So even before I posted the first part of this OS, I couldn't help but write further. And all your lovely encouragements really really helped a ton!😃 Here I have the second and last part of the OS. It seems complete to me and I really hope it does to all of you too! I'm afraid if I continue this ahead, it'll lose what it has so this is it... but don't worry; I have another OS on its way! 😉
P.s. This second part is much longer and I don't know if it has the same undertone of "sexy" I had put in the first part but I hope it doesn't disappoint.. Happy reading!
Part 2
The dance was as downright as the request.
Arnav Singh Raizada took the hand of Khushi with utmost grace and led her out to the middle of the floor.
Other men and women, with nothing better to do, gawped at the scene unfolding right in front of their eyes.
For a moment, for just that moment where Arnav Singh Raizada's hand landed on her waist and she gasped and their eyes met; his deep and thoughtful, hers anxious and wide in awe, for just that moment, Khushi forgot about the rest of the world.
She forgot about her fears.
She forgot about what made her happy.
She forgot about her family.
She forgot about her problems.
She forgot everything.
All she knew was he was there and she was there and they were dancing and' and nothing else mattered.
The cameras flashed wildly, the entire media wanting to catch the elusive ASR dancing with an unknown woman.
But who was he?
Khushi froze.
An indecipherable something passed through Arnav's eyes.
Her hands, one of which rested lightly on his shoulder and the other which held his, fell; Arnav's hand also falling, not letting go just yet.
She lowered her gaze to the ground.
"What's wrong?" he asked in a low, husky voice; a tinge of concern in his tone.
"I can't," came her voice a soft whisper, quivering, she was on the verge of tears.
Arnav's eyes hardened, "why?" he questioned a little harshly.
Khushi didn't need to be told he didn't mean to be unkind. She simply tilted her head minutely to point to the cameras; trying not to let her face show, "I shouldn't have said yes'" a tear escaped her eyelash and rolled down her cheek.
Arnav looked to the flashing lights around him and his jaw tightened. Then he looked back to Khushi, "I'll take care of it," he promised.
"I should leave," she whispered apologetically.
"Please. I'll take care of it," he almost pleaded, and then bit his lip at his insistent tone. Khushi figured he didn't ever really have to ask for something until now.
She tried an excuse, the tremble in her voice betraying the urgency she felt in her heart, knowing she had it not within her to refuse this man too many times more, "I can't stay. It's getting late."
"It's only 11." He refuted.
"11?" her eyes widened. It really was getting late. She had promised her mother she'd be home by midnight and to find a taxi at this hour wouldn't be easy.
Arnav's lips twitched in amusement, and then a decided look came on his face before he said, "just 5 more minutes." He put his hand around her waist and started dancing again.
"I can't," she said, giving in as she said it.
"That isn't a question." He led the dance.
"Hmm'" came her lazy reply as her mind relaxed, though she wasn't sure why. She would be impaled by buaji if she were seen on TV to be dancing with a man who wasn't her husband or brother or father, but she felt so much at ease, even with the shots of electricity coursing through her body where his hand rested at her waist.
Suddenly, he stepped away and Khushi looked at him, surprised. He was still holding one hand of hers, which he lifted into the air between them.
Khushi smiled a small smile as understanding sunk in. She twirled around once, twice, giggling as he took her back into his embrace. And for the first time ever, Khushi saw a most adorable smile adorn his face, his eyes beautifully light, hers shining.
They continued to waltz.
A few minutes later, Arnav brought her hand which was entwined with his, closer. Khushi simply stared into his melting, yet serious eyes, not really picking up what he was about to do.
She felt him tighten his fingers around hers and, as she closed her eyes in anticipation of what was to happen, felt as his lips ghosted over her knuckles. She took a sharp intake of air. Flashes of fire burned through her hand, spreading out across her body, engulfing her heart where it only grew stronger. Her lips went dry and her stomach did a flip inside her.
The cameras flashed away.
She snapped out of it and opened her eyes to find his looking intently at her.
But Khushi placed her palms on either side of his chest and spoke against the wish her heart screamed for, "I need to leave."
His eyes hardened a little and the corners of his lips dipped into a frown as his eyebrows furrowed together for merely a second. And then a mask of indifference cloaked his emotions. "Fine. Leave."
But Khushi could still see the dismay in his eyes. She forced herself to step away from him and began to walk away to collect the little pouch she had brought with her to carry her money for the taxi. She touched her knuckles where he had kissed her and closed her eyes to quiet her unreal thoughts. Obviously, he was a big man and she was a nobody. Maybe she'd read about him some time in the newspaper but he would never hear of her again. And she wouldn't pester him herself either.
It was a joke fate had played with her, for that she met this man who she would never be with, and yet she had felt so much with him, so much that she had never felt before. It was a joke; nothing but a cruel joke.
She quickly picked up her pouch and made her way out, the press not far behind. And with all the questions fusing together into garbled rubbish and the many eyes following her on her way out, she could feel the one gaze burning into her back, creating a similar affect to the one the owner of that gaze had when he had moved his lips over her knuckles one by one.
She didn't stop after she exited, but kept walking, almost running, away from that place, trying to block out every memory she had of it. Her mind did not focus anywhere; not on the few taxis which had passed her by, not on the time and how late it was getting, not on the party she should never have gone too, not even on' not even on Arnav. It had gone too far tonight. She would never allow herself to go to another party ever again. She would sit at home as her mother had told her to, as her sister had always done, and wait for a decent man to come along to marry and she would give him children and teach them to do the same as her mother had taught her.
