A bit unsure about the first bit...my best friend says I was 'feelin' frisky' when I wrote it :s
Chapter Twenty Five
Arnav's phone began to ring shrilly.
Khushi, suddenly aware that she was gaping at her husband, quickly shut her mouth and jerked around, her eyes riveted on the glove compartment as though it was the most interesting thing she had ever seen. Only her rigid posture, and the very telling tints of pink which blazed against the pearl of her skin, gave her away.
'It's Di,' Arnav informed her. Khushi sat up a little straighter to indicate her acknowledgement of that piece of information, without turning about, 'I'm going to put her on loudspeaker, just in case she says something...significant.'
Before Khushi could gather her wits though, Anjaliji's shrill, panicked voice spurted into the silence that had prevailed in the car seconds ago.
'Chote! Have you spoken to Khushi lately? I can't find her anywhere! She left her phone with Payal and she literally disappeared after buying the medicine, maybe she told you where she might be...I haven't even told her parents yet and Shashiji was asking for her-'
It was strange how, despite that high-pitched voice twanging through the air between them, an awkward silence set in like a dove settling down to brood. Khushi raised her eyes to look sheepishly at Arnav, only to discover that he was looking back at her just as guiltily.
***
There had been very few moments in the life of the formidable Arnav Singh Raizada when he had felt as clueless as he did now. He could have slammed his forehead onto the steering well in incredulity at his own, almost abysmal, lack of forethought. The plan had been that the two of them would sit in the car and mull things over. Driving that car home had definitely not been part of that plan. But somehow or the other, by some inexplicable twist of circumstances, he had instinctively followed some unfound desire to gather Khushi up, and bolt. As though there were some inherent fear that if he stayed within the same vicinity as his family, sooner or later someone would end up interrupting their one-on-one. Or maybe it was just an excuse to be alone with her. Whatever the reason, it eluded Arnav completely.
He felt like a complete fool.
'Di,' Arnav interposed, cutting short his Di's breathless stream of questions, 'Well...Khushi...she's with me.'
There was a pause. A pause that implied far more than Di's panic-lined words had.
'She what? Where?'
***
'Um...we...actually...we're at home. As in...we're parked outside the house...'
Khushi was pretty sure that if she blushed any harder than she already had, she would either catch fire or rupture her blood vessels. How on earth had they ended up here? Throughout the whole drive, even when she had stared out of the windows to seek refuge from Arnav's penetrating gaze, to avoid looking in those hypnotic eyes which completely erased her sense of place- she had lost her sense of place regardless. Mortified, Khushi felt the curious, overpowering desire to dig a hole in the ground outside and dive in, out of sight. How was she going to explain this to Anjaliji? And not only Anjaliji- Jiji, Amma, Bauji...Khushi nearly passed out from the horror. As though all the ribbing and knowing glances and sly smiles she had earned earlier that morning had not been enough...
Khushi felt a renewed twinge of pure embarrassment rock through her as the memory of that morning, which she had kept firmly under lock and key managed to dislodge the bolts and stride out smugly. His kiss on her cheek...Khushi's hand almost involuntarily shot up to her cheek, where the imprint of his lips, warm, dry, tender, still burned as though they had been engraved there with hot iron. A thousand volts of electricity, just as strong as when his lips had made contact with her sensitive skin, shot through her, leaving her electrocuted, her nerves crackling with the tension of the shock. She had a very vivid recollection of exactly how she had heard him walk away as though from a great distance away, because the minute he kissed her, what appeared to be a heavy, stifling, invisible muffler had wrapped itself around her head, while the hinges of her jaw gave way and her mouth had dropped open.
She herself had not known how long she had simply stood there, stock-still, gawking into space, eyes wide. Simply imagining the kind of spectacle she must have made in front of her entire family caused a thousand curls of disgrace tumble about in her stomach, hot and heavy, almost making Khushi wish for her stubborn little butterflies to return. At least they did not threaten to knock her unconscious. She could feel the steam rising off her own skin.
And of course, owing to her hopeless lack of control over the locomotives of her mind, one snuck away while she had her guard down and before she knew what was happening had hurtled down a memory lane Khushi would much rather not have revisited.
