TheWorld'sOldestStory!!#13|inst2 pg124|07/07/12 - Page 64

"Ridzi tere liye ek aur drink banaun?", Anjali asked from across the room.. Riddhima who was sitting on Muskaan's bed, leaning against the bedpost, looked up from her phone as she heard her Di, "No thanks Di.. I still haven't finished this one.. ", she refused the offer, taking a sip of her drink she had been holding from the last half an hour. Nikki and her Di were already on their third glass.. She was deliberately taking it slow.. She knew what happened to her when she got drunk and she absolutely didn't want to ruin the night with Armaan.. Her idea of celebration did not include embarrassing yourself so much that Armaan can tease you for the next six months! So sipped on her drink as slowly as she could.. And anyway, Armaan's continuous texts kept her busy.. He was giving her a running commentary of what he was doing, much too excited by the fact that they were partners in crime for the first time in some plan.. It had been fun until he started giving her live feed of every action he was undertaking.. Like 'eating dinner at Rahul's', 'drinking water..', 'drank too much water, going to pee' and the worst being, 'giving Rahul tips for the night..' God! She so didn't want to hear about that! Just as she thought that, her phone buzzed again.. Another text from Armaan that read, 'Atul and Abhi are here. Will leave in fifteen minutes.'

She checked the time at the top corner of her phone to see that it was 11:25.. If they left in fifteen minutes they'd make it right on time. Thank god.. Everything was going according to plan so far. Muskaan's mummyji and papaji had also gone off to sleep! Now they'd just have to make through another hour without waking them up and everything would be set.. Excited by that thought, she smiled a smug smile, just as Muskaan came from the washroom and took her place on the bed next to her, "Ridzi! Jaa change kar le na.. Yeh kya phone pe lagi hui hai.. Hero hoga toh bol de aaj raat disturb na kare.."

Riddhima hid her phone quickly behind her back as Muskaan peeped in to check if it was Armaan indeed who had her occupied.."Chup kar Muski.. Armaan nahi hai.. Aur main baad mein change kar lungi.. I'm feeling really lazy..", she told her, taking another sip of her drink.. While all her friends had gotten comfortable in their night clothes, Riddhima had purposely kept her shirt and denims on so she could flee from there with Armaan as soon as possible. The others didn't know the plan.. So what they didn't know wouldn't bother them either!

"Yaar tum dono wahan kya kar rahe ho.. Lets do something na..", Muskaan called out to Anjali and Nikki from where she was seated on her bed.

"Haan Muskaan.. Main tera drink hi bana rahi thi..", Nikki answered, while Anjali said, "Iska thoda strong bana Nikki.. She's the birthday girl.."

Riddhima chuckled at that as she watched her Di, walk towards the bed with her drink in hand, followed by Nikki carrying two.. As Nikki handed her her glass, a giggling Muskaan requested, "Yaar Nikki.. Wo khidki band kar de yaar.. Macchar aa jayenge.."

Alarmed by that request, Riddhima quickly butt in, "Rehne de na Muskaan.. Acchi hawa aa rahi hai.." and besides she was the one who had invited the macchars over in the first place.. She needed that window open!

"Accha theekh hai.. Wo sab chodo.. Lets do something ya guys.. Aise bore ki tarah baithe mat raho..", Anjali said, picking her spot at one corner of the bed..

Muskaan nodded in agreement to that, "I know yaar.. Main kehti hoon, lets play truth or.."

"NO!!", the other three groaned even before she could finish saying it..

"Okay.. Itna kyun ro rahe ho yaar..", she said, holding her hands up in defeat..

"Common Muski.. Truth or dare! We're not some college kids that don't have anything better to talk about..", Nikki complained, totally rejecting that suggestion.. And Riddhima agreed with her completely, "Yeah.. I know.. We should just talk.. We don't get time now a days to sit and talk araam se.. "

As soon as she said that Anjali took cue and proceeded to start the conversation with her li'l sister, "Yeah Ridzi.. You're right.. We should talk.. It's been so long.. So.. What's up!!"

