Arnav very patiently doused Akaash & Anjali's 400th appeal in the few hours that the Sangeet had started to go on the dance floor with them & have some fun. It just wasn't his scene. & the abandonment with which all of his family members & the Gupta family was dancing their hearts away, Arnav was positive he was incapable of ever feeling comfortable in that utter state of not being in control. His eyes sought out his little firecracker in Red again. There she was, dancing in that patented Khushi Kumari Gupta style of hers. With her left hand on her waist & her right hand raised beside her head, she was giving at least 100 thumkas per minute with unmatched zeal & zest. She looked so beautiful, that for a moment Arnav felt an instant rage building within himself at the disturbing thought that if he just went now & pulled her up inside his arms, there might be people daring to object to it.
Arnav closed his eyes to calm himself down & he opened them again to look over at the small circle in which their families were dancing with the odd few hundreds of wedding guests around. He felt relieved for his Nani, Mama-Mami & Khushi's parents' & Buaji's presence, as it made the function effectively alcohol free, & that prevented a repetition of his homecoming party here. No alcohol meant no drunkard would bump into or try to grope Khushi or the other women while dancing, or in general, in the guise of their inebriation. He had been worried when he had seen her for the first time tonight that, if anyone behaved with her the way Karan had, or if any Aunties said anything untoward at her, he would blow his fuse in front of his whole family. But thankfully nothing unpleasant had happened so far. On top of it, his worst fears hadn't come true too.
He had been apprehensive ever since he had heard of Khushi's dance routines with NK. He had been sure by the end of the 1st song or the beginning of the 2nd song, he'd be hauling NK away from Khushi by the collar of his Sherwani & threatening to break his arms off if he didn't keep them to himself. But in reality, the choreographed routines, on the usual, numerous Bollywood wedding songs that NK & Khushi performed, hadn't required them touching each other very much at all! There were the occasional hand grabbing & elbow pulling, but other than that, his Khushi had been safe, & he hadn't needed to go & try to establish a proprietorial Arnav-rekha around her.
Arnav wrenched his eyes away from Khushi to look beside himself as he felt someone flop down on the empty seat adjacent to his with an exhausted 'huff'. His eyes fell on the beautiful vision of Samiya tiredly wiping the sweat away from her face & neck with a napkin & his eyes which had been glittering with the hard glint of desire softened perceptibly. He poured water down in a glass, & held it out to Samiya, as he asked, "Tired?" Samiya looked up at him & smiled naughtily while she took the glass from him & took a sip, then she said, "Maybe this is all you're good for, Arnie? Handing out glasses of water when we come back to take a break from all the hectic dancing?.. I mean, come on, Di & Akaash will get married only once.. I hope! & you're not even gonna try to shake a leg?!.. Not even for once?!" Arnav couldn't help but give in to a cheeky grin with his tongue in cheek at the ever chirpy, ever trying-to-be-skeptical-&-failing-miserably babble of her, then he said in attempt to distract her, "Did you meet Payal? & Rohan? What did you think?" Samiya's face split in a huge, affectionate smile as she looked past Arnav's head over to where Payal & Akaash were doing a full on Bhangra routine & Anjali was slow dancing within Rohan's arms, a little away from the thick crowd, even when a hip-hop beat was on.
Then she looked back to focus her eyes on Arnav's shining eyes, & said in a gush of enthusiasm, "Having heard so much about Rohan from you.. It was like meeting a distant relative, you know!.. &.." Arnav leaned in interestedly & prompted her keenly, "&..?" Samiya suddenly threw her arms outwards in a joyous motion & almost yelled, "& he's freaking perfect, what else?! He gives off the nicest, most genuine vibe I have ever had from a guy I have just met. & he is crazy about Di! & everybody else is crazy about him! He is everything & more than what you always made him out to be! I am so happy for Di!" This time Arnav chuckled throatily & leaned back in his seat, relaxed a little as if someone had just given him a glowing character reference. He did feel very proud of Rohan, & happy in the thought, he probed Samiya for more, "& Payal?" Samiya had also leaned back in her seat, but at his question, she again sat up, & asked him in a conspiratorial voice, "First you tell me this, did I do a grave mistake by letting Daddy send me off to convent for all those years so that I only got to meet you when I went to Boston for college? Have you also selected some childhood sweetheart against whom I have no chances of winning?"
