FF: Ordinary Girl in an Extraordinary Affair Chapter 21/A
Chapter 21
Khushi looked at Arnav standing by the counter while she waited for him at the table. He stood there, waiting for their order. She knew there were a lot of girls around, stealing looks at him. Not that she blamed them; he was delicious to look at but the fire of jealousy kept on looking at things in a logical manner. Why was he not coming back to the table? It wasn’t as if it was required to stand there until the guy brought them the ordered drinks.
She saw a group of girls looking at him as they ordered their own drinks and giggling. One of them smiled and fluttered her eyelashes at him. Khushi looked on at Arnav in boiling rage to see that he had coolly looked away with disinterest from the girl who had made eyes at him. It was a bit of shock for her. She looked at him with her mouth hanging open. Arnav Singh Raizada didn’t do that!
It was as if this was another unplanned proof to show her that he was indeed a changed man. Arnav Singh Raizada as she had known him from the past would have smirked at the girl and probably raised his eyebrows at her interest. That was what used to do the girls in. She had remembered the jealous rage that had over taken her when he had done that in Goa.
*Flashback*
The breeze was cool when Khushi, wrapped in her dressing gown decided to curl up and sit by the window in her bedroom. As she stared at the sea waves rising out of the dark sea, she took a deep breath of salty sea air. She was restless and awake in the middle of the night with no real idea of why she was awake. She thought back to the evening they had spent together.
Arnav had taken her to his known restaurant, where he was greeted like an old friend. It had surprised Khushi to see Arnav talking so affably with the owner of a small place. Arnav was a billionaire and treated everyone around him with contempt was pally with a restaurateur in Goa? Had someone told her this a few weeks back, Khushi would have laughed at them. Uptight Arnav Singh Raizada letting his so-short-hair down was something that she had never imagined. But he had and she had seen it. He had been witty, nice and considerate. She had had more glasses of wine than she normally did, had eaten food with gusto and participated in lively flirting with Arnav. It had all felt magical. All she could think about then had been Arnav. She had come to a realization this evening that their attraction, at least for her was way beyond superficial or only sexual. She was in love with him, an in a big way!
She remembered the time in the office when he had been mad at her for being so immersed in work that she had dressed shabbily for the party and he had mocked her. Later she had hardly been able to breathe with him so close to her while dancing, her head feeling as if it was filled with cotton wool and she could only stare at his tie, not looking in his eyes. He had put his hand under her chin, making her look up and she had gasped at the intensity of desire she had seen in his eyes. His hands had tightened around her waist and he had puller her even closer, with her breasts brushing his chest.
Slowly, he had maneuvered them into a dark corner of the room, both of them breathing hard. He had put her against the wall, holding he hands up and kissed her slowly at first and then deeply. He had drugged her with his kisses, his mouth making love to hers, curling her toes in her high heeled sandals. He had smelled so male, the subtle scent of his aftershave on his skin weaving its magic on her. His hands had inched their way down, caressing her breasts through the taut material and touching the low cut bodice of her party dress, his mouth on her throat. All the while he spoke about how he had been slowly going crazy all evening, wanting her. Coming back to her mouth, he kissed her again, taking full control while his hands gently took her breast out of the low cut neck. He flicked the tip of her nipple with his finger and Khushi moaned in his mouth.
He had kept on taking her name as his mouth moved down towards her breast, taking the taut nipple into his mouth while his hand had travelled down further, touching her navel, going back and grabbing her hips and then coming up front. He parted her legs and touched her there where Khushi had never been touched before. She had gasped as he continued his exploration. His mouth moved down from her breast to her navel, leaving an open mouthed kiss there. Oh my!! Thought Khushi. She was ready to fall down and it was only his strong arm around her waist that kept her standing and steady.
“Arnav, please!” She had moaned when she had felt his mouth open over her, not knowing what she was asking for but only that she wanted him to continue. He had never done that to her before. She had never before experienced such hunger, such passion in him. What shocked her was the fact that she was enjoying his ministrations, in fact she wanted him to continue. Her senses had been swimming as he placed more open mouthed kisses, the layer of clothing the only barrier between her innermost core and his mouth. She had moaned quietly, clutching his arm as he continued his exploration, down below her legs, touching his mouth on her open thighs. The dress ended just at mid-thigh.
Khushi had felt herself melting in his arms that evening. She had forgotten everything and kissed him back; forgetting where they were, until a giggle had broken the spell. Hastily she had pushed him away quite hard and adjusted her dress. He had kept quiet, breathing hard, not trying to touch her again. Not looking at him, she had run from him then, even when he called her name, scared of these intense feelings, not knowing that the desire he had aroused in her was not just physical attraction but something more. It was not going to die until he made her his.
She had then mistaken it only for strong physical attraction she felt for him, as he did for her. She had kept her distance and irked him after that. Never happy with him around yet never happy when he was far away, Khushi had not been able to understand until now what it was that pulled her to him. Why was it that she felt hurt when he mocked her or got angry on her? She could now relate to it as well as understand it.
Khushi sighed. Falling in love with Arnav Singh Raizada spelled disaster and she knew it quite well. It wasn’t as if she had wanted to fall in love but- he was—when he was not pretending to be a royal asshole, he was the best man she had ever known. She had fallen for that man, no doubt about it. So how was she going to get herself out of this situation?
Khushi thought about what he had said earlier that evening when he had apologized to her for his early morning behavior, “I’m always like this Khushi. I try to be nice but somehow my past comes out of me and bitterness always spills out first. I don’t know what to do but – main aisa he hoon Khushi. Tum jaanti ho mujhe, toh ye bhi samajh lo ke kabhi kabhi gusse main- I say things I don’t mean. Mere gusse ko face value par mat lena Khushi.
What we feel for each other needs to be explored. You wanted us to be together as friends this weekend but I can hardly keep my hands off you. I have only so much restraint on myself where you’re concerned Khushi. You’re like sweet sugar in my blood, giving me a high. I’ve always lived in the moment and the women have never been given any false hopes or promises. I’m no saint but I promise to be faithful to you. I think it will take us ages before we are able to put out this fire of attraction burning between us.
I know you’re not one of those women who get involved with any man she’s attracted to. I know you want a relationship for keeps. I don’t know if I feel love for you but I do know that not touching drives me crazy. I care about you, worry about you when you’re not around. I could take you right now if I wanted to-“ Khushi had gasped, outraged while her face had taken a rosy hue but he had earnestly continued,”- you know I’m being honest Khushi, and I know that you won’t be able to resist me for long–but I did promise you, I will not touch you unless you come to me first. I shall wait for you to come to me.”
“I am like this Khushi. You know me well so understand this-sometimes in anger I say things I don’t mean.” These words were what had made Khushi restless.
Too wound up, she couldn’t sit still any longer. Yesterday she’d been thinking and wondering if she’d gone crazy to have agreed to come here to Goa alone with him, without even letting Payal jiji know what was going on. For some unknown reason she hadn’t wanted to share her growing attraction and feelings for Arnav with Payal jiji or tell her about his proposal. Now she knew why she didn’t want to. She was afraid to think about it, about her future. She thought back to the rest of the evening.
They had silently strolled on the beach, near to where the waves broke up, not wanting to go back to the house just yet. The silence was not uneasy; in fact it was easy and comforting, peaceful. While crossing the street later on, he had taken her hand in his, pulling her closer. Khushi had been touched by the gesture, knowing instinctively that he wanted to protect her. They had held hands the rest of the way home. It had felt so good. It had felt like they were a normal couple, lovers who could be seen everywhere in Goa, walking hand in hand, openly affectionate.
Once they had reached back home, she had politely thanked him for the dinner and a lovely evening, kissed him gently on the cheek and quietly come to her room, her head full of his scent. She was crazy and certified for it!
The cool breeze gave her goose bumps along with her hot thoughts of Arnav. She gazed outside absently and then started. A movement had caught her attention. In the part of the terrace of the house that was visible from her window, Khushi could see someone was standing. Her heart beats picked up speed as she realized who it would be. Arnav.
She looked at him, as he gazed into the dark night, wide awake. He was barefoot, with no shirt on his body. His jeans slung low on his hips, making Khushi’s breath hitch in her throat. He was so powerfully male! His back was broad and his shoulders shone in the moonlight. Khushi felt heat throbbing in her body while her brain went on another track. Why was he awake? What was he doing out there standing alone? What was he thinking about? Was he thinking of his future or – was he thinking of their future?
Khushi didn’t realize she had been staring hard. He must have felt her gaze burning him for he turned around and looked straight at her window, to see her sitting there. Slowly he lifted his hand and waved. Khushi’s body trembled at his gaze, even from so far away. Weakly she lifted her hand and waved back. Slowly she drew back and away from the window.
Her heart was in her mouth as the beats pounded through her body. She wanted him oh so much! Without a second thought, she ran out of the room, the marble floor cool on her feet.
*Flashback continues to next chapter*
NOTE: We’re coming to the end of this FF. 😦 It’s a wrench but I must end it soon.
FF: Ordinary Girl in an Extraordinary Affair Chapter 20
Chapter 20
The ride back into town was completed in silence. Arnav was lost in his own thoughts while he rode the scooter while Khushi was with her own musings as she sat behind him. The awkwardness of holding his waist that she had felt in the morning was gone. Now she not only had her hands on his waist but her head rested on his back. She had made her decision after this day spent together.
Arnav didn’t know if he could describe this feeling he was going through. A part of him was anxious, worried and tensed while a part of him was happy, at peace. How could he feel two contradictory emotions at the same time? The sun had set and he had put his aviators back into its box. Soon they would reach where they had started from in the morning and Khushi will tell him what her decision was.
Will she agree to give him a chance and take this further or will she simply shake her head and tell him that this day was all they could have together in the present? His heart and his soul was terrorized by the thought that Khushi may yet decide against giving him another chance to show her how much he loved her. His heart despaired at the thought. What good will be his life if she rejected him? How would he live? There was a time when he had not met Khushi and lived a joyless existence. He couldn’t dream of going back to it. He’d rather face thousand deaths with her than exist in this world alone, without Khushi. And yet.. a part of him insisted that he will have to accept it if that is what Khushi wished him to do. After what he’d said to her, done to her- it may be the only befitting punishment.
When they reached Barista, Khushi’s hands left his waist reluctantly. She moved her head to one side as he leaned back against her. Her involuntary movement brought her lips in contact with his shoulder and she couldn’t resist wanting to kiss it gently. She so much wished she could lean on his strong shoulders for the rest of her life. If her decision was correct, she may yet have that chance to do so, told her an inside voice.
Arnav felt her lips touch gently on his shoulder and shuddered. He was very anxious now. He wasn’t sure if that kiss was a gesture of acceptance of his regret or if it was a good bye kiss. His heart was in his mouth as he looked back at her, with his eyes a clear mirror of his anxiety. He wanted Khushi to know, he didn’t want to hide himself from her anymore.
Khushi looked into his eyes, looking for a single glimpse of that Arnav Singh Raizada who had been vile, who had accused her of horrible things, but she couldn’t find him. Instead all she could see was Arnav that she had fallen in love with, his eyes giving her a clear glimpse of his heart, his soul that spoke of goodness inside.
Khushi took the first step to break the eye contact. She had felt him happy at her touch the whole day through and she had also felt him shudder when her lips had touched his shoulder. She was aware now that love needed this physical touch to complete itself into one being. She couldn’t deny it. She couldn’t ignore this feeling by calling it lust and not love. She moved away from him and got down the scooter.
Arnav looked at her as she moved away from him and got down. His heart was beating a tattoo in his chest. What was she going to do? Arnav Singh Raizada was, perhaps the first time in his life helpless and had no control over the situation with regards to the fate of his life.
Khushi came up to the front of the scooter and said, “Shall we sit inside Arnav? I wish to drink something cool after a long ride.”
Together they went inside and Arnav went up to the counter to order. Khushi looked at him and sighed. She couldn’t not give Arnav a second chance.
His eyes spoke of the history of love in his life since beginning – the lost little boy searching for love that he had never found in his mother, the youth who had to grow up before his age, knowing his Anjali Di relied on his strong support since the day they had found out bitter truth about their parentage, the man who before he became successful had been hurt by women in his life and the man who hid himself from every eye, the one who had stopped looking for love in the world and become ruthless for the sake of his sanity.
She remembered well that weekend in Goa when they had spent the weekend together. They had fought and their fight had escalated to a level where Khushi had spent her entire day away from him. He had been worried out of his mind for her and in the late evening when she had come back, she had found him not angry but sick with worry. He had spent the entire day looking for her, even going to the hospitals to find out if she’d done something drastic. He had not shouted at her then. He had explained his reasons for being so aggressive and distrustful. He was a bastard and Anjali was only his half-sister. They shared their mother by blood but no one knew who his blood father was.
She remembered their dialogue. He had difficulty apologizing then and had come about with an explanation in a roundabout manner. His explanation had stunned Khushi. He had needed a strong shot of whiskey before he began with his explanation.
*flashback*
I may have been a bit out of line with the way I behaved today morning Khushi. With the –“ he paused as if thinking how to continue or even if he should.Then as if he couldn’t help himself, he continued, “-with the way I’ve been brought up and what I’ve seen of the world, I’ve always come across women who are ready to take advantage of men at the drop of the hat.”
“Excuse me? And that gives you the reason to generalize? You said some unforgivable things to me today Arnav. What if someone behaved like this with your own sister or your mother? Would you have forgiven them?” Khushi retorted with question of her own.
Frankly speaking, she had been taken aback by this turn of conversation. When he said he wasn’t going to apologize for his behaviour, she had been outraged and left the house. She had walked around for a long time on the beach and even gone to the church to calm her raging soul. Never in her life had she imagined that his explanation for what he had said to her in the morning would be something related to his past experiences!
“Anjali di.. you’ve met her. She already has a steady boyfriend and truthfully speaking, she would think about it carefully with her head and her heart before she ever said yes to a guy. My mother-she was one of those women I despise today. She thought she could use her wealth, her fool of a husband’s wealth to trap the man who sired me. Told herself she was in love and was taking the right path to a better life. “
A look of such hatred crossed his features that Khushi could only gape at him. He hated his mother and thought she was– but why?
“I am a bastard Khushi. My mother was married to the man I am honoured to call father but he was not my blood father. I was adopted by him as his son and he loved me as much as he would his own. We don’t even know until some time back who my blood father was. What I found out simply increased my disgust for my mother and her deeds. The man was a married guy who used to come to London for business trips. She says she fell in love with him and in his trap. The truth was my mother had lured him many times with money and the fool she was, she never realized that is all he wanted from her. She cheated on my father again and again with that-that man.
Nani had come to England to take care of Anjali Di as my mother was incapable of taking care of her. Hell, she was incapable of thinking about anyone else but herself! When the family name started getting smirched due to her affair coming out to open in public, my father banished her to the family mansion in the countryside. Nani went along with her to ensure she may behave herself. That was when they found out about me. Father had already divorced her by then.