She walked further into the dark deserted streets of suburban Delhi. As her mind began to settle with the help of the cool night breeze, she pulled the red pallu of her sari to wrap around her shoulders to protect her from the cold and, as she realized the danger she had so stupidly walked into in her fluster, to protect herself from eyes of men with the worse intentions. She walked in the shadow of the trees, so not to be spotted, looking back and forth frantically for a taxi or even another car with a lady or a family in it.
To her horror, a black Audi came to a screeching stop next to her. Khushi froze. She tried to look inside but the windows seemed to be tinted. She squinted, hoping to find the figure of a woman but could not. Her heart fell and, a split second before the driver's door opened, Khushi burst into tears.
"Please don't kidnap me! I beg of you!" she cried, not making much sense in the midst of her tears, "I have to go to work and earn money for my family!" Khushi kept her eyes shut, not wanting to face or believe that tonight might actually be her last; that she would never be able to think of the man at the party, Arnav, ever again after tonight.
She felt a strong grip at her shoulders and cried harder, ignoring the little tingling she felt with the pain, she continued to beg, "My babuji is paralyzed and I have to pay for his treatment! Please, please, please, please don't force me to come with you! Please!"
As she spoke, she may have heard someone calling out to her, "Khushi! Khushi!" but she ruled it out, trying her best not to acknowledge that, however dramatic it would sound, it was her death beckoning her. But what Khushi did acknowledge was the slackening of the grip at her shoulders.
Slowly, the hands travelled down her arms to her hands and squeezed them protectively. Energy like nothing else burst through her and Khushi did not need to open her eyes to know it was not death that had been calling out her name. It was Arnav.
She sprung herself into his arms and sobbed into the crook of his neck; this time, in relief.
Arnav hugged her back, his hand spanning the length of her hair covering her back, thanking his stars that he had reached Khushi in time, knowing the threat the streets of Delhi held for beautiful, unaccompanied girls.
But what worried him was what Khushi had shrieked out in frenzy when he had tried to calm her.
"Let me help you," he spoke softly into her ear as her tears died down, still holding her in his arms.
Khushi rested her forehead against his chest. She sighed. She knew what he was talking about, "but you're a stranger'"
"Am I really? Are you saying you danced with a stranger--" Khushi looked at him, anxiety defined clearly in her eyes and he added before continuing, "don't worry. I took care of it; you won't be in the paper tomorrow," he smirked, and she relaxed. "but Khushi. Are you saying you danced with a stranger? That you jumped into a stranger's arms; a stranger who could have every intention of dragging you to his slum tonight?"
"I know you have no such intentions." She flushed for a minute. Her heart raced at the fact that she had just been lucky enough tonight, and also at the position she was in.
"Then let me help you, Khushi."
"You have already helped me. And I thank you for it." She wouldn't trouble anyone for help with more of her own problems.
"Not just now. Not just tonight." Arnav did not need a second more than the 5 minutes he got following her out of the party uptil the the point where he had her in his arms, to decide that she, Khushi, Khushi was the one he wanted to introduce to his Di, the last one he wanted to see before he slept each night, the one he wanted to wake up to each morning, the only one he wanted give pleasure to when they were in the privacy of his-no, their bedroom. He smirked, looking into her innocent eyes, knowing immediately she was untouched, pure. He wanted to be her first kiss and her first lover. And her last.
"Khushi, let me help you. Not just now, but always, everyday of our lives. Let me help your family and your babuji. But let me help you with all your other troubles. Let me help you with all our troubles. Let me be the person in your life you can cry with, the person you can let out all your worries to. Not only that but also the person you share your joys with, the person you smile at when things get better." By now, Khushi's eyes were shining with tears threatening to run again. There was uncertainty in them, but a little sparkle too.
Arnav didn't stop there, "Khushi, I'll be the person you'll dance with at every party. And then we'll dance in our bedroom every might until our feet tire out. And then I'll pick you up off your feet and carry you to our bed and I'll--"
Khushi's hand came over his lips; not letting him speak further about what he would do after carrying her to their bed. A little blush crept its way up her neck and stained her cheeks and even in this dark, Arnav could see the pink hue in the little lamination provided by the car headlights. He smirked behind her hand and pecked her palm ever so gently.
Khushi's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets and she removed her hand at the speed of light to find his handsome smirk still in place.
"Dance with me Khushi; tonight, and every night. Give me the greatest dance of my life, Khushi. Marry me."
Khushi was silent for a moment, pondering over everything. Where did she stand in life? She thought over her parents, jiji, buaji, their situation. She stole a glance at Arnav, who was still staring back at her intently, in all solemnity, waiting for her reply, but ready to give her as much time as she needed to think. He was serious.
She hesitated again. There was so much to handle, to take care of before she wedded. There was jiji. And she also had to secure a steady flow of income for amma and babuji and buaji. She looked back at Arnav. His gaze was frozen on her. She sighed, her mind made up. She would figure everything out as it came. They would figure everything out as it came. They would do it together, just as he had promised. She looked up at him, his eyes betraying the anxiety he felt while the rest of his face hid under a confident facade. She smiled a beautiful smile and finally gave her answer.
"To you, Arnav, I can never say no."
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Thanks for all your kind words but don't forget to leave some feedback for this part too! lol 😊
Edited by TheoryPerson - 12 years ago
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