Chapter 16

16

Khushi spent the rest of the evening with the girls. After the dance, she departed from Arnav without any of them uttering a word. Arnav went back to have a chat with Mr. Sharma while Neha kept standing on his shoulder and Khushi went back to the girls to hear them gushing about their experience of a lifetime. Khushi thoroughly enjoyed as the girls kept talking about their dancing experience with Arnav. She was happy that she succeeded in making them happy.

"My God! Sir, danced with me! I still cannot believe it happened."

"Pinch me! Pinch me! I must be still dreaming."

"I made a fool of myself. I almost stepped on him." *sniffs*

"I thought I would die. My breathing literally stopped."

Khushi smiled as she kept on listening to their excited banter. "Khushi, you danced really well with ASR," Pam smiled at Khushi. Khushi could not control blushing since she hardly remembered how she had danced with him. All she remembered was his eyes on hers, his hands on hers .. the same sensation in her stomach that she had had when they were together. She did not know she missed him so much near her.

"Yes, yes. You were the best. You are not in awe of him, are you?"

"We should be like you. Why did I behave so callously in front of him?" *sniffs*

"You two danced really well. You were so in sync."

"You got a complete song, girl!"

"Did you guys see Neha when ASR was dancing with Khushi? She seemed so flustered."

"Served her well."

Khushi randomly participated in the conversation while all the time her eyes were on a man standing across the room. The man apparently was eyeing her too. Khushi could not but notice how Neha was still all over him. If not she was hugging him, at least her hands were on his shoulders. What the f**k was wrong with her? And why the f**k was he letting her be so clingy? Khushi could feel the green getting darker again despite her sincere effort to not spoil the magic of the dance. Obsession, jealousy, rage, possessiveness .. desire .. Khushi were not even familiar with these words until she met Arnav. What was Arnav doing to her? Khushi sighed in frustration. Another day with him .. God knows what new words she would have to see coming in her life.

At around 11, Khushi decided to leave. She decided to not pursue Arnav about the day following. She had given what Arnav asked for and it was now up to him on how he wanted to utilize it. She bid goodbye to the girls & her colleagues. Then she walked up to Mr Sharma who was still discussing with Arnav; Neha still stuck around.

"Sir, I would like to leave now."

"Yes, Khushi. You better. You have a morning flight to catch."

"Well, yes, Sir but I was actually thinking if you could allow me a day's leave. I would like to stay here another day just to relax .."

"Sure. No issues. You need a break. You have had a hectic week here."

"Thanks, Sir."

"So you will be touring Delhi for a day?"

"I have not decided yet. I may go to my Buaji's or just relax at hotel .."

"You will be fine, alone?"

"Yes, Sir. Don't worry. Bye, Sir."

Khushi turned to Arnav who, all this time, was listening to their conversation. His face was expressionless but his eyes had an amused look.

"Bye, Mr. Raizada."

"Are you going to your hotel?"

"Ji?"

"Are you going to your hotel, Ms. Gupta?"

"Oh! Yes."

"Fine, I am leaving too. I will drop you."

Khushi was taken aback by his direct offer. She gave him a surprised look but his face was still expressionless. He gestured her to move.

"Thank you, Mr. Raizada but I really don't want to trouble you. I will manage."

"You won't get any taxi here at this hour. And I think the company car had left too. I am either way going that way .. so unless you have any other plan, .."

Khushi saw his lips curved slightly and he raised his eyebrows. "Do you have any other plan, Ms. Gupta," his eyes questioned, "Do you want to leave with anyone else?"

This man! He made everything sound so formal but Khushi did not miss the naughty glint in his eyes. There was no point in refusing him, Khushi knew. After all, she was staying back for him only. She opened her mouth but could not speak as Neha's voice cut in.

"Oh Arnie! I don't know about her .. but you are dropping me, right?"

"You?"

Despite the green-eyed monster poked her hard, Khushi stifled a laugh as she observed the lost expression that took over Arnav for seconds. He genuinely was startled. She had to admit he was good keeping a straight face; he recovered almost instantly.

"What happened to your car?"

"Oh! I let the chauffeur leave. I did not want to keep him so late. I knew I did not have to worry when you are here."

"Mm .. I will see if anyone is going your way. We are going in the other part of the city."

"Please Arnie! And she is not going with you anyway .."

It was time for Khushi to cut in.

"Acutally, I was about to say 'yes'."

She smiled innocently at Neha.

"I have no problem, though, if you tag along. One of us will be late. Up to Mr. Raizada, now."

Khushi passed the ball to Arnav's court. She was definitely not leaving Arnav with Neha anymore; besides she had already made up her mind. She found it extremely satisfying to put Arnav in a fix. So much for playing smart, Arnav Singh Raizada! "I know why she is here," she challenged Arnav in the eye, "Two can play the game."