The first time he had kissed her...Khushi felt an uncomfortable lurch in her stomach, and the mad urge to run. Trapped by first her seatbelt, then the car door, and then of course the downpour outside which was quickly gaining intensity, that option had to be ruled out. But what else was she supposed to do? She had strived to keep that piece of her past hidden, under wraps, for so long...because somewhere in her there was a vague understanding that if she tried to dismantle that moment to see what it meant, it would take her down other corridors instead of the one she hesitated at the end of, corridors which may be even darker, with more ominous shadows waiting to spring out at her and consume her. And this man...this rakshaas, had to topple all her efforts over. And this time, it was ten times worse (Or better? the cheeky voice asked and was staunchly ignored) than the last. Because this time there was no bet involved that Khushi could use as an excuse to assure herself. Because this time, it hadn't been a brief peck on the cheek. Because this time, his lips had lingered tantalisingly above her skin after he had left the deepest of impressions there. His breath blowing against her skin...
Khushi wondered whether combusting into flame was humanly possible.
Fighting off the insane desire to dash to the kitchen and turn into a one-woman jalebi factory, Khushi managed, displaying such willpower it could have done some real damage if directed against someone, to wrench herself out of the bed of memories, stuffed away into the attic of her mind. All the sounds, the rain, the voice on the phone, the muted thuds of the windshield wipers, dulled and muffled in the background, came flooding back, leaving Khushi quite disorientated for a second. It got no better when she actually caught on to what Anjaliji was saying.
'-can understand that you miss your wife a lot, Chote, but that doesn't mean you have to abduct her from the hospital when you knew that Akash was going to pick us up in the first place! And what happened to your 'whole line-up of meetings'?' Anjaliji paused to snigger, but she was hardly done, 'You know, you're lucky that Nani wasn't here, she'd be traumatised if she saw her oldest grandson being so blatantly shameless, kissing his wife in front of so many people-'
'Stop it, Di!' Arnav cut her short, his tone peremptory. Khushi felt mildly hopeful. Usually that severe tenor, sinister without even climbing up a decibel, was enough to silence anyone with the temerity to say something he did not like. Maybe this would effectively quiet Anjaliji, and possibly keep her from repeating the fact that the two of them had basically, practically speaking, snuck off together- Khushi did not think she could survive another round of giggles from Jiji as she tried to get back at her for the endless leg-pulling she had subjected her to because of Akash's romantic streak, or the knowing glint in Bauji's eye, or Buaji's hour long sermon about public decency and how it did not surprise her that Sanka Devi had managed to eradicate the good sense in her husband too.
That alone should have proved to Khushi that she could not, in fact, count on that Laad Governor for good sense, having done the unspeakable in front of everyone and then leaving her to bear the consequences of his recklessness. Because whatever hope she had harboured of going scot-free was punctured pathetically the minute she looked into his face.
Where the mischief was written so clearly, Khushi suddenly had to grope about within her to find her lungs, which seemed to have vanished completely, leaving an airless cavity inside her instead.
It was that same look he'd had in his eyes that first time he had kissed her. Brimming over with...what could she call it? Playful amusement? Or something else? Something that threatened to scorch her, but despite knowing that she would be scorched...she would fly towards it nevertheless...
Dhak dhak. Dhak dhak. Dhak dhak.
'I think', he murmured, his smugness clearly evident in his voice and making Khushi writhe inside, 'I'm perfectly within my rights to kiss my own wife goodbye Di.'
'Haw!' Di exclaimed at the other end, her mingling glee and disbelief just as clearly evident as his smugness. Khushi, paralysed in shock, could almost imagine her sister-in-law's face, mouth open in shock, eyes glittering naughtily, before she settled into a wide grin. She could also imagine her calling Nani immediately afterwards to give her a full-fledged commentary on every little thing Chote had or hadn't done. Or said. 'Chote, when did you become so...so...naughty?'
Khushi just wanted to disappear. Erupting into a burst of flame was suddenly not so bad an idea.
Arnav was smirking his classic smirk, one corner of his mouth hitched upwards. Khushi knew it was really not healthy for her to keep watching him. But for some reason she could not seem to look away.
Dhak dhak. Dhak dhak. Dhak dhak.
'Since I got married, Di. See you for lunch.'
'Haan, haan, I'm sure I'm holding you up,' Anjaliji sounded so cheeky she would have given the little voice in Khushi's voice some real competition. If only that little voice wasn't exulting in agreement.
Without warning, without thinking, Khushi snatched Arnav's phone out of his hand. Arnav quirked an eyebrow at her, which only served to heighten her grievances.
'Why?' she managed to choke out, brandishing the phone as though it was a piece of hot coal, 'Why did you do that?'
'Do what?' Arnav inquired, so nonchalant Khushi could have punched him.
