ARHI FF: Do you feel loved? Note|Sep11|Pg75*NEW - Page 15

Part 11 - Celebrating you!

Khushi's phone was ringing incessantly. Arnav started to get annoyed. He and Khushi had come back to his apartment after lunch which had quite surprised Arnav. Khushi had asked to see it and well...he wasn't going to complain about getting to spend some alone time with her! She had just put the kettle on for tea and had gone to use the restroom to freshen up, when her phone started ringing in her purse. Arnav tried to ignore it thinking Khushi would check once she's back, but the damn thing just wouldn't stop ringing! Finally, a frustrated Arnav opened her bag and found the phone only to see 'Di' flashing on the screen!

He picked it up and before he could say hello, his Di started 'Khushiii! What took you so long? Listen, I need a favor...we need to exchange clothes for tonight!'

'Di? Arnav here. What clothes? What's tonight?'

And before Anjali could reply, he heard Khushi yelling 'Arnnaavv!' and she snatched the phone away from him glaring at him.

'Sorry Di! Your brother's forgotten his manners and taken my phone from my bag! What is it that you were saying?'

'Listen Khushi, I need a huge favor! Well, Shyam had bought me this dress for the party tonight days ago, but he didn't let me see it until now saying that he wanted it to be a surprise. And well! A huge surprise it turned out to be!! I mean, his taste is impeccable, but the dress is a li'l too youngish for me. So I need to exchange it with yours, ok?'

'What? Diii? Nooo!'

'Yes Khushi! Please! Payal told me you were going to wear your old black & white polka dot dress...and you know how I've always adored Audrey Hepburn! And anyway, you've already worn that dress twice! Com'on, you can't do this much for me?'

'But Di! How's the dress? What color is it? What about accessories?'

'Shh! You want Arnav to get suspicious? Just tell him we were discussing about tomorrow's event ok? And Payal has the spare key card to your suite anyway. We'll drop off the dress and everything you'll need to go along with it. You just tell him you need to change once Mia calls him, go get dressed and bring him to the ballroom, ok? Ok! Bye!'

'Diii! Di?'

But Anjali had already hung up! Khushi sighed and sent up a small prayer to her Devi Mayya to make sure the dress is to her taste.

* * * * *

Anjali and Payal hi-fived each other!

'Let me see how my brother can resist your sister now!'

'Yew Anju! Can we not go to that place where we imagine our siblings getting intimate?! Yuck!'

'Oh grow up! Anyway, you think she'll wear it? What if she just wears something else?'

'We'll make sure she wears it!' and Payal winked at Anjali.

Both of them smiled at each other...this was going to be fun!

* * * * *

Khushi and Arnav were always able to pick up where they'd left off! Even after being away from each other for so long, it didn't take long for them fall into their easy camaraderie again. The only awkwardness came from the fact that both of them were acutely aware of each other's physical proximity. The tension between them was very palpable. All Khushi wanted to do was run into his arms and hide there forever and all Arnav felt like doing was kiss Khushi senseless. He was mortified at his thought! 'Remember what happened the last time you did that Arnav, you fool!' he berated himself mentally. One slip up and one damn kiss and his life had fallen apart! Arnav scoffed at himself!

Khushi looked up surprised from drinking her tea. 'What? Did you say something?'

'No! Just remembering some things, that's all'

'What things?'

'Oh! Nothing significant. Forget it!'

Just then Arnav's phone rang and it was Mia. Khushi felt a sharp pain in her heart and was surprised at how much it was affecting her. She cursed her treacherous heart for betraying her time and again and shook her head mentally. It was time to put everyone's plan into action.

* * * * *

'Khushh!! I can't believe you're dragging me to a stupid party!! You!!! Why do we have to go? We were having so much fun hanging out'

'Arnav! We can do that when we get back home too. We both will have plenty of time and lots of opportunities to catch up. But we are here for your graduation! This is your last chance to hang out with all your friends. God knows when you'll all meet again! Right? Now come on and be excited! Don't be so grumpy. Just give me 30 minutes to get ready!'

'Fine!'

Arnav sat in the living room of Khushi's suite watching TV as she went in to take a quick shower. He heard a knock on the door and found Payal standing there with a goofy smile on her face.

'Hey you! Where's Khushi?'