Apparently, unbeknown to nani and my father, she had kept in touch with the guy, pleading him to come back and marry her. He kept on promising marriage.” A look of utter disgust had crossed his face, “I was the result of one of those meetings Khushi. My father adopted me, gave me his name and declared me his heir when I was born but disowned her from his property. He took me away from my mother then since she had gone berserk from anger. Once that news reached the guy, he wanted nothing more to do with her. His golden chicken was dead and he wanted to wash his hands off her. She died soon after, in a car accident. She was broken hearted and depressed when she drove that car. “
Khushi didn’t dare interrupt him. She stayed quiet to hear him out. It looked as if he hadn’t finished. Her heart had bled for the little Arnav who had been told the truth when he was able to understand it. His voice held no emotion; it was as if he was simply talking about weather. But now, admiration crept into his voice.
“I will always be grateful to my father for everything he did for me. I may have not been his sired son but he didn’t consider me any less and for that I guess, I am grateful. He gave me his name, and raised us single-handedly. He was not a very affectionate man but he was kind. I will always admire and respect him for that. But he was bitter. He never married again. He had loved my mother and she had broken his heart again and again until it was irreparable.
He sent us to the best boarding schools and visited us often. He loved me in his own way I guess and taught me good things. My father taught me to stand on my two feet and become successful by my own intelligence and my own means. I borrowed money for the capital of my first business and paid him back in full when I succeeded.
One thing he taught me very early on was to be aware of gold diggers and opportunists. Rich men or rich women were always prone to emotional attacks if they weren’t careful. That was a lesson well learnt by me Khushi early on, right after my first infatuation left me for a rich man because I had refused to inherit my father’s money.
I learnt the lesson early on that my father was right when he’d said women are like leeches. Most women that I’ve met fall under the same category. When one is as rich as I am, women fall over themselves to come into contact of any kind and will do anything to make sure they get something out of it. Over the years, I found most women simply wanted money. Some were over ambitious and wanted the Raizada name for what it could bring to them. I found my father was right.
The only woman who ever loved me for myself was my Anjali Di. I received all the love I could get from her in my childhood. She cared for me when there was no one else. So you’ve got to understand Khushi, I’m not –“
He had not been given a chance to complete as Khushi had rained kisses on his face, crying for the little boy he’d lost somewhere inside him and conversation had ceased with the understanding that she had forgiven him. Passion had reined them.
*flashback ends*
Today he had laid bare his need for her forgiveness and love; she could vulnerability, his fear of losing her forever. He was not perfect, yes. He had made mistakes, yes. He had hurt her, used her and had only physically desired her. But just like those facts was also the fact that he had admitted his guilt and regretted his actions bitterly. He was ready to love and he needed someone who could hold his hand and let himself be loved. How could she not love him after looking at the purity of intentions in his eyes? Her answer was ready and on her lips to be uttered when he came back.
FF: Ordinary Girl in an Extraordinary Affair Chapter 19/D
Chapter 19D:
“I see you have changed your taste in clothes. Blue most certainly suits you though. Good morning Khushi.” Arnav said as soon as he saw Khushi parking her scooter at the Barista parking. He was wearing a green vest with Khakhi coat and same coloured baggy pants today.
He looked mouth wateringly sexy, thought Khushi as she gave him her first glance this morning. She parked her scooter carefully and slipped the keys in her purse. Then she looked up at him, avoided his question on her choice of clothes for the time being and gave him a sombre smile, “Good morning to you too. All ready for the day out as a common man with 500 rupees in your pocket?”
Arnav showed his wallet that held five notes of hundred each and at her nod, put the wallet back in his back pocket. Her looked like a man ought to look, oozing manliness and with a smirk that could capture any woman’s heart on his face.
“So what’s the first place in the list of places to visit?” Arnav asked, leaning against the car he’d parked.
“I plan to take you to the places that are an integral part of this town. Today I’m going to take you to the famous Naini Lake, thandi road, the ropeway and to Kilbury in the end. I wanted you to visit the Naina devi temple as well since the view from there is amazing but .. I’ll leave that on how the day goes. We will watch the sun set in Kilbury and come back as that is a sight not to be missed. But first-“
“Sounds like I’ll be moving into your magical land of nature, beauty and tranquility today. Khushi-“
Arnav broke in and a look of discomfort passed his face as Khushi looked on. He continued, “Khushi, are you sure we don’t need more money?”
Arnav kept on thinking of ways to woo Khushi. What if she liked something while they were looking and wanted to buy it but didn’t have enough money on her? If he didn’t have any, he won’ be able to buy anything for her too! This thought made him uncomfortable. He’d never faced lack of cash since the day he turned successful.
“Arnav, I am absolutely sure you won’t need more money. However, if you want to shop for Anjali Di or Dean any time, you may of course do it later when you’re by yourself. I’m sure you’ll remember the way with your photographic memory.” Khushi smiled a little too brightly.
She could have bitten her tongue when the information about photographic memory slipped out. She remembered very well the last time it had come into picture and she didn’t want to think of that time. A rosy hue covered her cheeks.
“Ah yes- my photographic memory.” Judging by the way his eyes became unfocused, Khushi could see he remembered the same moment in time when she had last used the word and what had been the result of it.
Khushi could have groaned out aloud in frustration at her gaffe. She didn’t want him to remember anything today that was associated with their past. How in the world were they going to move ahead in the present if they kept on thinking about the past?
She looked away from his piercing gaze and into the distance for a second to gather her thoughts. Then as if she was done with the task, she spoke briskly, “Alright then. First on the list is Bhimtal. It is about 25 kilometers away from here and famous for water sports. I need to meet someone there as well so that’ll be my one task done.”
Arnav was curious, “Whom do you plan to meet out there? Isn’t that a very small place?”
“Yes it is, but I have a contact there that works with local small businesses. I have to speak to him.”
“You promote local products? What kind of products?” Arnav was not surprised that Khushi was working to promote local small business. But he was surprised with the knowledge that despite being so out of spirits and terribly hurt when she had come to Nainital, she put her miseries behind to help others. She had been immersed in good work for others while he only ever thought about himself. A wave of regret washed him as he looked at Khushi with new eyes that adored her even more. Maybe this was why he had adored her and not known it. Arnav tapped on his inherent nature of hiding pain when he felt it and looked at her with question in his eyes.
Khushi blushed as she saw admiration in his eyes. She stammered, “I-It’s—nothing really. It’s just that I’m helping some people with their tour guide business; you know, for campers who come to visit the town and don’t wish to live in big hotels but in vicinity of nature during their entire stay. It’s nothing really.”
“I’m sure whatever it is that you’re helping them with, it is doing great things for their business.” Arnav said confidently, making Khushi’s face break into a smile. She liked this Arnav- he had great confidence in her abilities as opposed to the one who mocked her efforts in the past. The memory of how he had once humiliated her in the office by mocking her while praising her wiped the smile of her face. She turned abruptly to her purse and started hunting for keys to her scooter inside. She found them and handed it to him.
“Here you go. You’re going to drive my scooter for today.”
A look of horror passed on Arnav’s face as he looked at the keys and the scooter she had just parked. He closed his eyes visibly hesitant about her plans and his ability to ride what looked like a vehicle made for girls. Khushi giggled inwardly. His Highness is not going to forget this trip so easily after what he’ll have to go through. She taunted softly, “Scared Mr. Arnav Singh Raizada?”
“Arnav Singh Raizada is not scared of anyone and most certainly not of your tin pot scooter ride Khushi Kumari Gupta. I’m just meditating on something from work.” Arnav’s offended and outraged reply, with his eyes still closed came pat back.
Khushi giggled loud this time. “Meditate my foot! Don’t be chicken Arnav. This scooter is quite safe. You wanted to spend the day with me and this is how I spend my day when I roam about.” She moved on towards her Scooty Pep and said, “What are we waiting for?”
Arnav opened his eyes, a calm stealing over him. He can do this. If driving that small scooter, he gulped, was going to make Khushi happy, he will do it. He took the keys from her hand and asked her about how it operated. She instructed him on what to do to start the scooter and things he should be careful about while driving the scooter in the town and then on the outskirts of the town.
Arnav wore his helmet while Khushi put on hers. He sat on the scooter feeling ridiculous and Khushi sat behind him. Arnav started and then smiled. Maybe this scooter riding was not such a bad idea after all since Khushi was going to sit very close to him. He felt zinging electricity run through him when she actually put her hands around his waist.
“What the—“his voice didn’t resemble his own at the moment to his ears. It sounded shocked and strangled. He tried again, “What are you doing Khushi?”
Khushi spoke to his back, “I need to make sure I don’t fall off. Now drive along kind Sir and I shall guide you on the way.”
With a huge grin on his face, Arnav rode off. They moved away from the town soon and were on the outskirts. Khushi didn’t speak much, simply pointed out various places they may visit on the way or places that were worth watching. Arnav loved the feel of her hands around his waist and would have loved to spend an eternity riding the scooter. Unfortunately for him, they reached Bhimtal too soon. He now wished he had not speeded. He kicked himself mentally for not driving at the minimum speed. No matter, he had this whole day with Khushi holding on to him on the scooter. Just the thought of it brought out radiating happiness in his eyes.
Not that Khushi could see his eyes since he was wearing his Aviator glasses. But she could feel that he was happy. She felt a smile reach her lips at the knowledge that he was happy but she fought it back. Her hands made to leave his waist but he was driving fast and she really was scared that she’d fall off so she let them be. What she had thought would be a prank to make him uncomfortable was turning against her. She could feel the heat of his body and shivered with the contact every time her chest hit his back when he braked. Physical attraction had a lot of answer for, making a person mad with desire like that. She muttered a few choice curses against her own body and tried to keep a distance. It was impossible of course since the scooter had only so much sitting space. She heaved a sigh of relief when they reached Bhimtal. A guy was walking towards them. Probably her contact, thought Arnav. The guy came up and after bowing to a Namaste said, “Ki haal hariyaan?”
Khushi answered with a namaste and “Main theek choon. Tum kas chou Anand? Ghar pan sab kas chan? Mein lag oonuk dekh ber khushi holi. Mein itvaar din oonake koshish karounl. “
The guy nodded vigorouly, „Sab theek chan didi. Sab tumuko(n) bahut din baad dekhi ber khush haie jaala.”
Khushi smiled as she walked off with him, leaving a stunned Arnav. She spoke Kumaoni? Bitterness welled up inside him. How shallow he had been when he’d been with her in the past? He’d never once asked her what she liked, what she could do, what were her interests, who all were associated with her life that didn’t revolve around him. Hell, he’d never even known who her best friends were. How selfish he had been, talking only about what he wanted, who he was and how he was! He swore again that he’d make up to her for all the time he didn’t pay attention to her; the real Khushi inside that dynamite body.
He watched Khushi as she walked up to the guys standing in the group outside a building in Bhimtal. Khushi had asked him to wait by the scooter while she finished her talk. She didn’t want to include him yet in what she was doing. The thought hurt Arnav a bit but he braved it. After all, it would take time to earn back the same level of friendliness and trust where they could talk about anything they wanted.
He looked on as Khushi smiled and talked. She was explaining something and everyone around her was paying attention. At times, their faces were wreathed with smiles and at times laughter. It fascinated Arnav how a small smile on their faces made Khushi’s eyes glow and her animation increase. She used her hands to make gestures, a lot! Finally, they seemed to have concluded the talk and Khushi said Namaste to them and walked back to Arnav.
“Work done?” Arnav asked with a smile. Her reply was a reciprocating smile and nod. She sat behind him once again and said, “Quite satisfactorily in fact. Thanks for asking.”
“Where to next Ms. Guide?” Arnav looked back at her. The smile tugging the corners of her mouth was very tempting. Her luscious, plump, pink, lips with sheen of wetness on them were too inviting. Arnav felt like kissing her but stopped his impulsiveness on time. There were others present here; others who respected Khushi, her morals, her ideals and her work. He wouldn’t do anything that will bring her down in their eyes.
“Next, we go back into town and to Naini Lake.” Khushi quipped, rubbing her lips as if she could feel his thoughts. Arnav looked forward again and started the scooter. Soon they were back in Nainital and moving towards Naini Lake.
The view around was calm and beautiful. It was still early morning so there were very few people around. Apparently tourists crowded the area at about noon. Khushi wanted to know if Arnav would like to do some boating.
“Paddle boats?” asked Arnav.
“No, I mean boating, with a boat man who would row the boat while you sit and enjoy the nature around you in peace.”
“I’m in. Let me go buy the tickets.”, said Arnav. Khushi stopped him.
“Do buy some popcorn for me please while you’re getting the tickets. I already have a bottle of water for us and a picnic basket for later. I always eat popcorn when I’m in the boat.”
Arnav looked at her with amused eyes and she blushed. He definitely didn’t need to know that! Damn her stupid mouth. Khushi lowered her eyes and immediately looked back up when Arnav’s hand came to grasp her chin.
“Look up Khushi. You’ve nothing to be embarrassed about. I’ll get your popcorn.”
The look in his eyes was enough to make Khushi want to sit down. It held tenderness and understanding that he had never displayed before. She liked this Arnav, a lot actually! Arnav made quick work of it and came back holding a popcorn bag and tickets. He motioned with his eyes towards the boat and Khushi followed him.
When the boat ride ended, Arnav got out of the boat and held out his hand for Khushi to grasp and come out. One look at his face and Khushi couldn’t help but give her hand to him. This boat ride had brought as much revelation to her about her own self as well as Arnav. She let her thoughts flow for a moment thinking about the boat ride.
Arnav Singh Raizada who always believed in the being at the helm of any boat, captaining it had allowed the boatman to row while he sat, contented and happy. His face held an aura of joy as he looked around, absorbing the quiet, listening to the chirping of the birds, sound of the oars dipping and coming out of the water, in fact Khushi felt as if he had actually become one with nature. Khushi had brought red, juicy apples with her to eat during the boat ride; a breakfast of sorts. She offered one to Arnav and ate one herself along with her popcorn. Arnav was happy to munch on the apple alone and smiled his thanks. While he behaved like that, Khushi had thawed a little in her attitude towards him.
Here was the man she had dreamed of, the one she had fallen in love with and could easily fall in love with again. Here was the man who was confident that he could do whatever he wanted to but for the moment, he was ready to let someone else take the lead and stay content. The only thing that had broken the calm waters of her happiness was the thought that he was also the same man who had accused her of infidelity and lack of character. It was so hard to keep track of all the bitterness when she saw this side of him.
Perhaps her bitterness had shone through for Arnav had looked at her, his eyebrows raised in question. She had shaken her head and smiled as if to convey all was well and she was happy that he was enjoying.
Arnav looked at Khushi and said, “Thank you for bringing me here. I enjoyed the boat ride and the view but most of all, I enjoyed our companionable silence. I have never shared that with anyone before.”
Such a simple admission but it worked wonders. Khushi’s face took on a smile as she told him, “Glad you liked the boat ride. Now we move to Nainadevi Temple? Or do you wish to skip it? We could opt for the ropeway. Walking on thandi sadak is something that should be done later on.”
“Khushi this is the day you planned. I wanted to see Nainital with your eyes. If you think the temple is the next place to go to, by all means- let us go. I have nothing against the gods these days. I am thankful to them for many things, one of which is you.”
Khushi looked away from him as tears gathered in her eyes and a lump formed in her throat. Oh he was the devil to say things like that! Didn’t he know how those words affected her? His next words surprised her completely.
“I’m sorry Khushi. I shouldn’t have said that. I don’t want you to feel that I’m simply mouthing words to please you or trying to get you back by sweet talking. I mean it but you don’t need to hear it right now I guess.”
“It is all right Arnav. Let us move on.” Khushi said and simply moved away. She was not sure how to respond to his shocking statement.