Riddhima sat up straight as she found herself at the receiving end of everybody's attention and smiled a fake smile at them.. It's been one year since Armaan and I got together.. But that's not going to be the topic of discussion here, she thought as she brushed off her Di's question with a, "Nothing.. Kucch khaas nahi chal raha.."

"Wow so much fun!", Anjali said derisively, rolling her eyes as Riddhima protested with a whiny, "Di!"

"Common Ridz.. I'm sure teri life mein kuch toh batane layak chal hi raha hoga..", Nikki prodded her in spite her reluctance to talk.. So she didn't have an option but to talk about work.. Coz that was the only thing she did now-a-days, "Haan.. Ek bohot hi complicated case.." but before she could say anything else a cumulative groan issued from around her, "NO!!!", this time it was Nikki, Muskaan and her Di who protested..

"What..", she asked, frowning..

"No talking about the hospital ya guys!!", Nikki whined, warning all of them..

"Unless.. Unless there's some really juicy gossip!", Muskaan winked naughtily in response to Nikki's complaint, then turn to Riddhima, "So.. Armaan ka kya chal raha hai?"

"Muski.. ", Riddhima glared at her in disbelief..

"Kya Muski.. Its funny how Armaan ke hote hue teri life mein kucch interesting nahi chal raha.. Wo Payal ne kucch naya kaand kiya kya?", she asked, in spite of Riddhima's offended expression..

"What.. No.. I don't want to talk about her.. And what do you mean Muski.. Armaan koi 24x7 entertainment channel nahi hai..", she curtly told her friend, taking a larger sip of her drink than she had intended..

But Nikki just didn't get the hint, "Of course hai.. I don't ever remember getting bored around him.."

Thankfully Anjali was offended by the fact that they needed guys to entertain them, "Nikki.. Common ya.. This is a girls night.. You cant wish for a guy to be here.. Even if he's Armaan!"

"I know.. But at least we can talk about guys right! That's always an interesting topic!", Nikki said, rubbing her hands together excitedly..

Riddhima suppressed a groan at that expression.. She knew this wasn't going in her favor at all when Muskaan readily agreed with Nikki and turned to her, "Yeah I know!! Okay.. So lets start with Armaan!!"

"What.. Why Armaan.. Why not Rahul!", she protested..

"Coz Rahul is married.. Makes him less interesting!", Nikki answered her, high-fiving a giggling Muskaan and a sniggering Anjali..

"You guys are unbelievable.. ", Riddhima muttered, rolling her eyes at her immature friends..

"Stop being so uptight Ridzi.. Loosen up a little.. Here.. Have some more of the shnaps.. ", Anjali said in a consolatory tone as she poured shnaps into Riddhima's glass of vodka right up to the brim in spite of her repeated protests..

Nikki giggled at that as she commented, "Yeah if we get her drunk enough we might get to hear the censored stuff too.."

"Nikki!!!", Riddhima almost screamed in embarrassment.. But Nikki just continued to take her case, "What.. Don't tell me you don't do stuff that you need to censor from us.."

"No!", she told her stubbornly, taking a larger gulp of her shnaps-vodka-sprite cocktail.. She really needed some if she had to endure this for the next half an hour.. Coz Muskaan continued to tease her, "Such a liar.. Ridzi please haan.. We've seen enough to actually believe your lie.."

"Muskaan.. Guys.. What is this! Why am I being singled out here! I'm sure you people do a lot more of the censored stuff than I do!!", she complained, frowning at the unfairness of the situation.. Her friends had totally ganged up against her and they were being too shameless for her to bear.. Like her own Di had the nerve to say, "We wont know that until you tell us Ridz!!Plus you're the only one who's not married here and has done the censored stuff.. That's why you're being singled out!", and with that she high-fived a guffawing Nikki..

"What rubbish Di! I haven't.. We haven't.. Kucch bhi..", she fumbled with her words, blushing profusely at the accusation being thrown at her!

