TheWorld'sOldestStory!!#14 Chp114-pg-144; 22/09/13

"Yes"

"Okay guys.. Thanks for coming.. But I need to spend some time with my beautiful wifee here.. So please see yourselves out of the window!", Rahul made his not so subtle announcement when his friends refused to take his subtle hints even an hour after Muskaan had finished cutting the cake..

Riddhima, who stood at the window away from everyone still lost in thoughts about the embarrassing discussion she had had with her friends, turned towards Rahul as she heard his sarcastically polite request even as he got a 'ooohhh' from Nikki and Anjie who had been sitting on the floor with their backs to the bed and discussing Muskaan's plans for the upcoming wedding. But his blatant suggestion only made Muskaan blush and glare at him after which she returned back to the shopping plans that she had been discussing with her friends. Abhi however completely understood Rahul's plight and promptly stood up to leave. Atul had already gone off to sleep on Muskaan's bed and didn't look like he was going to wake up for a long long time, adding to Rahul's frustrations.. But the one person conspicuously missing in action was a certain Armaan Mallik.. No wonder things had gotten so quiet in the last half an hour.. Scanning around the room, Riddhima found him sitting at the coffee table, busy cleaning up the icing that was stuck to the plate on which the cake had been kept before it was massacred by their friends, his mind completely on the task at hand.. She couldn't help but giggle as she saw him lick the icing off his finger totally oblivious to Rahul's frustrations.

Just that one sight made her forget all her confusions and embarrassments that she had been ruminating upon from so long.. Without even realizing that she was, she walked towards him, fighting her giggles so she wouldn't attract any attention.. His or anyone else's.. "Armaan.. Yeh kya ho raha hai?", she asked him, her tone reflecting her amusement..

Startled by her voice, Armaan looked up at her with the expression of a deer caught in the headlights.. Then smiled at her sheepishly, "He he.. The cake's really yummy..", he pointed at the now clean platter.. If she hadn't caught him licking his fingers she wouldn't have known it was the same plate on which the cake had been placed..

She burst into a fit of giggles at his expression as he continued to give her an embarrassed smile.. "Tum kya karte rehte ho Armaan.. Sho cute!!"

"Shhh!!", he shushed her before she had finished calling him cute, as he stood up, his smile turned into a frown and he glared at her..

But that just made her giggle even more.. And to irritate him, she even attempted to pull his cheeks. But his reflexes were good.. He slapped her hand even before it could touch him, "Stop it Basket.. Its not that funny.."

"Oh you didn't see what I saw Armaan.. Trust me it was funny!", she told him, still giggling at his antics..

"It wasn't.. I was just hungry.. ", he defended himself, frowning grumpily at the way she was laughing at him..

"Hungry? Armaan its one thirty.. Who feels hungry at one thirty in the night!", she asked him as she wiped some icing that was stuck to the corner of his mouth with her thumb.. Armaan flinched from her at first, thinking that she was trying to pull his cheeks again.. But when he realized what she was really doing, he let her, taking the opportunity to sneak his arms around her waist and pull her in a closer embrace.. But before she could withdraw her hand from his face, he held her hand in place and placed a quick kiss on her thumb, then exclaimed, "Now that was yummier than the cake!" winking at her naughtily as he did..

Riddhima blushed, but rolled her eyes in derision all the same.. "Pagal!"

"Basket!!", he grinned naughtily to see her scowl.. Then kissed the tip of her crinkled nose and waited for her to scowl some more.. "Armaaan!..", she reprimanded him with her standard glare..

"What?", was all he asked her, still grinning, enjoying troubling her.. Now that she got more chances of irritating him, troubling her was even more satisfying an activity than it used to be.. And it felt like forever since he had troubled her now.. Forget troubling, he had not had a decent conversation with her in what felt like forever.. So he didn't feel like letting go of every single chance he got with her.. Oh how he loved to watch her struggle with words, not knowing how to scold him, when he knew she really liked every one of the stolen kisses and the cheesy romantic lines.. Finally she settled for a "Kucch nahi..", hugging him back as she settled her head under his chin..

Armaan smiled at that.. She was adorable.. And she kept calling him cute!.. Frowning at that a little, he placed a soft kiss on her hair, as he hugged her tighter, "Basket.."

"Hmmm.."

"Lets get out of here na.."