They visited the temple, enjoyed the view of Mall road from the temple. Khushi told him that coming here always had a calming effect on her. She found the place serene and gorgeous and could sit for hours on end. Arnav quietly agreed that the place was indeed gorgeous but also mentioned that he was somehow happier with nature rather than sitting in vicinity of the temple. His God was nature. Khushi looked at him, trying to gauge how serious he was about his declaration. This- from Arnav, who had once absolutely rejected the idea of talking about his feelings, when it came to religion and God!
They went to the ropeway the next which was quite uneventful. Soon it was lunch time. They sat down by the park close to the ropeway and picnicked there. Khushi had brought a picnic basket which had been stored inside her Scooty Pep storage box along with a red rug to sit on. The fare was simple. Sandwiches- vegetable and cheese since Khushi knew Arnav liked them and some salad. For dessert, she had packed some ripe peaches. They ate their lunch while sitting completely at ease with each other, talking about non-related topics like politics and finance.
While she packed the empty plates back and the rug, Arnav cleared the area of any debris and threw the waste into the garbage can close by.
It was one of the best days of his life, Arnav decided while they were walking along the thandi sadak. Not only had Khushi been relaxed and spoken to him as if they’d never fought, she had also opened up to physical contact. She didn’t flinch so much when he accidentally brushed against her or touch her. She had held him by the waist all day whenever they sat on her scooter. Of course, the sexual current was vibrant every time that happened but she ignored it and he tried to ignore it. He loved this day because it brought Khushi closer to him. He was wondering if he could plan out his next step soon.
Thandi Sadak had pine trees, deodar trees and oak trees lined up along its sides, and was in actuality a cool road to walk on. The green hills that surrounded the town and the lake were a balm to his soul. The singing of the birds made for a lovely song that he could hear. He knew Khushi shared this song because he could see the same smile on her face too when she looked up to hear the birds chirping.
It was time for the Sun to set before they reached Kilbury. Khushi went on to talk about it as Arnav looked on at the view laid in front of him.
“You can see the Himalayas on that side and here, on the other side you see “Tarai” area, fields divided into terraces and village houses. The forest around is made up of lush oak, pine and rhododendron. There are many people who come here for a picnic or simply to sit and watch the clouds hover about. I love coming here with my book when I don’t have anything else on my mind.”
Arnav grinned at her, “I like your idea of coming here with a book; no distractions and pure quiet; something that is missing in Delhi big time. Is there a place to stay out here?”
Khushi pointed to a guest house up ahead, “That’s the forest bungalow where you can stay if you wish to come here. But then, you’ve got a cottage in the countryside in England. Why’d you wish to come here?”
Arnav shrugged his shoulders, “It’s a good place and that’s probably why. Plus you like it here, don’t you?”
Khushi looked away from him and said, “Yes, I like it here.”
Arnav put his hand under her chin and made her look up, “Khushi, I will come here because I know you like it here. If you are here, where else can I be?”
“Arnav-“ Khushi tried to speak but stopped with a gasp as Arnav came closer to her. She took a step back and tried to move away but he held her by the shoulders, gently.
“Stop running away from me Khushi. It hurts me when you do that. I am not about to do anything that you wouldn’t allow me to or want me to.” Arnav told her gently, not wanting to spoil the last hour with her. “I want to watch the sun set with you out here Khushi. I want to watch it while your hand rests in mine. Can we do that? Please?”
Khushi couldn’t deny him, not after his request. She quietly nodded and they sat down by the ledge, waiting for the sun to go down, hand in hand.
FF: Ordinary Girl in an Extraordinary Affair Chapter 19/C
Chapter 19C: Flashback in Italics
“Aowww damn it!” Khushi swore and despite several lectures to not go there, her brain transported her to the time and the incident when he had taken her to his beach house in Goa for the weekend before he had proposed.
Arnav had been giving her a tour of his beach house, if a 3,000 square feet of elegancy could be called a beach house. It looked more like a picture out of the “House” magazine. The interior of the house was stunning with loads of space, creamy walls, French windows that opened out to the beach, with hardwood floors.
Khushi inspected the house with her hands on her hips, her mouth open at the beauty of the interior and the art pieces that graced the walls and some well known sculptures adoring the living room.
“Huh.. so you call this a beach house? It should be declared an art gallery. Khushi murmured as she gazed at the painting that depicted the ocean trees around it and people dancing around the camp fire. She looked at him with raised eyebrows, “ Memory sketched into painting?”
“Hardly something that I’d leave to adorn the walls of my living room.” Arnav sniggered and then said, “Nah, this is the scene from ‘the night in the Bahamas’ collection.”
Khushi rolled her eyes, “Another display of your wealth Arnav.. same difference. I wonder why do you do that?”
“You know why Khushi and I don’t see anyone else complaining.” Arnav shrugged
“Yes, of course. Who’d dare defy THE Arnav Singh Raizada? There’s also the fact that many cater to the whims of the rich in the society we live in, regardless of whether they like the person or not. Thank God I am reasonably poor as compared to you.” Khushi joined her hands in her usual gesture while praying to her Devi Maiyya.
Arnav looked at her, “How unambitious of you!” then called for Mrs De’Souza while letting Khushi know that she and her husband take care of this house in his absence and keep it ready for him all the year around in case he pops by. Khushi raised her hands to her face, cupping her mouth and her eyes wide, “OMG Arnav! Such extravagance! Wonder how you live with yourself. You could donate the amount you spend to keep this house ready for you or fund an – never mind. Everyone has their eccentricities and this is yours.”
They moved towards the living room area and into the wing of guest rooms that began with a huge hallway.
“This is your room. I hope you like it.” Arnav said, opening the door to reveal a set of rooms painted in apricot and cream. “I’m on the other side of the house. If you need me, just call me through the house intercom.”
As they left the guest wing and entered the living room area, Khushi said, “Why’d I need you Arnav? You brought me here ‘cos you needed me to help you with your project. I won’t need you.”
“You’re so sure you won’t need me?”Arnav raised an eyebrow. At his question, Khushi shrugged. Just because she liked him didn’t mean she will call for him at night, even if the dark scared her. She could always sleep with the lights on. She wanted him to see she was his equal, maybe more than a match for him at work. She absolutely didn’t want to think of him on personal basis. She kept the lid of her emotions closed tight when it came to Arnav Singh Raizada. There was no way she was going to let the events of the past repeat themselves. She was determined to keep him at an arm’s distance. She smiled sweetly and affirmed, “Very sure. If I think about it, it is you who needs me and not me who needs you.”
Arnav looked at her, his head cocked to one side, “How is it that I need you Khushi?”
Khushi felt this moment called for a bit of a bold statement. He was always the one in control while her emotions raged rampantly everywhere every time they were together. Time to give him the taste of his own medicine.
Khushi smiled, “You, Mr. Arnav Singh Raizada are always looking around for me when you need a file or a document or when you wish to talk to me about Aakash and Payal and how fed up you are of Aakash always lost in his day dreams and not paying attention to what you are saying, etc. You hound me with the help of your mobile and don’t let me sleep.. telling me I’m the only one you think you can talk to. Remember the time in the office where you came after me, annoyed because I had left my mobile phone behind during lunch and you wanted to know where the Singhania folder with contract documents might be? You almost had a nervous breakdown then.”
“That’s a gross exaggeration if I’ve ever heard one.” Arnav said and took a step forward towards her, a glint in his amber eyes indicating he was a little annoyed.
As he stepped forward, Khushi took a step back. She mentally noted that she stepped back every time he came forward. Was she afraid? Nah! An inner devil prompted her to say, “You may not want to own up to it but it’s true. When have I needed you for anything?”
Her question with arched eyebrows met silence from Arnav. His amber eyes held hers and she saw a flicker of emotion there, hot fire that she had come to become wary of. She took another step back, a tiny thrill going down her spine and a surge of adrenaline rushing through her body. Arnav was looking at her with that hot fire in his eyes. Those eyes were going to kill her one day, with the way they looked at her, as if they could look right into her, deep down and reach the basic level of her emotions, the foundation of her being. With heat in his eyes, he leaned in a little closer, tantalizing her nose with the smell of his aftershave. He smelled like deep, dark wood that bound mystery and fantasy into one. He leaned a little more close as she leaned back.
Slowly, deliberately, very deliberately Arnav placed his right hand on the wall next to Khushi’s shoulders and then just as slowly placed his left one on the other side, trapping her between him and the wall. Leaning closer, so close that their bodies nearly touched, he said softly, “You know what i think? I think you’re lying Khushi. I think you have needs too; needs that you need me for.”
His husky voice sent shivers down her spine. His body warmth felt like a live wire, wrapping itself around her body. She felt her tummy tingle and tighten. She stuttered but carried on firmly, “Of c-course I have needs. I need 7 hours of sleep every night, the more the better, I need three full meals a day, snacks in between, challenging work, daily regime of 20 minutes of exercise while I-“
“-lie naked in my bed.”
Khushi’s mouth dropped open in sheer shock, her cheeks going from bright pink to red. Her heart stopped for a second, then re-started and then beat faster. She snapped her mouth closed immediately in panic lest it be taken as an invitation. Her mind scrambled to think of a fitting retort but came up blank. Her mind had gone in deep freeze, it seemed.
Arnav leaned even closer as his mouth met her ear. He didn’t attempt to kiss her ear, instead whispered sexily in it, “Actually twenty minutes may be too quick. I’d recommend a minimum of forty or even the entire day if possible.” His eyes when he leaned back met hers.. sexual hunger apparent in them.
Khushi was tongue-tied, literally! Still blushing, she tried to speak, urging her brain to wake up an come with a sharp retort. She lifted her chin, her heart beating like jungle drum of one-two dance, making her head spin and her body ultra-alive. “Thanks for the offer but I believe there’s plenty of exercise I can do without troubling you.”
Arnav’s eyes laughed at her, “Really?”
She fought the sudden urge to let her eyes smile back at him. She let her imagination run wild in the other direction so that she could distract herself from the fact that he was too close to her right now. She knew the style of warm-up and the aerobic activity he was talking about- the one that ended in bed and in tears. She recommended a cool-down phase to her body as she said, “ Uhh.. yes. The things I have in mind don’t require me to – they require no nudity at all.”
‘But nudity is good. You’re naked when you bathe.”
“Yes, good logic but I bathe in private. In public, I prefer clothes on my body.”
Arnav’s mouth leaned closer to her ear again, practically grazing her earlobe. She was sensitive there. A zing went through her body at that contact and she almost stopped breathing when he said, “But I can show you how the right activity can motivate you to be…naked” and after a pause “with me.”
Her heart beat at such a frantic speed that she was sure he could hear it out loud. She loved the feel of his lips on her earlobe and the tender skin that he had decided to explore below, oh so slowly. A shiver ran down her as he caught her ear this time between his teeth and held it. He was teasing her, he was tormenting her and he wanted her to melt in his arms. Something that Khushi knew she loved but should definitely avoid.
But how can she ignore this ache inside her, making her feel the driving need to do exactly as he was saying? When she stayed quiet, he whispered again into her ear, “Come on Khushi, admit it. You do like the idea of being naked with me, maybe even skinny dipping in the night in the sea with me.”
Khushi fought hard but a grin surfaced and stuck to her mouth. Arnav sounded as if he was getting a little frustrated that she was silent and not responsive enough. That she was fighting. She decided there was no harm in some fun at his expense. Anyway, she was intrigued about those things he’d said. She deliberately let her eyes go unfocused as if she was thinking, “I – don’t know Arnav. Maybe- once I’m done with all the activities there are to do out here on the beach, all by myself.”
His reply was to kiss her throat and bite the side of it gently as if punishing her for torturing him. The touch of his lips on her throat; a brief touch and the light bite set the fire in her body roaring. He licked the place where he had bitten making he visibly shiver as he asked, “-activities by yourself, eh? What kind of activities?”
Khushi sighed, her voice dropping to a whisper, heat in her body growing my mini-second, “Everything. There’s endless number of activities I can occupy myself with this weekend here.”
“Name ‘everything’. Name a few of them.” Arnav kissed the collarbone, licking the nerve throbbing there. Khushi gasped as his tongue flicked the region of her collarbone. “I’m waiting Khushi.” He added just before sliding his mouth up the neck, to her ear and kissing her ear.
Khushi felt her thoughts becoming a complete muddle in her head at this gesture. She felt as if her brain had decided to take leave and go away from her body. Her skin was on fire everywhere his mouth had touched. She grabbed his shirt front and clung to him, moving closer. She needed contact, more contact of her body to his.
“Khushi?” Arnav prompted. Khushi tried to think, tried hard while he continued touching her, kissing her. Her mouth dried, her belly tied into knots when he reached the neck of her halter top. She wanted him to touch her, wanted his hands down her ribs, playing with her breasts, under her breasts, sliding down the complete length of her. She was trying hard not to think of how his mouth was moving over the line of her tank top when sudden inspiration made her speak up. “Swimming.”
He was smart and had not lost his senses yet. “That’s one activity. What else?”
“Isn’t that enough?” Khushi was barely able to speak, her voice turning hoarse with desire.
“No, not enough. Tell me more.” Arnav answered, his hands moving to her face, cupping it, titling the head while the side of her neck was exposed. His fingers moved towards her nape and caressed her there. Khushi shuddered. She had no idea this was one of her erogenous spots. His lips followed his hands, kissing an invisible spot on the nape of her neck. At the touch there, Khushi’s chest came out to meet his and a moan dragged from her mouth, “Arnav stop please!”
“Your actions belie your words Khushi.” Arnav chuckled as Khushi gripped his shirt tighter holding him closer to her, pressing herself against him. He had turned devious though. “You said endless number of activities.”
He was touching her, tasting her and literally driving her crazy. How could she think when she was being bombarded by sensations from head to toe? She choked as she said, “jogging.”
“That’s two activities.”
‘jogging” Khushi said, the word turning into a moan as he moved her to face the wall, her back to him. He moved closer, his hands slowly sliding down the exposed back. He kissed her ear again from the back and said, “more Khushi?”
Khushi could only moan and say, “yes!” She heard the chuckle as he said, “so tell me, what more activities do you have in mind?”
Khushi looked back at him, her eyes betraying the fire burning inside her body and she spoke again, “jogging-“
He kissed her again by the ear, “you already said that honey.” Khushi could feel the fire burning, the heat building. This was nothing to be taken lightly and she’d been a fool to have provoked him, she accepted. This was wild- this passion and it was making her wild with need. It was new to her and very strong and she didn’t know how to handle this. She wriggled, helplessly moving backwards until her back touched his chest completely and she could feel the hard stomach and something harder beneath that stomach. She tried to speak, “snorkelling, sailing in the boat, sailing in the boat-“
“One activity can be counted only once Khushi.” Arnav said, almost losing his control when Khushi moved her hips against his stomach, making him harder than he already was for her. He desired her so intensely that he wanted to run his hands on her bare thighs and put his hands under her short skirt. But he was strong and he could control. He didn’t want to touch her below her waist yet. Not yet. At this moment, he didn’t want to stop this torture and this slow fire that burned their bodies. He waited.
“What about kissing? That’s an activity.” Khushi sighed, turning towards him again. She wanted to touch those lips, she needed them on hers.
