders gently, immediately silencing her non-stop blabbering, his eyes looking down at her, his eyes full of amusement, admiration and slight shock.

'What is it?'

He looked at her as she held out her palm for him. A small, thin ring of fading oxidized lay on the expanse of her small hands. He picked it up from her hands, a small smile tugging at his lips as he slid it through his index finger in one go, and took her hand and walked ahead, his eyes conveying everything he didn't express in words.

---

'Khushi, I can't believe this. How much more can you possibly eat?'

She had gobbled down a plate full of crisp hot pakoras and gulped down the steaming cup of tea, all in one go. Between eating and talking simultaneously she had mocked at Arnav when she saw him buying a bottle of mineral water and a few bars of chocolate as he had simply refused to touch street food. Arnav couldn't help but smile to himself as he saw her lips now plastered, literally, to a strange purple colored ice-lolly.

'You have purple lips, Khushi.'

'Want to try?'

'No, thanks. One zombie by my side is enough.'

He nudged away to the side as her hand came down in a few soft punches on his back. Arnav laughed as he snaked his arm around her waist, lifting her off the ground for a few seconds, attempting to stop the continuous blows on his back. Khushi squirmed under his grip, as her ice-lolly fell down.

'Arnav''

'Oh. I'll buy you another one.'

'Okay, this time yellow.'

Arnav groaned behind her, as Khushi laughed away, heading towards the food stalls again.

---

Arnav couldn't believe himself on having agreed to Khushi's demands. They were now perched high up in the air, seated in one of the yellow benches of the Giant Wheels. Khushi squealed in delight, and unconsciously clasped her hand tightly into his, her other hand placed over his elbow lightly. Arnav could have sat there for a lifetime, his hands in hers, her smiling face shouting away as the wheel started to move.

The monsoon winds hit their faces with full force. Arnav couldn't help but admire the beauty of the whole scenario. A miracle of a woman sitting next to him, sometimes burying her head into his chest, sometimes, bubbling with laughter.

---

The rain danced its way over their bodies. It had finally burst through the grey clouds that had been hovering over the skies for the past few months.

Khushi shivered beside him slightly as they made their way back towards the campus. He gently pulled his hand away from hers and slid his coat over her. She looked up at his face, her words unable to escape her lips as she watched, a twinge of jealousy seeping into her, as the raindrops washed over his face in all their glory. She resisted running down her fingers over his eyes, his lips, crumpling the sides of his coat tightly with her fingers. And as if he had read her very thoughts, he brought up his own hand and tucked back one drenched stand of black behind her ear. Arnav did not miss how her eyes had closed, only for a second, when his callous skin had made contact with the silky surface of her skin. He slid his hand back into hers as they walked towards the hostel.

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update soon dear...👏

Yetthereis an underlyingthread of sadness through the story so far but the connection between the two is so beautiful that it makes you feel sad for their time together and yet thrilled at every moment they get to spendtogether!

cant wait for arnavs magic to begin