"I was going to say the same thing!", she looked up at him, agreeing with his suggestion for once.. "If we don't leave soon Rahul will probably shoot us all down..", she added, making him chuckle.. But before he could make a comment on Rahul's ambitious plans for the night, they heard his irritated voice call out to them across the room, "Oyi lovebirds!! Cant you go home and get all mushy.. And why isn't Atul getting up! Atul saale!! Get up!!" and they saw him smack Atul's butt with a pillow.. They laughed their heads off at poor Rahul's condition even as Muskaan cursed him and asked him to stop embarrassing her.. Finally, when Rahul looked like he would cry, they decided to leave..

"Bye guys..", Nikki called out to Armaan and Riddhima from as Abhi started the car.. She was sitting at the front seat along with Anjali and Atul in the back of their car. Atul was much too sleepy to drive and Anjali was a little more than high to take the wheel. So Abhi had offered them to drop the two of them home.. Armaan thanked his luck that he didn't have to do the honors.. Luckily Atul had chosen Abhi's car to doze off onto when all of them were saying their good nights and good byes.. So the onus automatically came onto Modi.. He'd never been as proud of his Champ before! Now he could go home with Riddhima and spend the much needed time that both of them had craved for.. "Bye Nikki! Kal milte hai..", Armaan waved out to her..

Nikki shot back a teasing smile, "Yeah sure.. You have fun.. And don't do anything I would Ridzi!", she winked at Riddhima, who just shot her a murderous glare even as her cheeks colored crimson, all her friends' shameless comments that she had forgotten from earlier tonight coming back to her.. But if Nikki's comment embarrassed her, what her Di said to Armaan positively horrified her, "Stay away from my innocent little sister you brat!!"

"What!", was all Armaan could say, scrunching in brows in confusion as Nikki and Anjie burst into a fit of drunken giggles at his expression.. Thankfully Abhi didn't wait for the conversation to unfold and drove away, saving Riddhima from a lot of embarrassment.. She really couldn't take anymore for tonight! As Abhi's car took a turn out of sight, Armaan turned in confusion towards Riddhima to find her almost cringing in embarrassment.. "What was that about?", he asked her, one brow raised in curiosity.. This time she smiled at him sheepishly, "He he.. Nothing.. They're just really really drunk!" As much as she hoped he would buy that, she knew he wouldn't.. God! This was definitely going down in history as the most embarrassing night of her life.. Dreading Armaan's twenty questions she got into his car before he could ask her more questions, hoping she'd be spared any more embarrassment for tonight.. But she wasn't! She realized in less than five minutes into the ride back home.. Thank heavens for the alcohol in her system.. She definitely wouldn't have been able to tolerate the torture without it!

"It doesn't take a genius to figure out what must've happened Basket.. They were obviously teasing you about us sleeping together again.."

Riddhima cringed as she heard Armaan.. Her face, already red with the thought of everything that had happened tonight, turned a deeper shade of crimson as she tried to hide her expressions from him by looking out of the window.. She had refused to answer any of his questions.. So he had just blabbed what he had assumed.. Of course it wasn't hard to figure, like he had rightly commented.. But it was hard for her to express what she was feeling about it.. And she knew all he wanted to do was make fun of her just like her friends had.. So she decided to be indifferent about the whole thing and not give him the reaction he wanted from her, "So if you're such a genius toh mujhse kyun pooch rahe ho..", she replied smugly..

Armaan pretended to think about it for a second, then raising his brow naughtily answered, "Tumhe tang karne ke liye.."

Even if she wasn't facing him, she knew he must be grinning like a fool at her situation.. Rolling her eyes in derision, she complained, sarcasm dripping from every comment of hers, "Saari duniya ko main hi milti hoon tang karne ke liye.. Like they didn't trouble me enough, tum bhi shuru ho jao.."

Armaan chuckled as he heard her mutter, "Tumhe sab isliye trouble karte hain Basket, coz you get troubled so easily..", he told her like he was giving out the biggest secret in the world..

She just sighed in defeat at that, "So I've been told.."

"So why don't you learn something from that and at least pretend to be cool with it..", he asked her, sneaking a glance at her for a second before returning his eyes on the road..

"Because I'm not shameless like you people.. There's a limit to everything.. And today they completely crossed it..", Riddhima had not meant it to come out as bitter as it did.. It was probably the mix of confusion, irritation and embarrassment that made her so angry.. On top of that Armaan had the nerve to take her friends' side.. "They're our friends Basket.. That's what friends do.. Main Raaool aur Muskaan ko kitna pareshaan karta hoon.. Do they ever react like this.."

"They're married Armaan.. And besides you don't ask them excruciating details about their sex life.. These people were talking bullshit!"