And her blush didn't go unnoticed by Muskaan as she cooed, "Oooh.. Look at that blush.. Just says it all.. "

And Anjali added a, "Cut the drama Ridzi.. Humein sab pata hai.."

But Riddhima had had enough, "Apko kucch nahi pata hai.. I don't know where you people get such ideas from..", she literally glared at them, scowling as she crossed her arms stubbornly across her front.

Only she didn't know she was using all the wrong words and only playing into the hands of her evil friends, "Where do you think we get such ideas from Ridz! Oh wait a minute.. Nikki.. What had happened at the New Years' Party!! Lets start there..", Muskaan grinned her evil smile, her brows raised knowingly as Nikki laughed at Riddhima's expression.. Only Anjali didn't want to talk about the godforsaken New years party.. She took that incident very personally and didn't think it should be joked around.. "Guys please.. I don't want to talk about the New Years' Party.. Mera mood kharaab ho jayega..", she told them..

Nikki nodded in agreement at that as she said, "I agree Anjie.. But still.. I think the whole world saw what happened that night.. Even a blind person can guess what must have followed!" and when put that way, Anjali also nodded with Nikki on that, "I agree on that one.. But what was more shocking was that Ridzi started it all.. Normally I would expect Armaan to do something that shameless.." and they burst out laughing at that again, high-fiving each other.. Riddhima couldn't believe they were doing this to her!!, "I am sitting right here guys!! What is wrong with you people!!", she shouted at them, but that didn't stop the roaring laughter for even a second.. They just continued to tease her instead..

"At least we're just talking.. Not making out with our guys.."

"I give up.. Seriously.. I didn't know you people wanted to talk about these things.. Agar meri tang hi kheechni hai toh I'm not interested.. I'll just go..", she got up from the bed and stormed to the window, taking a long swig from the glass in her hand, wishing for Armaan and the guys to get there faster.. From behind her, she heard Nikki's voice, "Such a spoilt sport.. And humein tumhari tang kheechne mein koi interest nahi hai Ridzi.. I'm sure that's Armaan you're confusing us with.."

Riddhima's temper rose as she saw all of them burst into another set of giggles.. What the hell! She knew they thought she was sleeping with Armaan.. But she never thought they'd tease her on her face.. Even if they'd had a few drinks! When all of it became too much for her to tolerate she decided to threaten them seriously, "That's enough.. I'm serious I'll leave..", she declared, hurrying her way towards the door of Muskaan's room.. But Nikki who was sitting right at the edge of the bed, managed to get hold of her hand and stop her, "Accha forget it na Ridzi.. We were just joking.. Lets talk about someone else..", even as she fought to stifle her giggles, Nikki realized that they'd crossed a line with Riddhima.. And she knew her friend was already oversensitive.. She didn't want to seriously hurt her.. So she pulled her down next to her on the bed, holding her hand so she wouldn't escape.. Riddhima sat down reluctantly, frowning as she finished whatever little was left in her glass, hoping she wouldn't need another one.. Where was Armaan Mallik! As she looked towards the window, hoping for him to appear there any moment, she missed how her friends exchanged glances behind her back, deciding silently to let her off the hook for sometime..

"Great.. So then we'll talk about Abhi!!", Muskaan declared, drawing Riddhima's attention from the window back into the conversation..

"No!!.. Why Abhi..", Nikki protested halfhearted through her shy smile..

"Coz Abhi Abhi tumhari Abhi se shaadi hui hai..", Muskaan joked, slapping her back playfully, making Riddhima giggle as Nikki warned her, "That was lame Muskaan.. Tereko chad rahi hai.."

But Anjali butt in that conversation, "Nikki stop trying to change the topic.. So.. Tell us.. In detail.. When was your first time.. And how was it!"

"Di!.. I think you've had too much to drink.. What kind of a question is that! Nikki its okay.. You don't have to answer that.. Can we please talk about something else guys.. I'm really uncomfortable with this discussion..", Riddhima's protest came even before Nikki could decide whether she wanted to answer that question.. Even if that question was not addressed to her, she was absolutely and utterly uncomfortable by this discussion.. But according to her Di, she was being a prude!