'Do-that,' she bit out through gritted teeth. 'That!' she emphasised, waving the phone in front of him as though it had offended her heinously.
'I don't know what you're talking about, Khushi.'
Khushi briefly closed her eyes to regain at least some composure. But his unruffled tone only served to add fuel to the already blazing fire inside her. How could he go around pretending that nothing had happened, when in fact if Buaji had heard him talking she would have been so scandalised she would disown her. She shook her head in anger.
'Something wrong Khushi?' his worried tone, intermingling with a hint of amusement, made her head snap back, eyes narrowed, infuriated.
'Yes,' her voice quavered as she struggled to keep her annoyance in check, 'Yes, very wrong. What do you think you're doing? Saying things like that to Di...and- and-' she gestured indefinitely.
***
'And?' Arnav pushed, enjoying himself thoroughly. Watching his wife blush so prettily, clearly squirming as she fought to remind him of his goodbye peck...it reminded him of the good old days. The days before...No, he stopped himself, stern, I'm not going to think about the past and ruin my present.
Returning to his present, he noticed that Khushi had turned back in her seat, arms folded, staring stonily out of the windshield.
How could someone look so cute when they're angry?
'Are you talking about my bidding you goodbye?' Arnav inquired innocently, noting with satisfaction Khushi's lips purse even more tightly, clearly chewing down a retort. So she's not going to speak to me, is she?
'Well, like I said to Di,' he continued casually, rotating in his own seat to face the front, 'There's nothing wrong with me saying bye to my wife. I don't know why people are overreacting.'
He chuckled inside as his wife practically snatched the bait out of his hands.
'Nothing wrong?' she intoned incredulously, 'Nothing wrong? Are you kidding me? I- you- in front of my whole family! My whole family!' Her cute little features moulded to a picture of perfect distress.
'So?' Arnav could not help the grin beginning to stretch his lips, 'You're my wife. I can kiss you wherever I please, in front of whomever I please.'
As Khushi turned redder by the minute, unconsciously unclasping her seatbelt as she half-lifted herself of the seat, as though poised to either flee or knock him over, spluttering incoherently in rage, Arnav suddenly scooted closer. She froze. As the fragrance of jasmine wafted around and about him once more, Arnav fought to keep his eyes from drooping shut.
'And besides...' he whispered softly, and watched, hungrily, her lips tremble at his sudden proximity, 'I'm just returning the favour. You kissed me in front my whole family too, remember?'
Sitting back down properly, Arnav smirked at the flabbergasted look on Khushi's face before she huffed in anger, hopelessly belied by the rose of her milky skin. His smirk, however, seemed to rile her even more.
'What? I only did that because it was a bet! You challenged me, remember? And kept reminding me too! And besides, I didn't kiss you in front of your whole family- it was only Nani and Anjaliji and Mamiji, half the rest of the family were not there and-'
'Oh,' Arnav interrupted, 'So, basically you're saying that you want to kiss me in front of my whole family too?'
For a split second, Arnav seriously thought Khushi was going to throw a punch into his face. But she caught hold of herself, her nostrils flaring in her frustration, her whole face more crimson than he had ever seen it before.
'And why would I want to do that? And why are you evading the question? Do you know what they did to me after you left? It was so-'
'Oh', Arnav murmured again, softer this time, 'So, what you're saying is you would have preferred it if I had kissed you goodbye somewhere in private.'
Khushi stared at him in stunned disbelief for five whole seconds before throwing her hands in the air in frustration. 'There's no point talking to you!' she whined as her hand reached out for the door handle. Quick as a flash, Arnav's hand grabbed her arm. Gently. She refused to turn around, but he could feel her tremble at his touch, feel her go still.
The beast within him bared its teeth as it revelled in its power.
'Khushi,' his voice dropped a few notches, became soothing, 'I really don't think there is anything wrong with what I did. You're my wife. I have a right to kiss you goodbye and I would have done it whether the family had been there or not. Not because of a bet or because I wanted to annoy you or prove a point to everyone- I just...wanted to. That's all.'
The minute he released his hold on her she bolted. Her door was flung open and slammed shut in the blink of an eye and Khushi had dived headfirst into the pouring rain outside.
***
No sooner had she set foot into the downpour, she heard the car door on the other side thump shut. With nothing but the thought of escape dominating her thought processes, undaunted even by the buckets of cold water the heavens were emptying over her, Khushi scarpered.
Or at least attempted to.