He was the ultimate tease though. He didn’t kiss her despite knowing she wanted it. He lifted his head and moved a little away from her, considering her question. It brought a groan of need out of Khushi’s lips as she said, “Please Arnav. I need you to kiss me. Stop this teasing.”
He bent towards her, his elbows bending by the sides so that he was completely leaning onto her, crushing her chest with his and grinding his hips against hers. She responded back in kind and moaned. He still didn’t kiss her.
Suddenly Khushi couldn’t stand it anymore. She reached up to him, winding her arms around his neck and dragging his mouth to meet hers. She slashed his lips with her tongue and kissed him hard. Her lips parted again for him to enter. She wanted to open for him all the way. She couldn’t resist. She wanted to experience him, feel her blood racing across her veins, inside out. The kiss deepened while she grew soft and pliant in his arms. This was the best sensual experience that she’d ever had yet. She wondered what it’d be like if she surrendered totally to her needs.
As if sensing what she was thinking, Arnav lifted his head and took a deep breath. He moved a little away from her now, breaking body contact and then coming back again to press himself harder as he said, “So.. We’ve proved that you do need me, even if it is not naked then at least for a kiss.”
It took some time for the statement to penetrated Khushi’s desire fogged mind but as she did, she pushed him away, horror written plainly over her face at what she’d done, what she’d said to him. Arnav smiled slightly as she started smoothing her top and straightening her skirt that had ridden a little higher.
Her lips tingled and her body was still aching for his, the fire of need going strong. Khushi clamped it down by saying briskly, ignoring his statement, “Thanks for the house tour. I’m going to go into my room and- freshen up. I know where everything is now.”
“I do too Khushi.” Arnav’s smile stretched wider, laughter just beneath the warm glint of his amber eyes. Khushi blushed again as the meaning of his sentence seeped in. She gritted her teeth, gave him a blank smile and moved away. She didn’t really look where she was heading to. All she wanted to do was move away from his physical presence and calm herself down. The result of not looking where she was going was that she bumped her nose into the wall and wailed, “oowww!! Bloody hell!”
Immediately Arnav came to her rescue, concern all apparent in his eyes, “Khushi!” He took her hands away from the nose and looked at it. Then tut-tutted, “you’re so careless I swear! Dekh kar nahi chal sakti! Stupid woman. Idhar aao ab! Come with me.” He caught her hand in his and started walking towards the kitchen.
Khushi blushed with embarrassment and outrage. She tried to remove her hand from his, “How dare you call me stupid! You- you… “
“I don’t like you swearing but you just won’t listen to me, would you? So go ahead. You can swear as much as you want. There’s a small scratch on your nose. Just let me clean it and put a Band-Aid there. The first aid box is in the kitchen cabinet.”
He made her sit down on one of the chairs by the kitchen table and took out the first-aid box. Slowly he wiped her nose with a piece of damp cotton.
“I don’t want to put a Band-Aid on my nose. If you’re insisting, just apply some cooling ointment and I’ll be fine.”
Arnav looked at her in exasperation and finally acceded, “Okay. But after this, you go to your room and rest. I don’t want you moving about for at least two hours. Samjhi tum?”
Khushi huffed but stayed still as he applied the cooling antiseptic cream. Inwardly she loved the attention and care he showed for her. He looked so adorable when he was like this- his eyes hard and focused on her nose, at the wound while his hands ever so gentle. She made a hissing sound once and he stopped, his eyes watching her face to catch a glimpse of any pain he may have caused. He said, “sorry” once and then became gentler than before while applying and rubbing the cream on her nose. Khushi felt as if she would melt on the spot and thanked God she was sitting in the chair.
She came out of her memories as she applied the moisturizer on her face, taking extra care to be gentle to the spot on her nose that had turned a little red. A huge sigh left her. If only he’d show that side to her again, convinced her that the gentle side of Arnav Singh Raizada was there to stay, she’d think of opening up to him again.
Checking her reflection once again, she picked up her purse and left the room. It was time to meet Arnav at the Barista parking.
FF: Ordinary Girl in an Extraordinary Affair Chapter 19/B
Do forgive me if you find any mistakes despite having proof-read the chapter beforehand. My eyes are killing me right now with that acne inside the right eyelid. 😦
Chapter 19B
A bright new morning woke Arnav up from his peaceful slumber with a smile upon his face. Obviously the reason for this smile was his dream about Khushi and the much anticipated day out with her. Sleep had eluded him last night for a long while his guilt of his earlier treatment of her gnawed at his soul.
He wasn’t sure if he would ever be able to forgive himself for all that he had done to hurt Khushi. Ironic wasn’t it, that he had been the one to hurt her the most when he was supposed to be the one to bring utmost happiness into her life. After much pacing around the room, he had decided that his current modus operandi of winning back Khushi was the right step if ever wanted to live peacefully with his conscience and in his life with the woman he loved. He sat up, stretched and headed purposefully towards the bathroom with his newspaper, a spring in his step.
Khushi had been up and about long before Arnav woke up. She had been roaming about in the garden thinking constantly about where she would take Arnav today and how they’d spend the day. Strange that she didn’t really feel her sanity endangered as she would have a month back. The only feeling that persisted was an exciting fizz in her stomach as her heart wondered what may happen during the day time when they were alone together. She mocked herself- a month back, she’d have run miles with the thought of spending any alone time with Arnav at all, but things had changed today, and so quickly too! She was ready to spend time with him without any coercion or seduction.
She refused to become anxious and kept the worries her head warned her off at the back of her mind. Now was not the time to be scared or give in to cowardice. This was the time to face Arnav, show him how unsuitable she found him the way he was, with his “kiss-my-feet-I-am-the-King” attitude. However there was a part of her head that rang alarm bells and made her body nerveless, the part that reminded her of how cruel he could be.
This was not to say he was all bad, her heart argued with that part of her brain. He was kind, loving and generous to the people he loved or cared for. He may be ruthless and not give a damn in the business world but he had never mistreated any employee. Sure, when he got angry the whole office could walk on eggshells for all her cared but he was never unfair. As long as the company employees worked in his well-oiled office, giving their best performances, he was happy.
In his personal life, Khushi had seen more than one example of how he behaved with people he cared for and people he disliked. She had seen both the sides of him. The side that worshipped her sister, the side that kept people he had to socially interact with but regarded with distaste at bay, without being rude or impolite, the side that was nice to children and the side that desired her so much so that–Drat! Despite her rigorous efforts, her heart kept on sending memory messages to the brain bank, taking it back to the events of the past.
The time when Arnav had cornered her in the office at a party, the time at Raizada house, at the tennis club, the day when they all went to the temple for special prayer and how he asked for her forgiveness with his eyes for his earlier behaviour kept coming up. And that was not all- the time when he had gotten mad with rage when she had refused to go out with him and break her date with another of her friends guided by plain jealousy, the times when he would catch her unawares with his eyes, the times when he would be there to take care of her and protect her before she came through any harm, the weekend at the Goa beach house when they had finally given in to the feelings and desires, the wild night of passion on the beach that had followed the weekend; all of these memories kept wanting to surface again and again while she pushed them back.
Khushi told herself that this was not the time to indulge or live in past memories; not when there was new memory to be made – the one that would be the first step towards deciding whether Arnav was worthy of her love or not. She had given it unconditionally earlier but now, she would keep it safe until she was sure he deserved it.
Last night, she had informed her grandmother of her decision and had been wished good. Mrs. Gupta had been surprisingly calm about it, simply reminding Khushi that her happiness rested in her own hands and if she thought Arnav worthy of a second chance one way or another, she should throw all the doubts out from her mind as one throws garbage out of the house. Negativity needs to get out letting positive thoughts take hold of the mind so that peace may prevail.
Khushi had kissed her grandmother good night and assured her that she will first and foremost look at the positive side and only then count the negatives against the positives. However she would also make sure, she vowed to herself, that she would not fall into the trap of physical longing this time and give in to his demands and wishes.
She grabbed her bag from the nearby table to check the contents of her bag, to ensure everything she’d need in the span of this day was there.
She was dressed today in a blue Kurta that had little white flowers embroidered on it with white tights. The sleeves of the Kurta were organza fabric and the dress was her favourite cotton for summers. She was about to put on her glasses and then debated with herself. Should she wear her lenses? Maybe not. She didn’t want Arnav to think she was wearing lenses especially because of him. She put on her glasses more firmly on the nose. So firm was the push that she got hurt on both sides of her nose by the frame of the glass.
“Aowww damn it!” Khushi swore and despite several lectures to not go there, her brain transported her to the time and the incident when he had taken her to his beach house in Goa for the weekend before he had proposed.
FF: Ordinary Girl in an Extraordinary Affair Chapter 19
Hello readers! Here’s presenting the next chapter. As usual, shall wait for your likes and comments. 🙂 I have decided to divide this chapter into A-B-C sections so that I am able to do justice to all the thoughts portrayed by Arnav, Khushi, their outing as well as the flashback that is an essential part of this chapter. Enjoy 19 A. 19B comes tomorrow. 🙂
Chapter 19 A:
Time seemed to have stopped for Arnav as he waited for her in Barista, occupying one of the love seats near the glass window. He kept looking at his watch every five minutes, waiting for his happiness personified; his Khushi to enter. She was late today and it was already quarter to five. It was also very unlike her since Khushi was always the one girl he knew who prided on her punctuality. He was anxious, no he was worried. His heart was sure he would come to meet him, but his logical mind gave him doubts. His head kept on telling him, he was insane to think she’d even entertain this meeting in her head in any way. Khushi in a way, was as ruthless as he was.
His heart refused to admit defeat though. Now that he knew what he felt for Khushi was way beyond lust, maybe even love he was not ready to let her go. He closed his eyes and willed his heart and mind to become one thought, one purpose. And just as quickly opened them. She was here!
Khushi entered the cafe after a lot of contemplation. It was alright to sit in the room and decide that she’d meet him. But when the time came to actually see him, she had grown cold feet. She’d been standing outside the cafe, in the parking lot since the last one hour, since the time she’d seen Payal off at the railway station. She hadn’t been able to muster enough courage until now to get her feet to move towards the cafe. It was constant encouragement that her head had given to her “almost-faint-with-anxiety”heart that had made her finally move ahead. She looked at herself in the glass doors. She had not particularly dressed up to meet Arnav today. In fact, her defiance had been such that she had donned her glasses, and worn a salwar kurta. She knew Arnav would expect her in her natural look-jeans and T-shirt with no make up on. That had made her wear a bit of make up too. She had braced herself for the astonished looks from Payal and her grandmother when she’d come down her room. Both had done exactly that but kept quiet. For that, she was grateful.
It had been alright until she had said goodbye to Payal and made her way to the cafe. Doubts about her appearance came up then. Was she overdressed? Had she applied too much make-up? What would he think when he’d see her like this? She’d gained weight and looked curvy. Maybe wearing salwar kurta had been a bad idea since she looked very – filled in in her dress. And why did she choose the red one when she had been planning to wear the blue one? She kicked herself several times mentally for her dress, her looks. She worried non stop all the way and while standing outside for an hour.
Debate raged on in her head if she should go home and change. Finally, a bell rang in her head and her heart eagerly complied to this thought. What did it matter how she looked? She was giving him a chance to gain her trust, her love; not the other way round. He should be worried about how he’d behave with her, and she should not at all bother to look good for him!
Arnav knew the exact second Khushi came in as his breath hitched in his throat. She was wearing red! Nothing else could have put that smile on his face as that dress did. He knew in an instant that it must be have been an unconscious decision because from the way he looked, he knew Khushi had dressed up in defiance. Khushi almost never went for make-up if she could help it and today she was wearing it. Earlier Khushi would’ve worn a pair of jeans and a top to defy him but no more. Today she wore an Indian traditional dress to signify that she wished to follow the old fashioned rule of courting. Her glasses, that had been absent in Delhi told him that she wanted to him to see her with her as she was. So she wore glasses, so she had bad eye sight. What she didn’t realize is that such things didn’t bother him. It may have at one point in time, but no more. She could wear sack clothes and dress like a clown and he’d still find her beautiful.
Khushi felt his presence a split second before she saw him sitting like a royal prince in one of the love seat by the glass window. Hesitation and discomfort took hold of her being. Was she doing the right thing by coming here to hear him out? But how could she not? She had promised Jiji and herself that she’d give him a fair chance. She looked at him again while she walked towards him. Her heart beat just that little quicker seeing him dressed casually. The man was a powerful dynamo and no matter what he wore, he still looked dazzling.
She schooled her features into a mask and gave him a polite smile as she took the other seat. “Hope you’ve not been waiting long, sorry am late.” she said.
Arnav raised his eyebrow and smiled, “What happened to Hi?”
She never even cracked a smile, “Hi.”
Arnav smiled in acknowledgement. “Hi. It was no problem waiting for you. If needed, I’d have waited all my life. What happened though? You’re never late.”
“I – got waylaid by something.” Khushi grabbed the first excuse that came to her mind. Thankfully Arnav didn’t question her any further on it. Instead he asked, “What would you like for refreshments? An espresso as usual?”
“I’ve changed a bit Arnav. I don’t drink espresso anymore.” To the standing waiter she smiled and said, “one mocha please.”
Arnav ordered his usual double shot of espresso and said, “So you’re off espresso?”
“Not really but I don’t feel like drinking espresso so often any more. Even when I do, I drink cappuccino or mocha these days.” Khushi replied.
They stayed quiet for some time but it was not the kind of quiet that was uncomfortable. It surprised Khushi to feel that while they were quiet, the comfort level of simply sitting there with him was very high. She was not at all on the edge! Instead, some part of her was waiting for him to speak on the main topic, the reason for which she had today agreed to meet him. Apparently, he didn’t intend to speak about it as yet.
Arnav looked covertly from under his lashes as they waited for the coffee to arrive. She looked prepared to sit with him and talk. It encouraged him a lot more than he’d have thought and granted him the strength to hold on until after the coffee had arrived. His earlier instinct had been to quit all this wooing and courting. When she came in to the cafe, he had looked as if she’d run away if he even spoke a word. His heart wanted him to simply go down on his knees and beg her to come back to him but now he realized she waited for him to court him in the right way, thereby earning her love back. He was ready to go it.
When the coffee arrived, he thanked the waiter and said to her, “Do you come here often with your friends?”
Khushi picked up her mocha cup with care as she replied, “Sometimes. I don’t go out much. Mostly I like to take my car and go away on a long drive. Sometimes I simply go to Bhimtal or sometimes to the nearby towns.”
“Your maternal family has always stayed here, in that house?” asked Arnav.
Khushi took a sip of her mocha and said, “As a matter of fact, yes. My mother grew up here and was married from here. Everyone out here knows our family and gives it the respect it has earned. My grandfather build two schools out here; one for the girls and one high-school. He along with my grandmother had been one of the most loved couples. Even today, grandmother is respected throughout the town. I love this town and have been coming here for my holidays since I was kid. I know all there is to know about the town and the nearby places simply because I thought one day I may settle down here and maybe manage grandmother’s estate. I guess I will be doing that.”
Arnav ignored the red herring. “I’ve been to Nainital before but only when business demanded it and only for a day or two. I never got a chance to know much about the city.” Arnav said, finally taking the first step towards his well thought out plan. “Can you tell me something about it?”
This request surprised Khushi. She had thought he would simply come to the point, as he always did and demand that she forgive him. If she was honest with herself, she felt a new pleasure in knowing that he wanted to know something about the place she loved.