If Armaan hadn't gone red in the face at her comment he would have asked her what bullshit they were talking about.. But the thought of even having a sex life to be pried into took his mind places he wasn't allowed to go.. He had already been trying very hard, although in vain, to keep his eyes only on her face all night.. But it was almost like those buttons on her sexy black shirt were calling out to him! Focus dude!! Focus!!

When Armaan didn't say anything in reply to her comment, she continued to complain, her frustration overpowering her embarrassment, "I mean how can they just assume things.. Just coz they're married and all.. I mean.. They can talk about it all they want.. But why drag us into the whole thing.."

"But how does it matter Basket.. Its not like we're doing anything. Let them say what they want to.. Why are you getting so worked up about it.."

"Shouldn't it be the other way around Armaan.. If we were really up to something then maybe it wouldn't have been so excruciatingly embarrassing!"

"Really?.. Then maybe we should just do it.. If that's what'll save you from the excruciating embarrassment.. Haina..", Armaan's asked cheekily, grinning sheepishly at his own comment.. He did make it sound like a comment made to trouble her.. But he couldn't help but wish she said a yes..

But this time it was Riddhima who went all quiet, blushing as her heart raced in confusion. What was she supposed to answer to that.. This was exactly what had her confused for the past couple of hours.. Was he joking.. Was he serious.. Did he really want to 'do it'! She thought of how her friends had called her uptight.. Was she purposely turning a blind eye to his feelings coz she wasn't comfortable with them.. What was she supposed to do about it.. But what she said next wasn't exactly what she had really wanted to do.. It definitely had something to do with the partially inebriated state of her mind..

"Do you really want to Armaan?", the words left her mouth before she could figure what they really meant..

Armaan's heart jumped in his chest, eyes widened in shock and for a moment he almost lost control of the car.. Of all the reactions he could expect out of her, this was not even on the list! But when he replayed those words in his mind and thought about them for a moment, he couldn't refute what his ears had made him hear.. "That is a trick question, isnt it!", he asked her, narrowing his brows suspiciously even as he tried to ignore the rush of blood in his ears.. If this was her attempt at teasing him back, and he could expect it cause she had done it in the past, he was in big trouble.. He couldn't take jokes like these anymore.. And if she was serious.. He was in bigger trouble.. Coz there was just one honest answer to that question of hers and he was sure she wouldn't like it..

Riddhima felt her cheeks flush and the atmosphere thicken around them in the limited space of the car. She didn't know what made her ask him such a stupid question, but now that she had, she really wanted to know the answer. And the oh-so-typical response she got from Armaan was just plain disappointing.. She didn't know whether to be happy or mad that he was taking her so lightly.. The embarrassed part of her mind said, "Thank god.. Bach gaye.." The confused and genuinely frustrated part of her asked him, "What if it isn't a trick question Armaan.."

"But what if it is?", he asked back, trying to parry her question.. If he could, he was going to try hard to not answer her at all..

But Riddhima was persistent.. She was annoyed with his deliberate attempts at making the not-so-funny situation funny.. It wasn't like she was enjoying the tension that was brewing between them.. But she was way too eager to clear her confusion now that she had her chance.. "Armaan it's not a trick question!", she asserted in an irritated tone..

Armaan however wasn't in any mood to help her out.. "Okay.. What was your question again?", he asked her, grinning crazy as he sneaked a glance at her..

Riddhima couldn't help but smile an embarrassed smile as she saw the expression of pure mirth on his face.. Okay.. Maybe she was wrong.. This was kinda funny.. At least Armaan definitely was enjoying himself.. "Armaaan.. This isnt funny..", she complained, trying hard to fight her smile as she took to looking out of the window again..

"So why you smiling?", he asked her, brows raised as he smiled that naughty smile, even as in his heart he wondered if he was really going to get lucky..

"Coz.. Coz you're smiling Armaan.."

"I'm smiling coz I think its funny.."

"Armaan tumhe har cheez mazaak lagti hai na.."

"Nai.. Yeh mazaak nahi hai.. Its just funny.."

"Shut up Armaan..", she hit him when he just wouldn't give up..

"Arre maar kyun rahi ho yaar.. I just forgot what your question was.. If you want me to answer it you'll have to remind me what it was..", he pretended to be all innocently sincere, but that teasing smile never left his face..

And every time Riddhima looked at that expression of his, she couldn't help but smile herself.. Not to mention blush crazy.. But two could play this game he was playing.. "You know what.. Now I forgot what the question was.. So keep thinking about it..", she told him smugly..

