Arshi SS Tumult :: Completed Pg81 :: 17/01 - Page 47

She breathed out slowly, feeling the smile come up naturally now. She didn't have to force herself to do it anymore. Her last paper was over, at last, and she was feeling better too. She had thought about it well, and she felt like she could talk to Arnav now... Only... she didn't know how... She had not heard from him for days. Yes, she had wanted that herself but knowing him, she had been sure he would not have kept out of her way. He had proved her wrong. Either he did truly care for her or she didn't matter at all to him... Maybe she had to talk to Lavanya about it?

Her smile dissolved into an uncomfortable frown when her eyes fell on the old sea-green Ford, parked across the street from the university courtyard. Again? This was certainly not the first time she was seen this car. Lavanya said she was imagining things but she knew it was this car. She had lost count of the number of times this car had been park somewhere around her but it gave her the uncanny feeling of being followed. Her heart picked up speed and she set her lips into a thin line, hugging herself as she walked back home with the creepy impression that someone was watching her...

***

"I'm home!" she called out.

Andrea was just bouncing her way down the staircase to the living room. She stopped with a saccharine smile. "Your exams are over?" Khushi smiled back gently at her and nodded. "Great!" Andrea squealed, with sweet expression that sent chills down Khushi's back. "So now, you go back to your country and we won't get to see your pitiful face again."

***

"Your exams are over, sweetie! Why do you need to go there?"

She tilted her head. "I love doing it, La. Besides, it's better than staying here..."

Lavanya straightened up at once, her face angry. "Did Andrea or Sandy say something again?"

"It doesn't matter," Khushi sighed in defeat. "I'll just go now, okay?"

"Wait!" her friend quickly caught her bag and pulled her back. "When are you going to see him?"

"I don't know," she mumbled as her skin reddened violently. She tried to get away but she was being held firmly.

"Someone is blushing," Lavanya teased her in a sing-song voice.

"No, I am not blushing! Let me go!"

She paused at the doorway, hearing Sandy's excited squeals. It was not her pitched voice that had caught Khushi's attention, but rather the name she had mentioned.

"-Singh Raizada! Can you believe this? Apparently he's got a new tattoo!"

"Shut up!" Andrea gasped out loud. "Are you kidding me?"

"No! I just got the update, it's the latest rumour about him!"

"But he's never had tattoos before!"

"Well, they say he has one now. On his chest..."

"How sexy! I just want to-"

Before Andrea could elaborate on what she wanted to do to Arnav Singh Raizada, Khushi tore out of the hospital. Stupid girls! Some people were just lacking stuff to do. Why else spread and devour meaningless rumours about others? She for one person knew that he would do no such things; he had himself told her he hated tattoos during their second date. If he had been speaking truthfully, of course... Khushi bit her tongue immediately. But why was she thinking about him? He could do whatever he wanted... He did not belong to her, did he?

***

"That's gross," she muttered to herself, her eyes following the couple that had just entered the restaurant. The man was wearing a sleeveless shirt that bared his tattoo covered arms.

"They look like sleeves!" he guffawed, keeping it low too, and when she looked at him, her eyes wide with surprise because he had heard her, he winked conspiratorially. "Seriously! He looks like he's wearing a full-sleeved shirt! Most of my teammates have them too but they are not that creepy. I know Nate's got a mermaid on his arm, Adrian has a Dark Mark on his wrist - you know that thing in Harry Potter, the skull that appears in the sky or something like that?"

She giggled at his conspicuous lack of knowledge of one of her favourites and nodded leniently. "I know."

"And Paul has a bracelet like tattoo on his ankle."

Her lips twitched amusedly. "And you?"

"Oh," he leaned in with a teasing smirk. "So you are interested in my tattoos?"

"No, just asking," she shrugged carelessly, her blushing cheeks hinting at the contrary.

He relaxed into his chair with a small smile. "I don't have one. I don't quite like them and to be honest, I would ever etch something that holds no meaning for me permanently on my skin..."

***

She gritted her teeth together uneasily. It was definitely the same car and she was not going to take this anymore. Whoever was following her would have to stop now. "Mr Vaughn?"

The old balding security officer looked up at her pleasantly. "Hello, my child! How can I help you on this bright after noon?"

They were out of the view of the Ford but she was still fidgeting. "I'm sorry, Mr Vaughn, I didn't want to disturb you, but I'm feeling a bit uncomfortable... The thing is... I have been feeling like someone is following for some days... and when I was coming in, I saw that Ford again... Could you please help me?"

"Hmm," the man nodded gruffly and stood up. "Give me the description of the car and I'll see into this, okay? You will wait for me here."