The question was so abrupt & in the circumstances, it seemed so loaded to Arnav, that for a moment he felt like his brain had freezed. Samiya was not someone he had already thought of he was going to lie about Khushi & him. He had known Samiya as almost a kid, & as she was his Ma's best friend's daughter, he had always clandestinely thought of her as someone like NK. He had known that she had developed a kind of teenage crush on him for the first couple of years after she started living in Boston. He hadn't known it due to any sort of perceptiveness on his part, he had known it due to some jealous scene-making on Samiya's part that had also included his then girlfriends or whatever. But after he had made her understand his stance by talking to her a couple of times, she had understood, & in the 4-5 years after that, there had been no unwanted situations. But Arnav still didn't know how to answer her question now truthfully without possibly disturbing her, & he wasn't really comfortable lying just for the sake of it. So, coming out of his thoughts, he shrugged nonchalantly, & said in a laid-back voice, "I don't know about all that, Sammy, but I can tell you why I am not participating in this monkey-jumping practice everyone seems to be doing! I don't even understand half the words of the songs, & I don't get the irregular beats & dancing to it will be impossible for me!"
Just then, Anjali announced that Khushi & NK would now present another one of their routines, & Arnav turned around & adjusted his seat in a way so as not to miss a moment of Khushi dancing around the place in front of him. But he looked back at the sound of giggling laughter, & saw Samiya's head was rolling over the table as she suffered from uncontrollable spurts of laughter. As Arnav asked her with a hook of his left eye-brow what she found so funny, Samiya sobered enough to tell him in between giggles, "You always had the weirdest excuses, Arnie! Won't eat Gol-Gappa, my mouth doesn't open so wide.. & now, won't dance, I don't understand the lyrics!... They are in plain Hindi, silly!!" Arnav tilted his eye-brows up in an ironic way, & asked unbelievably, "That's Hindi?" He gestured to where Khushi was now mercilessly teasing a harassed NK through her song. Samiya listened to the song for a bit & then she doubled over with laughter again, & then when Arnav pulled her up by her arm, she said, panting heavily, "That's Hindi, alright! Actually Arnie, that song could be dedicated to you without any difficulties at all! Oh, I wish it was! 'Maine samjha tha golden jubilee jise, wo toh matinee dikha kar ke chumma le gaya! Jhalla, mera aashique jhalla, wallah!'"
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Khushi had choreographed the 'Jhalla Walla' song as a spoof on Arnav, Anjali had even announced the act was based on a family member & the audience had to guess who that was, which Arnav had failed to hear, & to top it all off NK was even dressed in a Black three piece suit! She had gone to such lengths to convince Payal that it was not she who was singing the song to Arnav, but she was actually trying to show "Arnavji's potential bride"s predicaments, if he ever chose to marry. So her disappointment knew no bounds when during the 1st verse of the song, she stole a nervous glance at Arnav, expecting him to be glaring at her, only to see he wasn't even looking her way. He only had eyes for Samiya, who was breaking up in laughter as she said something to him. Khushi didn't know how she finished up the performance later. She just let her default mode take over, flashed her fakest smile & went through the dance movements as routine work, & as soon as the performance was over, she accepted the cheers & claps from the crowd, hugged Nani back when she came over to compliment her for taking a solid class of their Chhote & then feigning tiredness, she went & sat down at a table near the edge of the gazebo.