Because something had tugged her pallu and brought her to a standstill.
And as much as she suspected that Arnav was at least part ghost, it was highly unlikely that he could have flown to the other side in time to grab her pallu. Turning around, Khushi discovered, at the same time as the car beeped twice, followed by a loud click and a flash from the headlights signalling it had just been locked, that one edge of her pallu had become lodged inside the now locked door. The last thing she wanted now was to have to see him again, to have to consider each and every one of the implications his words suggested. In fact, they were no longer even implications, the obscurity of which she could hide behind. These stark, plain, untarnished pieces of evidence made it so much more difficult for her not to continue down that corridor. Where the shadows seemed to be receding with every passing second.
But before she could even curse her ill-fortune, before she could recklessly tug her pallu free as she made a run for it, a shadow fell above her, and the never-ending droplets of rain that were drenching her through completely suddenly ceased their deluge.
'You could at least have waited for me to get the umbrella out, you know,' a disapproving voice reproached, 'Now you're so wet it's of no use!'
Khushi didn't turn around, didn't dare to. The heat that she could feel, that she could almost taste in the air, had cloaked her in its spellbinding hold. She kept tugging at her errant pallu.
How could one day replay so many events past? There was an unmistakeable air of dj vu as Khushi fought off the images that her mind sought to show her...images of her dupatta snagging onto this very car, images of him carelessly, without a trace of regret, tearing it loose. Tearing it. Khushi was even willing to rip her pallu off if only it meant she could get away...away from his enthralling presence, which erased everything, all her resolutions, all her misgivings, all her fears, leaving her helpless, defenceless.
'Stop'.
She froze. She could feel him behind her. Almost touching her back. So close. Each of her breaths was frayed, torn, as they fell through her mouth. Suddenly painfully aware of how her clothes were soaked through, clinging to her skin, cold. How the warmth emanating from him was pulling her into the promise that the warmth held. A gravitational pull she could fight for only so long. Sweltering. Current, several thousand blistering sparks of it, whizzed between them.
His lips grazed her ear. His hot breath making her shiver, as with one word he turned her into stone.
Except no stone statue would have a heartbeat swerving out of control.
Dhakdhakdhakdhak.
Dhakdhakdhakdhakdhak.
Dhakdhakdhakdhakdhakdhak.
'You'll tear it,' his whisper fell against her ear, stinging as the heat washed over her cold, damp skin. Her eyes fell shut. This was agony. Devi Maiyya, please, please...she didn't even know what she was praying for.
The car beeped again, making her start backwards, startled. Straight into him.
His arm, warm, strong, snaked its way around her and held her in place. She must have been smoking by now, smouldering by the contact between burning hot and freezing cold, crumbling into ash. As her back collided with his front, she felt every inch of him pressed into her in ways she had never felt before. She felt herself mould into the cast of his strong, unyielding form. Every particle, every fibre, exploded into fire. Aflame. Conscious thought spiralled out of her head.
***
The second Khushi fell against him, Arnav's senses went into overdrive. Feeling her softness come crashing against him...he hadn't expected that. Toying with her, as he had been doing, relishing in the effect he seemed to have on her, befuddling her into abandoning, or rather forgetting, her inhibitions, had been one thing. But having her toy with him, and that too completely oblivious of what she was doing, was more than he could handle. This was torture. Sheer torture. Wrapped in the scent of freshly picked flowers from a rain drenched garden, engulfed in the supple, warm comfort of her even as he felt himself burn wherever she was in contact with him.
He dragged in a ragged breath. His throat was parched. His heart throbbed.
He did not even realise when the umbrella slipped out of his grasp and, caught by the current of the turbulent, cool winds, tumbled off.
Even as sheets and sheets of ice cold pellets poured over them, Arnav did not even wince. He did not even notice. Water soaked its way interminably through his jacket, vest, shirt, until it bit against his skin. Water ran down his face, unchecked, unabated, unhindered.
All he could feel was Khushi.
It was as though the rain, instead of yanking him out of his stupor, out of his drunkenness, did the exact opposite. Walled in by the torrent, Arnav was only aware of how wonderfully warm Khushi felt. Surrounded by the musky fragrance of earth pounded up by rain, the scent of grass, Arnav could only drink in, like a thirst-ridden man crawling into an oasis, the scent of jasmine, of lime, of Khushi, building and building in time with the pulse of the rain, drowning him. He was faintly aware of his mind trying, vainly, to grab hold of the reins, to pull them tight. Faintly aware of how it failed, how the reins simply slipped out of its grip. Her hair, her lovely long hair, damp and studded with diamond drops of rain, their black-coffee brown darkened to an almost polished black, locks clumped together and clinging to the sides of her white neck, to the skin above her blouse.
