The Masquerade Ball - ArHi OS

The Masquerade Ball

Why she had agreed to attend the masquerade ball was beyond her comprehension. These balls were just too stuffy. Not the least bit enjoyable, unlike the Bhangra parties she revered.

And what a ridiculous get up she was wearing. Since she didn't like Western outfits, she had thought it would be a great excuse to refuse attending the ball. But her sister, Payal, and her best friend, Lavanya, forced her into a sari.

She sat in the corner wearing her soft pink, silver embroidered sari and a silver mask. Again at the two devils' insistence, she had donned makeup, which she absolutely abhorred. She scanned the crowd and her gaze found Payal, who was currently in her husband's arms, lost in their private world.

Sigh, this was so boring! Not that she hadn't been asked for a dance. She had been asked by several attractive men. But she wasn't comfortable with the idea of having someone hold her waist. She wasn't prudish. But she felt that the gesture was too.. intimate. Not something that she wanted to share with a stranger.

Speaking of strangers, where was Lavanya? She scanned the ballroom again and found Lavanya. Lavanya wasn't dancing, but she had her arm around her fianc's waist and she was talking to, was that Anjali?

Another sigh. Why did she let Lavanya and Payal convince her to attend the ball? Party didn't seem like the right word. This ball was too tame to be called a party. Her friend Sheetal had thrown a Bhangra party, and here she was at the Raizada Mansion feeling completely out of her element in this opulence.

A masquerade ball. What a ridiculous notion. It was just another excuse for debauchery. She stood up, a vision in pink, and bumped into a hard wall. That was a not a wall, she realized, it was a hard chest.

Her startled kohled gaze met smoldering chocolate brown ones. Not realizing that he had snaked an arm around her waist to steady her, she automatically took a step back from the intensity, only to be jerked forward by the unrelenting arm.

Her eyes travelled his body and she noticed that he had donned a black mask with his black Armani suit. Not one for convention, he didn't wear a tie and left the top button open, baring smooth skin to her gaze. He looked like a twenty first century rogue. Who was he to have the audacity to hold her so intimately?

She cleared her throat, 'Thanks, I'm fine now.'

He didn't let her go.

She tried again. 'You can leave me now.'

Ignoring her protests, he glided her to the dance floor. The man could dance.

He was holding her waist precisely how it made her uncomfortable. But his gaze didn't waver from hers. Not paying any heed to the curious glances around them, he twirled her on the dance floor holding her intimately, as if she belonged to him.

His touch evoked unknown emotions in her. In her twenty four years of living, her heart had not pounded his hard before, she had not been aware of another presence like this.

When his lips met her collarbone, a burning sensation started in the pit of her stomach and she accepted the inevitable. She turned her head providing access to her neck, not realizing how blatantly everyone was staring at them.

A small rumble started in his chest, making her shudder in anticipation. She clutched the lapel of his shirt, her nails lightly grazing his neck. It was his turn to shiver.

The voice at the microphone broke their trance. Khushi took a step backwards her eyes widening at what had transpired between the two.

She looked around at the audience of the fireworks they had created and blinked. What had just happened? Payal and Akash were staring at her with expressions she couldn't identify. Lavanya was smiling at her knowingly, with an identical expression on Aman's face. And Anjali. She looked like she had received the whole world on a platter.

Without turning back to look at him, she ram from the ballroom to the kitchen, familiar with the house like the back of her palm. With her shaky hands, she grabbed a glass.

'Khushi.' The glass broke from her hold and crashed with a resonating sound.

'Damn it! Watch what you're doing!' he admonished her walking towards her. 'Are you OK? Did you hurt yourself?'

'Arnav,' she whispered. He immediately quieted down and stared at her. 'I love you too.'

No sooner had she uttered those words than she felt his lips crush hers in a ferocious kiss. This time, he wouldn't let her. He ran his arms lightly down her sides. She smiled against his lips.

His lips curved too as if he couldn't contain his joy of finally having her mutter those words. Months of coaxing her into confessing her feelings had finally paid off.

He heard throats clear behind then and broke off the kiss with a quick peck on her forehead. He smiled at her tomato red face and finally turned to look at his friends and family.

'Look what we have here,' Anjali quipped.

'Aren't they very cozy here? And there we were, frantic with worry about Khushi's answer and Arnav's temper for not getting her response,' Shyam joined the teasing, clutching his wife towards him with a smile on his face.

Arnav mirrored his brother-in-law's gesture and pulled Khushi to his side.

Khushi's gaze sought her sister's whose eyes were filled with happiness. She then looked at Lavanya, her best friend, who had been through thick and thin with her. Her eyes clouded at her friend's loyalty. She then turned to Aman, Lavanya's fianc and Khushi's good friend. He always treated Khushi like his little sister. Shyam was no less. Always teasing her, calling her my little sister. She turned to gaze at Anjali, Arnav's sweet, wonderful, older sister.

Khushi's eyes, shining brightly like stars in the sky, finally rested on Arnav. And what she saw was her whole life ahead of her with him. It couldn't get any better.

Author's Note: This is my first post on IF under this ID, so please be kind. Arnav and Khushi, like so many other fans, have caught my imagination. I know this OS is a little boring, but I hope that you do enjoy my attempt at writing this. Please do comment or criticize because that's the only way that we can improve. Thank you very much for reading this. And I'll really appreciate it if you reply. 😊