But she only got a more smug, "Sure I will.. But I'm sure you will too.." accompanied by a naughty wink that made her heart skip a beat..

"Idiot!", she muttered, taking to look out of the window again..

"Basket!!", came his response as he continued to drive them home..

And true to their words, the only thought that occupied both their minds all through the ride back home, was the crazy conversation they had just had.. While Riddhima was trying to figure out the hidden meaning behind each and every reaction she got from Armaan for every stupid thing she had said, Armaan was trying hard not to feel excited about whatever had just happened and what the night had in store for him.. Focus dude! Focus! He reminded himself again..

Armaan didn't know how he had managed to drive themselves safely back home.. Coz as soon as he had stepped out of the car, he had lost all his sense of coordination.. He stumbled twice before he reached the door.. And then fumbled as he couldn't get the key into the keyhole.. He was so distracted by Riddhima's presence and the thoughts that circled his mind about the strange conversation they had in the car, not to mention the anticipation of the possibilities this night held for him.. He knew he shouldn't expect.. He was a fool to do so.. Coz as much as Riddhima liked to ask stupid questions, one thing that was certain and unchangeable was her aversion to the kind of physical intimacy he sought to have.. Or at least that's what he thought.. But somehow, his heart didn't agree.. And caught at the center of this tug of war between his mind and his heart, he somehow managed to force the lock open and make his way into the house.. And his condition only worsened on the other side of the door..

Riddhima had never felt tension so thick between her and Armaan as she felt now.. It wouldn't even slice with a knife.. They'd need to butcher it with an axe or something.. The only consolation if she could call it so, was that Armaan was definitely feeling the same.. She had watched him stumble and struggle and finally make it inside their home.. But the tension brewing between them had almost solidified once they had shut the door behind them.. She didn't know what to say to him anymore.. And neither did he look like he had a clue as to what to do.. He switched on all the lights in the living room and sneaked a surreptitious glance at her.. Unfortunately she chose the precise moment to look at him.. And almost as immediately as their eyes had met, they looked away from each other..

Armaan felt the tension between them and realized that whatever he had thought would happen tonight was clearly not happening.. He definitely didn't know how to tell her what he felt.. And he wasn't even sure he should.. Not when she was being so careful about not entering his personal space.. It was almost like he was repelling her.. He didn't know if she was doing that consciously or unintentionally.. But either way it meant she was uncomfortable.. And that was what he dreaded most between them.. Discomfort.. It wasn't how it was supposed to be between them.. It felt extremely wrong.. But he didn't know how to change this thing between them now.. So he decided to do something.. He didn't know what he was going to do.. But he had to do something..

So he just proceeded towards his room.. He'd sure find something to do there..

Riddhima watched him go into his room and wondered what she should do next.. She was hoping he'd say something.. But clearly he was as weighed down by the awkwardness between them as she was.. She didn't know what happened.. They shouldn't have gotten out of the car at all.. At least it wasn't so bad in there.. But on second thoughts, the only reason they had endured the car ride was probably because it was in motion and the only option of escaping the awkwardness was to jump out of the car.. Not like she had not thought about it a couple of times.. But she had not expected the tension to expand exponentially in proportion to the space they shared.. Apparently that was how it was going to be.. Not having left with a choice, she decided to follow Armaan into his room.. Yeah.. She did have second thoughts about that too.. But.. She needed to dump her over night bag somewhere.. And she couldn't think of any place other than his room in the four bedroom house where she could do so..

Armaan was fidgeting in his wardrobe when she entered the room.. She felt him stiffen the moment he realized he had company.. His movements became slow and measured as he took what he needed from the wardrobe, then turned to look at her.. She looked away as soon as he looked her way, looking at the bag in her hand, pretending to think hard where she should keep it.. She kept it on one end of the couch first.. Then decided she should keep it at the other end.. Then decided it was better off on the floor..

"Riddhima..", she froze as she heard his voice.. It felt like it had been ages she had heard that deep male baritone of his.. And the way her name sounded on his lips made a shiver run down her spine.. She didn't know what was wrong with her.. It was like he was talking to her for the first time or something.. She turned to him slowly, wondering what he was going to say to her.. Her heart beat wild in anticipation.. But whatever she had expected him to say, it wasn't, "I'm going for a shower.."