He wanted to touch that skin. He wanted to feel it. He wanted to bury his head in those locks.
But before he could succumb to these desires, and perhaps just as well, a flash of lightning slashed across the dark granite of the sky, reflecting off the shiny surface of the four-wheeler, followed almost immediately by the loudest thunderclap they had heard so far.
Arnav heaved a great, shuddering sigh. He shook his head, as though it would help dislodge some of the fuzz that had accumulated there. A thunderstorm was coming, and they needed to get inside immediately. It registered to him finally that he was no longer holding the umbrella. Squinting through the downpour, he spied it lying pitifully somewhere across the lawn, upturned, bent and broken. Before turning back to Khushi, still held against him, but shivering.
Feeling his breath halt halfway in his throat, Arnav battled with the urge to sink deeper into the feelings, those alien, invigorating, exhilarating, unfamiliar feelings, that she could arouse in him without even trying. Now was not the time. He painfully reminded himself, stoically reminded himself, of his pledge- he was not going to force himself on her. Not until she was ready...not until she wanted to surrender to the same mesmerising tides as him. And she had a long way to go still...in trusting him, in loving him. He did not want to ruin their newfound frankness, their ability to at least have a normal conversation with one another, because of his own inability to control himself around her.
But that did not make it any easier.
Holding his breath, afraid that any more of that alluring scent and he would be a goner, Arnav's arm reached out and yanked the handle of the car door. As it came open, he slowly removed the pallu and pushed the door shut again. His other arm, which had been draped so far around Khushi's waist, let go of her as he fumbled clumsily with the keys, pressing the right button to lock it again.
But before he could summon his ability to speak back, before he could begin to gather the scattered remnants of his composure, Khushi turned around.
And all thought of storms, of cold, of her getting wet, of him getting wet, disappeared without a trace from his mind.
She was so beautiful.
He had seen her in the rain before. But with prejudice and rage and pride and ego beclouding his vision, he had not seen what he ought to have seen. What he could not believe he hadn't seen. The innocence and the purity shining from the creature in front of him. Her big eyes, glistening brown-black, looking fascinated almost as they sought out his, her pink lips quivering ever so slightly, those tiny drops of water that gathered about those lips, caressing their shape as his hands itched so badly to do, her curtain of black hair making her angelic face glow, ethereal.
She was his. This wonderful, unreal, divine creature, like bottled sunshine, was his.
Something of his emotions must have shown in his eyes, because he heard her gasp softly, and her tiny little hand shot upwards, fisted tightly above her heart. Her breathing, he could see, was as laboured as his.
'Khushi', he could not recognise his own voice, gravelly, low, 'why do you always do that? Hold your hand over your heart?'
As if he didn't know already.
Khushi's eyes were now shut. Arnav wrestled with the tsunami crashing around inside him, but it was of no use. The space between them was rapidly diminishing.
'Dhak dhak,' she whispered, eyes still closed. Gulping. Arnav watched her, awestruck.
'Dhak dhak?' he questioned softly, his voice bearing the tiniest suggestion of a smile.
Khushi nodded stiffly. 'My heart...goes like that...whenever...whenever you...'
A pretty little blush crept into her milky white skin. Arnav wanted, so badly, to pull her into his arms there and then.
'Khushi,' he whispered again. His own hand enclosed around the one she had clenched tightly against her chest. Her eyes flew open at the touch. Looking deep into her eyes, holding her, locking her in place with his gaze, he slowly coaxed it open. And pulled it towards him. And laid it flat against his own heartbeat. Colliding erratically with no sense of rhyme or rhythm with his chest wall. Khushi's eyes, round with shock, with surprise, raised themselves to look into his.
'Dhak dhak,' he whispered to her.
please let me know what you think :) I'm so hopeless, I didn't even manage to get them indoors yet. Oh and even when they do get indoors...the rain ain't over yet *wink wink* I intend to put this rainy day to maximum use :p but I'm afraid next update will probably be on friday or saturday:( lots of revision to finish before I can justify indulging on Arhi
Comments and likes, please!
Oh and anyone wanting PMs about updates- buddy me please? It makes it easier to keep up with the PM list:)
Link to Thread 2- https://www.indiaforums.com/forum/topic/2919651
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