'Taking a shower I think. Wassup?'

'Nothing. Just came to drop this off.' Payal edged past him towards the bedroom. She saw the dress Khushi was wearing since morning lying on the bed. She quickly picked it up and put it in the shopping bag she was carrying. She had already left the other dress which was neatly zipped up in a bag on the bed. She quickly took out a note from her pocket and placed it on top of the dress bag and ran out with a smile on her face.

'All done A, bye!' she shouted behind her and hurried out before Arnav could respond.

* * * * *

Khushi hurried out of her shower, aware that Arnav was waiting...she knew how much he hated waiting! She had a bathrobe on and her hair was wrapped in a towel. She quickly dried her hair and combed it. She had naturally silky-straight hair, so she never had to do much with it. She sat in front of the mirror and applied a moisturizer on her hands and legs. She dabbed on a light foundation and some compact, applied kohl and eyeliner on her eyes and stood up to unzip the dress Di had put out on her bed as promised. She saw a Prada designer dress bag and sighed. Her favorite label! Trust Di to give her something like this!

To say that Khushi was shocked was an understatement!! Slowly her shock turned to horror as she realized the implications of wearing this dress! She quickly went to the closet and opened the door to find another dress and stood staring at it...it was empty!!! She turned around to find her suitcase gone! She cursed under her breath! 'I'll just wear what I've been wearing since morning' she muttered to herself and turned towards the bed, only to find it gone!! She was flabbergasted! 'Hey Devi Mayya! Please tell me this isn't happening to me!' she panicked. That's when her gaze fell on a piece of paper on the bed. She took it out to read it.

Khushi,

You know how much I love you! I just want to see you happy. Hope this dress helps in starting something beautiful. Please don't hate me!'

Love,
Di.

Khushi sighed! What kind of signal will she be sending Arnav? 'Oh my god! Arnav!! He's right outside this door! Waiting for me to step out in 10 mins! What do I do?' Khushi was hyperventilating now. She bit her lower lip and took a deep breath! She took the dress out of its bag and got into it. It was...perfect!!! Fit her like a second skin! As if it was made for her! It probably is, she thought.

She then opened the other shopping bag to find a beautiful pair of dangling diamond earrings and a sleek narrow matching bracelet. 'I can't believe Di has gone to this extent! I'm sure Jiji is in this too with her. But what does she mean by starting something beautiful? Do they know about me and Arnav? But how's that possible?'

Khushi was confused. Before she could think any further, Arnav knocked impatiently on her bedroom door.

'Khush? Are you done?? Can we go and get done with this stupid thing already?!' he yelled.

'Just give me 2 more minutes. I'll be right there'

Khushi quickly put on the jewelry. She dabbed some pale pink lip gloss and some mascara. She tied her hair into a high ponytail. She quickly opened the shoe box and gasped again! 'Geez! And the surprises just keep coming!' she muttered.

There, wrapped in soft tissue paper lay a beautiful pair of Manolo Blahniks! Her favorite brand! She couldn't help but smile at the sight of them! Everyone knew about how much Khushi loved shoes! And this one was from the latest collection and the one she had her eye on! She couldn't believe it! They were black suede pumps with a leopard print bow. It matched perfectly with the narrow leopard print belt that came with her dress. She quickly put them on and looked at herself in the mirror. She couldn't believe how pretty her outfit was! She was looking beautiful even to her own overly critical eyes. 'Time to step out Khushi. Just act nonchalant and everything will be fine!' she told herself.

* * * * *

Arnav was watching the news on CNN when he heard the door open. He turned to look at Khushi and forgot to breathe!

Red!

Bright Blood Red!

and...

Lace!!!

Arnav couldn't believe how ethereal she looked. The bright red complemented her pale skin. She had on minimal makeup and yet she was glowing. Her diamonds and her stilettos were perfect!! He slowly walked towards her in a trance. Khushi saw him look at her and then also saw how his eyes turned glassy as he started his slow prowl towards her. She stood rooted to her spot, fidgeting with her bracelet. As Arnav approached her, Khushi slowly took a step back. Arnav moved until Khushi's back hit her closed bedroom door. Arnav put both his hands on either side of Khushi and placed a soft kiss on top of her head. The kiss was so sudden, so gentle and so loving, that Khushi closed her eyes and did not want the moment to end.