All she could do in response to that was nod, then frown at his back as he turned towards the door of the washroom and then stifle a snort when she saw him collide with the completely opaque door that stood between him and the shower on the other side of it! An embarrassed Armaan fidgeted with the knob in a hurry as he rubbed his nose with one hand and somehow managed to stumble inside the bathroom without breaking through it!

Riddhima burst into a fit of silent giggles once he was out of sight.. God this was ridiculous.. Never in her dreams had she thought she'd see Armaan walk in through a door.. Wow! She had totally screwed things over today.. What she didn't understand was, why the ever so cool and level headed Armaan, was making such a big deal of the awkwardness between them.. The Armaan she knew would have probably made a sad joke about something till now and dissipated the tension between them.. This was a totally new side that she was seeing of him.. And for some reason it was making her more nervous than ever.. She had to do something about this.. She'd have to break the silence.. As she changed into her night clothes, she decided she would talk to him straight away once he got out of the shower.. She would just tell him she said something stupid coz she was a little high and that she was embarrassed about it.. That's it.. And yeah.. She'd have to ask him why he had become such a klutz in the span of half an hour.. He was being such a dude about it in the car making fun of her 'tricky question'.. So now what happened!

But the moment she saw him come out of the washroom in just his track pants all her ambitious plans of confronting him took a backseat and the tension between them got thicker if that was even possible.. Look away Riddhima.. Look away.. Her mind warned her.. But naah.. Her eyes were feasting on the broad chest and ripped flesh on display.. It had been so long since she had seen him without a shirt.. She had almost forgotten how amazing his abs looked.. One two three four five six.. Yeah.. She could even count them down to the last pack..

Armaan gulped as he watched Riddhima check him out so blatantly.. Woah.. Maybe he had a chance after all.. He had spent the last fifteen minutes under a cold shower, telling himself he had to stop thinking about having sex with her.. Coz she definitely wasn't interested and he had made too much of a fool of himself by walking into the washroom door.. Plus everything was so awkward between them, she was probably half in a mind to go home.. This was so not how he had imagined tonight to be.. They were supposed to catch up with each other and have a good time.. Not sit quietly in the most awkward of silences he had shared with her.. So he decided he would make a stupid joke about something.. Or ask her if she wanted some coffee.. And get talking.. He had so much to tell her anyway.. As he dried himself off and got into his clothes, he realized he had forgotten to get his t-shirt with him.. Had he known he was going to be ogled so greedily by Riddhima when he got out, he wouldn't have stepped out of the washroom at all.. Coz her eyes were not the only part of her that he wanted on him. To make matters worse, she had gotten out of her sexy black shirt and gotten into a sexier black tank and barely-there shorts that she normally wore to sleep.. This wasn't the first time he was seeing her in that outfit.. But he was sure if he continued to look at her for another five seconds, this might be the last time he'd see her in it.. Coz then he'd have to kiss her.. And that would just be the beginning.. She would probably slap him after that and then never look at his face again.. In that precise moment her panicked eyes darted up to his, almost as if she had heard his thoughts out loud.. And that fear in her eyes felt like the cold shower he had just taken, snapping him out of his fantasies at once.. No chance dude.. Focus!!

Riddhima panicked as she caught herself staring at him shamelessly.. And much to her embarrassment she found him staring right back at her.. The last thing she wanted for him to think after the car ride fiasco was that she wanted to sleep with him or something.. Not like she hadn't already made things weird between them.. This was definitely not what she had in mind when she had decided to kill the tension between them and make things less awkward.. Unfortunately, now the tension had gone up a hundred folds.. Wincing at the irritated expression in his eyes, she looked away from him.. Then decided it would be best for both of them if they just went to sleep.. At least she'd stop embarrassing both of them.. So making a task out of folding her clothes she dumped them in her bag, then got onto the bed and hid herself under the blanket, "Good night Armaan..", she managed to say to him as she closed her eyes and sighed in defeat..

"Good night..", he replied softly, unable to hide the disappointment in his voice.. Everything just felt so wrong.. Felt so unlike Armaan and Riddhima.. He hated it.. Irritated with himself, he picked a random t-shirt out of his closet and put it on.. Then switched off the lights and got out of his room.. He couldn't possibly sleep next to her on that bed.. He couldn't possibly sleep at all.. He needed to find something else to do.. Something that could bring his restless mind some peace..