She sat quietly for a bit and then spoke, “Do you know how the name Nainital came to be?” At the shake of his head, she smiled, “It’s something to do with the story of Shiva and Sati. Did you know that they were the first lovers of the Universe ? When Sati died, Shiva was devastated. He was inconsolable, he roamed about the universe with Sati’s dead body in his hand until Lord Vishnu cut Sati’s body into pieces. It is said that Sati’s eye fell in the lake here. The eye is called “Nain” in Sanskrit and lake is called “tal”. Thus the place got its name Nainital.”
“Lovely story that despite being mythical sounds reasonable. And the lake is quite something, isn’t it.”Arnav mused. He wasn’t religious but he knew Khushi was and it would not do well to mock her sentiments at any time. In fact, he could actually empathise with Shiva. To lose the one woman you love is devastating.
A first genuine smile appeared on Khushi’s lips since the time she had entered the cafe. She said, “Nainital is called “lake paradise” and Naini lake is one of the main attractions for the tourists. Kingfisher yacht race takes place here. It is also a great source of fresh water and fresh water fish. In this season you will find yachts, boats; both paddle and rowing boats aplenty on the lake. If you have the time or the inclination, you can go there and enjoy an afternoon out.”
“Hmm..”was all Arnav said as she gulped down his espresso. Then, as if thinking about it, he said, “What are the other places to see in and around Nainital?”
Khushi raised her eyebrow, “You plan to make this a touristy visit Arnav?”
Aranv nonchalantly shrugged his shoulder, “I’m here as long as I need to be here to convince you that I’m not that bad a guy and do deserve a second chance.”
Khushi hurriedly looked down. A thought occurred to her, “So you’re not here on business?”
Arnav shook his head slowly, his gaze showing the seriousness of his reply, “No Khushi, I’m here simply for you. My business is on hold until I can prove myself worthy in your eyes as well as my own. “
“Arnav–” Khushi started to shake her head but was ruthlessly cut off as Arnav said, “Please Khushi, let me finish. By coming here, you’ve given me a ray of hope that maybe I still hold a modicum of respect, a place in your heart somewhere. I know that I have wronged you badly but all I am asking you to do is give me some time to prove I am still worthy of your thoughts, your love. After that, if you still can’t find any love for me in your heart, I will leave. I will never ever bother you.”
“I don’t know how to do it Arnav.” Khushi placed her situation in front of him honestly. “Even if I may forgive you, even I found it in my heart to love you, how will I ever live with the fact that you once thought of me as-”
“Stop, please. Let the past be where it is for now. All I am asking you to do Khushi is to look at me without colouring me from what happened between us in the past. Let this be a new beginning? ”
“How?” Asked Khushi, bewildered. Her heart wanted to give him a chance, desperately even though her mind quaked at the thought of it.
“Spend the day with me tomorrow. Show me the places you like in Nainital tomorrow Khushi.” Arnav put forward his proposition at a gaping Khushi.
“You want to see Nainital with me? Why?”
“I want to see it the way you see it. I want to know the reason why you love this town. Will you show it to me Khushi?”
She could have said no, but a part of Khushi wanted to do that–she wanted to show him her haunts, her favourite places. She wanted him to see what she liked and tell him why she liked it. Maybe that could be the first step towards better understanding? After all, didn’t she say she’d give him a fair chance?
She nodded her head in acquiescence. “Okay Arnav. I will show you around tomorrow. But I have a condition. We will go around the town like ordinary people. No attitude, no suits, no fancy cars, no bodyguards, no expensive hotels for lunch. You will be an ordinary man with 500 rupees in your pocket and I will be who I am. I have seen your world and now I want to show your mine. I want you to see what it is like to not be a billionaire with the world at his feet.”
“Deal.” Arnav agreed to her condition immediately. She was ready to show him around and that in itself was a feat!
While he was still digesting the fact that he had gotten Khushi to agree to his plans, Khushi placed some money on the table and got up, “Dress casually but keep a light sweater with you. It tends to get cool in the evening around these parts. See you tomorrow morning at 8 Arnav. I will meet you here. Here’s my share of the money for coffee.”
Arnav had no intention of arguing at this time. “See you.” Before she could guess his intention, he leaned in and gave her a peck on the cheek. Thoroughly taken aback by this gesture, she looked up and was alarmed to find those liquid amber eyes so close to her. He looked into her eyes and Khushi felt as if she’d melt. Her eyes strayed to his mouth close to hers as he whispered, “I’m allowed to do that, aren’t I?”
Khushi simply looked at him, her eyes pools of want that made Arnav want to kiss her again, this time around on the lips. But her lashes quickly fell over her eyes and when she opened them, they were devoid of the fire that raged inside her. She simply nodded and left.
Arnav saw Khushi leave, his dark glasses hiding the emotions that showed plainly in his eyes. This round went to him, with Khushi agreeing to show him something of Nainital tomorrow. He dialled Mrs. Gupta’s number. It was picked up immediately by her. He smiled and he was sure Mrs Gupta could hear his smile, “Mubarak ho naniji. Khushi has agreed to show me Nainital tomorrow. We shall leave tomorrow morning by your car. She has demanded that I travel in her car and learn something of Nainital with the eyes of an ordinary man.”
“An ordinary man? Whatever does that mean?” Mrs. Gupta asked from the other end.
“What she means is- I should leave my rich and arrogant billionaire attitude behind along with my riches. In her words, “I want you to leave your “pompous-ass-I-am-always-right-self” behind and see what Nainital looks like with my eyes. Look at it with the eyes of an ordinary man and you’ll understand something of me. She’s smart, your granddaughter.”
He heard Mrs Gupta laugh and unwillingly a smile lit his face too. He was thankful to her wholeheartedly for her assistance in getting Khushi back. He could never forget how she had calmly but firmly reprimanded him during their first meet. He had wanted to tell her everything but she had refused to listen to him, saying she knew he had broken Khushi’s trust in some manner. If anything would persuade her to help him, it would be Khushi’s happiness because at one level she knew her granddaughter very well and realized that without Arnav, she would always remain unhappy. She knew that no matter how much Khushi may deny she was in love with him. That had brought tears to his eyes. Arnav had hung on to this small sliver of hope.
For the first time ever, arrogant Arnav had been absent from that meeting, overtaken by Arnav the humble man. He had declared his love for Khushi to her and convinced her that he wanted to win her trust, her love back. Mrs Gupta had told him then that she would help him only if she found Khushi’s reaction in his favour after their meeting at Mallika’s engagement. Once the meeting had been done, Mrs Gupta had called him herself, extending the hand of help and declaring without a doubt that Khushi could be happy only when she would accept his love for her. Today was the first step towards his redemption.
Mrs Gupta said, “Yes, I know she is smart and that will make your job a little more difficult. You have chosen to fall in love with a woman who can stand for herself, think for herself.”
“I’m proud of the fact naniji that Khushi is such a woman. No one else could have seen me the way she does.” Arnav said with heartfelt sincerity, in a tone that was tinged with hestiation. “Maybe I’m not good enough for her naniji. This is the reason why I am going to prove myself to her as well as myself and then let her decide.”
“My blessings are with you my dear Arnav. Best of luck to you for tomorrow.” Mrs. Gupta blessed him and they said their goodbyes.
Tomorrow morning couldn’t come soon for Arnav now.
FF: Ordinary Girl in an Extraordinary Affair Chapter 18
Chapter 18
After having the entire night with memories of her past flashing by, Khushi gave up her attempts to sleep. She hadn’t slept a wink the entire night, yet sleep eluded her. Exhaustion seemed to be the only companion for her this morning. But one thing was certain. She was going to meet Arnav at Barista today evening at 4:30 and see what could come out of that meeting. She was torn into two parts. While her head denied any possibility of giving him a chance to prove himself her heart; the one that had ruled her all her life, wanted to meet him and find out if his feelings were genuine this time around. It wanted to give him an opportunity so that she may get her own chance at happiness. Let no one ever accuse her of not giving him a chance to prove himself. Let no one ever say she had maintained the same attitude that she had once accused him of- of being unfair.
Birds were beginning to sing on the trees and dew was still fresh on the green grass. Khushi roused herself from the bed and went to sit by her window as dawn came in to spread grey light from the clouds over the land below. Slowly the Sun rose high up in the sky becoming a full glare when you looked it in the eye. Khushi upped herself up and away from the window, giving her confused thoughts a rest. A knock on the door alerted her to the outer world, the others who wished to converse with her.
“Coming!”” She raised her voice so that it could be heard. Today the sun had decided to play hide and seek. It crept slowly out of the clouds spreading a burst of bright light and then, just as suddenly it disappeared, making the world a dark place. August was close by and the weather had already started changing. Maybe it indicated the change in her life too. Khushi was never too philosophical to think about such thing but today seemed like a good sign of the change she could let loose in her life. The only difference would be that her life would be facing autumn with her barely warm attitude towards Arnav and if he didn’t improve winter would proceed further with no promise of spring.
The day went forward where Khushi kept looking at her watch time and again. Lunch was done and Payal was ready to depart to the station to catch her train to Delhi. After teary goodbyes to Mrs. Gupta and Lalita, Payal was taken to the station by Khushi in the car. At the station, Payal caught Khushi’s hand before she boarded the train,
“Khushi,you know I love you and I know I shouldn’t interfere in your life but I have a request to make.” Khushi looked at her elder sister, puzzled by the pleading tone of her voice.
“What is it Jiji? If you need my help with anything, you know I’d sacrifice my life for your happiness.”
Payal clutched on to the pallu of her sari. With tears in her eyes, she hugged Khushi again, “I know that my darling. But I wish for your happiness, our family’s happiness. Since you’ve left Delhi, Mum and Dad have been unhappy. I have no body to talk to either and miss you desperately sometimes. When I didn’t know your whereabouts, I felt as if a part of me had gone missing. Mum says the same thing Khushi. Sometimes she roams about the house absent-mindedly making stuff you like. Then she breaks down and cries, not sure what to do. Dad doesn’t say much but he looks worried. They miss you so much Khushi.
Aakash tells me things were not pleasant at work either with Arnavji yelling at everyone after you’d left. Daddyji has been silent about this whole affair but he worries about Arnavji non stop and so does Dadiji. Arnavji went near crazy for a while after you had disappeared.
If Arnavji comes here to persuade you, I only wish that you give him one chance to redeem himself in your eyes. I do not know what happened between you two, Aakash won’t tell me either. It seems as if he now knows that had happened and why you decided to leave all of a sudden. But when I asked him, all he did was sigh and say that you are right in what ever you wished to do after all that has happened. Khushi, I am not going to ask you what happened since I know you do not wish to tell me. However, if it is your decision, I want you to consider everything. You’ve never been more unhappy in your life as you are now, Mum and Dad have never been as worried as they are now with your absence from the house and my whole family, my in-laws are unsettled. Whatever you do, we will abide by it but if Arnavji is asking for forgiveness for whatever he’s done, at least hear him out. If you love him, don’t let your ego come in between Khushi. Forgive him and accept his proposal when he proposes. But whatever you do, do it for yourself, not just for us or for him.”
Khushi was astonished by her jiji’s speech. It was absolutely unexpected since Jiji never scolded Khushi, never even advised her. The only time Jiji had shown her displeasure was when Khushi had gone away for the weekend with Arnav and– Khushi put a break to her thoughts right there. It was not a path she wished to take. She assured her Jiji of her well-being, not disclosing her dealings with Arnav these days, “Jiji, be assured I will give him the chance he wishes for when I deal with him. Maybe he doesn’t deserve it but I will give him the opportunity to prove that he truly regrets what he’s done. I can’t promise that I will be able to forgive him completely and accept him in my life or that thing will be as they were before with him. What I can do is promise you that I will give him a fair chance. I will not let my ego come in between. I have no desire to win this battle Jiji. This is one game where we both lose, no matter what the outcome.”
Payal gave a deep sigh and said, “What ever you do Khushi, please don’t shut me out. I have always been and will always be on your side.”
Khushi hugged her elder sister for those words. Oh, how she loved her Jiji! She crossed her fingers, “I will Jiji. I will come to you the next time if I go through any problem. Ab khush?”
Payal smiled and cupped Khushi’s cheek, “All I want is my sister’s happiness. Humain aur kuch nahi chahiye Khushi. Tum Khush rahogi toh hum sab khush rahenge. Tumhari khushi main he humari khushi hain.”
Khushi gave one last hug to Payal when the train whistle sounded, announcing the departure. With load of last minute instructions and a reminder to call when she’s reached, Khushi wished Payal goodbye.
Arnav was a man with diverse needs, complex nature and ruthless in his machinations when he needed to be. The hard set of his jaw, his well-shaped mouth forming a tight line made many girls around the world swoon and set many hearts to flutter. However today Arnav looked very different. He didn’t look like a man on the mission.
Today he looked more like a man who knew everything he had would be laid down on the table at the mercy of someone else while he played the biggest game of his life- fighting for love. He donned on green T-shirt with black horizontal stripes and dark blue jeans. With determination etched on his face, he left the room of his new bought house and went into the garden. He knew Khushi would love this garden; she was one of those green thumb persons. He’d bought this house not on impulse.
Arnav Singh Raizada never did anything on impulse. With a firm thought in his head, he had planned ahead. If Khushi said she wanted time to think, he’d need a place to put up. If she said she didn’t want to leave Nainital yet, he would marry her and stay here with her. He had bought this house keeping Khushi in his mind. He had left the grass growing, the weeds waiting for the lady of the house to come and sort them out, the wild roses waited for the hand who would pluck them lovingly for the house vases, for the nose that will inhale their heady perfume.
In short, everyone waited for his Khushi, literally his happiness to return to him so that his world could resume. He gave himself a mocking grin. It all rested upon how he would play his cards and the rest would be in the hands of- Khushi’s grandmother. She was the only one who could guide Khushi back to him. She was the one who would help Khushi decide what was the best for her. If Khushi decided to give him a chance, he would leave no stone unturned to ensure that she realized the depth of his feelings for her.
A man not given to vanity, Arnav looked at his reflection in the glass window to see he looked presentable and left for Barista on the Mall Road.
Precap: Chapter 19:
Arnav saw Khushi leave, his dark glasses hiding the emotions that showed plainly in his eyes. This round went to him, with Khushi agreeing to show him something of Nainital tomorrow. He dialled Mrs. Gupta’s number. It was picked up immediately by her. He smiled and he was sure Mrs Gupta could hear his smile, “Mubarak ho naniji. Khushi has agreed to show me Nainital tomorrow. We shall leave tomorrow morning by your car. She has demanded that I travel in her car and learn something of Nainital with the eyes of an ordinary man.”
FF: Ordinary Girl in an Extraordinary Affair Chapter 17
Chapter 17
The memory of what had happened at the club terrace was never far from Khushi’s mind even though many things had happened after that. According to her, it was the only time when she had fought Arnav and yet given in to him. For a while, she had told herself that he had deceived her, just like he had done by the poolside. But that wasn’t true; she knew it in her heart. It had been inevitable that the fire that burned both of them would engulf them as soon as they were alone.