'Khush! You look...' Arnav gulped.

He slowly leaned towards her enticing lips and Khushi held her breath. She closed her eyes again and turned her face upwards towards Arnav. She was so lost in the love and desire that shone in his caramel eyes that she failed to see the subtle shift in his body. Arnav moved away suddenly, with his eyes shut tight, jaw tightened and hands fisted. He swore loudly and took one more step back. Khushi, whose vision was still blurry from the heady feeling of having him so close, looked at him confused.

'Ar...Arnav?!' she gasped

He turned towards her with such cold fury in his eyes, that Khushi closed her mouth with her palms in horror.

'WHY?' Arnav yelled at her.

'What?'

'Why this dress? Why red??' he was deathly calm now.

Khushi's palms became sweaty.
'Arnav! Please! I didn't...'

Arnav put his palm forward and said 'You know what! Forget it! I don't want to get sucked into your sick games anymore! I'm done here! Let's just go!' and turned and walked to the door, jerked it open and stood there waiting for Khushi to follow him.

Khushi walked up to him, put her hand on his shoulder and said 'Arnav! Will you please listen? It's not what you think! And what games are you talking about? You know me! I'm not the kind who plays any games! Di and Jiji tricked me into this.'

'Whatever Khushi! Let's go now' saying that Arnav just started walking.

Khushi ran behind him as fast as she could. For all the planning everyone had done, she did not expect it to turn out like this. She caught up with him and steered him towards the elevator which would take them to the ballroom and the adjoining roof garden on the top floor.

Arnav raised an eyebrow at her, to which she just said 'Please just trust me this once and come with me?'

* * * * *

'Surprise!!' everyone yelled as soon as Arnav and Khushi got off the elevator straight into the ballroom. Arnav was stunned. He looked at Khushi wide eyed.

Khushi squeezed his hands and smiled up at him. 'Congratulations Arnav! We all couldn't be more proud of you!'

Arnav gave her a weak smile and turned to see his Di walking towards him. She had a huge smile on her face.

'Congratulations Chote!' she hugged him.

'Di!!! You promised!'

'Sorry baba. But I couldn't help calling you that today'

'What is all this Di?' he said looking around. The ballroom was beautiful. It had a huge buffet on one side and a huge wet bar on the other. There was a dance floor in the middle and chairs around it. Arnav could see most of his classmates. Abhi walked towards him.

'Congratulations Bro' he said hugging Arnav

'Right back at ya Abhi! We did it man!' Arnav hugged him back.

As people started thronging him with their wishes, Arnav felt Khushi slowly moving away from him. As Arnav turned to catch her eye, she was gone! He craned his neck to see her, but he couldn't find her.

'Congratulations A!' Payal came up to him. 'How'd you like the surprise?' she asked.

'It was a surprise indeed! I wasn't expecting it at all. Thanks P' he said.

'And what about our biggest surprise?' she asked.

'What?'

'You know? Our gift to you...something wrapped in red!' Payal winked.

Arnav got livid with anger. 'So it was you!! And I thought...that she...that Khush...'

'What? What did you say to her?'

'Nothing! Forget it! I'll fix it myself ok? But next time you and Di want to meddle in my business, just give me a li'l heads up!' he shot back.

'Fix it? You'll fix it? Now? Look, Arnav! I'm saying this for the first and maybe the last time...so listen up good! She's my baby sister and she's my life! But I know her well! I know she loves you! I'm only trying to help you sort things out with her. But if you just end up hurting her again, you'll never see her or our family's faces again, samjhe tum? We've only just got our Khushi back...there's no way either me or Amma-Bauji are going to lose her again. So handle this...this whatever's going on with you both, delicately! Be very careful! I hope you enjoy the party!'

Arnav watched as Payal stormed off. To say he was shocked was an understatement. He had never seen this side of the always timid Payal. He thought about what she said and realized that he would never ever hurt Khushi. But at the same time, he didn't want to overwhelm her. He had already told her that he wanted to be with her. Now the ball was in her court. He decided to give her some space and stay away from her. It was not going to be easy now that they both will be back home and living next to each other. But once Arnav made up his mind, he would do it...no matter how hard it's going to be.