Khushi could not help the little smile that came to her lips as Vaughn walked away. The little old man had been a very interesting friend and father figure to her ever since she had joined the hospital for volunteering. He had travelled around the world, lived in different places, read extensively about different things, served in the army in Afghanistan for some years... In short, he was full of fascinating stories and Khushi loved discussing with him. She had started feeling bad for having disturbed him. What if he got hurt or something? She shook her head decisively. No, he had served in the army, he should be fine. But he was also ageing... Just as her worry had started escalating she saw Vaughn return and she closed her eyes to mutter a quick thanks to her Devi Maiyya.

"You'll have to take the poor chap in," he hollered, seeming quite pleased with himself, and she opened her eyes, only to be dumb-founded. "Tried to get away but I tackled him alright," he puffed his chest proudly, patting his catch heavily even as Khushi stared, horrified, at the latter. "It was only when I had him on the ground that I realised it was our hockey champ."

"Hi, Khushi," Arnav tried to smirk at her, but it came out as a painful grimace.

***

For a second or two, the sight before her froze every inch of her body. Her eyes unknowingly roved all over his sinewy torso, watching in wonder as the muscles corded sensually when he moved his muscular arms cautiously. But he suddenly looked up without warning and met her eyes, causing her to suddenly realise what she had been doing. A gasp escaped her lips and she turned around, a hand clamped on her eyes. She heard him chuckle and gulped.

"Oh, turn around, Doc! I'm just missing a shirt and considering your profession, I am pretty sure I am neither the first nor the last man you'll see without one."

She scowled, still looking away. "They would be my patients."

"And I am not?" This time, he was standing very close to her whispering in her ear. She closed her eyes as his tingly breath ran a shudder throughout her body. Again, her cheeks turned pink. Khushi straightened herself and stepped away before looking at him scornfully.

"No, you are not!"

He raised his brow inquisitively, his arrogant smirk still pasted on his face. "What am I then?"

However, Arnav had already lost her attention. She was ogling at his bare chest with something akin to horror. "You... you... What did you...? Why did...? What is this?" she pointed at him with naked shock.

"What?" he asked innocently, pretending not to know what she was talking about. Her eyes wide, she walked to him and slowly, hesitantly lifted her hand to flatten it on his chest, right above his throbbing heart and he closed his eyes for a moment to keep his overwhelming feelings under check. When he opened them again, she was gazing at him with tear glazed eyes. "No!" he groaned, rolling his eyes. "Please! You're not going to cry on me again, are you? I hate it when you cry!"

She bit her lip and looked down at her hand. "I'm not crying... What is this?"

"What do you think it is?" he asked back, softly covering her small hand with his.

"You said you hated tattoos..."

He shook his head, smiling and holding her cheek in his other palm. "I said I didn't want something meaningless to be set into my skin permanently. You are not meaningless to me, Khushi," he pressed her hand firmly against him and made her look up, so that she would see the sincerity in his eyes. "You mean everything to me, Khushi, believe me. I hope this proves it to you. This K will always be here, even when I die, right above my heart to scream to everyone that my heart belongs to you and no one else... Khushi, that night I was just dancing with that girl but my mind and my heart were with you. I realised I love you, truly love you and that I want to spend the rest of my life with you and you alone! Please, believe me. I even got beaten up by your bodyguard. The oldie is strong, huh! He broke two of my ribs!"

"Well, that serves you right!" she frowned, sniffing. "Why were you following me?"

"I couldn't stay away from you," he shrugged sheepishly. "But I never came before you, I gave you your space. I just got used to being around you and-" She snatched her hand from his grasp quickly. He gave her a tortured look that begged her not to do this again, not to leave him again but her eyes were firm as she crossed her arms on her chest.

"You will have to forget the dates we had been on."

His eyes widened. "No! Never! How can you even-"

"I am very serious, Mr Raizada! You will absolutely have to!" she hissed vehemently. "Because if you don't, we will both be dead."

"What the-? Scuse me... what?"

She lifted her chin and eyes him mysteriously. "You really love me?"

"Yes!" he almost shouted and she glared at him to remind him that they were in a hospital. He dropped his voice to a fierce whisper. "Yes, I love you dammit! How many times-"

"Well, you will have to forget that I ever dated you!" she insisted. She saw him clench his jaws furiously, yet a small smile crept up, dragging with it a deep red that shaded her face rather brutally. "At least until after we are married," she mumbled. "Because I am from a very conservative family... If anyone gets wind of this, we'll be killed and buried before we realise it..."

He gaped at her, dumbfounded. His brain did take a lot of time to register and understand her words. "You... Did you just-?" he spluttered. He stared wide-eyed at the door for some time before turning back to her. "What do you want me to tell them, then?"

"Invent something," she tried to hide the smile that threatened to erupt.

"Alone?" he lifted an eyebrow. "Naah! You'll have to help me out, Doc!"

And the whole corridor fell still when he lifted her in his arms and twirled her around as fast as his broken ribs would allow, her squeals and giggles mingling with his deep laughter...