*flashback begins*
It had taken all of self-possession Khushi owned to decide what to do while maintaining her composure. Fine, he wanted to take a walk on the terrace with her and talk to her about work in private, she could do it. It was one thing to tell yourself that you’re indifferent to him; that the kiss was no big deal. It was easy to talk when there were people around them, but to be alone and in the dark with him- Khushi’s breath hitched in her throat. Her mind though was running on a different track, thinking- if she went with him it would definitely ensure him; it would teach him that she was really not interested in him or his doings. For once and for all, it would put them on normal footing. If she wanted that, she would have to take the walk.
Khushi looked up at him squarely in the eye and said, “If there is really something important that you wish to speak to me about in private, fine. I will walk with you on the terrace.”
Arnav’s eyes glittered with triumph, making him look too much like a dangerous predator. For a moment Khushi wondered if she was doing the right thing. What if- what if he kissed her again out there in the dark? Determination asserted itself. Of course, he would behave himself out there, knowing there were too many people milling about just a little distance away. Also, knowing what she did about him, she was sure that Arnav was mean and tricky but he had too much pride. He would not kiss her especially when he thought she was out on the hunt for a rich NRI husband. No, he wouldn’t kiss her now unless she would break down and indicate that she wanted him to kiss her. And she did want that, badly!
Keeping that voice of her heart out of her head, Khushi accepted the hand he held out, his eyes asking her if she was ready. “Come on, let’s go.” Arnav said.
Khushi took his hand. He held it tight for a second and then relaxed his hold. Her stomach somersaulted at his touch but she made sure none of her anxiety showed on her face. It was a bland mask. Thankfully, once they walked outside and on to the terrace, he let her hand go. Khushi jammed her nails on the palm of her hand to get rid of the burning sensation of his touch. He led the way to the stone balustrade that overlooked the club garden and the golf course further ahead.
On one side, a dark grove of trees stretched out. There was no one else on the terrace except them. Khushi gritted her teeth and willed her heart to slow. Her teeth were almost about to chatter with anxiety. She kept on telling herself in her head that nothing would happen. She would talk to him and ensure that they behaved like two civil people, who the next time they meet will be polite with each other. He will then not have this powerful hold of physical attraction over her. Her thoughts will be hers again.
While she was thinking all this, Arnav leaned his hips against the balustrade and turned towards her. His arms were crossed over his chest and he looked utterly sexy if he didn’t know it. “I’m not going to apologize for that kiss Khushi.”
Khushi looked at him warily, “So you’re planning to apologize for the way you behaved later but not for the kiss?”
Now Arnav being Arnav could never say he was sorry or even that he regretted saying anything harsh to her. The words didn’t really come easy to him. He simply added, “I mean- that is what I said; no apology for the kiss.”
“Excuse me!” Khushi gasped at his bold statement.
Arnav looked at her, his jaw set, “I will not apologize for kissing you. I wanted to kiss you as much as you wanted me to do it.”
Khushi blushed at the truth of that statement. She couldn’t deny it outright. The lie would stick in her throat. “Well, I just-“She started again and came up with a sarcastic retort. “Fine, I will accept your apology. I didn’t think you had it in you to apologize.”
“I’m not normally wrong but you’re proving that I could be. Anyway, the kiss-“ Arnav was interrupted mid-sentence as Khushi said, her agitation plain. “Enough with the talk of that kiss! Forget it. I sure have.”
Arnav’s reply was curt and to the point, “Don’t lie to me. You haven’t and neither have I.”
Khushi was fed up. She didn’t want to talk about the kiss. It unsettled her big time. He stood there talking about them kissing as if it was nothing out of ordinary. She tried to regain her quickly sleeping calm, “Fine, now that you’ve told me you don’t intend to apologize for that damn kiss, may I go inside?”
“No.”
Khushi’s eyebrows went up at his reply. Arnav hissed a breath from between his lips and grated, “We are not done yet with this conversation. You said you are unaffected by it. So stand here and talk to me.”
“I’m done with this conversation.” Khushi said exasperatedly.
“Then you’re not as clever as I thought you were. You’re nuts.”
Khushi drew herself up to her full height and her voice went cold, “Excuse me? What did you just say?”
“Don’t deny it Khushi. It is between us today as much as it was the other evening. It’s like a live wire. I know it and you know it. At this moment all I want is to tear your clothes off and make love to you. I know you want it too.”
Stunned at the image his words created in her head, Khushi felt dazed with arousal. She could barely contain herself. So she turned haughtier, “Speak for yourself Raizada. I, for my part do not wish to have anything to do with your- body.”
“Stop lying Khushi.” Arnav uncrossed his arms and pushed himself off the balustrade that he was leaning on. He came to her, “That kiss was… addictive.”
Khushi’s heart beat like a crazy tattoo in her chest. Sudden inspiration seized her, “That kiss was probably a simple result of all pent up psychic energy you were exuding that evening.”
“Huh? What?” Arnav was puzzled.
Khushi waved her hand in the air, confident now that she could get out of this tricky situation. “You know! You were talking as if you knew all about me and my thoughts that evening. You made me angry when you spoke to me with so much familiarity. I made you angry when I walked off. The kiss was a result of that anger, built-up anger that was looking for a way out. Nothing more.”
Arnav looked at her, sighing, “Really. Built-up anger created that kiss… not because I tried to seduce you? I thought you’d accused me of taking advantage of you.”
“I wasn’t thinking properly then. Huh.. you could hardly seduce me with everyone present. It was-just what I said- anger.” Khushi declared, trying her level best to make it sound like an expert claim. She sure as hell was not going to admit how that kiss had affected her! She shrugged a shoulder as if that said everything.
“huh.. fancy that.” said Arnav, an amused smile trying to make its way towards his mouth. He hurriedly smothered it. It would not do to let Khushi see the smile. He would play her at her own game. She thought she was so smart! He spread his legs apart so that Khushi was right in between them, a few inches away from him and put his hands on his hips as if thinking seriously on her claim, “So you mean to say, we get the hots for each other when we meet up and get mad at each other?”
Khushi grabbed this opportunity to convince him. He sounded dubious at the moment and ready to believe. She quickly agreed, “Yes, exactly! I think that is the perfect description. It’s normal’; we’re just ordinary humans not Gods. It can happen to us you know.”
Arnav rubbed his jaw, as if saying, “Ordinary? Me? Speak for yourself!” He kept on looking at her, “I- am not so sure about this but I can say one thing. It does no good to us when we kiss each other. We have no business going around kissing each other.”
“Oh yes! That is so true!” Khushi agreed, nodding her head quite fiercely. Inside she felt piqued and annoyed. He didn’t think she was worthy of his kiss?
As if she hadn’t spoken and as if he was still talking to himself and thinking, Arnav said, “The dilemma is, how the hell do we stop provoking each other so that we don’t get angry with each other and not kiss each other in rage? We simply rub each other up the wrong way every time we meet.”
Khushi was thinking, her brain working overtime. “Uh- perhaps we should not meet” At his look she hastily added, “I know that is a little difficult. Maybe we- ah yes! Every time we meet, we smile and say nice things to each other. How about that?”
That should definitely achieve her goal of putting them on an even footing. A part of her was annoyed that it was taking him so long to take her notion on face value, but it would not do to be annoyed at him. To show him that she was angry would make her own reasoning sound silly and her solution inadequate.
Arnav stared at her, “That is not a bad idea actually. We can always have something nice to say to each other when we meet up by chance.”
Khushi was quite enthusiastically into this game of making him believe her point. He removed his hand from his chin and gave a firm nod as if he had reached a decision, “Alright then. If you’re willing to give it a chance, I am too. Why don’t you go first?”
Khushi looked at him, annoyed. “Why should I go first and why should you order me to go first?” So typical of him! He agreed to not fight and then insults her by ordering her, consequently raising a point of fight.
Arnav threw up his hands in the air as if he gave up on the fight. “Okay, don’t get your rear up in the air. I’ll go first if that makes you happy. Something nice about Khushi Kumari Gupta. Hmm..” He scratched his chin as if nothing nice came to his mind when he thought about her. That irked Khushi. He put his hands behind his back and finally said,”Okay, here goes. I really admire how easy you are with people.”
Before Khushi could protest, he held out his hand, “No it is not meant as an insult; hear me out. I always find it difficult to talk to strangers. I am a businessman and can talk shop with anyone but when it comes to making people comfortable or drawing them out, I think you do it very well. You make them feel.. good about themselves.”
Khushi’s jaw literally dropped at his statement. Arnav looked at her in astonishment. “Oh come on! You know that already Khushi. Or do you take that part of your character for granted? I should tell you that it is not easy for many people to be so at-ease with others. You could be a very good manager if you wanted to be.”
At the shake of her head, he continued, “In fact, had it not been for the fact that we kissed, I’d have offered you a job with me after that project.”
Khushi looked like she was planning to catch flies with her mouth. Arnav thought she was charming? A part of her that was still wary of him and expecting a hidden insult said, “Are – I am supposed to believe this?”
“Look if you want this “be nice to each other” thing to work, you’ve got to. And now it’s your turn.” Arnav said with his eyes on her.
Was that amusement lurking in his eyes? Khushi wondered and then said, “Ah, okay. My turn. Good thing about you.”
“I know I’m not full of virtues but hey, am not that bad either.” Arnav supplied helpfully.
Khushi licked her lips and thought, “Okay. It’s not that hard really. I think the way your run your company is admirable. I think you may be stubborn and an absolute horror when it comes to manners” at his look she added, “I mean that in general but when it comes to your employees, you have integrity. I’d even say you’re downright honest in your dealings with them.”
Arnav scowled, “I don’t believe it. You actually think of me as a nice person?”
Khushi quickly replied,” You wanted me to say something nice about you, something I really believed in. So there.”
Arnav stroked his chin with his hand, “Thanks, I think. I mean I know what you’re saying is right but- “ Khushi rolled her eyes at his boasting. This guy hadn’t heard of modesty, had he? He continued, “-but when you say it, it means I am not surrounded by fair weather public. You don’t really like me but you still think I’m nice.”
“So” Khushi chuckled, as she smiled at him, “See? We’re not angry at each other now. Wow.”
“Yes” said Arnav, his voice low, “A marvel indeed.”
Their eyes met and Khushi’s smiled faded slowly. They may not be angry at each other but the sizzling awareness that they felt for each other was as strong as before. It hadn’t gone anywhere. On the contrary, she felt it had become stronger now that she knew he thought she was charming and also due to the fact she had acknowledged that he had integrity and was honest.
“Unfortunately I don’t think it has fixed the problem Khushi, only made it worse probably.” Arnav stared at her fixedly, making her swallow hard.
She couldn’t deny it; he was correct. They hadn’t fixed the problem, only aggravated it. She wasn’t standing close to him right now but she could feel his aura surrounding her anyway. She took a step back and saw his amused gaze on her.
“Don’t worry. I’m not going to kiss you.” He said.
“Oh.” Khushi’s voice, to her horror sounded as if she was disappointed. A corner of Arnav’s mouth quirked.
“That is not to say I wouldn’t like kissing you. I meant if we did kiss- which I am not saying will happen- but if we did kiss, it has to be you who takes the initiative.”
Khushi became still as a statue. The night air was cool while they looked at each other. All amusement seemed to have left Aranv’s face as he stood staring at her, his hunger for her evident in her eyes. Khushi could feel electricity humming around them, her inner motor of physical desire ready to rev. NO! She mentally took a step back. She wasn’t going to take any initiative of that sort, she didn’t want to kiss him! Not only that she didn’t want to- NOT AT ALL- but also that she couldn’t. That would be –
She hiccupped in surprise and looked at him, her eyes wide – that would be a lie. She wanted to kiss him. She wanted him like crazy but how could she? This was Arnav Singh Raizada, the playboy from London. He was much too playful with emotions, too masculine for her comfort, he was mean and nasty to her every time they met, he had kissed her so thoroughly that her knees had gone weak and then been harsh with her. How could she want to kiss him?
But her blood pulsed in her veins, making nonsense of all her thoughts, her insides melting and going soft at the idea of being in his arms again. She looked uncomfortable to meet his gaze, her fingers twisting in her hands betraying her nervousness. She imagined what it would be like to get close to him, touch him, put her arms around his neck, touch his chest, and lift her face to kiss his lips. It would feel- a gasp escaped her mouth- it would feel marvellous!
In the meanwhile, Arnav stood there next to her, silent and watching the play of emotions on her face. It made him feel rooted to the spot. He could watch that face all day long and not get tired of it. His male sexual power was controlled at this time, simply waiting- it was at her discretion. She would decide. His body thrummed with excitement at the idea of her holding the final word and then coming ahead to kiss him. He had never before liked the idea of losing control but with Khushi, he liked it very much. As if in a trance, Khushi took a step towards him. Yes! She took a step towards him this time, not away- thought Arnav jubilantly.
Khushi felt the excitement running through her like the twisting of the screw of a champagne bottle. She looked at his ever hypnotic eyes. They glittered but they didn’t look dangerous to her anymore; they glittered with the same madness that seemed to have taken over her being at this time. She could also see doubt there and fear- fear that she would move away from him and he would lose the touch of her. She saw vulnerability in his eyes.
That was probably what did her in. She would have pulled back the last moment and come to her senses but for that vulnerable look in his eyes. There was no way she could stop herself now. Her heart pounded madly as she reached up her hands to place them gently on the side of each cheek. Anticipation reached to the point of pain for Arnav but he held back. He was all man yes, but he wanted her to be the master in this instance. It gave Khushi a heady feeling of power, as he stood still while she touched him. She saw his nostrils that flared at her touch, the coil of need twined tightly around their bodies. He kept his hands by his sides as he saw her rise up on her toes and press her lips, ever so gently against his. Their eyes closed at the pleasure of that contact.
Arnav felt the air rush out through his nose as he kept tight control on himself. It was her initiative, her moment. He couldn’t ruin it. So he let her experiment with the pressure of her mouth on his. Despite this immense control, a small noise escaped from his throat.
For Khushi, it was pure delight to have him at her disposal. She could run her hands through his silky hair, she’d always known it would be. Slowly he started responding to her kiss. He responded to her light kisses by giving them back as he received them. She liked him so much the better for it! She nipped his lips and he nipped back. She pressed a little harder and he increased the pressure too. Just like her hands in his hair, his hands went up and into her hair, spiking the strands and holding her to him.
Khushi felt such power as she’d never felt before. His hard, strong body was hers to control, to play with. Arnav behaved like a dancer at this moment; a perfect partner who followed her lead and went where ever she wanted to go, did whatever she wanted him to do. She felt she wanted more. She felt exhilarated; it flowed in her blood like bubbles. She curved her body to his, leaning into him, moving her lips as if they couldn’t get enough of him. She was hungry for him. This need to get closer, more intimate had made her forget everything else. Her hands went down from his hair and on to his strong shoulders and then the chest, exploring through the coat, vest and shirt.
Arnav groaned silently, moving his jaw expertly and opening her mouth. This was the first initiative taken by him all by himself and Khushi found that she didn’t mind at all. It was alright even when his tongue found its way into her mouth, French kissing her. It was her second time that she had been smooched; the first time was by the pool. It gave her such a shock of pleasure; she found that she wanted so much more of it. Arnav’s breathing grew heavy and fast. His hands roamed up and down Khushi’s back. But it was okay for Khushi. She didn’t mind his taking control from her hands at this time. She felt satisfied that she was the one who had set the ball rolling, not let him control her desire.