Apparently, Arnav indeed was in a fix. It was time for him to be taken aback. Of course, he had no intention to take Neha along. "Well played, Khushi Kumari Gupta," he smirked inwardly, "There is a reason why Neha is here and I will make sure it works." He knew Neha would never have dared to ask him for a lift unless he offered one to Khushi. And she was the only outsider in the party; Arnav now felt a little worried if that gave Neha any wrong signal. He should have had thought it through but they say anything is fair in love & war. Arnav smiled .. love & war .. a war .. a war between two equally smart & stubborn people .. a war of .. .. .. Arnav disrupted his thoughts.

"Fine, we will drop Neha, first."

"You can drop her first. I have no problem." Neha sounded enthusiastic.

But Arnav had had enough. He wished he had not planned to rile Khushi up by bringing Neha here. She was getting more difficult to have around with every passing second. "I hope this pays well, Khushi Kumari Gupta," his eyes met hers with a slight lopsided smile. "She has been a punishment for me all through."

Arnav turned to Neha & his facial features were enough for Neha to understand what was coming.

"We are dropping you first," he announced sternly.

Neha was intelligent enough to understand when to nag and when not to. She nodded immediately. In fact, that he had let her be around him for so long was more than she thought of achieving in one night with him! She had been thanking her lucky star all night. She just hoped she could bag the next AR fashion show with a lucrative deal. Well, Arnav himself could be the cherry on the top but she could let him go.

As they walked up to the white SUV, Khushi reached for the co-passenger's seat habitually but her hands never reached the handle. Neha was already making herself comfortable there while Khushi was having difficulty eating the fruit of her own action.

Arnav noticed but without any word got into the car.

"Neha, please move forward your seat."

"Why?"

Arnav just glared at her and she instantly did what she was told to. She had no intention to rile him up. Tonight has been so much progress!

"Khushi, sit behind Neha. I hope you will be comfortable in the backseat."

Khushi met his eyes from behind. She smiled & nodded. She noticed the frustration in his eyes and the care in his voice. He too was not happy.

Neha tried to strike up a conversation with Arnav but only in vain since he hardly answered. His eyes were set on the road and occasionally on the woman in the backseat through rear view mirror. Around 20 minutes later, they finally reached Neha's house as per her direction.

"Arnieee! Please join me for a cup of coffee."

"No, thanks." He brushed her off. "Khushi?"

Khushi understood and got down of the car immediately.

"Bye Neha," she said sweetly to the woman who she felt like strangling most of the times she was around.

Neha finally curved her lips a bit at her & waved her hands.

"Bye Arnieee, see you soon," was all she could manage before they no more could be seen behind the tinted glass of the SUV.

"Thank you, Devi Maiya," Khushi murmured as she settled herself in the passenger seat, "I was dreading I might be charged of murder tonight."

She saw Neha going inside the building and she suspired. She felt relaxed that there was no one around. She was tired of pretending. They could be themselves now. She went for the seatbelt but her hand was stopped midway. She could feel Arnav coming closer to her. Her breathing hitched.

Arnav was tired of pretending too.

"Let me help you," Arnav said softly in her ears, hardly inches away. Khushi tried to remove her right hand from his hold but he tightened his grip. Khushi's breathing got heavy as she felt his right hand slowly moving towards her palm, stroking her arm softly, his long fingers gently touching her skin. He stopped slightly as his fingers touched her glass & metal bangles. His fingers played with the bangles a little bit, merging the sound of the bangles with the sound of their breathing in the silence of the car. The sound of their intense breathing lingered as he slowly left the bangles to touch her skin again. Khushi could feel the strong goosebump all over her body. He finally touched her fingers with his, stroked a bit - up & down - and then slowly inserted his fingers between hers as his thumb continued stroking her skin. Leisurely holding her palms, he made her pull the seat belt slowly and brought it near her hip to latch it. All this while Khushi sat stiffened, huffing heavily as Arnav was busy breathing from her nape.

The seatbelt was done but Arnav still did not move. This party has been so torturing for him. Over the past few hours, all he wanted was just to be alone with her. He did not know what he would do with her but he just wanted her to himself – no pretense, no formality, no aversion – no Ms. Gupta or Mr. Raizada. It has been more difficult than he had anticipated to be away from her – to pretend she was no one special.

"Why does it matter to you .."

Arnav had passed the whole day battling with himself today, this one simple question eating up his brains. He wanted to understand why it mattered to him to ensure she was fine. Since when was he taking care of a sick acquaintance? He wanted to know why he could not let her leave having a grudge against him. Since when had he really started to care what others think about him? He knew .. and he admitted to himself .. she was special. Yes, she was special, though he did not know why. He could not let her leave like that –angry at him, hurt for him. In fact, he realized as he kept thinking, he did not want her to leave at all. He could not believe he actually plotted to make sure she did not leave right now and furthermore, she had to be in Delhi frequently. Arnav suddenly felt laughter gurgling inside him – Arnav Singh Raizada was scheming, of all, to keep a girl close!