He looked around the party and sighed. Better get on with it, he thought just as a flash of blue came towards him and hugged him.

'Congratulations Aaarnavv!' she squeaked.

'Mia! Thank you! Congratulations to you too. Wow! Don't you look nice! So you were in on this too huh?' Arnav laughed as he broke the hug.

'Of course silly! Who else can help your sister? Now come on, you owe me a dance!' she started pulling him towards the dance floor.

Just as he was about to turn, his eyes clashed with big hazel ones. There sat Khushi at the bar, sipping on what looked like a cosmopolitan, her favorite drink, staring at him. As Arnav went with Mia to the dance floor, he saw a hurt look that flashed across Khushi's eyes and then his heart ached to see a sheen of moisture in them. Just as Arnav was about to go to her, he saw her gulp her drink down and walk out of the ballroom into the roof garden adjoining it. Just as Arnav was about to go behind her, he was stopped by Akash who wanted to introduce Arnav to some of their close business associates. Arnav looked in the direction of the terrace garden desperately. He regretted what he said to Khushi. They were just getting to talk again and he was already pushing her away by giving in to his ego and anger.

Khushi, meanwhile, couldn't for the life of her understand why she was this jealous! She was the one who'd told Arnav that she didn't want a relationship! Then, why? 'Well the heart wants what it wants' screamed her inner self. She tried to shake off the immense feeling of sadness. She had one too many drinks and she knew she was tipsy. Deciding to just head back to her suite, Khushi turned around to go in, when she saw him! Every time she looked at him, he took her breath away. There he stood'dressed in an immaculate black Armani suit with a slight stubble, looking drop dead gorgeous! She willed her treacherous heart to stop beating wildly, but she knew it was pointless. As Arnav walked towards her, Khushi took a deep breath and tried to move towards the door.

Arnav shot his hand forward and grasped her wrist. 'Stay!' was all he said.

She shot him a look. 'I'I need to go to my suite Arnav. Please! You enjoy your party'this is your time. I don't want our issues to come in the way of this. You've worked very hard for this'you deserve to celebrate this! I'm sorry about everything' Khushi couldn't control the gut wrenching sob that seemed to rip her heart apart.

'I'm so funny! I've become such a cry baby these days. I think I've had too many cosmos. Ok, I should go now before I start blabbering. You should go back in. Enjoy your party, dance some more with Mia, laugh with your friends and just you know, just forget about me. Yeah! That's what you should do! I'm emotional, I'm traditional, I study a lot, work a hell lot more, I'm a boring Doctor for God's sake'I'm a geek! I'm no fun! Yeah, I should shut up now and go back to my room. Hahaha! I'm such a pathetic li'l ass who's too afraid to love again! You'you! The Great Arnav Singh Raizada shouldn't bother with the likes of me. You'll get bored of me very soon. Ok! Buh bye! Congraatulaationss Raizada!'

Khushi rushed to the elevator with her head spinning. Arnav stood rooted to his spot. His mind was yet to process all that she said and before he knew it, she had gotten into the elevator. Arnav rushed after her and got into it too just in time.

'Khush! I'm sorry! Let me take you down and tuck you in, ok?'

Khushi just stared at him and before he knew it, she slumped forward. Arnav caught her just before she fell. He carried her to her room and placed her gently on the bed. Just as he was about to move to get her some water, he felt a tug on his hand. He looked down to see Khushi tugging at his sleeve, still half asleep.

'Hey, hey, shh'I'm right here! I'll just get some water, ok? Shh..shh'relax!' he whispered soothingly.

'Why are you being so nice to me Arnav? I mean you were never like this with anyone before. So why now? Why me?'

'Khushi! Just sleep it off for sometime ok? We can talk later'

'I love you Arnav'always have! I'm afraid you'll break my heart again. I'm very very afraid! Stay with me'don't go'

'Khush, I'll never break your heart again! And I'm not going anywhere'not now'not ever! If space is what you need to think and take this slow, then you'll get it sweetheart! But know this...I.Love.You! I Love you Khushi!' he placed a gentle kiss on her lips.

Arnav knew he meant every word'so what if she won't remember it tomorrow? He was sure he would say it again'over and over again!

amazing update. but dont know why arnav always make nasty decision.