"Ridzi stop pretending to be so nave.. And waise bhi main Nikki se pooch rahi hoon.. Tum chup chap suno na.. Nikki you continue..", she said, leaning in interestedly as a blushing Nikki replied, "Wo.. Actually.. Our first time was after the wedding.. After we got back here..", she told them shyly, her eyes fixed on Muskaan's alarm clock that sat on the side table.. Its hands showing the time to be a quarter to twelve..

"What! Are you serious! But you guys were living in.. I mean.. I always thought you must have already.. You know..", Anjali sounded genuinely surprised at that piece of news.. Muskaan just giggled herself silly, while Riddhima went to make herself another drink.. Oh yeah.. She really was going to need it!! Coz Nikki's inhibitions had been slowly disappearing as the conversation proceeded to a new level of embarrassment..

"I know.. There were so many times when we were tempted.. But then we decided to just wait.. Mostly it was just Abhi's idea..", she told Anjali and Muskaan as Riddhima returned to the bed with a glassful of the 'tolerance potion'.. She was glad she had made herself a strong one, coz Muskaan's next comment was, "Wow.. I don't believe it.. It must have killed him to take that decision nahi.. Seriously! Armaan should learn something from him.. "

And obviously she couldn't keep shut when Armaan's name was dragged into this, "Muskaan! Armaan beech mein kahan se aya!", she asked her, irritated..

Muskaan bit her tongue as she cheekily replied, "Nahi.. Main toh bas keh rahi thi ki Armaan ko aise thoda self control seekhna chahiye.. Nahi!"

And that totally pissed her off, "That's none of your business Muskaan!", she told her angrily, even as the other two stifled their giggles..

"Oops.. Gussa ho gayi.. Sorry..", Muskaan tried to cutely apologize at once, putting her arm around Riddhima's shoulder so she could give her a side hug.. But Riddhima just shrugged out of her hold..

Alarmed by her reaction, Anjali finally decided to intervene, "Ridzi it's okay.. Hum toh bas mazak kar rahe hain.. And it's nothing to be so embarrassed about.. Saare ladke aise hi hote hain.. That's the only thing they can ever think about.. And it's okay if you've done it.. I know guys can get demanding.."

If Anjali thought that would console her, she had gone and done the complete opposite.. Coz it only increased Riddhima's irritation, "Di its not like that.. I don't think Armaan has ever been demanding in the way that you are implying.. He respects our relationship more than this.. This crap that your talking about.."

"Aww Ridzi.. I didn't say anything about your relationship.. I know what you feel for each other.. But being in a physical relationship is also a part of it right.. It has nothing to do with respect.. More to do with hormones.."

And Nikki totally agreed with Anjali as she commented, "Yeah I know.. Guys more often than not think from down there.."

And that made Riddhima blush and protest again, "OH god Nikki!! I so don't want to be a part of this conversation.."

"Stop being such a prude Ridzi.. She's right.. Ladkon ke dimaag mein bass ek hi cheez chalti rehti hai.. Always looking for an opportunity.. ", Muskaan told her like a teacher explaining how one plus one make two to a class for the first time.. But Riddhima stubbornly refused to agree to whatever her friends were saying, "Please.. Armaan doesn't think like that.."

"Kyun Armaan's not a guy?", Anjali asked, tongue in cheek..

"No.. ", she said even before she could understand the question.. Then frowned at her Di and corrected herself, "I mean.. He's different.. I don't know why you people are categorizing guys like that.. I don't know about everyone else.. But Armaan is just not like that.. ", she declared stubbornly, not wanting to give in to her friends' opinions.. Armaan and she shared a relationship of mutual respect.. Even their physical relationship always followed that.. Yeah Armaan did keep saying disgusting things and always wanted an opportunity to get close to her. But he never crossed his limits.. Never did anything that she would be uncomfortable with. And even if he tried something, he stopped as soon as he felt her reluctance.. Like the last time in his living room, when things had gotten out of control, he had totally cooperated with her when she told him to stay away from her for the sake of her conscience.. So she wouldn't tolerate her Di and her friends making fun of his lack of self control in that department.. He just understood her well and somehow always wanted what she did.. They were never on different pages of the book as far as their physical relationship was concerned.. Both equally eager and equally cautious..