She was gloomily staring at a fork set on the table by the caterers as dinner was about to be served, when she felt someone come & sit down beside her. She looked up to see the smiling face of Shyam Manohar Jha. She smiled politely at him, & then she gasped as Shyam held up a plate full of piping hot Jalebis under her nose. As she looked up at him incredulously, Shyam said dramatically, "Such a beautiful girl sitting so gloomily?! Well, yeh humse aur nahi dekha gaya Khushiji!(I couldn't see that anymore, Khushiji!) So I went, & after schmoozing the chef a lot, I sneaked out this plate full of Jalebis for you before they even served them out as deserts! So, go ahead.. Start gobbling!" Khushi smiled ruefully at him, & taking up a Jalebi from the plate, she munched on it, & then she said passively, "Thank you for these. & thank you for taking it so graciously when I said I couldn't marry you & on top of that, you also agreed to keep it all a secret to Buaji & the others till the weddings got over. Thanks!" Shyam tilted his head to look at Khushi with a disappointed look on his face & then he said exhaustedly, "Khushiji, aap dost bhi boolati hain, aur phir 'thank you' bhi kehti hain! (Khushiji, you call me a friend, & then you bombard me with 'thank you's!) Please decide first, whether I am a friend to you at all or not!"
Khushi gave out a short laugh at Shyam's mock sad expression, when suddenly OP came, & leaned over with an envelope in his hand drawn out for her. When Khushi looked questioningly at him, he leaned in closer & whispered in Khushi's ear that some guest had given money in the envelope as a wedding gift, & Garima had asked OP to give it to Khushi, so that she could go & keep it safely inside somewhere in the Guest house. Khushi looked down at the envelope with furrowed brows thinking whoever gave wedding gifts as early as at the Sangeet? Then she shrugged ruefully, & taking the envelope from OP's hand, excused herself from Shyam, & started walking towards one of the many openings of the gazebo which opened on the path directly leading to the houses. The moment Khushi stepped passed the flowy, but resilient Golden material of the gazebo, she felt an arm shot out & pulled her aside & in a flash, her back was pressed against the side of the gazebo as her breath knocked out of her lungs & she looked straight up at the deep caramel eyes of the man who had occupied each train of her thought since forever.
As she got over the momentary shock of his sudden closeness, Khushi ignored the intense look in Arnav's face & shoved against his chest as she snapped, "Of all the- Let me go! I have some actual real work to do.. unlike you.. lurking around corners to scare the life out of people-" But she stopped short as Arnav suddenly reached & snatched the envelope out of her hand & crumpling it inside his fist, he threw it away over his shoulder, & informed brusquely, "It's empty." Khushi opened her mouth to splutter something out indignantly, when his words sank in, & understanding dawned. It must have been him, who had sent OP with that empty envelope & that fake story to fetch her out here, where he was waiting around for her to appear.
As soon as Khushi perceived his deceit, she punched on his chest hard with both her fists which made him topple back slightly, & she hissed angrily, "Apne humare saath ramanchi ki?!(You conned me?!)" & when she saw Arnav's confused look, she quickly rephrased her words, "Aapne humein dhoke se yahan bulaya?!(You called me up here by deceit?!)" Arnav had the grace to look ashamed as he looked down for a brief moment, but he masked it quickly as he looked up & countered hotly, "Imaandari se bulata toh tum aati??(Had I called you up honestly, would you have come??)" Khushi had never heard such a blatantly defiant excuse for deceit, & she again shoved at his shoulders as she charged angrily, "Absolutely not! Why should I? Do you think I am just waiting around to be called on by you while you frolic around with every pretty face that snatches your attention?!" Khushi's accusation came so out-of-the-blue for Arnav that it was impossible for him to get any coherent reply out other than his cliched, overused expletive, & so he vehemently got out, "What the-? What frolicking around & which pretty face? You were the one eating Jalebis out of Shyam's hand.. Yes, I saw it!" Khushi gasped at his gall, after he spent the evening laughing around with someone else, he was trying to turn the tables on her! She held her index finger up in front his face in a warning gesture as she said fervently, "Saw it? Or were you spying on me?.. Even I saw you laughing your heart out with your precious Samiya.. & it was hard to miss, cause you rarely smile with us mere mortals, don't you?!"