Khushi was almost in a trance, with her eyes closed, enjoying thoroughly his warm breathing over her neck. His nose & lips were touching her skin softly, very much unconsciously, once in a while, sending shivers through her body. She missed him so much – he was within her reach but she could not reach him at all in the past few hours. She understood the depth of her frustration as pure bliss took over her having him in contact. "I missed you .. I missed you," she chanted in a daze .. Suddenly, she felt his body shaking uncontrollably, jolting her out of her trance. What was wrong with him? She tried to move to see what was wrong with him but he buried his face further into her, still shaking violently. Khushi got concerned.

"Arnav, Arnav ..are you ok? What is wrong with you?"

Arnav continued to shake.

Khushi almost panicked.

"Arnav .. look at me .. what is wrong, baby? Arnav ..??"

Arnav suddenly moved away from her, letting go the suppressed, uncontrollable laughter. His eyes closed, one hand on his stomach as the other held her shoulder .. he continued laughing as a bemused Khushi continued to behold.

"Arnav ..what is so funny? What is wrong .. ? Look at me .. Arnav ..???"

Arnav, after a few seconds, opened his eyes to meet hers, still laughing. Khushi saw tears rolling down his cheeks. She leaned towards him a bit and touched his right cheek with her left palm. She slowly wiped away the smiling tears with her thumb. She continued to stroke his cheeks slowly admiring the face that was busy controlling from laughing further.

"May I know Mr. Raizada, what is so funny?"

Arnav grinned, enjoying her touch on his cheek, loving the adoration in her soft voice. Khushi noticed his eyes to dart towards her palm on his cheek. Embarrassed, Khushi quickly started to remove her hands off him but Arnav was quick enough to hold her hand and get it back on his cheeks. He kept holding her hand against his cheek as he started talking, still smiling.

"Khushi.. It never had crossed my mind in the last few days that you were leaving until you told me in the morning."

Khushi kept staring at him. Arnav continued.

"As I understood what it meant, I did something I have never done before. I actually came up with something to make you stay here in Delhi – one day for now and also more in future. This is really not me."

Khushi's eyes widened a bit –still willing to hear more.

"I have always been very rigid to assign the important roles in a project to anyone else outside my company, no matter how efficient he or she was. But .. it seemed the only way I could .. have you here more in Delhi .. around me, in front of my eyes .. I don't know why I felt like I needed you around but I know I do. So I .. I compromised with my work rules and appointed you as the Project Coordinator .. because .. that would mean you would have to be in Delhi frequently."

Khushi kept staring at him –the slight change of expressions in her round, hazel eyes did not go unnoticed by Arnav. He could read her eyes .. he knew exactly what she was thinking. The look in her eyes was deadly enough to make him feel nervous but instead he smiled realizing why she was special. She was not like others. She was not scared of him.

"I know what you are thinking now, Khushi. And it is justified to think that way. But I want you to know and I am sure you would understand, no matter how much personal interest I have, I would never ruin my own projects. I have not built this company with my emotions and when it comes to work, I still will not compromise. You have earned this position, Khushi. It is just that I have never considered rendering it outside AR before but you have made me make that exception. If you were not fit for this position, I would have probably found some other way to keep you here."

Khushi was still looking into his eyes. All the time he talked, she tried to read his eyes. His eyes spoke, always, more than his words. She saw the sincerity in his eyes. Over the last week, Khushi at least has been able to associate one trait with him – honesty. He may sound rude, he may sound harsh .. but he was always honest with his words & opinions. Khushi still saw the same honesty in his eyes as he spoke.

"Why?"

"What why?"

"I believe and I know .. I have earned this position, Arnav. I don't doubt when you say that because as much as I know you, I know my boss better professionally. He never would have agreed if he thought I was not ready. But what made you make an exception? Why did you gave me something I have earned but you were not willing to give me still initially? Or have not given to anyone else before?"

Arnav took a deep breath. Another why.

"Khushi .. all I can say is you are special to me. I cannot tell you anything else now. But you are special."

Khushi opened her mouth to say something but Arnav used his right index finger to shut her up.

"Shhh .."

Arnav moved his finger slightly over her lips. He missed her. He missed those lips. He missed her everything. He took a deep breath to gulp down the desire rising up his throat. This was not the time.

"Khushi .. you tell me something first. Why did you agree to stay one more day?"

Khushi blinked.

"Why did it matter to you, Khushi? You could have just walked away. You did not need to listen to me. Why did you agree to stay, Khushi? Why does it matter to you?"

Khushi took a deep breath. She could feel his finger on his lips, slightly brushing as they moved. The tickling sensation ignited the suppressed need in her more. She swallowed. This was not the time.

Khushi parted her lips slightly, his finger still on her lips. She held his wrist, then slowly moved it upwards, making sure his finger did not leave her lips. She needed that contact, she needed that touch. She whispered as her lips moved against his finger, sending sensation through both of their bodies.

"Because, you are special too .. Arnav."