But Nikki didn't seem to agree with Riddhima at all, challenging her beliefs as she said, "Really! Then how is Armaan Ridz.. Even if I force myself to believe that you guys haven't already done it, I refuse to believe that Armaan has never tried his luck with you.. And if he hasn't then maybe it's time you think about it Ridzi.. Seriously.. Just because he doesn't tell you about it, doesn't mean he doesn't want to.. Either that or he's gay..", she told her up-straight, the alcohol making her bolder than she would have been without it..

But Riddhima was firm on her stance, "Nikki.. Please.. I don't want to talk about this..", she told her, looking away.. She didn't want to have a conversation that tried to prove her relationship with Armaan was flawed in anyway..

"That just says it all.. Maybe I'll actually believe you Ridzi.. With that kind of an attitude, I really pity Armaan.. ", Anjali said sympathetically, and clearly her sympathies were with Armaan!

And Riddhima couldn't believe it!, "Di!!"

Just as she started to defend herself, Muskaan patted her back playfully, "Ridzi tu kyun itna tension le rahi hai.. It's okay.. It's nothing wrong.. Hota hai.. Hota hai.."

And before she could respond to Muskaan, her Di cut her in, "Yeah I know Muskaan.. But it's actually a good thing.. Guys are really low maintenance that way nahi.. That's all they ever want.. I can almost always get Atul to give me anything I want in exchange.."

"So true Anjie.. ", Nikki agreed with her, grinning naughtily at the thought..

Only Riddhima's eyes were wide open in shock or disgust she didn't know which, "God! You people are.. I didn't know getting married makes you shameless.."

"Ridzi you shouldn't talk about being shameless.. None of us have done it before we got married.. Unlike you!"

"Di maine kaha na.. I haven't done anything.."

"Okay fine Ridz.. I believe you bass..", Muskaan spoke up in support for Riddhima.. She really was on edge..

"Kya Muski.. Don't spoil the fun na.. It's so much fun teasing her.. I agree with Armaan.. ", Nikki exclaimed, just coz teasing Riddhima was more fun than she had imagined..

Anjali however saw Riddhima ready to burst into tears any moment and changed the course of discussion at least till she cooled down a bit.."Accha isse chodo.. Muskaan, now it's your turn.. I mean, tumhari aur Rahul ki shaadi hone waali hai.. Phir se.. But have you guys already.."

"Yeah.. Of course..", Muskaan answered nonchalantly like she discussed her love life with people on an everyday basis..

"Oooh!!.. But Muskaan.. Don't mind me asking.. I mean.. Tum dono ek dusre ko hardly jaante the yaar.. It must have been weird na..", Nikki asked her..

"Yeah.. It was.. Initially.. Especially when we had to pretend in front of our family that we were so much in love.. But dheere dheere friendship ho gayi.. Aur pyaar kab hua pata hi nahi chala.."

"How cute.. Sounds like a fairy tale..", Nikki said as she heard Muskaan..

And Anjali seconded that, "Yeah it does.. And both of you make the perfect pair.. Waise honeymoon ke kya plans hai?!"

And Muskaan's answer came instantly.."Shimla.."

"Oh wow Shimla! I love cold places.. That's why we chose Switzerland.. It's so cold.. You don't even need a bahana to get cozy..", she winked at Muskaan as she thought about her honeymoon with Atul..

But Nikki didn't quite agree with her, "Yeah.. I'm sure cold places are fun.. Unless you're on a private beach, soaking the sun in a two piece bikini.. Trust me.. That's the kind of stuff guys fantasize about on their honeymoon..", she told them smugly, thinking of the days she spent in Mauritius with Abhi..