Anrav’s hands were strong and assured of what they were doing as they caught hold of her waist, skimming the sides of it. Slowly he curved his hands over the surface of her sari, her blouse, and her breasts. The sensation that hit Khushi was so exquisite when he touched her there that she flinched. Her nipples had long since turned into hard pebbles.
Not that Khushi’s flinch stopped Arnav. He moved his hands over her breasts, sometimes teasing her by simply touching the undersides, sometimes taking them in her hands and massaging them, squeezing them. It felt like heaven! She threw her head back and gave a low moan when he touched his lips to her throat.
Khushi didn’t want him to stop this sensual onslaught he was raining on her senses. She could hear him breathing as heavily as her, as he slowly licked her breastbone. At the same time, he slowly and deliberately touched the hardened peaks of her breasts and squeezed them gently. She gave out a loud moan as she felt sensations beyond anything she had ever felt before. She’s never imagined making love was so marvellous.
“Oh, I’m sorry. Excuse me.” A voice interrupted, intruding rudely on the delightful scene. Khushi felt as if she’d jerked wide awake from deep slumber. She felt both herself and Arnav freeze. Once the person had retreated back into where ever he had come from, Khushi slowly removed her hands from Arnav’s hair. Arnav pressed his head against her collarbone, telling himself and her, “Okay.” His hands had stopped playing with her breasts and come down to rest on her waist. “Okay, okay.” She heard him murmur again. Slowly he lifted his head and let go of her, all of her and straightened to move away from her. He looked absolutely- out of control.
“Oh boy.” He said softly, his eyes still glinting yet showing how much control it had taken him to move away from her. He looked at Khushi as she self-consciously straightened her sari. Her gaze flitted up and then down.
“That being nice with each other didn’t really work.” Arnav muttered. All Khushi could do at this time was nod. She was not just embarrassed, but she was aghast at her own actions. She had nearly let him make love to her in public, on the club terrace! She, who always thought first about proprieties didn’t even bother with what anyone would think if they caught them together. What about the families? Arnav was the most unsafe man she had known, a play boy who would do nothing but use her and go back to London. But she had all but thrown herself in his arms. What was wrong with her!
Arnav tried to smooth his hair, his voice rough, his expression grim. He had never in his life thought he would lose control like this. What had begun as simple teasing to teach her a lesson had turned into fierce sexual hunger that was out of control. He shook his head. He had to play it differently. It wouldn’t help if he was out of control. He said, “We have to really avoid doing this again Khushi.”
“Yes.” Khushi’s voice was sullen.
“At the risk of sounding a little rude but I’m sure you’ll agree it’s only logical thing to do, I have a suggestion.” Arnav straightened his coat and his vest that had become slightly dishevelled at Khushi’s hands. Khushi blushed when she saw him do that. He continued, “ I suggest we should keep away from each other as much as possible. When we meet, a simple “hello” should make for the conversation and we should NEVER be alone with each other. Agreed?”
Khushi drew in a deep breath. This is what she wanted, right? Then why did it feel as if someone had tied a stone around her neck and thrown her into deep water to drown to death? Why did it feel so lonely, so disappointing, so scary to think of not touching him again? Not seeing him again!!- that felt like life sentence to her. But Khushi knew it was the only sensible course of action. She couldn’t-wouldn’t let her physical attraction for him take over her head, her brain. “Agreed.” She said.
“Because-“ Arnav was now playing simply hard to get “ there is no way we could have anything going between us.”
A frown placed itself on Khushi’s forehead, her eyes widening as she took in his meaning, “You mean- like a relationship?”
Arnav nodded and then flicked his glance away, straightening his tie this time.” We’re far too different and we want different things from a relationship. It would never work.”
“Too true.” Khushi said angrily. “So now that we’ve sorted that out, I should go inside.”
Without any goodbyes, she simply walked away. But not before she turned back again to look at him, still standing there, looking at her. His look took her breath away. It belied everything he’d said, suggested; it was a look that told Khushi that he didn’t really want to not talk to her. He didn’t want to let her go. The look indicated his want for her; if he ever got a chance to be alone with her, kiss her, make love to her, he would do it. Probably would do even more than simply make love to her, and that would be very unwise- she knew that. She would be wise to stay away from him; she told her heart- he had the power to hurt her very badly. He could take away her self-preservation and strip her clean of her mask of indifference by a look. No, best is she stayed away from him. She looked at him one last time, her mind made up and went back into the lounge.
*flashback ends*
FF: Ordinary Girl in an Extraordinary Affair- Chapter 16
Chapter 16
Arnav too was thinking about the same incident while lying on his bed. How mean he had been to her that evening! His remorse knew no bounds as the tears he always kept hidden from everyone came to his eyes. He slowly wiped the tear away from his eye with his hand. He had always been unfair to Khushi. Khushi, who had been innocent of any malice that evening, had suffered at his hands. That was the first time when he had hurt her by doubting her. He closed his eyes and he continued thinking about that evening.
*Flashback begins*
The moment Arnav had seen that tear fall; something had squeezed his heart tight, nearly making him gasp. He had felt as if he had been stabbed with a sharp dagger. When she hastily turned her head and walked away so that he couldn’t see her crying, regret took hold of his heart. He realized he may have been too harsh with her. Maybe his bitterness had been unjustified and maybe she was really an innocent. He knew he had a habit of painting every woman with the same brush due to his past but he couldn’t help it. He couldn’t trust anyone.
Arnav closed his eyes for a moment against this onslaught of emotions, as if trying to reach to a decision. When he opened them, determination had taken hold of his body. Whatever it was that he felt for Khushi, he couldn’t let it control him. He couldn’t let her get close to him. She disturbed him like no one else did. He shook the feeling away, telling himself he had done what was best for the both of them.
He had gone back to the family, where laughter and chatter kept everyone too busy to notice Arnav’s keen gaze on Khushi and Khushi’s avoidance of his eyes. Anjali however had not been too busy to notice that something had happened between her brother and that charming girl Khushi. She had asked him about her after the ceremony was over and Khushi had gone back home with her family. He had preferred not to talk about it and asked her to leave him alone.
He left the next day for London since the project they had been working on had to be executed from there. After the successful execution of the project, he had called up his uncle and asked him to pass on his congratulations to the entire team for the good work done. Much though he wanted to and probably as he should, he had not called Khushi to let her know that it was in fact her ideas and her presentation that had brought forth the best in the project.
Not that he was in the best of the moods these days. Anjali and Dean; who had just entered the scene then as her boyfriend, had both mentioned in the passing that he behaved like a bear with a sore head. Arnav knew he was not himself and he also knew the reason for it. He kept on thinking about a certain doe eyed female with tears falling down from her eyes and a hurt look on her face. He dreamt of her lips under his and could taste her essence when he closed his eyes. Her fragrance had stayed with him, on the suit that he had worn that evening. A week after he had returned, he had given the suit away for dry cleaning and had not worn it since. He worked out fiercely in the mornings and evenings, worked later than usual and dated as many women as he could. He dined them and took them out but he had lost the will to bed any of them. He couldn’t even think about kissing any one of those leggy, delectable models, much less taking them to bed.
His days were filled with work and night with longing. But he resisted- until he accidentally heard that Khushi’s parents wanted her to choose a husband too. His entire being revolted at the thought of Khushi in another man’s arms and a murderous rage took over. On prodding gently, Aakash told him that Khushi’s parents thought it was time they started looking for a suitable guy for Khushi. They had asked Khushi if she had anyone in mind but she had denied. What’s more they were troubled by her tears and her firm declaration that she would never get married. After a lot of back and forth talks, Khushi had finally agreed that she would at least consider any proposals she got before rejecting the offers of marriage out of hand.
It was this news that made Arnav fly to New Delhi the next day itself, on the pretext of upcoming business deal. He knew that Aakash could handle the whole deal himself but hell, what was he to do? He reached there the day after and walked around in the garden to catch a glimpse of the Khushi. He knew the window of her room overlooked Raizada garden. He had seen her once or twice while he jogged past her in the morning, sitting by the window ledge, gazing at nothing in particular and with a silly smile on her face.
To Arnav’s disappointment, Khushi never showed up by the window. She had stopped looking outside. From what he had gleaned after his general family talk with Aakash, she had become very dull since the last few weeks. Gone was her chirpiness; instead she was always frowning and sometimes her face was etched with some painful memory. Payal had tried hard to find out what the matter was but Khushi wouldn’t tell her and of course, it was so difficult to gauge one’s emotions simply over the phone. Aakash was worried about Khushi because Payal was worried about her. Typical lovesick teenager behaviour, thought Arnav smirking.
In the night, he paced around the room after dinner thinking about this conversation. He said to himself, “Of course she wouldn’t. She’d not be the girl I know if she spoke what was troubling her.”
*Flashback ends*
As if they were connected with an invisible thread, memories overflowed Khushi’s mind almost at the same time. Khushi was also thinking about the events following that evening by the poolside.
*flashback begins*
Arnav had left the next day and she hadn’t heard or seen of him until the weekend when they all went to the golf club. She had known that he’d come back a few days ago but had carefully avoided all the times when she could even see him by chance.
That weekend, both the families had been invited for a party at the Golf Club. The theme of the party was formal vs. traditional. Payal had come down for the weekend and both the sisters had decided to dress up in traditional garb. Khushi was decked in a red sari with long silver earrings whereas Payal wore an orange sari with matching accessories. Both the Raizada and Gupta families had left in their respective cars and were mingling with other guests in the party. Aakash and Payal were being congratulated by their acquaintances and family friends where Khushi mingled with her own set of friends.
Khushi had not really wanted to come to the party but second thoughts; she decided she couldn’t avoid people forever. It is possible that she may run into Arnav at some time, since they were a part of the family of sorts. They knew the same kind of people and went to the same kind of places so it was inevitable that they meet each other sometime when Arnav was in New Delhi. It was important that she put the incident at the back of her mind and face him normally.
Still, she hadn’t expected to see Arnav at the party. She had been mingling with her group of friends far away from the lounge bar. But thirst drew her towards it. Walking into the club lounge that was decorated by smart furniture and green walls, keeping in tune with the motto of the golf club, she found Arnav sitting there. To not expect him to be there had been a mistake, she realized with a shock. One smartly clad knee rested atop another while he spoke with Mr Westerly and Martin; her dad’s friends. Her immediate reaction of course was to turn away from where he sat and leave the lounge bar area.
But Khushi was nothing if not determined. She had decided to put the past incident behind her and behave normally and that is exactly what she will do. She was not going to let him affect her in any way. Suppressing the cowardly impulse, she went ahead and sat at the bar table to order a glass of Chardonnay. It was her favourite white wine. She was joined by other people of her acquaintance in a short while and they all moved to sit in the other part of the half-lit lounge.
While a casual smile was pinned upon her face, Khushi straightened her shoulders and made some breezy talk. She was not unconscious of Arnav sitting just a little further away from her group, chatting with his friends or business colleagues. He seemed to be unaware of her presence and that’s exactly how she wanted it. She was thankful of this and at the same time terribly conscious of the fact that her own body was completely attuned to him. She didn’t know how but she felt his eyes on her the moment he caught sight of her. She looked at him and saw him falter in his chat, his smile almost fading away.
To her astonishment, Khushi felt a rush of satisfaction at his reaction. She gritted her teeth and gave a cool smile. Surely this satisfaction she felt was inappropriate for her? She hadn’t wanted him to notice her, did she? She didn’t even want him to falter or stare at her but he had and for the life of her, she couldn’t understand this rush of pleasure that ran through her body at his reaction. Deliberately, she turned her away from him and started talking to the person nearest to her. She had no idea what she was saying. All she knew was, she had gulped her glass of wine in one go and the waiter who had been standing nearby and come forward. She told him, “Can you get me a glass of Chardonnay again please?”
The waiter smiled at her and said, “Sure, Ms. Gupta. Right away.”
Khushi felt as if her smile was stuck to her face, while her heart beat fast. It was literally pounding as it heard Arnav talking to others in the distance. He had seemingly recovered from his shock at seeing her and was not animatedly immersed in a conversation behind her. Khushi closed her eyes. For so many days now, his voice had haunted her, his face a part of her dreams. Her mind constantly kept on going over and over that kiss; the passion in his eyes and later on, the contempt on his face. Her dreams were full of the moment when he had lowered his mouth on hers. His harsh tone when he told her he thought of her as nothing more but a man-trap or a fortune hunter and as much as he was attracted to her, he didn’t want anything to do with her and feelings.
She hated those odd moments in the day when her heart would suddenly speed up from the memory, just like it did now. Khushi took deep breaths; breathe in- breathe out, inhale, exhale. She was determined to calm down so that no one could see her agitation, least of all that Arnav Singh Raizada.
“Here is your glass of white wine Ms Gupta. Are you alright?” The overfriendly waiter asked.
Khushi gave him a bright smile but her eyes were full of ice, “What? Oh yes, I’m fine.” The waiter had the grace to blush. Khushi took a small sip this time, smiling at the person next to her, who was talking about some garden. The wine was excellent but to her it tasted like water, the company was interesting but felt boring; nothing felt good.
She closed her eyes, willing herself to remain calm as she heard the conversation behind her break up. Mr Westerly and Martin were going away to dine with their wife and kids accompanying them this time. Arnav had politely declined going along with them. Khushi could feel her heart beating mercilessly against her chest. For God’s sake, calm down! Arnav would leave too, she was sure. She prayed he would. She felt herself go tense simply in the anticipation that this moment would be over soon. He would leave.
Instead of leaving with others, Arnav walked towards Khushi. She looked ethereal to him. Did she know red was his favourite colour? Earlier when he’d seen her for the first time in so many days, he had felt his heart stop. She looked like his dream come true to him; dressed in a red sari with those silver earrings dangling from her ear as if trying to kiss her cheeks every time she turned her head. When she turned away from him, he had been tempted to leap up and go to her, to pick her up and walk away into oblivion where no one would disturb them. But he had controlled himself and carried on with his conversation after a few seconds.
Goosebumps erupted all over Khushi’s body as she felt his presence right behind her chair. He looked oh, so casual as he sauntered right up to where she sat with her friends. The fiend! She wanted to look at him, she wanted to send him a cool smile, letting him know that he didn’t affect her; she didn’t care at all for him. She wanted to tell him that he couldn’t rattle her- Khushi Kumari Gupta. She was calm, she was cool. But she couldn’t do anything of the sort. She simply kept sitting, staring fixedly down at her glass of wine.
An arm snaked out in front of her and she almost jerked in reaction. He was reaching out to pick up cashews from the bowl on the table.
“Hi Khushi.” Arnav greeted her.
Khushi put up her brightest smile and slowly looked up at him, “Oh hello Arnav. Fancy seeing you here, back in India.”
Arnav didn’t smile back. Her smile faltered. He excused himself and asked the person sitting next to her “Is it okay if I sit here?”
The other person, Khushi couldn’t remember who he was got up and gladly gave him the permission to sit. “I was leaving anyway. Nice talking to you Khushi. Let’s meet up sometime.”
Khushi smiled at him and watch him go. Arnav hadn’t sat down yet. He looked at her, “Okay if I sit here?”
Her fingers played with her wine glass. Act unconcerned Khushi, she told herself. Then she didn’t look at him but she said lightly, “Why should it not be okay? You can sit wherever you want Arnav.”
She saw him sitting down from the corner of her eyes. His eyes were watching her carefully, “I haven’t seen you around in the last few days. Not at the office, not by the house. Been keeping busy, have you?”