Riddhima turned on her side for the hundred and fiftieth time.. Yeah.. She was counting.. It was one of the strategies she had adopted to divert her mind from the obvious thoughts that had her mind occupied.. After the silent non-conversation that had happened between her and Armaan an hour ago, she obviously could not sleep.. Not when she had seen Armaan switch off the lights and walk out to leave her to sleep on her own.. The least she was expecting was for him and come sleep next to her.. She could have probably sneaked her way into his arms and slept in peace.. Then maybe everything would be okay.. She wanted to believe now more than ever that every problem just automatically solved itself when she was wrapped up in his arms.. At least that was the only option left for her now.. But he had not even given her a chance to try that on him.. She wondered what he must be up to.. She could hear some noise coming from the living room.. He was probably watching TV.. She wanted to go and find out herself.. But she didn't know if she should.. She had already scared the poor guy out of his own bedroom.. She should probably just let him do what he was doing in peace.. But then she was also sure he wasn't at peace.. How could he be when she was feeling so.. So.. She didn't have a word for it.. But she knew she didn't like it.. And the only way left now was to go and talk to him.. Just break the awkward silence once and for all! She would just go and tell him to forget everything she had said earlier and start over for the night.. A complete change of topic would definitely get them rid of this tensed silence between them.. Having made up her mind, she marched into the living room to find him sitting on the floor against the wall opposite the television, his eyes plastered to the screen in full concentration.. When she looked more carefully, she realized he had a gaming console in his hand.. Oh.. His all time favorite distraction from life.. The play station!

Armaan continued to play his game even when he saw her approach him from the corner of his eyes, a frown adoring her face as she sleepily trudged towards him, her hair a little messed up.. She had probably been twisting and turning in bed as restlessly as his mind was in his head..

"Armaan!!! I cant sleep..", she told him warily, taking a seat next to him on the floor..

Armaan just glanced at her once from the corner of his eyes, then returned his eyes to the screen, even as the hair on the back of his neck stood up as her hand brushed against his arm.. He tried hard to concentrate on his game as his mind started going back to what had happened an hour ago in his room.. And again, he didn't know what to say to her..

"Armaan.. I'm feeling really weird..", she tried again, hoping he'd say something in reply..

But he just continued to ignore her, staring at the TV screen in fierce concentration as his fingers expertly maneuvered the gaming console in his hands..

Riddhima felt the tension rise again.. She knew he was purposely trying to avoid talking to her.. But she had had enough of the silence between them.. She wasn't going to give up so easily, "Armaan will you stop playing your game for two minutes and just look at me!", her firm request sounded more like a command.. But Armaan just continued to act like she wasn't even there..

So Riddhima got hold of the remote that was placed next to her and without a warning switched off the TV..

"Basket yaar!!! What the fcuk!!", Armaan screamed in irritation as he saw the screen go blank in front of him.. He tried to take the remote control back from her, but she hid it behind her back and he had no plans of going that close to her to get it from her.. Frowning grumpily at the unfairness of it all, he crossed his arms at his chest and glowered at the vast floor in front of him..

Riddhima secured the remote and his gaming console far out of his reach, then moved so she was sitting right opposite him, "That's better.. Now talk to me..", she demanded, looking straight at his eyes..

Only he was still looking at the floor behind her, frowning away to glory at being interrupted in the middle of his game.. Or at least that was the bahaana.. The real reason he was irritated was because she was pushing him to his limit of tolerance.. He had been mad at himself for totally losing his cool tonight.. And even after that he couldn't stop thinking about her in terms of action verbs she didn't approve of! And now she wanted to talk to him.. He knew how she must feel.. He didn't like the awkwardness between them any more than she did.. But he just wished she understood what he felt too.. And now he was tempted more than ever to just let her know what he felt and finish the matter once and for all.. But he didn't know how to tell her.. And he didn't know how she would react.. So he just tried to get rid of her again, "I don't know what to say Riddhima.. Just go back to sleep..", he told her indifferently, not daring to look into her eyes that were screaming for his attention..

His answer obviously irritated her, "Tch.. Just say anything Armaan.. Anything.. Just say something stupid like you always do..", she pleaded exasperatedly..

But Armaan didn't say anything.. Just clenched his jaw tight.. Riddhima sighed in defeat at the silence that filled the space between them again.. She shouldn't have come out to talk to him at all.. Maybe they just needed to sleep over it.. But just as she was about to give up on him and leave

"Yes..", she heard his voice, his tone extremely reluctant, his eyes still not on her..

"What?", she asked him, confused about that out of the blue 'yes'.. Where did that come from?

She saw his determined eyes staring at some point five feet behind her as he spoke yet again in the same tone, "Yes.." then after a pause he elaborated, "That's my answer to your trick question.."