"Yeah.. I'm sure.. You looked like you had a lot of fun in Mauritius.. ",

"Oh don't even ask.. Best time of my life!!", she coolly replied even as she understood the underlying teasing tone in Anjali's voice..

While her friends discussed their honeymoon stories, Riddhima was lost in the thoughts of what they had said earlier.. Was she so dominating in their relationship that she kept Armaan within his limits.. Or did he seriously never think of crossing them.. And even if he did, was he ready to take that kind of a step. She remembered the night of his birthday, when they had not even come as close to what they had recently been up to.. But still that night they had felt like they had lost control.. And Armaan had taken the blame on himself.. She also remembered how they had decided to wait till the wedding. But at that time they hadn't thought their wedding would be so far in time.. Couldn't his mind have changed in all this while.. Wouldn't it.. Especially the way circumstances had changed, the nature of their relationship had changed.. So was it that obvious that their physical needs would change too.. She had particularly not given it a thought.. What she was more interested in, was whether Armaan had.. She thought about the progress they had made in the last couple of months as far as their physical relationship was concerned.. Lately they'd moved much faster than what they had before their wedding date was decided.. Or even before the whole Singapore debacle had taken place! But then she had not felt uncomfortable sharing that space with him.. Whenever something happened, she was more often than not an equal partner.. And if she wasn't, she was never pushed into anything by him! But did that mean he didn't want to take the next obvious step.. And more importantly, was she really ready for the kind of intimacy that the whole world thought she shared with him!

"Oye Ridzi.. Tu kahan kho gayi..", Muskaan's teasing voice startled her out of her reverie..

"Lagta hai apne honeymoon ke baare mein soch rahi hai.. Future waale..", Nikki continued to tease her.. Oh when would they get over it! And when would it stop bothering her, she thought even as she screamed, "Nikki.."

"Or that Singapore trip.. That was as good as a honeymoon.."

"No it wasn't!! And why does everything come back to me!"

Anjali chuckled as she saw Riddhima complain again.. She really needed to grow up.. "That's because it bothers you so much Ridzi.. Accha theek hai.. I believe you.. You haven't gone all the way with Armaan.. But at least tell me how far you've gone.. Like.. I'm sure you've touched base 3 at least..", And she herself needed to drink a little less.. Coz if not for the alcohol she wouldn't have asked her that last bit..

But it was fun to see Riddhima's face contort in that pained expression again as she whined, "Oh god!! Tum log kyun mere peeche pade ho.."

Thankfully this time, Muskaan's genuine query diverted their attention from taking her case, "Yeh base 3 kya hota hai yaar.. I'm kinda lost here.."

"It's okay Muskaan.. It's actually a very American concept.. It's like a dating analogy of baseball.. I think it became popular in our school coz of all the American sitcoms that came in at that time..", Anjali explained to her like she was explaining an important universal concept..

And Muskaan was the ever eager student as she excitedly asked, "But what is it.. Tell me.. Tell me.. Sounds like fun if it irks Ridz so much.."

Riddhima scowled at that, dreading the impending discussion as she shook her head in denial, "Oh no.. I don't think I want to be a part of this conversation.. Why don't you just google it Muskaan..", she suggested warily, hoping with all her heart that Muskaan takes her advice..

"Ridzi stop being such a prude.. You close your ears if you have so much of a problem..", Anjali reprimanded her while Nikki ignored her and continued to explain the concept of bases to Muskaan, "Haan so Muski.. It's like.. In baseball, there are four bases.. "

"I know how baseball is played Nikki.. It's like softball.. I was my school team's captain for softball!"

"Oh.. Yeah.. So you know na.. There are four bases.. When you run all four bases it's a home run.. So for every base in baseball, there's a stage of relationship.."

"Strictly physical.. You know.. It's more of a guy concept..", Anjali interrupted, adding to Nikki's comprehensive explanation..

Only Muskaan needed literal explanations even for the physical stages of a relationship.. "Oh so what are the stages.. ", she asked enthusiastically only to make Riddhima groan again, "Di common.. Guys stop it.."