“I have my German exams coming up so yes, been keeping busy. Plus I’ve had no time to do anything else with so much to study.”
His voice was so low that only she could hear it as he said, “I thought I’d driven you away from the places that interested you earlier. That you wanted to avoid me.”
Khushi gave a little laugh, as if she was above it all and said, “Oh Arnav, come now. I know we don’t know each other well enough but I thought you’d realize that I wouldn’t let you do that- drive me away from places of my interest.”
Arnav didn’t get into a slinging match. He simply looked at her and she said, “I’m here now, aren’t I? You’re sitting next to me so how can I be avoiding you?”
“Ye-es true. You’re sitting next to me right now.” He conceded.
Khushi waved her hand in the air, as if she had proved her point by the statement.
Aranv leaned on his elbow that was on the bar of the chair, resting his jaw in his hand and stared. Khushi wailed inwardly as she tried to keep her calm demeanour intact. The devil! Did he know how mortifying she felt right now, with his dark amber, amazing eyes boring into her? He broke the silence as she shifted in her seat uncomfortably, “So, if you’re not avoiding me, would you be willing , umm.. to play tennis with me tomorrow?”
“Certainly.” Khushi replied back instantly. It would not do to give him the impression that she wanted to run away from him as fast as her legs could take her. He had started believing in her statement and she would do anything to keep that impression of unconcern intact. She took another sip of her wine, imagining him playing tennis. She could imagine the muscles she had felt when he had held her moving under his shirt as he played tennis. Her heart sped up again as she remembered the kiss.
“And would you dine with me tonight along with the rest of the family?” Arnav asked. Khushi inclined her head in agreement. After all, this is what she wanted. Yes, this would surely establish them on a normal footing, keeping all the other sensations away when the others would be around them.
“Really.” Arnav said. It was more a disbelieving statement than a question.
Khushi couldn’t meet his gaze for long, “Yes, really”, she said.
Arnav reached out with his other hand to snare some more cashews, his eyes lowered so as not to give Khushi any idea of what he was thinking. Khushi watched him, heat filling up her body beneath her blouse as he slowly placed the nut in his mouth, closed his eyes and savoured its taste. He opened his eyes to catch her gawking at him. Khushi hurriedly lowered her lashes.
Arnav continued as if he had not seen her hungry stare, “Strange that you’re so fired up to be cool with me after we shared that kiss; so cool that you could do anything.”
“Don’t give yourself too much credit”, snapped Khushi and leaned closer to him to whisper, her eyes glaring, “just because you kissed me and I allowed you to kiss me isn’t going to change the way I feel about you. It is not going to change my world. I’ve kissed men before you know. It wasn’t a big deal.”
“No big deal, hmm” Arnav’s gaze didn’t leave Khushi’s. She lifted the hand that held the glass of wine and said, “Yes, you heard me right.” She gave him a smile as she sipped on her wine. She had always believed she was immune to the charms of men in general and in particular of Arnav’s kind; the ones who were out on the hunt. In all of her twenty five years, she had never felt as vulnerable as she felt towards Arnav- him of all people! Her blood was singing through her veins, her body felt as if it would instantly combust if she sat next to him any longer. But she had to, she wouldn’t admit defeat.
Arnav was watching the expression that flitted across her face, without her knowing. “Then..” he said, “if you’re so unaffected by that kiss and by me, then I am sure you wouldn’t object going out for walk with me on the club terrace.”
Her eyes widened as she took in his words, “What? Now?”
Arnav nodded and said, “Any problem? If you’re so unaffected by me then you wouldn’t mind it surely? In fact, there is something with regards to the project you worked on that I wanted to talk to you about. In private.”
*Flashback continues to the next chapter*
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FF: Ordinary Girl in an Extraordinary Affair- Chapter 15
Chapter 15
Flashback continues……
Arnav wore a black silk shirt and looked like sex on wheels. Khushi met his eyes and looked away as usual. She couldn’t deny that he looked handsome and that he did something make her heart do somersaults but she was damned if she’d admit it. So she raised her chin and looked at him again, defiance plain in her eyes. Arnav simply bowed his head very slightly, not for all to see but only for her as if acknowledging her defiance. When her gaze moved from him, she saw a lovely woman standing next to him, looking at him with a smile of joy and wonder on her face and then looking at her. Her smile radiated warmth and Khushi automatically smiled back at her even though her mind buzzed with hundred questions. Who was she and what was she to him? Her face though, remained clear of her thoughts.
Mrs. Raizada’s loud voice boomed in her ears, making her flinch. “Ah! Arnav, Anjali beta.. come come. We were just waiting for you.” She looked Khushi and said, “Payal, Khushi; beta meet my darling niece Anjali. She is Arnav’s sister and she too loves candles like Payal does.”
After hands were shaken and embracing done, Anjali sat down next to Khushi and Payal. She engaged Payal in small talk while Khushi wondered about her. So this was Arnav’s sister. She was so different from him! Like chalk and cheese this brother-sister pair were; with one being so mean and cruel while the other being extremely warm and sweet. Anjali was beautiful, thought Khushi. In that area of course, both brother and sister had been generously blessed by the Almighty.
“Useless to compare; she’s the sweet side of me.” Amused voice broke into her thoughts.
“I beg your pardon?” Khushi feigned ignorance.
“Anjali is my half-sister and thus perhaps missed the mean streak that I inherited.” Arnav said, “I know what you were thinking.”
Khushi fluttered her lashes at him and gave him a very obvious fake smile, “I had no idea you were a psychic. And are you telling me there actually is a sweet side to you? Wow.”
The statement was meant to insult him and it sure did. For a moment, his eyes caught fire and his jaw tensed but then, control took over. He visibly relaxed and smiled, “Oh yeah, I tried to show you my sweet side the other day but you ran away.”
“I didn’t run away!” Khushi protested, her glare deadly enough to kill a man or two. Then as if she realized she had just acquiesced with his statement in a way, she said, “I walked away like any female with sense in her head would. And if that was the sweeter side of you, god help us all when you -”
Aware that she was again putting her foot in her mouth, she shut up. Amber eyes bored into her, challenging her to continue. “when I what- Khushi? Scared to put your thoughts into words, are you?”
“Nonsense! Anyway, I don’t think sharks have a sweet side to them.” Khushi declared, avoiding his eyes. As if she couldn’t bear to sit there with his eyes looking at her, she stood up and immediately felt flustered as all eyes looked at her. Smiling hesitantly, she said, “I think I’ll take a look at all those candles and lights by the poolside.” Looking at Anjali, she smiled genuinely, complimenting her, “They look beautiful.”
Anjali smiled back at her, affirming her opinion that here sat a lovely woman who was an absolute antithesis of her brother.
Khushi reached the poolside and took a deep breath. She really needed to calm down when that man was around! She had no idea why he affected her so much but she couldn’t ignore the fact that he did. May be this was the first time she actually understood what it was like to feel attracted to a man. She had been the centre of attention for many guys in the last couple of years but she had been easily able to dismiss their attention, their stares. Nothing had ever affected her the way his eyes did. It troubled her that she had no control over her reactions to him. Why was she not able to control her heart beats around him? Why did she left him affect her so?
“Thinking about me?” A voice spoke softly in her ear. Deep in thoughts, Khushi took the voice to be a part of her thinking and simply muttered, “Great, now I hear him in my thoughts! Why is he affecting me like this? Not that I give a damn but-”
A chuckle broke into her thoughts and Khushi realized with horror that the voice had not been a part of her thoughts. Arnav was actually standing next to her. She moved away quickly and tried to mask her reactions. Acting nonchalant, she asked, “What are you doing here?”
“Helping you think more about me, obviously.” He tantalizingly replied. Khushi put all the scorn she could muster in her gaze while she looked up at him, “You give yourself too much credit. I was not thinking about you.”
“No?” He asked disbelief plain on his face.
Khushi moved further away from him, to the other side of the pool, where potted flowers lay on one side of the wall. “Of course not! I was thinking about- well, not about you for sure. And it’s none of your business who or what I was thinking about.”
“What if I want to make it my business?” Before Khushi knew what was happening, he had trapped her between himself and the wall.
“You- you-” Words failed her and Khushi tried to find a way to get out of the trap. Arnav came closer still until she could feel his breath on her face.
“I-what Khushi?” Arnav whispered, bending a bit so that he could whisper in her ear, “If you want to know, you’ve been in my thoughts too. Unwanted and unexpected but you’ve been there… in my unholy thoughts. Does that help you?”
“No.” Khushi could only whisper back an honest reply.
“What should we do about it then?” Arnav whispered, coming closer, his eyes resting on her lips that trembled when he touched them gently. “I know of a cure.”
“You do?” Khushi’s breathing had gone ragged by now, with his fingers working magic on her lips. She wanted to lick them, to take them one by one in her mouth and suck on them. Never in her life had she felt such sensations rocking her body before. She stared into his eyes that beckoned her to travel with him to places unknown. She felt as if she was losing herself in those deep pools of amber fire that burned with desire. It gave her a heady feeling of power to know that she could ignite such fire in his eyes. His next words almost undid her.
“Sure I do. Let me show you how to cure it.” Arnav said to her. Before she could guess his intentions, he took her in his arms, slowly placed one hand on the nape of her neck and bent down- to touch his lips to hers. At first his lips were gentle and soft but soon they turned demanding and coaxed a response out of her, devouring her.
Khushi had heard of powerful physical attraction but never felt it before. She was stunned for a second or two when his lips stroked hers. Then she forgot everything- who she was, who he was and simply melted in his arms. All the anger since the time they’d first laid eyes on each other went puff and the only thing that seemed to have remained was this attraction that they felt for each other. She wound her arms around his neck and opened her mouth in response, inviting him in to taste her deeply. Arnav groaned softly when he felt her mouth open under his and deepened the kiss. He caressed her back, moulding her body to his as if they wanted to be one.
God, what was she doing to him? He’d never felt this raging fire pulsing in his veins before. It felt as if he’d die if he let go of her lips. Their breaths mingled and tongues touched, making him want to explore more of her- all of her. At this moment he couldn’t remember his name, let alone the fact that they were by the poolside and anyone could see them if they walked by. He could feel her inexperience in that kiss and for some reason that excited him all the more.
Exerting immense control over his body, Arnav slowly removed his lips from hers and stepped back so that he wouldn’t grab her again. He had to control himself because he knew in his gut that if he held her again, they wouldn’t let each other go. He was now sure that until they had sated each other’s hunger, this fire wouldn’t burn out. But for the moment, he would have to gain control. His good intentions almost flew out of the window when he saw the expression on her face. Khushi still had her eyes closed. As his lips left hers, she slowly licked them clean of his taste and took a deep breath. He groaned out loud.
“For heaven’s sake, take pity on me darling. Right now, if we don’t stop I will simply lay you down and take you right here, right now.”
That seemed to have an instant effect- her eyes snapped open as she looked at him dazedly first and then with growing horror on her face.
Khushi opened her eyes slowly, her senses still under the spell of the kiss. What a kiss that was! It felt as if she had only just come to life with that kiss. She licked her lips and she could taste him. She didn’t know what she craved for, only that he do it again and again until she felt completely replete.
A groan broke into her thoughts, and then she heard the words, softly spoken. Her eyes snapped open, growing wide with horror, her breathing wild. She looked at Arnav and her hands came up to cup her mouth. Devi Maiyya! Oh my goodness! What had she done! What had HE done to her! She had been almost ready to make love to him by the poolside, in view of anyone who cared to walk by! She was completely confused about her feelings at this time but she surely was better than this! How could she have done this? He made her do it!
Disgust and rage took hold of her senses, the cloud of desire completely lifted now. “How dare you! You can’ go around kissing anyone you feel like. Just because you’re rich and I’ll grant you- good looking, doesn’t mean you can come on to me!” She raged, her voice hoarse from the emotions she was going through. She lifted her hand as if slap him but at his quiet, “Be careful Khushi. If you slap me, you may go through another round of roller coaster of emotions you’re not ready to face yet. You gave as much as you got out of that kiss.”
Khushi turned away from him, her anger evident by the trembling of her body, “Forget that this ever happened! It’s just the kind of thing I should have expected from you. I’ve heard about you Arnav Singh Raizada. You’re a playboy out there in London, with many notches out on your belt. Don’t you even think that I’ll be one of them! You are disgusting!”
“You didn’t find me so disgusting a few seconds back when you were kissing me back. Had I not stopped, I could have -”
Khushi motioned him to stop with her hand out in protest, her eyes spitting fire now. “I didn’t know what I was doing, naïve that I am in these matters but you did. And you were out to take advantage of that fact. I know all about men like you. You don’t respect anyone or anything apart from being selfish and take all that you want, by any means.”
Aranv looked at her as if he would throttle her. His body was still on fire; only years of tightly reined in self-control was helping him keep away from her. However, his anger was swiftly replacing desire by her hot and cold attitude. He took a step in her direction. He was tempted to call her bluff off. He knew very well that he was not going to forget her and he sure as hell was not going to let her forget him.
A part of Khushi quailed at his look, but she kept up her brave girl façade, standing her ground and warning him, “Don’t you ever come near me,Raizada! If you do, I swear I’ll scream the house down and then your “good” repute can say bye bye.”
Arnav looked at her, incredulity plain on his face. Was she serious? She was brainwashing herself and laying all the blame at his door when she was just as responsible for what had happened between them! What was her game?
A part of him that always hastened to caution him; a part of him that always carried bitterness inside from his past came up quickly feeding on this doubt, taking over his brain. He forgot all about his feelings, his intentions towards her as his mind started whirring in a completely different direction. She was probably one of those girls who felt the need to trap a man in her clutches and feed on him like a parasite for the rest of her life. She was probably just like his mother. Something seemed to harden in him at that thought.
“I don’t think you’re naïve Khushi, quite the contrary in fact. Any girl who can kiss the way you do already knows the score. In our case, I am honest with my feelings and can tell you that I want you. You however, wish to play games.”
“Why you-” Khushi spluttered but didn’t get a chance to go any further as with a look full of cold contempt etched on his face he said, “ I don’t play games Khushi Kumari Gupta. Especially not with your kind; who think they can trap a man into marriage by seducing them with their big eyes and fake innocence. I am not Aakash who falls for the wiles of a woman.” He deliberately turned his next statement into a gauntlet, “I’d rather have you in my bed for free than be trapped for my entire life. If you wish to take me up on my proposition, do let me know.”
Saying this, he walked away leaving Khushi to come to terms with what he’d said. He wasn’t sure why but he looked back once — and saw her struggling with her tears. She was standing exactly where he’d left her. As if feeling his eyes on herself, she looked up and met his gaze. Slowly a tear fell from her eye. Soon a steady stream of tears began. Hastily Khushi turned away from him and walked to the other side of the pool side where stairs would lead her upstairs into the prayer room.
*flashback ends*
Khushi closed her eyes as that memory took her over and tears rained down her cheeks and on to the pillow. That first kiss held bitter sweet memories for her. She hadn’t understood then why he’d been brutal with her but as the time had passed and they had come closer, she had found out all about the reason behind his cruelty that evening. She had then realized that Arnav was not a bad person by nature. He was just a man who struggled and fought every day against his past memories. Sometimes he lost and sometimes he won. That evening was the time when he had lost.
dustyboots 