Arnav looked at her with his eyes narrowed with disbelief at what he was hearing, & then he almost shouted, "Sammy is a longstanding friend of mine!" & before he could finish, Khushi countered hotly, "& Shyamji is a new friend of mine!" & then suddenly they both stilled as it hit both of them simultaneously how they were at loggerheads again like always, but this time it seemed both of them wanted the same thing from each other. To be the only one for the other! Khushi saw Arnav take a careful step back from her, indicating his stand down, & Khushi also sighed loudly & fell back against the side of the gazebo. She saw him looking at her with passionately eloquent eyes, & she knew he still had a long way to go before he could put those emotions into words So she had to do the talking.
Taking in a deep breath, Khushi started in a shaky voice, being careful not to divulge too much so as to drive him away, "I love yo.. your smile. You rarely smile! So, sharing yo- your smile isn't an option!" & Arnav came upon her in a breath, & pulled her close against his body by clutching her waist, as he declared roughly, "I sometimes choose to smile with others because social decorum demands it!.. But I smile with you, because you make me happy! Hell, now-a-days I even smile when you're not there, just cause I am thinking of you!.. & I love your craziness, & sharing your craziness isn't an option!" & the harsh, blunt way he said it was Khushi's undoing as she threw her arms around his neck & drawing him closer still to her body, she whispered in his ear, her lips grazing his skin, "I am never as crazy as when I am with you! You just make me crazier! You literally drive me so nuts with your stubborn, smug act!! No one else does that to me!" Arnav chuckled at the backhanded way she gave him credit for her craziness & pressing a firm kiss sideways on her plump cheek, he whispered cautiously, almost inaudibly so that no one else would hear him even by chance, "& I am never as Arnav as when I am with you!"
Khushi closed her eyes shut tightly as she felt fresh tears pooling in them at his secret admission, & she immediately tried to blink them away as she knew how much of a hurdle it must have been for him to say something like that & she didn't wanna make him feel embarrassed or make him regret he said anything at all by making a big deal out of it. So she was only too happy when she heard via the several speakers attached to the sides of the gazebo that the band was now gonna play their last song before they took a break as dinner was served. She disentangled herself from Arnav's embrace, all the while avoiding his eyes, & started to turn towards the opening, when she felt him holding her back by grabbing onto her right hand, & as she looked back at him over her shoulder with questioning eyes, he said with the return of his smirk, "May I have this dance?" & when Khushi's eyes widened with surprise at his sudden request, he quipped too innocently, "What?! Main tumhe khaa thode hi jaoonga??(I'm not gonna eat you up.. Am I??)"
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Khushi looked at him disbelievingly for the fraction of minute before she replied just as hotly, "What else was I supposed to do with this mockery of a blouse you provided? Go half-naked again like the engagement & then have you breathing down my neck like a hypocritical prude?.. & don't look at it like that, Arnavji! It took Jiji & I 20 minutes & 17 safety pins to wrap it up so tidily, it's gonna take me ages to take them off.. & no! I am not gonna let you take them off!" Their arms were still wrapped around each other & taking advantage of it, Arnav pressed a swift kiss on her parted lips & then he said hopefully, "Maybe I can just rip it off?.. I'll get Su to make you another one!" Khushi's mouth fell open as her eyes rounded to huge proportions as she looked at him as if he was medically insane, & then she began to shout at the top of her voice, "No! You can't just-" & more than anything just to stop her screams for reaching anyone inside the gazebo, Arnav quickly covered her mouth with his, & to make up for the loss of his hands, he cupped the back of her neck, & kissed her with fervent passion. & then with a short bite on her bottom lip, he started trailing moist, butterfly kissed down her jaw to the side of her neck.
& when he was raining kisses over her collar bone, he heard her defeated sigh, & then he heard her say in a moan, "Okay, fine! Rip the corner of the Dupatta at the waist off!.. Be careful though, don't let the safety pins graze my skin! Raakshas! Laad Governor!" Arnav raised his head with a sudden victorious grin, & just to show his gratefulness, he again took her lips in a smoldering kiss. Khushi moaned as she felt his lips moving over hers & she cupped his nape to press deepen the kiss, & her eyes fluttered open briefly as she tilted her to the side, & that's when she saw the movement. The person was half-covered by the material of the gazebo, but standing there, looking straight at them, she had a clear view of what Arnav & Khushi were upto.
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