But Nikki who had had enough to drink volunteered to spell it out for Muskaan, "Wait I'll tell you Muski.. The four bases.. Or the four F's as they were called in our school.. French.. Feel.. Finger.. Fu.."

"Nikki!! Stop it.. You're drunk!", Riddhima yelled right before Nikki could completely her fourth F.. But Muskaan didn't need to hear the whole thing anyway.. Both of them had started giggling like a couple of teenagers.

And her Di was treating her like she was behaving like one, "Ridzi seriously.. Grow up.. It's not like you don't know.."

"It's different to know and shamelessly discuss it like that..", she argued with her Di, unable to believe her shameless friends!!

"Not so shameless when you do it, is it! So tell me.. Which base have you touched.."

"I'm not telling you anything..", when she stubbornly refused to answer, Nikki redirected the question to herself, "Abhi and me had touched base 3 before we got married.. Like I said.. Couldn't bring ourselves to go all the way.."

"Atul and me had only reached base 2.. Oh Atul was really slow.. I had to mostly initiate everything.. Especially before we got married..", Anjali said, frowning a little at that thought.

But then Muskaan came up with, "I toh covered all bases directly after I got married.. But Anjie.. Seriously.. No one can be slower than Rahul.. Gadhe ko kitna time laga to confess.. Apna dimaag kucch zyaada hi chalata hai.. And then to make his move toh he took forever!" and that made everyone giggle.. Including Riddhima.. But she stopped giggling the minute she was dragged into the conversation again by Nikki, "In that context Ridzi is the fastest nahi.. Armaan's the only lucky dog who's scored before being tied up in the knot.."

"Why! Why do you guys keep coming back to me!! And no.. Armaan hasn't scored..".. Not yet!!

"Accha.. Toh at least tell us which base he's made it to.."

"No I wont.. It's none of your business..", but she couldn't help but think about it.. Armaan and she were probably somewhere on 2 or 3.. But then, all these bases were so vaguely defined.. And different people had different definitions.. Some extremes would probably say they were just on base one! But according to Armaan's list of romantic things to do, they were still on the second base.. And he felt he wasn't lucky to have the luxury of making love to her.. But she had thought it was just one of his silly jokes.. He always did that to irritate her.. But what if he was serious about that.. Was he?

While Riddhima was lost in her thoughts, Muskaan commented, "God she's so uptight! Ridzi.. Tera kucch nahi hoga..", to which Nikki added, "I know.. She's just wasting Armaan for a boyfriend.. I'm sure he's as good as he looks..", and she winked, high-fiving the other two as they giggled away to glory..

But Riddhima was at the end of her tether, "Nikki!! Could you please.." so mad she couldn't find words to express her anger! So Nikki took advantage of her wordlessness to tease her further, "Oh I remember in college there were stories of how good he was.. But he claims they were all just rumors.. "

Riddhima's jaw dropped open in shock and pure rage! But before she could defend Armaan on that, her Di butted into the conversation, "Oh that way.. I was Atul's first girlfriend.. Believe it or not.. I was his first kiss ever!!", she told them, with a disgusted expression like that was a bad thing!

Nikki however, proudly showed off her experienced pati, "Abhi was pretty much experienced.. Though he doesn't want to talk about that ever.. He thinks I'll get mad at him.. But it's good.. At least he knows what he's doing..", and she winked at Anjali as she took gulped down the rest of her drink..

Anjali grinned as she replied to that, "Oh Atul surely knows what he's doing.. Let me tell you.. His fingers are magic.."

As if it was some kind of a competition, Nikki answered with a, "You haven't heard about Abhi's tongue Anjie.. I don't even know where to start!"

Riddhima thought she might puke! And she was sure it wasn't coz of the alcohol she had consumed, "Okay that's it!! Enough of this discussion!.. Bohot ho gaya..", she declared, completely red in the face out of embarrassment, her brows disappearing into her hair out of shear shock.. How was she ever going to clean her ears after hearing that load of crap!

High that she was, Anjali didn't find it one bit gross.. Instead finding another opportunity to tease Riddhima, "Aww.. Ridzi ko sharam aa rahi hai.. I don't think she knows much about Armaan's fingers.."

"Or his tongue..", Nikki put in, waiting for Riddhima to scream.. And scream she did, "Di!!!!"

"Armaan!!"

"Armaan?", Riddhima repeated, scrunching her brows in confusion, as she heard Muskaan exclaim.. When she turned towards where Muskaan was looking, she saw Armaan jump into the room through the open window.. That's when she realized in all the teasing that her friends had subjected her to, she had totally forgotten about her plan! Thank god she had convinced Muskaan to leave the window open earlier.. But as she saw him stand up and give her a wink, she could only think of the conversation that she had been having with her friends.. She thought about that last time when they had come close and she had asked him to stay away. He had definitely been irritated first.. Then having no option he had agreed to her demand.. She remembered how weird he had been with her after that.. And then last week he had tried to avoid her.. But then today he was all for the kiss she had initiated in his cabin.. He had been sending out these mixed signals from such a long time and she had not even managed to catch one of them.. Or was she over thinking this.. Maybe he was just being his weird self.. And anyway, if he wanted to try something funny on her why would he run away.. Unless he thought she would be mad at him if she realized his intentions.. And that proved her exactly what her friends thought of her.. Uptight! Was she really being blind to his feelings coz of her own set of ideas.. Did he mean it when he said she'd not want to know what he wanted earlier today.. Or was it just a joke like she had thought it to be? Did he even feel the need to go from base 2 to 3.. Or was she thinking like this only coz her friends had put such things in her head.. Even as she watched Rahul wish Muskaan with a cute peck on her lips that made her friends hoot teasingly at the couple, thoughts of her relationship with Armaan occupied her mind.. Were they not as perfect as she perceived them to be.. Worse.. Was she the one who didn't understand Armaan the way he understood her!

"Basket! Where's your phone! Kabse I was calling you? Wo toh accha tha ki the window was open..", Armaan hissed into her ear as he came and stood next to her while Nikki brought in the cake from the fridge.. As Muskaan cut the cake and fed it to Rahul, she clapped along with her friends, but from the corner of her eye watched Armaan as he teased Rahul about the tips he had given him for the night! Nikki in turn, drawing from Riddhima's reactions from their interesting conversation, teased Armaan saying he should first learn to use those tricks on his own fiance.. At that, she had to intervene and steer the argument away from all their love lives.. She had had enough of baseball for one night without dragging Armaan into the game! If her friends had embarrassed her, she was sure Armaan would completely destroy her.. And she really didn't want to spend their anniversary hiding from him.. Unless what he wanted was to touch base three.. Or even score a home run.. Squirming at that thought, as she saw him smear cream on Muskaan's face while her friend cursed him in Punjabi, she really couldn't decide if he was the typical guy her friends had categorized him into.. And it embarrassed her to think that even after a year of knowing him, loving him and being loved by him, she still was ambivalent about what he wanted and needed.. Was it because she never discussed it with him.. But even if they did discuss it, was she ready to hear him say that he did want to go all the way with her.. More than anything else.. Then what would she do? Honestly, she didn't know.. Forget that.. She didn't even know if she wanted to know!! And she didn't know if she should bring that up tonight.. All she had wanted was a quiet peaceful night with Armaan.. A little banter, a little romance and lots of peace.. But the way her heart was ramming against her chest, peace was not something she would expect.. She just hoped somehow Armaan would divert her attention from all these complicated and scary and - she had to admit - a little tempting thoughts.. But how was she going to do that when every time she looked at him, those thoughts all but flooded her brain.. She couldn't curse her friends enough for infecting her brain with this new virus of an idea! And as of now she saw no cure in sight.. But some corner of her heart told her, that Armaan himself was the cure.. Though she didn't understand how that logic worked, she tried to pacify herself with it.. As her head felt woozy with all those woozy thoughts, not to mention the weird combination of drinks her friends had mixed for her, she decided maybe she'd just have to wait and watch! And leave everything to Armaan..